Chapter Text
Norma Bates was full of excitement as she turned the corner to the birthday aisle in the party store in town. She pushed her cart with a smile on her face. She was almost gleeful. She was dressed in a white sundress that flared out at the knee. Her hair was flawless platinum, she had just cut and dyed it in a stylish bob. It felt lighter and she felt more youthful with her mini makeover. The happy mood was radiating off of her like sunshine. She picked up a bag of multicolored balloons and tossed them in the cart. She stopped in front of the streamers and party hats. She put her hand on her hip and a finger to her mouth. Yes...these would be perfect. She decided on a package of hats with the words "Happy Birthday" on them in bright colors. She wanted to do something special for her grown young man, and what better way than to throw him a nice birthday party. It was a shame he didn't have many friends to invite, but Norma picked up a package of party invitations just in case.
After picking up a couple of banners and some crepe streamers in blue and green she headed over to the counter. She needed to go and pick up the cake and go to the grocery store and get the ice cream and other snacks. She paid for her things and went to her car. She had nothing but the birthday boy on her mind. She wanted this to be an extra special birthday for him. He was turning 18. It was a year that marked his transformation into adulthood. He was becoming a man. Norma was beyond proud of him. Her little boy...all grown up.
She pictured him in her mind. Soft brown hair, his bangs flopping over his forehead. She loved to run her fingers through them pushing them away from his face. Blue eyes that held so much emotion in their depths. When he looked at her, she felt them touch her soul. She hated to see him cry, but oh was he even more beautiful when he did. Soft full lips that she had kissed on more than one occasion. Lips that she wanted to linger on, on more than one occasion. She blushed, the color rising to her pale chest turning it a healthy pink. She tried to push the thought out of her head. She remembered how good it felt to be in his arms. He truly was the best hugger she had ever known. No one hugged her the way he did. She was always left wanting more when they inevitably had to part from one another. She seemed to find it harder to let go.
He was always so proper. How she wanted to see him "let his hair down" so to speak. She wanted to see him carefree and worry free. A lot had been troubling his mind lately. She wanted him to be lighthearted. She loved to see him smile. She loved the smiles that he only seemed to have for her. They were few and far between. She wanted to change that. She wanted it to be the way it used to be. Of course, she knew they would never be like they were when he was a little boy. Always out in the sunlight....always playing in the meadows behind their home. Playing hide and go seek. She felt a twinge of regret in her heart. The years of their lives together played in her head like the flipping of a picture book. Too fast the years had gone. But she was proud of what he had become and who he was. He protected her to the best of his ability. He was her knight in shining armor as corny as that sounded, she kept that locked away in her heart.
She bought the rest of the items needed on her birthday list and was heading home now to plan his party. She had seen a couple of high school kids on a corner and it didn't matter if Norman knew them or not, she yelled out the window to them and handed them an invitation to his party. The kids looked at her as all teens their age did. Like what planet was she from? Norma smiled happily and thought of her inside joke. This was going to be GREAT!
She burst in the door with her bags in her hand and kicked the door shut behind her.
"NORMAN??!!" She called loudly through the old house. She hoped he wasn't down in the basement working on one of those horrible animal projects again. He didn't appear to be home. Norma sighed in relief. She put the ice cream and cake in the refrigerator and put the other bags on the kitchen table. His birthday party would be on Friday after school. She wanted all of the decorations to be up and everything to be ready before he came in from his after school tutoring. She phoned down to the motel to Emma who she would need to be an accomplice to her plans.
"Oh....uh....yeah, Norma. I think that would be a great idea!"
"You don't think it's too cheesy do you? I mean you've talked to Norman a lot lately. You've noticed he's been preoccupied. I just want him to have fun. I think this would be silly!"
"Yeah...I mean.....he has been kinda not himself lately since that whole incident with Ms. Watson. And Bradley didn't help much either." Emma said clearing her throat.
"Good, then will you help me with this?" Norma said her voice almost pleading. "You know his classmates. Help me invite a few over and let's make this a surprise party he won't forget!"
"Oh, I'm sure he won't forget it..." Emma smirked. She wanted to be in on the joke just as much as Norma did, she liked her more than she liked her own mother.
"Come up to the house after school tomorrow and help me out, would you?"
"Of course."
