A/N

Corruptprophet777 this is the chapter that should answer your question as to why (y/n) just doesn't get Ruby to bring his box of drawings. And of course, it's for plot reasons.

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924 AF1.1 - Third Person POV

Ruby slowly walked into the hospital the next day with hesitation. Her stomach was tied in knots ever since (y/n) broke down in front of her in the empty office and after the phone call she had with him the day before, knowing that he's gone back into his delusions wasn't comforting in the slightest. 

She walked up to the receptionist's desk and lightly bounced on her toes, a mix of excited and anxious. After a little wait, the receptionist greeted her with a smile.

"Back again already?" The receptionist gave Ruby a warm smile as she sorted through folders laid out on her desk.

"Of course!" Ruby forced a happy tone. "A promise is a promise!"

The receptionist handed the girl a pen and clipboard. "Just sign this and you can go in."

Ruby sweetly smiled at the receptionist and took the clipboard.

"He seems to be in a better mood than yesterday." The receptionist added as Ruby signed the form.

"Yeah... He called me last night... He was..." She struggled to find the right words to describe (y/n)'s behaviour over the phone last night. Ruby looked up from the clipboard to try and find the words for her thoughts but was completely derailed when something else caught her attention. Her jaw dropped as she watched a mint haired doctor glance through one of the filing cabinets. Her thoughts ran faster than her mouth could speak but eventually caught up after making a face of pure disbelief. "Em!?"

The doctor jumped a little at the sudden outburst from a stranger. She turned towards the front desk to see a shorter girl with black and red hair she didn't recognize. "I'm sorry?"

"No no no no! You're not real! You can't be real!" Ruby dropped the receptionist's clipboard, hitting the tiled floor with a clang.

(y/n) had told her too many times Em was real, but there wasn't a single cell in Ruby's body that believed it. Well, until now. Now the fabled woman was standing in front of her. She was definitely the one (y/n) had replicated in his drawings for so many years.

Emerald took a small step back realizing this mysterious girl might be another patient who experienced the same delusions as (y/n). Another one, she questioningly thought to herself.

"Oh Oum..." Ruby wrung her hands in a mixture of excitement, fear, and a thousand other conflicting emotions. "Please don't tell me your name is Em..."

"Um... well... technically it's short fo-"

"Emerald? Emerald Sustrai?"

Emerald nodded and worryingly glanced at Ruby then the receptionist.

"But you're not real..." Ruby's mouth hung open slightly as she trying recollecting her thoughts and knowledge of Emerald as told to her by (y/n). Her eyes ran up and down Emerald in awe and confusion. "But if you're real... then..." Ruby then thought back to everything (y/n) said about past lives. Stories about Emerald, Ruby herself, or even her family, she'd brush it off. Every time Ruby would tell (y/n) he was wrong and that he was making things up, was it possible he was telling the truth? If it was all true, was (y/n) really able to remember things from alternate realities? "And I doubted him..."

Emerald took a cautious step forward and leaned forward to meet Ruby's eye level. Ruby looked up to Emerald's red eyes. Ruby looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Wait here please!" The shorter girl then proceeded to run out the hospital doors, not saying anything else.

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Ruby's POV

I threw my keys on the couch and ran into (y/n)'s bedroom. My eyes immediately deviated towards his wooden desk that sat in the corner of the room. A mess of papers and artistic mediums laid scattered along its surface. Black smudges from the use of charcoal and permanent blotches of colour from various paints stained the wooden surface. Dozens of pencils of varying hardnesses were also strewn on the desk mixed with loose papers. Of course, next to the desk were the cardboard boxes that held (y/n)'s life's work overflowing from the top.

Every night, (y/n) would sit at that desk and write or draw for hours about a past reality he'd supposedly remembered, always saying he needed to keep a physical record of everything. Of course, I didn't believe him one bit. I've always assumed it was all an overactive imagination or a delusion. Honestly, I'd gotten to a point where I was annoyed by his obsessive behaviour towards these weird stories in his free time. I tried to be his best friend through these strange behaviours.

