Title: A Complicated Grief
Fandom: Tales of Legendia
Characters/Pairings: Jay/Norma
Summary: With Jay, falling for Norma takes him through five stages of grief.
Step One: Denial
Norma thought Jay was in denial. Jay knew this because Norma had asked him, in a studiously detached way, "Are you in denial?"
Because Jay had just woken up to Norma next to him and had promptly shoved her out of his bed, he did not immediately answer. Instead, he busied himself with picking his clothes up off the floor and avoiding Norma's gaze, who was sitting cross legged on the floor in nothing but her panties, braiding a piece of her hair.
Realizing he had to answer her eventually if he ever hoped to get her out of his room, Jay painstakingly straightened the cuff of a sleeve and smoothed a wrinkle down his shirtfront, before asking stiffly: "In denial of what exactly?"
"Of our relationship, duhhh. This wasn't just some isolated incident. We're pretty much a bonafide couple now. " She leaned back and unfolded her legs, scratching at her calf with the other foot's toes. "Great party last night, huh? Those Oresoren sure know how to throw a shindig."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He said sharply, focusing all of his attention on lining up the crease of his pant leg. "Clearly, I wasn't in the right mindset last night. Oresoren alcohol is notoriously strong." He wasn't lying either - one sip and you were seeing little blue people. Jay knew from personal experience.
Norma merely laughed. "Ohoho! You and I both know we're long past the drunken excuses. And I know for a fact that you weren't even drinking last night."
Curses. Jay gazed longingly out his window, contemplating the twenty-foot drop from the ledge.
"Once was a mistake." She continued, holding up a finger. "A freak occurrence, if you will. Twice could be written off as a forgivable lapse in judgment. But three? Three times is just habitual."
Jay inched ever so slowly towards the window.
"I admit, it was shameful for me at first too, you know." Norma said civilly.
Jay felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. Almost there...
"I mean, if I had to write a list of people I'd most likely sleep with, your name would've been below Shirl's."
Just a couple more inches...
"But this isn't something we can just write off as another poor choice in the hook up department."
Knock knock.
Jay froze, his leg halfway out the window.
"Jay?" Poppo's voice drifted through the closed bedroom door. "Breakfast is ready. How do you want your eggs?"
"Great, I'm starving." Norma said out loud.
"Oh hi Norma." The voice didn't miss a beat. "Scrambled right?"
"You know it."
Jay stared.
'Habitual.' Norma mouthed, with a knowing look.
Step Two: Anger
The sex was inevitable and effortless.
And good.
Afterwards, lying awake, his demons crept up on him slowly, and then suddenly swarmed him without warning, terrifying, overwhelming. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself.
Norma turned to Jay expectantly. "Well? What's the excuse this time?"
Jay chose to glare up at the ceiling. "Obviously, I was under a lot of emotional distress. And it's not an excuse. It's a justification."
She let out a loud snort. "Emotional distress? That's the best you can come up with?"
"How would you feel if a Bantam Bouncer went up to you and tried to give you a lap dance?" There was a haunted look in his eyes as Jay involuntarily twitched at the memory.
Norma stroked her chin thoughtfully. "The guy or the girl?"
"Curtis."
"Oh ewwwwww. Ugh, that's actually a really good excuse."
Jay nodded vigorously. All of Werites Beacon had been celebrating Madam Musette's 78th birthday last night and someone had decided to hire Curtis as a stripper. No one could've guessed that the Bantam Bouncer would take to the role so seriously. Needless to say, the image of a grown man gyrating in place enticingly while wearing a banana-hammock would undoubtedly leave a deep lasting scar upon Jay's psyche. As if he didn't have enough emotional baggage already.
All of a sudden Jay pushed Norma out of the bed, knocking her to the floor.
"Hey! Ouch, you jerk!" She cried, rubbing her sore bottom and wincing at the cold floor. "Stop doing that, it's rude and totally uncalled for!"
"You need to leave right now." Jay said, trying to keep the steadily rising panic crawling up his throat down to a minimum.
"What?" Norma jumped to her feet, stark naked. "What are you saying?"
"Are you deaf? Or just stupid?" Jay said coldly. "Leave."
"Why should I leave?"
"Because!" Jay raised his voice a fraction and made a vague hand motion. Dear Nerifes, when had he become more inarticulate than Moses?
"Oh yes, that makes tons of sense." Norma replied sarcastically.
In truth, there were a lot of reasons. That this was his room and she was intruding on his personal space. His territory and only seclusion from the outside world.
