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Eli hums as he makes his way to Norton’s room, trying to keep his mood up as he takes every step closer to a difficult task. Norton has been missing meal times lately, which they all tried to have together as much as possible, and Eli’s been sent to investigate. He is, as his fellow survivors claimed, the most difficult to get angry at (tied with Helena, who called for a dibs out in a way Eli had definitely not expected). The path is a relatively short one, but still far enough away from the dining hall that the air feels somehow colder. The chatter of mealtime barely echoes in the hall as Eli knocks on Norton’s door. There’s no answer, as expected, but when Eli checks the handle he finds it unlocked.
“Norton?” Eli calls through the door as he turns the handle. “I’m coming in, I apologize in advance.”
There’s still no response, so Eli sighs and steps inside, closing the door softly behind him. He takes the few stairs that everyone’s room has at the doorway, and glances around at the space. He spots Norton curled up in his bed, and his boots are still on. Something about that makes Eli worry.
He approaches the bed quietly, careful not to creak along the floorboards. Norton seems to be asleep, though he’s fully clothed and laying on top of the blankets. In a way, Eli feels like he’s intruding; he technically is, but how else is he supposed to get a hold of him? He chews at his lip and makes his way to the edge of the bed. Norton’s eyes are closed and his jaw is a little slack. Eli sighs, realizing he isn’t quite sure what to do now. He doesn’t really want to wake Norton up; they all need their rest, and perhaps Norton hasn’t been sleeping well lately. However, Eli feels a strange curiosity pull at him. He’s never really had a chance to be close to the other man in a calm situation (Norton hauling his ass to the exit during a match is an entirely different matter) so he takes this moment to observe, unintruded.
Eli leans in close, listening to the steady breathing of Norton’s rest. He looks strangely… peaceful, like this. Unhaunted. His hair has fallen slightly over his face and Eli slips off a glove before brushing the hair away, his fingertips ghosting over the tight, scarred skin of Norton’s face. He follows its path down, where he can; there’s a patch on his neck that dips below his collar, and it’s visible again where Norton has his sleeves rolled up, stretching across the top of his forearm and back of his hand as though he’d raised the arm to shield his eyes. Eli frowns at the thought, and continues his path. Norton’s shirt has ridden up a little, showing another patch across his hip reaching down to his back. Then the last one Eli can see is just above his ankle, disappearing up his pant leg.
Eli would prefer to see himself as a considerate person. He’s not especially nosy, and he tends to take people at their word. But something about Norton’s scars makes him want to ask and touch and taste and—
He hears an exhale and flits his eyes back up to Norton’s face, which is now very clearly awake. Norton gives him a thin smile. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” he says quietly, his voice lacking its usual tease.
Immediately Eli feels like he’s gone too far just by inspecting. “I apologize, Norton. It’s just, well…” Eli chews at his lip, trying to remember how best to communicate with the prospector. Everyone at the manor needs something different. “I was just sent here to check up on you. I really didn’t mean to intrude, honest.”
Norton sighs and stretches his arms over his head, then props himself up on an elbow while he studies Eli. He seems to consider something, his eyes closed again for a moment. “I don’t mind, you know.” He glances back at Eli, though his gaze seems to go right through him. “If there’s anyone here I trust not to react badly, it’s you.”
Eli doesn’t quite know how to take that. Norton shifts to a seated position on the bed and Eli sits down next to him, finding it easier not to be facing each other. And yet, Norton being Norton, he leans into his space just a little too close and very nearly whispers in Eli’s ear. “I have to know, though. Why?”
Eli’s mouth feels dry. Yet he turns to face Norton, offering a soft smile. “Like I said, the others sent me to check up on you. You’re an important member of our little population here, and everyone’s worried about you.”
Norton squints at him. His cheeks are a little flushed from Eli’s words, but he seems to be stuck on a different track. “That’s a pretty innocent mission for someone who just spent a solid 5 minutes staring.”
Eli bites the inside of his cheek so hard he tastes blood. Norton tilts his head a little. “I’ve gotta ask why, you know. You’re not sizing me up, right? Your little owl probably won’t want me as a snack.” His words go in one ear and out the other. Eli feels like a man possessed when he starts speaking without even thinking about it.
“You’re beautiful. I was curious. Is that not enough?”
Norton doesn’t move, doesn’t flinch. Eli starts to wonder if he should just leave and tell Helena to try her best instead when Norton pinches at the bridge of his nose and sighs. “You’re really something, Clark.”
Eli’s still processing what that could mean when Norton slides his suspenders off his shoulders and starts unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers working quickly as though wanting to get the whole ordeal over with. There’s a wave of anxiety rolling off of Norton, and Eli feels it at full force. He quickly raises his hands to cover Norton’s, stilling his process. “If this makes you uncomfortable, I’d rather you didn’t force yourself.”
Norton studies him for a moment, as though trying to look past his blindfold and into his eyes. He smiles a little, and Eli can tell it’s less forced than before but still uncomfortable. “All’s fair in love and war, right? Or whatever it is you could call this place...”
Eli pouts. This is all getting out of hand. He sighs, taking his hands off of the other man’s, and does the only thing he can think to do. “Then this really ought to be fair.”
He reaches up and unties his blindfold, ruffling his hair a bit with the motion and setting it in his lap. There’s always a weird light feeling of being bare-faced, but doing so in front of another person makes him feel so…exposed. When he opens his eyes he keeps them glued to the cushioned space between them. Norton stops in his tracks, leaving his shirt half unbuttoned on his chest in favour of leaning in closer, his hand half raised as though wanting to touch the distinctive marks on Eli’s face. His gaze is a little intense, but Eli is mostly glad Norton is seeing him now.
