InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The one that you have loved"

Hannibal (i_consume) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2008-12-20 20:59:00

Entry tags:

hannibal lecter, norman bates

Coaxing (Norman)
Hannibal headed up the hill to the place he'd called home since he got here. Bates Motel. It still didn't feel right to stay at Lady Murasaki's flat, though it was there, and it remained his. It hadn't ever been occupied by anybody else. The key still fit the door. The motel managed to feel better. Fit his style more. Somehow, it made him feel at home.

The crossing over the line, taking him into the black and white realm of Norman and Mother. It was something that managed to sooth him. Put him at ease. And what he needed right now was ease. He'd been a zombie. He'd lost River, yet again. He'd had to talk to that insufferable Wilson, who was now his boss. What else could possibly go wrong?

He did manage to notice something different on his way up.

The office lights were on. They hadn't been on in a very long time. Norman had been taken out of the City, and Hannibal had been left without his companion. It had been a rather sad time, but he'd managed to get past it. Now that the light was back on, he couldn't help but change his direction and have a look.

One could only hope that it was Norman and not somebody else that had taken over the place. And one could only hope that this Norman was the same Norman and would remember him. Hannibal wasn't quite in the mood to start from the beginning.

He approached the desk and tapped the bell lightly.

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i_shower
2008-12-20 11:19 pm UTC (link)

Norman had been in the back room. The room with all of his taxidermy and his little kitchenette fridge. He had a few bologna and mustard sandwiches tucked away in the fridge for when he was out working and didn't want to walk all the way back up to the house. Sometimes the walk was just too far. Especially when he'd been doing things like painting. He still hadn't finished painting the outside of the entire motel yet, but the office was done. He might have gotten further in his painting if he hadn't been interrupted by Fred and her ... friend. Not that he minded Fred! He liked Fred. Though, Mother had a significantly different opinion of her than Norman did. But Norman didn't particularly care for that guy she brought up to his motel.

There was something odd about him.

When he heard the desk bell ring, he scurried out from the back room, and into the main office area. He blinked at first, registering the face of the man before him, and then he smiled. A wide, pleased smile.

"Hannibal!"

Yes, of course he remembered Hannibal. How could he forget him? He was one of the few people in The City that Norman felt a connection to. They shared something between them, they did.

"It has b-b-been a long t-time."

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i_consume
2008-12-20 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Hannibal was happy for the recognition. It meant so many things that Norman would remember. Things that he would need to make note of. Interesting things. Like you could leave the City and come back. That was something to think about.

"Norman." Hannibal smiled. "It's nice to see you again. Is it nice to be back?"

There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but wasn't sure how to go about it. If he asked too much too soon, Norman might shut down. He had to bide his time. Do this carefully.

"I see that you've painted."

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i_shower
2008-12-20 11:43 pm UTC (link)

"Y-yes. And no. Well, yes. Yes, it is n-nice to be b-b-back."

Norman cleared his throat in the hopes that he might control his stuttering more. He didn't usually get this nervous around people he liked. People he was comfortable with. Not that there were many of those people because most people weren't comfortable with him. He always got nervous around ladies. That was understandable. But Hannibal? He shouldn't have been so anxious.

Maybe it was because he knew Mother liked Hannibal, too. And he was worried she might want to come out and talk to him.

"Oh! You noticed! Yes. Do you like the color? It's n-not finished. Soon, though. It'll be finished s-ssoon."

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i_consume
2008-12-20 11:46 pm UTC (link)

"I do like the color." Hannibal turned his tone to something more soothing. Something to put Norman at ease. He hadn't seen Norman this nervous since they'd gone walking through The City together. Norman hadn't been sure what to do with so much outdoor freedom.

"If you'd like me to, tomorrow I can help you finish. I'm sure we could get it done in short order."

He took a relaxed pose and looked around. "Tell me, what have you been up to, friend? And if you don't mind, can you tell me what happened? How you left and came back? What happened?"

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i_shower
2008-12-21 06:31 pm UTC (link)

"I would appr-preciate that. I still have quite a few cabins to go."

Norman had always been anxious. Since he was a child, everything made him nervous. He was always running and hiding, doing his Mother's bidding. He could remember a few times as a young boy when she would yell and scream and scratch when she didn't get her way. And then she got older and meaner.

And then there was the tea.

He blinked, mind drifting back from wherever it went when he thought about how things used to be.

"I don't know if I can explain it. I was here and then I was back ... well, here. I mean, the motel and the house. But where it used to be. On the stretch of d-desert road. The one without the highway b-b-bypass. It was quiet and lonely."

Norman paused, trying to remember exactly how it happened. The environment hadn't changed so much for him. So at first he hadn't even noticed that he'd been gone from The City. And how did he get back?

"...I was picking up groceries from the town. Walking. By the time I walked back up to the house, The City had returned."

Talking about it seemed to calm him down a little, ease his anxiety.

"It's difficult to explain... But..."

And on this thought he paused. Thinking. Was it important? Hannibal would think so. And that's why Norman decided to admit it.

"Mother wasn't with me. I think she s-stayed here."

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i_consume
2008-12-22 07:07 pm UTC (link)

"You think Mother stayed here?" That perked his interest quite a bit. Quite a bit, indeed. Everything else was forgotten almost entirely. All the questions that had been lined up in his head, waiting to be asked, were suddenly pushed away. Maybe he'd ask later. Maybe he wouldn't.

"Would you mind telling me more about this?" Hannibal tilted his head. Mother had stayed. Norman had gone. "Was it a feeling you had? That she was missing? Please, elaborate?"

It was interesting that Norman had left and come back. It meant something that Hannibal hadn't considered previously. But it just didn't matter to him right now.

Mother.

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i_shower
2009-01-04 06:48 pm UTC (link)

Hannibal had a lot of questions. Norman knew that he would. Questions ruled Hannibal's life. Unfortunately, Norman never liked questions very much. They always got him (or Mother) in trouble. And Norman didn't like to be in trouble. Norman just, well, liked to be ... Norman.

But the world didn't seem to like Norman being himself.

But that's why Norman preferred The City. The City hadn't judged him like California had. Some people still looked at him with a suspicious glare, but not in the same way that the people of Fairvale looked at him.

"I kn-know Mother stayed here. She likes it better here. She didn't go with me."

How could Norman explain something of this magnitude? Mother simply had refused to leave The City. Not that Norman had been trying to leave. Well, maybe he'd thought about it once or twice and then it happened, but how it happened? It just did. But Mother was stronger than Norman. She didn't want to leave, so she didn't leave. And that was that.

"Everything was very ... quiet ... without her."

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i_consume
2009-01-08 06:12 pm UTC (link)

Hannibal considered this. Very interesting. It gave him some ideas. Mother had stayed and Norman had gone.

"Norman, I would very much like to talk more about this with you. But I have some things that I need to look up, first. I need to be sure about some ideas I've got. In the meantime, do let me know when you're going to be painting so that I can help you out. Also, let me know a night which you would like for me to cook for you again. It would give me great pleasure to do so."

Hannibal stood upright, seeing that Norman wasn't quite ready to have this conversation.

"I promise you that I won't bring up this ordeal with mother again without letting you know ahead of time that it is my intention."

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