More Than You Bargained For
Chapter 1: Fourteenth Floor
Description: Edward Gould is looking for a place to stay as he grows restless of living with his parents. When a Craigslist Ad leads him to room with Matt Hargreaves, he's convinced that he's found the perfect place to live. But weird things are happening- weird things that can't be explained- and it's up to Edd to figure out why!
A/N (Supercasey): A Co-written Eddsworld fic, written by myself and Jujukind on Tumblr. This fic was written with our blood, sweat, and tears, and honestly it's the long-fic this fandom deserves. This is to all the fan-artists, fan-writers, and creators of Eddsworld! Please R&R (Read & Review)!
A/N (Jujukind): Get ready you sinners.
...
[DURDAN LANE APARTMENTS - ROOMMATE NEEDED - PETS ALLOWED (NO DOGS) - PLENTY OF SPACE - ONE BATHROOM - ONE KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - TWO BEDROOMS - OPEN FOR INTERVIEWS ON FRIDAYS]
Edd Gould looks over the Craigslist Ad with interest, nonchalantly petting his cat as he does so. Ringo purrs in his owner's lap, kneading the cartoonist's jeans. "What do you think, Ringo?" Edd asks, smiling at his cat as he looks over the Ad. "Think we should see if this is the one?"
Ringo, for all he's worth, just flicks an ear at his owner, not giving a vocal response. "I'll take that as a yes." Edd decides, scratching behind the feline's ears.
…
Durdan Lane Apartments is a lot bigger up close. Edd approaches slowly, a great uneasiness filling his gut. He shakes it off, heading inside. As soon as he enters, a calm feeling of security covers him like a warm blanket. Smiling, Edd takes the elevator to the fourteenth floor, whistling under his breath as he tries to ignore the many stares he receives from the building's residents. They're probably not used to outsiders, Edd thinks, writing off the attention as nothing. The elevator creaks and growls as it moves, making Edd feel uncomfortable, but again, he writes it off as nothing unusual. Some elevators are just old.
The elevator reaches the fourteenth floor, and Edd escapes the rickety old machine quickly, walking right over to apartment twenty-eight. He knocks, and immediately, a young ginger man answers the door. He can't be much younger or older than Edd- maybe a year younger- but he's definitely been taking better care of himself than Edd. While Edd has been living off of ramen and McDonalds for the last few years, this guy has obviously been getting his vitamins. Edd smiles when the stranger answers, searching his head for the guy's name- oh, right. Matt. Matthew Hargreaves. Matt smiles at Edd, much more open to him than the other residents.
"Oh, hey," Matt says, looking Edd over. "You must be…"
"Edd. Edward Gould," Edd explains, taking Matt's hand in his and shaking it. He tries not to shiver at the touch- Matt's hands are freakishly cold! "I called yesterday about the apartment."
Matt moves to the side, letting Edd in. "Come on in, buddy," He offers, beckoning the young cartoonist inside. "Have a look around the old place!"
Edd enters, kicking off his shoes as he comes inside. The first thing he notices is all the pictures- a few are of people Edd doesn't recognize doing ridiculous poses and making funny faces, though most of them are of scenery, looking to have been taken for aesthetic purposes. So, he's into photography? Good to know. Maybe he and Edd can converse about different art forms later on. The apartment is well furnished, with expensive looking furniture taking up a lot of space. It really makes him wonder why Matt isn't living in a more elegant apartment building. Edd shrugs it off, assuming that it has to do with wherever Matt works or something of the like.
"It's not… always this clean. My neighbor Tord made me clean up before you could come over," Matt admits, chuckling in embarrassment. "Sorry if I trash the place sometimes."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Edd assures, looking around with fascination in his eyes. He moves into an open room, finding it empty. This must be the room for lease. "Hey, is this the extra bedroom?"
"Which one are you in?" Matt walks over to stand beside Edd. "Oh, yes, this is it. You'll have to furnish it yourself, but I hear that Tom next door is getting rid of his old bed. Maybe you can ask him for it if you move in."
"That sounds awesome," Edd agrees, leaving the room in peace. If he moves in, he's gonna see if Matt will let him paint the walls of the bedroom green. "Anything else I should see?"
"You can look around the kitchen and bathroom if you want. My bedroom is off-limits unless you move in," Matt explains, showing Edd into the kitchen. "There isn't much to work with in here. I'm not much of a cook, as I'm sure you've figured out by now."
Edd raises an eyebrow at that. Why would he assume that Matt wasn't good at cooking? After all, Matt appears to be in really good health (besides his pale skin), so wouldn't Edd figure him to cook his own meals? "Well… I can cook," Edd offers, after a moment of awkward silence. "I think my mum will give me some kitchen equipment when I move out…"
Matt smiles at that, but now he seems to be… eyeing Edd, like he's not so sure who he's talking to anymore. Maybe he was just expecting someone different, Edd thinks, once again brushing off Matt's strangeness. Edd looks around, smiling to himself. "Yeah… I think this might be it," He confirms, grinning at Matt. "I do have a cat. Is that okay? He's super friendly, so he shouldn't bother you."
"That's fine, so long as it's not a dog. The lads downstairs can't stand dogs…" Matt shivers, as if remembering something horrible, before he composes himself and shakes Edd's hand again, skin still freezing to the touch. "I look forward to living with you, Edd."
Edd nods, and for the next two hours they converse about their own lives. Matt isn't a photographer after all, Edd learns, and isn't even really interested in the art. Matt, apparently, is a nurse who works night shifts at a local hospital. That surprises Edd (guy just didn't look the type to have a medical degree), but he doesn't think much of it. After a while, Edd makes to leave, promising Matt that he'll warn his folks and move in with him by next week. Just as he's leaving the apartment, Edd bumps into one of Matt's neighbors. The guy is much shorter than Edd, almost embarrassingly so, but that's not what catches Edd's attention. No, it's the guy's pitch black eyes. There's no white in them at all- just pure blankness.
"Sup," The guy greets, looking very tired as he takes a swig from a flask in his hand. Edd scrunches up his face at the sight- great, he's got an alcoholic for a new neighbor. "You must be the guy Matt was saying was checking out his place… I'm Tom," He doesn't offer his hand or anything, his black as night eyes locked onto Edd's face. "... See ya." He mutters after a moment, leaving Edd alone as he walks into the apartment next door to Matt's.
Strange. Edd stares at Tom's apartment door for a good few minutes before walking away, feeling like he's just seen a ghost or something. No matter, though. Matt is nice and Edd doesn't have to pay much for rent. And he even gets to bring along Ringo! Edd whistles to himself again in the elevator as he leaves, feeling like this really is a good decision on his part.
…
Edd moves in the next Friday, Matt coming outside to his car to help him unload. Despite the sudden heatwave, Matt is wearing long sleeves and gloves, leaving no skin uncovered except for his face. He keeps an umbrella over his head the whole time while outside, though there hasn't been a single cloud in the sky all day. Maybe he sunburns real easy, Edd thinks. That's not the only thing that throws Edd off, though. Ringo doesn't like Matt one bit, hissing and clawing viciously at the taller man. It's quite surprising, considering the fact that Ringo is the most mild tempered cat that Edd's ever known. Perhaps the move was getting to Ringo, or perhaps he still smells a bit like his old pet dog? (He mentioned an issue with dogs earlier, but Matt never specified who in the complex owned it).
The neighbor Edd met during his last visit to the new apartment- his name is Thomas Ridgewell, according to Matt- watches Matt and Edd work the entire time, walking with them while they move stuff from Edd's trunk all the way into his new room. He doesn't offer any help, nor does he say anything; he just follows Edd and Matt around while he drinks from his flask. It's a little creepy, in Edd's opinion, but whatever. He's probably just curious of his new neighbor… and maybe a bit drunk, but that's still up for debate. At least Matt keeps up a friendly conversation until they're all done.
Once everything is inside, Edd, Matt, and Tom all sit down in the apartment's living room, Matt turning on the TV while they relax after all the heavy lifting. "So, Tom, how about you tell Edd here what you do for a living?" Matt suggests, eyes trained on Tom.
At first, Edd doesn't think Tom will say anything, but the brunet soon sets his flask aside and shrugs at Matt, throwing his arms behind his head as he leans back into the couch. "I'm into music, I mostly just write, but I own a bass." Tom offers up, eyes never leaving Edd. "What's your job, huh? You a magician?"
"Cartoonist," Edd explains, smiling. He tries and succeeds in hiding his confusion from Tom; why on Earth would he think Edd would be a magician anyhow? "It's my dream job."
"Pretty weird job for a- what's with the cat!?" Tom jumps at the sight of Ringo, entire body tensing due to the feline's presence.
"Who, Ringo?" Edd asks, scooping Ringo up from off the floor, holding the kitty out to Tom. "You can pet him if you want; he's really quite friendly."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's real nice to you… not sure if he'd like me..." Tom grumbles, but he settles after a moment, though his eyes never stop staring at Ringo, who stares right back at him.
"At least it's not a dog..." Matt offers, and that makes Tom close his eyes and nod in complete agreement. Edd raises an eyebrow at this. So Tom knows about the dog thing, too. Does everyone in this building have some sort of secret society or something? Edd shushes that thought- of course not, he's just new around here, that's all!
After a few hours of watching movies and chitchatting, Tom leaves, not even bothering to say goodbye on the way out. By that time, Edd and Matt have moved into the kitchen, Matt heating up some pizza for Edd while his new roommate leans on the kitchen's countertop. Edd watches Tom leave before he looks to Matt, appearing concerned. "Is that Tom fellow alright?" He asks, genuinely concerned for his new neighbor. "He seems… out of it."
"Who Tom? Yeah, he's just like that," Matt explains, waving off Tom's behavior as a normal occurrence. "You should listen in when Tord is home; the two of them will scream at each other for hours. He's not so calm and collected then, no sir."
"Tord? Isn't that the guy you mentioned who helped you clean your apartment last week?" Edd questions, scratching his scalp as he tries to remember who's who in the complex.
Matt snaps his fingers, grinning. "Yeah, that's him! Gosh, Tord's a quirky one! You might not see him much; he's usually out for his job or looking around for spare parts for his gadgets. He fixed the doorbell, just so you know!" He gestures to the door to confirm this.
"I see," Edd replies, eyes on the door. It looks like an ordinary door to him; doesn't even look like anyone has dented it before. "So he fixes stuff around the building? That must be handy."
"Oh no no no!" Matt exclaims with a laughing grin. "He doesn't fix everything! Heck, he only fixed the doorbell because every time it rang, it gave Tom a bloody headache!"
"How long have they been living here, if you don't mind me asking?" Edd doesn't mean to press for so much gossip, but he's curious about his new neighbors.
