Chapter Text
Norton's lifestyle lately has been diversified by trips to the university, where he wasn't studying. And yet, Norton didn't care when more and more professors in the kennel eyed him suspiciously, their glances saying, "You stink, Campbell," but Norton didn't stink because he'd been washing himself every day.
It was strange that he had been going out lately, and Campbell sometimes wondered if he had burned out some wires, because it was unusual, but being alone all the time seemed to be taking its toll.
There were still moments when Naib existed outside of work... but those were just moments in his life, during the day. Maybe he'd see him sometimes eating, or going to wash up, and sometimes they'd chat. In fact, Norton always told him what he'd read that day before going to bed. Just to open his mouth to someone. But Subedar always fell asleep halfway through, and maybe Norton knew this, but he still continued talking.
He was at the university now. He was sitting with Ganji and William, who were talking about Ganji's romantic dilemmas, who desperately wanted to snag some Anne, but Norton wasn't really listening, because what did it matter to him?
"Naib was hanging out with Martha again," Ganji said suddenly, changing the subject and looking at William. "I wonder if they're back together," he wondered, and Norton's eyes widened.
“Did Naib have a girlfriend?” he asked, but it's obvious that he must have had a girlfriend at some point, right?
“I don't know, he never says anything”, said Ganji and suddenly became very thoughtful about something.
“They’re just friends,” William interjected, and Ganji shot him a look.
“We don’t know,” he said, and William simply sighed.
Norton suddenly felt betrayed. He didn't understand this reaction. After all, if Naib had been with Martha, Norton would have known about it, because it was Norton. He was his tapeworm, his personal one, Naib's alone.
“You know, Ganji, you can just be friends with someone” said William, who strangely denied all this, and Norton even started to agree with him.
Naib only went to work, then slept and ate... Norton guessed. What if Naib actually had a life and never came home after work? Norton began to think about that very moment.
It's clear that Norton, being Norton, isn't exactly pleasant company. He was well aware of this, but it didn't bother him. It didn't. He'd never experienced anything that could have suited him to social life. Generally, Campbell knew he'd missed out on a lot during his formative years. He knew what working in the mines was like, and that was it.
Ganji waved his hand and started doing something on his flip phone. Norton envied him his flip phone.
“Have they known each other long?” Norton started his little investigation about Naib, because Naib never really talked much about Martha, but at the same time, when he did, you could very clearly feel that they were very close.
Norton was now convinced that they must be together, because all the dots were strangely starting to connect. He didn't know why, though, he felt such a strange fear and sense of deception.
"Almost as much as me and Naib, and we've known each other from the beginning," William said. "There were times when they did everything together, but I don't think… in fact, I'm convinced they were just friends," William concluded, looking at Ganji.
“You don't know that” Ganji stubbornly claimed otherwise.
"Naib would have told me" Norton suddenly began to deny that there was any possibility of Naib being in a relationship with Marta. "He would have told me," he stated nonchalantly.
Ganji laughed, which pissed Norton off a bit, so he glared at him.
“What are you laughing at?”
Ganji stopped laughing, but he was still smiling.
“You seem jealous, but actually you and Naib are like an old married couple in their fifties.”
Norton frowned and started to think about it for a while.
"I'm not," he replied, probably more to himself.
***
Today was a big day for Naib, in a way. He had a day off, his first in... a long time. A normal person would stay home and sleep during such a beautiful time, but Naib wasn't as normal as he might seem. So he decided to spend his precious hours with William, Ganji, and Norton at his favorite pizzeria, which he hadn't been to in so long, though, that he was even inspired to relive the taste of that ambrosia that was Hawaiian pizza.
Norton, of course, had been grumbling a bit before Naib kicked him out of his bed, where Norton had been spending his days lately, and that was truly worrying. Norton's overall strangeness had suddenly vanished, or rather, had changed. He was still strange, but it was a different kind of strangeness. Naib was slowly beginning to distinguish between the two moods Norton had. Currently, he was once again a morose hermit, complaining about his fate, exhausted by what seemed like just breathing, as he only went to the toilet and the refrigerator.
Norton didn't do much else. He stared at the ceiling or did crossword puzzles. It was truly sad to see Norton's newfound patheticness.
"Tracy's canceling the date again," William had been complaining for some time now, when everyone had arrived at the restaurant and taken a table.
Naib already knew the whole William love story. Things hadn't been going well for him and his girlfriend, Tracy, lately, and anyone with common sense could have predicted their relationship would soon fall apart. Naib, however, said nothing.
"Damn, I feel sorry for you, man," Ganji patted him on the shoulder, who gave Naib a knowing look. Ganji knew too.
