"Hi." He breathed out, grinning at the sight of Norma Bates at the edge of a soccer field. She turned, smiling a beaming smile at him, and he looked her up and down, shaking his head at her appearance. She'd never looked so out of place, wearing what she must have thought were practical shoes, little ballet flats, now caked in mud. Little flecks of mud where splattered over her bare ankles, and she was wearing a long aubergine coloured coat, with grey fur trim pulled up around her face. She stood out like a sore thumb compared to all these other soccer moms, wearing sensible jeans and yellow windbreakers with messy buns and worn out sneakers.
"Alex! Hi!" She sounded pleased to see him, and he tried to remember the last time she had sounded genuinely happy to see him. It had been a while. He leaned forwards automatically, and she floundered for a second, before realising he was going for a peck on the cheek.
"Oh." She murmured, awkwardly pecking him back, and he cringed, not entirely sure why he'd thought that was an appropriate greeting, shoving his hands in his pockets nervously as he pulled back, glancing around the field.
"That was weird." She said suddenly and he laughed quietly. She wouldn't be the Norma Bates he knew and loved if she'd just let it go.
"Yeah..." He started noncommittally. "Just got caught up in the excitement of the game."
She nodded, turning back to the field, both of them waving back as Jacob waved enthusiastically at them.
"God, look at some of these kids." She said, her tone worried. "I mean, look at that kid, there's no way he's under 7."
"You want me to go and card him?" He joked, pleased when she giggled, her concerned expression smoothing out a little.
"Look how small he looks though." She added, waving at Jacob again, biting her lip worriedly. Jacob was no smaller than any of the other boys warming up on the field, but he knew she was looking at him with a mother's eye.
"He'll be fine." He assured her. "I mean... look who his parents are. He's a tough kid."
She preened a little at his words, trying not to smile, loving that he thought she was tough.
"True." She conceded.
"Norma. Hi." A man appeared suddenly by her side, speaking smoothly, leaning in to kiss her cheek with more grace than Alex had managed. She smiled tightly, pecking him back and casting an awkward glance at Alex. Alex instantly felt underdressed, glancing down at his jeans/t shirt/leather jacket combo, and then back at the man's impeccable long black coat, worn over a suit and tie.
"Sheriff. Good to see you." He held out a hand to Alex, who floundered for a moment. "George. George Heldens. I think we maybe met before?"
Alex had a sudden moment of realisation, remembering Norma wearing a baby pink dress, looking like a little porcelain doll come to life. He remembered rounding that corner of the corridor in the station, both his and Norman's faces falling at the sight of George Helden's hands starkly contrasting against the marshmallow pink of her dress, as he wrapped his arms around her back. He was never sure what had happened between them, since Alex had married her not that long after and he hadn't cared about the men of her past. He was the man of her present. But that was a long time ago now.
He realised too long had passed and shook himself, taking George's outstretched hand, shaking it firmly.
"Oh. Hi." He said casually, immediately turning away, turning his attention back to the impending game.
"Norma. You look great." He said gently, and Alex glanced at her, seeing her blush, her eyes darting nervously to Alex. "Glad to see you've haven't let yourself go like some of the other soccer moms." He lowered his tone, glancing conspicuously to some of the drabber, dumpier women standing at the edge of the pitch, and then back to the always-impeccably presented Norma.
Alex hated that he'd had the exact same thought just a few moments earlier, but it sounded much more cruel and judgemental coming out of George's mouth, and he chanced a glance at Norma, noticing her frowning at the ground. Alex was pleased she didn't approve, suppressing a smile.
"What brings you to the under 7s pee wee game this sunny thursday, George?" She said, her tone just toeing the line of flirty and Alex sniffed, turning away, half wondering if she wasn't just trying to make him jealous.
"My nephew." He jerked his head to the tall boy Norma had worriedly pointed out earlier. "James."
"Oh that's right." She nodded politely. "Christine's kid." She cleared her throat, suddenly glancing around nervously. It had been years since their petty fight, since Norma had broken George's heart, and though George was now polite and civil, Christine never seemed to get over her grudge against Norma.
