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Emma was five when she learned to read. She was five and four months when she learned about marriage for the first time. It had been in a fairy tale book that Mama had been reading her and some of the other kids, a story about a princess and a knight. One that Emma would come to learn was very common in fairy tales, and one she would eventually forget. But she would never forget about the first time she learned about marriage.
That night, long after Mama had finished story time, Emma was found knocking on her office door. It was around 7:30, just after the last of the kids would be finishing up their baths. The perfect time to strike!
She knocked once, twice, three times before Mama answered.
“Emma? What are you doing out here? It’s almost bedtime you know.” Mama looked down at her with a look that was slightly more amused than it was scolding, so Emma counted that as a win.
“I wanted to talk to you!” She started valiantly, continuing on when Mama raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement. “About marry! Married? What the princess and the knight did in the story today!”
“Ohhh. In this tense it would be ‘marriage,' Sweetheart.”
“Marriage!!” Emma grinned widely at that, happy that her mother was indulging her despite the late hour. “What is that?”
Isabella laughed, not unkindly, at that before saying, “Here, why don’t we sit in my office to talk about this. No sense in taking up space in the hallway.” The two girls made their way into the office, Isabella sitting in her large desk chair while Emma hopped into one of the visiting chairs. Emma sat on her knees, hands tapping on her legs with slight impatience while she waited for Mama to get started. Once settled, she began. “Marriage is a special ceremony between two people that love each other very much. It’s kind of like a declaration to the whole world that you love that person with all your heart,” Isabella explained simply.
“Ohhh, okay! So you only marry your favorite person in the whole world? And you tell the whole world you love them? Why do you need to be ‘married’ for that?? Can’t you just tell everyone?” Emma inquired.
“Well- it’s a bit more complicated. Firstly, yes, you only marry your favorite person; but marrying someone is sort of- a legal statement that you love them. When you are properly marrying someone, you are uniting yourselves under law to always love and help one another. The government recognizes you as lawfully unified and treats you accordingly.” Isabella watched for her daughter's reaction as she finished explaining. Having never been married herself and aware of the fact she was explaining this to a five year old, it was a slightly hard subject to breach.
“Oh, that makes sense. Are you married, Mama?”
Isabella felt a pang of anxiety at the thought, but she pushed it away and offered Emma a small smile instead. “No, dear, I’m not married. I have no time to focus on love when I’m taking care of all of my children.”
Emma’s head tilted slightly as she thought about that, but she was quick as ever to respond. “Do you wish you were married?”
Isabella’s answer was immediate. “No. I’m more than happy to take care of all of you every day. Being able to love my children is all I need.” And she meant it. It was as honest as she could be with Emma, and as honest as she could stand to be with herself. Isabella stood up from her chair after that, coming around her desk to pick Emma up in a big hug. The little girl squealed in delight as her little arms reciprocated Isabella’s affection. “Now that I’ve answered your questions, we really need to get you to bed.”
-o0o-
Later that night, Emma laid awake in bed thinking about her talk with Mama. She was surprised when Mama said that she would never want to marry anyone. Emma definitely couldn’t relate to that; as soon as she heard about it earlier that day she was enthralled. The legal part still confused her a bit, but the idea of being with your best friend forever? Now that Emma was all for.
There was One downfall, though.. She didn’t have only one best friend. How was Emma meant to pick between Norman and Ray?
Norman was kind and funny and always played whatever games Emma wanted! But Ray was thoughtful and protective and would cuddle with Emma when she had bad dreams- how was she meant to choose one?
Norman or Ray? Ray or Norman?
That night Emma dreamt about marriage and her two best friends, and when she woke up, she had the answer.
Emma wanted to ask Mama about if her idea would be okay before telling the boys, but she didn’t have the chance to talk to her one on one before breakfast. So she had no other option, really.
She waited until the two boys were settled, Ray in his normal place to her right and Norman directly in front of her, before telling them about her idea. “We should all get married!”
