TWs: Mentions of an apocalypse, insinuated isolation, power outage, and tension.
The game night began after Tord's phantom pains subsided to a tolerable level, him hosting it in his flat.
They decided to play Monopoly first, much to Matt's dismay and Tord's enjoyment.
A few minutes into the game, and Matt's complaining, is when Edd decides on a topic.
"Who are the other people in these pictures, Tord?" He glanced around the kitchen area, noticing a few picture frames that held unfamiliar faces.
"Hm?" Tord turned around in his chair to look, "Ah, those are my other friends, You and Yan. You can get a little destructive when it comes to planning, action, and anything explosive or flammable, and Yan is more under control, reserved, and patient, which makes sense since he's mainly used for sniping."
There was a silence after that as Tord rolled the dice.
"What about the kid?" Edd continued, peering at a picture capturing Tord and a brunette kid with a white cap sitting on the grass, holding and looking down at a blueprint.
Tord smiled abit, "That's Clay, a boy I decided to take in during an apocalypse. I didn't want to take him in at first since I was on a mission and wasn't looking for any distractions. After saving him from a hoard of zombies, however, I noticed he was following me. I wasn't looking to kill a child, and Pat said he could be used as a distraction later on, so I agreed. He's like a little brother to me now."
"Have you talked to them recently?" Matt piped in.
"No, cellphones are forbidden in the army base- in order to communicate, they would have to use a pay phone in the nearest town. I was lucky enough to disguise Pau and Pat's phones so they wouldn't alarm my father of suspicious activity." Tord explained.
"Wow, that's... a lot," Edd mumbled.
"You surprisingly get used to it after being alone with your thoughts for a day and a half."
No one replied to that, opting to continue the game.
Pau opened the door to the apartment, hearing voices coming from the other room when he stepped inside. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was 1720.
Walking into the kitchen and dining area, he saw Tord and the others playing Uno. He went behind Tord, took a glance at his cards, and winced at his hand.
"Wat zijn die kaarten...?" Pau muttered.
"Hold kjeft," Tord grumbled as he put a card down.
"Je hebt het erger gemaakt." The ruffled brunette snickered.
"Jeg vet hva jeg gjør..." Tord glared at him.
"Als jij het zegt..."
"Are we missing something?" Edd asked.
"No, he's just distracting me." The Norsk said.
Pau shrugged, ruffling Tord's hair, "Well, someone has to do it."
The Nederlander decided to watch it play out, looking at his phone in between moves.
"Uno!" Tord grinned as he played a card, holding one more in his hand.
"Uno." Matt slumped in his seat, "Finally..."
"It's been a long time since you've gotten Uno, Matt." Tom gave him a teasing smirk.
"I didn't ask for commentary." The ginger whined.
After Tom and Edd went, Tord gave a mischievous grin at Edd's +4 card.
"If you think that'll stop me," He paused for dramatic effect, then slapped his last card down, "then think again!"
It was a +4. Matt nearly fell out of his chair in shock, Tom's eyes seemed to widen even if for a split second, and Edd stared in awe.
He turned to Pau, "I told you I knew what I was doing!"
"Mhm," Pau hummed, glancing at his phone's time, "It's 1730; Pat should be here in-"
The lights of the apartment went out, making everyone spring up.
"What happened!?" Matt exclaimed, trying to listen out for anything since his night vision wasn't good.
"I'm not sure, Matt," Tord spoke, then called out to his roommate, "Hey Pau, can you check on the lights?"
"Uh yeah, sure." Pau turned on his phone's flashlight and made his way to the door.
Once he was gone, Tord decided to try out the new upgrade in his robot arm. He turned his hand palm up and tapped the middle. A soft light emitted from it, enough to illuminate the whole table. He flashed it around the room.
"Is that new?" Edd asked.
Tord nodded, "Though the range and brightness are completely off..."
"It's fine- at least we have light." The taller assured.
The group sat down again, talking about the situation.
"Do your lights always cut off like this?"
"No, this is the first time it happened." Tord shrugged.
"You doing okay, Matt?" Tom asked as he stared at the ginger who had his head in his hands.
"Yep, I can barely see right now," Matt muttered.
'Isn't that all the time?' Tord rolled his eyes, knowing that Matt had prescription glasses and wore colored contacts.
"What should we do while we wait for Pau?" Edd rested his head in the palm of his hand.
"I dunno," Tord spoke.
"There's literally nothing fun to do in the dark." Tom huffed.
"Yes, there is! There are ghost stories, never have I ever, what if scenarios, truth or dare-" Edd listed.
"Never have I ever and truth or dare? We aren't teenagers anymore, Edd." Tom grumbled.
"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'live a little,' Jehovah?" Tord glared.
Tom scowled back at him, "Of course I have."
They continued to glower at each other, not saying anything. Edd looked at them, annoyed, while Matt was getting weary from being in the dark.
"Guys, knock it off. Let's just try to have a good time while the power's out." Edd gave both of them a hopeful expression.
Tord sighed, giving in first as he couldn't say no when it came to Edd, "You're right."
Tom blinked for a moment, a bit surprised at Tord's change in demeanor when Edd spoke. He quirked an eyebrow, then uttered, "Fine."
Minutes went by as the group changed from one topic to another.
When ten minutes went by, the lights flickered back on, blinding the group with how sudden it was.
"Je peux voir à nouveau," Matt spoke in relief.
They waited for Pau to come back up, Tord asking him what the problem was.
"Something seemed to trip the circuit to the flat." Pau shrugged, "Don't know what yet."
"Merkelig..." Tord mumbled. The door to the apartment was heard opening, and then closing.
Pat walked into the kitchen, instantly looking between Tord and Pau, "Did you do something?"
"Eh?" Tord frowned.
Pau raised his hands, "What are you talking about?"
"The landlady, Eos, just told me that the power went out to our flat only, and you're telling me you guys don't have anything to do with it?" Pat crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow.
"I see why you think that, but no, we were here the entire time." Pau expressed, "And I'm pretty sure we aren't using that much energy to make a circuit turn off."
Pat looked at him for a second more; before moving on, "Alright then."
He moved over to the kitchen, opened a few cabinets, and then looked at Tord's group, "Tord, are your friends staying for dinner?"
The Norsk looked at the others. Edd and Matt nodded immediately, with Edd shouldering Tom to get him to nod, which he did so reluctantly and with a scowl.
"Yes."
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Dutch =
Wat zijn die kaarten - What are those cards
Je hebt het erger gemaakt - You made it worse
Als jij het zegt - If you say so
Norwegian =
Hold kjeft - Shut up
Jeg vet hva jeg gjør - I know what I'm doing
Merkelig - Strange
French =
Je peux voir à nouveau - I can see again
Nederlander = Citizens of The Netherlands; sometimes called Hollanders (referred to as 'The Dutch' by most English-speaking foreigners)
(Translations brought to you by Google Translate)