* Yoo I'm back! @purple-striped-shirt it's been a little while, so I'm super glad to write again!
Anyway, here's the Eddsworld ask you sent me in DMs! I'm super excited to write it- hope you enjoy! :D
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It was a pretty average day on the Red Army grounds, Paul and Patryck were eating lunch and discussing their day. It had been pretty relaxed, no attacks or enemies really interfering- which was the only reason they were getting breaks now. It was a nice difference for the two, seeing as they were some of the highest ranked guards on base.
"You know, as much as I enjoy the month we've been having, I kind of miss the action." Paul began, biting into a sandwich.
"Really? I could stay like this forever," Pat replied, half-joking.
"It's kind of boring without him, " Paul had meant to say 'it' and didn't realize his mistake.
Though, Pat agreed with both meanings.
They sat like that for a moment, silently eating. That was until a man in uniform ran up to them, papers in hand.
"Sirs, we've received report that one of the world's most elite assassins has sights set on us!" the man stressed, out of breath from rushing to them.
Paul coughed, nearly choking on his food.
"What? Who is the assassin?" Pat questioned.
The man looked down at the papers for a second, before answering simply...
Tord sat on the couch of his apartment, tired. He wouldn't admit it, but he really missed his friends and greatly regretted his actions. He was grateful you didn't tell the guys what he'd done- though he didn't know if you did once he moved out. (2. 2 anxious thoughts, ah ah ah)
He shook it off and grabbed the remote, switching through the channels in attempt to find something actually interesting. His phone began to ring.
He took it from his pocket, seeing Patrycks work number, a little caught off guard, but immediately answering.
"Hey," he greeted, still flipping through channels.
"Tord, do you have any place other than your own you would be able to stay at?" he questioned frantically.
Tord tried to sound calm, though was freaking tf out on the inside based on that sentence alone.
"Wh- what?" he turned off the TV to pay more attention.
"Look, we'll explain later, you need to get out of the house." Patryck stressed.
"Okay, dad." Tord joked, trying to make light of whatever was happening.
"I have... I think I have somewhere I can go. Can you two pick me up?" Tord thought hesitantly, hoping desperately you hadn't told the guys, or if you had that they'd forgive him. Excluding Tom, probably.
"We're already on our way. Pack- and be quick."
Patryck hung up before Tord could say anything else. He sat there for a moment, before shoving his phone back into his pocket and speeding to his room.
A few minutes passed before Patryck and Paul arrived, not bothering to knock on the door.
"Tord, come on, we have to hurry!" Paul called.
"I'm coming, hold on!" Tord shouted back.
Patryck sighed heavily, heading into his room. While they had no clue what the assassin was doing nor when he would take charge, they assumed he wasn't going to take his time because most people don't.
He entered Tords room, startling him.
"Hey- sorry I don't mean to take too long," Tord frantically shoved clothes and other items into a suitcase.
Patryck didn't reply, helping Tord and zipping the suitcase shut. He rushed back out, Tord following, and entered the car.
Paul closed the door and followed, getting into the passenger seat. Tord sat in the back and Pat quickly began driving, not waiting for the others to buckle.
"Where are we going," Pat questioned, looking at Tord through the rear view mirror.
"...Edds house," he responded, quietly.
"You cannot be serious. We're going to stay with previous targets?" he inquired, a little frustrated.
Him and Paul didn't have strong feelings about the three Tord used to be friends with, but assumed that as his previous friends, they wouldn't forgive him for something that bad.
"If this doesn't work, we're leaving you at the assassins house," Paul joked.
"Why don't we just go to the base?" Tord asked.
"Well, one, the higher ups don't want you there anymore. And two, the assassin will take out anyone in his way." Pat replied.
"Wh-?? Who is the asassin, Patryck?"
There was a moment of silence. Hesitation. This scared the shit out of Tord, since the two in front of him were pretty straight forward most of the time. Seeing as hesitation was probably not the best course of action when you could possibly be killed.
"Paul?" Tord leaned forward, glancing between the two.
As the pulled up to Edds house, Patryck took a deep breath.
The color fell from Tords face. Panic set low in his stomach, nearly making him feel sick. Red eyes was responsible for many deaths of high ranking officials world wide, not just the Red Army. He'd seen the guy in action before, and it wasn't pretty.
"Might as well put a target on my back now that I'm no longer leading an army," Tord said, sarcastically.
Patryck seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"You alright?" Paul questioned.
Pat slammed the car into break, quickly opening the door and slamming it behind him, walking up to the house they were now in front of.
"What happened?" Tord rubbed his nape.
"Red eyes killed his girlfriend," Paul responded, simply.
Tord slumped back in his seat for a second, running his hands through his hair. This could not be happening.
He got up and joined Paul and Patryck. Paul rang the door bell, anxiously hoping they would let them in.
