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All-in-all this match wasn't going too bad. Sure, Emma had accidentally gotten terror shocked while she was dismantling a chair, But Naib had been able to pull off a successful rescue while an enraged Geisha chased after Kevin. Allowing him and Emma enough time to get to a safe place to heal and finish off the last cipher. Naib usually couldn't stand the noises that came from the machines, but as long as he focused on Emma and the sound of her voice, he could stave off the dark visions a little longer. They both looked up from their decoding to the sound of a gong, signifying that Kevin had been downed. Emma looked back towards her task while Naib stared in the direction Kevin was chaired.
Naib hated rescuing without a clear means to escape, taking those kinds of risks in his army days usually didn't end well.
Emma, noticing his hesitation, shot him an easy grin. “You should go, I can take it from here and have it primed as soon as you rescue!”
Naib sent her a stiff nod, before he remembered his voice “Alright, meet you at the gate.” And with that, Naib was off towards the rocket chair.
Naib hated leaving his teammates
He liked knowing where they were at any moment.
The sound of his boots against the packed dirt did nothing to calm the swirling anxiety pooling in his gut.
No matter how many times he'd rescued in this never ending game, he was still caught off guard by how much it still scared him. He was not a coward by any means. He had seen and caused too much bloodshed for that to ring true.
Just one slip up and his whole team could end up dead, but not really because the manor had a funny sense of humour and already had its claws in each of them.
It was nearly too late for Naib to snap himself out of his spiral as he almost collided with the hunter in front of the chair. Thankfully Geisha was caught off guard and took a moment to recover while he was already ripping off Kevin's restraints and shoving the man towards the nearest pallet. Not a moment later he felt the sharp sting of the fan’s blade as Geisha slashed it across his back. Before he could even process the pain, the blaring horn signaled again, this time to announce all the ciphers were completed. Feeling a burst of energy, Naib slammed down a nearby pallet on Geisha, causing her to scream in anger as the survivors gained more distance.
With a quick glance down at his communicator to see which exit Emma was at, Naib turned his head towards the cowboy. “Kevin, get to the exit gate. I’ll make sure the hunter doesn't follow.”
Without waiting for a response, Naib began lagging behind to lure Geisha away. The enraged hunter took the bait, chasing Naib through the dilapidated factory. It didn't take long until his communicator pinged him:
‘The exit gate is open’
Naib had made the mistake of looking down, he lost his footing and stumbled over the uneven ground. That mistake was all Geisha needed to catch up and slash her knife across his back. Choking back a cry, Naib forced himself to keep running through the pain. With the gate in view, Geisha landed another hit just as the mercenary activated his final elbow pad and shot in the direction of the gate. His feet just making it past the door before he felt himself collapsing from his wounds, Kevin and Emma swooping in to support him before he could hit the ground. The last thing the three survivors saw was the Geisha’s murderous glare from over her fan before the exit gate's fog swallowed them up.
Naib blinked his eyes open and was greeted, like usual, with the grey tablecloth of the waiting room table.
“We did it!” Emma broke the silence.
Kevin chuckled while high-fiveing Emma “Man at the end there it felt like we were goners, did you see the way Geisha was looking at us? I'd hate to be the next group that faces her”.
“Hopefully it's not us again!” Emma giggled before reaching across the table with her hand outstretched for a high-five. Which Naib half-heartedly returned. Returning from a match through the gate always made him feel a bit woozy, but it was better than bleeding out.
Before Emma could say anything more, there were sounds of a commotion coming from the common area. The three looked at each other confused before they stood up and made their exit. The reason for the excitement made itself known as they entered the common area and saw three new faces idk who surrounded by the rest of the survivors not in matches. Emma squealed before making her way towards the crowd, determined to give the crew a warm welcome.
Naib stepped around the edge of the crowd and made his way to the survivors' dorms. He had no interest in sitting through Emma's explanations to the new recruits about ‘hey nice to meet you, hope you're ok with being trapped here!’ Later, he'd corner the newbies one-on-one to gauge their trustworthiness and to scare them into cooperating with the team, but right now Naib didn't care about anything other than sleep as he stopped in front of his door.
His match had been in the afternoon, which meant getting chased during the hottest part of the day, and if the near-death experience didn't drain you, the heat would.
