The Meaning of Love|| The Promised Neverland || (Ray x Emma)

Library

"We have to tell Yuugo about This!" Emma said.
"This is the first one I've seen in this forest, and it was really weak too. But yeah, we should still inform him of this.. it could get bad if there's more."

Emma looked at it with serious eyes.

"They're getting smarter, mimicking our own use of protection."

The girls go home after hiding the demons body. (So other demons don't find it)

~they finally arrive home~

"Okay Emma, I'm gonna go to my room after I tell Yuugo about it, if you need anything, just come on up okay?"
"Got it, thanks Gillian"
She smiles and walks to her room. As does Emma. Emma returns her bow to her room and heads to the library. She had been reading a romance story. She started it... for no particular reason-

She finds her book and she heads to an empty table to read. One of the younger kids, Jemima came up, intrigued by what she was reading. She shared and they read the story together. After That, Alicia, and even more children came up to her. This filled her with joy. She loved children.

When was the last time she got to be carefree with them?
When was the last time she was even with them in the first place?
It's been far too long.

They read, they talked, and they laughed. They had so much fun together. She couldn't help but laugh and laugh.

Ray walked in and watched them. Emma hadn't noticed but he'd been smiling at them the whole time. To Ray, Emma looked beautiful, and motherly. The sight of her with all the children only made his affection for her grow. He loved her, and admired every aspect of her. He couldn't help but stare at the group simply laughing and enjoying their lives. Their innocence and fragile smiles were enough to make him smile as well.

"I wish I could... do that with her one day.." he thought, "laughing with kids and being so carefree with them.shes like a parent..."

He realized what he just thought about and immediately slapped himself.
"AGH!" He yelled. "WHAT THE HELL DID I-"
He burried his head in his arms on the desk.
Violet looked at him, slightly concerned about his mental health.

The group got hungry so they left to get a snack. Before leaving though, one of the younger kids asked Emma for a piggy back ride. She kneeled and he hopped on. Then they ran to the kitchen as Emma lead the way. That whole scene made Ray chuckle. Violet was watching them just a few meters away from Ray and called them morons as he laughed at her words. But his thoughts about Emma continued to flood his mind. His smile only grew and his expression softened.
"They sure are" he said.
Violet looked to him and placed a book on the shelf. Her eyes narrowed at him.
"You like her, right?"

Ray nearly jumped out of his seat.
"HUH!? Uh What?? I didn't hear you properly" by reflexive conscience, he started squeezing his scarf.
Violet quietly laughs at his stupid attempt to hide it.
He looks to his side and says,
"She's just a good friend of mine."
"Heartbreaker." She replied. She turned her attention back to the books on the shelf.
"let's NOT see how that lie plays out, okay?"
She said that as she walks away.

"'Heartbreaker?' What? EMMA'S Heart?"
He watches Violet walk to the door as she exits.
Still confused, he decides to leave as well.
"There's no way Emma likes me back if that's what Violet's implying."
Just as he was about to open the door, Emma and the kids burst through. He sees Emma with a snack bar being held in her mouth as she and him nearly bump into each other. She stops just in time, feeling pretty stupid at the moment.

Ray looks at her and almost blushed at the sight of the girl. She didn't notice but gives him a sweet smile.

"Hwy, Way!" (Hi, Ray!) She yells, but the snack bar was in her mouth.

"You really are a moron, Emma" he says as he hits her head.
"Hmmmphh" she grumbles. She's unable to speak with the snack in her mouth. He takes note that she's still using his gold ribbon.

His hit softens and it becomes a gentle brush in her hair as he leaves. Emma feels his soft touch and all of a sudden, for some reason, she wanted to beg for him to come back. The children tug on her shirt and she smiles at them as they do. The group goes back to their seat in the library.

He wonders if Emma feels the same towards him as he does for her. But then he gives himself a laugh.
"Don't let your hopes get too high now" he reassures himself, "there's no way she likes you like That, let alone LOVES you. Don't kid youself" he squeezes the hand that he used to touch her head and looks at it with a sad expression.

"Yeah... She only loves us as family.."
He gives himself a fake smile.

~~~
The next day, Emma goes back to the library and sees Ray and Don sitting at the table. Ray was reading the same black book. She would love to go over and ask about it but she would have felt really awkward with Don there. So she leaves.

The next day, she peeks in to see if Ray was alone, but he wasn't. This time, Gilda was sitting on the other side of the table, and Anna was looking at the shelf nearby.

Emma looks to the side and leaves again.
This repeats for 3 more days.
Ray and Emma hadn't spent much time with each other other than an occasional "hello" in the halls.
On the 4th day, Ray wasn't at the library at all. Confused, she left again.
Then she remembers that he was helping the others prepare for dinner. In that case, he wouldn't be free until night.
But, why would he be there at night?

She felt sad that she could barely talk to him, alone.

She sighed and decided to walk over to the infirmary to see how Chris was doing. He looked very healthy by now. He was still there for extra care, but he could talk, laugh, and even run now! This filled Emma with relief. She couldn't wait to see him out. Emma always visited him, unless he was sleeping.

After another boring day, she went to dinner. She saw Ray with the book in his hands.
"He brought it with him?" She wondered, "was he gonna go to the library to read it!? This time he'd be alone for sure right? It's about to be night time. This is my chance!"

After they ate, Emma helped put the plates away and everyone left to bed. She didn't see which way Ray went so she ran quickly to the library, hoping that's where he went.

Before she went in, she peeked in to see if he was there. He wasn't.
"He's not here?" She mumbled out loud. *sigh*
She decided to leave but as soon as she turned away, she heard a voice that she had wanted to hear for a long time. The gentle voice speaks softly.

"What are you doing here, Emma?"