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Otto, many times, felt that he himself was being too clingy.
Norman almost always arrived at the mansion after work at night. When that was the case, the businessman enjoyed a greeting from his beloved scientist and a few moments of silence before the two began to tell each other about the day. Otto knew Norman and knew that when he mentioned the exhausting day, surrounded by people who gave him many migraines and a few aches and pains from his past, he most likely wouldn't want him to burden him as well.
They settled for talking while they finished preparing dinner; Norman helped him soon after to change clothes and change into something lighter.
"Do interns follow you around like chicks follow a hen?", the taller one asked teasingly.
"At least chicks learn faster from their mothers...," Norman mumbled, rolling his eyes slightly. "I didn't remember having interns being so exhausting."
"I don't remember you ever having them before," Otto commented.
"I didn't have them, but the idea was different back then from the things I heard. I should stop taking everything literal."
Otto laughed softly and reached over to kiss his temple.
"Come on, honey. The younger ones look up to you. You'll be able to handle it," he encouraged him.
"Yeah, I guess so," Norman sighed. He moved away from Otto to finish setting the table.
During dinner, Otto couldn't stop thinking about the idea he'd had of being able to spend some time cuddling with Norman. One of the things he enjoyed about nights when the two of them were together was having cuddle time, carefree and with the sound of a random movie playing in the background. Sometimes he wasn't sure how to act with Norman, knowing that the smaller man had never been very demonstrative. Sure, he'd changed a lot since they'd started dating, but Otto didn't want to seem desperate or make it seem like he wanted to pressure his partner.
Hearing Norman say that "all the admiration was starting to overwhelm him more than flatter him" made him a little self-conscious. Could it be that Norman simply preferred to enjoy his company without the physical contact?
That disappointed him a little. If he said that about the interns or his coworkers, chances were he didn't want to feel obligated to have a moment with him either.
When they finished eating, Norman, going through one of those moments when he had trouble sitting still, picked up the dishes and avoided Otto's help, claiming he needed to do something. The taller one felt useless when that happened. Norman was capable of cleaning the mansion from top to bottom and not letting him do anything because of his 'need' to do more things.
Norman reached behind his chair once to pick up the glasses with one hand and as he reached behind Otto again, he let the fingers of his free hand lightly scratch the scientist's scalp. Otto moved against his touch, wanting to feel it a little more, something Norman didn't notice as he moved away. He set the glasses down in the sink and went to wash up.
"Wait for me in the living room if you'd like, honey. Are you looking for a movie in the meantime?"
"Y-yes," Otto replied, a little quickly. "I'll... wait for you over there."
In the living room, Otto sat down heavily on the big couch. His actuators moved against him a little, and Flo spoke in his head softly to ask why he didn't tell Norman he wanted him to hug him. Otto stroked her claw and replied that he didn't want to push Norman if he wasn't in the mood for it.
The businessman joined him shortly thereafter. Otto had left one of those programs where they remodeled houses and the owners had to choose at the end whether to stay in the remodeled house or move to another one that had all the things they asked for.
Norman sat down and let his legs folded over the couch, his feet propped up on the side of the armrest and his hands in his lap. Otto moved a little to get closer to him, though he avoided trying to slip an arm around his shoulders or hold his hand. However, he was having a hard time being quiet in the face of the desire for cuddles. He ran a hand through his hair a couple of times, as if to mimic Norman's gesture, and began to move one of his legs slightly. He glanced sideways at his partner a couple of times, feeling lucky to have the glasses.
Of course, Norman wasn't blind. He had noticed a change in Otto after they talked. He couldn't specify what, but the scientist was quite transparent in that regard.
Flo noticed that both men seemed to be wondering a lot of things, so she shifted a little from side to side, similar to the way a person shaking their head would, and reached out with her claw to carefully grasp Norman's wrist and lay his hand on the bearer's head.
"Flo...," Otto muttered, embarrassed to know why she did it.
Norman didn't remove his hand despite the initial surprise. And Otto didn't pull away either. Consciously or unconsciously, he moved his head against the smaller man's hand.
The initial surprise was replaced by understanding and then, by the amusement of the situation. Norman laughed softly.
"Oh, love, if you wanted me to stroke your hair, all you had to do was ask", he teased gently.
"I didn't...," Otto tried, a little flushed. His words were lost as Norman began massaging his scalp and lovingly tangling his fingers in his curls.
