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It was a cloudy day. Not too hot and not windy. The sun cast rays of orange and violet throughout the sky. Chatters could be heard here and there that soon dispersed into silence.
Norton just finished practicing with his team and most of his teammates were more or less ready to leave the baseball grounds after a shower. However, Norton did not budge. Not one bit. His eyes were glued to a lone figure jogging around the tracks in a leisure pace. He knew who this person was and yet he didn’t show indications of approaching the guy. He was content in just admiring from afar. After all, he didn’t really didn’t care much if his feelings were returned or not. He’d rather just like the guy from afar than risk rejection. After a few more seconds of looking at the figure, Norton averted his eyes and then started packing up. It was not the time to be looking at him.
“Norton!” A yell came across the other side of the baseball grounds making Norton look at who just called him. The person who just called sprinted towards him halted with a flair.
“What is it?” Norton answered as he looked at the freckled blond that just arrived in front of him.
The said blond gave Norton a grin, “Fiona told me to tell you that you should go to the amusement park with us!”
Norton raised an eyebrow, “What for?”
“It’s to hang out!”
“Huh?”
“You can’t say no! We already confirmed that you don’t have any practice tomorrow!”
“I was not going to. Who is going with us?”
“Uh- Me, Fiona, Patricia, Martha, Vera, Marga, and...”
“And?”
“...Naib…”
As he heard the last name that was mentioned he immediately froze in place. “No.”
“Oh- What-”
“Absolutely not, Mike.”
Mike whined, “What the hell! You said you weren’t going to say no! And also, you can’t! Fiona already bought you a ticket!”
“Tell her to give it to someone else.”
“Do you hate Naib that much?! He hasn’t even done anything to you!”
“I don’t! I just don’t want to be in such close proximity to him!”
“What? Why?”
“Just because.”
“Your ‘just because’ won’t work on me, Norton.” Another voice came and this one is from a female. The lady had bright pink hair that was braided and he wore some sort of hoodie. With an unamused face, she sighed at Norton.
“Mike. He has a crush on Naib.”
“Yeah, I know but wouldn’t it be better if he started talking to him?”
“Our mister baseball star’s brain will start reeling the moment he is close to our dearest boxing champion.” Fiona answered as she hit Norton’s back earning her a small “Ow” from the taller man.
Norton stayed quiet at the exchange, his face becoming redder and redder. He soon glanced at the race tracks and found that the figure from before was already gone. A small feeling of disappointment washed over him and he finally zips up his bag and slings it over his shoulder.
“Anyways, Patricia will fetch you tomorrow, Norton,” Fiona added.
“Cool- Wait- No.I’m not going.”
“You are going and that is final.”
“Fiona what the hell. My heart is not ready to interact with him.”
“Norton, you have been crushing on him since the first year of high school. It’s time for you to at least talk to him, yes?”
“Absolutely not.”
At this point, Fiona just looked at Norton, her face, deadpan with a hint of disdain, “Grow some courage, you dense idiot.”
“Excuse me?!”
Mike only looked at the two and started juggling the tennis balls that were somehow almost always with him. The day he knew that Norton, the stoic, and fragile hearted Norton, having a crush was a delightful day for him. (It also proved to him that Norton was actually human and not some sort of robot.) It was a delightful day because he thought that maybe, in his best friend’s life, there would be someone that would stand by him if he confessed. That delight soon turned into disappointment and concern when he realized that Norton does not want to confess. He initially thought that this was fine since it was Norton’s choice but seeing his best friend occasionally break his own heart and mull over things that could be solved by just asking the guy out was… sad… and definitely annoying. He knew that he couldn’t force Norton but is it really a crush when it lasts for three years? He thinks the fuck not. Mike may be an idiot but this he is sure that is not just some kind of “crush” that Norton keeps on telling himself and to others.
Norton and Naib had talked. They know each other but every time Norton does talk to Naib it suddenly becomes some sort of passive-aggressive bickering. Clearly these two were made for each other. Mike thought as he looked at a defeated Norton, begrudgingly accepting the ticket to the amusement park. Of course, hanging out was just one of the few excuses that they all came up with. The reason why they were all going to the park was to force Norton and Naib to interact and get them to know each other more. The plan was to force the two to go in pairs and put the two guys together. No one knew how it would go but it was worth a try. Were they being meddlesome? Yes, they were and they were all aware of it. (Fiona was the one who suggested it and Patricia agreed with all of the points she made and soon this spread throughout their circle of friends and now here we are.)