Naib was ready to finally put this day to rest. If he was lucky he'd have enough time to sneak a quick nap in before supper, that was until he was met with resistance while pushing open his door. Immediately, his hair stood on end, and as careful as he could, he released the doorknob and stepped backwards until he felt his back collide with the opposite wall, his breathing heavy. He was in the manor, there shouldn't be any traps, but that kind of naivety was the sort of thing that got soldiers killed.
Scanning the halls, he found what he was searching for. He quickly walked to the end of the hall to snatch up the broom Emily had left out, and returned to his door. It wasn't the most sturdy tool, but at least it would provide some distance and crucial seconds to run away if there indeed was a trap on the other side.
As steady as he could manage, the mercenary used the end of the broom to push open his door to reveal the state of his room. Naib stood in the doorframe for a good minute, broom in hand, letting the scene soak in. His room was completely devoid of all furniture. His entire bed, dresser, chair and table were all gone, and his personal effects lay spread across the bare floor. The culprit for the resistance was a pile of plush carpets stacked neatly against his door.
This had to have been a prank, most likely by that clown: Mike Morton. Naib had heard about the stunts the acrobat had been pulling on others, but he never thought the man would be dumb enough to do it to the mercenary. Gripping the doorframe to steady himself, Naib marginally calmed his breathing before heading back to the foyer, still clutching the broom.
He found Morton chatting it up with a group of survivors Naib barely paid a glance to before roughly grabbing the curly-haired man by the collar and dragging him back towards the dorms. Naib didn't respond to the acrobat’s shrieks until they were both staring into the barren room.
Naib shoved Mike so hard through the doorway that the other man stumbled. “Explain”.
Straightening himself out, Mike just glanced around before meeting Naib’s glare “Uhhh yeah, I like what you've done to the place. Really didn't peg you for someone so minimalist”.
“Don't play dumb”. Naib snarled while getting in Mike’s space. Taking a deep breath before continuing. “Look, just tell me where you moved my stuff and you can go.”
“Moved your stuff? You think I did this?” Mike gestured around the room.
“Who else could it have been? Nobody else in this manor is as aggravating as you.”
“I'm flattered that you think I could move an entire room's worth of furniture after my match ended.” The man paused in mock thought. “Oh right! Fifteen minutes ago!” Mike shot back with a grin that held far more malice in contrast to his tone of voice.
“Now, if you'll excuse me.” With that, the acrobat shoved his way past Naib, who didn't even bother stopping the man. If Morton wasn't the one behind it, then what was going on? Naib didn't have long to dwell before Mike’s voice rang out from the direction of his own room.
“Where the hell is my bed?!”
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With the ending of the evening games and supper, the residents of the survivors wing gradually filed into the common area, the cacophony of their voices filling the night.
Mike's shriek earlier had caused the manor residents to flood the dorm hallway, and upon seeing Mike's room, everyone had hurriedly checked on their own rooms in similar states of disarray. It was no secret that not everyone in the manor particularly liked each other. When it came to some of the more tumultuous relationships, the discovery of their ransacked rooms provided ample fuel to start slinging accusations around.
Emma, the self appointed ‘big sister’ and mediator, had taken charge of calming down the group and getting them to come back to the issue once the games were finished for the day.
Now that time had come and Emma was having trouble once again keeping the group in check.
“Please if everyone could just calm down for a second.” Emma's plea was drowned out in the rising chaos.
BANG!
The room exploded with red light, effectively silencing the argument and allowing a shocked hush to fall over the room. In the center of the crouched survivors stood Martha with her hand raised, holding a smoking flare gun.
“Enough.” Martha's voice rang out loud and clear. “I will not allow this senseless arguing to go on any longer. I can understand your anger, but pointing fingers isn't getting us anywhere.”
“Now, you've probably forgotten but we are still expected to participate in games tomorrow.” Martha leveled her gaze at the group. “Now I want everyone to head back to their rooms and gather anything that could be used to sleep on. We'll pool our resources to make something that benefits us all. If you have any objections feel free to sleep on the floor.”
Martha's tone offered no room for arguments and with a final look, folks began dispersing to their rooms with a grumble. Most took up on Martha's suggestion, dragging out anything that could be used to sleep on to the sitting room. It wasn't long until the spacious floor space was covered in a whole array of blankets, pillows and couch cushions.
Norton, who was hovering near the entrance, had to admit that they all did a good job making the ramshackle collection of junk cozy. Something could be said for how this ragtag group was able to come together.
