RayEmma Oneshots

Hold it in [Part One]

It had been happening a lot lately, and she didn't know what it was.

Like that afternoon in the forest. Birdsong echoed throughout the branches in the eternally shaded demon woods, illuminated by glowing flora and fauna, with occasional sunbeams filtering through the dense leaves overhead. Emma and Ray were out hunting that afternoon, the need for more food a constant in their lives at the B06-32 shelter. After killing a few birds, they decided to move onto a nearby stream to get some fish - variety was always good. As Ray pointed them in the right direction after consulting their map, muttering about vague instructions and labels, Emma couldn't help but watch him. As if some strange fixation overtaken her, she just couldn't tear her eyes away, examining his figure, his expression. It brought fluttering feelings to her chest that she couldn't identify.

This had been happening a lot lately, this staring and these feelings, much to her confusion. And only with Ray, not with anyone else. Why am I so obsessed with Ray? Emma wondered.

So lost in train of thought and in gazing at Ray, she lost track of her surroundings and tripped over a large tree root. She landed on her arms, reacting quickly to the sudden fall so she wouldn't injure herself, though the twigs poking out of the ground were hard and left a few scratches. "Oof..." she muttered, brushing off pieces of newly acquired dirt. "Are you all right?" Ray asked crouched beside her; he had rushed over as soon as he heard the loud rustling of the leaves on the ground from her impact. Because that's what he always did, he was always by her side and ready to support her through hell and back. Those fluttering feelings returned again.

"I'm fine, just a little out of it..." Emma said with a laugh, scratching the back of her head. Ray sighed. "Geez, you've been out of it a lot lately. What, are you trying to get lost and eaten by a wild demon?" His wisecrack brought a playful smirk to his face. Even without seeing his expression she would have been able to see through his sarcasm; she always knew he cared for her deeply, no matter how rough his words may be. "Of course not!" Emma replied back, fighting back another laugh. Ray stood up and offered his hand down to help her up; Emma took it and he pulled her up, until they were face to face.

Though they didn't let go of their hands yet. Emma still had a tight grasp around his hand, staring down at it. His hand was bigger, but softer, less scratched it seemed - contrary to what she'd expect. Both their hands were covered in callouses, though Ray's fingers were longer, more slender, hers shorter and a bit more chubby. Ray's thumb ran along the back of her hand. It feels warm.

She turned to look up at his face, to see him staring at her with an intensity she was unfamiliar with. Gone was his playful smirk, now it was like he was in a trance, staring into the depths of her emerald eyes, and just then Emma realized how close they were. How very close. Ray might've realized that too, because suddenly they were drawn to each other, leaning their faces in to do something with each other, though Emma wasn't sure what, but the world surrounding them faded away until it was just them, and she closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her face, and-

WHAM! A branch from a smaller, dying tree broke off and crashed some ways away from their spot, the echo reverberating through the forest. And with that the spell was broken, the two were broken from their trance. After over the initial startle from the loud noise, they turned back to each other.

Ray immediately stepped back, flustered. "Ah- um-" he started stammering. Emma felt her face heat up too, and looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. "We should be getting back, it'll be dark soon," she hurriedly said, wanting to change the conversation from... whatever that was. "Yeah..." Ray agreed, and so they packed up their stuff and went back to the bunker.

—-

Moments like these were starting to become somewhat frequent for them, and Emma didn't know what they were. So she decided to take a page out of Ray's book, and go to his go-to solution; the archives room.