Work Text:
It was late at night in shelter B06-32. Ray was reading one of the books in the archives room by himself while sipping some tea. He had to prep himself for what's out there. He had to figure out the next course of action to ensure that their family would be happy, fed, and safe. Books have always been his go-to for information like that.
At least, that was what he was doing, until Emma burst into the room. She slammed the door open and the sound almost made Ray drop his book.
"Ray, Ray! Let's do some challenges!" Emma said, holding up a small book with no title on it. She looked at him with confidence, eyes brimming with anticipation. Ray sighed before he closed the book he was reading and set it on the table, crossing his arms.
Ray looked at her with annoyance in his face. "Are you kidding me? Challenges?" He asked in a mocking tone.
Emma nodded at rapid speed before leaning in closer. "Yes! Come on, Ray, let's do it!"
"Emma, this is no time for fun and games," Ray stated matter-of-factly. He tried to ignore her and picked up his book again.
Emma smacked the book out of his hands and sent his book flying across the room. Ray was shocked and glared up at Emma. He was surprised to see a sad look on her face when he did.
"Emma?" He said her name in a weak voice, barely above a whisper.
"Ray, do the challenges with me," Emma said, pouting.
"Emma, I told you, it's not the right time," Ray said.
"What are you doing in here so late by yourself?" Emma asked.
Ray raised an eyebrow at her. Was she interrogating him? Shouldn't she know what he's doing by now? She's known him forever, after all. The two of them were always together. They were friends, best friends. It was a daily habit for him to come into the archives room, and she knew it by heart.
"I was reading until you started pestering me," Ray said in annoyance, glaring up at her.
Emma shook her head. "No, you're overworking yourself," She stated. "Again and again you do this. Didn't you do this enough back at Grace Field? You read all the books back there, didn't you? You say you hated studying, haven't you? That you did it just to be premium goods? And you're doing it to yourself again?"
Ray frowned at her. "It's for survival, Emma," Ray said.
"I know that, I really do," Emma said. "But I'm worried about you. Can't you take a break? For me?"
Ray clicked his tongue when Emma leaned in a little more, looking him straight in the eyes. She was looking at him with those puppy eyes. He could almost see ears and a drooping tail on her. She was basically begging him at this point.
Ray brought his hand up and roughly pushed her face away. "I got it, I got it," Ray yelled at her. "I'll take a break."
Ray felt Emma smile up against his hand. Ray leaned back in his seat while Emma straightened up and grabbed a chair. She scooted the chair to be right in front of Ray and sat down, smiling happily.
"So! I found this book on one of the top shelves, it was sitting by itself. I only glimpsed through it, but it looked like a book full of challenges for best friends to improve their friendship. I immediately thought of you."
Ray raised an eyebrow. He questioned why she wanted to do this with him. She had other friends. He had to admit, she was a popular and well-liked girl. But most of all, he questioned why she chose him of all her friends. They knew each other best. Ray and Emma. Emma and Ray. Always together. How could a relationship like that be improved?
"To improve friendship? Are you stupid? That stuff doesn't work." Ray said with a smirk on his face.
Emma shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Entertain me."
Ray gave a sigh of resignation. "Fine. What's the first challenge?"
Emma flipped to the first page. "Poke each other," She read off.
Ray and Emma simultaneously reached their arms out and poked each other's arm with a single finger. They lingered like that for a minute.
Ray's eyebrows furrowed as he brought his arm down to his side. "I feel stupid. Can we stop now?" Ray asked.
Emma glared at him. "No!" She yelled at him.
Emma flipped to the next page. "Give each other a compliment."
"I don't want to." Ray groaned.
"Ray!" Emma cried.
"Fine. You're stupidly optimistic, but I guess I like that about you. That optimism you have saved us more than once, and I'm glad it's a part of you."
Ray felt some blush in his cheeks. Compliment Emma? What kind of stupid book was this? There were too many things to compliment her for, and he had to choose one?
He liked the confident look in her eyes she showed from time to time. He liked how she always took care of their siblings. She liked how protective she was of everyone. He liked her smile. How she would be next to someone like him. There was so much that he liked about her.
Not that he ever tells her all that.
"Your turn," Ray said, getting annoyed with the grin she was giving him.
Emma pondered a bit. "Your selflessness," She said.
Ray snorted. "Me? Selfless? Are you kidding me?"
Emma glared at him. "I'm not done yet!"
