A Man for Himself (Norton X Eli) [Identity V] *UNEDITED*

Chapter 22 - Maybe in Another Life

"Haita...wake up. Haita..."

Eli opened his eyes slowly, the light pouring through the open window hurting them and making them tear up. With a groan, he lifted his head only to instantly fall back to his pillow when a headache hit him like a grand piano. He never had a grand piano fall on his head before, but he figured it would've felt like that.

"Seems like you had a fun night."

Naib's voice caused him to sit upright. With a throbbing head, he tried to focus and locate the direction of the voice. He found Naib sitting next to him in the bed.

"Good morning," the mercenary greeted dryly.

Eli held his head, a wave of nausea causing him to shot up and ran straight to the bathroom. He managed to hold it in before he vomited into the sink, the bile leaving a bad taste in his mouth. He was parched and in dire need of water.

The migraine kept him immobilized for a while. He felt like he was going to collapse if he ever tried to move. Once he got enough strength, he got up to wash his face and rinse his mouth before returning to the room and plopping down in his bed.

"Had a few drinks with Fiona and Patricia. Ritual," he croaked out, offering an explanation for the mercenary to know.

Naib nodded slowly. "Must be fun," he muttered, sounding unamused.

This caught Eli's attention.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked, studying the mercenary's face.

Naib responded with a shrug, his expression unreadable.

For a moment, Eli continued to attempt to decipher Naib's nonverbal messages; but he eventually gave in to the stupor and planted his face into the pillow. Perhaps he was reading too much into it.

"I'm glad you're back," he mumbled, voice muffled into the pillow. "How's Tracy and William?"

"They've recovered," Naib answered curtly.

"That's great." Eli rolled to his side and managed a weak smile. "It's different when you're not around."

He was glad Naib had finally recovered. He would've welcomed him properly if not for his hangover. In a way, he felt bad that he wasn't able to.

"It is." Naib nodded and pursed his lips. "You seem to get yourself in stickier situation when I'm not with you." He paused and chuckled humorlessly. "You get more bite marks and hickeys."

Eli's eyes widened, the blood draining from his face. As if his veins were pumped with caffeine, he became alert and was devoid of all sleepiness. He didn't realize how exposed he was until the obvious was pointed out.

"I-I can explain..." he stuttered out, sitting up.

Naib shook his head, apparently disappointed. "It's alright. There's no need. I'm not mad at you. I'm...sad. I didn't think you'd hide it from me."

Of course, Naib would find out. He wasn't stupid.

Eli bit his lip, the guilt in his chest heavy.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you," he muttered. "I didn't want you to think that I lied to you. That I'd only used Gertrude as an excuse." He took Naib's hand and held it firmly. "I had no plan of hiding it from you because I didn't think it would turn out like this. I didn't think I'd get attracted to Norton."

He finally admitted it. He was indeed attracted to that prospector despite everything that had happened between them. It was sick. So sick. If Naib knew what had truly transpired in his past encounters with Norton, he would've definitely called Eli crazy.