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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 7, 2015 5:08:45 GMT -5
Hearing the unexpected 'thank you' behind her, Shanice turns and smiles broadly at Nora just before she steps out the door. Such a nice woman, Nora - and thank goodness! If she was anything like her husband, Shanice is sure that she'd have a hard time with this job, but so far it's looking like it will be alright.
Though even before the woman is out of view, she's already no longer on Victor's mind. Something that he doesn't feel at all guilty about - he pays her a fair wage to do a job, that's the limit of their interactions, and that should be sufficient. Besides, who could blame him for caring far more about this conversation with his wife right now?
Especially when he has so much to tell her that's so very, very important. He's become suddenly quite aware that, though the path his life has taken is far, far removed from where it had been, each step of the way had seemed so necessary at the time. He's done the best he could with a series of incredibly difficult situations, but Nora missed all of it. Can she understand? He waits anxiously through her expressions of shock, fearful of what might come next.
But the tears that come so easily to her face - painful in their own way for him to see - are a clear indication that she can accept this much at least. There's a sorrowful look on his face as he confesses, "I've been so lost without you, Nora..." And even as he says so, he realizes that he has been. He's done so many things, but he regrets none of them. He'd had to do it - there had been no choice, really. But now he's finding himself wondering if perhaps he should regret some of it. No, he did have to do those things - he's even going to have to continue to do them for the foreseeable future. What he really regrets is that Nora is waking up to all this, that he couldn't find another way - one that would be easier for her to hear about now.
And once again he finds himself doing something that he doesn't want to do - telling her what she missed. But it's only fair that he do so, as he can hardly keep the truth from her and it's better for her to hear it from him than from someone who might have their own agenda. Still, it's true that her sorrow causes him pain - he's always tried so hard to make her life as happy as possible, but he can't protect her from everything. But he wants to be able to, and every pain that she feels he takes as at least somewhat of a failure on his part - he's not good enough for this woman, but he tries so hard.
Allowing her all the time she needs to express her sorrow, he looks somewhat heartened when he sees her purposely calming herself. After spending so many years carefully watching over her and seeing her now confined to this bed, it's easy for him to see her as being so very fragile, even though he ought to know better. After all, he can still remember - the time before it all began. Before she was frozen, before she became ill, she'd had that perfect combination of strength and kindness. He sees it now, as she insists that she's alright. He doesn't fully believe her, but if she wants to claim that she is then he'll go along with it.
"There's more," he says, attempting to continue, "A lot more..." There's another pause as he collects his thoughts again, and then he says, "Now, the man who stopped me is very... unusual. In fact, at the time hardly anyone had heard of him, and even then it was just a rumor. Though he proved to be very real - a man with extraordinary fighting skill, among other things. Intelligent, highly educated - nobody knows who he is. They call him 'Batman' because he hides himself in a bat costume, and he spends his nights stopping crime, like he did that night. He was not... unsympathetic to my situation, but he simply would not allow me to do anything to Boyle. Instead he exposed him for his crimes."
Though he doesn't want to give Nora too much at once, he does hope that this piece of it won't be so distressing - in fact, he suspects that it will prove more distracting from his earlier admissions than anything. Especially the part about Batman - though the man is a fact of life for him, at the time Nora was frozen the tale would have been quite unbelievable. On the other hand, it goes completely against Victor's personality to joke about something like that - while he definitely has a sense of humor it's of the extraordinarily dry variety and does not include wild stories.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2015 15:15:48 GMT -5
Oh, how easily Victor could melt her heart. Nora’s heart was doing just so as he confessed that he’d been lost without her. There was more to come of his recounting of the last ten years. Ten years…She stroked the dome protecting her husband’s head from the warmth of the room. Seeing that sorrowful look on her husband’s face, she wanted nothing more than to distract him from it. To make him smile.
She perked up as he attempted to continue, the thought of asking if Victor would like to stop for now crossing her mind. Nora squeezed his gloved hand and gave him a smile as he paused again. Though…what Victor said next caused the smile to fade away into curiosity. A man dressed up as a bat…That was…Was it a joke? But Victor wasn’t the type to engender wild fantasies. Sure that he had not changed that much, Nora simply had to take what he was saying as the truth.