I walk over to one of his boxes and run a finger along the top paper, feeling the guilt of fifteen plus years crash down on me. Not even once I believed (y/n). Not even once I took him seriously. Not even once I gave his musings the time of day since we turned seven. While I outgrew his wild fantasies, I knew (y/n) never did.

"Yeah, It was amazing! I jumped onto the Ursa's back and rode it into the village! I thought I was gonna die! It was crazy, Ruby! The whole tribe was watching! That thing was attacking out cows for months and no one had the guts to fight back. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I proved myself that day. I took it down in the village square with my sword. It ended up throwing me off its back so I took a nasty fall, but I was alright. You ended up nursing me back to health while the elders scolded me for being reckless. For the rest of the week, you slipped me half of your cookies from dinner."

That memory came back instantly. I could still hear (y/n)'s young voice, so full of energy and so excited. Back when we were kids, I loved his stories. I always thought he was the best storyteller, especially with a matching imagination perfect for stories. Not even once I thought those stories were actually real.

"You had a massive collection of weapons once. You had names or all of them and would spend hours cleaning and keeping them in tip-top shape. If you weren't sleeping in your bed, you'd be sleeping with your collection. Your uncle once knocked over one of the scythes and you planned on taking revenge for scratching its handle. No one thought you'd go through with your plan, but you did and it was super funny!"

I swallowed hard. I never believed a single word of it.

"You're a lot like your mom, y'know? Same eyes, same hair. She was as hyper as you are. She always had cute nicknames for you too. Cookie monster, chocolate chip, rose petal. She loved you so much. Every time you'd have a nightmare, she'd stay up late and stroke your hair to calm you down... That's where I learned that trick; from your mom... She'd be really proud to see you now..."

I felt the tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. (y/n) told me about my parents on numerous occasions when we were kids. He claimed to have known them in past lives. While I knew he never met them, I guess my younger mind took comfort in his words. It wasn't until we were older and I started rejecting his stories that the comfort in his words faded. I changed from comfort to something closer to anger. There was one time I had a bad day at the orphanage and (y/n) tried to comfort me with another story about my parents and I ended up yelling at him, telling him to stop talking about my parents... And since then, he hadn't mentioned them once.

I felt my stomach churn at the thought. How many wonderful stories did I miss out on because of my bitterness? What knowledge did (y/n) hold but have to suppress because of my unreasonable ire? My finger slid across another page on the pile of paper.

"I'm sorry, (y/n)..." I picked up a few loose papers and placed them on top of the box. "I'll help make things right."

I crammed more loose papers into the boxes. I let him down once, but this time I wasn't going to sit around and watch. I didn't understand any of it, but I'm ready to believe.

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Third Person POV

About an hour later, Ruby returned to the hospital. This time, with a pair of cardboard boxes and loose papers that couldn't fit into them. "Where did she go?"

The receptionist raised her eyebrows as she watched the small girl struggle to carry everything in her small hands.

"Doctor Sustrai?" The receptionist asked for clarification.

Ruby nodded while hicking the boxes up.

"Her office is down the hall. Take a right at the C wing and it's at the end of the hall."

The confused expression never left the receptionist's face as Ruby thanked her and made her way down the hall, boxes in tow.

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Emerald sat in her office with (y/n)'s file in hand. She read over the notes over and over again, trying to wrap her head around everything. Even after reading it multiple times, there was no exact starting point for his diagnosis. While he exhibited many signs of psychosis, many other traits would have professional healthcare providers saying the opposite. (y/n) would entertain these wild fantasies, but have no problem identifying his current reality. The only conclusion Emerald could land on is that everything he talked about was real, but of course, that in itself wasn't possible. She was back to square one.

How (y/n) kept his current reality separate from his fantasies were strange as well. Patients with psychosis wouldn't be able to tell the difference between real and fake and with (y/n), the only time his realities would blur was where Emerald was involved. Even worse, his delusions were too close to home to be written off as simply delusions. The man just knew too much about her. (y/n) couldn't have known all those details unless he knew Emerald better than someone as close to her as Cinder or Mercury. Maybe even better than Emerald herself. She felt her skin tingle at the thought.

