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Emma sighed and looked up from the book. Being on the lookout wasn’t the most fun way to spend an evening, but after her gaze landed on the monitor of the surveillance cameras, she felt a pang of guilt swirling inside. Some had it ultimately worse now. The severe rain with horrifying winds abruptly descended onto the desert, making Emma shiver after only looking at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
And you two just had to schedule that scouting trip for today? The fiery-haired girl thought, her imagination immediately putting up pictures of Norman and Ray getting soaked in the blink of an eye. She could only pray that those genius dorks didn’t forget their raincoats.
After seeing how the cruel and sudden weather came crashing down on the world around them, Emma couldn’t avert her eyes from the screen anymore, waiting for the boys to finally show up. After all she couldn’t not worry about her closest friend and her boyfriend being out when everything turned from bad to worse seemingly out of nowhere.
Another 20 minutes had passed, and the rain was seemingly planning to go on for another eternity to no end.
Emma sighed, irritated. She stood up to stretch a bit, long sitting made her legs stiff and the growing worry just wouldn’t let her stay seated for long. Eventually Emma started pacing the room while still paying very close attention to the screen.
Another 10 minutes of aggressive walking back and forth didn’t help the boys to arrive, but it certainly helped to let some of her accumulated frustration out. She returned to the screen and sank back into the chair, a long disheartened groan finding its way out of her lungs.
A burn started in her eyes, forcing her to blink a few times when she realized she was probably staring a bit too hard. Two dark figures came into view on screen and she immediately jumped out of her chair, watching them struggle to get through the bitter wind and heavy rain. Emma felt a wave of mixed feelings wash over her entire self. For one, she felt relieved that these two finally showed up. For the other, she was angry that they hadn’t come back sooner.
Emma, controlled by the mixed feelings inside, stormed out of the surveillance room and rushed towards the shelter entrance they’d soon arrive at. In just one short minute Emma was already standing under the hatch leading outside. While she was trying to catch her breath from running way too fast, she heard the metal creaking above like talons slowly dragging across its surface, making her cringe from the unpleasant wave of shivers running down her spine. Norman made his way down first and a lot was odd in his appearance. First of all, his coat was missing, but he didn’t seem to mind that at all. She noticed water dripping from his snowy hair in streams and his shirt being soaked, but the expression on his face didn’t show any displeasure whatsoever.
“Norman? What happened to your coat?” Emma asked, utterly confused. “Where’s Ray? What took you so long?” She kept bombarding him with questions.
Behind her wall of questions, she didn’t see nor hear how Ray slowly climbed down the ladder. When Emma finally did notice him, she had two opposite urges.The first wanted her to flinch away. The second wanted her to throw herself right at her dumb boyfriend. One look at him made Emma feel cold down to her toes. Ray was standing in front of her, crooked, his entire body shivering, his face and fingers looked not just pale, but snowy white.
“So…” Norman tried to explain, letting out a short chuckle to diffuse the building tension around Emma’s gaze.
“I… I… We…” Ray muttered, but couldn’t convey a single word.
Emma sighed deeply, trying to determine the best course of action, which included that a pair of someone’s were getting smacked later. She closed the few steps between her and Ray and helped him to get rid of the soaked coat. It helped to solve the mystery of Norman’s missing one, because Ray was wearing them both Now, it was fairly obvious that Norman gave his to Ray.
Once Emma got rid of the coats and gave them both to Norman, she took his shivering hands into hers and gently squeezed them, trying to warm them even just a little. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his frozen and trembling fingers, hoping her breath would help. When she looked up and met his gaze again, she saw a weak, but infinitely grateful smile shining on his white lips and launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. His shirt was drenched and she felt her own getting wet as well, but she didn’t care.
“Okay, we need to do something about this,” Emma broke the silence, not letting go of him even though she could feel that her own shirt was already half soaked. Which could lead to fun consequences , she thought idly, but all the more reason to still not care. “And do it fast.” She added, feeling that Ray’s trembling was already getting worse.
“Got it, what do you want me to do?” Norman asked, fully determined to help.
“You prepare something hot for him to eat,” Emma instructed him, hugging Ray’s shoulder. “I’ll help him to change and get back to you.”
“Something hot, huh?” Ray managed to say. “How’s he going to prepare you, Emma?” He chuckled.
“Oh shush, you.” She nudged him slightly with her elbow. “Anyway, will you help me here?”
“Sure will!” Norman agreed, smiling happily at how cute these two were.
Emma flashed him a quick and warm smile, leading Ray to his room.
“See you in five, N!” She added, turning around the corner.
“Yeah, right. Make it at least 20, I suppose.” He chuckled to himself, heading to the kitchen.