Matt scrunches up his face in thought, concentrating. "Not sure, really. They moved in three, maybe four years ago? It was before Tom had his accident…"
"Accident? Is he okay?" Edd asks, concerned even more now for Tom. Did something really bad happen to him? Perhaps it's the reason why Tom's eyes are black.
Matt goes quiet, refusing to meet Edd's eyes. "Um… ya know, I really ought to not gossip... why not ask Tord, if you ever see him? He knows all about that nonsense… oh, look, your pizza's done!" He's clearly trying to get off topic, focusing on getting Edd's dinner ready for him. "Dinner is served, new roommate!"
Edd chuckles under his breath as Matt makes a big deal out of presenting his plate to him. It sounds like whatever happened to Tom was- is- pretty serious. Oh well. Like Matt said; if Edd ever meets this 'Tord' character in person, he can ask him what's going on himself.
…
He gets his chance two weeks later.
Edd is starting to really like living here. Matt is a pretty sweet roommate- yeah, he's messy, but Edd's dealt with way worse- and he makes for a comforting conversation maker. Tom is also pretty cool, but he's also… strange. He grabs his own head a lot, when he thinks that Edd isn't looking, and he still hasn't offered up a proper explanation for his black eyes. Because of this, Edd is still greatly concerned for Tom's well being. He sort of wonders why no one else is talking about this- perhaps everyone else here is used to it by now. Well, Edd is still concerned, and he figures that finding answers is better than doing nothing at all.
So he starts loitering in the lobby, watching people come and go. During this time, Edd draws comics and people-watches, finding out that just about everyone in this apartment complex acts a little oddly. After a few days, he memorizes the morning schedule; Mark from the thirteenth floor leaves for his job at around six AM, which is when Matt gets home from work; Patryk and Paul from Edd and Matt's floor come back to the complex at around seven AM, and from then on there isn't much else that occurs other than the mailman coming and delivering mail. Edd figures out, after a few mornings of no activity, that the apartment building is most active at night.
That's when everyone's up, and the lobby is bustling with life. Edd manages to find himself a seat most nights while scanning the crowd, trying to find this Tord character. Based off a few thrown out comments from both Matt and Tom, Tord has spiked up brown hair (Sort of like Tom's) and primarily wears a red hoodie. It doesn't take much longer after that until Edd finally meets Tord. He runs into him at around two in the morning, during one of Edd's people watches. He recognizes him right away, unable to miss his spiked up brown hair and… are those horns poking out of his head, or is that gelled up hair? Probably hair, Edd thinks.
"Uh, hey," Edd greets, approaching Tord with a certain level of caution. There's just something unsettling about the stranger to Edd. "My name is Edward Gould, and I just moved in with Matt on the fourteenth floor. You can just call me Edd. It's nice to meet you!" He tries to act as friendly as possible, holding his hand out to Tord for him to shake in greeting.
Tord looks Edd over, eyeing him warily. His eyes are candy red, something that puts Edd a little off, and his canines, at least at this angle, look awfully sharp. "Hey," Tord says it with a sly smile, licking one of his teeth lazily as he reaches out and grabs ahold of Edd's hand, shaking it in a tight grip. "I'm Tord… so you're the wizard Tom mentioned?" He regards Edd's appearance for a moment and his mouth quirks up even more. "Interesting."
Edd pulls his hand away, giving Tord an absolutely baffled look. "Wizard- I'm sorry, but, what?" Wizard? They literally just met, what is he going on about?
"Oh… I get it," Tord assures, narrowing his eyes at Edd. "Do you really not get it yet, knucklehead? You really are stupid," He chuckles, smirking again at Edd. "Tom was right… you haven't hit your potential yet. Not that he understands what that means any better than you do, my friend." He starts to walk away.
"Wait, what the bloody Hell are you talking about?" Edd questions, running after Tord up the stairs. "What potential?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about," Tord promises, before he turns on his heel and stares deeply into Edd's eyes, making the cartoonist shiver with dread. "And also… stop bugging Matt about my roommate's eyes. You wouldn't understand, even if I told you." With that, he heads up the staircase, and when Edd follows him and turns the corner, he's gone.
"... Now that's just freaky," Edd decides, flabbergasted by what he's just gone through. "Something really weird is going on in this place…"
…
Edd hears from Tord the next day- well, he hears him shouting through the wall. When Edd gives Matt a concerned look, the ginger just shrugs and disappears into his bedroom with a glass of what Edd assumes to be some form of red fruit juice. It's not much longer before Edd hears the door to Tom and Tord's apartment open and then slam closed. Before Edd can even react, the front door to his own apartment swings open, and there stands Tom in the doorway. The fellow brunet looks worn out, and there are dark bags under his eyes. He rubs his head with one hand while he uses the other to hold his flask, taking small sips from it as he does so.
"Heya, Edd," Tom greets, voice tired and groggy. "What's up?"
"Nothing much… are you okay, Tom?" Edd asks, watching as Ringo enters the room to greet Tom, purring loudly as he rubs himself against Tom's legs. "What was all that about?"
"Stupid Tord." Tom explains, not bothering to specify what exactly he and Tord had been fighting about beforehand.
Edd considers Tom for a moment, brow furrowing as he looks him over. "... You know, if anything bad is going on, you can let me know." He promises, fearing the worst. Tord hadn't seemed too bad (despite being jeering and cryptic), but… well, anyone can be a bad guy under the surface, right?
Tom's eyes widen at that, before he cracks a smile and actually laughs. "Wait, do you seriously think Tord is… I'm fine, Edd," He says the last part with a great fatigue in his voice, before he yawns, tired. "I'm just… sick. It's nothing you can catch."
Edd softens at that, a deep understanding filling his chest with warmth. "No, I get it, Tom… when I was a kid, I got leukemia, and I was tired all the time. I understand being sick… I'm sorry for bothering you."
"Hey," Tom says, and Edd looks up, surprised by Tom's sudden smile. "You're not bothering me, Edd… you're a good guy." He relaxes into one of the living room's armchairs, passing out instantly, too tired to stay awake any longer.
Edd smiles halfheartedly, putting a throw blanket over Tom before retreating back to his own room. He'll warn Matt on the way to his room about Tom; the poor kid could use the rest.
…
Edd wakes with a start eight hours later, covered in sweat. He sits up, looking around his room to find the source of his fear. He slowly creeps out of bed, bringing his cat Ringo with him as he tiptoes into the living room. He goes still as he hears a thump, and instinctively gets down towards the ground, keeping himself low, in-case the noise is being caused by an intruder. Slowly, Edd continues into the living room, lingering in the doorway as he looks around. Tom is still asleep in the armchair, but now Tord is here (How he got in to begin with, Edd has no idea). Tord stands almost ominously over Tom, before he runs a hand through the smaller man's hair.
Edd smiles at that. Poor Tom and Tord; with Tom's apparent sickness, it must be a very stressful living arrangement, what with all of the pains of his disease plaguing Tom day and night. Carefully, Tord stops petting Tom's hair and, ever so gently, he scoops Tom up from under his legs and under his upper back, holding the smaller man bridal style. Tom murmurs something nonsensical in his sleep, but otherwise he doesn't stir, still weak from whatever he's dealing with. Forgetting that he's supposed to be hiding, Edd stands, and immediately Tord jumps back, Tom in tow, angling Tom to be as far away from Edd as possible.
"Easy, Tord," Edd urges, giving him a sympathetic smile. "He just came here to crash for the night… Tom's fine." He's actually not sure if Tom is 100% okay, but hey, whatever calms Tord down, the better.
Tord considers Edd, blood red eyes squinted into thin slits as he glares at the man, not seeming to trust him. After a moment, Tord nods in acceptance, before heading to the front door. Edd steps forward slowly, opening it for Tord so that he can leave without waking Tom. Tord says nothing in response to this; he just leaves the apartment and, after adjusting Tom in his arms, he steps into his and Tom's apartment. Edd watches the door shut behind them and, after much consideration, Edd closes his own door and goes back to bed. So, Tord and Tom are a couple, are they? Good for them, Edd thinks, happy to know that at least someone is able to look out for Tom.
…
A few days later, Edd and Matt are invited to Tom and Tord's place to watch movies. Edd's extremely excited to go, while Matt keeps acting… peculiar. Edd figures that Matt is just sick or something and doesn't want Tom and Tord to catch it, especially considering how sick Tom is. In the end though, Matt agrees to go to their apartment, albeit he's still nervous beyond measure. When they arrive, the first thing Edd notices is the smell. The front door to the apartment and the general area around it smells like cigarette smoke, pineapples, and something that Edd might associate with the ocean.
Matt's the one to knock on the door, giving Edd a wink before Tord answers the door. "Hey, Tord!" Matt greets, waving at the Norwegian. "You ready for movie night?"
Tord shrugs nonchalantly, eyes trained on Edd. "... Come in," He offers, after a long moment of looking Edd over. "Sorry for the wait, gentlemen. Tom has been feeling especially off, you know?"
"Headaches again?" Matt asks, and when Tord nods, the ginger winces in sympathy. "Poor lad, seems like Tom never gets a break from those."
With a shrug in response from Tord, both Matt and Edd walk into the apartment, looking around curiously at everything. Tord and Tom's apartment isn't much different build-wise than Matt and Edd's, but theirs is differently decorated. Halloween decorations are still up, as if Tom and Tord simply skipped Christmas and the holidays of spring. The furniture is also very different, it appearing more worn and modern than the stuff back home. Tom's sprawled out on the couch when Edd enters, panting like a dog on the sofa as he groans, using a pillow to cover his head and face while he struggles to ignore the throbbing pain in his skull.
"Ey, Edd and Matt are here," Tord warns, giving Tom a light tap on the foot to alert the other brunet of his presence. "You up for watching the movie, friend?"
"Ugh…" Tom moans, rolling over to lie on his side. After a minute, he stirs again, pulling off the pillow to squint at Edd and Matt, an almost predatory look in his- wait, are Tom's eyes starting to move closer to each other? Just when Edd starts to think they are, Tom blinks, shaking his head frantically to rid himself of the headache. "I'm up," He says a second later, though he still doesn't look so good health-wise. "Just give me a minute here…"
"Take your time, buddy," Tord urges, before flashing a smile at Matt and Edd. "You hungry, Edd? I'm guessing Matty here already ate…" He laughs, as if it's an inside joke, and winks at Matt, who freezes up in either shock or discomfort. "Come come, we have much food that you are free to eat, so long as you don't mind meat."
Tord leads Edd and Matt into the kitchen, giving Tom some time to himself to recover from his migraine. Edd lingers, continuously giving Tom concerned looks, but one nod from Tord convinces him to leave the poor kid be. Once in the kitchen, Edd and Matt each seat themselves in stools in front of the counter, watching Tord as he pulls a large bag of jerky down from on top of the refrigerator, setting it down to rest in front of Edd. Hesitantly, Edd reaches his hand into the bag and grabs a few pieces of jerky, nibbling on them dumbly as he listens to Matt and Tord chat about the going-ons in their lives.