"How is Christine?" She asked politely. "Is she coming today?"
"Christine? Oh no." He laughed at the thought, and Norma breathed a sigh of relief. "This isn't really her sort of thing." He gestured broadly at the cold air around them, and the scores of screaming children, and the general great outdoors, and Alex couldn't help but wonder what exactly Christine's "thing" might be.
Norma nodded, casting a helpless glance at Alex, the awkwardness settling over the three of them.
"Which one's yours?" George asked, and Alex jumped in, finally getting involved in the conversation though the question hadn't been addressed to him.
"Number 11. Jacob."
George squinted at the group of children on the field.
"Huh. Small kid." He commented quietly. "But small can be good. Fast." He added patronisingly, and Alex glared at him.
"He's on the opposition." George observed, noting Jacob's blue jersey, and James' red one. "Can't root for him unfortunately." He joked, holding his hands up like he was sorry about it.
"Well... they just play for fun." Norma pointed out, her tone sharp. "No-one keeps score."
George leaned in close, as if sharing some big secret.
"Yes we do." He said in a stage whisper. His eyes flicked to Alex for a second. "There's always a winner and a loser, isn't there?"
His hand ghosted over Norma's back, and without thinking, she took a step away from him, closer to Alex, and Alex watched as George's smug smile faded just a little.
"Well, if you'll excuse me-" He murmured, clearing his throat and looking genuinely saddened for a second, before turning away, stalking away from them.
"Nice guy." He muttered and she shot him a dark look, digging her hands into her pockets and turning her attention back to the game.
Alex felt the tension radiating off her body as they kicked off, as if they were watching the World Cup, not a bunch of tiny children play an adorably inept game of soccer. She gasped anytime anyone kicked the ball further than 3 feet away from them, which wasn't very often, as the co-ordination skills of a bunch of under 7 year olds was questionable at best, but Norma didn't see it like that.
"That kid nearly hit him!" She hissed at one point, as a small blonde boy came too close to their son and he chuckled, earning himself a glare.
"Norma. He's fine." He assured her gently, rubbing the back of her arm, before snatching his hand back, realising he didn't get to touch her anymore.
He chewed her thumb anxiously, watching as George's nephew tackled Jacob, their feet entangling, both of them tripping and sliding in the mud for a moment.
"Hey!" She yelled out, both her and Alex taking a step forwards. "Foul! Or red card or..." She trailed off, glancing helplessly at Alex, was feeling a pang of fatherly concern himself. The whistle blew and both boys quickly righted themselves, completely unfazed by the incident, jogging back up the pitch. Neither Norma or Alex realised her hand had shot out to grab his elbow until they both glanced down, Norma releasing him and pulling her hand back, shooting him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry-" She started, and he didn't trust himself to speak, merely holding a hand up, letting her know it was ok. It was more than ok.
"It's funny isn't it?" She began, sniffling a little in the cold air, crossing her hands across her body. "Me and you."
He sucked in a long breath, raising his eyebrows and nodding, not entirely sure where this conversation was going.
She dragged her eyes away from where they were fixed on their son for a split second, shooting him an unreadable look before looking away again hurriedly.
"I mean... that we're here. Like this."
He wasn't sure exactly what she meant, and as he looked at her, taking in the way she was biting her lip, looking uncomfortable, he wasn't sure she knew exactly what she was trying to say either.
"Yeah..." He said hesitantly. "Alot has changed." He added vaguely, and she nodded.
"I..." She began, her tone soft, before she was cut off as George suddenly appeared by her side again.
"Wow. What a game, huh?" He said enthusiastically. "Shame about Jake's team, huh?"
"I don't know what you mean." She said haughtily, shaking her hair out of her eyes. "No-one keeps score."
George looked over her head at Alex, looking for confirmation, and Alex tried his best to keep his gaze impassive, pretending he hadn't been counting the goals himself.
A polite wave from the other side of the field caught his eye as he noticed his young deputy smiling and waving at him, remembering him mentioning that he'd be at the game cheering on his nephew. He wasn't particularly friendly with the man, but he was glad for the excuse to leave George Heldens, finding himself instantly taking a dislike to the man.