Norton just looked at them and said nothing, probably had no idea who Tracy was, Naib guessed.
"It's okay," William tried to smile. "I expect the worst..." he added.
Naib also patted him on the shoulder and nodded.
"I'm telling you, relationships are real torture," William suddenly said, and lay down on the table, his dreadlocks almost resting on the pineapple pizza. Naib wouldn't even mind giving a damn, of course, to eat.
Then they said something else, but Naib was already devouring another slice of pizza. Norton was picking at his plate with his fork like a little child, which didn't go unnoticed by William, who targeted Norton.
"And how are you, Norton?" He put his arm around him, but Norton's face showed no emotion at the gesture; he didn't even look at William. "Are you seeing someone?" He looked at Naib sharply, and Naib shrugged mentally.
Norton muttered something like "Yeah." And Naib wanted to laugh at his answer, because what kind of person answers "Yeah" when asked if they're dating? It made no sense. Norton and his approach to relationships was so fucking pointless. What pissed Naib off, pissed him off so much for some reason. Fucking Norton, fucking Campbell.
"Really?" Ganji was surprised and moved closer to Norton. This was suddenly a huge sensation.
Norton glanced at them with his lazy gaze, from William to Ganji, then looked at Naib and held his gaze for a moment longer, as if suddenly thinking hard about something. Perhaps he was seeking Naib's help, but what was Naib supposed to do? He simply leaned on his hand and sipped his drink.
"Who is that?" William practically lunged at Norton, who, with his sudden movement, also moved Naib, hitting him in the shoulder. But Naib ignored him completely and watched with some amusement as Norton's face showed a clear desire to flee William. "Do I know her?" William began to ask, and Naib let out a short laugh.
Ganji looked at the brown-haired man and pointed at him.
“You know what, don't you?” scanned him with his eyes.
Naib just shrugged.
"Come on, Norton, who's the lucky girl?" Naib chuckled to himself, because his girlfriend certainly wasn't lucky to have Norton as a partner. Naib could imagine that after living with him for over a month.
“Melly,” Norton said simply.
William pulled away from Norton, who began rubbing his arm, but he didn't move away from Naib and now sat shoulder to shoulder with him. Perhaps due to his traumatic experience with William, he preferred to keep a safe distance.
"Melly..." Ganji thought for a moment, and now he and William were staring at the ceiling, perhaps trying to figure out who this Melly person was. Not that Naib even knew who she was, but he wasn't particularly interested either.
“He’s studying entomology,” Norton said, apparently seeing the two of them brainstorming.
Ganji and William remained seated, not quite understanding what Norton was saying, but Naib couldn't blame them, as he himself didn't know the meaning of the word Norton had used. Suddenly, he, too, became a little interested.
"What?" he finally asked, and Norton turned to him, perhaps a little pityingly, which irritated Naib. "English isn't my mother tongue, you fucking idiot," the Subedar said reproachfully.
Then Norton put on his smug face and began his speech.
"Entomology is the study of insects. It's one of the branches of zoology," he said proudly, as if it were some kind of feat that he knew the meaning of a word that no one uses anyway.
Naib rolled his eyes and continued drinking his Pepsi, resting his chin on his hand.
"That's cool," William said, and Ganji nodded. "How long have you been together?"
"Six months," Norton assured immediately, which was so pathetic, because the guy had probably seen her four times in that time. Naib was sure it was something like that, and that was if he was thinking positively.
"Damn, it's been a while," Ganji asked. "And you, Naib? Still a loner?" He looked at Naib and bored into him.
Naib shrugged, as if the whole topic didn't interest him. Because it didn't. It didn't interest him anymore. Naib was so old at that moment, Naib suddenly pictured himself in a nursing home he'd never be able to afford, and he'd probably never live to be old either.
Because really, what are relationships for? To be disappointed? To keep rolling that Sisyphean boulder? Naib had had enough, Naib retired from the relationship thing. Maybe he'd been disappointed too many times, because maybe Naib was a bit stupid too, and the only thing that saved him was that he finally realized it.
“As always, shrouded in mystery”, Ganji laughed.
Norton started staring at Naib, which he could feel on his neck, but Naib suddenly felt extremely tired, so he just closed his eyes and wanted to go to the land of dreams, but their favorite topic started, which was gossip.
"Did you know Eli and Gertrude broke up?" William said, the revelation Naib was so fed up with. They broke up over a week ago, why are they all still talking about it? Who even cares?
"Who's Gertrude?" Norton asked, confused, and Naib wanted to punch him in the face at that moment, because that meant this story wouldn't end there and they'd probably still be questioning him, considering Eli was a good friend of his. What a hell.