"Are Paul and Patryk back from their trip to Canada yet?" Matt asks Tord, leaning onto the counter in an almost tired manner. "They were talking about doing that a little while back…"
Tord nods. "Yes, they just got back a few nights ago," Tord explains, smirking all the while. "They were able to be up north during the full moon… they sent me many postcards, yes."
Matt smiles brightly in agreement. "How exciting! And how are they now? Still loitering in your and Tom's place?"
Tord laughs outright, even though Edd doesn't think Matt said anything funny. Maybe it's an inside joke or something, Edd thinks. "Naw, they don't come around as often as one might believe; poor Tommy is still mad about what happened to his dog!"
Both Matt and Tord laugh now, and it just confuses Edd even more. What is going on with this dog story that everyone seems to know about!? "Hey, I have plenty reason to be pissed," Tom shouts angrily from the living room, still lying down on the couch, though he appears a bit better now. "They chased my freaking dog out with all their-" He stops himself, eyes widening as he looks at Edd, as if only just remembering that he's over, too. "... I'm still mad at them." Is all he adds, not saying anything more as he looks away from Edd, a strawberry colored blush covering his cheeks.
"Well, it seems like Mr. Grumpy Pants is feeling better now," Tord comments, turning his attention to both Matt and Edd. "So, you're ready to watch this movie, yes?"
…
During the movie, Edd feels Matt put a hand on his knee, squeezing it once as they watch the horror film. Matt doesn't go for more, but he doesn't pull away either. Edd leans back into the couch, letting the darkness of the room hide his smile from Matt and the others.
…
"Edd," Matt says the cartoonist's name casually as he rolls more green paint on the wall. The two roommates have been painting Edd's room green for the last couple hours, leisurely taking their time to cover all the walls. Matt sets his hand on his hip, paint roller in one hand and eyes on Edd. "Can I ask you something weird?"
Edd blinks, looking up from the new can of paint he's been trying to crack open. "Uh, sure. What's up Matt?"
"It's just… Do you believe in the supernatural?" Matt questions, a slight glimmer in his eyes at the thought of such things.
"What, like, ghosts and stuff?" Edd questions, giving up on opening the can and sliding it over to his friend. "I mean, I guess so? I've always been an optimist. My gran-gran used to go on about that kind of thing when I was little," He chuckled at the memories. "She made up all these stories about wizards, magic, and the things that go bump in the night."
Matt looks at him oddly, as though he said something that made a lot of sense to the taller man. "So it is hereditary…" He mumbles just loud enough that Edd can barely make out the words.
Edd quirks his brow in confusion, but before he can say anything, Matt leans down and pops the stubborn lid off the paint can effortlessly. "Thanks!" The brunet pours it out on the paint tray between them, getting a fair amount onto his roller.
The redhead hums, also getting back to painting. "This really is a good color for you, Edd," He says, making sure to focus on his work as he speaks. "It really compliments your eyes.
Edd tries not to show his slight blush.
…
"Hey, Edd, you got a second?" Matt asks, poking his head into Edd's room. "I need you to do me a favor."
Edd squints his eyes open at Matt, having been listening to music in bed before Matt interrupted. "For the last time, Matt, I don't care how much you hate doing it, I'm not doing the bloody dishes this time!"
Matt blushes, looking away at that. "Oh, no no no! It's nothing like that… can you maybe go with Tom when he goes shopping today? Tord would normally do it, but he's busy visiting some old friends in Hel- er, I mean, out of town!" He mumbles the last part, as if he's slipped up and said something he isn't supposed to.
"Wait… why does Tom need someone to go shopping with him?" Edd questions, confusion written on his face as Ringo licks it clean, the cartoonist squirming at the feeling of the cat's scratchy tongue on his cheek.
Matt chuckles at Edd's squirming, before composing himself. "Tom has… 'issues'," He wrings his hands as he says this, troubled by the looks of it. "He can't go out in public by himself. Like I said, usually Tord goes, but he can't today, and I've got work to do here. Do you think you can go with him to the store? It should only take an hour or two at the most…"
Edd hums to himself, before nodding his head in acceptance. "Sure," He agrees, picking up Ringo so he can sit up and get some socks on. "Just give me a few minutes to get my shoes on."
"Good," Matt sighs it out, like Edd is lifting a weight from his shoulders. "You're the best, Edd. I'll go let Tom know you're gonna take him." He then leaves, allowing Edd to get dressed.
Edd dresses quickly, throwing on one of his favorite green hoodies and his shoes before he leaves the room. He gives Ringo a pet goodbye before he leaves the apartment, the cat having followed him all the way to the front door. When Edd steps outside, he's immediately greeted by the sight of Matt setting his hand on Tom's shoulder, as if steadying him. Tom, for once in his life, is without his flask, this time holding a water bottle with some type of green, icky substance inside. He keeps taking sips from it, almost sucking on the mouthpiece of the bottle. Perhaps he has an oral fixation? Edd wouldn't put it past him.
"Sup," Tom greets, giving Edd a half-assed wave as he just stands there, appearing to be bored out of his skull. "So you're babysitting me or whatever? I don't play well with others…" He smirks, internally laughing at his own joke, before he composes himself. "But seriously, don't treat me like a kid, got it? I'm a fully grown man."
"You two have fun, and be careful!" Matt orders. Just as Edd and Tom start to walk away, Matt stops them, holding out an EpiPen to Edd. "Here; just in-case Tom has an… 'allergic' reaction." He may as well be making air quotations when he says the word 'allergic'.
"Allergic reaction? What's Tom allergic to?" Edd figures that it must be a common allergy, like peanuts or bees.
"Um… nuclear radiation?" Matt offers, and Edd hears Tom facepalm behind him, groaning, as if Matt has just said the dumbest thing imaginable.
Edd raises an eyebrow, giving Matt an unconvinced look. "Isn't everyone kinda allergic to radiation? It's… sorta deadly."
Matt shrugs, visibly sweating. "Well, um, uh, Tom's just MORE allergic than most people!" He explains, slowly backing up into his and Edd's apartment. "Youtwohavefunbye!" His words are a garbled mess as he slams the door on Edd and Tom, not giving either of them time to further question Matt's reasoning for the EpiPen.
Slowly, Edd pockets the Pen. Better safe than sorry, and all that. He then smiles at Tom, making the other brunet glare at him in spite. "Ready to go?" Edd asks, tone hopeful.
Tom rolls his eyes- or at least, he seems to- and nods, though he doesn't look too happy about it. "Yeah, whatever… let's get this over with." With that, he leads the way to the elevator and out of the building, Edd right beside him the entire time.
…
The shopping gets done quickly, though Edd notices that Tom is on edge the whole time, practically burying his face in his hoodie in an attempt to hide from people's staring eyes, all of them double-taking at Tom's pitch black eyes. Edd understands that sort of discomfort; when he'd had leukemia, people had stared endlessly at his bald head, to the point that Edd had hidden himself from society for the most part during his treatments. Maybe that's why Tom needs an escort for something as simple as going to the grocery store? It makes Edd feel even worse for Tom, but he doesn't voice it; he obviously detests pity.
On the walk home, Tom practically drags Edd into a pet store, not saying a word as he forces the fellow brunet inside. Taking responsibility, Edd takes the lead once they're inside, hoping to just buy some cat food for Ringo and then leave. It's not that he doesn't like pet stores, it's just that if he stays and happens to go near the rescued pets section, he's going to end up going home with twenty more cats. It's not until Edd's found the cat food that Ringo likes that he realizes that Tom is gone. Edd looks up and down the aisle frantically, trying to find the spiky haired punk, but it's no use. Tom's vanished.
Edd can already feel himself panicking- Tord will destroy him, Tom will have an allergic reaction and die, and Matt… well, he'll probably be mad, too, but not nearly as mad as Tord will be. Getting himself together as best he can, Edd dashes through the store's aisles, desperate to find Tom, but he's nowhere to be found. Desperate, Edd searches the rescued animal shelter at the back of the store, hoping that Tom might be in there. As if by magic, Edd finds Tom in the cat section of the miniature shelter, poking his fingers through the cage at a group of small kittens that can't be more than ten weeks old.
The cartoonist watches with great interest, leaning on the doorway as he observes. Edd has never, in the one and a half months he's been living with Matt, seen Tom look so positively happy. Tom grins without timidness at the felines, reaching his bony hand through the bars to pet at one of the kittens. The cat mews, and Tom practically melts at the noise, giggling under his breath as the kitten attacks his hand, not seeming to mind as the cat digs it's tiny fangs into his palm. Edd smiles at the sight, letting out a loose laugh. Unfortunately, Tom hears him. Flinching hard, Tom yanks his hand out of the cage, turning to Edd with a surprised look on his face.
"H-Hey, Edd!" Tom says, and now Edd can see how off-kilter he is to be caught in this position, to be seen acting so positively joyful. "W-We should be heading back home, huh?"
Edd feels tempted to bring up what Tom was doing before, but out courtesy, he resists. Instead, he gives Tom a simple nod and offers him his hand to help him get up. Tom considers Edd's hand, before giving him a half-smile and shaking his head 'no'. Out of respect, Edd nods back and puts his hand in his hoodie pocket. They don't say anything to each other on the way home, but despite this… Edd has a feeling that Tom is living a facade. He's not nearly as open as Matt or Edd, but then again, he has a guy like Tord for a roommate and very likely for a boyfriend. Edd supposes that he can't blame the poor kid for being soleum.
Tom is silent all the way home, yet Edd feels and hears an odd, vibration-like sound emitting from where Tom's walking, it being something akin to a cat's purr. Weird, Edd thinks. He hadn't seen any motorcycles on the way home…
It's probably just another weird coincidence… right?
...
"So how was shopping with Tom?" Matt asks that night, sitting on one of the kitchen stools while Edd cooks himself and Matt dinner. "Was he alright?"
Edd nods, smiling at Matt. "Oh yeah. Tom and I had a great time," He explains, stirring gravy into chunks of steak in a pot. "He was really quiet when we started, but he warmed up to me once we reached the end… makes me wonder how he's any different from anyone else."
Matt sighs, nodding in defeat at this. "It's not easy for him, Edd. Heck, I'm surprised he even said a word to you! Poor lad suffers from… er…" He tries to find the words, looking anywhere but at Edd. "He has a panic disorder," He finally decides, hoping that Edd will believe him. "I'm not entirely sure how bad it is, but he can go noncommutative sometimes."
"That's awful… was it trauma induced?" Edd doesn't want to believe that it's trauma, but in all honesty, there's a good chance it could be."