Eli gives him a warm smile. “We all carry some kind of scars, even if they look different.” Norton’s expression is unreadable and Eli scrambles to cover his tracks. “Not to say yours are somehow the same as mine! This was my own fault, anyway. It’s almost more like I’ve been branded.”
“Does it ever hurt?” Norton asks quietly, somehow closer. Eli doesn’t mind the proximity.
“No, thankfully. I just get headaches from my visions sometimes and—“
Eli’s voice catches in his throat as Norton’s hands cup his face. He looks strangely fascinated, his eyes a little wider than his usual heavy-lidded stare. His thumb just barely brushes over the markings on the Seer’s cheeks, and Eli’s heart flips in his chest realizing how warm and rough his hands are. Years of hard labour are felt so clearly through the deep grooves of the prospector’s hands and the callouses that must be from gripping his magnets. When Norton speaks, it’s almost too soft to hear. “Sorry, I just…”
“May I do the same?” Eli asks. Words aren’t really needed to explain, and Norton nods. Eli raises his hands and feels along Norton’s jaw, the bumps and ridges of his scarring smoothed out a little from years passed, but still dark and noticeably raised against the pads of Eli’s fingers. He brushes along Norton’s neck, feeling more scars there, and follows the path of their pain up to under his eye. Without thinking, Eli leans in and presses a kiss to his cheek where the scar meets skin, his lips brushing the ridge of keloid tissue. Norton stiffens up immediately under his touch and Eli realizes he’s completely forgotten that he’s here to get Norton out of his room. He quickly pulls back and is faced with Norton looking so pained he has to physically stop himself from bolting from the manor. There are tears brimming in Norton’s eyes, and he rubs at them as he speaks. “God, Eli. Nobody has ever touched me that gently before.”
“Is… Is it okay if I continue?” Eli asks carefully, his voice soft. He wants to give him more comfort, more kindness; he wants Norton to be at ease with him. “I won’t get any rougher, I swear.” Norton nods and shifts a little closer, his hands in his lap as he waits for Eli to initiate. Now that the impetus is on him, Eli can feel his heart thumping in his chest as though he’s about to be caught at a cipher. He finally takes off his other glove, feeling the need for human contact.
He starts at Norton’s face again, cupping his jaw with a small smile before sliding down his neck. Norton doesn’t appear to be ticklish, thankfully, and Eli follows a scar that blooms across his shoulder. Norton shrugs a little to let his shirt fall a bit further down, and Eli sees that the scar stretches across his shoulderblade as well. This seems to be the worst of it.
“Can you actually feel this?” Eli asks quietly, and Norton chews at his lip. “Not a whole lot. It’s more like pressure than actual sensation… Just that shoulder though.”
Eli nods, moving past that point. He feels carefully along Norton’s chest, worried about the intimacy of the spot. It’s strange, considering his previous actions, but Eli feels his face grow warm anyways. He clears his throat, needing to speak again just to clear the air a little, but Norton beats him to it. “You’re really not disgusted?”
Eli glances up to see Norton looking away, his face unreadable. “Of course not. Your body protected you, right?” Eli drags a finger along Norton’s chest, following a scar that goes from his collarbone to his sternum. “If anything, it’s admirable. You’ve been through so much and yet you still work so hard.” Norton’s lip shakes and he bites down on it harder as he squeezes his eyes shut. His reactions feel so...vulnerable. Eli’s seen him uncomfortable before, but he’d usually lower the brim of his hat or dig his nails into his palms. Seeing Norton tear up just from some kind words makes Eli feel weirdly protective, and he dares to glance back at Norton’s face only to see tears running down his cheeks.
Eli’s chest fucking aches . Without another word he pulls the prospector into a tight hug, feeling a slight shake in Norton’s arms as they wrap around him with poorly hidden desperation. How long has it been since anyone’s held him like this? He smooths down Norton’s hair with his hand, keeping the other tight around his back. They stay like that for a while, Norton’s tears soaking the shoulder of Eli’s robes and their arms wrapped around each other like they’re the only people left on Earth. Eli tries to convey as much care as he can through his embrace alone. I care about you. You’re important to me. I want you here with me. You are loved.
Slowly Norton’s grip starts to loosen and his arms stop shaking. His head is still heavy against Eli’s shoulder when he finally speaks again. “I’m sorry if that was...too much. I don’t think I’ve ever really talked about any of this.”
Gods, he sounds so small. “It’s okay, I think you needed it,” Eli responds, the flipped edges of the prospector’s dark hair brushing against his lips. Norton squeezes him close one last time before finally pulling away, his eyes and nose a little red from crying. It’s endearing, if Eli’s being honest, but he won’t say a word. He offers Norton a small smile, and brushes some of his hair out of his face before tugging Norton’s shirt back up and helping to get the buttons started. There’s a few moments of comfortable silence before Norton speaks up again.
“I never got a chance to say it back, you know.” Eli looks up at Norton’s words, unsure of what he’s referencing. Norton smiles at him sheepishly, and he thinks it’s a cute expression on him. “I think you’re beautiful too, Eli.”
Eli remembers very suddenly that he’s still not wearing his blindfold and scrambles to put it on before his blush reaches too far. Norton laughs at his reaction, a warm, chest-heavy sound. Eli wants to hear it more. He covers his flushed cheeks with his hands and turns back to Norton. “A-Anyways, will you come along for dinner now? Or would you like me to bring it to you, and we can eat here?”
Norton sighs and runs his hand through his hair, though Eli can still see a hint of a smile on his face. “I’ll come along, though we can have that lunch date some other time.”
Eli’s face grows even warmer, but he’s glad to see Norton teasing again. He takes the prospector’s hand, and pulls him to his feet. And if Norton notices that Eli keeps holding on, he doesn’t say a word.