Norton groaned as he followed Mike and Fiona out of the school. He was already dreading the next day to come.
The next day came and Norton barely slept. He was too nervous to sleep but he made sure not to show it. He sat on Patricia’s motorcycle as the both sped their way to the amusement park.
“I am going to die.” Was Norton’s first words when they arrived. Patricia just let out an incredulous sigh as she parked her motorcycle, “Stop being so dramatic.”
“Patricia, my heart is literally beating really fast.”
“Must be love.”
That made Norton choke, “I don’t love him. I only have a small crush on him.” (Norton knew that he loves Naib. But he can’t let those feelings show. A crush was less severe than love and he had started saying that in the hopes of making himself believe that he only had a small crush on Naib. It was futile as this proved that he did in fact like the guy a bit too much for it to be considered as a small crush. The day that Norton realized this was the day that he wanted to bury himself.)
A snort from Patricia soon followed, “Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that.”
“Are you really my best friend?”
“Yes, I am. This is called tough love. Deal with it.”
“You know that I am not a good match for him.”
“Only you think so.”
“What?”
“Nothing. If you think too much it will hurt your brain.”
“Patricia, why are you so mean to me?”
“It's called tough love.”
The two soon met up with the rest of the people and Norton’s eyes almost immediately flew to Naib. The man looked good. He donned his usual low ponytail but now he was wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck, a jacket was tied around his waist, and his blue-green eyes still looked as beautiful as ever. He was talking to Mike so he didn’t really notice Norton’s staring.
Patricia jabbed Norton’s sides after making clearing her throat to make sure that Norton was listening to how this was going to work. It was still early in the morning but it felt like the afternoon as the sky was cloudy yet again.
“Being in a group makes it harder to navigate the amusement park so we will go by pairs,” Fiona explained and hearing this, Norton hoped that he would be paired with anyone but Naib. It surely didn’t go as he hoped when he was asked to draw some sort of paper in a cap only to fish out Naib’s name. He internally groaned. (The papers in the cap were rigged.)
Naib looked like he wasn’t bothered by what was happening. And Norton would rather it stay like that. If Naib stayed like that he wouldn’t need to answer any sort of questions. That was what he thought but as soon as everyone dispersed through the area, Naib and Norton stood side by side not even talking to each other. There was an awkward silence before Naib spoke, “What do we do? I’m not particularly interested in these. I was dragged here out of my will.”
“I don’t particularly care about it either.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Same reason as you.”
“Okay. What now? What do we do?”
Norton shrugs. Naib scratched his head and looked around more to see a mascot of sort handing out what seemed to look like a map. He took one and then looked at the places that looked interesting enough. Norton glanced at Naib but ultimately just looked as his phone, waiting for Patricia to reply from his massive spamming of panic texting.
“I found it,” Naib stated as he snaked his arms around Norton making the taller man flinch and look at their linked arms in awe. Never in his entire life would he think that this would happen but it did and he was focusing on it so much that he didn’t realize Naib dragging him to a horror house.
The moment the two reached the entrance, was when Norton finally snapped out of it, not knowing what exactly to do until he saw where they were. He blinked once. Twice. And by the third time he froze in place, finally understanding where they were.
Naib looked at Norton and smirked. “Afraid, Campbell?”
The taunt made Norton blink again and it took him a while to register what the brunet beside of him just said. He scoffed, masking his dread, “You wish.”
“Let’s go in then.” Naib gave the taller man a toothy grin before pulling Norton into the house.
The first jump scare in the horror house made both of the men scream. (Norton screamed louder.) Occasionally Naib would hide behind Norton and occasionally, Norton would use Naib as some sort of shield. It was a funny sight as two grown men yelp and scream because of a girl in white. Naib could have sworn that he heard Norton start praying in Spanish. He would have laughed if it weren’t for how intense this place was. He was certainly not expecting it to be this scary. The moment the two of them managed to reach the exit, both were out of breath. Their throats, sore from yelling and screaming, their hair was a mess from the both of them trying to use each other as a meat shield.
“That was… scarier than I thought it would be. Now I regret taunting you.”
“God. I don’t want to go in a horror house for the rest of my life. My lifespan decreased from that.”