"Eli's ex-fiancée," William began to explain. "They broke up suddenly and no one knows why." He looked at Naib, who was already forming that frown between his eyebrows.
"Who cares?" he said, irritated. The whole Eli thing always irritated him so much he wanted to go out and punch someone in the face.
Ganji wanted to say something else, but William stopped him by grabbing his arm and shaking his head. Norton just stared at them all like a fool, seemingly unsure of what was happening.
Then William and Ganji chatted about sports, and even Norton occasionally added his two cents or started talking about his misfortune as a saver. Naib didn't say much, just lifted his head from the table and leaned against Norton's shoulder, closing his eyes. Maybe he should get some sleep? Or just rest. He was still incredibly tired, and one day off probably wouldn't save him from exhaustion. Two days might be enough.
Norton flinched a little at Naib using his arm as a pillow with impunity, but Norton used his bed as his own every day, so it was a barter.
Naib was almost falling asleep when he heard William's worried voice.
“Is he okay, Norton? He looks bad.”
William always worried too much about everyone else, Naib thought. That was just how he was, and Subedar actually appreciated him for it, but for himself, he preferred not to worry at all.
It wasn't that Naib was somehow pitiful (like Norton), it wasn't that he couldn't cope. In fact, he'd already experienced far worse than working from dawn to dusk. His life now resembled the colorful American dream he'd only dreamed of. Or maybe that was just his thought, but he didn't expect anything more, because it was truly enough.
“He works a lot,” Norton said, and Naib could feel him turn his head toward him.
Naib could still hear William sighing, but he stopped listening.
Naib fell asleep, he didn't even register the moment he drifted away, cuddled in the arms of Morpheus, to the land of dreams.
However, he did not stay in this wonderful sphere for long, because he was awakened by a strangely gentle nudge on the shoulder from Norton.
“Ganji and William have already left, they told you to say bye and to take care of yourself,” Norton said, and Naib slowly rose from his shoulder.
He saw that Norton's entire arm was covered in drool and felt a little foolish, but only for a moment, because Norton was actually wearing his sweatshirt anyway. That big, cool green one, which wasn't that big on Norton at all, and in fact fit him perfectly.
"Are we going home?" Norton raised an eyebrow at Naib. "I want to sleep," he added, yawning. "I sat here with you for about 30 minutes alone because you fell asleep like a baby."
Naib snorted at this.
“You should have woken me up.”
"And you sleep so little." Norton looked at Naib very sharply. It was somehow strange.
And then they got up and left the pizzeria. It was almost May, so the nights were getting warmer. So they walked lazily toward home, because it wasn't that far. If it had been winter, they would have had to row with their legs too, because whoever could afford a car, could afford one.
"Hey Naib," Norton asked, "Why do you work so much? I mean, you live in, excuse me, a shack, so I don't understand."
Naib looked at Norton and sighed. The man was incredibly stupid. Not everyone has to take care of only themselves.
"I'm sending money to my mom," Naib replied, lighting a cigarette. Ah yes, a cigarette after eating was just what he needed. He immediately felt better.
“To Nepal?” Norton asked.
Naib nodded, and there was silence. A strange silence that began to bother Naib a little. He was about to say something, anything, when Norton suddenly spoke:
“Hey, I'll find a job and pay you back for everything, okay?”
Naib hadn't expected something like this, especially at this moment. Did Norton feel sorry for him too? Did they all have to feel so sorry for Naib? He wasn't as weak and fragile as they all thought. Naib hated this foolish pity. Norton was the one worthy of it, not Naib, who wasn't as stupid about life as Norton fucking Campbell.
Yet the idea that Norton might feel a little sorry for him ignited something strange within him. It was definitely unsettling.
So Naib just nodded and yawned, stretching.
"Okay," he finally said as they walked, and Norton wasn't exactly running like an ostrich even today.
He probably ate too much pizza, but so did Naib. The Hawaiian was heaven, and luckily Norton understood that, or simply didn't care, like he doesn't care about anything.
“I will pursue you with your debts like the tax office until I die, you don't have to worry about it" Naib laughed and Norton burst out laughing too.
"Okay," he said and tapped Naib on the shoulder.
And they went home, where Norton was once again struggling to turn on the shower, and Naib was trying to lull himself to sleep with a movie, which he commented on passionately, and Norton even occasionally responded from the bathroom. Then they watched the movie together because it turned out to be oddly interesting.
Naib thought that moments like these were really cool. But they were just moments.
Naib thinks he should really consider going back to business.