"I'd… rather not say," Matt admits, appearing sheepish in front of Edd. "Hey, how's dinner going?"
"What? Oh, crap!" Edd panics as he tries to save the gravy, stirring it quickly. He winces at the encrusted, burnt material at the bottom of the pot. "Dammit… dishes are gonna be brutal… sorry, Matt." He gives Matt a nervous look out of embarrassment.
"Oh, nothing a little soap and water won't fix!" Matt promises, waving off Edd's worry in a nonchalant fashion. "Don't trouble yourself about it, Edd. Accidents happen." He smiles comfortingly at Edd, willing his sadness away.
Something in Matt's eyes seem to flicker, and just as Edd feels himself relaxing, Ringo hops onto the counter in-between them and glares at Matt, hissing in a low tone as the feline rubs himself against Edd. Edd sighs, turning off the stove as he finishes while simultaneously scooping up Ringo and setting him on the floor. Ringo objects greatly to this, but after a small smile from Edd, the cat settles for just eavesdropping on the couch, watching Matt with a predatory look in his eyes. Matt and Edd quickly set the counter up for dinner, and sitting across from each other, they dig in.
"I hope you don't mind steak and gravy," Edd says, chowing down like his life depends on it. His mom has always said that he's a messy eater. "It's my gran-gran's recipe!"
"Slow down, Edd! You're going to choke," Matt warns, but he's laughing anyway, which is kinda weird in Edd's opinion. Usually people take their food elsewhere or tell him to keep quiet until he's finished, but Matt… he doesn't even seem too bothered by Edd's eating habits. "It's not like the food won't be there in a few minutes… I'd rather NOT call the police about my roommate choking on his meal just because he was too impatient to wait."
Edd laughs- thankfully without food in his mouth- and grins unabashedly at Matt. "It's not my fault that I'm so hungry!"
"Um, yes, actually, it is," Matt corrects, smirking triumphantly at Edd when he looks away, embarrassed again. "You need to remember to eat more when you're drawing your comics out, Edd. We can't have you starving yourself, now can we?"
"I suppose we can't," Edd agrees, finishing off his dinner quickly. He refrains from licking the plate, if only to avoid testing Matt's patience. "Movie? Maybe even Tord and Tom can join in!"
Matt grins, nodding his head in agreement. "Sure. That sounds wonderful."
…
"Matt, your room is a bloody mess!" Edd complains, tripping over yet another one of the ginger's random knickknacks. "I swear, my mother would throw a fit if she saw this place! You're lucky she doesn't like this building…"
"I'll do it later!" Matt whines, not even looking up from his magazine.
Edd groans, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Whatever. But I swear to Christ, if I step on a Lego in here, not even Tord will find the body."
…
"Hey, Edd?" Matt asks, a few nights later. He's not meeting Edd's eyes.
"Yeah?" Edd looks up from his phone while sprawled out on his bed, confused.
Matt starts to turn away, ducking his head in embarrassment, although, Edd has no idea what he's embarrassed about. "Oh, um, nothing. Never mind."
...
A few days later, Edd finds himself lounging on the sofa, feet and head propped up on its arms. Ringo's in his lap, and his eyes are focused on the TV. He's busy channel surfing, trying to find something to watch until Matt gets home so that the two of them can eat breakfast together.
"Ughhhh," Edd groans in exasperation at the garbage on TV. The most interesting thing on right now are the bloody commercials. Edd relents after some time to just turning the damned thing off. With nothing else to do, he focuses his attention on petting his cat. Ringo purrs happily at the attention, tilting his head into Edd's palms.
The two sit like that for quite some time, until a few rapid knocks sound from the apartment door. Ringo hisses in anger and launches off Edd's lap ("Ow, Ringo, why?") and starts tearing around the apartment like a wild animal. Edd begins to rise from his spot on the couch, but before he can haul himself up, the door opens on its own, Tord standing proud as ever in the doorway.
"Edd, how good it is to see you!" The tall Norwegian laughs as he lets himself in. "Didn't expect to see you awake this early."
The cartoonist goes to stand up, eyes fixed on the open door, but Tord slumps himself over the couch, legs across Edd's lap, blocking him from standing. He glares at Tord out of the corner of his eye, eyebrows raised as if saying 'really?'.
Tord acts surprised at the look Edd is throwing at him. "My friend, what is such a look for?" He glances to the gaping doorway. "Oh, pfft, you're upset I didn't close the door on my way in?" The way he talks, it makes him sound like he's talking to a child. "Don't worry, things like this have a way of fixing themselves around here."
As soon as Edd glances away from the door to shoot Tord a confused look, it slams shut, making Edd jump. Tord laughs obnoxiously, kicking his feet as he does so (which hits Edd, and again, ow).
"Can I ask why you're here?" Edd grumbles, attempting to shift Tord's feet off his legs, but the taller man uses his leverage to hold them in place. Edd huffs.
"Matt's coming home from work soon, right? He was supposed to look into something for me at the clinic, and I need to make sure he's taking care of it." Tord lets out a long, exaggerated sigh.
Edd gives up trying to remove the bony legs on top of him, instead deciding to put his elbow on Tord's knee and use his arm to prop up his head. "Is everything okay?"
Tord chuckles and wiggles his knee, making Edd's head fall ("Stop bullying, you jerk!") before replying. "Ehh, Tom's meds might not be working as well as they ought to be, but it's nothing to worry about."
Despite saying there's no need to worry, Edd can't help but crease his brow with concern. He was always told he was a chronic worrier growing up, always putting friends ahead of himself. Tord must notice the distressed expression, because he tuts.
"What did I literally just say, eh?" He studies the cartoonist's face for a moment. "You look tired, did you even go to sleep today?"
"Well..." Edd leaves it at that. He hadn't slept in quite a while, now that he thinks about it, but not because of anything bad! He began a bit of work on his latest job when Matt headed out to work, and by the time he looked up it was almost time for Matt to come back home, so he just didn't see a point in going to bed (ignoring that the previous night, he pretty much did the same thing, and has gotten less than six hours in three days).
Tord tuts again. "You look like you haven't slept in years," Edd just shrugs, but Tord shakes his head back. "I can see the bags under your eyes from here. Edd, buddy, you have to relax," Tord leans back into the couch, waving his arm about as he speaks. "Humans need their sleep, so just take it easy for a few hours."
As Tord speaks, Edd swears he sees his eyes glow a bright red. It sends a wave of uneasiness down his back, but with each word Tord says, Edd's fatigue weighs down his whole body, making him feel like he's sinking into the cushions. Tired, he lets his head hit the back of the couch, and he begins to fall asleep.
At that moment, though, Ringo meows loudly, causing Edd to snap his head forward with a start. "Ah, Sorry, I almost fell asleep there." He shoots Tord a sheepish look.
Tord glares at Ringo. "Don't stress it."
Edd nods, looking confused between the cat and the Norwegian man. "I guess I forgot to feed Ringo earlier." He excuses himself and Tord pulls his legs away, tucking them into his hoodie.
The cartoonist returns after filling his pet's bowl, only to find Ringo in his seat, Tord scowling at him fiercely. The cartoonist laughs, picks up the cat, and sits back down with Ringo in his lap. The three sit together like that for all of two minutes before Tord gets antsy, fidgeting on his end of the couch. "What kind of cat is that?" He demands, red eyes never leaving the feline.
"Uh," Edd looks hard at Ringo for a second before shrugging. "Not sure, actually; he was given to me by my gran-gran." He strokes his cat's chin and a few moments pass before Tord speaks up again.
"Why are you even up this early anyway?" Tord questions, standing up after pulling his legs out of his hoodie and walking over to the fridge to help himself to a cola. He sits back down on the couch by kind of just falling back onto it, bouncing for a moment, and then cracking the can open after he's settled.
Edd shrugs, averting the Norwegian's gaze. "I mean, I'm usually up this early? Matt and I always eat breakfast together." Tord's eyes light up at this.
"Matt actually eats with you?" He smirks at the thought. "Sorry, that just strikes me as a little odd! He's never really been a, ah, food kind of guy, you see." Tord laughs at some kind of private joke. Not a food kind of guy? Edd's eyebrows come together in confusion.
"Do you mean he normally, like," No, he still has no idea. Edd is sure he's the picture of perplexed, especially since Tord just keeps laughing. Edd blushes, embarrassed at what is probably an obvious answer. "Does he just, like, drink protein shakes?"
Tord lets out an ugly snort as he takes a sip from his coke. "Yeah, you could say that he's on an 'all liquid diet,'" He grins devilishly as he makes air quotations at Edd, further confusing the cartoonist. "He still eats regular food sometimes, but it doesn't do much for him like his drinks do."
Edd gives the man on the other end of the couch a sidelong glance before avoiding his look by giving Ringo some more attention. What did Tord even mean by what he was saying? Matt did say that Tord is a quirky guy, but every time Edd talks to him he ends up feeling weirded out. The wizard thing when they first met, how he talks about Tom's ailment, and now Matt's diet... It could just be Tord trying to get a rise out of him, since he is definitely the kind of guy who pokes fun at others. Although... he glances at Tord, who stares back at him with his too red eyes and smiles.
He can't help but think Tord is somewhat genuine with what he says. All of what he says feels like there's a grain of truth in there somewhere. This just makes Edd even more uneasy. He searches his brain for another topic to talk and think about, hoping to avoid anybody else's odd habits.
"Hey, uh, Tord?" Edd swallows nervously, his mouth just kind of moving on its own. "Can I ask you something kinda weird?"
The Norwegian narrows his eyes suspiciously. "If you're gonna ask about how not everyone is allergic to radiation again, friend, I'll murder you." Tord deadpans, leering at Edd impatiently.
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that!" Edd assures, nervous as he plays with the fur at the end of Ringo's tail. "It's just…" He groans in embarrassment; this topic is hardly better than the last one. "How do you tell if someone likes you?"
Tord's mouth opens in awe at that, the Cola that had been in his mouth simply dripping out. At least he hadn't choked on it. He wipes his mouth on his hoodie's sleeve. "Are you asking me if I have a crush on you, Edd?" He asks, voice sly as he grins wickedly at the cartoonist beside him. "How very bold."
"What? No! I mean, not that you're not a nice guy, it's just…" Edd goes red as an apple, causing Tord to cackle like a hyena, entertained by Edd's self-induced embarrassment. "Look, I'll just say it outright- do you think that Matt and I could ever be… well, what you and Tom are."
"You mean two assholes stuck under one roof screaming at each other? I'm surprised you haven't killed him yet; that Matt is the messiest man I have ever met!" Tord exclaims. Suddenly, though, it seems to click, and he absolutely loses it laughing. "You! You honestly believe that Tom and I are a couple, yes? Friend, you are sadly mistaken! It is true that at one point in time, I did fancy Tom quite a bit, and he indeed fancied me in return, but things became… explosive," He laughs, but it seems uncomfortable or forced, like the joke isn't actually very funny. Tord recovers quickly, though, back to his usual smirk. "Ha ha ha! I wish you could have been there, Edd. You would have so very much loved to see Tom so lovey-dovey with me!"
