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

Chapter 6

924 AF1.1 - Third Person POV

"Ruby!"

"(y/n)!" Ruby ran up to her friend and latched onto his torso, bring him into a tight bear hug. She had already started to miss (y/n)'s presence at home. Ruby buried her face into (y/n)'s patient scrubs to reunite herself with him. She didn't realize how much she missed (y/n) until she looked up at his face to see him smiling. A genuine smile on his face. This was the first time in a while Ruby had seen a genuine smile on the man.

"Woah!" (y/n) was caught off guard by the energetic charge of the girl, but regained her balance and brought his arms around the smaller girl. "I missed you too." He ruffled the girl's hair slightly, flashing the smile again.

"You..." Ruby didn't finish the sentence as she stared at the brand new light found in the taller man. Tears of joy threatened to spill down her cheeks. The transformation between the time she watched (y/n) enter the hospital to today was a drastic but welcomed change.

(y/n) let out an amused chuckle. "Yeah... I know." It's been a long time since Ruby's seen (y/n) happy, and he knew that. The two remained in the hug for a bit longer, revelling at the change in (y/n)'s mood. They finally break apart, Ruby with tears already running down her cheeks. (y/n) gives the smaller girl a sympathetic smile in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm sorry I missed you yesterday..." Ruby looked down at the floor before engaging another hug with (y/n), which he accepted with open arms.

The day before, Ruby had visited the hospital to see (y/n), only to be told she wouldn't be able to see him at the time. At that time, (y/n) was busy being assessed by the young Dr. Sustrai. Ruby ended up leaving the hospital guiltily since she promised (y/n) she'd visit him the next day, feeling as she already broke the promise. For the rest of the day, she was worried about (y/n) being sad or even upset about her not visiting. She was afraid she had hurt him and ended up heading back home, where she spent the rest of the day looking through (y/n)'s boxes of documents, documenting a fictional life of a fictional person. It wasn't until later that day when (y/n) had called Ruby, telling her something amazing had happened. It was clear in his voice he wasn't mad. In fact, he sounded happy. (y/n) explained to Ruby that something miraculous happened that day and that he had something to show her the next day when she'd come to visit.

After that phone call, all of Ruby's worries had disappeared. She had woken up with a renewed feeling of hope that her best friend would be alright after all. Ever since (y/n) had been admitted into the hospital, this was Ruby's first time experiencing relief. For an entire forty-eight hours the two were apart and it was an entire forty-eight hours Ruby was worried sick about (y/n)'s well being. Finally, she had a feeling of solace knowing (y/n) was doing fine at the hospital and that admitting him wasn't a mistake, though the other option was prison which wasn't exactly a better destination. That night, Ruby slept comfortably and was awake the next day completely energized and excited to see her best friend again.

"Don't worry about it." (y/n) grinned at Ruby and patted her head.

"I'm... I'm just... so happy..." Ruby managed to squeak the words through her tears.

(y/n) continued to pat the shorter girl's head. It was a move he'd use whenever Ruby needed comforting. "C'mon Rubes." (y/n) placed a hand on her back and guided her down the hall.

The two walked into the common room, where other patients of the hospital sat around. Some were watching TV while others were conversing with each other. The one person who was an exception was the young girl with the bandaged wrist who (y/n) spoke to the other day. The girl would hop from group to group, trying to start conversations with the other patients. At the moment, she was talking to an older couple who was visiting a younger boy who seemed to be their grandson.