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This was Naib's last chance at survival, he'd already been chaired twice and was, quite literally , running for his life. Behind him was Jack The Ripper who was chuckling and slowly catching up to him.
"Damn Jack mains, why do they always go after me?" Naib wheezed, furiously trying to send a message before vaulting the nearest window.
"Focus on decoding!" He pinged, knowing he was about to get hit anytime soon. As he jumped the obstacle he noticed the Prospector on standby, waiting to distract the hunter with his magnets.
As stupidly attractive as he can be, now was not the time for him to stand there and flaunt his looks. He should be decoding, not trying to fucking kite ! Naib would've pushed him out of the way as he yelled out to him to move, instead he moved to jump a pallet.
"I swear to Jesus Christ, Norton!" He screamed as Jack's fog nearly struck him. Norton readied his magnet, almost taunting Naib saying, "I know he's gonna get you soon."
Although he's always been seen as weak by that damn Prospector, he tried to show him he was better than that and diverted himself away from him by elbow padding, he didn't need him!
+ x + x +
He did.
The match ended with Naib getting eliminated and Norton chiming in with a "Get out of here!" As he stood there doing nothing while Naib got chaired.
In the manor, Norton followed behind him as he was walking to his room, speaking condescendingly along with a shit-eating grin on his face, "C'mon Naib, you know you can always rely on me!"
Naib turned around and glared at him, "Shut the fuck up unless you wanna get punched." Norton knew Naib had the strength to hit him, and the speed, and the will to do so but, he still tried to speak, "I was joking, rela-"
Suddenly, he was cut off when he felt an impact on his stomach, almost diving into his gut and folding him over. Naib had already moved and hit him. By the time he processed that, Naib swiftly grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against a wall, his arms trapping him on each side,
"Who's the one who needed someone to rely on again?"
Norton could only smile, "You, obviously."
"You can't even take a punch to the gut."
"You can't even kite Jack The Ripper!"
"And what the fuck do you kite with? Magnets?"
"Yeah and they could've saved you from getting chaired but obviously you didn't want that."
Naib scowled. What kind of hot, charming ass man has the gut to speak like that? To him of all people? Naib had always come off as mean, rude, standoff-ish and yet, the bastard wanted to test him constantly. He could've used his good looks for things so much better than arguing with Naib…why did he talk to him again…?
Norton was still under him, his back against the wall but he wasn't trying to get out. He had relaxed his posture, looking at Naib while they traded insults. His arms dangled at his sides and his eyes looked… appreciative? What the fuck was Naib doing to make him look at him like that?
He stared at the noiret’s face. His burn mark highlighted his right eye, his eyes were a pure black and felt like an ocean sucking him in its waters, his skin looked so smooth, everything about him resembled a model.
What he didn't realize is he was staring right back at him. Naib tried to identify what the other was looking at when he realized, he's looking at my face?
"What the fuck are you looking at?" Naib spoke up, harsh.
He smiled lazily, "You, of course." His head moved against the wall a little. Naibs arms felt too close (to his body), his face felt too close (to his face).
Too close, too close, too close, tooclosetooclosetooclosetooclo-
"Naib! Are we just gonna stand here?" Norton dragged on his name, the same lazy smile plastered on his face, his tone sounded like he was looking at a sunset, at something he admired.
"What do you want instead, for me to kick you next?" Naib's arms were still pinning him against the wall; however, they slid down to Nortons side. A few seconds passed.
"Do you ever think I'll be this close to you again?"
It felt like such an innocent question but Norton knew, somehow, that Naib didn't let people close. He never would. Even the fucker who'd admire him after getting punched in the gut by him.
"No." He responded in a tone softer than usual, he felt the tension shift.
"But you look so not ugly , I wanna see you this close again and again an-"
"Can you shut up?"
"Make me."
Suddenly, Norton snapped out of his relaxed state, he had adjusted himself straight and despite being the one against the wall, he looked at Naib with eyes that were full of a challenge, another provoking look.
He sure was provoked. He was also stuck, what was that supposed to mean? "Kiss me" or "punch me until I can't talk"? Surely it couldn't be the latter because he didn't like getting punched… did he? Was he into that kind of stuff?
Naib apparently took too long as Norton decided to take matters into his own hands. He cupped Naibs face in his hand, the other slightly wrapping around his waist and leaned in, "Can I kiss you then?"
Naib's gonna be honest, he wants him to kiss him so bad. However, saying it felt like defeat. They've always had tension, a rivalry that lasted between them and the space between them thinned as well. They'd usually be arguing whenever they'd see each other, getting too close and as time went on, it became a custom. None hated the other and both of them knew that, it was just the opposite.
Norton breaking the ice and asking him first was a bold move on his part but Naib didn't want to respond. Not in words at least. The only thing he could do is nod his head.
The air turned–mushy? Warm? Lovey-dovey? Something along those lines. They were intimate in a way none of them would’ve ever been if it weren’t for this weird twist of events. Norton pulled him closer, he felt impulsively comfortable. Almost like something in his mind was set off by Norton.
Norton was like food.
Naib loved food. Furthermore, when anyone eats food, they’re immediately relaxed. The human mind has developed in such a way, when you eat your fight or flight reflexes disperse, leaving you comfortable. The taste of food was the best part, for long periods of time anyone could eat. Eating their favorite food always leaves them hungry, wanting more of that taste.
He found out today not only is Norton comforting but he also tastes good.
Kissing is something every adult has done, even Naib believe it or not. Now he’s questioning that. Has he really gotten kissed this good? Has he really kissed if it wasn’t like this ? When he took his lips off of his, he went chasing. Just for a split second.
Norton saw, he reconnected them once more. Their mouths placed together perfectly. Norton smiled a bit as he kissed him, Naib could feel it. Naib moved his hand to the other's hair, slowly carding it through his fingers as the kiss got deeper. Realizing this could go somewhere else as Norton started touching around his body more, he broke the kiss.
As Naib got off of him, he looked down, mumbling something. Norton, being the ever confident man, asked him to speak up and stop being a coward.
“I was just trying to protect you. You know that?” He said it more gently than he expected. There was a weird need inside of him to care for Norton. Although he was his rival they, unknowingly to both of them, crept closer to each other.
Norton kept his eyes trained on Naib, noticing the slight downshift of his eyes and decided that saying nothing was probably the best move for him to not get punched again.
He didn’t care about getting punched.
“I know, but you can trust me. I’m able to fight for myself. I don’t want you to die because of me.”
Naib just sighed and looked back up at him, accepting his defeat. He took a slight step closer and out of the blue, hugged him. Hugged him! Seriously, the Naib Subedar hugged Norton! Naib spoke quietly, gently.
“I wanna sleep, do you?”
“...Yeah.”
“Alright. Let's head to our rooms.”
Norton walked, Naib by his side. He asked, “By the way, does this mean I can call you something other than an idiot? Maybe…a cute thing? Like, cutie pie or swe-” He was cut off by a punch.