-----

It was 6:00 AM when Norman was sitting at
his desk, still finalizing his plan of totally-not-eradication-based-on-race. He'd gotten little sleep the night before, only in brief winks when he dozed off sitting up, only to be stirred by his reoccurring nightmares.

The door to his...admittedly desolate- workplace suddenly busted open with a bang and Norman looked up from his desk in surprise.

"I AM HERE!!" Y/N exclaimed loudly, her voice ringing loudly throughout the room. Norman jumped before looking up and stared at the bundle of things she held in her hands. "TO MAKE YOU TAKE A BREAK!!"

-----

//Y/N's POV//

I was lucky enough to have Ray, Yuugo, and everyone else by my side to remind me to take breaks and relax, but the people who surrounded Norman... Although they had good intentions, they relied on the albino boy in an unhealthy way, putting immense pressure on him, and caused Norman's bad habit of being a self-sacrificial-idiot to grow worse as he grew older- unlike Ray and I, who've gotten better as time went on. Or so I like to think, at least.

So I decided, no matter how much he complained or refused, I'd make Norman take the break he deserved- or needed, in this case.

I woke up first thing- a rare thing for me, without the bribe of cookies, and gathered the things I needed, grabbing a quick meal of a singular bun which I stuffed in my face, nearly choking on it on several occasions, which in turn caused a number of...unfortunate mishaps.

One of the kids passing by asked me if I needed first aid after I walked into a wall, after tripping over my own feet and falling down several stairs. I, of course, smoothly responded that not even god could kill me if they tried. The kid looked at me like I was crazy. Jee, I wonder what caused them to do that.

After succeeding in scaring several children, sustaining several minor injuries, and embarrassing my ancestors, and likely Vincent, if he was watching, thrice for good measure, I succeeded in completing my preparations. I grabbed my pack and strapped on my throwing knives before grabbing the bundle of things I needed for Norman.

I hurried quickly to his room, many of the children still only on the verge of waking up, therefore only one or two witnessing me trip over a rat and nearly face-planting once again. God really was trying to kill me today. That little demon-brat better raise some hands. I've got some things to say.

Once I finally arrived, thankfully still in-concussed...probably... I found myself unable to open the door (like a normal person) due to having my hands full, so, finding a simple solution, I used my foot to turn the handle and then kicked the door open. "I AM HERE~!!" I yelled, the door slamming against the wall and startling Norman, who scattered several papers laying on his desk in doing so. "To make you take a break!!" I finished, setting down the bundle of things on the couch with a 'Whump!'

Norman quickly arose from his desk. "A-ah, Y/N what do you mean?" He asked frantically, cleaning up his papers into neat and orderly piles- like I organize my...my... well, I suppose nothing of me is quite that organized. The mess on his desk prior to him cleaning it, though, was akin to my cluttered mess of emotions and priorities. Now that I think about it, someone as orderly as Norman having a mess comparable to myself is...frightening.

"The main Gracefield will be arriving at some point tomorrow." I sighed, pulling everything in the bundle apart. "And you, scary-albino 2.0, are even worse than Ray when it comes to self-sacrifice." I turned to Norman. "And that's saying something." Norman sighed, scratching his head.

"I'm really busy-"

"Exactly!" I grinned. There was no way I was letting this go.

"And what about Vi-"

"Vincent can suc-su- uhhhh su-urvive without you for a day!!" I caught what I was about to say before it slipped out of my mouth.

Norman exhaled, coming to see what I was doing with the assortment of clothes I was spilling all over the room. "So what's the-"

"Plan? I'm going to take you outside." I grinned.

"Outside? But outside there's demons and-"

I frowned. "I'm quite strong, you know. You could say I got the brawns of our genetics while you got the brains." Norman smiled a little at this. "Ok, now change into this." I tossed him some clothes.

Norman caught them clumsily and sweat-dropped. "Y/N..."

-----

"Is this really a good idea?" Norman swallowed. I looked at his getup- baggy blue jeans and an even baggier red tee, a winter jacket, and a backwards cap pulled over his head to hide his rare albino hair. I then pulled the hood of the winter jacket over his head before backing away to get a good look at my masterpiece.

