frenchkissed: (【 704 】)
charles edward allan brock ([personal profile] frenchkissed) wrote in [community profile] oliverfield2022-04-15 11:09 pm
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arihab: (i feel the chemicals burn)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-16 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Norman barely clears the landing before wrapping his arms around Eddie and slumping against him, face completely hidden in the crook of Eddie's neck. He's not outwardly emotional at all - the only obvious struggle he's facing at the moment is against extreme exhaustion.]

Coffee. Sure. [More than anything else, Norman would really like to avoid all the questions Eddie keeps hurling at him, but he knows that's unfair. Eddie's very rightfully worried and some reassurance is a small price to pay for the comfort of his presence.

When Norman finally lifts his head, the room's dim light reveals that some of the deep shadows creasing Norman's face are actually purply-black bruises and welts. He went into that house without his weapon, with no protective gear at all, and while he's very lucky that the kidnapper didn't get hold of a weapon either, it does mean that he took a very visible and colourful beating in their hand-to-hand fight.]


He's in lockup. Cops and feds are still at the scene. Girls were taken to hospital. I got looked over and sent home, givin' my statement tomorrow. [This is all delivered in a flat monotone, just to get it out of the way.] As for how I wound up there... I guess usin' ARI for so long didn't fuck up my natural agent instincts after all.
arihab: (of such a raw deal)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-17 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[Norman doesn't even wince when Eddie reaches for his face, despite the many many sore spots he could easily bump or prod - his trust in Eddie is absolute, and has been since he first learned how carefully Eddie had to guard his life in the early days. Which isn't to say that Norman doesn't also trust Venom now, but V himself has been totally open about how readily he would've devoured Norman's brain during that time.]

Yeah, he got me good, but I got the KO. [A fierce little smile twists his mouth, almost a snarl.] Don't worry, the paramedics okayed me before I left.

[Eddie's praise feels like something with a soft, warm glow settling into Norman's belly, driving away shadows that made him feel perpetually on the verge of screaming his whole way here. He lets himself be led deeper into Eddie's apartment and nods at the question about clothes, then clarifies:]

The murder den smell on my hero costume's gettin' old, honestly. I'll grab something to put on while you make coffee. [Norman's sense of humour may be somewhat caustic, but at least it's back. While he searches out the most worn-in and comfortable-looking sweats he can find, he adds:] You got anything sweet to have with it?

[He's even seeking out comfort food. Norman's gonna be okay :')]
arihab: (if you love me)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-17 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[Norman's taller than Eddie but Eddie is much broader than Norman, which pretty much evens out when it comes to sharing casual clothes, and bundling up in Eddie's clothes is very much a comfort thing for Norman when he gets to do it. He's in simple grey sweats and a hoodie when he joins Eddie in the kitchen instead of shouting his answer and leans against his big, solid back.]

Even the big guy's got a fear of dentists, huh? [There - now his humour is even warming up slightly.] Sugar for me. Bit of milk. I meant sweet stuff like... cookies or donuts, that sorta thing, but this works too.
arihab: (sun was shining i'm positive)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-18 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[When Venom hands Norman the Oreos, he reaches to try and give the tentacle a quick, fond pat, if the alien will allow it. Does V like pets?] Thanks, V.

I bet Oreos go great with coffee, 'specially how you drink it - that's practically just a glass of milk anyway. [Norman nudges Eddie with a thin ghost of a smile, then heads for the couch with the Oreos in one hand and his own coffee in the other. How did he ever come down from hard work nights without these two in his life, he starts to wonder...

... but then the answer comes to him: escape. Escape into ARI, or escape into Triptocaine and the way it smoothed all his rough edges even when he wasn't burned out from the former. Escape into some sort of fiction where FBI work was heroic or glamorous or interwoven with fascinating sci-fi elements and done by beautiful people in perfect control of themselves. He just didn't deal with any of it at all. Maybe drinking coffee and eating cookies and most likely getting a bit handsy just to feel something pleasant again isn't dealing with it, but it's not escape either. Eddie won't let him shut the evening away where he never has to reach it again.

Thank god for that, and for Eddie.]