***
As soon as they made it to his room, Emma closed the door safely behind them and grabbed a towel, taking note of how badly Ray shivered. She tried, unsuccessfully, to pay no mind to the way his soaked shirt stuck to his skin, framing his muscles in a very revealing and mesmerizing way. Her gaze now fixated to his abdomen.
“Em-ma?” his shaking voice snapped her back to reality. “N-not that I mind you staring me down, but I am definitely not getting any warmer just standing here.” Ray hugged his own shoulders, his lips trembling from cold.
“Eep!” Emma squeaked, nearly jumping up, startled. “Sorry!” She cleared her throat, looking down at the long bright-pink towel she got him a while back. “Okay, get undressed!” Emma blurted out without thinking. Ray immediately looked her in the eyes, obviously amused by her proposition. For a solid few seconds she was just blinking back at him, silently considering what she said. Once she processed the situation, her brain adapted the best tactic possible making her throw the towel she’d been holding at his face.
“Appreciate it,” Ray caught the towel before it hit him and rubbed his face with it. “But I kinda had something else in mind.” He put the towel on the chair besides him. “You see, I do need your help in that,” Ray raised his shaking hands to show that there’s no way he can change himself.
“Oh, right.” She felt her cheeks getting warmer by the mere thought that she’d be helping him get undressed .
Emma closed the distance between them and for a few seconds watched him aggressively rubbing his hair with the towel. After he took it away and looked back at her, she couldn’t contain her laughter, seeing how tangled his wet hair was.
“What’s wrong?” He pouted, still shivering from cold.
“Nothing, it’s just you’re so cute I can’t help it!” Emma leaned in to him, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. She took his still cold and shaky hands in hers, finally gathering enough courage to help him get undressed. A long deep breath. “Alright, mr. Handsome! You are under arrest for being too damn cute! Hands in the air!” Emma winked at him, while aiming at him with her fingers.
Taken aback, he immediately swung his hands up above his head. And for a few seconds he just froze in that position.
“You!” He let out a defeated sigh and tried to lower his hands, but Emma stopped him, holding them up high.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Emma laughed, slowly lowering her hands, tracing the edges of his wet shirt. She could feel the small tremors refusing to leave his body. And again she found herself staring at his abs. It took her an immeasurable amount of sheer will to snap back to reality.Still clutching onto the slightly wet towel, she placed it over his head, hiding his face. “Here, hold this.”
After saving herself from his gaze, she slowly touched the edge of his soaking wet shirt, rolling it up slightly. At the sight of his naked skin her cheeks flushed almost assuming the color of her hair. Sensing how the courage she'd been gathering for so long fled her mind in a blink of an eye, Emma decided that she needed to act faster before ending up just staring at his body again. In one quick move she rolled his shirt high up to his arms, trying her best to look at anything but his pale skin. Pulling him towards herself she was finally able to get the shirt off him. The wet fabric in her hands was almost dripping water. She couldn’t have imagined how he must have felt travelling all the way back from their trip in this state.
“Ri-i-ight.” She tried to say something, but the initial thought went someplace else after her gaze landed onto his chest. The way the drops of water on his skin shone in the warm light of the room kept her mesmerized for a solid few… Seconds? Hours? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to stop looking. In fact, she was one mere movement away from letting her hands finally touch his chest. And she knew once she allowed it, she wouldn’t be able to stop. Her already raised hands gently brushed his chest, her fingertips moving in a featherlight touch against the firm muscle there. The shaky sigh he let out snapped her back to reality. Something in his voice made everything in her mind look super insignificant, making him and his near-popsicle state the most important thing for now.
As it should’ve been in the first place, she thought reproachfully.
“Sorry,” Emma let out a short chuckle, shaking her head slightly. “I seem to be getting carried away too often. I hope you understand.” she added, biting her lower lip and continuing to softly caress his chest.
“Yeah, I t-think I perfectly understand y-you,” Ray managed to get the words out from behind his chattering teeth. He felt how his body finally started warming up, but with that warmth also came an overwhelming feeling of faintness. His gaze slipped down, the sight of her wet shirt now beautifully displaying all of her gorgeous form. Ray felt that his cheeks were nearly on fire and he only started to wonder how noticeable it was when a sudden wave of weakness to his knees made him stumble. And he would have fallen, but Emma, with her quick reaction and strong muscles, kept him standing.
“Woah, Ray, are you okay?” she exclaimed in panic, holding him closer.
“I am most certainly…” he tried to say, but a sudden cough made the words get lost in his throat, causing him to clutch at her arms. “Not okay, just a little tired.” Ray managed to finish, still coughing.