"Wow. So I guess I've been wrong for more than a month now…" Edd mutters, amazed. "I just thought you weren't into PDA… but back to my question, Tord. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Matt and I could be a thing? Like, a couple?"
After Tord calms down from his laughter, he looks Edd over, taking in everything about him. He smiles then, a mirthful look in his eyes. "I think you two could work. You are both fairly kind 'people'," He says 'people' with so much sarcasm that Edd just straight up ignores him. "I suppose if you asked, he would say yes. Hell, I believe he would drop 'em right there for you, my friend."
Edd blushes, looking away. "Yeah, I kinda hope he doesn't do that…" He pauses though, going even redder at the thought. Tord takes a sip from his coke as he chuckles to himself, Edd's blushing just egging him on further.
Just then, a faint jingling of keys is heard outside, causing Edd to jump and Tord to snort, the Brit turning to pet his cat like he's busy and the Norwegian looking expectantly between the door and the other man on the couch. Edd just hoped with all his might that Tord had the decency to keep quiet about his crush to his crush, but there was only so much hoping could do.
Matt pushes the door open slowly, poking his head in to examine the room before stepping over the threshold. He looks to the two on the couch with surprise. "Oh, good morning Edd and... Tord."
"Speak of the devil!" Tord proclaims, holding one arm up in greeting to Matt, staring only at Edd's quickly reddening face as he speaks. "We were just talking about you, Matt, how was work, how was your day?" He smiles toothily with every word.
Despite the look of confusion on his face, Matt still manages to smile brightly. "Er, work was good, thank you." He walks into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He makes his way to the kitchen, dropping his medical bag on the coffee table as he goes, but stopping at the refrigerator with his cooler bag. He begins putting marked containers and bags in the fridge as he speaks. "What brings you here so early, Tord?"
Tord saunters over to sit on the counter-top when he speaks with Matt, Edd quickly following him to make sure the taller man doesn't say anything to embarrass him more than he already has. "I was hoping you got what I asked you to fetch the other day," he begins, raising his eyebrows and looking down his nose at Matt's confused expression. "You know, that thing for Tom."
"Oh!" Matt exclaims, reaching into his bag. It takes him a moment to fish it out, but soon he presents a palm sized, green container, marked with quite a few colorful labels. Tord reaches for it with a grin.
"Thanks so much, Matt!" He pockets the container in his hoodie. "I'm sure this will help Tom out a lot," He hops off the counter, stretching his arms above his head, sighing as his shoulders pop. "Ahh, but I should be heading home."
Edd sighs in relief, but Tord smirks and his stomach flips. The taller man gets really close to Edd's ear, as if to whisper, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth from Matt, but he speaks in a voice loud enough for the redhead to hear. "When you're rubbing one out, keep your voice down, okay friend?" Edd's face flushes bright red as he looks to the floor in embarrassment. "Stupid Tom is already loud enough when I am trying to sleep- I do not need you and Matt to be encouraging him!"
When he finally turns away, he chuckles, slapping Edd's ass as he passes by, causing the cartoonist to yelp in surprise. The Norwegian laughs the whole way to the door, slamming it shut with one final cackle.
Edd is sure he looks like a fucking strawberry at this point, and he kind of wouldn't mind if the floor just decided to swallow him up at this point. He clears his throat. "Ah, sorry, Matt," He begins. "Tord is just… yeah."
But when he looks at Matt's face it's not what he expected. He expected disgusted, or uncomfortable, or even laughing at him, but... He almost looks a little... Happy? In a way? Maybe more like content. It's hard for Edd to tell since as soon as Edd looks into Matt's eyes, the taller man turns away, red faced and smiling nervously.
"It's fine, Edd. I get how Tord can be," He turns back to the fridge and shifts some things around, making room for the last few containers. "He can get carried away, especially when he thinks something is funny." Edd nods, though still unsure.
"If what Tord said made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry," He stammers, looking back at his feet. "I-" But he's cut off by Matt standing up and wrapping his arms around him. His breath catches in his throat and his hands twitch, not knowing where to go. Matt pulls away, but keeps a hand on Edd's shoulder.
"It really is okay, Edd. I've known Tord for a while; he does a lot of stuff just to bug people or egg them on," He gives his roommate a bright smile, which Edd returns, although more shyly. Matt turns back to finish putting his things away, speaking without looking at Edd. "What were you and Tord talking about, anyway?"
Edd's face gets red again and he stutters, "Uh, we, uh," Matt turns to look at him with innocent eyes. Edd steadies himself before he speaks. "Not much, honestly. I wasn't aware you were on an all liquid diet; I'm sorry I always insist on making meals you can't eat."
Matt freezes. "Er," He swallows, adam's apple bobbing as he does so. "Come again, mate?"
The shorter man's brow creases with confusion. "Tord said that you've been sticking to an all liquid diet with, like, protein shakes or something," He looks away from Matt, staring at the ground between them in thought. "To be quite fair, he's been fucking with me all morning, so he could have just been pulling my leg or something."
A small shrug from Matt as he deposits the last bag in the fridge. He turns to face Edd, leaning back on the now stocked refrigerator. "He's not completely wrong, but I can eat other stuff just fine," He scrunches his nose and shoots a shifty look Edd's way. "So long as there's no garlic in it, I mean." Edd looks sheepish at the statement.
"I bought some one time," He laughs, putting his hands comfortably in his hoodie pocket. "I didn't even have the chance to put it in anything before you threw a fit about it."
Matt huffs, though his smirk exposes his playful mood. "You put it in the fridge!" He exclaims, stepping away from and pointing at the aforementioned object. "The whole thing smelt like that foul plant for weeks, and I could hardly use everything I had in there for my, er," A small pause before he brings the hand he was pointing with up to scratch the back of his neck. "Protein shakes?" He tries, and Edd shrugs.
"Are you asking me? I don't know what you put in your drinks," Edd full on laughs, shoulders coming up and down as he does so. He doesn't miss the wholesome grin on Matt's face when he speaks again, "C'mon let's get some breakfast; I'm starving." He turns away, before looking over his shoulder to add: "Sorry, unless you were planning on just scraping your meal onto the floor for Ringo while you drink some glorified vitamin juice."
It's Matt's turn to full on laugh, and when Ringo meows at hearing his name, Edd and Matt explode into another fit of giggles.
Maybe Tord was right, Edd thinks with a bit of hope. Maybe he and Matt could work.
…
It's mid-July in London, and Edd can't seem to escape the heatwave that's plaguing the city. The air conditioning in the building is busted- something about the janitor finding a bunch of dead animals in one of the vents? How the heck does that even happen!?- so now everyone and their mothers are dying in the heat. Edd is without his hoodie, sprawled out on the sofa, wearing nothing but a pair of thin boxers and his 'SMEG HEAD' T-shirt. Ringo lies beside him on the furniture, panting heavily in the heat. It's a lazy day today, and Edd can't bring himself to do anything about it; the sun outside is just too much right now.
Just as Edd feels himself slipping into dreamland, something thin that's made of paper smacks him square in the face. Usually, Edd would scream and jump in surprise, but he's too worn out to really react. After a moment of silence, he reaches one hand up and grabs the papers, squinting at them as he pulls them away from his face a bit so he can read them properly. 'ADMIT ONE ADULT', they each say in colorful writing, making Edd squint harder in confusion. He finally puts the papers aside, looking up to see Matt leaning over the back of the couch, a wide, almost demented grin on his face. Ringo hisses at Matt, before running off.
"Heya, sleepyhead," Matt greets, looking unimaginably happy. "How are you doing? The heat getting to you, too?"
"Mph," Edd groans, holding the papers up to Matt. "What's with these?" He slurs out, feeling so tired that he's almost convinced that he's drunk… then again, he's not Tom.
Matt chuckles, taking the papers from Edd, only to wave them obnoxiously in his face. "They're tickets, silly!" He teases, as if it's obvious. "I was thinking, what, with the weather and all, that you might fancy a night out at the carnival!"
"... Night out? To a carnival?" Edd questions, flabbergasted. What carnival would ever be open at night? As far Edd has ever known, carnivals are only held during the daytime.
"We're going to a special one," Matt explains, a look of pure joy in his eyes. "Oh, you'll love it, Edd! There are rides and games and shows!"
Edd laughs at Matt's excitement, unable to resist the urge. "Heheh… when do you want to go?"
Matt's eyes widen, before he looks ready to explode with happiness. He almost looks like he hadn't expected Edd to come along. "Tonight, at about nine!" Matt confirms, pocketing the tickets in his hoodie. "You should sleep until then; we'll be up all night! But don't worry, I'll wake you when it's time to get ready." He promises, before ruffling Edd's hair and leaving him in peace.
Edd smiles, lying back down on the couch. He hasn't been to a carnival since he was in grade school; this should be very exciting! He falls asleep quickly, dreams brimming with fantasies of what his night will be like.
…
"How do I look?" Matt asks, a laughing tone to his voice as he steps out of his room, Edd waiting outside the door for him.
Edd squints his eyes, feining judgement at Matt's standard purple hoodie with green overcoat combo. "You know, that overcoat really does NOT go with your jeans…"
Matt's eyes widen in the most hysterical way. "Wait, really!?" He begs to know, fumbling to throw off his overcoat. "I can't be seen like this!"
Edd laughs outright, shaking his head. "Matt, I'm kidding. You look as perfect as always," He blushes, suddenly realizing what he's just said. He coughs into his fist, averting his eyes from Matt. "Um… we should get going." He points out, changing the subject.
"Good call," Matt replies, but Edd knows that he caught what he said. "Come along, mate," He says, smiling willfully at Edd and his blushing face. "The carnival isn't going to enjoy itself!"
They walk to the carnival, even though it's quite a few blocks away. It's nice out tonight, with just the right amount of coolness weathering the city of London. Edd sighs in contentment, favoring the cold weather to the overbearing heat from this morning. The walk to the carnival is quiet, with the only sound coming from city traffic and the lull of evening bugs taking to the skies. Once they reach the carnival, Edd's eyes widen in amazement, astonished by the sheer size of the fair. It's a big one, with lots of flashing lights and rides as far as the eye can see. Matt elbows Edd playfully, winking at the brunet, and Edd gives him a grin in return.
"The entrance is right over here," Matt explains, leading Edd to the carnival's front gates. "I think I should warn you now before we go in; a lot of people here like to dress up. I hope you don't mind too much. The owners of this carnival are just… old fashioned."
"Oh, that's fine. I've been to weirder places!" Edd promises, waving it off as nothing. Costumes, huh? That shouldn't be an issue.