Ray raised his hands up and shugged innocently.
"You knew that Grace Field House was a farm for years," Emma started. "You could have escaped by yourself, you're smart enough for that. But instead, you decided to risk telling me and Norman. You didn't tell us for years though so that we could live our childhood happily, right? You wanted us to live without fear of the demons, something that you've never had the chance to do, right?"
"And when it came time to escape, we learned that you never planned on coming with us. You... just wanted us to escape. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for our successful escape. You wanted to distract Mama. You really loved us that much, Ray. Don't put yourself down like that. You... You're selfless." Emma told him, her gaze never leaving.
Ray couldn't bare look into those green eyes anymore. He looked away, the blush in his face getting hotter.
He wasn't expecting that. He never would have expected those words to come out of her mouth. For her to understand his intentions. For her to know just how hard he worked... 365 days a year. He had to admit, those words really resonated with him.
"Next challenge," Ray told her before she could compliment him more. He wouldn't be able to handle it if she did.
Emma looked down at the book and flipped to the next page. "Hold hands," Emma said.
"I don't want to!"
"Ray!"
Ray groaned as Emma held her hand out expectantly. He stared at it, almost stupidly. What a dumb book. Making him hold her hand?
Ray sighed and gave up protesting. He cautiously reached out and touched her hand. He hesitated as he held her hand in his as if he was handling the most fragile thing in the world. He stared softly at the hands linked together.
Sure he's held her hand in the past. But something was obviously different. Has he ever hesitated like this? It was just Emma's hand. But was it always this soft? He kinda wanted to squeeze tighter. He wanted to touch every little finger. Compare his hand to hers.
Ray felt stupid for even letting those thoughts come into his head. Ray let go of her hand and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Next challenge," Ray said.
Emma flipped the page again. "Lap pillow," Emma said.
"No!"
"Ray!" Emma cried again.
"No, no, no!" Ray yelled, getting up from his seat. He pointed at the book. "What kinda book is that?! I'm not doing it! Skip it!"
"It's a perfectly fine friendship thing to do!" Emma defended, hugging the book.
"No! I'm telling you, that book is weird!"
"Pleeaaassseee!" Emma begged.
Ray clicked his tongue again. Emma was looking at him with those round, green eyes again. Those eyes he could never say no to.
Ray groaned and plopped down on his seat. "Fine! How are we doing this?"
Emma placed the book on the table next to her. She pulled her chair up right next to Ray and sat down, casually brushing up against his shoulder, though it made Ray flinch. Ray didn't know what to make of this contact. Just her touch sent shivers up his spine. "I'll just put my head on your legs," Emma told him.
"Have it your way," Ray scoffed.
Emma did just that. She twirled in her seat so that she was sitting with her back facing Ray, then she plopped her head on his legs, a wide smile on her face.
"This is ridiculous," Ray told her as she looked up at him innocently.
"I like this," Emma said with a giggle. "Your legs are warm. It's pretty comfortable."
Emma stayed there for a while, eyes closed. Ray watched her breath in and out. Though he had to admit, it was a little cute to see how much she liked being around him. Then, Emma snuggled into his legs, causing Ray to gasp.
No.
It was just too weird. Ray felt weird.
Sure he should be comfortable being around her at this point, but not as of recently. Recently, when she did things like this, it completely threw him off.
"Next!" Ray yelled, pushing Emma's head off him.
Emma pouted but sat up. She moved her chair to be in front of Ray again before opening up the book and flipping to the next challenge.
"Next challenge is an indirect kiss," Emma said.
Ray gasped yet again when Emma whirled her head towards the tea he was drinking previously. She was just about to grab it when Ray instinctively reached out and yanked it away before she could touch it.
Emma glared at him. "Ray, give it back!" Emma yelled.
"No! That's a weird challenge! What kind of friends need indirect kisses?!" Ray protested.
"It just shows how comfortable friends can be with each other!" Emma said.
Ray narrowed his eyes. "Let me see that book!" Ray said, holding out his hand.
Emma hugged the book. "No! Reading them is my job!"
Ray groaned once more and gave Emma his tea. She put the book on the table and held the tea with both hands.
Ray already knew why he was feeling so weirded out. He had a realization as the challenges came by.
Now that he thought about it, where has he seen that book before? Indeed, it was on one of the top shelves like she said. And sure enough, Ray has peered into that book before. He remembered it's contents too. Ray was good at memorization, after all. Not like that book needed any.