"Norman..." I sighed in disappointment, taking notice of his neatly tucked in tee. "The point is to look like a slob." I pulled it out, leaving it messily wrinkled. "And... there!" I exclaimed.

Norman looked down with a face of disgust. "I look a mess."

"Exactly. William Minerva wouldn't be caught dead in a getup like this." I snorted at my poor word choice. "Y'know,,,before he...died."

Norman crinkled his nose, giving me a look that read "Really?"

I pursed my lips to avoid laughing. I then cleared my throat and looked away, trying to keep from giggling hysterically. Lord knows Norman doesn't need to know the mentality of the person he trusted with the lives of his dearest friends. "Then, let's get going!" I grabbed Norman's hand and led him out of the room with a dash. At first, Norman avoided the glances of people and tried to shield his face from view, but after realizing that they were paying him no attention, he began to relax.

We exited the giant tree hideout and I led him a while away. To my shock he suddenly began pulling off his red tee and I recoiled in shock. "Oi! I may be strong but we're in the middle of demon territory, if you-!!"

Norman grinned and pulled the red shirt off the rest of the way, revealing his usual outfit of vest, button-up, and blue tie. I exhaled gratefully and sat down on a tree root.

"You wore that underneath?" I hummed, raising an eyebrow as he stepped out of the baggy jeans, revealing his neatly ironed pants.

Norman rolled his eyes playfully. "Nor Mr. Minerva or I would be caught dead in that outfit." He piled the clothes and hat in a pile before fixing his hair and straightening his tie.

"Are you done?" I asked with a sigh once he finished fixing his outfit.

Norman nodded. "Yes. Let's hurry this... "break-taking" up."

I sighed while we walked. "I don't think you understand the point of a break."

Norman cocked an eyebrow. "Do you? Taking me into demon-filled territory for a 'break'?"

I laughed lightly. "We already know I'm batsh*t crazy. This shouldn't come as a surprise." Norman nodded his head, as if I'd just made a reasonable point. "Plus..." I sighed, blowing out my cheeks. "The inside of that hideout was probably suffocating for you." I hummed. "You're trying so hard to save their lives, along with Ray and Emma. As much as you love them all- Vincent, Barbara, and the like, it's probably exhausting to be viewed as a god all the time."

I kicked a pebble, sending it skittering across the ground. Norman stayed silent after that, looking around at all the critters and trees as we walked passed them. Once we were about a 2 hour walk from the base I set camp, laying a blanket on the rough ground. I offered for Norman to sit on it and he accepted with a small smile.

I pulled out the food I packed- remember, kids, eat your feelings, and handed it to him, along with a water satchel. "So?" I asked with a sigh after downing several large gulps of water. "Want to talk about it?"

Norman took a sip of the water. He looked to the sky, his face full of nostalgia. "No. There isn't much to talk about, anyway."

I huffed. "Still got a stick up your *ss?" I muttered to myself.

"What was that?" Norman asked, a closed-eyed smile sending alarm-bells for danger off in my brain.

"A-ah! I offered to talk about our journey instead?" I laughed nervously.

Norman cocked an eyebrow. "I already know most of what happened."

I pouted. "I have all the details thoughhh." I whined. "And it's more fun to hear it from me! I've been told I'm great at storytelling!" I bragged, crossing my arms with a huff.

Norman feigned belief in my statement. "By who?" He inquired, raising a curious eyebrow.

I blinked. "N-Never-mind that! Just sit and listen!" Norman laughed, a sound I'd barely heard from him since seeing him once again. I smiled along too, and began retelling our adventures without Norman.

Norman listened while I started from the beginning, telling of what had happened from my point-of view. My heart warmed whenever I managed to make him laugh, a light, bubbly sound that should come from a child of his age more often.

When I got to the part about Goldy Pond, Norman's eyebrow's raised. He snorted when I talked about my experience with Leuvis. He turned worried when he heard about me getting impaled, and his expression turned concerned-for-my-mental-health once again when he heard what I'd said in that instant.