Norman walked through the door later that evening. He had been after school tutoring another student in language arts. He was helping a lot lately to take his mind off of his teacher's death and everything that surrounded it. He had been so confused and so conflicted lately. Making sure Bradley was safe and away from White Pine Bay had been his other top priority. There was so much responsibility on his back lately that all of his thoughts were playing tug of war with fear and denial. It wore him out. All he wanted to do was sleep. There seemed to be a perpetual dark cloud hanging over his head. He put his books down and approached the kitchen where he heard his mother moving around in there. The table was set for two and she was busy at the sink washing a pot or pan, Norman shrugged, she was always cleaning something.
Once he saw her it was like a weight lifted from his shoulders, even if it was temporary. She looked so pretty from behind. Her hair, the light catching all of her blonde highlights, perfectly cut and styled, he loved her new look. He loved her any way that she looked but there was something about her new style. His eyes trailed her long, slender neck to her defined clavicle, and down the soft curve of her shoulder. His mind wandered away from him to thoughts of fingering the strap of her sundress and easing it down her arm. He shook his head and approached her. He loved the way she dressed, especially lately. It seemed if new life had been breathed into his mother; where his life seemed to become darker, her's was a halo of sunshine. She was always wearing light sundresses and sweaters, platform sandals on her feet made her taller. She made Norman forget about his daily worries by just the sight of her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed a welcoming kiss on her neck. It lingered longer than it should.
"Oh...hi Honey....you startled me!" Norma said breaking away from her thoughts. She turned to face him and smiled her heart-stopping smile. He grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Norman smiled back just as wide. Norma's eyes lit up. "How was your day?"
Norman smiled softly looking down at her, even in her heels he stood marginally taller than she. "It's much better now, Mother."
She gave him a sideways smile and pulled away from him. "Good...that's nice to hear. Sit down, I've got your dinner ready for you." She busied herself at bringing out her usual ton of food and dishing some mashed potatoes out on his plate. Norman picked up the carton of milk and poured himself a glass. He filled his mother's glass and sat down. Norma put a healthy portion of meatloaf on her son's plate and put the dish down on the table. She looked at the top of her son's tousled head and couldn't help scruffing her hand through it. Norman chuckled and grabbed her hand placing a kiss on her inner wrist. "Thank you for dinner, Mom."
Norma's pulse rose at the touch of his lips on her skin. She didn't know why it was affecting her now. Things just felt different between them somehow. She could have been making it up in her head, but when she looked back at Norman and saw nothing but adoration and love shining back, it touched her somewhere inside. She was not ashamed of the bond they had between each other, and it was times like these when it only grew stronger. She went to her seat and began cutting into her meatloaf. Norman had an appetite that night. He normally ate like a bird, the kind that didn't eat much. They kept shooting glances at each other throughout the meal.
"What?" Norman said laughing as he picked up another spoonful of mashed potatoes.
"Nothing...I just like looking at you." Norma said smiling over her glass of milk.
Norman blushed. "I'm just the same old me I always was..."
Norma's eyes teared up. She smiled at him wistfully. "My baby boy....is growing up."
"Mother...." Norman said with a sympathetic sigh.
"Oh, I know....I promised myself I wouldn't go getting all emotional. But look at you. I'm so proud of you, Norman. You've become such a handsome young man. Any mother would be proud to have you as her son." She reached for her napkin and dabbed her eyes.
Norman got up from his chair and crossed over to her. He stood before her and she looked up at him. He looked more like a grown man in that moment than ever before. He lifted her from her seat and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her close to him. She breathed in his cologne on his neck and collar of his shirt. He breathed in her perfume at the hollow of her throat. It was dizzying them both, but he kept it innocent and pulled away, looking into her eyes. "I will always be your little boy."
He kissed her forehead and eyebrow quickly and turned to clear the dishes away. Norma pat his shoulder as he walked past her to the sink. "Are you wash or dry this week?"
------
Later they were both curled up on the couch together, her feet in his lap and his arm draped on the back of the couch. They were watching one of their favorite Cary Grant movies called "My Favorite Wife". Norman was absentmindedly playing with her feet. He had removed her sandals himself, undoing the delicate straps and easing it from her foot. He gauged his mother's reactions as he tentatively began a slow massage starting at the toes and working his way to her heel. He had done this many times before. It was no big deal to him. He tried to pay attention to the movie just absently rubbing here, touching there applying pressure where needed. He looked back at his mother who was steadily eating popcorn and laughing at Cary Grant being his usual charmingly silly self. Suddenly, Norman began to tickle his mother's foot relentlessly.
"Noorrmaann!! Norman, stop!!!" Norma said distracted from the movie. Norman had a strong grip on her foot and was tickling with an evil little gleam in his eye.