“My…that’s…” Nora began not even sure what to say. Instead she let out a light airy chuckle, a sound that tickled her recently thawed throat. It sounded a bit strange to her, but probably not to Victor. “I don’t even know what to say. A man running around in a bat costume, fighting crime…” Glancing over to the window that offered her a serene view of the city, she let out a little wistful sigh. “Gotham certainly has changed, hasn’t it?”
It was then that Nora felt a tinge of something. Loss? Maybe. While she had been frozen, the rest of the world had carried right along. Though if she hadn’t been, she would be dead and the world still would have gone on without her. And so would Victor have. It didn’t quite feel real. One day you go to sleep, the next, it’s ten years into the future. Sounded like one of those old science fiction shows that she used to watch with Victor.
Turning her head to look back into her husband’s face, Nora gave him another smile and opened her mouth to speak when her stomach cut her off.
Grrrrrrrrooooooowwwwwwwwwl…
“Oh dear! Pardon me, Victor,” she managed, surprised at herself. “But ah, you that you don’t have to tell me everything right now, dear. If it’s too much for you. I understand.” As she awaited an answer, she thought more on this ‘Batman’. She felt…a bit of gratitude toward him for stopping Victor from killing Boyle. She wouldn’t have wanted that even though Ferris Boyle had turned out to be despicable. However romantic the notion of Victor leaping to arms to defend her…she did not want him to kill for her. Another growl from her stomach shook her from her thoughts.
Nora managed a cross frown as she looked down at her belly. “Hush you.”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 11, 2015 11:33:55 GMT -5
Though he doesn't exactly smile himself, when Nora laughs all lingering traces of sorrow leaves Victor's face - he knows how to remain serious in all situations, including when Nora is amused, but how can he be at all unhappy while listening to the sweet sound of her laughter? "It's true," he confirms unnecessarily. "Batman is only the beginning of how Gotham has changed - there are others like him. On both sides - crime fighters and criminals, all with fanciful costumes and names. Batman was merely the first," he pauses, reflecting, "I suppose it doesn't amuse me because I'm accustomed to it. And you learn very quickly to ignore what someone is wearing and what they call themselves when they're very dangerous - many of them are insane as well."
And if Nora expects to stay with him and remain in one piece, she'll probably have to gain at least a passing familiarity with all of them. But that can wait - though he suspects that he can't keep his success a secret forever, he knows that he'll be able to keep it for a time. For how long, he can't be certain, but there's little danger yet - there's still time. He only hopes that what he has to teach her will keep her safe - and he can hope that most wouldn't harm her anyway just because they know her relation to him. After all, among the rogues those who don't fear him at least tend to respect him.
But his train of thought is thoroughly derailed when a sudden sound comes from Nora's stomach. But it's something he's quick to dismiss - everyone's stomach makes noise sometimes. Well, not so much his, but normal people. Instead he responds to her question - and this time there is a hint of actual amusement on his face, mostly around the eyes. "Too much for me?" he asks, lifting two of his fingers to gently brush her cheek, "I was more concerned about it being too much for you. I want to tell you everything." He pauses for a moment, lowering his hand as he confesses, "I don't know how to tell you everything. But you deserve to know." Even if he could keep it all hidden from her, she deserves to know.
It's then that her stomach once again interrupts, and this time he pays far more attention - once could simply be her stomach settling, while twice is less likely to be nothing. He frowns, suddenly almost angry, "I told Shanice to feed you..." But then his eyes catch sight of the soup on the nightstand - oh yes, he'd hardly noticed it earlier, he'd been so focused on simply Nora. His expression makes a smooth transition to worry instead as he very carefully picks up the bowl. Without his HUD on he doesn't instantly see the temperature of the soup displayed for him - something that he's more accustomed to than not at this point - but it appears to still be quite fresh and warm. "Is it not good?" he asks, though at least to his eyes it looks like it's probably quite delicious. Then again, he hasn't eaten anything like that for about ten years, so he'd be willing to believe that his judgment is faulty. Still, Nora should definitely eat something.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 17:54:20 GMT -5
Listening to her husband’s continued explanation about costumed crime fighters and criminals, Nora smiled with a form of amusement. In her mind, she imagined criminals and heroes duking it out in their pajamas. All quite silly really. Of course that amusement faded a touch when Victor commented on how dangerous they could be as well as insane. “More dangerous than the mob…?” she asked with equal parts concern and disbelief.