Despite the rocky beginning, it truly seemed like people were actually looking forward to the impromptu sleepover. We'll, most of them at least. Norton had overheard Aesop adamantly insisting to an exasperated Eli that he would be just fine sleeping on the singular ottoman he had been left with. Aesop must've won the argument, with the way the seer was subtly pouting with the embalmer nowhere to be seen.
Norton's eyes met Emma's, the gardener lighting up and enthusiastically waving her hand.
Giving a half-hearted wave back, but Emma just frowned before standing up, brushing off invisible dust from her apron and marching over to him
“Norton! What are you doing lurking at the edge?” Before Norton could respond, she had gently grabbed his hand and was nudging him towards where she had been sitting next to Tracy and Boy, “C'mon, we saved you a spot! You do not want to miss Boy’s ghost stories!”
Too fast, Norton was not ready to be thrown directly into the fire. Ok, maybe describing the people you've been fighting alongside like that was a little harsh, but the sentiment still stood. Norton could confidently count on one hand the survivors he had a good relationship with; it turns out that people don't take kindly to being propelled into the hunter. Or the wall. Usually the wall. That, and the fact that living in a cave your whole life fighting to survive didn't leave you with much in the way of social skills.
Which is exactly why Norton didn't want to be here right now. There were too many people, too little space, and eventually there would be too little light. Emma was the only one he had opened up to about his night terrors. So practically announcing it to the whole manor while ruining a sleepover would absolutely destroy whatever was left of his reputation.
Emma had stopped in her ushering, noticing an unusual lack of struggle in the taller man. A quick look confirmed that Norton was no doubt spiralling, a far off look in his eyes. She tried not to be disappointed, she just wanted one night with all her friends enjoying themselves! But, she knew that forcing any of them if they were clearly not ready would be a surefire way to break trust. So with a small smile she snapped her fingers in front of his face until his eyes focused.
“Wait here.” turning back towards her spot
Grabbing her lantern off the floor
“There we go, I hope you have a good night Norton!”
It was embarrassing how easy she could read him now, but Norton appreciated the sentiment.
The hallway was dark, Norton was almost regretting not taking up Emma's offer, But at least in his own room he felt slightly more secure. Besides, Norton really didn't need to give any of them another reason to dislike him if he woke up screaming. He hadn't been having the best luck recently with the whole staying asleep thing. His nights were wracked by nightmares that had him jolting awake and fumbling for the handle of his lantern. One night had left him so disoriented that he misjudged the distance and wrapped his hand around the glass casing. He didn't sleep the rest of the night, waiting until the early hours of the morning to sneak down to Emily's clinic to steal bandages.
There was only one door creaked open, letting the dim lamplight spill across the floor. Like a moth to a flame, Norton found himself subconsciously drifting towards the open door. The door happened to belong to none other than the Mercenary, who according to Mike, had been very touchy about this whole furniture mess. Of course, with Mike you had to take a couple liberties with any gossip he handed out; he loved to stretch the truth in the name of storytelling. Norton was having a hard time believing that Naib would seriously drag Mike out of a crowded room, prank or not.
The man in question was knelt on the ground, currently in the process of pushing all his carpets into a corner. The memory of watching mice make a nest had Norton stifling a laugh at the comparison to the usually stoic mercenary.
Not quiet enough as Naib's head whipped around, eyes wide with surprise, before settling into a scowl once he recognized who had wandered in.
“What do you want, Campbell?”
Touchy already, Mike must've been telling the truth then.
“Who pissed in your oatmeal?”
Nothing.
That wasn't right, their banter never ends like this. Scratch that, Naib’s side never ended with awkward silence, that man always had a knack for saying the right thing to get under Norton's skin. Silence wasn't right.
They usually ended in punches thrown, not whatever this was.
It was kinda off-putting.
Naib, noticing that the prospector hadn't moved to leave, simply rolled his eyes and went back to shoving the carpets together.
“We have a match tomorrow, a big one. If I can't rest, I'll be useless, and then everyone else will suffer for it.”
“Why aren't you just joining in on the big sleepover? There's way better sleeping arrangements there.”
“Why aren't you?”
There it was, that oh-so-familiar feeling of agitation building up from just a simple question.
“Fuck you.”
Norton couldn't understand it, how it felt like Naib knew exactly what to say to get him on the defensive. Norton knew realistically that it probably had less to do with Naib than it did with himself, but it was easier to lash at another than it was to confront yourself. Even so, Norton was trying to, as Emma put it, ‘approach life a little more positively’. Yeah sure, easier said than done when you're face to face with Naib fucking Subedar. What would Emma do in this situation?