After a moment, Edd opened the door, a Cola in hand. He looked a the two, confused, though when he met Tords gaze, he paused. His mouth opened to speak, though he quickly changed his mind, his eyes speaking more than he needed to.
Tord wanted to apologize, but was quickly interrupted.
"Hello," Patryck greeted.
"There is a lot to unpack, but in short one of the worlds most elite assassins has sights on us and we need a place to stay. We assume he won't look here and assume we left town if we aren't at our base, so.." he held his hands behind his back, hiding the nervous fidgeting.
There wasn't much they could do if this didn't work.
Edd held his breath, thinking. After a moment, he glanced between the three and let out, "Sure."
It looked forced, but it was good enough. He moved to the side, allowing room for the three to walk through. They did as such, quietly. Matt and Tom were sat on the couch. They looked at the three, quickly reacting. Tom looked almost offended that Edd would let them in, and Matt was a lot more focused on who the two in uniform were.
"What is he doing here??" he motioned to Paul, Pat, and Tord.
Paul didn't let him respond.
"We'll explain." he took a seat on the red recliner.
Tom was extremely skeptical of the three, especially Tord, obviously.
Patryck and Tord sat on the couch, Tom moved closer to Matt so he wasn't next to Tord.
"Oh, wait." Edd stopped Paul, walked up the stairs to grab someone. In his room he found you, scrolling on your phone.
"Uh, hey, you might wanna come down stairs." he began.
"What's going on?" you looked up at him.
He was pretty chill as usual, but there definitely anxiety and repressed anger in the mix, and you could see it.
"Just- come on," he walked back down, not letting you respond.
You didn't think much, turning off your phone and following.
There you saw Tord, Paul, and Patryck. The two looked up and waved at the familiar face, though Tord didn't see you since you were behind the couch. While you weren't upset to see those two, you couldn't help but assume that Tord was with them.
You walked around and stood in between the recliner and couch with Edd.
"Hi.." you raised a brow, wondering why they were here.
"Why am I the only person upset about this?" Tom suddenly piped up.
"He tried to kill us!" Tords heart dropped.
"And we forgive him," Edd added, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Why? Why do you forgive him for that?" Tom stood, looking back at you and Edd.
"Because he's our friend!" Matt joined in.
"Yeah, because friends try to kill each other." Tom remarked, sarcasitcally.
"TAKE," Paul began, frustrated. The three stopped speaking.
Tom bit his tongue, knowing he'd be shut right back down and honestly didn't really want to fight right now. He sat back down.
"So, what's happening?" you turned to Paul.
"Basically, one of the worlds most elite assassins has us in his sights." he explained.
"Assassin doesn't even sound like a word anymore," Pat mumbled.
"What??" you placed your hand on the couch cushion, using it like a stress ball.
"We're taking refuge here because this isn't somewhere we think he'll look," Paul continued.
"You think he won't? You aren't sure?"
"See! I'm not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea! Tord led a hit man to our house!"
"No I didn't!" Tord shot back. "I didn't even know about this until they told me, get mad at them," he pointed at Paul and Patryck.
"We're gonna die!" Matt cried out.
"I feel like I'm babysitting children right now," Patryck began.
"Nothing is going to happen, okay? He has no reason to look here, he doesn't even know of you four, you'll be fine." he said.
"Just treat this like a usual day with a few guests."
"Even if this was a normal day with a few guests," Tom spoke up. "It isn't normal with him around."
Tord rolled his eyes, getting defensive despite his guilt.
"Tom, please," you moved your hand to his shoulder.
"You knew about what he did months before you told us! I should be pissed at you, shouldn't I?" Tom exclaimed, a little blinded by anger.
"Tom this is not the most important issue right now!" you fired back.
"Do you hate him enough to wish his death??"
He paused, merely slumping back into the couch and grunting.
You sighed. "You guys will have to take the couches, hope that's alright,"
"We'll take what we can get, don't worry," Paul replied.
You turned to Matt who was nearly shaking.
"We're gonna be fine," you reassured, giving him a smile.
Sure you weren't positive, but the last thing you needed was a panicked Matt.
A bit of time had passed. Paul, Pat, and Tord were watching TV, Matt was in his room, Edd was mowing the lawn, and Tom was hanging out with you up in your room.
"I can't believe you guys are letting him stay here," Tom let out quietly.
"Tom, I know what he did was unforgivable. Hell, I'm a little surprised the guys forgave him," you stated.
Maybe excluding Matt, but Tom probably knew that.
"I mean did you see how quiet he was? I bet he feels bad," you were definitely lying- well about knowing.
You didn't know what he was thinking and just wanted to calm Tom down, but you did hope Tord regretted what he'd done.
"No he doesn't," Tom mumbled.