“Yeah, sure.” Emma said, pushing him towards the bed. “There.” She put a towel on his shoulder and started rubbing softly, slowly coming back to his chest. By that point her face was already on fire, camouflaging itself with her hair, yet Ray either didn’t notice or chose not to comment on it to tease her as he usually would have. When she was satisfied with her work, she tossed the wet towel over her shoulder and gave Ray a quick kiss on the lips.
“I trust you can take care of those,” she pointed her finger down towards his soaked pants.
“Well you c-could…” He tried to say, but stopped halfway through, cheeks flushing.
“We’re not quite there yet, sunshine,” she laughed, ruffling his wet hair slightly. “But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
She looked down, regarding herself and noting how wet her own shirt had become.
No wonder why he got excited too. She thought, smiling a little.
“Alright-y!” Emma shook her head. “You take care of this,” she said, again pointing toward his pants. “And I’ll go get changed and be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” Ray nodded.
“Great.” She made a few steps towards the door, but suddenly turned back to him. “And one more thing, when I come back, I expect to see you in bed.” It took her a couple of seconds to understand that her words came out wrong. Not daring to look him in the eyes, Emma stormed out of the door.
“Yeah, same,” Ray chuckled to himself, already struggling out of his pants the second his girlfriend left the room.
***
Norman was spending his time making a quick dinner for Ray, while also humming happily to himself, but the sight he caught in his peripheral vision made him stop. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the flash of a pure orange blur run past the door frame. The following loud sound of the door made him worried, so he decided to go check on her.
“Emma, are you alright?” He asked loudly after knocking on the door of her room.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Norman heard her voice. “Give me a moment, I need to change real quick!”
“Sure thing, I’ll wait for you in the kitchen, okay?”
“No need to!” Emma opened the door quickly and flashed him a sweet smile. “So, what do you think?” She turned around so Norman could see the outfit she picked.
He looked at her from head to foot and just couldn’t contain a quiet whistle.
She was wearing one of Ray's shirts with a few buttons undone at the top. The calm baby blue color of the fabric perfectly balanced the rage of her fiery orange hair. The shirt was too big and long for her, so in the end it looked slightly baggy, but was still highlighting all of her curves with her brown shorts just barely peeking from under the ends of the fabric. Somehow with that outfit, she managed to pull off being amazingly cute, stunningly pretty and murderously hot. All at the same time.
Emma looked closely at the astonished expression at Norman’s face and clapped her hands, jumping excitedly.
“That is exactly what I was going for!” She exclaimed happily and quickly hugged Norman. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“I think he’ll die, you look stunning!” Norman said with a smile when Emma released him. “Speaking of which. How is he?”
“Well…” Emma said, wrinkling her nose. “I’m afraid he might be getting a cold after your little adventure. How come YOU feel perfectly well?”
“Do you want me to feel bad?” Norman asked seriously, looking her straight in the eyes.
“I…” she flushed, feeling embarrassed for her words. “I don’t. Sorry, N.”
He suddenly burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding, Emma,” he sighed happily, ruffling her hair slightly. “You know I love you. Now go! Don't make him wait any longer.”
“Will do!” She jumped up excitedly. “Thank you, Norman!” the girl added, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and hastily running away.
***
Emma opened the door to Ray’s room, humming happily to herself, and waltzed inside. She smiled satisfied, noticing that her boyfriend had decided not to oppose her orders (poorly worded orders, but still) and was already in bed.
When she walked in, Emma noticed that his gaze was immediately fixated to her and her special blow-Ray’s-mind outfit. She could’ve sworn she saw his cheeks redden instantly.
“Emma!” He coughed slightly, nearly jumping up on his bed. “You look beautiful… Are you planning to…” His voice trailed off as he tilted his head slightly, carefully looking at her. “Is that my shirt?” he asked, surprised.
“Sure is!” She exclaimed happily.
“How did you?...” confusion mixed with amusement on his face was as clear as day. “When?”
I stole it while you were gone, silly. Emma thought to herself, smirking slightly.
“Sunshine, you don’t really want to know.” she said instead, coming closer to his bed. “So, how are we feeling?” She cooed softly and sat on the edge of the bed, taking his hand.
Ray threaded his fingers through hers, squeezing gently, “I appreciate your concern,” his thumb caressed the top of her hand, “but I’m fine, really. Just a little tired.”
"Yeah that's not up to you to decide." She smiled contently, not buying his tough guy act for a second, and placing her free hand to his forehead. The calm expression on her face was rapidly replaced with a look of deep concern. “Oh boy,” she sighed, slowly stroking his still damp hair. “That doesn’t feel too good. You’re already too warm.”
“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly, feeling her shift to stand and keeping a firm hold of her hand to stop her, “Babe,” his words died out, crashing into the wall of her unconvinced, unimpressed, green eyes. Cupping her cheek, he watched her eyes soften, “I just need to sleep it off.”
