Archive of Our Own ^beta

It all begins pretty innocuously. The seed is planted while Emma is in the library with Gilda, accompanying her as she scans the shelves. The two of them are partnered for a literature project and wanted to get their final source material before going home. The redhead twirls a mechanical pencil that she’s sure she borrowed from Ray in her hands while Gilda speaks quietly behind her.

“... So basically, we didn’t get anything. It ended up pouring as we left too. Kind of a lame set up, right?” she giggles, prompting Emma to look up from the table she sits at. The notes have pretty much been finalized aside from one more quote being needed, so the pile of notebook paper to her side has all but been forgotten.

“Sounds like a lot of surprises! Did you have fun at least?” Emma chirps. Gilda had been chattering about her date for almost the entire two weeks prior to it actually happening. Emma couldn’t blame her excitement, though— she’d been talking about how much she wanted to experience that kind of stuff since they were in second grade.

So when Gilda shyly smiles and nods at her, she feels happiness bubble up for her friend. She watches the smaller girl decide on a book and sit down next to her, fidgeting and teasing at the edge of her pink skirt. “Yeah. We… Y’know, even if a lot of mistakes happened, it was still fun because we were spending time together. And it was worth the trouble in the end, because when we were leaving…”

Emma’s eyebrows quirk up. “... Huh?? What happened?”

What Gilda says comes out as a whisper so soft Emma isn’t even sure she heard right. “... we kissed! J-just once, though, and it was really short…”

Making a noise of surprise and wonder, Emma gives a very quiet clap for her friend. Gilda waves her off, clearly embarrassed. The elder girl sees her press her hand to her chest and smile despite being flustered, and a thought plops into her head like an apple from a tree and stays there, rolling around as they eventually find a quote and leave.

As they part ways and Emma eyes the slightly overcast sky, thinking of home, a snowball effect begins. One thought brings about another, then another, until her head is full of loud and curious thoughts that distract her on her way home so much that she almost crosses the street before the light turns. A warm spring breeze ruffles her hair and as she treks up the apartment stairs, she clutches her bag tighter.

For now, though, she swings the front door open. “Hellooooo, I’m home!”

Emma stares when she’s thinking. Her gaze alternates between Ray’s hand as he scribbles something in his sketchbook and Norman’s as he scrolls through something on his phone. She’s laying upside down on her bed while the two of them sit at the end, having watched some videos on their TV before just settling there in silence.

The thought-apples roll around, rumbling and toppling over each other. She can’t seem to properly grasp any of them to do something about it, instead being lost in a sea of new ideas and curiosity. There’s also a feeling in her chest that’s familiar- she recognizes it from the birthday presents the two in front of her have given her, from the soft song Ray hums when he’s relaxed, from the gentle pats of her head from Norman.

But it buzzes, not settling. It feels warmer. Mysterious.

Just as Ray puts down his pencil to shake out his wrist, she makes a humming noise and blinks up at them. “Hey, guys?”

Ray makes a hum of acknowledgement, and Norman puts down his phone. “What’s on your mind, Emma? You’ve been spacing out for a while.”

“Not that that’s anything unusual for her,” Ray says, grinning right at her. He dodges a pillow thrown at him.

Emma sighs, composes herself, and asks steadily, “Have either of you ever kissed somebody?”

The question surprises and flusters both of them to varying degrees. Ray nearly chokes and whips his head around with wide eyes, while Norman places his phone down almost shyly.

“Wh-what are you asking all of a sudden!?” Ray all but squeaks, and Emma has to hold back a giggle. The feeling in her chest blooms just a little more.

Norman clears his throat, pink tinting his cheeks. “Well… I haven’t. But I don’t think that’s a surprise. Um. What about you, Emma?”

She can’t read either of their tones or facial expressions very well. Despite asking what she assumed to be an innocent question, she feels herself flushing just a little. “Of course I haven’t!” she pauses. “Ray, you gotta answer!!”

“Why do I have to?” he growls, but there’s no bite. Emma and Norman both blink at him, leaning forward to try and push him. Just a little. He relents, sighing aggressively and throwing his hands up, “No! I haven’t. Why do you even ask, idiot?”

Emma blinks, sitting up fully. “I dunno… I guess Gilda and I were talking earlier and she said something about kissing! She went on a date. It’s been on my mind, I guess?”

“Ah, I see,” Norman hums, and the conversation trails into a momentary silence. There’s a tension in the air that Emma can’t place. She finds herself wanting to cut through it.

Despite her heart pounding in her ears, she asks, “Do you guys wanna try?”

Ray’s sputtering is immediate. Norman blinks once, twice, before suddenly his entire face is the reddest Emma’s ever seen it, even including being sick as a kid. She almost doesn’t know what to do with this kind of reaction, but at the same time, she’s not sure what she should’ve expected at all. She herself was just winging it, too.