“W-what??” Norman replied first, suddenly looking much more nervous (and red) than he did a moment ago.
When Emma caught Ray’s eye, though, he was unaffected. “Don’t be silly, Emma. We can’t get married.”
“Why not??” The determined girl immediately fired back.
“Because we’re not adults. And because there’s three of us? Marriage is between two people.” With that he was back to eating, completely unbothered over squashing Emma’s dreams.
Norman had still been recovering up to that point, but he joined in then, “Ray’s right- I’ve never heard of three people getting married before.” He was still red as he said this, though less so.
“So what? We can be the first! I asked Mama, and she said that you marry your favorite person in the whole world, so I would have to marry both of you. I thought about it for forever, but I just can’t pick one over the other. You’re both my favorite!” She crossed her arms a bit poutily at that, not having expected so much push back from her friends. “Would you two be able to pick a favorite?”
Emma looked between them expectantly, a whole minute going by as she waited for an answer. Finally, Ray responded. “No..” Norman stayed quiet, but nodded his head in agreement.
“Exactly!” She hmphed triumphantly at that, now happy to let the subject drop and dig into her breakfast.
The subject didn’t come up again until play time that afternoon. The three of them had been lying in a small patch of flowers one of the older kids had discovered when Emma brought it up once more. “I talked to Mama after testing today, and she said that I was right! It makes no sense for only two people to be able to get married! So, she agreed that we can all get married.”
“Ookay? We still aren’t old enough to, Emma, even if all three of us ‘technically’ could.” Ray replied, quick to shut down her idea once more.
“So?? If we can all three get married, then we can do it whenever we want! Mama even agreed to do it for us. So, Ray, Norman, will you marry me?”
At that, Ray finally looked up from the book he had been reading, accidentally bumping Norman’s chin from where he’d been leaning over to read it as well. He dropped the book on his chest in order to push up from where he’d been lying on Norman’s crossed legs; when Ray’s eyes landed on Emma, he saw the excitable girl on one knee, both hands holding small flower rings that she must’ve been making while they were talking. So that’s why she wanted us to come out here.
Ray looked away from Emma when he felt Norman’s hands leave his hair, eyes following to watch as they covered his now red face. Ray, and just about everyone else at the orphanage, knew about Norman’s crush on the girl. If Emma didn’t know it was only because she didn’t know the difference between the many different forms of love.
Norman pulled himself together surprisingly quickly, pulling his hands away only ten or so seconds later and looking Emma in the eye as he said, “I’ll marry you, Emma..” He was looking away the moment he uttered the words, though.
“Oh, yay!!” The small girl cheered loudly, standing up to come hug Norman and give him his flower ring. Ray assumed he was safe, but was quick to be proven wrong. Norman didn’t even have time to react before she was pulling away and turning on him. “What about you, Ray? You’ll marry us, right??” Then two sets of puppy eyes were being turned on him, and Ray knew he had lost.
“Jeez- fine, yes. I’ll marry you.” It was embarrassing, and Ray could feel himself warming up despite knowing that this didn’t mean anything. These two were so, so special to him; he could tell that he felt different about them than he did the other kids. But it was just that, they were kids. This was all ridiculous.
-o0o-
Despite Ray’s opinion on the matter remaining unchanged, he continued to let himself be dragged along with Emma- and now Norman’s- games until they were satisfied. Emma was a stubborn girl, but she was also excitable and quick to lose interest when she found something better to do. Ray was sure she would move on from this quickly enough, and he could return to focusing on his plan to confront Mama about his hypothesis.
-o0o-
Boy, when Ray was wrong, he was wrong. Not only did Emma not forget about their little marriage idea, but she started to plan a wedding . Apparently, she and Norman had gone scouring the library for books about marriage in order to learn more on the subject after her proposal. That’s when Emma learned about weddings, and Ray hasn’t known peace since.
