TPN Oneshots and Twoshots

"See You Later"

If you were to ask the children of Gracefield what Ray's special talent was, it would probably be his cooking or some bullsh*t about how he looked naturally pretty or something. But what else could they say? Emma and Norman beat him in physical strength and intelligence. He was good in both, yes, but when they talked about physical things, it would always be Emma. Her jumping skills were really quite something. And she was amazing at running. In intelligence, his biggest accomplishment was being able to rival Norman. He was an intellect while Norman was the genius.

If you asked Ray, he would probably say nothing or some random thing that he knew he could do like mechanics. He and Norman always loved taking apart clocks back in Gracefield - Ray just loved putting it back together as well. Maybe he could say mental stability. But he had definitely proved he was one of the least unstable (along with Norman) within the 38 children. And that is a lot of kids so it was quite a feat to achieve. Or would have been if not for the fact that most of them were under the age of 10. But then again, they had all been through a lot of trauma. Especially Phil. Poor kid was so worried he'd end up like Ray - shutting himself out from everyone, isolating himself so that he wouldn't get attached and just read all day, thinking of ways to escape as his mental stability got lower and lower to the point where he wanted to die. I mean, sacrificing himself wasn't always the plan. He just got to that point after a while where he realized that not many can escape and two people took priority over everyone. It was a life Ray didn't wish upon anyone, especially Phil. The kid was such a sweet child and Ray felt so bad about trying to leave him behind this time around too. But it couldn't be helped. He had to leave and he knew how to do so. Without sacrificing himself or anyone else this time around.

Ray hummed a sweet but sad lullaby as he walked down the cold, dark halls, a torch in his hand illuminating the path and the expensive paintings on the walls around him. The mansion was massive and was big, but it was home. For a while that is. Everyone decided that they were going to go their separate ways. And Ray decided to leave first. Of course, he was sad he had to but, it was inevitable. And now it was time to go. He had said his goodbyes last night and at 3 am, he had gotten up to leave. When he went down, he heard someone clearing their throat and immediately pivoted on his heel and held his torch out.

"You really do have an attraction to fire, don't you? Wait, stop, no, Ray, stop it. Get that away from me, I don't want to get burnt unlike someone else in this room who happens to be holding that thing."

Ray sighed as he moved the torch away from Norman's face and put it down after he put it out. 

"What are you doing up?" He asked, already having his suspicions as he noticed a lamp in Norman's hand.

"Waiting for you."

"Hi Ray! Or it would be more accurate to say bye since you're leaving, but we'll meet again, right?" Emma's head popped up from the couch. Ray sighed, a smile playing on his lips as he nodded.

"This isn't a goodbye Emma. It's a see you later. We're family but we can't stick together forever, no matter how much I want to. And this is best for the kids. To get a fresh, clean start and forget everything that happened. They can't do that surrounded by us. I don't think any of us can. It provides security but at the cost of our mental stability."

Norman smiled.

"You're right. Which is why me and Emma are leaving soon. Without the big kids, the little kids will be sent to a family, hopefully a good one, and live a good life. And they won't be obliged to stay or continue to rely on us all the time."

"Will you be staying with Emma?" Ray inquired. Norman nodded.

"She remembers some but not all of it so it's fine if someone stays with her. And, I don't think I can keep my mental stability without one of you. And Emma is the best choice since you need to heal as well. Away from us."