Odd Love

Chapter 14; Unsupervised

((AUTHOR'S NOTE: ITS FINALLY HERE IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT <3 <3 -Mossy))

The three had been chilling on the couch for several hours, sitting through two entire movies that had come on the T.V. During this entire time, Tord had yet to enter the room. Whether he was still in bed or just hiding in his room, it was hard to say. Despite Tord being a close friend of Edd's, and Edd being his only comfort at the time, the brunet had completely forgotten that the Norwegian was still reeling from the fight with Tom. After all, he was peacefully hanging out with Tom and Matt for the first time in months.

At some point during these now-midday hours, the subject of shopping for the child comes up in conversation. Now, the two had already done a little bit of shopping, but that trip was mostly groceries mixed in with a few odd things here and there for the hatchling that they had happened come across.

However, Edd had mentioned a new store opening in the shopping district that sold both the commonplace and some more unique or custom products for babies and young children. It was quite popular in the area as of late and seemed to have a pretty nice staff. Upon hearing this and discussing a bit further, Tom and Matt came to the conclusion that they just had to go.

Thinking about how strange it would look to carry a giant egg around into a baby store, the two reluctantly asked Edd if he would watch it for them.

"Of course! It's an upcoming member of the family, isn't it? I'll take the best care of it!" Edd assured them that he could do this, despite prior evidence that he was quite irresponsible.

"Don't let Ringo hurt it. No door-smashing swords. Alright?" Matt responded, concerned for the well-being of the egg.

Edd nodded rapidly, "Got it! Not a single scratch!" He was smiling broadly.

Feeling a bit more okay with the situation, Tom and Matt said bye and headed out the door. After they were gone, Edd sighed in relief that they hadn't continued to question his responsibility.

"Pfft, I can do this! Easy-peasy!" He picked up the egg, which was surprisingly heavy and Edd had to actually make an effort to bring it into his lap. It was like trying to drag over a dog when they didn't want to get up.

The T.V. continued, and Ringo eventually came through the cat door to jump onto the sofa next to Edd. The feline's relentless hungry meowing drove Edd to get up, careful to keep the egg held close to his smeghead t-shirt. The dark grey tabby trekked close to the boy's feet, dangerously close to tripping him up.

However, he made it to the kitchen without much issue and laid the egg onto a dish towel so it wouldn't roll and get hurt. Opening the cupboard, Edd pulled out Ringo's box of food and shook it out into his food dish. Sliding it back where it belonged, he then refilled the cat's water bowl from the sink. Seeing the cat satisfied, Edd picked the egg back up and headed back to the living room.

As he was heading back, he heard soft footsteps, obviously coming from someone either in their bare feet or wearing slippers. Out from the hallway came the only person left in the house besides Edd. It was Tord. The Norwegian's usually-spiked hair was ruffled and uneven, laying relatively low to his head. He had a black eye and several bruises lining his neck, chest, and arms. Added with those, he has several cuts from where Tom's sharp nails had dug into him and cut his skin.

Edd let out a quiet gasp at the state of his friend, as the bruises had not yet bloomed when Edd had been in the company of him.

"C'mon buddy, come sit on the couch and watch T.V. I'll get you some ice and bandages." Edd laid the egg on the couch between two of the cushions to keep it in place. He felt kind of anxious leaving it there with Tord, but he should certainly know not to hurt it, right?

Tord sat down, looking over at the egg. Anger towards Tom made him want to destroy it, but both the fear of being killed and the guilt of how badly he had hurt Matt made him keep his distance. When Edd returned, Tord had the T.V. remote in his hand and was surfing the channels idly.

Edd let Tord keep his mind on the T.V. while he wrapped up the cuts and wounds with bandages and ice. He found himself hoping that Tord and Tom could get along at some point because this hatred was getting really out of hand. Either way, what he was concerned with right now was making sure Tord and the egg were okay.