And the fact that he couldn't help noticing that her hair had gotten longer... sleeker. Her face was a bit rounder as well, softer, more womanly.
But this... this thing he had going on with her was crazy. And the thought of a relationship? Jay swallowed. That was just limbo– too terrible to calculate or even predict.
Jay picked up her bra from where it was slung on his lampshade and threw it in her face. "Get out."
For a second, he thought she was going to cry. But then she sucked in her cheeks furiously and refastened her bra.
"Fine. I'll leave." Norma said, fixing him with an unimpressed look. "But Elsa's wedding is coming up next week. Then we'll see who's the one refusing to acknowledge the existence of a certain relationship around here..."
"You're blathering." Jay snapped, ignoring the clench in his stomach.
Step Three: Bargaining
"This one doesn't count." Jay hurriedly stated the moment Norma opened her eyes. "You seduced me."
"All's fair in love and war." She cackled and adjusted the blanket covering her body.
"This is insane." He muttered, pulling the bed sheets over his face.
Norma leaned over and propped her chin up with a hand. "You know, the Star Festival is tomorrow."
"Don't wear that dress." Jay immediately ordered. "Or those shoes."
Norma smiled down at the strapless red number she'd worn at the wedding yesterday which was currently crumpled on a heap on the floor, along with a pair of gold stilettos.
"And keep your hair down." Jay demanded.
"I will if you let me stay for breakfast." Norma said sweetly.
There was a long pause.
"...All right." Jay conceded. "But you can't speak to that Csaba guy either."
"You didn't like me talking with him?" Norma eyes lit up. "Were you jealous?"
Looking sulky, Jay sat up and pulled the blankets tight around him like a cocoon before shoving Norma off the mattress.
"Jerkwad." She groaned.
Step Four: Depression
There had been no alcohol. No male strippers. Norma hadn't worn anything sexy or revealing - just pants and a baggy shirt and a pair of sensible shoes. Her hair was down and not once did she make eye-contact with Csaba.
It was just another innocent picnic with the old gang. Harriet tried to food poison everyone with her terrible cooking. Chloe and Shirley had long girly talks. Moses was being stupid. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.
So then why? How could this have happened? Again?
Could it be self-loathing on his part? Insanity? A mental breakdown? Perhaps it was Nerifes' punishment for their combined transgressions and he and Norma were doomed to repeat this over and over again for all eternity.
"Oh come on." Norma rolled her eyes when she woke up and caught him trying to smother himself with his pillow. "It's not like it's the end of the world."
This was sick. Sick and perverted. He was pretty sure normal people did not have traditions like this.
Norma took the pillow from over his face and tossed it on the ground behind her. "I can't believe my wish came true." She held up her Star Festival leaf smugly.
"'May JJ and I hook up again and have hot sex until the sun comes up,'" Jay read out loud. A vivid blush slowly spread across his cheeks.
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of nose. "I can't believe you wrote that."
"Relax. Only Shirl and C saw—"
Jay's eyes popped wide open. "WHAT?"
"Yeah, so... wanna hang out?" Norma asked casually. "This afternoon? Together? I'm thinking pizza – pepperoni, no anchovies...Nothing major..."
Jay promptly threw himself out the window, landed in a somersault, leapt up in one smooth motion, and then ran away towards the sunrise.
"Coward!" Norma called out in the distance.
Step Five: Acceptance
To Jay, Norma was like a madness infecting his brain; slow and insidious, attacking his defenses and taking them over like cancer. She had climbed to the top of his brain and stuck in a flag with her picture on it, laughing, hands on her hips; "I claim this land for Norma!"
Tethered by his own aloof nature, Jay could do nothing but sit immobile day after day while Norma whirled around him, like a force of nature, becoming more captivating and less dangerous with each passing movement. She was Norma Beatty, the treasure-hunter, and - Jay was beginning to suspect from having observed her sleeping patterns, her eating patterns, and her desire for all things that were good and pleasure-bringing — a hedonist. She startled him sometimes, with the force of her convictions, her ability to be independent, her female daring — the way she never backed down from anything.
"Stupid assclown... no stop it... run blue cheese run... schwifcklu..." Norma mumbled in her sleep and rolled over until her face was pressed up against his neck.
Jay nudged her away half-heartedly, figuring he ought to push her off the bed now, but changed his mind at the last minute.
Whatever it was that was going on between them, (whether it was divine retribution or his slow descent into madness), there was really nothing he could do about it. In fact, it was all quite beyond his control.
"Um, ever try, not sleeping with her?" The last shred of sanity left inside his mind questioned.
Jay serenely told his brain to shut up and then fell asleep.