She sighed, placing her hand over his and rolling her eyes. She didn’t believe him for a second. He gave her a smile that melted her heart, soft and sure and filled with the unspoken words she knew so well. “O-o-okay,” she muttered, kicking herself for stuttering, but for now she’d let it go. Damn him and that smile. “But Norman’s been preparing food for us, aren’t you hungry?”
“I am, I am.” Ray unsuccessfully tried to blink away sleepiness already unveiling on him. “I just need to lay down for a few minutes.” He added, laying his head on the pillow and letting out a relieved sigh. “Wake me up in like ten minutes please.” He said, his voice already trailing off, fingers half-consciously grabbing the edges of the blanket.
A soft smile crawled into the corners of her lips as she took the blanket, tucking in her boyfriend carefully. “Sure thing, honey.” Emma added, slowly caressing his tangled hair, watching him slowly fall asleep as she kept holding his hand.
Like hell I will, dummy. She thought to herself, yawning peacefully. Emma wasn’t sure she wouldn’t disturb him if she’d tried to lay down near him properly. So instead she just laid her head in his lap, closing her eyes, her hand never leaving his. In the end, giving in to the growing serene feeling of drowsiness, she decided that there was nothing wrong with a little nap. Besides, if he suddenly felt worse, she would already be right by his side.
***
Norman sighed, closing the last few steps to the door of Ray’s room. Food that Emma asked him to prepare was long ready, but even after the generous 20 minute time frame that he originally gave to these two, neither of them showed up. hat was the only reason why he decided to check up on them.
He raised his hand to knock, but hesitated, holding his hand up in the air for another few seconds. He had a pretty good idea about what to expect on the other side of the door. With that thought, he closed his eyes, listening very closely to every sound behind it. He didn’t hear anything that made him change his mind about knocking but wasn’t completely convinced yet. With another deep sigh, Norman pushed open the door and walked in, taking a precaution of keeping his eyes closed just in case.
Inside, he, still not daring to look, carefully and silently closed the door behind him. When it finally caught his attention that there was no reaction to his appearance, Norman finally decided to open his eyes. Looking around the room, his gaze fixated on the couple peacefully sleeping on the bed. He smiled, letting out a relieved sigh. That was exactly what he expected to see. Norman came closer to the bed, checking to make sure that the two were okay.
He immediately noted the awkward position Emma was sleeping in, but judging by the happy smile on her face, she wasn’t really uncomfortable. Although sleeping in that crooked pose wouldn’t do much good even for her, so he decided that he had to do something about it. But first, he pressed his palm carefully to Ray’s forehead.
So Emma wasn’t wrong, he did catch a cold. Norman thought to himself, shaking his head frustratedly.
“Okay, here goes.” He whispered and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, immediately trying to move Ray slightly closer to the edge of the bed to make enough room for Emma. He struggled a lot with that move, lacking upper body strength, but he only needed to move him a couple of inches closer to himself, so he put his best effort forward.
Damn, Ray, you’re heavier than you look. Norman thought, chuckling under his breath.
After successfully moving his friend just enough and almost getting smacked by his hands, Norman stretched up and looked closely at Ray's face to see if that woke him up. Uneasy soft murmuring of the blackhaired guy touched his ears, but apart from that momentary discontent, the boy was still sound asleep.
Sighing in relief, Norman walked around the bed and decided to take on a slightly different approach with Emma. Ray may have tried swatting him away, but Emma would likely use fists, and it wasn’t a bet he was willing to make at the moment.
He leaned in slightly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Listening to her steady breath, Norman felt an enormous wave of guilt wash over him for what he was about to do.
“Hey, Emma,” he spoke up softly, shaking her hand slightly.
“Huh?” she mumbled, immediately opening her eyes and looking at him, utterly confused and more than half-asleep. “Norman? What happened?”
“Shh, it’s okay.” he tried to calm her down, stroking her hair gently. “I just wanted to tell you to move a bit, the sleeping position you opted for to doesn’t look too comfortable.”
“Oh?” she sat up, looking at Ray and herself. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Emma added, stretching up and noting that her neck already felt stiff. “Thank you, N,” she whispered happily, moving up in bed and hastily sneaking up under the blanket to hug her boyfriend as tight as she could.
“You’re welcome, Emma.” he smiled happily, coming closer to help tuck Emma in. He made sure that the blanket was securely covering them both and he, satisfied, stretched up and was ready to leave.
“Hey, Norman.” her soft voice stopped him. “Thank you. And sorry I fell asleep here. I knew you were waiting.”
“Don’t be, I’m glad you fell asleep with him.” He beamed at her, carefully caressing her shoulder. “To be honest, I half-expected that to happen. Apparently you both need to catch on some rest. So don’t worry about anything and sleep, I’ll check on you two in the morning.”