No matter how much he tried to divert the subject, or simply ignore her, Emma was determined to plan a wedding for the three of them. It didn’t help that Norman was completely on board with the idea; most of his embarrassment had left him, which left nothing but resolve to pester Ray and give Emma whatever she wanted.
Ray ignored them for as long as he could, giving half-assed answers when asked about flowers or suits or inviting other children, but his best friends remained undeterred.
On January 4th, 2040, Ray was woken up by Emma. Which was unusual, because she didn’t share a room with him. “Emma? Why are you in here?”
“Today’s our wedding day!!” She jumped on the bed, landing on her knees and clapping her hands excitedly as Ray just looked at her in complete astonishment.
“...What? Since when?? I never agreed to that!”
“Yes, you did! I asked you about it last week, and you said ‘I don’t care when, just not right now,' so, Norman and I agreed on today! I even ran that by you, and you said okay!” Emma was surprisingly unbothered by how little effort Ray obviously put into this ‘wedding,’ despite how much she cared about it.
He definitely should’ve been paying more attention to the questions she had been bugging him with the past few weeks. Ray was at a loss for words, so he simply said, “Oh..”
“Yep! Now c’mon, let’s go have breakfast. Mama agreed to marry us all together right after lunch!” With that she was hopping off his bed and skipping to breakfast. Man.. Ray had been way too lost in his own head lately. His nightmares had been getting worse as his birthday approached, and the lack of sleep had been slowing him down during the day. At least, after today, all this nonsense would be over.
-o0o-
Breakfast, testing, chores, and lunch all flew by in a flash for Emma, and, before she knew it, it was play time. Wedding time!! She could barely stand still with her excitement, causing Olivia to drop the braid she had been working on for the third time. “Emma! Stay still! This is very exciting, but you can’t get married until your hair is done; and it’s not going to get done anytime soon with all this bouncing around!” She scolded lightly, tugging on Emma’s hair with a little force to get her to face forward.
“Sorryyyy, Oliviaaa. I’m just so excited! I wish Mama could’ve gotten us new outfits, but she said she has a surprise! I can’t wait!!” Emma shook her hands in lieu of moving her whole body as she would’ve preferred.
“I know, Em, and I’m excited for you! If you keep staying still like this, I’ll be done in just a few minutes.” They sat in comfortable quiet for a few minutes as Olivia braided a piece of Emma’s hair back. The young girl’s hair was too short to be in a normal braid, so Olivia had decided to do two braids starting just over her sister's ears. She took advantage of the blessed few minutes of peace, managing to get both of the braids done and tied off at the back of Emma’s head. Just as she finished tying off the braid, the girls’ Mama approached them both.
“Great work, Olivia, those look beautiful. Are you ready to go Emma?”
“Yes!!!” Olivia warmed at her mother’s praise as Emma leapt from where she’d been sitting in front of her to join her Mama.
Mama led Emma by the hand to the place she would wait until the ceremony started. The red-haired girl was concealed from view by a large tree that sat only a few yards from the flower meadow where everyone else waited. “Alright, you remember what to do, right?”
“Yes ma’am! I wait here until the music starts, and then I’ll follow the path to where you, Norman, and Ray will be!”
Isabella patted her daughter’s head lightly in small praise as she confirmed that. Her heart swelled with affection as she looked at the little girl.
When Emma had first come to her asking questions about marriage, Isabella had been surprised. She had been a Mama for a few years now, but Emma was her first kid to be so interested in the concept; and it threw Isabella for a loop. She didn’t know that much about the subject herself, never having needed to to survive, but she found comfort in acting out Emma’s wish to marry her best friends. It was a bittersweet enjoyment to see how much love she held for her family.
Isabella distracted herself with these thoughts as she made way to where Norman and Ray were waiting for her, but focused on the matter at hand once she was in her position. At that, she gave the thumbs up for Grant to activate the music box Emma had chosen to use for the occasion.