“W—what do you mean, we? You expect us to kiss each other? Like, all of us!?” Ray gestures wildly between the three of them. When Emma just shrugs, it seems to ignite his outburst further, but he manages to take a deep breath or two and lower his voice. “First of all, why us? Shouldn’t you, I dunno… Don’t people want to save that kind of thing for certain people?”

Emma considers it with a hum. “Well… why not you? I like you guys best.”

Ray’s attempts to mellow out are all but thrown out the window. He nearly falls out of the bed. “Fucking— Sure, we’re close, but I don’t mean “like” like that!”

“Why…? You’re my most important people, and maybe—“ The defiant, easily riled up part of her takes charge of her, lest she listen to her heartbeat, anxiousness, or heated cheeks to stop herself, “maybe I know what I want, huh!?”

Ray’s got his face in his hand. Emma is partially glad for it, because she’s not sure what kind of expression she’s making. “... Norman, can you talk some sense, please?” he asks in a mix of a grumble and a whine.

Looking to said blond, however, raises other concerns. His eyes are fixated on his lap, his fingers twiddling like he can’t relax. There’s something incredible about the stark contrasting colors on his face— bright, wide blue eyes, pale skin almost completely dominated by crimson flushing.

“... Emma says she wants to… I-I’ll do it…” he whispers. His composure is a mess for once and this fact seems to in turn make a mess of the other two. “Ray, too… I will. You want to too, right?”

Ray opens and closes his mouth dumbly, eyes flickering between the two of them. Emma’s resolve hardens despite her unidentifiable state. “If you hate it, we’ll leave you alone about it!”

Eyes shut tight and face covered, Ray’s shoulders slump. “... As long as you two go first, okay…? I need a second…”

Emma smiles at her victory, but something about this sudden freedom amps up her anxiety just a little.

The buzzing in her chest isn’t unbearable, however.

Scooting over to Norman, she instinctively grabs both of his hands. She can feel just how clammy they seem, and if it weren’t for this kind of scenario she’d be worried about his health. Right now it just feels extraordinarily relatable. Norman’s posture straightens. Emma is almost certain her heartbeat is visibly moving her body.

Not quite sure what to do but taking a leap of faith anyway, she leans in. She watches Norman’s eyes widen before completely closing. Oh, should she do that too? As soon as she does, she goes to lean in just a little more but is surprised to find that he wasn’t nearly as far away as she thought. Their noses bump.

For nervousness or whatever else at this point, she laughs. Norman relaxes in her hands. She hears some kind of puff of air from Ray’s general direction and deduces he’s probably laughing too.

Less worked up, she takes in a couple of things. Norman’s breath is warm against her face, if uneven. His hands hesitantly tighten around hers. Suddenly, it’s like she remembers where she is, and before she can get anxious about it again, she tilts her head properly and leans in fully.

Oh, she can feel him smiling. She also notes how soft his lips are. She’s hyper aware of everything now— are her lips chapped? Should she be doing something else? Should she—

Before Emma can really wrap her head around the whole thing it’s already over. They’re leaning back, and when she opens her eyes again she meets sapphires that are filled to the brim with something heavy that she can’t fully read.

“... Oh. Huh” Emma says.

“Um, yeah,” Norman’s voice is quiet.

Meanwhile, Ray looks like he’s trying to set his eyes anywhere but at either of them. Maybe it’s the nervousness again, but she giggles at his obviously embarrassed posture. “Ray, it’s your turn!”

Ray shifts a little to fully face the other two and his fave is completely red. Emma has seen him embarrassed before, but he’s never looked so… vulnerable? Docile? She can’t come up with a word for it but it turns her heart into mush.

His eyes don’t leave his lap, however, even when he shakily addresses them, “Uh… I… Either of you, um…”

Nobody expects Norman to be the one to take any action here, but here he is leaning over and giving Ray an audible peck on the lips. Emma’s pretty sure if she herself is feeling soft watching this, Ray’s probably about to be pudding.

“Wh— Norman!” his voice cracks, and Norman chuckles a little at him. Really loud pudding, then. Ray covers his mouth and Emma is thoroughly shocked to see his face become even redder. “J— You—- W-warn me next time, jerk!”

“Next time?” Norman teases gently, which earns him a light shove on the shoulders. He and Emma both giggle.

“Oh! My turn, Ray! If you’re ready?” She says, perhaps a bit more excited than she meant to sound. Ray’s been reduced to a state of almost complete incoherence, but he manages to look her in the eyes. There’s a lot of emotions happening and Emma can barely keep up with them.

Next thing she knows, she’s shocked to find his lips pressed to hers. His lips are a little chap, and her thoughts wander to his nervous habit of chewing on his lip that he’s retained his entire life. Beyond that, though, they’re so unexpectedly warm.

Before she can analyze it much beyond that, though, it’s already over, and Ray has retreated his face into his palms.

Emma’s chest is tight as she feels Norman’s hand on her arm, and she places her own on Ray’s shoulder. When the latter peeks up at the two of them, she can’t help but let herself beam.

“I think we can get better at this with practice!”

“Oh! Eheh, sure, Emma.”

“... Yeah.”