I wanna watch something so fuckin' stupid my brain doesn't even have to come online to process it, any recommendations?
arihab: (cause that's all i want)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-18 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's a faint, fond smile on Norman's lips while he watches Eddie and Venom bicker. He's got his coffee right up to his mouth when Eddie turns the question back on him and has to take a moment to catch up, looking at both of them over the rim.]

Oh, uh - yeah, might as well put it on now, then. But if V threatens to eat me, I'm takin' his side. No honor amongst food.

[Norman's joking in an almost knee-jerk way now, leaning on the "I'm fine, see? Haha, so many jokes, look how fine I am" thing too hard. This is just such a pleasant, cozy atmosphere that it feels like a shame for him to drag his damage into it, even if it was set up to help soothe him in the first place.

The decision made, he opens up the Oreos and sets a couple on his lap. He eats them by dunking the entire cookie in his coffee without separating it at all, then nibbling off the softened bit and repeating the action again. Just like a young boy with cookies and milk. After only those couple of cookies and a few sips, he already feels somewhat revitalized.]
arihab: (of such a raw deal)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-18 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[At Eddie's words, Norman unconsciously wraps both hands tightly around his coffee mug - a tiny show of defensiveness, hidden as well as he can manage. Eddie doesn't actually deserve any of that defensiveness when he's been open about seeing someone himself, and he's completely right that it could do Norman good.]

Yeah. [Still, Norman sounds pretty cagey about it.] Yeah, I... I think about it. Just goin' to a lot of professionals right now so I'd rather wrap one up before I add on another one.

[To be fair, he really is seeing a lot of specialists. Since stopping his use of ARI entirely, he's been set up with an opthalmologist, a neurologist, an ENT - and fully none of them have had good news to report. Then there's NA to keep him off Triptocaine, which is a whole other harrowing experience on its own.

With a quiet sigh, Norman loosens his grip on his mug and presses in closer to Eddie. It was just a suggestion. No reason for him to get bristly.]


Next week I should find out if the eye doctor wants to do a double cornea replacement. If the answer's no, I probably won't need to see her again. That'll leave me some room to find a therapist or whatever.
arihab: (that wasn't in the deal)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-18 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah, it's for... y'know the blood in my tears sometimes? The headset gave me somethin' called light toxicity in both eyes. I'm lucky it didn't burn right through my fuckin' corneas. [A little frisson of very raw anger vibrates through his words and then passes.] That's what would bring on the vertigo and photophobia when I went really hard with ARI, too. Sometimes it heals itself, sometimes it needs some help.

[Thus the question of surgery. He'd rather avoid it at all costs, but he'd also rather not go through life having the world lurch and swim around him if he looks too directly into a full-spectrum light and he'd really rather put a stop to the bleeding eyes.]

I might need tinted glasses too. Think I could pull 'em off?

[He lifts his head from Eddie's shoulder to give him a genuinely curious look, as if anyone could actually pull off tinted glasses. Be gentle with him, Eddie.]
arihab: (i'm just trying to make it home)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-19 12:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[One of the many, many things Norman appreciates about Eddie is how he never feels the need to tell Norman how big and scary something sounds. He knows damn well that ocular surgery is a terrifying prospect, just like he knows that leaving it and crossing his fingers that it'll heal on its own comes with its own fears. He doesn't need anyone reinforcing that for him. Eddie's "joke and move on" approach feels like a balm on his nerves in comparison.

And then the energy between them shifts along with Eddie's physical shift to face him, and Norman sets down his coffee and cookies as well so that he can give Eddie's thigh a firm squeeze.]
Two times my size, at most.

[Then he looks over at Eddie with a crooked grin that's all invitation.]

Maybe three times around the ass area.
arihab: this is all real - chris thile (you won't wake up)

[personal profile] arihab 2022-04-20 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[Norman winds up laughing against Eddie's mouth but quickly catches up to the kiss, then grabs his arm and tries to tug him closer.]

C'mon, get your fat ass up here.

[Ever since the first time, Norman's always loved having Eddie in his lap. Every single part of him is so perfect to touch: firm and rounded with the kind of bulky muscle Norman can never put on his own body, but also soft in a few areas for Norman to really sink in his fingers and hold on tight. Just the thought of it is enough to start blood flowing downstairs with anticipation... god, the two of them are far too horny.]