Blurry

- 19 -

It took an hour for everything to fully calm down, yet it felt like an entire day. Norman blinked, trying to feel calm with his own emotions. His wall was gone, bulldozered over by the horrible timing his brain damage had. Ethan would have questions and he couldn't answer them at all. Answering what was wrong with him felt like a terrifying interview. The ex-agent pressed himself closer to the other man, bracing himself for any questions.

"Are you feeling better?" Ethan asked gently, worry still visible on his face and body language. Norman managed a small nod, slowly staring to form an explanation. The architect was quiet for a moment, eventually speaking again. "What happened, Norm?" The question was more whispered than spoken, Norman was barely able to hear it. The question he dreaded yet prepared for, lifting his head away from the other's chest to answer without muffling himself.

"Hallucination." Norman's voice was weak, the longer answer he wanted to say being tossed aside. He wanted to expand on that but his voice now failed him. Ethan looked patient, obviously waiting for the ex-agent to finish his answer. A shaky breath in, a shaky breath out. Eventually his voice crackled back to life, his words much quieter. "They...started after I got home from...the case."
The taller man glanced at Ethan's face, trying to hide everything again. But a look in Ethan's stopped him.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," the architect quietly said, looking like he was processing the limited information. The ex-agent closed his arms again and rested his head against Ethan's shoulder, unable to decide if he wanted to fall back asleep, take a shower, or cry. A mix of the three sounded even better, but would most likely end in drowning by accident. Sleep sounded like his best bit, his stomach turning at the thought of eating. The comfort foods Ethan mostly likely bought didn't appeal to the ex-agent.

"Please tell me it's a normal night hour," he muttered, opening his eyes to keep awake. He didn't want to move his head too much to try and find a clock, feeling miserable. He felt one of Ethan's arms move from his body but didn't react to it. The thought of having another night of his problems keeping the architect awake made the ex-agent internally groan.

"It's nine o'clock," the other man answered, his tone still a gentle, soothing tone. Norman could listen to him for hours no matter what sort of tone, but this soft one could be one he'd spend days listening to. He bit his tongue to keep himself on topic. "Can I get you anything...? Water, food, a bed?" The ex-agent thought for a moment, letting his eyes flutter shut again. He wanted to answer but felt like his mouth was full of molasses, unable to even think of a signal for which he'd want. He opened his eyes again, obviously struggling to stay awake. "I'll take that as 'bed'," Ethan mumbled lightly.

Norman was about to move himself but the other man was quick to effortlessly lift the other man up and place him down on the bed, pulling the blankets onto him. He was quick to fall asleep, rolling onto his side to be more comfortable. This time he did have a dream, but it was the usual kind; memories of places and dreampt up situations joined together in sleep.