It had seemed like a whole new generation of criminals had popped up while she had been sleeping in her icy bed. Victor seemed to be familiar with at least this Batman from their encounter regarding Mr. Boyle…But when Victor responded to her earlier question with some amusement on his face, all her worries seemed to fly away for that moment. Victor expressing his concerns about it being too much for her made Nora smile reassuringly at him. “Take your time Victor. It’s quite alright,” she said warmly.
As her stomach interrupted them again, Victor suddenly frowned and looked to be growing angry. Slightly taken aback by her husband’s swift change in temperament, she glanced over to the soup on the nightstand where Shanice had placed it when Victor had arrived. Unappetizing when she had first awoken, the soup now looked to be rather delectable. As his anger transitioned to worry, she let out another light chuckle.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s quite good. My stomach just hadn’t woken up when the rest of me had,” she explained, “And I was a touch disoriented upon waking…But, I should like to have some now! Perhaps tell me more about these costumed people while I eat?”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 13, 2015 7:10:31 GMT -5
"Oh yes," Victor confirms immediately. While a part of him would like to comfort Nora by telling her that this latest generation of crime isn't so bad, that's simply not true. "The mob at least have a code - a corrupt form of order. These new criminals vary, but many are far more... erratic. But with Batman and the others involved, there is a new balance. The old mob families still exist, but they're being pushed aside. The police have become less corrupt than they once were. A woman walking through east Gotham alone late at night is no longer guaranteed to get mugged or worse. But while still low, her odds of getting kidnapped by a serial killer have skyrocketed. Other crimes that were once unheard of now happen regularly. And it's been a subject of much public debate whether things are now better or worse than they once were - that's a difficult judgment to make," he explains, trying to give her an accurate picture.
Of course he knows that at some point, either now or later, talk of the rogues will eventually lead to the revelation that he's considered to be one of them himself. But though a part of it is that he's simply afraid of how she'll react and so wants to delay saying so until he has to, he currently has other reasons to not be too hasty. He's quite aware that all these masks are something that any person currently living in Gotham is used to, but it's all new to Nora. To her the entire concept must seem quite bizarre, even though in a way it's simply the new normal.
And to him who he's become is not bizarre at all - it's simply what he had to do - and since he wants his wife to see it as he does, first he has to help her discard the notion that this is all really that strange. Not that he doesn't consider many of the other rogues to be quite strange. For instance, he may, like they do, stick out like a sore thumb in public due to his strange attire. But that's not because he chose to dress up in some costume, it's because his suit keeps him alive, as well as serving the practical purpose of making him more capable of defending himself. If it weren't for that he'd dress in completely normal attire, not some silly thematic outfit, and he thinks that anyone who does so is completely insane.
Comforted by Nora's reassurances, the task of telling her everything suddenly seems so much easier. But as urgent as it feels to him to say everything that needs to be said, there are things that he considers to be much more important. And Nora's recovery is certainly one of them - the fact that she's even alive right now is an absolute miracle of science, and he won't see that ruined by neglecting even the smallest detail of her care. And seeing that she gets enough to eat is a basic. So the worry in his expression doesn't disappear completely even though her reasons for not eating yet do sound quite reasonable. "You have a deal," he says as he places the bowl once again before her, quick to imply that if he tells her more that she's now obligated to eat it.