So what was Emma's plan? Did he want her to continue on with this plan?
His decision only took a second. He did want her to continue with whatever she had in mind. He admits, he thought about it with her before. Just like Emma, maybe he needed to confirm it too. He's thought about this multiple times in the past, after all.
If her plan really was what Ray had in mind, then two could play this game.
Emma peered into the drink in her hands while Ray stared at her. "What kind of tea?" Emma asked, looking closely into the cup.
"Oolong tea," Ray told her.
"I thought you didn't like oolong tea," Emma said as she sipped the cup happily. Ray watched as her little lips touched the part of the cup he had been sipping from.
"I don't, but I know you do," Ray told her.
Emma almost spit out her tea. Ray saw her look at him with bewildered eyes, a slight blush in her face that Ray could only laugh at.
"You're drinking it because I like it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What would you do if I said yes?" Ray asked with a smirk.
Emma paused for a moment. "Nothing," She said, waving her hand in a motion as if she was brushing off the subject. "Let's move on."
Emma opened the book next to her and flipped to the following page. Ray saw Emma pause, a hint of pink coming into her cheeks. "It... The book says the next challenge is hugging," Emma said.
Ray got up from his seat and held his arms out. "Let's get on with it." He told her.
Emma looked at him with shock, obviously surprised with his change of attitude. "You're okay with it?" She asked.
Ray nodded at her question.
"You don't think this is weird?" Emma asked, getting up from her seat, squeezing the book tight, the pink in her cheeks getting darker by the minute.
"I would never think of hugging you as weird, Emma," Ray told her. Emma gasped at his words and took a step back.
Emma glared at him. "Ray, now you're being weird," Emma told him.
Ray looked at her. "Then do you want us to stop?" He asked.
Emma paused and looked away before shaking her head. "Don't stop," Emma said.
Ray grunted and motioned her in with his hands. Emma cautiously stepped closer, still squeezing the book tight. When she stood in front of Ray, he wrapped his arms around her. He placed one hand around her back and the other on the back of her head. He squeezed her tightly.
Ray could hear the drumming of his heart in his ears. Hugging... what an awkward gesture. Still, it was just as good as he imagined. As comforting as he had hoped.
"Ray... You already found out, didn't you?" Emma asked softly, speaking against his ear.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ray replied in just as soft as a voice. He stroked the back of her head, playing with her hairs.
Ray heard Emma chuckle. "I know you too well, Ray," She replied. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Ray nodded against her shoulder. "You dummy, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't wonder it myself, just like you. Guess we're both thinking the same thing then?"
Ray let go of her head and stepped back a bit so that they could look at each other in the eyes. Although, he held onto her waist, not letting Emma go.
"So, what's the next challenge?" Ray asked.
Emma blushed even harder. She looked down, not meeting Ray's eyes. "The next challenge..." Emma mumbled.
Emma gulped, then Ray heard the faintest whisper. If his senses weren't all enhanced, if the room wasn't as quiet as it was, he might have even missed it.
"Kiss me."
Ray slowly moved his hands off of her, only to move them so that he could cup her face. He pulled her face up to look at him, and he could see that her face was beet-red, though Ray was sure his own face was no better. Her eyes looked to the side. She wouldn't look him directly in the eyes.
Ray slowly used one hand to move a piece of hair that was sticking onto her face. Emma flinched and looked at him.
"Are you sure?" Ray whispered, touching her forehead with his own. "You can't take this back, you know."
"I'm sure," Emma whispered back.
That sealed the deal. Ray moved a little bit closer and brushed his lips up against hers. He kissed her once and moved back. His face was flaring by now, he could feel it up to his ears.
But when Ray caught a glimpse of her reaction, Ray knew his suspicions were correct. "How long have you been planning this?" Ray asked with a laugh.
"Ever since I realized my feelings for you," Emma said. Ray saw the blush in her face. But more importantly, he saw the smile on her lips. The confidence in her eyes. The little things that he loved about her.
"You got me," Ray replied, knocking his forehead onto hers again. "I admit, if you haven't done this, I might not have ever made a move or even realized I felt the same way. You're full of surprises, just like always."
Emma laughed as Ray leaned in close again. He closed his eyes and devoured her in his kiss. Ray was passionately locking their lips together.
Emma dropped the book and reached up to cup Ray's face in her hands, pulling him in closer.
The book that Emma dropped lay flat on it's back, pages spread open.
And each page was blank.