“I didn’t think that you’d start praying though.”
Norton’s face slightly flushed but Naib assumed it was from how intense the attraction that they were in was. “I didn’t. You need to clean your ears, Mister Subedar.”
“And you need to stop hiding behind me. You’re like- a ruler taller than me.”
“I didn’t.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“The picture captured in that camera says so otherwise.” Naib points at the monitor just a few meters away from them and Norton squinted. There it was, his shame. Hiding behind someone smaller than him. His face flushed red from the photo but he wasn’t going down without a fight of sorts.
“I didn’t realize you were that short.” This comment was met with Naib punching Norton. Norton was hit on the arm and it the punch didn’t hurt much. There was a small sting from it and Norton was sure that it was because Naib held back. He gave Naib a small smile before moving forward and buying all the photos of both of them.
“I want one too.”
Hearing this, Norton handed all of the photos of them to Naib. “Go choose one then.”
And Naib did. They both started walking towards their next stop, a Ferris wheel while Naib still browsed through the photos. He soon chose one and gave the rest back to Norton. Norton didn’t bother checking which photo it was that Naib took. It’s not like he checked the photos he had either. All he did was ask the man behind the counter to print out all of the photos of him and Naib. (Naib chose the one where he and Norton where hugging each other, screaming for their lives.)
As the two saw the long line for the said Ferris wheel, they both decided to just go to another attraction. The two walked in silence before seeing that there was some sort of boating attraction going on. The two went near the attraction only to find out that it was only for couples. Norton was suddenly reminded that he was currently with the one he likes and a small wave of anxiety came back. He had to make sure that Naib didn’t know. He was fine with their current relationship. (Is what he would like to believe anyway but everyone knows that is simply not true.)
“I want.”
“You have to go look for a lover first.”
“Let’s go then.”
“Excuse me?”
Naib linked his arms with Norton’s yet again and happily marched towards the lady that was in the entrance. As she saw the two arrive she happily welcomed the both of them in. Once Naib and Norton wore their safety vests, they were asked to hop on the boat and paddle their way to the middle of the lake. There were some actual couples here and there and Norton wanted to leave but that want died down when he saw how excited the brunet beside him was.
You’re cute.
“So are you.”
Norton paused when he realized that he must have said those words out loud but was more surprised that Naib replied. He could feel his face heat up as Naib looked at the fishes swimming beside them.
“What?”
“Hm?”
“No. Nothing.”
Norton frowned at himself. It must have been his stupid imagination then. Of course, it would be. There was no way that the man beside him would like him that way. And you can call people cute in a platonic way. He wanted to slap himself. He pulled his phone out and he saw that Patricia already replied to him and yet he didn’t want to open his messages. He wasn’t in the mood to.
Naib glanced at the quiet male beside him. Now, he knew that Norton was not the type to talk much and their interactions in the past was just them usually bickering but despite that he respected Norton. He has seen Norton swing his baseball bat and he was enamored by the man’s figure then. He soon developed a small crush that turned into something more. Norton’s way of talking was rough, His teammates already know that and are already used to it. They know that out of everyone, he was hardworking and diligent. Always making sure that he was in top shape and would practice alone if he could. His dedication was what made Naib like him. Though for some reason, Norton was almost always distant from him. He’d occasionally ask Norton for help and Norton would always say yes.
Naib didn’t know what to think of that. He always thought that Norton hated him so he’d also act pretty cruel to give the man a taste of his own medicine. He didn’t know why but doing so made his heart ache. He suddenly remembered that one time where he was in a relatively bad mood and he bumped into Norton by dumb luck. Before Norton could even say anything Naib cut him off with a “Fuck off. You are the last person that I want to see now.” He did receive a cake that improved his mood drastically and Eli, the one who delivered the cake, told Naib that it was from Norton. Naib never got to apologize for his attitude then. Now that he thought about it, that was probably the start of the both of them bickering and almost fighting about stupid shit. It ranged from colors to math equations, to stupid theories that both of them would try to prove each other wrong.
Naib started to enjoy it their bickering and he started paying more attention to Norton. He’d occasionally also joke about how Norton would not get a girlfriend and Norton would just reply with an “I know” much to Naib’s dismay. He could clearly see that Norton didn’t like himself.
He looked at Norton again, chuckling at the man who was now squinting at what seems to be a pigeon in front of him.
