Norman x Reader || SAUDADE

15-A-ffectionate

I entered the room after getting permission from Norman himself. 

"I brought fruits again." I showed him the basket full of the essential fruits. 

"You know you don't have to." Norman smiled as he returned to do his work.

 "Speaking of which, did you, Emma and Ray told Cislo, Barbara and Vincent anything about me?" He set his pen down before looking at me with disappointed eyes.

I laughed at his endeavored sulking, "What did they do to you?" I asked him while peeling the skin of the fruit. 

"They're constantly pestering me to take rests and stay warm every now and then. And they were also very adamant on it." He rubbed his temple. 

"Blame Ray for it." I chuckled remembering Ray's detailed and long story about his early lives on Grace Field. 

"But, they're right though. Are you overworking yourself? You're going to end up with an overexertion or worse... a cold." I smirked. 

"_______." He groaned. 

"Here, eat them." I pushed the plate of fruits for him. 

After a moment of silence, he decided to ask me a question, "Emma and Ray left already?" He inquired while looking out at the moon. 

"They did, right when the moon was high up." I sighed and looked at the distance. 

"Hey Norman, when are you going to carry out your plan?" I removed the cloak he gave me a few days back when I was visiting. 

"8 days from now." He took a sip from his cup. Eight days huh. 

"I hope that's a choice you won't regret making." I smiled and stood up looking at the books perched neatly on the shelves. Books from a to z, fiction to nonfiction. 

"Second bookshelf to the left one from the front, 4th to 5th row." Norman's voice took me by surprise. I went to the location he told me and found the medical books placed perfectly. I felt a smile crept up on my face. 

"How did you know?" I sarcastically exclaimed. 

"People have the tendencies to stick with the things they love or what they're good at. Old habits die hard, or so they say." He smiled warmly. 

"Well, this 'habit' helped me a lot throughout the escape. Although there are other more talented kids in this field, I could help out a little." I smiled sadly as my mind wandered off to our escape. 

"I even managed to... help out on a surgery, Emma's to be exact." I told him as I remembered Yugo. 

"The man who performed the surgery was so skilled and courageous, he took actions without any hesitations. I wish- I wish I could be a little more like him." I let out a little chuckle.

"What happened?" Norman asked me as I took a seat in front of him. 

"Explosion. On shelter B-06-32, trying to buy us more time to escape from the Ratri clan." I took a hard gulp at the painful memory. Norman's expression hardened at the name that rolled off of my tongue. 

"I hate them, I absolutely despise them. I can never forgive them to be honest." I told him slowly. 

"But then, when I think of killing the head of the Ratri clan, or even that maniac that killed Yugo and Lucas back then, I realized that, I would not find peace either. I would constantly think of the murder I did every single day. Yugo even sacrificed himself to prevent us from killing anyone. So when I heard you saying things about annihilation, I can't imagine the feeling you have to bear afterwards." I smiled at him sadly. 

He stared at me with eyes that seemed to be troubled, as if he was hesitant, before he looked away for a little while.

At that split second, I saw him brought up his hand towards his temple tremblingly. His breathing became very ragged and his jaw clenched as if he was holding back a lot of pain. Colours start to drain from his face, leaving him with a ghostly pale complexion.

"Norman?" I asked him a little concerned at the sudden reaction. Out of nowhere, he crouched down from his seat, below to the desk. Snapping out of the train of thoughts that rushed through my head right now, I immediately ran to the other side of the desk where I found him curling under the desk, his throat bobbed up and down for a little, and he let out a strained yelp as if he's trying to muffle away the pain he felt. I felt frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do. Then, reality all came to me like rain in the middle of the drought. Alright do not panic. Analyze the symptoms. His whole body is shaking, his head seems to be in so much pain, his breaking out into a cold sweat. Seizures? Spasm? No, seizure. I immediately pulled on his tie in an attempt to loosen it and tilt his body to the side hoping he would be able to breathe better. I propped his head on my lap and held his hand in an attempt to calm him down. 

"It's alright, it's alright Norman. Breathe, just breathe." I told him while he's still shaking a lot. Do not try and stop him, I told myself. 

"Do you have any medicine around?" I asked him in hope that he could still speak to me. 

"No." He let out a strained voice. 

"Just- soon." He said in between breathing, while his grip on my hand tightened in a very bone-crushing one. 

"Okay okay, just breathe, stay calm." I nodded and stayed with him until he found peace once more. His breathing gradually became slower, his shaking stopped and the colors returned to his face a little. 

"Are you feeling better?" I asked him softly. He nodded weakly. 

"Can you sit up?" I tried to get him to stay awake. 

"Yes." He nodded once more. I helped him sit up on the floor. We sat for a little while and he bowed his head down still calming his breath. 

"Does this happen a lot?" I glanced at him worriedly. 

He paused for a little while before answering, "No, it might be due to me overworking lately." He attempted a little smile. 

"I should've listened to you and the others before huh." He continued.

"Are you sure Norman?" I asked a little unsure because just now when he was having the seizure, he told me that he did not need any medication and it'll subside soon. 

"I'm sure. It must be because of the stress lately." He leaned his head on my shoulder. 

"Can you just let me rest like this for a little while?" He asked. Of course, stress could lead to sleeping problems and then cause seizures, but why do I have an unsettling feeling deep down? 

"You don't have to ask." I answered him. 

"I think you need to sleep now Norman. You have to rest, don't think too much of anything for now. Just- just for today, tonight. We're only fourteen Norman, that's not something you should have experienced at this age." I plead to him whilst covering his body with his cloak I brought earlier. 

"Alright." He nodded seemingly giving up.