“Well you don't need to sleep on the floor, I have a bedframe you could use.” Oh god why'd he say that.
“Where will you sleep?” Naib deadpanned “There's no point in offering your bedframe if that means you'll be on the floor.”
Then why don't we bunk together? Then we're both happy.” Norton was kicking himself, that was supposed to sound more sarcastic.
“Yea, sure.”
------------------------
Norton's room was in about the same state as everyone else's, which was to say it was pretty barren. The manor rooms all came in the same basic layout, a double bed against a wall, a writing desk, and a wardrobe. Out of everything provided, Norton was now left with only a wooden bedframe.
The two men deposited their haul of carpets and began arranging them on top of the wooden slats in an attempt to make something halfway comfortable. Thankfully, the sheer amount of carpets meant that there was plenty of padding. Naib was even able to snag a couple pillows and a blanket from Emma downstairs (after once again politely rejecting her invitation to the sleepover). Their final product didn't seem half bad. Sure, the textures of the carpets were going to be strange to lay on, but Norton (and he assumed Naib) had slept in worse places.
Speaking of sleeping, how were they going to do this? The bed was against the wall which meant that one of them would be essentially boxed in. In the time Norton had known the mercenary, he had picked up that the man was always scanning for a potential threat, and would consciously place himself as a barrier between said threat. Naib would obviously want to take the outside section, that way he was prepared to act if something came through the door. But that left Norton with the wall. Just the thought of being trapped against the wall was causing him to break into a cold sweat. Not to mention that the light from the lantern wouldn't reach the far end of the bed.
Neither of them made a move to claim a side of the bed, Norton had no doubt that Naib was contemplating the same thing, if the scowl he was burning into the bed was anything to go off of.
“We could move it?”
Easier said than done, Norton cursed himself for the suggestion. The bedframe was deceptively solid, probably costing a pretty penny. who would've thought that someone like the baron would waste resources like this on his ‘guests’? At any other point Norton would've revelled at being allowed near such a fine piece of furniture, now he wanted to smash it to bits if it meant that he didn't need to move it.
Naib wasn't doing any better. Of course, the mercenary didn't voice his complaints out loud, but Norton could tell by the furrow in his brow and his tensed shoulders that he was starting to get fed up. (Norton decided not to think too hard about just when he had started noticing and filing away Naib's quirks). The two of them lifting had barely managed to shift the bed a foot away from the wall. At this rate it would probably be more efficient to just stare at the sky until dawn arrived. Norton knew with sinking dread that they were both too stubborn to give up, someone had to give in if they wanted to sleep tonight. Fighting against everything in his bones, Norton surrendered.
“That's enough, we'll never move it like this.”
“What if we try something else?” Naib said.
That's how the two of them ended up crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the space they had pulled away from the wall. Norton could swear that if he focused that he'd be able to feel Naib's heartbeat (he regretted that thought immediately).
“Push on three. One, two, three-”
The sound wasn't pretty but it was definitely faster, Norton was crossing his fingers that Patricia, who had the room directly beneath, had decided to join in the big sleepover. Otherwise, the enchantress was going to rip him a new one come morning.
They were almost to the center of the room now, and with one last heave, a horrible screech had both men flinching back in surprise. Investigating showed that there was now a long, nasty gouge in the floorboards courtesy of one of the bed's legs. A half hearted attempt was made by Naib to rub out the scrape, before giving up and dropping a carpet over it. Both men were too tired to care, the baron could deal with that.
Not a word was said as they both prepared for sleep, pulling on their respective pajamas and sharing a slight smile once they noticed the patches Emma had embroidered onto them. The Gardener had been determined to make the manor-issued clothes just a bit more home-y, embroidering each set with a unique flower. Naib's had a cluster of Forget-Me-Nots while Norton had a single yellow dandelion.
While Norton went to turn off the light, Naib had quickly shoved something under his pillow when he thought Norton wasn't looking. It looked almost soft? Maybe a stuffed animal? At Norton's curious gaze Naib leveled a pointed look at the lit lantern in the prospectors hand. Fine, the mercenary could keep his secrets, god knows Norton had enough for a lifetime.
-------
God. Norton thought, lying next to the mercenary, this was awkward.
The room was silent, sans the chirping of the crickets, but Norton could tell that they were both still awake.
“It was from my mother.”
“What?” Norton had opened his eyes now.
“The bear, she made it for me before I left home. It's one of the last things I have left of my family.”