He could hear a small mumble from Norton and that made it amusing to hear as he was talking to the pigeon itself., “What the fuck? Where did you come from?”
The pigeon just stared back at Norton and Norton did the same. Norton was having a staring contest with a bird and Naib was so amused he took his phone out and pressed record when his camera was out. After ten seconds of staring at each other the pigeon took off and Norton sighed as he looked at his phone again. Naib then frowned.
“Is it boring?”
“Not really.”
“You don’t look like you’re enjoying being with me.”
Norton wanted to protest with that but he shut up when he realized that he couldn’t explain himself. He was looking at his phone because he was scared to look at Naib and now he looked like he was not having fun at all. Naib sighed again and moved the paddle. The two soon had to meet with the group in a small restaurant in the amusement park and there they ate their dinner.
The girls were the loudest and sometimes they would be squealing for reasons that Norton won’t probably comprehend.
Then a question was thrown to Naib out of nowhere. “Naib. Girl talk. Do you like anyone right now?”
Naib was taken aback by the question and he secretly glanced at Norton to see the man frowning even more. (Norton didn’t want to hear this. He already assumed that it wasn’t him so he doesn’t want to hear anything.)
Naib looked at Fiona, the one who asked. “I do.”
“We won’t ask who it is but can you describe them?”
Naib thought for a bit before answering with, “Black hair.”
Norton winced. He had black hair but so did many people they knew.
“Cool.”
Norton never thought of himself as cool. It was not him. Surely.
“Hardworking. I’ve seen them practice alone several times.”
That could be anyone. Norton thought. It’s not like he is the only one who practiced after classes and after their training.
“There’s more but I don’t want to say anything more.”
Norton sighed in relief and that didn’t go unnoticed by Naib and Patricia. The two decided to stay quiet until the same question was suddenly thrown to Norton too. Norton couldn’t do this anymore. He placed a paper bill down before standing up and leaving his half-eaten dinner, “I’ve had enough. I’m leaving.”
Naib was startled and so was Fiona. Fiona had only wanted to tease Norton for a small bit but she didn’t realize that Norton would be so averse to sharing about who he liked in front of the one person that he actually liked.
“Ah- Norton-” Fiona called out but her voice died when she saw Norton wave at her. Fiona banged her head on the table.
“God damn it. I’m the worst.”
Everyone except Naib seemed to know what was going on prompting Naib to ask, “What’s going on?”
“I- Well, I made him feel uncomfortable.”
“With the question of who he liked?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the one he likes is also here. I didn’t think that he was that averse to even hinting about who he liked to that person.”
“... The person he likes?”
“Yes. The person he likes.”
Naib almost immediately looks at Mike much to Mike’s surprise.
“Huh? Naib, I’m not the one Norton likes!”
Naib then looked at the girls and they all shook their heads. Naib could only look down as he tries to process the information that he just got. A few seconds pass before he abruptly stood up and look down on the table in horror. “No fucking way. How many times have I walked over him if this was the case?”
“I don’t know but I am pretty sure he has also done the same to you.” Martha added.
“He has, I won’t deny that but I know I have done it more since I am usually the one who initiates our stupid quarreling and who teases him about not getting a lover.”
The table was silent and Naib grabbed his phone out.
“What’s his number?” This didn’t come off as a question but as a statement. When he got Norton’s number from the girls he apologized for what just happened and left promising to pay his share when they meet again. He ran out of the restaurant, phone beside his ear waiting for Norton to pick up.
Fiona looked at Patricia, “I… Did we do the right thing?”
“Not really but all we can do is wait,” Martha answered as she continued eating her paste. Vera nodded in agreement.
“Isn’t it surprising that Naib didn’t know that Norton likes him?” Margaretha asked.
“No, not really?” Fiona answered as she looked at Patricia for support.
“Naib is also quite dense but our dearest Norton takes the cake. He didn’t even realize that Naib was describing him awhile ago. Sometimes, I really just want to smack him.”
Mike continued eating as he listened to the discussion. “Let’s hope that all ends well then!”
Naib had called Norton several times already and no answer. It was discouraging but he kept on pacing around before deciding to just go home in defeat. He proceeded to not talk to Norton until the sports festival started. He could still see the raven-haired man practicing by himself and he’d want to approach the guy. Only that he couldn’t. He shouldn’t disturb him.