And that she's interested in hearing more about the 'costumed people' is definitely a good thing - perhaps the more she hears of them, the less she'll think of what he does. After all, though he's sure that some parts of his life now will be terribly upsetting to her, what he does is nothing compared to the other rogues. Where to begin though? "I don't know much more of Batman than I've already said - he's a mystery. But he's the most capable of the vigilantes. Among the criminals, those who have made a name for themselves - as opposed to any fool who robs a bank wearing a ski mask - have been dubbed 'the Rogues' by the media. And the most infamous calls himself the Joker - like the playing card. He is also a mystery - nobody knows who he is either - extremely intelligent but extremely insane. And he seems to view everything as a joke: life, death, blowing up buildings, murdering small children, being beaten senseless, getting caught by the police - everything. And he seems determined to convince Batman to see the world as he does," he describes, "But I don't think that he'll succeed. And nothing he does is even remotely humorous." And Victor would probably be the last person on the planet to ever change his mind about that - he doesn't even groan at the Joker's puns.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 0:45:13 GMT -5
Unable to stop herself from smiling, Nora took the bowl that Victor offered to her and ladled a healthy amount into the spoon, bring the savory concoction up to her lips. She took care to blow on it lightly, not really wanting her first meal in ten years to be tarnished by scalding her tongue. Gingerly sipping it, Nora let the soup swish around in her mouth. It was warm and comforting. She shivered slightly as she swallowed, the warmth distilling a bit of the chill in her body.
Her smile faded slowly as she sipped at her food, thoughts drifting toward this new breed of criminal. Gotham had gone through quite a few changes. Her interest in these rogues only grew. Her blue eyes flicked back up to Victor as he began to talk about them once more. Batman was an enigma it seemed…And the most infamous of the new criminals were called the Rogues. Kind of a classy name for them, all in all, if they were as bad as Victor said.
Stirring the soup around in its bowl and scooping up another spoonful, she dutifully held up her end of the bargain while Victor spoke about a man called the Joker. Also a mystery and seemingly fixated on this Batman character. And to view things such as life and death and…killing children as a joke…Nora’s brow creased with worry. From the way Victor was talking…it vaguely sounded like he had…met or had some kind of experience with this Joker. But…that couldn’t be right.
Remaining quiet for a long moment as she ate another spoonful of soup, Nora cast a worried gaze up at Victor, trying to figure out just how to ask him. “Victor…” She paused. “Have you met this…Joker too? It…kind of sounds like you have.” Fiddling with her spoon with anxiously, Nora reached out with one hand and gently rested her hand on her husband’s own gloved one.
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 17, 2015 6:43:40 GMT -5
Though of course Victor would prefer it if Nora never had a reason to stop smiling, the fact that she isn't as he continues to talk more about the 'costumed people' is something that he takes as a good thing. Though he suspects that she can get away with not taking the vigilantes seriously in a way that he can't - it would go against everything he knows of Batman for that man to do anything to someone as innocent of wrongdoing as Nora - any of the rogues is a completely different story. The business that they're all in is deadly serious, which is why he didn't hold back in his description of the Joker's essential character - even though he has reason to hope that the man wouldn't harm her any more than Batman would.
Of course, being that specific has other consequences, and he's not all that surprised by how it worries Nora. He'd hoped that she might neglect to notice just how well he knows the man, but he should have known that she's much too observant for that. "Yes," he admits quickly, unwilling to lie, though he's quick to explain that as much as he's prepared to say at the moment, "Of course I never wanted to, but as I'm sure you can imagine he's a difficult person to refuse - dangerous, even. But both of us have much less to worry about him than most - he has a certain... respect for me. And he knows how much I care for you." There's a certain softness around his eyes at that last sentence that doesn't leave as he reassuringly adds, "I won't lie and say that he's not dangerous, but I have as little to do with him as possible and I am not at peril of my life when he insists on inflicting his presence upon me. Which isn't often - I think I bore him." As if to add emphasis to his words, he takes her hand in both of his and gives it a very gentle squeeze.