"I didn't know you thought the movie was this funny, mother?" Norman said tickling up the side of her bare leg. Norma was trying to wriggle away from him but Norman kept inching up her leg wanting to get to the back of her calf where he knew she was the most vulnerable.
"Normann...don't you dare....come on....I'm warning you!!!" Norma said throwing popcorn at his head.
Norman's tapered slender fingers found the back of her calf and lightly tickled her skin there. Norma broke out into a fit of giggles. She ineffectually tried pushing his hands away from her leg bringing her other foot up to push him away. Norman took the opportunity to attack that leg too.
"NOOO...not the other one!!!" Norma writhed on the couch trying to push up and away from him.
"You're so predictable, Mother...." Norman said fighting her hands away from him with his other hand.
With one final push, she was able to break out of his hold and jump off the couch. "Ha..HA!" She laughed and acted like she was going to run away. Norman smirked at her and eased up off the couch. "Can't catch me!" She laughed and ran to the other room. Norman shook his head and chased after her. "What do I get if I catch you?" He yelled in her direction.
He ran up the stairs behind her almost coming close to grabbing her. He felt heated at that moment...and he thought to himself 'What do I want...if I catch you?'
She ran to her room and he was close behind her. She grabbed at something off of her bed and turned around. It was a large wrapped present. Norman almost bumped into her, bumped into it as he stopped short. They were both breathing hard, giddy with laughter and the chase.
"I got ya something..." Norma said smiling brightly and holding the gift before him.
"Motherrrr...!!" Norman said surprised. "You didn't have to do this!"
"I wanted to..." Norma said calming herself. She swallowed hard and the air in the room changed to serious. Norman looked up from the package to her dark blue depths, he could drown in them now and be forever happy. "Come open it...."
Norman took the big present with the large red bow on it and sat down on her bed. She jumped up next to him on her knees her arms around his shoulders and waited impatiently for him to tear it open. Norman was eye level with her cleavage and could see a bit of her lacy bra peeking out over the top of her sundress. Suddenly the present didn't seem to matter much to him anymore. The necklace she wore moved against the skin of her chest and Norman wanted nothing more than to place kisses along the trail where the necklace had been. He should be so lucky.
"Norman..." She breathed. Norman snapped out of it. "Oh...sorry, Mother." He said quickly removing the wrapping paper and opened the box lid. He pushed the tissue paper aside and there lay a beautiful leather attache case.
"Mother...." Norman was beside himself. "This must have cost a fortune...why?"
She began fingering his hair, pushing strands behind his ear, tracing the curve of his ear to his earlobe. A tingling sensation went through Norman.
"I just thought you may need one...you know...later on maybe....I dunno....I thought it would make you feel more...adult."
"It's wonderful. I love it." Norman said. His mother's face was close to his inches away. He looked her in the eyes and said "Thank you, Mother."
"I thought you might like it in your new job position." She said smiling. She ran a thumb over his thick eyebrow, smoothing it. She looked down at his Adam's apple as it bobbed deliciously at his throat. She needed to get these dangerous thoughts out of her head. This was her son, but she felt drawn to him in a way she didn't trust herself to feel.
"What new position...?" Norman asked finding it hard to talk at the moment.
"Well...I'm making you motel manager!!" Norma said squealing in delight.
Norman stared at her in total disbelief. "Wait...repeat that...what did you say?"
"I'm making you motel manager of Bates Motel!" she said, shaking his shoulders. "You're old enough now for some more responsibility, I think...and I have a lot on my plate in other areas. I think this would be good for you! What do you say?" She looked at him, biting her lip trying to make him as excited as she was.
He looked at her seriously, the mirth still reaching his eyes and he said in a very serious tone not hiding his joy and adoration. "Alright, Mother....I'll be your motel manager."
He tossed the present aside and pushed his mother down on the bed trapping her body between his and the bed. He hugged her close to his body. "Thank you...I won't let you down." He whispered in her ear. "I love you, Mom." He lifted his head up to study her face. In the soft lamplight glow, she was an angel. He felt his head move forward, her lips hypnotically drawing his to them.
Norma's breathing was erratic. She felt warm and comfortably pressed between her son and the mattress. He was hovering above her, seeming to come to some kind of decision. His eyes were drawing her into his depths. They were searching her face for an allowance. He needed an answer, but she was afraid to give it to him. It would have to be enough for now that she just return all the love he had for her back to him tenfold. "I love you, too." She nuzzled his nose with her own and smiled. Norman fell into her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Now was not the time for listening to the commands of his head and body. He was content just to be in her arms. Tomorrow was going to be the BEST Birthday yet!