Memories - An AU Emerald x M!Reader book (Multiverse AU)

Chapter 5

924 AF1 - Third Person POV

A single bead of sweat rolled down (y/n)'s forehead as his left hand reached for his front foot. His body leaned forward into extended side angle pose, stretching his leg and chest.

(y/n) was too antsy to possibly see Emerald in the flesh. After a restless night, he resorted to yoga and meditation. Half an hour and a yoga routine later, he stood straight up and looked at the golden light shining through his room's single window. It has to be Oum, he thought to himself.

A light knock on the metal door pulled his attention from the window to the entrance of the room. The door pushed open to Miss. Arc standing there, clipboard in hand. (y/n) gave the tech a smile and gestured her to enter.

The loud squeak of the door sounded louder than usual in the morning silence. "Early riser?"

(y/n) took a small towel and wiped the thin coat of sweat that formed on his face. "Couldn't sleep."

"Got too much sleep yesterday?"

"Not exactly." He shook his head. "And word from the board?"

Miss. Arc let out a small chuckle. "It's still six in the morning, (y/n). The board hasn't even assembled yet." She couldn't help but be happy about the man's excitement. A portion of (y/n)  was clearly worried the request wouldn't be approved by the board members, but he continued to keep a smile on his face. There was nothing to worry about until there was something to worry about was pretty much how he was facing this obstacle. "You seem to be doing well."

(y/n) walked over to the metal cabinet and pulled out a set of patient scrubs. He tucked everything under his arm before closing the metal cabinet door. "The best I've been in a while now... Thanks." (y/n) looked up to meet Arc's eyes.

Miss. Arc simply gave him a soft smile. "Don't thank me yet."

(y/n) nodded. "Yeah... Good point." He scratched the back of his neck. He couldn't lose hope yet. He's so close. Too close. He couldn't have all of this go to waste and slip away. After everything he's been through, Oum owes him something.

(y/n) walked over to his bag of personal belongings to find some personal hygiene items. As he looked through the bag, a small smile appeared on his face as his eyes landed on a book. The Conspiracy of Queens by TL Hoover. Hoover was one of Emerald's favourite authors in another time. This time, Hoover has only put out three books, none being the same as before. (y/n) was willing to bet anything Emerald was still a fan. Something about Hoover's writing is captivating, or so Emerald said.

Turning his attention back to the bag, (y/n) put the book back and pulled out a small black pouch that contained everything he needed for a shower. With the jitters already forming in his stomach, he was ready to wash away the sweat. "Are there towels in the shower?"

"Mhm." Miss. Arc nodded. "Follow me."

"Nah, it's fine. I know where the showers are." (y/n) smiled before attempting to walk past the tech and exit the room, but he immediately stopped when he saw Arc lightly bite the inside of her lip. "You gotta be kidding me." Recognizing that look, he knew exactly what that meant.

"I won't be watching. You just need supervision."

"Really? It's just a shower." (y/n) rolled his eyes.

"After your self-destructive nature and what you pulled yesterday, yeah."

(y/n) sighed. "I'm fine now, Arc."

"As much as I believe you, it's not up to me. Without a proper risk evaluation and no assessments done, we have to presume you're high risk." Arc gave (y/n) a sympathetic smile. "You'd be surprised at the things people do in psychiatric wards. Suicide rates were at six percent last year. I hope it goes down this year."