But, knowing that she'll have other questions on the matter - possibly touching on things he's not quite ready to explain - he decides to avoid that by saying more, "After Batman exposed what Boyle did to us, our story was well reported by the media." Well, the story and his first few crimes, but he'll omit that detail for now. "I believe that's why he'd heard of me, and some months later he sought me out because he had a problem with some chemicals he was working with - and as I said, he's difficult to refuse. But he's helped me in exchange, so there is an understanding," he finishes, hoping that's enough to satisfy Nora on that subject - or at least as satisfied as she's ever going to be. He doesn't like the fact that he sometimes has to work with the Joker either.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 16:14:30 GMT -5
Nora’s heart felt like it dropped from her chest to form knots in her stomach when Victor confirmed her suspicions. However, Victor was quick to explain that they both had less to fear from him than most. A curious way of putting it. He goes on to insist that the man certainly is dangerous, but Victor is in no immediate peril when forced to confront him. Smiling halfheartedly at his last comment of him boring the Joker, Nora looked on glumly as he squeezed her hand gently.
Other questions arose in her mind, but she had not the courage to ask them quite yet, and her stomach still craved sustenance. Gently tugging her hand away from Victor’s own, she resumed her meal. Her blue eyes flicked up to him as he went on to explain that their story had been covered by the media. Oh dear. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Nora blushed, red coloring her pale cheeks lightly. They had always been fairly private people…Victor especially. Even though her dancing had garnered her some minor celebrity before her illness, she had always led a fairly private life. Now all of Gotham knew about them.
Victor went on about the Joker, figuring that the news story had been the cause of the clown’s interest in her husband. She stirred the soup around in the bowl thoughtfully before eating another spoonful of soup. Flicking her braid over her shoulder with a shake of her head, Nora fiddled with it idly as she thought. “Hmm…”
“So who are the other Rogues? Will you tell me about them?” she asked after a long moment. “I had best learn about them!” She nodded at her own words. With renewed vigor, she scooped at the soup that collected at the bottom of her soup, most of her meal eaten already. “Are they as dangerous as this Joker?”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 18, 2015 1:07:55 GMT -5
Easily allowing Nora the use of her hand again the moment she wants it, Victor has to force himself to not react to the way that she blushes when he mentions the media coverage as he doesn't want to embarrass her further by pointing it out. He coped with the all the extra unwanted attention himself by simply taking his already natural tendency to not care what anyone else thinks about him and being more liberal about when he simply allows himself to feel that way. But he knows that isn't as easy for Nora, however, but he can hardly fix that now. He probably couldn't have kept it more private back when it happened either, even if he'd wanted to - at the time he didn't want to, as he enjoyed seeing Boyle's reputation getting destroyed before his very eyes since he'd been prevented from killing the man.
As concerned as he is about Nora's reactions to everything he's saying so far, he attempts to be subtle about it but he's watching her very carefully. Known far and wide for his dispassion, he's a difficult man for even the most observant to read but since she literally knows him better than anyone she has an edge on anyone else in figuring out what's going on in his head. Not that he's ever given her too much reason to use that skill, as he's far more open with her than he is with anyone. And he never, ever lies to her - that just seems wrong to him in a way that nothing else does - though he does at times neglect to say things, though she knows that. Which is why, even as he carefully omits pieces of the story, he has reason to be concerned that she'll notice - if anyone can, she can.
But he can't conclude that she's not noticed just because she doesn't call him out on it, because something else they've always had is a great deal of trust for each other. If he's not telling her something then it's because he genuinely believes that it's better that she doesn't know. That doesn't mean that he's right to believe that, but it does mean that he thinks that he has a good reason, and she may simply be content with the fact that he has his reasons, at least for now - in fact her obvious thoughtfulness causes him to suspect that's indeed the case. Which is really all he could ask for - he'll fill in the holes, but he simply wants more time to do it.
In fact, that she asks about the others is something that he's quite quick to latch upon. "There are too many to list properly, all very unique. Some may be even more dangerous than the Joker, but many are much less - there's a variety. There is a woman called Catwoman for instance - she is simply an expert thief, and not generally dangerous. For others it depends - one is a man called Two-Face, who literally makes decisions by flipping a coin, so he is dangerous exactly half of the time. Some are almost ordinary - a man they call the Penguin is a mob boss, just like the old order, but is considered a rogue because unlike the old crime families he knows how to thrive in spite of these new developments and gained the acceptance of the new criminals. Some are extraordinary - there is a man called Clayface who is literally made of clay, and who can change the appearance of that clay so that he looks however he wants - to the point of being indistinguishable in appearance from anyone else. The only thing that all have in common is that they're criminals and are in some way unusual," he explains, attempting to give Nora some idea of the sheer diversity that exists in the group.