Then there was the matter of the girl at the reception desk earlier today. According to the receptionist, she was (y/n)'s friend, Ruby. The girl reacted to Emerald the same way (y/n) had on the first day. Did she suffer from the same thing (y/n) did or did (y/n) just tell her about Emerald? If it was the latter, (y/n) had to be either telling the truth or was a stalking Emerald for quite some time. At least long enough to convince Ruby that he was experiencing something tangible.

Emerald groaned and dropped the file onto her desk. She reminded herself she's only worked with (y/n) twice and that there was plenty of time to get to the bottom of his condition. There was no reason to reach a conclusion just yet. Emerald leaned back into her seat and brought her cup of hot tea to her lips to relax. 

A knock was heard from the door and without waiting for a response, the door opened. Emerald stopped drinking and set her mug down. "Most people would wait for a response before entering... but please, come in." She managed to keep her voice steady while her brain processed the confusing predicament.

"You need to take a look at this" Ruby dropped the boxes onto Emerald's desk, dropping a few papers in the process.

Emerald raised a confused eyebrow. "What am I looking at exactly?" She stood up from her seat and looked into the cardboard boxes. Loose papers were packed into these boxes and the boxes themselves were falling apart. Emerald pulled a piece of paper from the top of the box. The paper was heavy from the ink, from the sheer amount of writing that was packed onto the single sheet. Her eyes scanned the familiar but messy writing. The first thing that caught her eye was her own name. Her eyebrows furrowed as she started reading. It was about her, but not a present her, a past her, a younger her.

Emerald's father was transferred from Vacuo to Mistral to aid the rebuild after the attack. That's where I met her. She was sitting on the rubble of a ruined waterfront building, feet dangling over the water. I was immediately captivated by her. Her short mint hair flowing in the wind and the light glow of her skin from the sun. We were fourteen I think, but she was still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She ignored me at first. She always had a facade whenever I'd try to talk to her. She'd say "I gotta go, my dad's waiting" and flash a smile the moment I'd call out to her. I think she was mad about having to move to Mistral. I kept at her though. I offered to show off my semblance. Honestly, I had just unlocked it a week before and had almost no control over it, but I think I just wanted to show off to her. I wanted her to like me. It took a while to break down the fake walls she put up, but when I did, we were inseparable. We'd spend every day playing by the water and get yelled at for not helping in the rebuild. I guess we were old enough to do some manual labour, but... we were in love... and love makes you stupid.

Emerald furrowed her eyebrows as she read the paper. She picked up another piece of paper from the box to find more instances of her life retold in different ways.

She beat the shit out of him! It was amazing. Mercury told her it was enough, but she kept going. I guess she was having a bad day that day. We got kicked out of the club, but it was totally worth it to see her in action. The moment that guy placed a finger on Emerald, she reacted against it. In one motion, she brought him down and broke his nose. I think that was when I fell in love with her. Seeing her obliterate the man put a smile on my face. Probably something wrong with me.

"Is this (y/n)'s?" Emerald looked up from the page she had in her hand to see the girl digging through one of the boxes and pulling out old drawings and paintings.

"(y/n)... he made these..." Ruby handed them to the doctor. Emerald hesitantly looked over the images. She glanced to the smaller girl before examining the illustrations. Ruby eagerly watched the doctor try and comprehend everything. While she wouldn't admit it, this whole thing was putting Emerald off guard.

Clumsy paintings of a girl with mint coloured hair covered each page, all varied in age but were clearly the same person. Emerald swallowed hard. She had no explanation for any of this. Each paper was clearly old, yellowed with age. It was clear (y/n) had been at it for a very long time. Emerald glanced over at the boxes. There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of portraits depicting the same woman. She could see (y/n)'s skills developing as the years went by.

Mixed among the paintings and drawings were hundreds of pages covered with scribbled notes, each holding a snippet of time in a different reality. There was so much evidence in these boxes that showed (y/n) has been telling the truth. At the thought of it all being true, Emerald felt her heart rate pick up. She placed the art down and sunk back into her seat. She took a few deep breaths as she looked at the piles of paper in front of her.

