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The sound of the crowd was deafening, and the smell of burnt marshmallow filled your nose as you ran through the sea of people.
Where was he? Was Ray alright? Had he made it down after that crazy explosion? You tried to stand on tiptoe and see above the crowd, but to no avail. People were sitting on the shoulders of others, all trying to catch the same glimpse.
There was Peter stealing a kiss from Dana, Janine hurrying into Egon’s arms for a kiss, Winston waving and shaking hands…your chest started to tighten.
Was he alright? Did he get rushed off in an ambulance or something? No, the guys would be following close behind if that were the case.
Finally, you spotted him, lighting a cigarette and still somehow all in one piece.
Your legs were carrying you toward him in a split second, as if you didn’t even have a moment to stop and think.
“Ray!” You cried out, his eyes darting around until he found you. Before he could respond, however, you crashed into him for a hug, not caring at all about the marshmallow on his uniform that was now getting on your coat.
“Woah! Hey, I’m so glad you’re here!” He said, tossing his cigarette to the ground as he hugged you back. You two had never been all that affectionate before now, really. You were just a close friend of all of the guys, coming around to bring them lunches or lab supplies.
Hell, if it weren’t for you and Janine, those guys probably wouldn’t eat regular meals or remember to sleep half the time, so you supposed it made sense that you felt protective in regards to Ray.
That was disregarding the gigantic crush you were harboring, of course. Hearing him say he was glad to see you made your stomach flutter in a way you couldn’t ignore, pulling back to look into his eyes.
“Are you okay? There was this huge explosion, and I saw you guys nearly fall off, I couldn’t find you, I-“
“Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m here now, we all are,” he said, doing his best to calm you down despite the fact that he was the one who very well could’ve just died. “What about you?”
“Me? I wasn’t the one who had to face some crusty Sumerian god! I thought I’d never see you again!”
You wiped at your eyes, not realizing they’d become damp with tears at the thought of him getting hurt. Of course, you wanted all of the guys to make it out of there, but the idea of losing Ray had especially terrified you.
His dark eyebrows knitted together in concern when he saw this, and he returned to hugging you tightly in the hopes of soothing you.
“Hey, it’s okay, come on now…”
“I know, I know, it’s just...I mean, you guys always end up in these situations and it never gets any less intimidating.”
“No kidding,” he chuckled, brushing some stray marshmallow off of his forehead.
“What on earth am I gonna do with you, Ray?” You were teasing, of course, but couldn’t help noticing the look in his eyes that you couldn’t quite make out.
Ray himself had felt the same way about you for a long time, and when he realized he might never make it back to you up there it had scared him shitless, as Venkman would’ve said.
Now, you were here in his arms and he knew that life was far too short not to take a few chances.
The both of you tried to speak at once after a beat, causing you to laugh as you used your sleeve to dry your cheeks.
“Look, um...being up there made me realize a lot of things. And I figure that if I wait too long to say them it’ll eventually be too late,” he began, and you looked at him slightly confused. “I just...I like you. A lot. And I’d like for us to spend time together as more than just friends, if that’s alright with you.”
Was he seriously saying this? You almost couldn’t believe it. Then again, in all the time you’d known him, you had learned that Ray never said anything he didn’t mean.
Besides, would he still be holding you if he was joking about all of this? Oh god, that’s what he was doing, wasn’t it? You could’ve melted into a puddle had he not been propping you up.
“Yeah, I...I’d like that.” What a rollercoaster today had been. You had gone from tears to smiles in a matter of minutes, but it didn’t matter. You would take the chaos any day if it meant keeping him here.
Your eyes met once more, and within an instant, the two of you wordlessly moved in for a kiss. It was nothing over the top, just a pressing of lips and feeling like you needed to be close to make absolutely sure that nothing ever separated you again. As you parted, you shared a smile, heading back towards the Ecto-1.
“You know, this marshmallow is never coming out of that uniform.” You gave one last sniffle, laughing as you waited for the other Ghostbusters to join the two of you.
“Will it come out of my hair?”
“I guess we’ll find out!”
“I think you’re the only girl I’ve ever met who could get slime and marshmallow out of someone’s hair. Or was willing to try, at least.”
“Well, someone has to look after you, Janine can’t do it all on her own.” Ray squeezed your hand as you said this, and despite all of the inevitable mess the guys would have to deal with later, all you could feel was elation in that moment. Punctuated by another kiss that tasted faintly of cigarettes and marshmallows, of course.