Otto closed his eyes, losing himself in the feeling of contentment from his partner's pampering. Norman moved a little away so Otto could lie back and lay his head in his lap.
"What, you thought my complaints included you?" questioned Norman, arching an eyebrow even though Otto was choosing not to look at him.
"I didn't want you to have to hug me if you weren't in the mood," Otto replied quietly, feeling silly.
Norman shook his head and leaned over to kiss his temple.
"I'm always in the mood to spoil you," he declared.
Otto smiled and allowed himself to relax. He rested a hand on Norman's right knee and closed his eyes as the actuators settled on the couch. As he felt Norman's fingers play with his hair, he felt drowsy.
It was worth the wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Norman had never felt so mentally exhausted when it came to his company as he had the last few weeks. It was no longer that he was continually reminded of his past and the things he had done. With the help of a lot of therapy, he had been able to cope and show that he could be better. And that therapy was also helping her cope with no longer having Harry by his side; he still wasn't able to use 'the other word' to refer to the situation.
As he stepped out of the shower and dried off so he could change into his sleepwear, Norman felt the weight of the world once again fall on his shoulders.
It had been quite a long few days at the company. Interns kept making mistakes with internships that could have left them with severe burns and injuries had it not been for the intervention of the more experienced scientists, some colleagues asked him what he would do in the hypothetical case that the rival company wanted to make a new bid for Oscorp, which generated a state of anxiety that led him to stay locked in his office until he managed to calm down, convincing himself that this would not happen again and that his company was resurgent because he was now doing things for the greater good and not for the half-suppressed desire for success.
Finally, before the shift was over, some who heard from the other tongues what happened to Harry came forward to offer their condolences.
That almost broke him down. The therapy had helped him and made his grief more bearable. The fact that people he didn't like or was indifferent to knew about it and came up to pat him on the back when he had been betrayed years before made him sick to his stomach.
What the hell... The last few days really sucked.
Norman decided to take the weekend off so he could rest his head and spend more time with Otto. He felt he was neglecting the scientist a bit. Otto had never complained about his work or complained about the time he was away. In fact, he always encouraged him and told him he was proud of the things he was accomplishing.
He was always extremely supportive of everything. And at no time did he hesitate to stay by his side even with all the misfortunes they both had to face together, their duels and the crises they could face.
He finished dressing, dried his hair and looked at himself for a moment in the mirror. Sometimes he forgot that his other half was gone and that he could look at himself without fear of seeing another face and hearing a voice that sought to torment him in a thousand different ways. He didn't miss his evil half, but there were times when he couldn't help but feel strange for not having him. The Goblin was a part of him for much of his life, only Norman never allowed it to manifest itself in that brutal way.
It was so strange to have the reassurance that he was now 'one alone'. Sometimes he felt lonely.
He came out of the bathroom and went into the bedroom. Otto was sitting against the headboard of the bed, his legs stretched out and covered by the blankets, and in his hands he held a book. The actuators were on the headboard, waiting for its bearer to decide to lie down to settle in with him. He always used to read before going to sleep. Norman used to fall asleep before Otto finished several chapters in a row.
Norman hated to interrupt him, but truth be told, that night he wanted nothing more than to curl up in the taller man's arms and feel protected from the world.
Without a word, the smaller man climbed onto the bed and approached the scientist. He rested his hands on Otto's harness for support and pushed his book a little with his head, as if to take his place. Otto let out a chuckle and let Harry take the book and set it on his bedside table. He wrapped his real arms around Norman and leaned him against his chest.
Norman felt himself relax as he felt his partner's hands gently rub his back. He felt him kiss his forehead and his smile turned a little shy.
"Are you all right?" asked Otto, serenely.
"I am now," Norman replied, snuggling further into Otto's arms.
Otto kissed his forehead again and hugged him a little tighter.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Norman shook his head slowly. "Okay."
"I just want you to hold me."
"You don't even have to say it."
They both lay down. Norman only moved to let Otto lay on his side, knowing it was one of the few acceptable options so the scientist could sleep without feeling so much of the weight of the actuators. When they were comfortable, Norman leaned back against Otto's chest, relaxing when his beloved rubbed his back again.
"I love you," Otto whispered against his forehead.
"And I you, Otto," Norman replied.