IDV - A Coin's Two Sides - Freddy x Norton

9 - It Could Be Worse

   Kreacher screamed. The scream was so utterly ridiculous that it almost scared Freddy more than the sudden announcement of a punishment. The lawyer felt a great desire to hit the thief for being so ridiculous, but didn't want to risk earning any more punishment. He wasn't sure why they were about to get punished in the first place.
   "Punishment?" Freddy asked the darkness. "What for?"
   "What do you think, Riley?" The voice hissed. "You and your buddies are hovering over a pile of gold that clearly does not belong to you!"
   "We were simply looking at it." Freddy lied. He wasn't sure if the fact that he tends to quickly cover for himself was good or bad in this situation.
   "Don't lie. I know many things." The voice let out a small laugh. "Pierson, do join the conversation."
   The thief gulped. "Kreacher does not wish to speak with strangers!!"
   The voice hummed. "I am the one you survivors know as the Dream Witch. And us hunters do not wish to have our riches stolen by some pathetic rats, yet here we are, thief."
   The Dream Witch? Uh oh. She is one of the scariest hunters. Nobody has seen her true body, only been chased around by her followers. It's a nightmare trying to survive when there are girls with pickaxes ready to spring to life at every corner. And when you feel safe, a leech will appear! Everything about this hunter was just dreadful.
   "I- I haven't stolen anything in this manor!!" Kreacher yelped. "Kreacher only has the title of Thief for the good deeds he did before coming here!!"
   The Dream Witch sighed. "As I already told the lawyer, you can't lie. I know many things already, like how you stole a whole sack of treasures."
   Kreacher gulped. "I- you- what?! N-No!!"
   "Losing your composure so soon?" The Dream Witch hissed. "I was hoping for something more... interesting. Campbell? Riley? Can either of you be more interesting than this thing?"
   "Easily," Freddy scoffed. Why did I say that?! I have to turn the punishment onto Kreacher again. "But... I would never do such a thing as stealing an entire bag of treasures from the hunters. Not sure you would call that interesting..."
   "Yes... Pierson will receive major punishment for that." The Dream Witch's words made the thief gulp. "Campbell? Are you in the right mental space to dignify yourself with a response to this confrontation? You're part of this too, you know."
   Norton shook his head.
   "Fair enough. But you will still receive punishment."
   "Wh-what is the punishment?!" Kreacher asked.
   "For you..." Suddenly, a glowing purple circle surrounded Kreacher. The man screamed as the circle glowed brighter and brighter, then eventually disappeared along with the screaming man. "That."
   Freddy wasn't quite sure what that was, but he wasn't feeling very good about the punishment he was to receive.
   "As for the less obnoxious greed-driven men..." The Dream Witch hummed. Then, a purple circle glowed around the gold, absorbing it away just like the other circle did to the thief. "Stay in this room for the night. Hopefully this experience will make you think twice about taking treasure from us."

   "...If your past experiences with greed haven't taught you that already." The hunter's voice faded away. Freddy felt as though a weight was lifted off him, leading him to believe the witch was gone.

   "Well... it could be worse." Freddy sighed. No bed? That sucks, but it has to be better than whatever Kreacher's punishment was.
   Unlike the thief, all the lawyer had to deal with was a night of sleeping on a floor.
   At least, that's what he was thinking, until he heard a groan and remembered he wasn't alone.

   The lawyer turned his head to look at the prospector, who was still covering his face. "...You hear me? This is as bad as it gets. We're fine."
   Freddy wasn't quite sure why Norton was so anxious. Sure, that had been a scary experience, but bad things only really ended up happening to Kreacher. That alone should make someone feel better.
   "...I-It's dark." Norton said quietly.
   "Hm. Yes. It is." Freddy looked around the room, seeing nothing, as it was indeed dark. "Well... there's nothing in here except us... so we're fine."
   Norton didn't seem to feel any better, making more noises of anxiousness.
   "Are you scared of the dark?" Freddy asked. He would be surprised if the answer was "no" at this point.
   Norton seemed to realize that, and looked down. "I... I guess... it just... reminds me of something."
   Freddy hummed in understanding. It made sense that the miner with a scar would have bad memories triggered by the dark. Unfortunately, Freddy wasn't sure how to deal with that. Fortunately, he's had to convince people that not-okay things were okay before, so it shouldn't be hard to convince Norton since this time things were actually okay.

   "Well, there's nothing to worry about. This room is empty, the threats are gone, and seeing doesn't matter since we're going to sleep anyways." Freddy explained. "Unfortunately, we'll have to sleep on the floor, but it's fine! Nothing bad is going to happen."
   Freddy had his hand on Norton's shoulder. He hadn't been using his convincing-voice at the start, but feeling the slightest hint of relaxation in Norton encouraged him to use his silver tongue to its full potential. "Everything will be fine, Norton. We're okay."

   Norton started to shake less. He stared at the lawyer. "Y-you're... strange..."
   Freddy scoffed. "Am I? I'm not. Do you think I'm strange?" Ugh, what a pathetic response. Why did that bother him?
   "It's not... a bad thing... I guess..." Norton shrugged. "You're just... confusing... and unique."
   "Is it in a good way?" Freddy asked in a joking, somewhat flirtatious tone. What? He didn't want to be 'confusing' and 'unique' if it was a bad thing.
   "I....... I guess?" Norton looked away awkwardly. "I mean... I guess you're... nice to me..."
   That was a good thing to hear. "Of course! No reason to be anything but nice to such a lovely man." FRICK WHAT DID HE JUST SAY OH NO.
   "But I don't get it." Norton suddenly snapped. "I'm not good. You're not good. You're up to something, aren't you?!"

   On one hand, Freddy was glad for the distraction from his "lovely" comment. On the other hand, that accusation was pretty heartbreaking.
   "Listen, I know that we both know certain things about each other." Freddy started. "We know we both greatly value money, and we know we both would sacrifice others for our own benefit. But I don't know your story, and you don't know mine. I'm not trying to trick you."
   "Well, maybe you should stay away from me for your own good!" Norton yelled. "I don't care if you're trying to convince me you aren't bad, cuz I know I am!" Norton turned his head away.
   Freddy stared at Norton, then sighed. "If space is what you want, then space is what you'll get. We should try to sleep anyways."

   Norton hummed. Freddy tried to walk away from the prospector, but he held onto the lawyer.
   "...?" Freddy turned back to the prospector. "What is it...?"
   "I... d-don't want to be alone." Norton looked down. Freddy blinked.
   "We.. won't be alone. We're both in this room together. If you need me, even a whisper would reach me."
   Norton sighed. "I..." he tightened his grip on Freddy. "Don't... want to..."
   Freddy blinked at Norton again, then sighed. "I think I understand. But you do know how awkward this will be, right? We don't know each other too well and you were just yelling about how we shouldn't trust each other."
   "Don't remind me... I can't sleep if you do..."

   The two men awkwardly laid on the floor together. It was uncomfortable since the floor was so hard and cold, and the fact that each other's bodies were the only good source of comfort made things even more awkward.
   Freddy was surprisingly happy with it though.

   "Just remember, Norton," Freddy began in a hushed voice. "We may not be the most trustworthy people, but we did trust in each other once, and it worked out spectacularly. Somewhere in both of us is a reliable person, and we've already shared that side of us with each other. I'm willing to trust you, if you'll trust me again."

   Norton didn't give a response, but he certainly heard the message. The two men fell asleep together, and as uncomfortable as it was, it worked out well enough in the end.