Emma waited patiently for the music to play. Or, well- not patiently. She was buzzing with excitement, barely able to restrain herself from peeking from behind the tree that hid her from view of everyone else. She clutched the makeshift bouquet in her hand tightly, squealing in excitement when she finally heard her music box start to play.
Emma walked from behind the tree, unable to tamper the smile that all but split her face as she walked down the flower petal path her siblings had created for her. She looked around at her family excitedly, waving at Olivia and some of the others when she caught their eyes. When she looked back in front of her, Norman and Mama were looking at her, but Ray was looking down. Both boys had cheeks that looked as warm as Emma’s felt, and Mama looked as kind as she ever did.
Finally, finally Emma reached Norman and Ray. She handed her bouquet to Mama, who handed it off to another one of her siblings, before taking both boy’s hands. Ray finally looked up at her at that, smile small but present when their eyes met. After that, Norman and Ray took each other's other hand, and the ceremony began.
Mama went over what she would say to them beforehand, but Norman still just about shook with nervousness. It was a little embarrassing to have so many of his siblings watching, but he didn’t want to take away any of the aspects that excited Emma so much. He looked at Ray, smiling when he met the other boy’s eye and smiling that much wider when Ray smiled back. Despite how much he had pushed back, Norman was glad to see that he was having fun as well.
“Alright, let’s begin. Do you, Norman, take Emma and Ray to be your husband and wife, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, and keep them, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you all shall live?”
Right. Norman was supposed to say ‘I do’ now. This was almost as stressful as it was fun. “I- I do,” the white-haired boy’s voice shook a bit, but he got the words out clear and concisely. Thank goodness.
Mama nodded at him in acknowledgement, then it was Ray’s turn. “Do you, Ray, take Norman and Emma to be you husband and wife, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, and keep them, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you all shall live?”
Ray hesitated before answering. Long enough that Emma tugged on his hand, ever urgent to get to her turn. He looked away from the three of them, staring at his shoes as he muttered a brisk “I do.” This was so embarrassing. Why did so many kids have to watch this? It was just a silly game, something Emma had latched onto. There was no reason, really, for Ray to be so self-conscious about it all, but he couldn’t help but feel vulnerable.
Mama nodded her head in acknowledgement that she heard him before continuing, “Do you, Emma, take Ray and Norman to be you husbands, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, and keep them, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day for-”
“I do!!” Emma interrupted, all but shouting her declaration. Ray near burst out laughing at this, barely managing to turn it into a snicker as Mama scolded Emma for interrupting her.
“Emma! I have to finish the speech before you can answer. Otherwise it doesn’t count.” Ray could hear some of the other kids laughing as Emma sheepishly apologized, but everyone was fast to calm down and let Mama restart. “As I was saying: Do you, Emma, take Ray and Norman to be you husbands, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, and keep them, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you all shall live?”
“Yes, I do!!!” Ray wasn’t really sure what was after this. He remembered Emma jabbering about rings at some point or another, but they didn’t have those. Would they do flower rings again?
As he was pondering this, Mama slipped a hand into her pocket, pulling out the surprise she had promised Emma earlier in the week. It had been a special call to HQ, one that Isabella barely managed, only able to convince them to fulfill her request when she leveraged the kid’s mental health. None of her children (except maybe Ray, who was already not very emotionally invested in the entire situation) were near remotely unstable enough for something like that to affect their mental health enough to matter, but Isabella felt weirdly determined to do this.
Emma pulled her hands out of the boys’ grips as she saw what Mama brandished from her apron pocket; three silver rings sat in her palm, which now sat in the center of the three of them.
Emma grabbed one first, taking Norman’s hand and slipping the cool ring onto his finger. After that was Norman. With more gentleness than Emma had, he took Ray’s hand in his own, slipping the ring onto the matching finger. He knew there was a specific finger that you were meant to put the ring on, but he couldn’t recall, so he followed what Emma had done.
