[ closed ] touch my body

[nightcrawl]

WHO: Louis Bloom and Walter White
WHERE: Walt's place
WHEN: The night after Walt makes his drunken post about being in Hell.
WHAT: Experiments and favors.
WARNINGS: Some body horror on Lou's part otherwise tba.


People were complications. There were times when Louis had put stock in others and by and large found himself disappointed. Nevertheless, he'd come to a point where he had to concede that he couldn't accomplish this current task through sheer willpower. In that case he hoped that he wasn't putting his trust in the wrong person. It helped that he hadn't committed to anything yet.

He sends a message to the pharmacist as requested and, after receiving a confirmation, drives his taxi halfway before getting out and teleporting the rest.

Which is why, when he knocks, he looks ghostly pale in compilation to having the sunken eyes of a man who kept quite a few late nights. But he looks clean in his pressed, soft blue shirt and slacks. His longer hair is slicked back to his skull.

And when the door is answered, he has a wide, almost tentative smile.

"Thank you again for seeing me, Walt. I really appreciate your time. I'm Louis Bloom - I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. May I come in?"

He's already got one foot through the door. A hand extends as well.

"How are you feeling?"

Comments

[kingpawn]

Walt sits there, too. It's just one of those awkward moments where he needs to go for it, and so he does -- reaching out his hand and gently resting it on one of Lou's. He doesn't start right away, figuring he should give a verbal warning before he does.

"I'm going to feel things out and see what I can do. Let me know when you start to feel the effects..."

He closes his eyes, even though he doesn't really have to -- it just gives the illusion of him digging into the deep recesses of himself to make this power happen. Walt feels his way through Lou's nervous system and first focuses on Lou's eyelids where he claimed he felt the nanites, focusing on causing Lou's body to stop releasing the sensation chemicals that were sending the message to his brain. Shut down the code, and the message won't be delivered. The nanites would still be there doing their thing, but Louis wouldn't feel them if it worked.

But this is only a small, localized area. Walt still has a whole body to navigate.

[nightcrawl]

The small bones under the skin of his hand may have twitched under the touch, but Lou remains still. Even as Walt shuts his eyes, he may feel the younger man's gaze.

Which twitches a little as it feels like his eyelids go numb. There's a thin, shaky puff of breath between his lips.

"My eyes?"

It's a strange feeling. His eyes shutter to be sure he's got the control over them.

[kingpawn]

"Is it too much? Or not enough? I can try and adjust the sensitivity. And maybe, given time, I will be able to pinpoint exactly which nerves are sending the signals you're feeling for very specific results."

In other words, hopefully Louis didn't come here hoping for a quick and permanent fix. Chemistry is a delicate science that takes time. "You should still have complete range of motion, and the sensory nerves on the outside aren't effected. Meaning, if you touch your eyelid, you should be able to feel it."

[nightcrawl]

"I think..." Lou lifts his free hand, shutting his eyes to pass fingertips over the lids, "It's just right. Keep going."

A beat.

"Please."

What he was feeling now, that sort of numbness, was just the new absence of the nanites such as they were. His receptors were blocked to them. Lou had to wonder if his awareness towards the communicator in his pocket would also go.

Opening his eyes once more, he dropped his hand to his knee once more, only this time pivoting it so that he could see the faint glow of his tattoo. Move, he told the lot there, focusing. Nothing happened, though he could still feel them clustering there. It was like trying to catch fireflies with only a mental picture of a jar.

Move, just a little. There. The 'd' at the edge of REGISTERED hazed, just a little.

[kingpawn]

Walt is pleased with the answer. But as he focuses on carefully spreading this numbness throughout Lou's body, a bead of perspiration forms on his brow and he has to concentrate more intensely to get the results. Maybe he should have brought Jesse along simply for his power boosting abilities.

But he couldn't. He didn't know what Lou was capable of or what he would do. Things could still turn south for all Walt knew.

He gets about three fourths of the way through before he can't continue anymore. Walt's hand slides off of Lou's and he's left panting and gasping for breath -- winded and weak. "I'm sorry. I tried to finish, but it's too much. We can wait for a bit and I can try again, unless that was enough to suit your needs for now?"

[nightcrawl]

Lou feels his head clear first. The flies that had been buzzing in his throat seem to have finally escaped, leaving him swallowing with a strange sense of relief. The feeling works its way down his spine, clearing out the hive in his chest and forcing an involuntary shudder. Wow. He knew he found it extremely irritating ( the first night he actually managed to drift off found his arms and neck bleeding; he started wearing socks on his hands after that like some mongrel with mites ), but he had no idea how bad it'd been until it was gone.

So he was disappointed when the relief stopped just short of working down his extremities. His stare on Walt is steady, unblinking, expression blank. He doesn't answer for a few seconds, as if the force of his gaze would magically grant him what he wanted, or as if there was a glitch somewhere along the line in his system.