"He's been drawing you ever since he could hold a crayon," Ruby said, looking at a picture in her hands before showing to Emerald. It was a very crude children's drawing of a young girl with pastel green hair holding hands with a young boy with (h/c) hair in front of a square structure resembling a house. "We all thought you were his imaginary friend..." Ruby turned the page back towards her to look over it again.

"...This..." Emerald rubbed her temples in contemplation. "How is... all of this... possible? How does he know me?"

Ruby heard her but didn't respond. It wasn't like she had the answers either. The younger girl didn't understand it either, but for the first time, she believed her best friend. The guilt continued to poke at Ruby. (y/n) was her best friend and yet all this time, she never truly took him seriously. "He's in love with you, y'know?"

Emerald closed her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah... I got that..." She sighed and reached out for one of the boxes. She opened the top and pulled out the first thing she saw. Her eyes landed on a photograph of a young (y/n). He was around five or six, definitely not older. He stood proudly with his messy hair and missing teeth. He was showing off his latest painting of Emerald to the photographer. The painting itself was simple but was clearly a labour of love. Emerald flipped the photograph and found the description. "(y/n) draws his imaginary friend, Em, for show and tell." Emerald sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Now there was no denying it; somehow (y/n) really knew her.

She shook her head and slumped back into her seat. Emerald almost felt the need to get one of the other doctors to check on her own head just to make sure she hadn't lost her mind.

"Are you OK?" Ruby asked. She bit her lip, worried that maybe she shouldn't have brought these boxes to Doctor Emerald Sustrai.

Emerald sighed and stared at the boxes on her desk. "I need to talk to (y/n)..."

Ruby fidgetted with her hands and gave Emerald a half worried half hopeful smile. "Please don't hurt him... He really does love you..."

Emerald glanced up and caught Ruby's innocent silver eyes. She lightly bit her lip. "I'm not going to hurt him..."

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Emerald's POV

I sat in my office alone, anxiety levels rising. Ruby left my office to wait for (y/n) in the common area after him and I have our meeting. She mentioned something about not wanting to interrupt fate. That ended up with me waiting alone with these boxes of my supposed past lives.

I read over a few more pages from the boxes, skimming over the notes that described me in detail. Unnervingly enough, everything was accurate to a tee. There were notes describing my favourite books, but they were books that didn't even exist or I haven't heard of. If everything (y/n) had said was true, perhaps they were books that didn't exist in this world. There were passages about how we first met time and time again and how the two of us always fell into an easy and comfortable relationship. There were even stories of how Mercury or Cinder set the two of us up with each other. Those stories always managed to sneak a giggle out of me. There were also pages of (y/n)'s heartaches when he couldn't tell if I was actually real and how it tore him up inside knowing that he was in love with someone who wasn't even there. I almost feel guilty for not being in (y/n)'s life for this long and causing him the pain he's had to endure. Even if it was beyond my control, the guilt still pricked at my mind.

I shake my head to try and disperse the anxiety building up. I glance over at the clock. In a few minutes, (y/n) would be escorted into my office. I asked a tech to bring him here not long after Ruby left. Now, the anticipation was making my heart race. Honestly, I have no idea what to say to him. I mean, I believe him. All the evidence is in these boxes. Even if I didn't understand it, it was looking back at me. The struggle lied in the fact that I couldn't be everything (y/n) wanted me to be. The relationship was completely one-sided. He was already in love with me while I don't have a single idea about him. He knew everything about me. There's no way I could promise him everlasting love. The most I can do is to give him my understanding of the situation.

A light knocking on the door pulled my attention away from the boxes for a moment. I put the boxes down next to my desk and readjusted myself in my chair, sitting up straight. "Come in."

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Third Person POV

The door opened to a smiling (y/n). The smile only grew bigger when he saw Emerald's face. Though it faltered slightly at the sight of the boxes of his documents that sat next to the doctor. (y/n)'s body stiffened and swallowed hard. He didn't expect them to appear in Emerald's possession. While he knew Emerald didn't exactly know where his mental health was, the boxes definitely made him look like an obsessive stalker.