And then I finally finished, getting to the point where I left the main group with Hayato. I skipped over a few parts- like the times I'd cried and such, especially the parts containing Mujika and Sonju, but Norman didn't bug me about staying true to what actually happened, to my relief.

The albino boy had slowly grown into a better mood as time passed, checking his watch less frequently, and seeming less antsy to get back to his work. Not even once were we bothered by a demon, to my relief. Although I did want a chance to show off my bad*ssery, that would have to wait for another time.

It was now rather late, as we'd stayed here for the larger part of the day. "That took longer than expected." I said with a light laugh. I lent a hand down to Norman to help him stand up, and he accepted it, pulling himself up. "I meant for you to take a little break, not listen to me rant all day!" I nervously tittered as I folded up the blanket, tucking it into my bag.

"No, its okay." Norman smiled, brushing off his pants. I shared the smile and we began walking back to the base. "I think..." Norman murmured to himself after quite some time of walking. He turned to me with a smile. "I think I needed this after all."

I grinned, punching his arm lightly. "Of course. You may be a god but you're still my idiot brother." I snickered as Norman held his arm in pain, wincing. But when he continued to rub it and seethe I began to grow nervous. "O-oi!" I exclaimed worriedly. "Did I hit you too hard?" I asked, cringing. I knew he was weak, but was he that...delicate?

"Joking, joking." Norman laughed, ruffling my head. I scowled and continued walking alongside Norman, trying to fix my hair once again.

"*sshole." I muttered, kicking him in the shin harder then I'd smacked him.

"Ouch!!" Norman exclaimed, gripping his shin in pain.

I snorted. "That's what you get." I tucked my face into Ray's scarf and smiled. The air around Norman was certainly less tense, and he seemed to revert at least a little into a child. Today was a success, at least!

We walked back to the base in silence for quite some time before Norman broke the light air with a happy sigh. "You know, I wasn't fully convinced on your persona until hearing about your journey." He hummed, cupping his chin.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious about what he thought about my personality. Was he just now realizing I was crazy, or what?

"Oh, nothing." Norman smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.  "Just that you're a good person after all." He spoke as he looked back ahead, as if peering into something I couldn't quite see.

I cocked an eyebrow and tried not to be flustered by his statement. "I-I don't know what you mean. I'm a massive *sshole. I take cookies from children."

Norman hummed with an amused expression on his face. "I seem to recall you giving children their cookie tickets back."

I sputtered. "W-well..." I looked back up to the sky. "Maybe your right..." I smiled, a warm feeling worming its way into my heart.

"On second thought, my poor leg has been bruised. Maybe you're an *sshole after all." He poured sarcastically.

"Oh poor you." I stuck my tongue out, kicking another pebble across the ground. We travelled in a comfortable silence once again until I uttered another quiet phrase before we reentered the base. "You're a good person too, Norman." The words seemed to be blown away by the wind as quickly as they left my mouth.

Norman hummed quietly. "I wonder..." He paused for quite some time before finishing. "Wasn't it you who called me a d*ck in the first place?"

"Well I mean you were acting like one." I grumbled with a sigh.

Norman laughed again. "So am I a good person or a bad person?"

I hummed. "D*cks can still be good people." I raised my eyebrows. "Take Barbara, for instance." I blinked for a moment before rethinking my choice for an example. "No, wait. Don't. Take..." I hummed. "Well, no matter. You can be the first."

And Norman laughed loudly one last time that night, the sound sending chills down my spine. And I laughed as well, despite myself, he accumulated sound of our laughing echoing through the tall trees as we neared the base.

At the time, although neither Norman or I knew, it would be one of the last time's we'd laugh like that together...

for a long while, at least...

(HAH. I had stuff to do today and sTILL wrote a 2,400+ word chapter.

Now, you may be thinking,,, "WOWOWOWOW OMG Anna actually has a life outside of drawing and writing???"

...yes.

...ok, kinda

...maybe just a little...?)