Ray was the last to react, still reeling at the fact that Mama had gotten them rings. That meant- a lot. If his memories were not false starts, that was something that he could use in the event of it being the worst case scenario.
The boy was too lost in his thought to realize that the two were now waiting on him to do the last ring, not brought back to reality until Mama tapped his shoulder. “Ray, sweetie, the last one is for you to put on Emma.”
Ray looked up a bit startled at that, momentarily panicked at his mother’s voice due to where his mind had wandered. He recovered quickly enough, though, looking to his left to see Emma holding her hand out expectantly. He grabbed the last ring in their Mama’s palm, and, more shakily than he would ever admit to, slipped it onto Emma’s finger.
Emma jumped excitedly at that, laughing joyously as their siblings clapped for them all. Despite everything, Ray could feel himself getting excited as he watched his two friends smile and celebrate together.
-o0o-
The rings that Mama had given them had been a thin metal that wasn’t connected all the way around, so it could be adjusted as their hands grew. But as the years went by, eventually, even at their widest, the rings could no longer fit the trio’s hands. Despite being nearly ten now, Emma was still devastated by this. She and Norman wore their rings with pride, Ray wore his, but it was less out of pride and more as a reminder to himself. In case he ever forgot why he was still here, why he was doing all of this.
Emma was at a loss for what to do about the rings, they had been forced to start keeping them in their bedside drawers all the time now, and it felt so unnatural. After years of wearing it everyday, she felt naked without it. Norman openly shared the sentiment; Ray not so much, but Emma caught him rubbing the spot the ring should’ve occupied when he thought no one was looking.
For days Emma mourned the loss of their rings, unable to get it off of her mind despite all efforts. On the fifth day of her endless complaining, Ray approached where she and Norman had been playing with some of the other kids.
“Can we talk? I have- something for you guys.”
Emma and Norman exchanged confused looks but followed their quiet friend easily enough. He’d gotten more and more reclusive as they all grew up, but Emma and Norman never stopped thinking of him as one of their dearest friends.
They all made light conversation as they walked to Ray’s favorite reading tree, not bothering to ask what Ray needed. He wouldn’t tell them until he was ready. Once at the tree, Ray bent down, picking up a closed book that rested at the tree’s base. He opened it to a bookmarked page, but, upon closer inspection, Emma realized that the book mark was actually chains.
“Here.. I got these. We can put the rings on them and wear them as necklaces; I read that people do that for various reasons when they can’t keep them on their hands so..” he trailed off, embarrassed to care so much about something so silly. He had used one of his rewards for this, just because he knew it was truly upsetting Emma. And.. maybe he missed wearing his ring just a bit.
Because he was looking away, Ray wasn’t prepared for Emma to leap forward and hug him, causing him to lose his balance and make them both tumble to the ground. She squeezed him tightly, smiling as bright as the sun as she pulled back to say, “Thank you, Ray!!” She leaned down then, prioritizing kissing his nose above getting off of him.
Ray felt thoroughly flustered by the time she was pulling him to stand back up, so he didn’t respond. Just handed them both their respective necklaces and pretended his face didn’t feel like it was on fire.
-o0o-
After that day, none of the kids ever took their rings off again (bath time not included). When Norman learned that he was getting shipped, he had spent a while contemplating whether or not he should leave his ring at the house. It’s not like he could take it where he was going anyways; but something about doing that, as well as refusing Ray and Emma’s reckless last minute escape plan, felt a little too final. Something about it felt like a rejection of his best friends, even though he knew that was the last thing it would ever be.
In the end, Norman didn’t take it off, and that ring ended up being one of the only things that carried him through his time at Lambda. Surprisingly, the caretakers there never forced, or even requested, that he remove it. He thought that they would have, seeing as it held no real function, but they let him keep it. A small mercy that lended strength to Norman’s ever dimming hope as he rotted away in this experimental hellscape.
