Chapter was beta'd by Thepsychoticchef, my lovely sister :)
Chapter 10
Hermann tries to just walk. Tries not to get frustrated by his own lack of speed. Tries not to hit anything or anybody with his cane.
Because that would be unseemly.
And unnecessary.
And definitely something Newton would do if he had a cane.
God, Newton…He may have been a large part of the reason they saved the planet, but his methods were...and are…at best, distinctly quixotic. His entire make up seems to be an innumerable amount of large and conflicting ideas being pushed together. It's brilliant, it's irritating, it might be endearing, but mostly it tempts Hermann more towards violence. Especially when he thinks about what Newton has done to himself and to him.
It was in service to a vital cause of course. Hermann would make the same choice again in a heartbeat if it came down to it. If he hadn't, then there is an increased likelihood that mankind would have been flayed alive while those who could, would run screaming.
But there was also the possibility…the possibility he could not accept and refused to imagine…the possibility that they would have survived while Newton was crushed by the weight of his own misguided genius. The image of Newton bleeding on the floor is not one that he could ever erase, and now he has it in two iterations.
So maybe he had more than one motive for joining that second drift.
He really should focus on walking. He still feels absolutely appalling like a tiny version of Newton is suggesting things in his ear while a host of kaiju hiss in the other. It is disconcerting at best and very distracting.
'Yeah, that blows' Newton informs him
The kaiju hiss, whether it is in agreement or simply a general rage he cannot say.
He sympathizes with the anger though.
He really does.
He does not want to even look at his drift partner again after their last conversation. He doesn't want to see him at all.
He can live with knowing everything about Newton…honestly nothing he has learned so far surprises him. Except the family, but he tries not to think too hard about them lest he pull up more memories that don't belong to him.
He has many things he would never have wanted Newton to see or know…and god knows what the man has gleaned so far. It's not embarrassing; it's shameful. His secrets are no longer his own. Newton does not need to know about his pathetic childhood or how he ended up walking with a cane. He didn't want Newton to know anything of that.
When people know they treat him differently. They look at him with sorry eyes and treat him like he is made of glass.
Newton is irritating, and so grating, but he is never gentle in his treatment of Hermann. He never looks at Hermann with pity. He never holds back.
Hermann has finally arrived at Marshall Hansen's office. Now he will find out whatever it is that Mako wouldn't tell him and he is almost too scared to know.
In another Newton-esque moment he doesn't even bother to knock. He simply opens the door and barges in.
Marshall Hansen is seated on one side of the desk looking utterly exhausted.
On the other side of the desk...
Is Newton.
His eyes slowly slide over to meet Hermann's gaze. He doesn't seem surprised as much as frustrated. The red ring around his right eye is still stark and disturbing. Hermann hasn't had much time to look in the mirror but he knows his left eye is a disturbing twin to it.
A physical mark of the drift if anybody is looking for it.
The Marshall is now looking between them uncertainly. He doesn't seem irritated by Hermann's interruption. His expression is more difficult to parse. It seems as though, in the few hours since Hermann saw him, he has aged still further.
"Ok." Newton says. An abrupt non-sequiter. But he is looking at the Marshall as he says it.
"Ok. Now I'm going."
The Marshall seems inclined to say more, but instead, he simply nods.
Newton stands, twitchy and unbalanced, and walks right past Hermann without a word. Hermann stares at the man's back as he heads down the hallway, then back at the Marshall.
"Would you care to tell me what that was about?" He phrases it as a question rather than a demand. Out of respect.
Marshall Hansen looks almost ashamed as he says
"I'm really sorry, Dr. Gottlieb, but I have to make some calls right now. I suggest you talk to Dr. Geiszler."
Hermann gapes at him. He sees something like desperation and wonders what on Earth could be so bad? He has ideas, many of them. But he refuses to entertain them, because that would be absurd.
He glares at the wall rather than the Marshall and then turns to follow Newton to wherever he is leading them next.
So yeah as always I would really appreciate any comments or feedback.
And the thing about Hermann's leg. I may or may not explain that eventually I'm not sure. It's not like a super secret thing I just don't know if I am going to write about it but I have a story for the leg
Also I know I am a giant tease and I just keep doing chapter after chapter of people thinking about stuff. I know...I'm sorry the next chapter has an actual conversation in it