"Good. Because, once we get in there…" Matt trails off, before shaking his head, smiling at Edd in a hopeful manner. "Let's just go in."
Together, Matt and Edd enter, and now Edd thinks he understands why Matt was so worried. Everywhere Edd looks, people are dressed as monsters and creatures of the night- from vampires, to werewolves, to demons- heck, there are even little kids running around dressed as little monsters! Edd laughs under his breath at the sight, grinning all the while. A carnival like this seems more suited for Halloween, in his opinion, but who is he to judge? Now he almost wishes he had brought his old wizard cloak… of course, that old thing would be too small on him nowadays- his gran-gran had made it for him when he was, like, eight years old.
"Want to ride anything?" Matt asks, popping Edd out of his imagination. "They've got a few roller-coasters and merry-go-rounds, but the games are by far the most fun… you know, besides the big show later."
"Hm… I suppose one roller-coaster ride couldn't hurt," Edd mutters, looking around until he spots a medium sized one. He points at it, catching Matt's attention towards it. "How about that one over there? It seems a little less scary than the bigger ones…"
"Good choice. Whenever I bring Tord and Tom here, they make me ride the really big ones!" Matt explains, shivering at a bad memory of one such occasion.
"We don't have to go on any roller-coasters if you don't want to. I'm fine doing something else." Edd assures, not wanting to scare the living Hell out of Matt.
Matt shakes his head, laughing it off. "Oh, no no no! I'll be fine, mate!" He promises, ruffling Edd's hair in appreciation. "Come on; this will be fun!"
...
It actually is pretty fun. Edd's always enjoyed roller-coasters, so long as they're stable. Matt clutches him the whole time, and despite himself, Edd finds that it makes the ride that much more enjoyable. Once they get off, Matt shakes his head like a dog- are his eyes glowing? What, no, it must've been Edd's imagination, because the shine is gone a split second later.
"You hungry?" Matt finally asks, after regaining his balance. "I know which carts sell the best food here… at least, the best food you would enjoy. You look like a Magic Mike's elephant ears sort of fellow to me!"
With great enthusiasm, Matt drags Edd to a cart labeled 'Magic Mike's Circus Grub'. He rings a little bell on the cart's counter, and a man wearing a wizard's outfit looks up from his book on the other side of the cart, eyes widening when he sees Edd and Matt. "Why, hello Mathew!" The stranger greets, smiling broadly at Matt in particular. He then looks at Edd, brow furrowing. "And who is this?"
"Hi," Edd mumbles, feeling like he's barging into Matt and this guy's conversation, even though only the stranger has talked thus far. "I'm Edd… Matt's roommate."
"We just need one elephant ear and a 'Red Slushie'," Matt winks at the stranger for the last order, smirking at him. "Extra 'Juice' please with that drink."
"Coming right up!" The stranger assures, and soon enough, he's handing a red slushie and an elephant ear to Matt and Edd. "You two enjoy those now. And stay safe! You never know what creatures are lurking in the darkness…" He let's out a dark chuckle, waving Matt and Edd off.
Edd watches the guy as he and Matt leave, looking slightly concerned. "Well he seemed… nice." He mutters, feeling uncomfortable for some reason unknown to him.
Matt shrugs, smiling all the while. "That's just Mike; he's here every year," He explains, before he goes stock still, eyes widening in amazement. "*Gasp* A CYMBAL PLAYING MONKEY!?" He takes off into a crowd of people, leaving Edd behind.
"Matt! Ugh…" Edd groans, shaking his head in astonishment. Fucking Matt…
Without a second thought, Edd takes off after Matt, but the ginger sure did make it look easier than it actually is. Everywhere Edd moves, there are costume-wearing strangers surrounding him, some staring at him unabashedly. Edd hurries past them, trying to find his roommate in all of the chaos. Eventually, Edd pops up on the other side of the crowd, breathing hard as he looks around, absentmindedly nibbling on his elephant ear. Edd finds Matt rather quickly, now that he's out of the crowd- the tall ginger is parked in front of a crane machine, trying and failing to grab ahold of a cymbal playing monkey inside.
Edd chuckles, heading over with a wide smile. "You having fun there?"
Matt shoots Edd a mild glare, obviously not amused. "No! It's rigged I tell you- RIGGED!" He throws his hands up in irritation, frustrated with the machine.
"Here; let me try," Edd urges, moving Matt out of the way so that he can play. "I'll show you a neat trick my cousin showed me… I'm not sure why it always works, but it does," He takes out two carnival tokens, giving the head sides of them each five rubs in total, before he pops them into the machine. As if by magic, this time, the crane catches the monkey. "See? It's just an old trick."
Matt grins, practically hopping up and down as Edd gives him the monkey toy, the ginger looking more excited than a child in a toy store. "That's a crazy trick," He comments after calming down a bit, a wicked glimmer in his eyes. "It's almost as if you used magic…"
Edd blushes, looking away as he scratches the back of his head. "I guess so," He mumbles, embarrassed to be getting such attention. "So… you were talking about carnival games earlier?"
Matt's face lights up at that, the ginger grabbing Edd's hand as he leads him towards the nearest game stand. "Oh, yes! The games here are SUPER!" He promises, an almost unnatural glee in every step he takes.
Edd goes red as an apple, amazed that Matt is holding his hand right now. He doesn't pull away, even when they reach the stand- then again, he doesn't want to. However, Matt does, as expected, need his hand back to play the game. Once he lets go, Edd actually looks up to see what game it is; it's one of those 'knock over the three cans' games. Edd mentally slaps himself in the face; these games are rigged beyond reason. He turns, ready to warn Matt of this fact, but Matt is already throwing the ball, and by some miracle it actually knocks all of the cans over, shocking Edd into silence.
"WINNER!" The carnival barker behind the counter shouts, grinning at Matt. "Which prize would the lucky gentleman like, hm?"
"That one," Matt says, pointing to a large bat stuffed animal hung on a hook. Once he receives the toy, he turns to Edd, giving it to him. "For you, kind sir!" He gives a fake bow once Edd has it in his arms, earning a chuckle from the carnival barker.
Edd blushes again, but he smiles too, feeling pampered by his roommate. "Wow… thank you so much, Matt. How'd you even do that?"
Matt grins, soaking in the affection like a dry sponge. "It's just a flick of the wrist, my dearest roommate!"
Edd nods, before a loud siren goes off nearby. He jumps, terrified. "What was that!? Is there a fire or something!?" He questions, looking around frantically for the source of the noise.
Matt smiles, ruffling Edd's hair in a comforting manner. "The magic show is going to start soon," He explains, beginning to lead Edd to a large, colorful tent in the middle of the carnival area. "You're really going to love this one, Edd."
Edd follows Matt inside, starstruck by all of the people. They find seats, after a few minutes, finding themselves close enough to at least see the performance if not hear it. An announcer shouts something out from the middle of the tent, and despite being in the tent itself, Edd can't hear a thing he says, but soon enough he leaves, being replaced by three different people. The first character is a man dressed as an old-time carpenter, the second person is a man in a vampire costume, and the third is a woman dressed up as a young witch. With the carpenters help, the vampire climbs into a wooden box the carpenter had dragged onto the stage.
Once the vampire is situated inside, the carpenter locks the box and pulls out a huge, sharp saw. Edd bites his lip- he has an idea of what is about to happen. Beside him, Matt winks, rubbing Edd's shoulder, as if he's trying to assure him that everything will be alright. Down below, the witch steps towards the box, lifting her hands above her head as she let's out an unheard chant. Edd's insides tighten, even though he can't hear her, as if those words have more meaning than they should to him. However, before Edd can really dwell on this, the carpenter saws the box in half without a second thought as to the man insides safety.
The crowd goes deathly quiet. As the box breaks in half, out flies a large, black and brown bat, the fake vampire nowhere to be found. All at once, the crowd begins to cheer. Edd cheers along with them, clapping enthusiastically at the spectacle. He looks to Matt, to confirm that he also saw the stunning trick before them. Instead of seeing the taller man cheering as well, though, Matt is staring straight at him. When their eyes meet, Matt smiles wide, as if he's just content to see Edd happy.
Edd feels his face flush under the warm gaze of his friend. He gulps, attempting to calm himself down. Why is his heart racing all of a sudden? He has no time to think; the show is over and people start to get up out of their seats, and as they do Matt takes Edd's hand in his and they wordlessly leave with the rest of the crowd. Edd's about to ask where they're going, but Matt shoots him the giddiest look over his shoulder, and Edd forgets the words he was going to say before they even get to his mouth.
It takes a few moments, but when they finally stop pushing through the crowd it's obvious they're in a line for the ferris wheel. A quizzical look sent Matt's way causes him to smile brightly once more, hand coming up to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Thought we could finish the evening with the big wheel, yeah?" Edd just nods, smiling up at Matt.
The line moves quickly, and when they finally get into one of the cars, they slide in, sitting on opposite sides of each other. Edd can't help but look excitedly outside as they go up. They stop for about two minutes each time they move, so everyone who rides gets a chance to stay at the top for a bit. Edd twiddles his fingers together nervously as they make their way up.
"Thanks for taking me here, tonight, Matt," He says, looking at the redhead with a warm grin. "It was a great idea; I've had a really good time." Matt smirks, inching himself slightly closer to Edd so their knees were just barely touching. The breath in Edd's throat hitches at the contact.
"It really is no trouble at all, Edd," Matt looks into Edd's eyes as he speaks. "I had a lot of fun, too." For a moment he looks nervous, but he keeps the eye contact steady and lets out the smallest sigh. It almost sounds... longing? Edd feels like he's being too hopeful.
They're almost at the top of the wheel now, and Edd realizes how close Matt is. The way he's sitting, with his body forward as though he's interested in what the smaller man could be saying, or just, interested in him in general, makes the cartoonist's innards twist. Matt is really close. Edd shudders involuntarily.
"Are you okay, Edd? You're looking quite flush." Matt mutters softly, his voice sounding infinitely loud in the quiet space around them.
Edd's lost for words, so he just nods, staring up into Matt's eyes. Everything's probably okay. Better than okay? Edd's really warm but he's sure he's fine. He never realized Matt's eyes were so... blue. Like, a dark, dark blue he'd never really seen before on anyone. The low light makes the blue seem unnaturally bright, and the reflections of carnival neons make them look like a nebula in space, or something equally poetic. They're really pretty. Why is his heart racing?
Edd almost doesn't notice when Matt's face inches closer. Almost. The taller man's eyes start to become half-lidded first, and then, wow- Matt is closer than he was a second ago, which was already quite close. The way they're sitting, their legs are intermingled, knocking knees together when the car moves. Edd can feel the taller man's breath on his lips and can't help but dart his tongue out to wet them. Matt's eyes follow the movement, so he does it again, which causes Matt to look directly into his eyes. "Edd." The redhead says huskily, and it's all the shorter man needs to hear to lean forward that last inch (Or mile? It felt way too long).