Which is something that he feels is important to make clear - if he's to tell Nora that he's one of them, he doesn't want her to have any wrong impressions of what it means to be a 'rogue'. It's not a title reserved for only the worst, only the most crazy, or anything like that. Which is why he included Catwoman, even though whether or not she's considered a rogue is a matter of debate among the rogues - his own perception of himself is that he's not that much unlike her. He's not crazy, he simply robs because he's been forced into it by his circumstances, which is better than her tendency to rob because she can. Though he does have to admit that he's much more aggressive about it than she is. But then, he'd never be capable of fitting in a ventilation duct - instead his skills allowed him to invent a cold gun.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 22:28:29 GMT -5
Fascinated by Victor’s detailed explanation of the Rogues, Nora pauses in eating the last bite of her meal. Apparently there were a multitude of them and they came in all some of varieties. Catwoman as a jewel thief seemed almost appropriate given the name. She wondered if she generally entered through an upper window. In any case, Catwoman certainly was a good deal different from what Victor had told her about the Joker.
The next Rogue mentioned was one by the name of Two-Face. A curious name and curious quirk. The Penguin…Clayface, who could change his appearance to anything. All of these new breeds of rather unique criminals…certainly made Nora feel a bit afraid. It was unfamiliar and something she suspected that she would have to adapt to rather quickly. The group itself was rather diverse. It didn’t seem to be made up of a collection of extremes. Not the worst criminals in Gotham, though they might be included in it. As Victor had said, they were criminals and unusual in some way.
“Hmm…I understand,” she said with relief, nodding, “That’s good. Not all are as bad as the Joker.” Scooping up the last bits of soup in the bowl, Nora finished her meal, dabbing at her lips with a napkin that had been on the tray. Her appetite sated, she weakly lifted up the tray, her limbs trembling slightly both because of her current weakness and the awkward positioning. Following the old habit of doing dishes after eating, she sat up a little straighter and glanced toward the kitchen before remembering that she had all sorts of medical equipment hooked into her.
“Oh…hm…” Nora said as she glanced around for somewhere else to put the tray, noticing the nightstand. “Ah,” she said with a smile, leaning over slightly to deposit the tray there when her grip on the tray became uncertain, and it wobbled uncertainly in her hands. Her eyes went wide for a moment as it seemed the tray was about to jump from her hands and to the floor, but she managed to recover it and set it on the nightstand.
“Sorry to be a bother, Victor,” she mumbled softly before reclining on her pillows, clearly tired from all of that effort. The pillows cradled her quite well. They were warm and comfortable…and now with a full belly, Nora could feel the first waves of drowsiness coming on. Looking up at her husband with a gentle smile, she worried internally, though knowing Victor, he could probably see right through her. Still. So could she. He was holding back. But…she trusted him to tell her when he was ready. She could wait. So, continuing on with their current thread of conversation…
“So is there anything else about them that I should know?” Nora asked, pulling up the blankets slightly.
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 20, 2015 22:21:30 GMT -5
"No - if they were all like Joker, I would have found a safer place for us to live. One is enough," Victor confirms, and he definitely means that. He can tolerate one Joker, but if there were more? Well, though he's takes a certain pride in the fact that he backs down to hardly anyone, there comes a point when its obviously better to simply avoid the problem. In fact he might have done that anyway except that Gotham is very well connected to all the resources that he needed for his research, and it also holds so many memories for him and Nora. It didn't seem right to leave it without being able to consult with her on the subject while it's still been a decent choice. Perhaps her recovery will lead them to a different choice, but that's not a question that matters until she's well enough to travel.
