(REWRITE) Lost & Found: Eddsworld x Child!Reader

part XI

It was late at night, (Y/N) had fallen asleep on the sofa and the house was mostly quiet.

Tord had gotten mail. He never got mail. It was a hand-written letter sealed with a strange red symbol that somewhat resembled an 'R'. There was no return address or even a recognizable signature, just that symbol where the sign-off should be.

He skimmed through it, just barely grasping what it had to say. Something about "big plans", "be prepared", "leave your loved ones", and "Red Leader", blah blah blah. There was something, however, that really caught his attention.

The letter mentioned (Y/N). He didn't know how that was possible, since they had only just figured out their name. No one besides Tom, Matt, Edd, and (Y/N) themself knew.

Tord was sitting at the kitchen table, head aching. He decided that he was just going to ignore it for now, and brushed it off as a prank.

----

He'd gotten another letter. It'd been a few weeks since (Y/N) had decided on their name. This time, the letter told a story about the past. It was like a boring history lesson centered around some family that supposedly died during the war a long time ago. The story ended with the Blue Army soldiers raiding the family's house and the letter came to a close.

Tord was unsatisfied with that ending. Strangely, he felt like he had already known it, like he'd lived through it or something. He chuckled to himself with the thought.

Again, he wondered how and why the author of the letter had sent it to him, this one seemed completely unrelated to the previous letter he had received. He set it aside and did his best to forget about it.

----

Tord didn't know what to think of these letters anymore. It was all so strange. He had been reading through another letter that showed up in the mailbox when he remembered something, something buried deep down. The letter had mentioned someone very dear to him. He remembered his mother.

He remembered her smile and her hair, and how she loved reading. She had taught him how to read and write, how to tie his shoelaces and jump rope. He missed her. He didn't know where she was anymore.

Tord groaned, head in his hands. Why did it have to be so confusing? Why hadn't he ever remembered his mother before? Where was she, was she alright? He hoped she was alright.

----

"You're supposed to put a comma after Tord." Patryck pointed out, peering over his colleague's shoulder.

"Yes, I know that," Paul grumbled and quickly scribbled a comma in the greeting of the letter.

"At least make it look a little nice!" Patryck fretted, "This one's important!"

Paul groaned and erased the comma, but pushed too hard and tore the paper. Pat sighed in disappointment.

"Well, you write it then!" Paul glared at him.

"Fine, I will!"

They scrambled to switch places, Pat now sitting at the desk. "Get me another paper, will you?"

"There's ones in the drawer." Paul lit his cigarette.

"There's like, a million drawers. You're gonna have to be more specific."

"That one." He made a vague gesture to the left side of the desk.

Patryck stared at him, exasperated for a moment, then grumbled and attempted to find it himself. After he had, he took the pencil—

"Wait, have we been writing in pencil this entire time?" He realized. Paul shrugged.

He grabbed a pen instead and started writing. "Dear Tord...hmm. Should I say 'dear'? It sounds too casual."

"I dunno, just write the damn thing."

"Whatever. Dear Tord..." He paused, turning around to face Paul, "How the hell are we supposed to break it to him?"

"You're the one writing!" Paul muttered.

"Ugh, fine." Patryck turned back around and stared at the paper. Writer's block. Just great.

"Something, something, (Y/N)'s your sibling. Surprise!" He wrote down something along those lines, "He knows about the time travel stuff now, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay good. They weren't sent to the same time as you and Tom because the machine messed up. Or something." He rubbed his temples, "Ugh, I'm getting a headache just thinking about time travel shit."

"Good."

"Oh, fuck you."

Patryck continued to write the letter, going through a couple of (very) rough drafts. Paul wandered around, bored.

"Are you finished yet?" He groaned.

"Yeah, almost. And... there!" Patryck held up the paper.

"Finally." He grabbed an envelope.

"Oh shut up. Do you want to seal it or not?"

"Yes, I want to seal it, are you crazy?"

----

The letters didn't stop. They showed up with no apparent schedule for two entire years. Some letters revealed more of his memories and the past, while others detailed plans for the future, and about what Tord would have to do. They told him that he was destined for greatness and that he could rule the world if he wanted. This was appealing to him.

The sun hadn't risen yet, and Tord was up early. He'd wanted to do something for (Y/N)'s birthday/anniversary and was up most of the night finishing plans. Edd had a cake hidden in the back of the fridge, complete with (Y/N)'s favorite flavor. Matt said that he would be setting up decorations, which he hadn't seemed to have done yet. Tom had come up with the idea of getting the kid a phone.

Tord checked the mailbox, tensing up as he saw yet another red stamped letter sitting there, waiting for him. He tore it open and walked back to the house. As he entered the doorway, he froze.

It told him that it was time. Time for him to step up and fill the role of Red Leader. He smiled beside himself, imagining it. He couldn't resist.

But of course, that would mean leaving behind (Y/N), something he really didn't feel good about doing.

Over the last couple of years, he had discovered why (Y/N) had always felt so strangely familiar to him. They were his little sibling. He wasn't sure how to react when he'd found out, but for some reason, it just made sense, so he took it in stride. He wanted to be a good brother.

He looked up from the paper to see them standing about a yard away from him, supposedly walking to the kitchen. They smiled at him and carried on with intent.

Fuck. He was going to regret this, wasn't he?

----

It was still raining. Tord made sure to bring an umbrella with him this time. As he closed the trunk he looked back to the house. There stood (Y/N).

They looked confused and sad and hurt all in one big jumble of emotions. They made eye contact with each other and held it for only a moment before Tord broke it and hopped into the driver's seat. He didn't look back, not for a second.

He had to ignore all of the guilt and dread that built in his stomach, reminding himself that this was for the better. He would miss all of them.

"Goodbye." He whispered, driving away. He didn't know if that goodbye was for himself or for (Y/N). It didn't matter now.

----

ugh i do not like this one. hope it was at least somewhat understandable. also happy new years!! and thank you for the 1k reads?? what?? that's so wild to me thank y'all so much, love you <3

1173 words

written 11/22/2022

published 1/1/2023