Traitor | Norray (Complete)

Chapter 9

Emma, Ray, Norman, Sonju, Mujika, Vincent, Cislo, Barbara, and Zazie were sitting together by the fire, chatting and taking a bit of a break from everything. Sonju was the first to go to bed, then one by one the rest followed him, until only Ray, Norman, and Emma were left. They sat in a peaceful silence until Norman spoke.

"Thank you, guys. For everything you said back there. And I'm sorry... for... everything."

"Don't mention it, Norman," Emma smiled, stood put a hand on his shoulder, "That's what family's for."

Emma headed off to bed, leaving Ray and Norman in the peaceful silence once more.
Ray was staring at nothing, thinking. He knew that Norman loved Emma. He told him before. What he didn't know was why it hurt so much. It hurt when he told him about his love for her, it hurt when he saw them hug eachother, and it hurt when he saw Norman crying into Emma's shoulder. He didn't want to think about the reason, believing he could ruin his friendship with both of his friends if they ever knew. He didn't want them to think of him any different.

"Ray," Norman said, getting his attention, "What are you thinking about?"

He tried to think of an excuse, but settled for: "Nothin'."

Norman moved off the log we were sitting on and laid on the ground, sighing and smiling. He motioned for Ray to lay beside him by patting the ground. Ray scooched down and laid beside him, looking at the ceiling.

"Guess what?" he asked, grinning like a child.

Ray, confused, turned to him, "What?"

"We're outside the gates."

Ray couldn't help but laugh, "We've BEEN outside the gates."

"Well, yeah, but isn't it amazing?" Ray's smile made Norman happy. Ray rarely seemed so happy, "So, now that you've obviously learned how to survive, what do you wanna do?"

"...I don't know. I haven't thought about that. I just want to be with you and Emma and our family. I can't think of anything better."

Norman smiled as both of them looked up at the ceiling, "Me too."

Ray glanced at Norman. His smile was wide, and his eyes- his bright blue eyes- we're filled with joy. Norman noticed Ray's eyes on him and looked over. Immediately, Ray pulled his eyes away and turned back toward the ceiling, blush decorating his cheeks. He internally cursed himself for being so stupid. Norman chuckled slightly and sat up.

Suddenly, his head started throbbing, searing, making him let out a cry of pain. He grabbed his head and jerked forward, coughing harshly.
Ray bolted up and tried to help. Norman put a hand to his mouth and coughed until blood splattered into his palm. The coughing finally stopped, and the pain in his head lessened some.

"I-I'm okay..." he insisted.

Ray looked at the blood still dripping from his mouth into his hands. Ray stood and got a wet towel, then returned to wipe the blood from his hand.
He folded the towel to a clean side and grabbed Norman's face, wiping the blood from his face.

"It's going to be okay, Norman. When everyone's rested, we're going to find that cure. You're going to be okay," Ray said, still holding Norman's face.

Norman took Ray's hand, intertwined their fingers and held his hand against his face, "Thank you.. Ray."

Ray smiled. Norman's breath warmed his hand. Suddenly, without thinking, Ray's lips were on Norman's cheek. The small kiss lasted only a second before Ray pulled away and realized what he did. Norman was staring at him in shock. Ray, scared, took his hand away from Norman's and stood up quickly.

"G-goodnight, Norman." Ray hurried away.

Norman couldn't do anything but put a hand on his cheek and stare at the towel on the floor.

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A/N: There's the norray! There it is!

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