For the moment she's quite weak, though she shows every sign of being on the road to a full recovery. But though she could probably strain herself easily, Victor feels no concern about simply allowing her to move the tray to the nightstand. Though when it wobbles and threatens to fall, he reaches out to help steady it - but only with one finger. Which isn't a sign of his belief in his own strength, but in the fact that he doesn't want to take over and deprive her of the opportunity to still accomplish what she was trying to do mostly by herself. A part of him may want to wait on her hand and foot, providing her with everything, but another part of him enjoys seeing what she can accomplish on her own - even something as simple as moving a tray. She certainly couldn't do even that much a week ago.
With the tray safely positioned, he turns back to Nora and his eyes grow soft again as he says, "You've never been a bother to me, Nora," he says, and when he sees that she's become tired and is starting to settle he almost reflexively begins to help her adjust the bedding, shifting the pillow so that it's just right, correcting a fold in the blanket. He can manipulate such objects with much more confidence than anything he'd have to worry about breaking, and he's all too happy to help see to it that his wife is comfortable.
When he's finished, he seems to have to ponder her question for a moment. A part of him is full to bursting to tell her more, to tell her everything, but seeing that she's becoming tired causes him to question the idea of saying too much more - he's said an awful lot already, and there's always the next time she wakes. Still, after a moment he reaches up to gently stroke her cheek with a finger as he answers, "You should know that whatever danger there is out there for you, old or new, you can count on me - to keep it away from you, to rescue you from it if I fail. I would do anything for you, Nora." A fact that every rogue, pretty much every citizen of Gotham, and many more even well outside of Gotham know all too well.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 0:11:30 GMT -5
The gentleness in Victor’s eyes as he helped her adjust the bedding filled Nora with such a sense of happiness. There was her Victor. Her loving Victor. Reassuring her once again. The man who saved her life. The man she loved with all her heart even before all that and still did. She reached out and gently stroked the side of the protective dome around her husband’s head as if it were his cheek, smiling warmly. He had done this for her before when she was ill. She’d felt like something of a bother to him then as well, but she understood that it made him happy to take care of her. She would feel the same way if Victor ever needed her to care for him.
Still…a tinge of something festered in her chest. A bit of guilt. He had spent so much of his life trying to find a cure for her…becoming this…frozen version of himself. She wondered if it wasn’t her fault. If she had never gotten sick in the first place…or maybe if she had done something different perhaps…Victor wouldn’t have to be like that. To suffer.
Before she had even realized it, her brows were furrowed, causing little worry lines around her eyes. In the meantime, Victor pondered her earlier question and came up with an answer for her, which jerked her out of her worrisome thoughts. She smiled as Victor brushed her cheek with a finger, reaching out and taking hold of his hand in hers tenderly.
“I know, Victor,” she replied with a smile, “But you’ve never failed me. Please, take care of yourself too.” Nora gave his hand a slight squeeze. “I love you.”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 22, 2015 8:07:05 GMT -5
Having not failed to notice the look of worry around Nora's features, Victor is glad when his words and his touch drive it away - however inadequate he may feel like both of them are. His expression becomes soft once again at her words. "I will," he promises, his voice suggesting that he takes that request extremely seriously. After all, if he doesn't take care of himself, how is he supposed to care for her? And beyond that, the more he interacts with her the more determined he finds himself becoming to cure his own condition.
In fact, a part of him wonders if perhaps he should have waited until he'd figured out his own cure before he woke her up - then she could have woken up into a more perfect situation like she deserves. But no, there's no telling how long it will take for him to find a cure and she also didn't deserve to be frozen, unable to live, any longer than she had to be. But for her sake, he doesn't want her to have to wait any longer than she has to for him - the distance between them caused by these barriers that keep him from harm are painful. As much as he appreciates the squeeze he can just feel on his hand, it's also too small of a thing - so much less than the affection that they both know that they want to be able to show each other. For now he can comfort himself in the thought that when she's well enough to endure the cold of one of his laboratories then they won't need quite so much of a barrier, though even that will be woefully inadequate.