"How about I get you something to drink, Walter? Water?" Lou stands, glancing around the room for anything that looks like a towel or a rag. He doesn't seem worried; if anything, he's reassuring and objective, as if this were something he'd expected and trained for. There's even some simulation of warmth. "Something to eat? I'm just guessing, but you look like a diabetic whose blood sugar just hit the floor. You should probably lie down."

[kingpawn]

"Some water would be good." Walter nods. It's a weird sensation, the strength completely zapped from him. He has no idea where it even starts or how to replenish it. Perhaps a doctor could give him better insight. But Walt believes it must somehow be a combination of inexperience and the cancer.

He's well aware that Lou's angle is selfish here. He wouldn't be fussing over him if Walt had finished numbing Lou's body before ending up in this predicament. But still, after being by himself for months and having most everyone hope the cancer killed him even before that, it's admittedly nice to have someone care enough to make sure he got his strength back.

"Maybe some orange juice. It could very well be a matter of low blood sugar. Everything is in the kitchen. I'm sure no one will mind if you help yourself."

[nightcrawl]

It is absolutely a move toward his own gain, but isn't everything? Lou tends to think in those terms.

He returns with what the fridge can offer him - soda and water and half a sandwich.

"Try this first," He offers, cranking open the soda and offering it to Walt as he sits on the bed beside him. A dishtowel is in his hand too, from the linen closet. He was versed enough in the amenities of government housing, being just as subject to it as the other man.

[kingpawn]

Walt looks up at Lou's return and a shaky hand accepts the soda -- something he tended to avoid when he had his cancer back home, but he didn't worry so much about it now, taking a sip of the carbonated beverage. It's funny, Lou tending to him like this. And even funnier that Walt still has the gun he intended to use on this man if he had turned out to be a threat tucked very neatly into the back of his pants.

Who knew what would have happened if Walter's technique hadn't turned out to be useful. But given what he's seen of Lou so far, he's sure Lou would have simply left and that would have been the end of it. Lou doesn't seem like a guy who enjoys wasting any time on something that isn't self-serving.

"Thank you." He utters after a moment. Selfish or not, Lou is taking all of the efforts to get Walt back his strength as quick as possible. He appreciates it. "I've read that there are things that will null our powers, but I wonder if there are things that can do the opposite." Walt looks over at Lou for a moment. "You seem to be a very resourceful man. Maybe you can find this out."

And if there are strengtheners -- maybe Lou could even get his hands on one. After all, it serves a purpose for both of them if this relationship were to be on-going. Walt might have had his own personal strengthener with Jesse and his powers, but he needs a back up plan for when Jesse isn't around.

[nightcrawl]

Lou didn't waste his violence where it wasn't useful, either. While it could be cathartic, he appreciated his control more.

In a way, he liked tending to Walt while the man was in a clearly diminished state. After all, what was more powerful than having the decision to help or forsake someone who depended on you, then fulfilling their need at little trouble?

Lou takes the soda out of the way once Walt has quenched his thirst.

"You're welcome," He says, accepting the gratitude. His bright eyes shine a little more with the barely veiled request. He offers Walt the sandwich now, reaching with his free hand to dab a bit of sweat off the other man's brow with the cloth. It was almost tender.

"I read a lot, that's all. I'm on the network all the time."

It was a useful suggestion, anyway. He would look into it. Now, whether or not he'd convey the information to Walt and repay the favor, that remained to be decided. Would one good turn deserve another?

"And there's no substitution for hard work. The more you push yourself, the stronger you'll get."

[kingpawn]

Walt looks at Lou and raises a brow. Somehow he believes this guy is on the network all the time, and he's probably not alone. There are sure to be others who do the same. That's why Walt decides it's probably best to avoid the network where he can. Fortunately, it's the younger ones that seem to use it as a means of communication more than people his age.

He takes a bite of the sandwich before looking back at Lou. "While it's true that practice will probably increase my strength -- there will always be limits." He eats a little more before he sets it aside. His stomach isn't really settled enough to just keep shoving food into it. But he does feel a bit better. Whether that's the break from using his powers or the carbohydrates in his blood is anyone's guess.

Walt straightens himself upright, looking over at Lou who is being a little too methodical with his care. "I'm ready to try again." So he hopes Lou will stop dabbing his head like a nursemaid.

[nightcrawl]

See now, how motivating could a little contact be? Lou had already started to suspect Walter of being similar to himself in temperament; being doted on, from the right person, might be a welcome thing, but from a stranger would spur him along quite well. There was the difference, however, in that Lou might kindly tell someone to take their hands off of him before they broke their wrists; clearly Walter was a little more polite, or else tactful, given his more compromised state.

Lou does sit back and immediately take the cloth away. His eyes shine. "Are you sure?"

But he's setting that cloth aside, his free hand beginning to extend between them.