"Uh... How did you get those?" (y/n)'s movements slowed down and became full of anxiety. It was clear he felt very apprehensive. It was almost like he was afraid to move toward his own work. His usual confident aura was gone and was replaced by fear.

(y/n)'s change in body language didn't go unnoticed by Emerald. His movement became calculated and careful. Emerald didn't expect this change in (y/n) after seeing the boxes. She could see all the thoughts flying around in his head. It was clear it unnerved him.

Emerald motioned to the chair in front of her, trying to dispel (y/n)'s fear. The room was eerily quiet as (y/n) slowly took a seat. Neither of them knew what to say or where to start. Emerald ran a hand through her hair and looked up at the man in front of her.

Emerald looked over (y/n)'s features. She could see the fear seeded deep in his eyes. For the first time, she realized she unnerved him more than he unnerved her. Emerald noticed the sudden change in power. She knew a single sentence from her could crush (y/n) and bring him to his knees. Emerald felt her stomach churn at the idea.

Slowly, Emerald placed her hands on top of (y/n)'s. She felt the warmth radiate from his hands as she tried to find the words to start the conversation. Emerald looked up at (y/n) to meet his (e/c) eyes. She saw the fear dissolve in his eyes and become something closer to curiosity.

"Tell me more about us..."

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Emerald leaned on the doorframe of the common room entrance, arms crossed against her chest as she watched (y/n) and Ruby on the couch. The two friends had a lot to talk about after today's events and Emerald couldn't help but be curious about the two. There were so many questions left unanswered that it occupied Emerald's thoughts more than it should. After her talk with (y/n), she felt the need to observe him and Ruby.

"I can't promise you anything, (y/n)." Emerald's own voice echoed in her mind as she thought back to her short conversation with (y/n).

"I know..." (y/n)'s voice remained steady, but a small grimace formed on his lips that Emerald caught. "You... do believe me though, right?"

Emerald took a moment before nodding. "Yeah... I think so..." Another pause. "How is this possible?"

(y/n) shrugs. "Not sure. I've been asking myself the same question for years... From what I can tell, it's Oum."

"How many realities have you..." Emerald couldn't finish the sentence, unsure how to phrase the question.

"Not really sure... Thousands? Maybe more? Hard to say..."

"... And we always meet?"

"Yeah... Always..."

"Yeah. And he was tall. He'd take you with him whenever he went training every week. You two would hike into the forest. You'd always get tired and end up on his shoulders by the end of it. There were apples on the trees along the way so you'd pick those whenever you had the chance. I think those hikes were the reason you wanted to be a hunter like your dad." (y/n)'s voice brought Emerald's attention back into the present. He sat on the couch with his legs up on the table and Ruby leaned against him and silently cried into his chest.

When Ruby spilled her first eager apology, (y/n) was dumbstruck. He immediately brought the girl into a hug and placed a hand on her head in a calming motion. He had lost all hope of convincing Ruby everything he's said was real, but now that she did believe him, a weight was lifted from him. His best friend finally knew the truth. An unexpected cathartic release escaped (y/n) after Ruby's revelation. Now the two sat on the couch as (y/n) entertained Ruby with stories of the family she hardly knew. Though this time, she believed every word of it. She let her tears flow freely onto (y/n)'s scrubs, creating a wet stop the two ignored.

"There was a time your mother let you bake cookies with her and you ate the whole plate in seconds. It was amazing! Your sister chased you around the house for hours until your mom made another batch. Your mom loved cookies as much as you, y'know?"

Ruby nodded against (y/n)'s chest and gripped tighter at his scrubs, ready for more stories.

"(y/n)... I'm gonna need some time to... process all this..." Emerald said, pointing at the overflowing cardboard boxes.

"Sure."

"Could I schedule you for a CT scan?"

"Whatever you need, Em." Emerald swallowed at the sound of her short-form name. It kinda sounded nice coming from (y/n).

A short silence followed.

"Does it always end well for us?" Emerald couldn't help but ask.

"No..." (y/n) bit his lip. "Not always..."

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A/N

Chapter finished shortly after hearing news about one of my favourite authors. Just kinda hard to think about rn. Rest in peace.

4358 words