“Thanks.” she yawned, already drifting back to sleep. “You’re the best, love you.”
Norman smiled, feeling his cheeks warm up at the compliment. “I love you too, my dorks.” He chuckled quietly and walked out of the room, leaving them both in the safe and warm hands of each other.
***
Ray peers over the book in his hand, shaking his head at Emma’s attempt to outsmart Norman. The rest of their siblings watch on in awe, but everyone is silent.
He can see the board clearly from his perch underneath the tree, and rolls his eyes to himself. He’s amused by her attempt, but her strategy is lacking. Not that he’s surprised. He lifts the book a little higher and smirks to himself. Norman will have her beat in less than three moves. He’d bet on it.
Suddenly there is a familiar chuckle, along with a screech. He shakes his head, hearing Emma complain about how Norman could have won again. He closes the book with a snap, staring up at the darkening sky. He hadn’t even noticed how late it had gotten. As he stands, he closes his eyes and gets ready to join the others.
A familiar voice comes from behind him, chilling him to the core, “It’s time Ray.”
His eyes snapped open, the darkness of night not being pierced even by stars in the sky. He steps back, the familiar hill a sight that now brings his stomach to his throat. The acid burns with every breath, the weight of this moment pressing heavily around him, consuming the warmth from his bones. He steps back again, and a firm hand touches the space between his shoulders, but he doesn’t dare to turn around. He knows that she walks the next sacrifice down, but seeing her would make it too real. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He starts to take shallow breaths, clenching his shaking hands into fists to try and gather any last vestiges of courage.
“Walk. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She says behind him, urging him on.
His feet move against his will, taking him down the unmarked path of death that so many others had walked before him.
The lights on either side of the gate glow brighter as they approach through the darkness. He thinks idly that it’s ironic. The light at the end of the tunnel that is supposed to be a symbol of warmth and safety, is nothing more than a cold unfeeling promise of a certain end.
He feels his eyes begin to burn, every blink increasing the darkness around him, leaving no option to run but forward, to the gleam of silver gates in front of him.
“Mom.” He barely manages to force out, his voice tight, “This wasn’t the deal. You promised… you promised me,”
“You were a good dog.” Her hand finds the top of his head, running her fingers through his hair, “But you’ve outlived your usefulness.” The should-be soothing motions of her hand sends ice down his spine.
“Did you really think I’d let you succeed?” She asks, her voice no longer carrying the motherly tone she’d perfected. “This was inevitable Ray. Accept your fate. You were born to die, just like Norman did,” he felt her lips press to the back of his head, and he could feel the smile in her words, “and like Emma will after you.”
Screeching metal echoes as the gates rise, his eyes widening in horror at her words. “You failed.”
Red eyes gleam hungrily from the darkness, the low glint of teeth shining like knives as the guttural growl pierces what’s left of his will to fight back.
You failed. Mom’s words echo around him as he steps back, his back ramming into cold, closed bars. He turns, slamming his fist into bars, not caring that the cold metal bites into his skin, “MOM!”
She’s already turning away from the gate, not even flinching at his cry, “PLEASE, don’t let this happen to Emma! I’m your son, listen to me! Don’t let this happen to her please, I’m begging you! Mom! MOM!”
It falls on deaf ears as the hoarse growl inches closer, his throat tightening as he turns back in slow motion. His entire body protested the movement, the piercing of a thousand needles bearing down on him.
You failed.
No words form, his stomach turning at his failure, and still in the last moments of life wondering what he could have done. How he could have done more.
You failed.
A scent of decay washes over him as the gleam of red eyes fills his blurring vision. He didn’t want this for her. He never wanted this to be her fate, to be Norman’s fate. Hot tears burn as they travel down his cheeks, knowing that he’s the reason this will happen to Emma.
You failed her .
He shuts his eyes against the sea of the red abyss spread before him, wanting her face to be the last thing on his mind as he waits for the demon to him. “Emma.”
“Ray…” her voice responds.
His eyes snap open, the sun rising behind her and filling the open forest with magnificent light, a light they thought they’d never get to see.
She stares down at him with the softest smile, her eyes a light with the joy he’d tried so desperately to keep from being lost from the world, and offered him her hand, “Let’s go home.”
***
Ray’s eyes pop open, feeling as if his entire body was on fire, his throat revolting against him. It took him a solid few seconds to realise that he just woke from a dream. A nightmare. He immediately tried to sit up on his bed, but something heavy, laying on his chest prevented him from doing so. Someone warm and soft was pinning him down to bed, hands wrapped tightly around his waist, hot and steady breath tickling the skin of his neck softly.