He wanted to talk. He wanted to sort out his feelings and Norton’s but he couldn’t find how to. Of course, not until a small idea popped his into his head. He immediately ran to Eli and Mike.
Norton felt horrible after what he did. He couldn’t even think of reasons why he did it. He was just so scared of Naib finding out his feeling that he ran away. He did explain it to Fiona and Patricia and the two could only try to reassure the baseball player that he was fine. He had not talked to Naib at all since that day.
Today, however, was the last day of the competition. His team managed to win and it was joyous for Norton and his teammates. Soon after their small celebration ended and he got to shower and freshen up, Mike and Eli came in and literally dragged Norton to the gym where he was sure that Naib was competing in. He looked at the two in confusion.
“What’s going on?”
“Watch,” Eli said as he pushed Norton to the front, giving him the full view of Naib’s toned upper body.
He felt his cheeks flush from the sight. Naib’s body was marred with scars of sorts but that didn’t mind Norton at all. He was allured by it even. He was so enamored by the sight of Naib punching the living daylights of his opponent that he completely didn’t notice that the match had ended and that Naib won. It was only when Naib got his heavily ornamented belt did he snap out of it. He was about to leave when Naib walked near him, making the others who watched the fight look at Norton.
Naib crouched and smiled at Norton. It was a sweet smile that Norton was so surprised that he couldn’t react accordingly. He looked at Naib’s face. There were some bruises here and there but it didn’t look that bad. He was about to cup the brunet’s face when Naib did what he wanted to do to him. Naib then tilted Norton’s head up and angled it that he can plant his lips on Norton’s.
Norton froze and when Naib let go, he gave him a triumphant smirk before leaving the ring.
Mike, who was videotaping the whole thing (not asked by Naib. He just wanted to do it.) gave Norton a strong slap on the back that made Norton realize what just happened. His eyes were wide open and he slowly shifted his gaze to Eli.
“Don’t you think his standards are too low?” Was the first thing that he said much to Eli’s amusement.
“Why don’t you ask Naib?”
Ah. Yes. He should. He really should. He slowly walked into the sea of people that were mostly cheering and whistling at what happened. His walk soon became a jog and from that, it became a sprint to where Naib was. He slammed open the locker room for men, only to see Naib holding an ice pack on his cheeks. (Norton closed and locked the door of course.)
“Camp-”
“Your standards are too low.”
Hearing that made Naib narrow his eyes as he stood up and put the ice pack down. He walked towards Norton and pushed the taller man down as he sat on him, looming over Norton.
“No. They aren’t low. You just think of yourself too lowly. In my eyes, you are the best.”
Hearing this, Norton’s turned red. Naib has been attacking him with words like this that it didn’t sit well with him. He soon grabbed Naib’s shoulder and reversed their positions. Now, Naib was on the floor.
“You better not regret this, Subedar.”
Naib laughed, “I don’t think I will, Campbell.”
The laugh was melodic. Norton loved it. It certainly took him a while to register what Naib just said but in return, Naib got to see the softest and most loving smile he has ever seen from Norton. It was breathtaking. (How many times has Norton's head crashed because of Naib? Not even Norton knew.)
Norton gently cupped Naib’s face, “Can I kiss you?”
The question was surprising but Naib only chuckled as he heard it. “Go ahead. Kiss me however you want. For as long as you want.”
Something inside Norton snapped as he heard that. He dived in to give Naib an open mouth kiss and as soon as Norton heard small moans from Naib he used his tongue, making Naib make louder sounds. They continued for several minutes until the two had to break their kiss apart to breathe.
Naib smiled after a while, “Should we get going?”
Norton nodded as he slowly stood up and helped Naib up. The amusing thing for Norton was that Naib couldn’t stand properly for a few minutes due to the kissing. Nonetheless, he still helped the smaller man until he could stand properly.
While Naib was showering, Norton stayed outside, fixing and putting back Naib’s equipment. When Naib finished, he placed the used clothes in the duffel bag that Naib had and slung it over his shoulder where his own bag was.
“You’re not tying your hair?”
“It’s still wet. I don’t want to keep you waiting so I didn’t blow dry it.”
“Heh, where do we go after this?”
Naib thought for a little bit before he linked his arms with Norton’s. “Let’s go celebrate on our victories. It’s a date.”
Norton smiled. “Sure.”