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Bickering wasn't any news inside the Manor. Between survivors, hunters and in-between, there was always someone on edge looking for some trouble. Especially over a particularly stressful match, it was almost etiquette to either cuss the opposite party, or to get into a fist fight between each other.
This was no exception to Norton and Naib. Although both men were quite capable, their capacity sometimes laid more into pushing each other's buttons rather than rescuing or kiting.
They were incredibly similar, and their bickering was clear as day to be a product of their worry for the other one.
Even if they had a particularly nasty loss that day, in the end they were still partners, and when the game was over, there was no use in sulking about it.
(They still slept on different rooms, but there was no reason to make dinner even more awkward.)
(Except they always managed to do just that. Everytime.)
"Good evening." Victor walked into the dining room, signing as he settled himself at the table. "Sorry for being late. Rank hours can get a bit crazy."
"It's alright. You did a lot today, get some rest now, yes?" Eli smiled gently as he ate his food. He was always so calm, that it made everyone else settle down as well.
"How was the last match? You seem pretty well! Did you escape?" Emma chirped in, munching on a loaf of bread as she spoke.
"Well... I did, but..." Victor sunk into his chair slightly, as he heard sound coming from the corridor. It wasn't distinguishable, but it surely was loud. And angry.
"What's that." Aesop whispered to Victor, as they were sitting next to each other, but didn't look away from his plate at any point.
"Mary let me escape through the dungeon, but..." The blond recoiled in his seat, looking smaller by the second.
The source of the noise resurfaced as Norton and Naib, signing at each other angrily, with Norton grunting in response and Naib trying his best to not just punch the other's face. A collective, silent sigh was shared by those who were already at the table. Aesop took his plate and got up.
"Good night."
"Goodnight, Aesop!" Eli smiled, sympathetic. Emma waved at him, too busy with a mouthful of bread to speak.
"It can get pretty overwhelming here when these two start fighting..." Victor signed as Aesop left, trying his best to hide his hands from Naib and Norton's eyes. "Gravekeeper is still scared of having dinner near these two..."
"Figures. They're such children sometimes." Emma replied, shaking her head, and peeling the crust off another slice of her flat bread.
Eli sighed, getting up from his seat and reaching the lampshade nearest of him. He started flickering the lights until the two men bickering looked at him. He signed at them. "The food is getting cold. You either eat or fight. The second option makes me mad, though, so choose carefully!"
Naib and Norton didn't hesitate into sitting at the table like two normal people. Their part of the dinner was surprisingly quiet, since Naib didn't like talking while eating, and Norton was still pouty over the fight to talk to anyone else.
Victor took his leave with Emma, as they promised to visit Leo and Bane briefly before going to sleep. Eli was always the last one at the table usually, but his company didn't seem to budge an inch, even after finishing their meals.
"Naib," Eli knocked on the table, and the mercenary turned to him. "Did you tell each other why you're upset yet?"
"I'm not a child." Naib signed, frowning. "He knows what he did, so I don't need to."
"Except I don't?" Norton signed at Eli, frustrated. "He just got mad at me out of nowhere, as usual. And I'm supposed to read his mind!"
"Now, now." Eli sighed, tilting his head. "Naib, you know you need to tell others about what you feel, or else they won't know what's wrong. And Norton, you know how stubborn he is, but it's always the same thing. I bet even I can figure out why he's mad at you, and I didn't even watch the match."
The two men shared a cold silence. Norton was the first one to say something.
"Was it because I tried to save you from the chair?" He turned to Naib as he signed.
The mercenary didn't reply immediately. Instead, he just glared at Norton with a frustrating intensity. "I told you to leave me. You cost us the win."
"It was a tie, it's still good." Norton replied.
"If this had happened to you instead, it wouldn't be. Not by your standards." Naib replied. "You're always so reckless. Already sending yourself flying with your magnets, and then getting chaired because you didn't trust me."
"Okay." Norton nodded. "But you throwing yourself against the walls to run faster and being hit countless times while trying to save someone is fine?"
"Yes." The mercenary didn't even hesitate. "It's called being a rescue. I can make an effort to save my friends."
"So can I." The prospector furrowed his brow in annoyance. "I don't care about the game more than I care about my friends. You'd jump in to save someone, I have the right to do it too."
"I asked to be left there."
"I said no. I'm pretty sure that's one of the two options I get to choose from."
Eli watched carefully as the two talked. They were on their way to solve their issue, but maybe they needed a little push. Either way, he wanted to help, and not just stand there, feeling like an intruder.
"Norton, did you save Naib to get the perfect score?" The seer asked, and Norton declined. "Did you do it because you wanted to be a rescue?"
"Not that either." He replied. "It's because it's Naib, and I didn't want to leave him behind."
The mercenary looked at him in silence, an undecipherable expression on his face.
"I'm tired of a abandoning my friends." Norton confessed, shrinking in his seat. "Even more my partner."
With a loud squeaking sound from the chair scratching the wooden floor violently, Naib got up from his seat, walked up to Norton and pulled him out of the chair. The smaller man was much stronger, and it didn't take much effort to just throw Norton on the floor.
"What the hell?" Norton signed, then rubbed his head, numbing the pain on his scalp.
Naib sat down next to the taller man, and gently offered his hand. His thumb, index and pinky fingers were up. Norton stared at the small hand for a few seconds, before sighing and smiling. He mimicked the hand sign, pressing it against Naib's, and their hands held each other, as Norton sat up and brought Naib to a hug with his other arm. Eli smiled from the table, as he got up and started picking up the left over dishes to clean them up.
As the two men on the floor parted the hug, Naib signed Norton's sign. No one else in the Manor knew that sign for the prospector, since it was Naib's own nickname. Signing for love, he gently bumped his hand against his forehead. Norton smiled, before bending down and kissing the mercenary. When their kiss ended, Norton signed a flick out of his forehead. His own sign for Naib.
"Fuck you." The mercenary replied, smiling.
"I'm going to sleep. Want to come along? Norton said, getting up from the floor.
As he straightened himself, he realized Naib had already started his way back into the rooms. And if he knew him well, he wasn't going to sleep in his own bed tonight.
But, alas, Norton still had the key. So he rushed to catch up to the other, to avoid getting scolded again for taking too long to open the door for him.