"I love you too, Nora," he says softly, somewhat overwhelmed with emotion. But even so, he can't help remember the look of worry on her features - and it seemed somewhat deeper than a simple worry about the rogues. "Is there something wrong, my beloved?" he asks, his voice still soft but his expression becoming somewhat troubled. He's more than a little afraid of how she might answer that - perhaps what's worrying her is one of the things that he hasn't said, and may not be quite ready to say. On the other hand, if there's something that troubles her so much that her mind can't leave it alone then he also doesn't want to force her to worry. His goal is to protect her from as much pain as possible, not to accidentally cause more by refusing to face his fears.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2015 0:23:51 GMT -5
Relieved by Victor’s promise to look after himself, Nora relaxed a bit more, letting some of her worries fade to the back of her mind at the moment. Others, however, still remained very present at the forefront of her thoughts. She nodded to indicate her understanding of the promise. He had taken it very seriously, which was good. Nora would have that much less to worry about, and she was sure that Victor would be certain to tend to himself from now on.
Over the past ten years…Nora wondered how much Victor had neglected himself for her sake. She knew how he could get when her own health was less than…optimal. Those last few weeks before she had agreed to be put into cryostasis…She remembered just how Victor had been. Desperate. Driving himself to his limits for her. She loved him for it. Words failed to express her gratitude, but it had worried her sick.
Once again pulled from her troublesome thoughts by Victor’s words, Nora’s heart melted, overwhelmed with gentle, warm, powerful emotion, causing her to reach for her husband’s hand and draw it to her lips to kiss it delicately. When an expression of worry crossed Victor’s face, she chided herself slightly for letting him see her fret so, but even still, Victor deserved to know.
“Well, it’s just…” she began uncertainly, “I’m so sorry, Victor…” Nora clutched at the blankets in order to stop herself from wringing her hands. “It’s my fault you’re like this…If I hadn’t gotten sick…none of this would’ve happened…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Maybe I could’ve done something different…you wouldn’t have had to…” Choking up, Nora brought her hands up to her teary eyes and tried to wipe away the tears before they came.
“You wouldn’t have to be like this…”
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Post by Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze on Jul 26, 2015 0:52:32 GMT -5
Fortunately for Victor, he just plain doesn't require very much to keep himself going physically anymore - well, aside from keeping himself cold, obviously. He does need food, sleep, and other normal things but not nearly as often as he did before the accident. Which means that it's much harder than it used to be for him to neglect himself and keeping his promise to Nora will be hardly any trouble at all.
And while he still managed to neglect himself for Nora's sake while she was frozen, it was probably much less often and much less severely than she imagines - if only because the frequency with which he remembers to care for himself roughly corresponds with the frequency that he actually needs to do so. But he supposes that he could and probably should set up some sort of a reminder system to cover the cases in when he's simply so focused upon other things that he goes for too long. If it would make Nora feel better, then it's certainly worth the trouble.
With his hands so thickly covered by so much material, he can't feel the delicate press of his wife's lips against his hand. Nevertheless, he can still see and appreciate the gesture for what it is - an attempt to communicate things that words alone are inadequate for.
Listening with great concern as Nora explains her worried thoughts, Victor's face quickly shifts into a frown. "No," he states quite firmly, his tone a little harder than he tends to be with his wife. It isn't very often that he puts his foot down with Nora - he definitely doesn't like to do it if he can help it - but it's also not completely unheard of. While he's as empathetic as can be with her (much to the bewilderment of the staff at the asylum who can't figure out how he manages to care so much for her and so little for everyone else), there does come a point where - while he empathizes with her feeling - he also finds it to be so ridiculous that he can't help but tell her that she's wrong. "It was not your illness but the greed of Boyle that caused this. If it weren't for him and the choices he made, this would not have happened - you did not choose to be sick," he states with that same tone, indicating that he's not willing to even entertain the idea that she might be right.
But the firmness of his tone is gone as he adds, "And you must keep in mind that I've been this way for ten years. It may be new to you, but I am well accustomed to it. In fact, if it didn't come between us now, I might have decided that I couldn't be bothered to cure it. It will be extraordinarily difficult to do so, and I've learned to live with it." Raising one of his hands, he uses it to steal one of her hands away from her face so that he can gently hold it. "Only this I can't live with," he adds, nodding towards their hands - touching and yet so far apart.
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