"You know what, I'll go talk to him. I'll prove it," you really didn't need to do that, but you really wanted to lighten up the mood.
Even if only a little bit. So, once Tom was done with the sarcastic remarks you stood and left the room, walking downstairs.
"Tord?" you began, leaning over the couch.
"Hm?" he looked up at you.
"Can I talk to you for a second," you motioned to the back door. "Uh- privately,"
He paused, wondering what you'd need to speak to him about if not being upset at him. Though, he didn't question you, getting up and following you outside.
"What is it?" he inquired.
"Look, I'm a quarter positive I know the answer but I'm going to ask anyway. Do you..." you hesitated strongly.
Tord gave you a confused expression, but under it was worry. You pondered if you should be straight forward or sugarcoat the question. You let out a quiet sigh before continuing.
"Do you feel bad?" you asked.
His demeaner faltered. He didn't say anything for a second. He just stared at you, a look in his eyes that you couldn't describe if you tried. He looked so... perplexed. By what you weren't sure. Though your thoughts became clouded with concern when you noticed the tears welling up in his eyes.
"I..." he thought about how he'd phrase the words.
"I don't think I've ever felt more guilty," he wanted to avoid your glance, but it was strangely difficult.
You didn't respond, wanting him to keep going.
"I just..." Tord couldn't bring himself to speak.
There was so much he wanted to say, but so little good ways to explain it. He wanted to apologize, to sulk in the sadness and guilt he was clouded with, but he just couldn't do it.
But you could see it. In his eyes, in his stance, hell in the way he was trying to look away from you, worried you were judging him. Even you couldn't think of how to respond. He'd apologized before and meant it, but this was more than that. It was something hard to even process.
"Tord," you started, taking a deep breath.
"I do forgive you, and so do the guys- well other than Tom," you chuckled lightly.
His breath hitched. It was pretty clear that he'd been forgiven, considering the fact that he was even let into the house. But, hearing it. Being told directly- it felt so different. Now he really couldn't bring himself to say anything.
And you didn't need him to. You stepped closer to him and pulled him into a hug. He didn't react at first. You'd hugged him before, but it still was foreign. He never really had people there to comfort him and he didn't know what to do in this kind of situation.
His breath became unstable as he tried desperately not to let tears fall. His arms weakly slithered around your back, and he buried his face into your shoulder. You two stood there like that for a moment.
"I'm-" he sniffled. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.
You could hear the sob he was choking back, and it hurt. You couldn't imagine how he felt.
"I'm so fucking sorry," Tord continued.
He mumbled a few more 'I'm sorry's before sighing and pulling back. He wiped his eyes and few times before he looked back at you. His red face was enough to bring tears to your own eyes.
"It's okay, Tord," you told him.
It wasn't, truthfully. What he did wasn't forgivable, but those actions alone weren't what you were forgiving him for. You were forgiving him for making a mistake that he came to regret. Him planning ultimately to kill his friends and experiment on Tom would never be okay. But his realization and apology for even having those thoughts to begin with were. And he knew that. He knew what he did was never going to be considered acceptable, but he didn't care. He just wanted his friends back.
Oh shit. You'd forgotten that he was out here. He'd finished mowing before you two had come outside, but he was sitting on a lawn chair which neither of you had seen.
You and Tord glanced over at him. He stood and joined you, paying more mind to Tord. Edd didn't say anything, giving him a quick hug and a smile.
There wasn't much dialogue after that, just a moment of comfortable silence.
"(Reader)?" called Tom from his room.
His window peered over the backyard, though he didn't realize you guys were out there until the conversation had ended.
"Are you done, yet?" he questioned.
You chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," you turned back to Tord and Edd.
"Thank you, Tord. For apologizing," you added before reentering the house.
You trailed up the stairs, greeting Tom again.
"How'd that go?" he asked, sarcastically.
"He said he was sorry, Tom," you began, catching his attention.
"'So?'? He cried onto my shoulder for like five minutes, Thomas," you continued.
He didn't say anything, the shock on his face being a little humerus to you.
"I know you didn't really ever like Tord, but you gotta give him a break, man,"
Tom wanted to comment on how they were who needed a break after all that happened, but he didn't. He merely looked at you. An expression you couldn't really read because of the lack of eyes.
"You don't have to forgive him. I understand if you don't want to, really, I do. But don't be an asshole about it,"
He looked down, nodding simply.
You gave an unsure smile and pat his shoulder.
"At least he won't try to attack us again," you joked.
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YOO! I'm super glad I finally got this out lol. I have like six requests to work on so pardon the wait-- but this was fun to write! Obv this is part one of probably two or three. I just wanted to get this out already because I was very excited to write it, hope you enjoyed! I'll try to get the other part(s) out soon :DD (also this wasn't proof read so apologizes if there were mistakes
