Paint the World Red with Me (Tord x Reader) (REWRITE)

Chapter 4: A Peaceful Day? In This Economy?

(Soft platonic touches in this chapter)

Months seemed to go by in a blur. I finally understood what Matt meant in the mall when he said that you needed to be prepared for anything in this house. From meeting Santa Claus to fighting off hordes of zombies, there were endless possibilities. The boys didn't seem phased by any of it, like it was another normal Tuesday.

Oddly enough, the thing that drove the boys crazy was when something mundane happened.

Quiet spring days were foreign. There were no adventures to be had. Only hours slipping away into nothingness while the rain buzzed underneath the TV. Every so often, one of them would get up, go somewhere in the house, and occupy themselves with something. However, that would only work for an hour or so before they came slinking back to the couch. Morning slipped into afternoon, until only the darkening of the sky signaled the arrival of night. Nobody bothered to turn any of the lights on, letting the screen illuminate the living room.

At that point, Tord had disappeared to God knows where. Edd, curled up in a blanket with Ringo on the armchair, had a drawing tablet balanced on his knees. For once, Matt didn't have a mirror in his hands, scrolling through his phone. Once in a while he would tilt his screen to me to show off an outfit idea he had found. Tom's attention was focused on the show playing. It was some mindless late night show. He was leaned back in his spot on the other side of me, nursing a bottle of alcohol. Meanwhile, my attention was divided fully between conversing with Edd, nodding in approval to Matt, making commentary with Tom, and wondering where Tord went.

The rain got heavier. Flashes of lightning pierced the sky. Each streak was accompanied by booming thunder that echoed across the city.

I tried to use the TV to drown out the sounds of the storm. My fingers trembled. A chill settled over my body. I couldn't stop the anxiety that thunderstorms brought, so I just tried my best to stay quiet.

A soft call of my name brought me back into reality. I was met with a frowning Edd. I shifted, hoping he couldn't see my puffy red cheeks in the dark. Unfortunately, I knew the TV was bright enough that he could see the tears clearly. He was over in a moment, gently wiping them away.

"You got quiet, so I was worried."

"I'm sorry."

Tom spoke up now.

"What for? Being scared of storms? That's not your fault."

Edd abruptly lifted me up, taking my place on the couch and settling me comfortably in his lap. Matt pulled the blanket he had so that it covered all four of us. Loud thunder shook the ground. I flinched and couldn't fight the quiet whimper, gripping the blanket. This made Matt coo. He began to play with my hair while Tom rubbed his hand over my arm. The physical affection was comforting, something that was missing from my life in the army. I had become so accustomed to the hard, dirty life of going from place to place, spending so long traveling that I barely had a place to call home. Never making connections and treating every second like it could be my last. Over the years, I forgot why I had ever joined in the first place.

One thing still ate at me.

"Where's Tord?"

"He could be sleeping, gone, or doing weird shit in his room."

I was a little glad that he wasn't there. I still remembered how my lungs hurt from that afternoon at the mall; could still feel his black converse digging its way into my stomach. Despite this, part of me felt it was incomplete without him. Yearned for his physical comfort alongside theirs.

A yawn stretched from my mouth. The warmth radiating from the three around me was soothing. I felt safe. The blare of the TV turned to white noise as my eyelids became heavy. Words from the characters blended together into undefinable sounds and the room became darker.

A hand was placed on my head.

"Go ahead and sleep. All three of us will be here when you wake up."

The softness of Tom's voice was all it took to push me off the edge of consciousness and I drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

(This interaction is strictly platonic, and I love soft Tom moments)

—

The rain was muffled from the thick walls of the basement. This was Tord's quiet place, a paradise unknown to the other residents of the house. Usually, anyway. At the moment, he was quite frustrated.

Tord should have been through with this mission months ago. All that he needed to do was break into the house and get what he needed. Yes, he was caught by that imbecile Thomas. That didn't change much, however. Just had to play nice for a few hours, get them out of the house.

Two unexpected bumps in the road came along. The first was the robot. He finally got down to the basement on the first night, down to the laboratory. Just to find out that it didn't work. He had spent months down there, working to try and fIX THIS INFERNAL MACHINE!

The second was you.

You were infuriating. You knew that he was going to keep an eye on you as often as possible, and you decided to use that to your advantage. Finding every opportunity to get on his nerves.

But more than that, he was angry at the Gray Leader. No, angry wasn't the right word. Here you were, spending months living in this house clinging to the hope that he was going to swoop in and save you. Tord hadn't lied to you when he said he had eyes everywhere. Gray Leader didn't put out a single search party. He was beyond infuriated.

Gray didn't deserve the loyalty you showed him.

Tord would fix that. Just as he was going to fix this robot.