When Norman escaped Lambda, there were inevitable questions from his subordinates about the ring’s meaning (seeing as William Minerva didn’t do things that were unnecessary). Norman ended up telling them about Ray and Emma.. to some extent. He told them that it was a wedding ring, but little else. For months, at every opportunity, his team begged to know who he was married to, what had happened to her, why he no longer wore the ring on his finger and instead kept it hidden under his crisp button downs.
He stayed steadfast in remaining vague about the history behind it, worried about breaking the illusion of Minerva’s name that he wore like a suit of armor these days, but eventually he broke down. It was hard not to talk about the two most wonderful people he’d ever known, and that much harder when they never strayed from his thoughts or heart.
Norman never gave names, but he admitted to having a wife and husband. He did what he could to stay vague, saying only that he couldn’t be with them now, but it still felt nice to open up about his best friends. His team ate up every little bit of information that Norman revealed. Aside from some initial confusion about him being married to two people, they were quick to jump on board and celebrate the boss’s spouses.
Eventually, when the time came, and he knew without a doubt that Emma survived; he had to admit to them who his wife and husband were. He told Hayato first, knowing that the excitable boy would be the first to come into contact with his family. He reminded Norman of Emma quite a bit, and it brought the boy some amount of comfort on his worse days.
It had been slightly harder explaining to Hayato and the others to keep it a secret that he was her husband. He explained that he had reached out to her as William Minerva, not as the boy she knew to be her husband, and requested that they all let it be a surprise. The team was quick to jump on board, speaking about how exciting it would be to meet the boss's wife and theorizing about her reaction when she found out her husband was alive.
He also warned them about Ray, giving the same message in hopes that his plan had worked and the other boy would be arriving with Emma and the rest of their family.
-o0o-
A few days later, Norman stood in his office with shaky hands as he waited to see Emma for the first time in nearly two years. He’d received word from his search team that they had found Emma two days before, meaning she should be arriving today. This prediction had been confirmed 20 minutes ago by Vincent, who let Norman know that Hayato and the others had returned.
Norman felt more nervous than he had in a year as he waited for Emma to come to his office. Was she okay? Did Ray survive? How have the last year and ten months treated them? Norman tugged at his blazer sleeves anxiously as he counted the seconds until she’d walk in; his ring burned against his chest.
At the thought of his ring, Norman’s hand drifted unconsciously to his neck to tug at his shirt collar. He slipped two fingers under it, rubbing the flimsy chain between his fingers and the skin of his throat. Right as the doorknob started to turn, the white-haired boy pulled the chain from under his button down for the first time since the night he got shipped.
It barely hit his chest before Emma was walking in, and their eyes met. His hand was extended toward his desk, fingers tapping lightly on the sturdy wood as he said, “It took a while, but we finally meet.”
Emma was crying before he even got the sentence out. She stared at him like a deer in headlights for half a minute before finally just saying, “Norman..” She gasped, tears coming out much faster now as she stumbled toward him. “Is it really you, Norman?”
Norman nodded gently, “Emma.” His smile all but broke his face as he tore around his desk and ran to the girl that hadn’t left his mind for a single moment in the last two years. They collided into each other, Emma’s tears soaking into the shoulder of his suit as they hugged like their lives depended on it. “I missed you. It’s been so long. I’m glad you’re okay, Emma.”
Emma’s right hand came up from his waist to tangle in the hairs at the back of Norman’s head as she said, “I can’t believe it. You’re alive. You’re alive!” The crying girl pulled back suddenly, squishing his cheeks between her hands as she said, “You’re really, truly Norman, right? You’re not a look alike or a ghost, right?!” Her hands slipped down to grip his shoulders near desperately as she continued, “Why? How? You were shipped out that night..”
He grabbed her hands from his shoulders, holding them gently in his own as he answered her. “I was sent to a different farm, and I was kept by demons there. And you..” Norman let go of her hands, his right hand coming up to cup her face, but he stopped mid-sentence as he felt her ear. Or, well- more like her lack of one.