Their lips connect and Edd absolutely melts into the contact, reaching his hands out to lay them on Matt's chest. He feels Matt's hands rest on his waist, and he hums softly at the light feeling's contrast to the pressure of their mouths moving against each other. They break away for a breath, but Edd doesn't bother to open his eyes. Matt brings one of his hands up to Edd's face, holding it in his wide palm. His hands are large, soft, and for once, they actually feel kind of warm, so Edd leans into the touch with a content sigh. He hears Matt make a soft sound, something between a whimper and a groan, before there are wet lips on his again.
They stay like that for a few moments, just softly kissing, swaying lightly as the car moves. Hands shift around from chests to broad shoulders and from faces to the napes of necks to play with the soft strands of hair there. They break away one last time, both staring into each other's eyes, breathing heavily.
Edd breaks the silence first, glancing outside as he speaks airily. "We missed the top." The lights that seemed so distant just a moment ago get a bit closer.
"Goes 'round twice." Matt huffs, licking his flushed lips after he speaks. This time it's Edd following the quick movement, groaning lowly at the sight. He nods, breathlessly, and leans forward to kiss the other man before their ride ends.
...
They get back home a few hours later, the duo laughing obnoxiously as they come off the elevator, running right into Tord and Tom, who are talking in hushed tones outside of their own apartment. "Ha, it seems somebody had a fun night out," Tord comments when he sees Edd and Matt, grinning devilishly at the duo. "You two hit the carnival?"
"Yeah. It was a blast!" Edd explains, grinning from ear to ear, before he leans heavily against Matt, letting out a mighty yawn of fatigue as he hugs his stuffed bat closer to himself. "I'm pretty beat though…"
Matt chuckles at Edd's yawn, ruffling the brunet's hair. "We should really get to bed. See you later, chaps!" He says, starting to lead Edd away.
However, as Edd passes by, Tom grabs the cartoonist's arm and leans up to whisper into his ear. "When you two are screwing, keep it down, okay?" He requests, grinning against Edd's ear as the aforementioned man shudders in embarrassment.
As soon as Matt and Edd are inside they're laughing again, caught up in each others giddiness from the evening. They both plop down on the couch, sitting shoulder to shoulder as they wind down a bit. Edd tilts his head to rest in the crook of Matt's neck and the taller man hums happily at the touch. The shorter man laughs lightly against the skin there and does what any grown adult would do to their (also grown adult) romantic interest.
He shifts his body on top of Matt's and blows the biggest raspberry he can, right in the sensitive skin of his neck. The redhead screeches, attempting to get away, but Edd wraps his arms around him. Matt thrashes and kicks, laughing and shouting in displeasure. In just a few seconds Edd lets go and Matt is instantly on the other side of the room.
"What is the meaning of such treachery?" Edd just laughs at the indignant look on Matt's face. He pouts, but returns to the couch, wary eyes never leaving Edd's. "I think it's time for bed." And Edd nods, snickering the whole time. They begin to make their way to their rooms, but when they both get to the space between them they're looking at each other expectantly, wondering who will make the move.
"Hey," It's Edd. "Do you wanna just…" He wrings his hands together, back to the nervous kind of step they've been at all day. "Sleep in the same bed tonight?" Matt smiles brightly.
"Indubitably." They share a short embrace, and then split their separate ways to get their night clothes on before returning to Matt's bed.
...
Edd smiles a few hours later, lying awake despite his fatigue next to a sleeping Matt. He stares at his new boyfriend with half-lidded eyes, tracing a hand down Matt's T-shirt clad back. Edd glances out the window of Matt's bedroom next, noticing Ringo on the windowsill. The cat meows at the outside world, pawing at the glass in an attempt to get at a bird outside as the morning sunrise begins to shine into the room. Edd yawns, snuggling into Matt's chest as he feels himself drifting to sleep at last. He's never felt so safe and comfortable in his life. In his sleep, Matt loosely wraps his arms around Edd, pulling the young man closer to himself.
Edd smiles against Matt's chest, falling asleep in an instant. He was right a few months ago; this is the place where he belongs.
...
Edd stretches as he gets out of the creaky elevator, arms above his head as he lets out a groan. Any day where Edd has to spend a prolonged amount of time outside can be a pain in his ass, but when it comes to going out and doing job stuff (and not the fun job stuff, like people watching or any kind of drawing) he just ends up feeling so drained. Earlier on, he had to meet with a client who he's illustrating for, but the client was quite insistent on shortening the deadline for his work.
It was a late night out, and despite Matt being home soon, Edd decides that it might be best to just get some rest now and hang out with his boyfriend tomorrow. He trudges up to the door, dropping his bags as he pulls the key to his apartment out. Edd clinks the key against the knob twice and then drops the damn thing, but when he reaches for it, he taps it with his fingers and sends it flying under Tom and Tord's front door. He thumps his head against his own door, letting out a frustrated groan.
With much annoyance, Edd leans down on his hands and knees, attempting to look under his neighbor's door to see is he can find the offending piece of metal, but as he looks underneath, he begins to hear Tom and Tord's voices, and… Well, Edd can be quite nosey at times, and from the sound of things, a disagreement is taking place between the two residents.
It's muffled, but when he puts his ear up to the door, Edd can make out most of the conversation.
"...etting worse," The first voice he hears has an unmistakably Norwegian accent: Tord. He sounds annoyed. "Have you been drinking your medication regularly?"
"Don't talk to me like a kid," The second voice is probably Tom, but he slurs through his words and groans during pauses, so the assumption is mostly an educated guess. "I've been taking that shit just like you told me to."
Edd shivers. He shouldn't be listening to such an important conversation. But his legs are frozen and he can't will himself to move away from the voices that sound behind the door.
An exasperated sound from the first voice. "Well I wouldn't have to talk to you like this if you had actually listened, Tom!" He hisses the name. No sound is heard from either of them except the ragged, short breathing, and then suddenly the sharp clang of metal, causing Edd to jump.
"The lip of your canteen is dry!" The first voice starts shouting. "How long has it been since you've taken a dose of your radiation reductor?" The sound of papers shuffling and the groans getting louder make Edd's stomach turn. "Tom, are you fucki-" Tord's yelling is cut off by a low, guttural growl, and a series of Norwegian curses.
"͝ To҉r̷d̡," A voice that only kind of sounds like Tom's hisses. "̛͜To҉r̷d̡ g͘e̢t ó ͧ͠ u͇҉t." The last word is drawn out, as though whoever is speaking is in pain.
"Tom, calm down, it's fine, just calm down," For the first time since Edd has met Tord, he sounds like something other than annoyed or cocky. The waver in his voice is unmistakably fear. "I'm just gonna get you a dose from the fridge, oka-" Tord's cut off again, this time by a roar and the sound of wood shattering.
"To҉r̷d̴̡, ̛ ҉I sa͚ i̺͙ d g̴҉et͝ o̴̺ut̴!" Tom's voice gets drowned out by a loud roar, and a struggle is heard from inside the apartment. Edd grabs the doorknob, jiggling it anxiously, but suddenly the door bursts open and Tord flies out and collides with him.
It takes a few moments for either to respond. "Edd? Are you fucking kidding me?" Tord screeches in the cartoonist's face. Another growl sounds from behind him and he turns around anxiously. "Shit," He draws out the word. "Tom hasn't gotten this bad in months."
Edd glances over Tord's shoulder with concern. "Tom? Is Tom okay?" He can't see very far into the dark apartment, but there's papers scattered about and even some of the furniture is tipped over.
"Edd," Tord turns and hisses at the smaller man. "Get out of here; go into your apartment, lock your door, and wait for Matt to come home before you leave," The Nord rolls off Edd and helps him up, but when Edd doesn't run off Tord turns on him again. "Edd!?"
Wordlessly, Edd just points to his key, sitting in the middle of Tord's apartment. The two exchange looks (Tord looking furious, Edd looking somehow both sheepish and worried), when suddenly a huge, purple-clawed hand reaches around the doorway's edge. The pair outside have less than a split-second to react before a monstrous beast hauls itself into the hall with them, peeling the door from its hinges as it goes.
The dark purple creature looms there for a second, single black eye swiveling in its socket. Despite having all four legs on the ground and being hunched forward, it's tall enough that its two horns scrape the ceiling with each breath.
It brings one massive claw down with a roar, smashing the ground in-between both men. The beast then uses its long, muscular tail to launch Tord away and down the hall, shouting the whole way until he hits the end of the hallway.
Edd calls out to him, but Tord lays slumped, half embedded into the drywall. The Monster faces him, black eye unwavering. Edd tries to get away, but he's backed against the wall, and the beast is inching closer and closer.
Well, Edd thinks to himself, I guess this is the end? He scrunches his eyes shut, unwilling to look his demise in the face. But moments later, when nothing happens, Edd peaks one eye open.
The Monster has turned its back on him, snarling fiercely at something across the hall. Edd tries to peer around the creature, but all he can see is Tord's still unconscious body. The Monster is looking about frantically, trying to pinpoint… something.
All of a sudden, the hair on the back of Edd's neck stands up, and a chill fills the room. The monster's tail twitches, and within one second it's been pushed to the ground by a strong force. Edd fears looking up at the thing that casts a shadow on him, tall and domineering. Whatever could just knock that thing down like it was nothing just had to be…
He can't help looking up.
It's large, about the same size as the monster on the ground, but much leaner. The fur that covers most of its body is a reddish brown, while it's large leathery wings are a bit darker in shade. It's got big ears and blood red eyes, but by far the most disturbing feature is its mouth. The maw on the thing is wide, long, and has far too many sharp teeth to be comfortable.
To Edd's astonishment, the bat-like beast looks at him, blinks, and then faces the other monster as it begins to regain its footing. The purple thing charges the brown, and they begin to grapple, claws slashing at each other.
Edd takes this opportunity to run for Tord at the far end of the hall. He brushes the rubble off his neighbor and checks his pulse… Nothing. Panicking, Edd scoops him up, and books it down to his neighbor's apartment. He doesn't throw the monsters a second glance as he goes inside, setting Tord down on the couch.
"Fuck, I-" He looks at Tord's body on the couch. Tord is dead, he has no pulse, he isn't moving… Edd stares at his neighbor, lying on the couch, completely still. Except… Tord's chest moves very, very slowly. Edd pulls out his phone, shakily holding it up to his friend's nose to confirm it isn't his eyes playing tricks on him, and when his screen fogs up slightly he realizes that somehow, Tord not having a pulse doesn't mean he's dead.