“... I'm sorry.” A pause “do you miss them, your family?”
“I just wish I could tell them I'm alive. I'm sure they think the worst has happened.”
“What about you, have anyone waiting on the outside?”
“No. I don't.”
There was a moment of silence where Naib waited for him to elaborate. When it became clear that Norton wasn't going to add on anything, Naib huffed out a mirthless laugh.
“That's it? You're not going to elaborate at all, after all that?”
“There's nothing to say, everyone who knew me is dead. Besides, you freely volunteered that bit of information.”
Silence hung between them. Great, Norton thought bitterly. Good job on ruining yet another conversation by being an ass. Naib had spilled something personal, something the mercenary never allowed himself to do, and Norton had ungratefully thrown it back in his face. It had been an unconscious reaction to a topic that still ate away at the prospector, the last person who held any care for him had died cursing his name. There was nothing left for him outside, and if he wasn't careful, he would lose any connection inside.
Desperate to right his mistake, Norton spoke without thinking, cutting through the awkward silence.
“I can't sleep without the lantern.” so he was really admitting this. “I haven't been able to face the darkness since my accident,
It's pathetic, shaking at shadows like I'm still a child”. Norton waited for the expected mocking laughter, already bracing himself to lash out, but it never came. Instead Naib just huffed out a laugh.
“Guess we match each other well then, two grown men who need a teddy bear and a night light to sleep.”
Naib turned his face towards Norton, the soft lantern light allowing Norton to see the soft smile that rested there. He was beautiful like this, away from the stress of survival and the stoic front. Without thinking, Norton found himself returning the smile. He found himself wishing that they could stay like this. Here, in the comfort and silence of the night, they didn't need to put up their walls and the ghosts of their past couldn't reach them.
------
Norton awoke with the late morning sun streaming onto his face. Bleary eyed, he wondered if he had actually managed to sleep in? Come to think of it, he didn't even recall having a nightmare last night. Both things that had been out of reach since he could remember.
Norton had forgotten about last night's whole ordeal until he registered a warm presence around him. He instinctively froze as his brain caught up; the missing furniture, the sleepover, and finally, Naib. The man in question Norton was curled into. Thankfully, the still asleep Naib was oblivious to the dread slowly building in the other man. Norton was tucked against Naib's chest, the other man's chin resting on top of his black hair while his arms lay draped over Norton.
Trying to carefully extract himself from the mercenary only resulted in a quiet groan and the arms tightening around Norton in protest. Despite Naibs arms around him, Norton was surprised to find that the normal panic of feeling boxed in wasn't present. Instead it was strangely comforting, almost grounding him in the present. Norton couldn't even remember the last time he had someone else's arms around him, let alone the feeling of comfort attached.
Even with the wood bedframe digging into his back, this was probably the best sleep Norton had all week. And craning his neck to look at the relaxed expression on the other man's face, confirmed that he would also agree. It was as he was looking up at Naib that Norton felt something, almost soft start to bloom. That prospect terrified him. Norton had accepted that love didn't exist for people like himself. He had fought and killed to claw his way up from where he started in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, it would pay off in the end (It hadn't).
Even without the eternal entrapment in the manor looming over them, Norton couldn't see a future in which someone like Naib, who was so selfless in spite of his bloody past, would ever feel the same way. Norton tried to glean as much comfort as he could from that fact, because if he was wrong, the only way that relationship could end would be from Norton destroying yet another good thing.
Throat tightening, Norton burrowed his face into the mercenary's coat willing himself to fall back asleep. Might as well take advantage of the situation and catch up on his missed sleep. Then he could deal with whatever 'feelings' he was developing later when he wasn't so exhausted.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
“Hey Nort! You alive in there?” Mike's too-loud voice called from the other side of the door. “Emma said you weren't at the sleepover.”
The sudden noise had the two men shooting up and away from each other. Naib drawing his kukri from who knows where and glaring daggers at the door. Norton had been startled into a vicious coughing fit, doubling over as he tried to get his lungs to behave.
“Shit Mike, I think he's having a fit!” Oh good, Patricia was here too. This day just couldn't get any better Norton numbly thought.
“Aw crap, hang on Norton!”
As the handle turned, Naib's eyes locked onto Norton's that were teary from the coughing. There was no time to hide or lock the door.
Fuck, Mike was never gonna let Norton hear the end of this.
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Somewhere on the other side of the manor, a very pissed off Geisha was prevented from entering her own room from the sheer amount of furniture barricading the hallway.