He looked down and saw Emma sleeping soundly in his own arms. Smiling, he’s for a moment captivated by the gorgeous look of his sleeping girlfriend. He raised his free hand to brush away strands of fiery orange hair falling down over her eyes.
He definitely was not feeling too well and realized that Emma probably figured that out too, which explained why she’s still here. She'd stayed with him, holding his hand, eventually falling asleep near him, and his heart flipped. Nothing could express just how much he loved this girl.
“Emma? Wake up.” He called out, gently shaking her shoulder until she raised her head, looking at him with her eye closed and a sleepy smile across her lips.
“Hey, you.” She cooed happily. Emma rubbed her eyes, suddenly remembering why she wasn’t in her bed, but in Ray’s. “You!” She jumped up and first put her hand to Ray’s forehead then pressed her lips to it. “Oh my god, Ray, you’re burning up!” She gasped.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Ray laughed, but only got a judging look from Emma. “But seriously, I’m fine. Besides I’ve got a lot to do today.” Saying that he coughed, immediately trying to get up and nearly got smacked by his girlfriend.
“You’re not fine. You caught a cold, dummy.” She scolded, pinning him down back to bed. “You’re staying in bed today. No, scratch that! You’re staying in bed until you’re back to health, mister!”
“Woah,” he gasps at first, but then smirks at her. “Sorry, I disobeyed the doctor’s orders.”
“These are not the doctor’s orders.” She smiled back at him. “These are the girlfriend’s orders. Which are higher priority, but now they just coincide with the doctor’s ones.”
“Okay-okay. Got it, staying in bed.” Ray relaxed under the blanket and took her hand, no matter the heat of his own body, he still felt how warm her hand was. He looked at Emma again, noticing that still sleepy face, hair tangled more than usual, that warm, admiring and caring smile and her big green eyes filled with concern, determination and love. “Are there any other girlfriend prescriptions?” He laughed.
“Well,” She smiled, thoughtfully tapping her chin. “In fact, there are.” She sat on the bed, laying her head on his chest. “First, you need to eat, then you need to take some medicine. Then, of course, getting sufficiently hydrated. And…” Her voice trailed off, checks flushed just a bit as a vicious smile plastered on her lips.
“And?” Ray tried to sit up in his bed, but Emma was still holding him down gently, but firmly, not leaving much room for movement. He knew better than trying to struggle away, so he just gave her the best ingratiating smile his body was capable of at that moment.
“A-a-and,” She smirked, sneaking under the blanket to hug him as tight as she could. Feeling the heat from his entire body, she raised her head and nuzzled into his neck, making him shiver and laugh. “we cuddle, of course!”
“Aw, Emma, you’re the sweetest,” Ray sighed sickly, but happily. He felt his cheeks flush and heat up more, even though he was sure it wasn’t possible. Yet there he was. Blushing more by the second, by every single move and word of his girlfriend. Her hot breath on his neck made a soft gasp escape his lips. “I don’t deserve you.”
“You keep talking like that and I’ll hit you with something very heavy,” Emma whispered contently, pressing her lips to his neck. “Or worse, I’ll tell Norman of your self-deprecating talks and he will beat the crap out of you.”
“Wow, Emma, cruel much?” Ray laughed, hugging her tighter and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
A few more minutes passed in silence, or maybe a few dozens of minutes. In his sickly and tired state, Ray wasn’t completely sure how many exactly, but he didn’t care much either.
“So,” he broke the happy silence between them. “Are we going to spend all day lying in bed?” Ray coughed again and sighed deeply in frustration. “Not that I mind, you know.”
“Huh?” Emma looked up at him, genuine surprise glowing in her emerald eyes. “Did you forget the plan already?”
“The plan?” He asked again.
Emma sighed and smiled at him. “Ray, love, I know you’re not feeling too well, but try to keep up. We’re not going to spend all day lying in bed. You are.”
“But…” Ray tried to protest, but Emma stopped him, gently pressing her hand to his lips.
“No, ‘buts’, dear,” Emma unwrapped herself from him, which was hard, nearly impossible, but she knew she had to. Standing up, she quickly kissed Ray on the forehead again. “Yeah, still burning up. Well then, I shall continue with the plan. Now…” The knock at the door interrupted her and she, caught by slight surprise, glanced at her watch. “I think I have a pretty good idea who that might be.”
With a soft yawn, Emma stretched out a bit and practically skipped to the door, trying her best not to notice her boyfriend’s frustrated expression.
In a moment Ray heard a familiar high-pitched sigh coming from the door.
“There you go, Emma,” Norman said and Ray saw how she outstretched her hand to take something from him. “How’s he doing?” The voice added, now sounding concerned.
Emma glanced back at Ray, looking surprised. She regarded him for a few seconds, smiled contently and returned her gaze back to Norman.