At his startled look, Emma explained. “Oh, my left ear? I left it at the house.” Once again their hands were linked, Norman’s heart sped up as he watched Emma’s eyes fill with excitement and say, “But I was able to escape! And I brought Ray too! So it went well!” Norman’s eyes filled with tears at hearing that, his vision blurring as he came to terms with the fact that his plan had worked. Both of his best friends were alive! By the time his vision was clear again, the rest of his family had squeezed into the room, and Emma was saying, “This is my current family!”
Norman felt himself smiling wider than he had in years as he looked at the kids he’d left behind (and the ones that Emma saved). "Wow, you got more siblings. It’s a huge family!” Norman watched with slight amusement as his family collectively freaked out about his miraculous survival. He reveled in reconnecting with his family, hugging his little siblings for the first time in oh, so long. By the time he was standing back up from where he’d crouched down to hug them, Ray was standing in front of him. “Ray..”
Ray approached him with an unreadable look in his violet eyes, the moment he was close enough, he slapped Norman hard enough to make the other boy fall.
Norman laughed brightly as he rubbed at his cheek, weight leaning against his other hand pressed to the cool floor as he said, “How mean. You retaliate before you even say hello.” Norman pulled his hand away from his stinging cheek, looking at Ray from under his hair as he asked Ray the last question he’d ever asked the other boy all those months ago (albeit through Emma, but still). “But you saw something cool, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you.” Fat tears rolled down Ray’s cheeks as he helped Norman up. The moment the other boy was up, Ray was crushing him and Emma into a hug and all but shouting, “I’m glad I’m alive!” He sniffed and rubbed his wet eyes on the two’s shoulders as he hugged them like they’d fade away if he let go. “And don’t ever try to die again, stupid Norman.”
Norman let out a breathy laugh at that, grasping Ray’s shirt as desperately as the other boy was hugging Emma and himself. “Yeah, I got it, stupid Ray.”
-o0o-
That night, Emma, Norman, and Ray stayed up far too late catching up on the past two years. Norman couldn’t be completely honest with them, of course, because he was William Minerva. And William Minerva would never put his loved ones in danger if it could be at all avoided. But he told them what he could.
After hours of catching up and playing chess, the three of them finally started to wind down. Norman sat with his back to the bed, legs spread out in front of him as he relaxed against the soft comforter. Emma sat to his left, sitting on one knee while she used the other to rest her head; and Ray laid on the bed behind them. Stretched out on his stomach, he read a book and pretended not to be engaged in the conversation at hand.
“I still can’t believe you cut off your ear, Emma. That definitely was not part of the plan!”
The aforementioned girl looked away sheepishly at that, one hand coming up to tug at the braid that hid the area that said ear used to inhibit as she replied, “I knowww, I know. Don’t worry, though, I got hell for it from Gilda and everyone else.” Norman laughed a bit in reply to that, making the red-haired girl smile.
“Oh, by the way- I should probably let you two know now before one of my subordinates beat you to it,” Norman started, anxious to get this conversation out of the way. “Whenever I originally broke the other kids out of Lambda, they didn’t know anything about me, and I told them that I was William Minerva. So when they started asking questions about my ring..” he tapered off, embarrassed. “I told them that we were married.” Norman intended to say more, but he was a bit flustered. So he stayed quiet.
“You still wear your ring..?” Emma asked first, looking teary eyed when Norman looked at her. When Norman nodded his head yes, she smiled at him with ruddy cheeks and reached under her blouse to pull out her own twin ring. “I do too. So does Ray, but he acts like he doesn’t.”
Norman laughed at that, muffling the sounds of Ray’s protesting with his happiness. He didn’t doubt that Emma and Ray had kept their rings, but, at the same time.. it had been nearly two years since the last time he had seen his best friends, and they had spent all of that time thinking he was dead.