"Excuse me a moment."
He didn't notice Norma's needy glance as he left her alone with George, excusing himself to go and make polite small talk on the other side of the field, studiously keeping his eyes on the game, not glancing at where Norma and George were standing too close together.
"You look beautiful, Norma." He whispered, leaning in too close for comfort.
"George..." She started, her voice a pleading whine for him not to go there, before there was a small gasp from the crowds around them and all three of them turned back to see James Heldens ram his elbow into Jacob's ribs, sending the smaller boy sprawling into the mud, making both Norma and Alex start forwards.
"Hey!" Norma screamed, starting to run forwards, cut off as George wrapped an arm around her middle, pulling her back. "Jacob!"
"Heyheyhey. Wait- Wait!" He muttered, ignoring her struggling to get to her son. He held her for a moment, her feet slipping in the mud as she fought to free herself and they watched as Jacob got up, completely unharmed, laughing and clapping James on the arm cordially.
"Lemme go, George." She murmured darkly, her hands pushing ineffectually at where his arms were still wrapped around her middle, and he loosened his grip a little, still keeping his hands on her though, his chest pressed against her back.
"See! I knew they'd be fine." He said brightly. "Boys will be boys."
She sighed with irritation. She hated that expression - Her whole life had been spent excusing the behaviour of men using the phrase "boys will be boys" and she was determined that her son would not be raised with that mentality.
"Actually George-" She cut herself off, stopping what she was going to say to push weakly at his hands, groaning as they remained clamped firmly against her hips. "George, lemme go-" She squirmed a little, and he did no such thing, stepping closer to her, nuzzling his nose against her hair.
"I suggest you take your hands off my wife." Alex sprung up out of nowhere, his voice low and dark, and George immediately dropped his hands, turning and fixing Alex with a challenging glare.
"I don't think she's your wife anymore Sheriff?" He pointed out, his tone pitying as he took a step around her to rise up to his full height. "And she hasn't been for a long time."
Alex bit the inside of his cheek, the muscle in his jaw tightening, wanting to correct him but not daring to embarrass Norma. The word "wife" had slipped out without thinking, a knee jerk reaction to seeing the woman he loved squirming away from George's touch.
"Actually, we never divorced." Norma piped up from behind him and Alex bit down a smirk as George's mouth fell open. He span on his heel, slowly turning to face her.
"I'm technically still his wife." She added, the confidence from her tone fading a little under George's incredulous glare.
"So, you two are still married?" He flicked a finger between them and they both nodded uncomfortably.
"Technically."
He let out a cold, mirthless laugh.
"So you were still his wife when... you and me..." He trailed off, laughing bitterly again, and Alex didn't need him to finish the sentence. He flicked his eyes to Norma, who gazed back at him imploringly, her eyes wide and sad.
"Oh." George said, like he felt terrible for putting his foot in it, smirking as he turned back to Norma.
"You never change, do you Norma?" He said spitefully, before spinning on his heel and stomping away, leaving a tense silence.
"Alex-" She started, her bottom lip trembling a little, crumpling as she took in his broken expression.
"It's fine." He said tersely, holding his hand up. She owed him no explanation. After what he'd done, she didn't owe him anything. She was free to do what she wanted but he couldn't help but feel hurt.
She opened her mouth to speak again, cut off as Jacob bounded over to them, throwing himself at his mom's legs.
"Mom! Dad! Did you see me? I almost scored a goal!" He enthused, getting mud all over her coat, but she didn't care, leaning down and throwing her arms around him.
"Yeah we saw, honey!" She sniffled a little, pinning a fake smile in place as she hugged him tightly.
"You were great, kiddo!" Alex said brightly, as Jacob turned, reaching up to hug his dad. And with that, the moment was gone, and they were back to being the amicable, polite co-parents they'd been for years now, their attention focused on their child again, each taking his hand to lead him from the field.
Their eyes met briefly over his head, both them them averting their eyes as if nothing had happened while their son happily babbled away about the game.