“He’ll be better in no time, trust me.” She answered.
“You should know that I always trust you, Emma.”
“Thanks, Norman,” she smiled at him and closed the door, coming back to Ray.
When she returned to him, he saw a glass of water and a handful of pills. Emma smiled at him and sat back on the edge of the bed, placing the glass on the bedside table.
“Okay, I know it’s a little inconvenient to take pills before eating something, but we don’t have much choice either. Here.” She helped him to sit up in bed and gave him the glass of water and a few small pills of different colors and shapes.
Ray hesitated for a moment, regarding the pills in his hand and after a few seconds swallowed them and almost emptied the glass. Ray cringed a bit at a sharp unpleasant feeling of pills traveling down his throat.
“Got it,” He announced proudly, hoping to get some reward from his girlfriend, who was looking at him expectantly.
“You certainly did, sunshine,” she giggled softly, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Right, so you stay here and try to get some rest and I’ll go make you a nice breakfast. Any preferences?”
“Uhm…” Ray hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Not really? I mean, probably something light, but otherwise I trust you with that completely.”
“I knew you would,” Emma smiled and quickly pressed her lips to his cheeks. “I’ll be right back!” She chirped, walking back to the door. Already halfway out, she turned around and looked Ray in the eyes, dead seriousness in her gaze. “You stay in bed, or I’ll make sure you regret it.” And in a blink of an eye, the wide smile returned to her lips and her green eyes were shining bright again. “Okay, love you, Ray!” she added and snuck out of the room.
Emma sighed happily, closing the door behind her. While she was walking down the hall she heard strange noises coming from the kitchen. Peeking in, she noticed Norman, already poking around the counters, gathering something.
“Hey, Norman,” the girl called out to him, drawing his attention to her. “Whatcha doing?”
“Morning, Emma!” the snowy haired boy turned around for a moment, flashing her a bright smile before returning his attention back to counters. “I figured you two could use some breakfast, so here I am.”
Emma blinked a few times, taken aback by how Norman just basically read her mind and was two steps ahead again. “Actually I was planning to make Ray some breakfast. What did you have in mind?”
“Uhm…” he gazed up at her again, thoughtfully knitting his brows together. “Well, considering everything, I’d say something light. Pancakes?”
“That’s actually genius!” Emma exclaimed, jumping up excitedly.
“Well, that’s who I am,” he answered, trying to sound tough, his obvious blush at the compliment not going unnoticed by Emma. “Want to help me cook?”
“You bet!” Emma replied, rolling up the sleeves of Ray's shirt.
***
His face contorted into one of extreme caution as he stared down at the tray of food she’d brought into his room. It looked edible, and smelled good, but this was Emma after all.
Ray blinked a few times, turning his gaze from the tray to her and back. He was napping peacefully, when Emma practically stormed into his room, announcing that the breakfast was ready and placing the said tray of food down on his lap.
“Did you make it… yourself?” He asked nervously, but was regretting his tone and word choice as soon as the words fell out of his mouth. “Sorry, that came out wrong!”
“Yeah, I don’t appreciate the insinuation, dear,” Emma scoffed, the only thing that stopped her from smacking that pretty face of his was the fact that he wasn’t feeling too well. “Just try it!” she pointed at the plate full of fresh pancakes and a cup of steaming hot black coffee. “Besides, Norman made sure I followed all the steps correctly.” Emma added proudly.
“O-okay.” Ray agreed, choosing one of the warm pancakes and taking a small bite. Immediately all of his taste buds on his tongue were engulfed in a pleasant fire. This was definitely the most tasty pancake he’d had in his entire life. Not losing any more time doubting Emma, he put the whole pancake into his mouth and started chewing. “Emma!” He tried to speak with his mouth full and was barely successful at it, but he didn’t care either. “This is delicious!” Ray added nearly choking on the pancake.
It startled her for a moment that her stupid boyfriend might actually choke on the food she made him.
“I’m okay! Okay!” he quickly swallowed the rest of the pancake and raised his hands defensively seeing the fear firing up in her eyes. “Sorry!”
Emma sighed in relief, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I could honestly hit you right now.” she threatened light heartedly.
“I know you won’t though,” he reasoned, beaming her a quick smile and motioning with the pancake in his hand towards her, “because you love me.”
“Fair point,” she shrugged, rolling her eyes at the obnoxious smirk on his face, but let a suppressed smile dance on her lips. “I do love you.”
“And I love you too!” Ray exclaimed happily, raising the cup of coffee and taking a short sip. It only took a moment for a quiet, satisfied moan to find a way out of his lungs. His eyes closed contently, letting the warm aroma circle around him. He took another sip, holding the cup between his cold hands as he told her softly, “You really are amazing. You know that?”
