TWs: Fear of rejection/fear of being unloved, and crying. Stay safe :)
"Wait, you're telling me you're still not together?" Matt's eyes widened as he looked at his friend.
"Yes? Why would we be?" Tord raised an eyebrow at him.
"I took a picture of you two sleeping and cuddling on the couch and labeled it as your first date!" The ginger exclaimed as he collapsed back into Tord's bed.
"What!? Why the hell did you do that?" Tord turned to him, wide-eyed.
"Memory journal." Matt shrugged, "And teasing, I guess."
Tord nearly face-planted into his desk, glaring at his friend.
"I'm sure there are other opportunities to confess to him." Matt sighed, "Let's hope it's soon since I don't want Edd to be angry."
"Why would he be angry?"
Matt awkwardly laughed, averting his gaze, "Let's just say I said some... things."
Knowing Matt, he could've said anything to tick Edd off.
"Agh, Tord, you asshole!" Edd complained as he got struck by a blue shell.
Tord chuckled as he raced past him, "Better luck next time, min kjærlighet."
When he drove his character across the finish line, Edd queried, "What'd you call me?"
Tord froze as he glanced at the other, realizing everyone was staring at him.
'Way to make game night awkward, dumbass...' The Norsk berated himself. He stuttered, trying to come up with something.
Tom looked up what he said on his phone, trying to see if he called Edd an insult. After a few failed attempts with spelling, he eventually came close and got the actual word. His eyes whitened as he prodded Matt with his elbow. Matt hummed as he peered over his boyfriend's- he loved saying that- shoulder.
The ginger gasped at what was on the screen, grinning at his friend as he came up with an idea.
"Oh, would you look at the time?" Matt feigned shock as he gaped at the clock on the wall, "We better go before it's too late."
"Too late for what?" Edd questioned, watching as Matt picked Tom up, who blushed furiously as he hid behind his hands.
"Y'know-" Matt smiled as he winked at Tord, "Too late."
Before Edd could make another comment, the door closed behind them as his friends left.
Tord face-palmed, letting out a groan, "Why me...?"
"Uhm... I don't know what that was about." Edd spoke, "But I do know I need a cola."
Once the taller returned, he noticed the faraway look on Tord's face, as if he wasn't in the same room as the cola lover.
"Tord?" Edd called, touching his shoulder gently.
The shorter blinked, snapping back to reality as he peered at the other, "Ah- yes?"
"You okay?"
Now that was a loaded question, Tord huffed. He was fine, except he felt nauseous. Was it the thought of confessing or the thought of rejection? Maybe it was both. Most definitely both.
He wasn't capable of having and keeping relationships. He has a few friends, granted that he doesn't get along with one of them, but having a romantic relationship with someone? As if it'll ever happen.
"Tord?" Edd's voice was closer, startling the other as he turned his head in his direction.
His breath hitched as he saw juniper eyes centimeters away from his silver eye.
"I thought I lost you for a second there." Edd chuckled, then raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?"
The Norsk stuttered, "I-I'm fine, kjærlighet..."
"Seriously, what does that word mean?" The taller frowned, not backing away from the other.
"I-It- uhm..." Tord trailed off, averting his gaze.
Edd hummed, then backed away from Tord, "I can just look it up; it can't be that hard to spell, right?"
Tord's eyes widened as he watched the brunet take out his phone.
"Agh, wait!" Tord yelped as he slapped Edd's phone out of his hands.
"Tord! What was that for?" Edd picked up his phone, checking to see if it was cracked, "You're lucky it didn't break."
"Sorry." Tord looked down, "It's just the meaning of the word is..."
"Is what...?" Edd raised an eyebrow, "It's not an insult, right?"
"No, no! Of course not; it's a term of... endearment."
"Huh...?"
Tord sighed, "It means 'love.'"
Edd was silent for a while, staring at the shorter. Tord was starting to get worried and was debating on leaving.
"So, how do you say the three words in Norwegian? Would it be jeg kjærlighet deg?" Edd questioned, making Tord laugh.
"No, it would be jeg elsker deg." Tord spoke.
"Ah," Edd nodded, then smiled, "Jeg elsker deg, Tord."
Tord looked at him in shock, "Wha-"
"Did I use it correctly?" Edd queried. Tord nodded, still surprised. Edd huffed, "Are you gonna sit there and not respond all night?"
"Uhm- I'm just shocked."
"Clearly..."
"I fell right into that, didn't I?" Tord groaned as he face-palmed.
"You did, and it was brilliant." Edd nodded, quite proud of himself.
Tord smiled, gazing at the other as he spoke, "Jeg elsker deg også, Edd."
The taller one enveloped the shorter one in a hug, nearly knocking him over. Tord wrapped his arms around Edd, stuffing his head in the green hoodie.
Happiness, contentment, alleviation, and solace came to him all at once, getting rid of the tension and torment he had been feeling for years.
Edd didn't say anything when he felt Tord grip his hoodie or when he tried to stifle the whimpers of his cries as tears flowed through the green fabric.
He could only hug the ex-leader closer to his chest as he cried with him.
"What'll it be, guys?" Pat smiled as he peered at the group.
"Cola!" Edd grinned.
"Lemonade," Tom said.
"Should've known," Pat rolled his eyes as he looked at the other two, "Lemme guess, usual as well?"
"Yep!" Matt nodded.
"You know it," Tord spoke.
"That'll be right out..." Pat wrote it down before hearing the chime of the entrance ring out, making him look over, "After I go see what he wants."
Tord groaned as Pat walked over to Pau, "Seriously?"
"Give them a break, Tord." Matt told him, "It's just love in the air."
"Ew..." He gagged. Edd cleared his throat, elbowing him in the ribs, "Ow- I mean, aw, how sweet..."
The two couples continued their outing, knowing there would be more to come in the future.
Matt and Tom seemed like an odd couple to the others, like a yin and yang or 'opposites attract' couple. They somehow made it work and learned from each other each passing day. They had their arguments, of course, but they knew how to resolve them.
Pau and Pat were slow with their relationship. Due to Pat's childhood, he didn't like much contact unless he gave it or the other person asked. Pau didn't mind the arrangement as he understood they both had rough backgrounds. Now they were finally at ease with each other.
Edd and Tord also took it slow, mostly because they had no clue how a relationship worked. Tord took the liberty of watching what other couples did in public, but most of it seemed... weird. Matt said it was okay if one of them made a mistake since everyone, especially partners, does that. The hypocrite had never had a partner before Tom, so Tord had no idea where he got the info. Despite not knowing how things work with romantic relationships, Edd and Tord were doing fine.
The group continued to have small adventures, from zombies to cheeseburgers that came to life- courtesy of Evil Director BingBong- to discovering ancient ruins underwater.
Yeah, they were doing alright.
..-. - .-. / -. - .- .-.-.-
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧Translations✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Norwegian =
Min kjærlighet - My love
Jeg elsker deg - I love you
Jeg elsker deg også - I love you too
(Translations brought to you by Google Translate)