Logically, it would make sense for them to have moved on from him and let their feelings focus on each other. They could’ve easily realized that they were perfectly fine without him. “I’m so glad you both still have it.. Honestly, this ring was one of the only things that kept me going in Lambda. I almost left it behind at the house, reasoning that I couldn’t bring it with me in death, but I’m really glad I didn’t.”
“Oh, Norman..” Emma answered him, hands covering her mouth and muffling her response slightly. Then she was crawling towards him, all but climbing onto his lap to wrap the white-haired boy in a hug. “I’m so, so glad you’re alive. You’re both alive.. my best friends.” And then she was crying.
Norman wrapped his arms around her quickly in reciprocation, hugging the smaller girl tight enough against his chest that he was forced to exhale a bit heavily. “We’re here, and we’re alive, Emma.”
As Norman was focusing on comforting her, he didn’t notice that Ray had slid off of the bed behind him and joined them on the floor. He approached Emma from behind, warily bringing arms to wrap tightly around her waist and grip the front of Norman’s shirt. He buried his face in her neck, saying nothing.
Emma pulled back then, pulling an arm from where it had been death-gripping the back of Norman’s button down to now grip Ray’s arms around her waist. “I love you both so much.. I don’t resent you for letting yourself be shipped, Norman. And I don’t hold it against you for trying to sacrifice yourself, Ray. But I- I can’t do this without you. It was so hard to think about you in the past tense, Norman; to spend every day for those two months in the House alone. One friend dead, and one planning to kill himself. I-”
“I’m sorry, Emma. I’m so sorry,” Ray interrupted. “Please, don’t cry.” His voice was thick with grief, and Norman could feel the shift against his stomach when the black haired boy’s arms tightened around Emma’s waist.
Norman could feel himself tearing up as he listened to his best friends cry; he pulled his arms from around Emma, wrapping them instead around Ray’s back and pulling them both even tighter against him. “I’m sorry too, Emma.”
Emma looked him in the eye then, bringing one hand up to cup Norman’s cheek and wipe away the tear he hadn’t managed to stop from falling. “It’s okay. It’s all okay, because you’re both still here.”
Norman could feel himself softening as he looked at her, the hand previously holding onto Ray’s button down now holding Emma’s cheek for the ‘nth time that day. Finally, Ray pulled away from where he’d buried himself in Emma’s bright hair, tucking his chin on her right shoulder and rubbing his nose against her cheek affectionately.
Her free hand came up to bury itself in Ray’s hair at that, her head turning to rub her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. Then, she looked back at Norman with intense eyes. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again. Both of you.” Norman and Ray shared a look at that, both opening their mouths to argue, but they were interrupted. “Don’t! I don’t wanna hear it. Promise me.” She clutched Norman’s jaw suddenly, forcing him to meet her eye.
Norman breathed out incredulously at her determination. They held eyes for twenty seconds before he finally relented. “Okay, okay- I promise. Only if you both do as well, though.”
“I promise!” Emma’s response was immediate, then they were both turning on Ray.
Ray shrunk under their twin gazes, turning away from his friends as one of his hands came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, “Emma- we're living in the demon world, any number of things could happen that would be completely out of our control-”
“I don’t care. I don’t care! Promise me!!” She turned on him then, fully shifting in the boys’ hold to give him one of her determined glares.
Ray held her eyes for longer than Norman had, scoffing loudly when she wouldn’t back down. “God- fine. Fine, I promise.”
“Yay!!” With that Emma’s piercing glare was gone, replaced immediately with a smile that made Norman and Ray’s hearts skip a beat.
-o0o-
Later that night, the three of them lay beside one another against the soft comforter that draped over the side of the bed. Norman sat in the middle with Emma and Ray on either side of him. The white-haired boy clutched his friends’ hands a bit desperately, leaning his head against the top of Emma’s as he felt peace for the first time in years.