Emma felt fire ignite in her cheeks at his sincere tone, not able to look directly into his unwavering gaze. “I-It’s just breakfast.”
He put the cup down and touched the side of her head gently, letting the sunset strands fall through his fingers. She turned to him slowly, her heart hammering away in her chest.
“It’s not just breakfast.” He replied, using his thumb to caress the soft skin at her temple, “It’s your warmth, the love you so freely give to anyone who needs it,” he looked down, and she put her hand over his, “even if they don’t deserve it.”
“Ray,” she started, but he shook his head to keep her quiet.
“I know I don’t deserve you, and you prove day in and day out why,” a shy smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, “yet you love me anyways. Some days I wake up thinking I’m in a dream, and wonder when I’ll fall back into that dark reality.”
“It’s not a dream you idiot.” She whispered, leaning into his hand.
A soft, raspy chuckle spilled out of him, “I’m sick, so I’m definitely not an idiot.”
Her eyes narrowed but the way his eyes were boring into her soul kept her snarky retort from coming out. He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, watching her eyes close from the gentle contact. “You are one of the only constants in my life, one that I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you.”
She told him shakily, “Don’t talk like that. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.”
“Still,” he pressed a kiss to her temple, feeling her tremble, “You need to know how much you mean to me. How much I appreciate the little things you do,” he pressed his forehead to hers with his eyes closed, “yelling at me for having a fever, making me breakfast, sleeping next to me to make sure I slept…” he pulled back just so he could see the fire of her eyes. “Those are the things that make me fall in love with you all over again.”
She threw her arms around him, burying herself in his shoulder, “Stupid.”
He huffed out a single laugh, trapping her within the security of his arms, “Maybe, but only for you.”
She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, feeling the fever burning through him. His face was flushed and his eyes were glassy, his breath coming in small spurts. She smiled to herself, wondering if he’d even remember this conversation tomorrow. “Why don’t you finish your breakfast?”
He reluctantly let her go, tearing off a piece of the pancake and eating it slowly. Her eyes stayed on him for a few minutes, but he didn’t make it through the whole third pancake before he had to stop. She saw the sheen of sweat starting on his brow.
On instinct she grabbed the tray and moved it in seconds, watching as he turned and bolted out of the bed, heading straight for the bathroom. She put the tray down and rushed after him, hearing him wretch the contents of his breakfast back out of his body. Her hand went straight to his back as he continued to get sick, rubbing soothing circles until he finally calmed long enough to mutter it under his breath, “Screw being sick.”
She laughed softly, handing him a small towel to wipe his mouth, “No one had you out in that storm so late.” The tremble in his hands as he wiped his face had her worried. Slowly helping him to stand, she asked seriously, “You okay?”
He was still trying to catch his breath, but forced a smile out, “Yeah, I think the coffee was too much.”
She helped him back to bed, giving him a silent glare of disapproval when he tried to stay sitting up. He must have been feeling worse than he wanted to show her, because he laid down almost instantly under the force of her eyes.
“I’ll be right back.” She promised, placing a kiss on the top of his head before turning to grab the tray.
His hand shot to her wrist, his voice breaking as he asked, “Stay. Please.”
His hand tightened around her wrist, silently begging her not to leave. She returned to the bed with a defeated sigh, shaking her head, “Scoot over.”
He moved to give her room, and she slipped into bed with him, making sure he was covered completely. His head went to her shoulder first, before he scooted down slightly and got more comfortable on her chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist like a chain as her hand rhythmically moved through his dark hair. It seemed like seconds later her was passed out, heavily pressed against her to keep her pinned to the bed with him.
Not that she minded. It made her smile when he nuzzled closer, tightening his hold around her waist. The tips of her fingers brushed along his arm, knowing it wasn’t much but at least it would let him know that she was still there.
“Love you Emma.” He mumbled in his sleep. She shook her head, her heart being fully consumed by the sick idiot sleeping on top of her.
“I love you too Ray.” She whispered lovingly, finding herself drifting off as every blink got heavier and harder to take.
They didn’t wake up until the next morning when Emma got up suddenly with the urge to be sick. Ray forced himself to get up, feeling slightly better but not enough to say he was actually okay. Emma leaned against the bathroom door frame, holding her stomach with a frown.
Ray could see the slight flush on her cheeks, and knew that she had no doubt caught whatever bug he’d gotten.
“You’re a liar.” She grumbled, making him pause mid-step in shock.
He stood there waiting for her to explain, her nose crinkling as she sent him a glare that was diminished by the rough scratch in her throat, “You said idiots don’t get sick.”
She made her way back to the bed, Ray watching silently amused as she threw herself face down, muttering to herself, “Turns out we do.”