Before he can get up to find a first aid kit, Tord's hand shoots out and grabs Edd's arm. "Edd," He croaks. "Get Tom's pen from the fridge." Edd hesitates for only a moment, then nods and runs over to the fridge, finding the same pen Matt gave him that first day he and Tom went to the grocery store.
Despite scanning the apartment for any sign of Tom, the cartoonist struggles to find him anywhere. He rushes back to Tord, pen in hand. "Tord, where's Tom? I-" He gulps, sense of dread creeping over him. "I can't find him anywhere."
Tord laughs at Edd, despite the situation. "You really are a fucking idiot, aren't you?" Edd's distressed expression is all he needs for an answer. He lets his head fall back, not willing to look his friend in the eyes. "Need to spell it out for you… that monster, out there?" He points to the door. "That's Tom."
Edd feels like he's going to be sick. Every warning up until this point, he's chosen to ignore or pretend it wasn't there. Something had been going on in the apartment building, this whole time. And he chose to freaking ignore it. "Okay," He says mostly to himself, staring at the medication in his hands. "How do I help him?"
"Inject him with the meds; it's just like an EpiPen- You ever use one before?" Edd nods, to which Tord does the same. "Good. Doesn't matter where you inject him, just so long as it's not directly into his heart. He'll go unconscious in a matter of minutes once you inject him."
"What about the other monster?" Edd asks shakily.
This gets Tord's attention. "Nn? Other monster? Who else is out there?"
"Like, uh, a big bat thing?"
Tord waves him off. "Oh. He's not an issue, he shouldn't hurt you." He rolls over onto his side as he speaks, voice heavy with fatigue.
"Shouldn't!?"
The Norwegian huffs, and looks over his shoulder, red eyes glowing. "Yeah, he shouldn't. I don't know if he ate yet," Tord laughs at the look of horror on Edd's face. "You'll be fine, friend. Just go." The smallest trace of pain flickers in Tord's eyes. "Help Tom."
Edd steels himself one final time before standing. He makes his way to the door, head poking out to inspect the hall. Both creatures are still fighting fiercely, but the bat-thing is clearly more adept when it comes to combat. It's doing its best to wear the monst-Tom out, dodging his more powerful attacks and running him in circles. The bat spots Edd immediately, red eyes flicking to his hand with the Pen in it.
WIthout warning, it leaps for Tom, screeching as it pins him on the ground. It hisses and clicks at Edd as it maneuvers Tom's leg within stabbing position for the medication. Tom roars and growls as he's held there, trying to use his bright purple horns to skewer the other monster.
Edd runs over, holding the pen at the ready, but Tom manages to thrash his tail at Edd, knocking the wind out of his lungs "Oof-" The cartoonist gasps, but holds onto the tail with both arms, swinging his body over it so he's straddling it. Without giving himself time to think, he brings the applicator down on Tom's tail. Hard.
Tom howls, thrashing his tail and body about quickly, but Edd doesn't relent, holding the pen down until it clicks, signalling the medication has been completely administered. As if by magic, Tom begins to calm down; roars become growls, growls become whimpers, and eventually, all sounds from Tom die down.
Shakily, Edd steps off of Tom's tail and looks to the other monster on top of his friend. The creature quickly looks away, but the cartoonist can only assume he's been staring the entire time he'd been sedating Tom.
"Uh…" Edd starts, honestly lost for words. Before he can continue, though, the bat monster shifts off of Tom, gives the unconscious mound a sniff, then sits itself down on the ground, still refusing to meet Edd's gaze.
Breaking the awkward silence, Tord shuffles out of his door, arms laden with a few towels, t-shirts, a couple pairs of boxers, and his red hoodie in hand. All the cuts and bruises that Edd saw on Tord's face are completely gone now (and there are none on his arms, but Edd doesn't know is he got any from the impact in the first place), though he has a small limp.
"Tom will start shifting back soon," He drops some clothes down next to Tom and drapes the towel over his back end. The rest of the clothes, he holds out to the bat monster, who accepts them with a soft hiss. "Let's give our friends some privacy, Edd."
"But what about…" What about everyone else who lives here? Will Tom be okay out here on his own like this, even if someone comes to this floor? Edd chooses not to voice his concerns, though, feeling like he already knows the answer. Tord nods at the slightly shorter man.
"He'll be fine," He says, motioning for Edd to follow him into his apartment. "Let's try and clean up this mess before the other two come in." They reposition the couch, armchair, and all the other furniture so it's all in their proper places. By the time they put the TV back into an upright position, Edd excuses himself to sit down. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, he's beginning to feel faint and dizzy.
Tord soon sits on the couch too, taking up his usual lounging position with his legs on Edd's lap. Both men let out a long sigh, enjoying a moment of respite. A small knock from the doorway causes both men on the couch to jump.
"Uh, hey guys? What happened here?" Matt's head pokes around the corner of the still gaping entry way. Despite it being an open question, he looks pointedly at Tord, who shrugs.
"I don't think there's a point in hiding anything anymore, Matt," He stretches his arms above his head until his shoulder pops. "You guys can come in, you know."
Matt nods and shuffles in, wearing a dark brown T-shirt with "Hello, Hellhole!" in bright, red letters and a pair of purple patterned boxers. He takes his place on the couch right next to Edd (after making Tord lift his legs for a moment), sitting shoulder to shoulder with his significant other. Tom is right behind him, wearing Tord's hoodie and the blue boxers. He looks nobody in the eye but also makes Tord shift, so he's sits between him and Matt.
Nobody says anything for quite some time, but eventually somebody needs to break the silence, and address the elephant in the room.
"So, uhm," Edd starts but when all eyes are on him he clams up. "Who, er- What do we do about the... door?" A beat of silence, then a small snicker from Matt. He turns away, but his shoulders shake from suppressed laughter and Tom can't help but full on laugh. Tord just smirks, shaking his head.
"Someone will probably come fix it later today," Matt supplies, when he regains his composure. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened," Tom flinches, causing Matt to backpedal. "To anyone in the complex, I mean. Paul, Patryck, and even myself have devastated some furniture, let me tell you."
Another beat. Tom sighs, "Tord, where's my canteen?" Within a flash it's in Tom's hands, already full of liquid. "...Thanks," He takes a swig and sighs, though more relaxed than before. He throws a glance Edd's way. "If you have any questions you need to answered now, I'd ask before we all pass out on this damn couch." Tord and Matt grunt in agreement.
Edd's head spins. Where should he begin? "Is everyone in the complex…?" He trails off, looking between his friends.
"Supernatural? Yeah," Tom cracks his knuckles, grimacing at the feeling. "There's kind of, like, a barrier on the front door. It prevents non-paranormal beings from entering, basically changes their mind about coming in."
Tord turns his gaze on Edd immediately, cocky smirk present as always, "Makes you wonder how you're here, huh?" Edd nods, unsure if he really wants to know. "The first time I met you, when I called you a wizard? Not some kind of lame joke. You got wizard blood in you, but it looks like your ability to manipulate magic just hasn't really…" He trails off, looking to Matt.
"Come to fruition?" He supplies, though he also seems lost. "Magical ability can be sensed by things like us, so when you walk around oblivious to those around you but smelling like, well," He flails his hands. "A wizard!" He sighs. "It turns a few heads."
Tom also chimes in. "We decided it'd be better for you to find out over time, but, I mean-" He cuts himself off by taking a long swig from his canteen, looking away from everyone else.
"It's not like it was your fault, Tom. Not everyone can control shifts easily; it should come with time." Matt supplies, attempting to be helpful, but Tom doesn't appear to be quite having it. He continues to drink from his canteen instead of answering.
Edd's head swims. Wizard? Magic ability? Paranormal beings? Also, him, a fucking wizard? This has to be some kind of mistake. "There… has to be some kind of mistake, right?" He looks around at the mixed gazes around him. "I can't be a wizard! I mean, wouldn't my folks have told me at some point?"
Tord smirks. "Yeah, magic manipulation tends to be hereditary, but it's pretty obvious, right? Your grandmother had to be a witch or something."
"My gran-gran? What makes you say that?"
"Ringo, for one," Tom finally speaks up again. "By the way he acts, we think he's probably a familiar. He's protective of you, and he's pretty aggressive around paranormals like Matt and Tord." The aforementioned just nod.
"Okay," Edd shrugs, still unsure. Despite what he's seen today, the idea of him being some kind of magical person still eludes him. "What was that other, er," He pauses, trying to think of an inoffensive way to say monster. "Paranormal being, out there?" He tries.
Matt gives him a pained half smile, nodding. "It's fine to say monster, Edd. Honestly, that form is dreadfully ugly," He sighs, but smiles wide, showing off a pair of sharp canines. "That gruesome fellow was, unfortunately, yours truly."
Edd gulps, but makes sure not to flinch away from Matt. Nothing has changed about him since he's met him. "So, those medical samples in the fridge…?"
"Not for work, I'm afraid," Matt shrugs. "I'm a vampire, so I need to drink blood in order to not go feral. I do work as a nurse, and my boss is aware of what I am. He graciously allows me to take blood in exchange for not killing anyone, which, I honestly wasn't a fan of in the first place."
Tom laughs. "Because if something's too messy for Matt, it has to be unbearable for everyone else." This earns a few chuckles from all parties present, though Matt huffs.
After yet another beat of silence, all eyes turn to Edd. He lets a soft sigh escape him. "I think that's enough questions for tonight," He turns his head into Matt's shoulder, mumbling into it. "We can sort everything else out later; I'm just tired right now."
Matt pats the smaller man on the back, "Let's get back to the apartment, then, Edd." The cartoonist nods into his shoulder, but doesn't move from his spot. Tord's still got his legs on top of Edd's lap and everyone else's, but when Matt looks at the Norwegian he finds that he's conked out. A quick glance at Tom shows he's also fallen asleep, and Edd is fading fast in his arms.
"Or," He sighs, laying his head back and tightening his hold around Edd. "I suppose we could sleep here for the night." He allows his eyes to slip shut, and in only a few short minutes he falls asleep, warm and content.
...
A/N (Supercasey): And that's a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this AU and what's written so far; Juju and I plan on writing more in the future. You can find us both on Tumblr (I'm 'Supercasey' and Juju is 'Jujukind')! If you wanna draw fanart on Tumblr, please tag us so we can see it, and if you draw on other sites, send one of us a link to the fanart (We live in the same house, so if you only wanna send the link to one of us, that's fine). The tag we have set is Eddsworld MA AU on Tumblr. And again, please read and review!
A/N (Jujukind): Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this first chapter, I'd appreciate it in mad amounts if you left a review. Feel free to also follow our co-run tumblr for this AU, 'Monster-Apartments-AU', since we will be posting all fic chapters there first (as well as any official art, fanart, etc). I'm so happy I got the opportunity to write this fic with my sister, and I really do hope you enjoyed it.
