Childish (TomTord Fanfic)

Awkward

Tom remained on Tord's bed, his head still pounding. He couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward as Tord's two lackeys stared at him.
"...What?" Tom asked, getting sick of the silence.
"Sorry, we don't mean to stare, it's just... The last time we saw you... Well you were a hyperactive little kid with a tendency to get into alot of trouble, now you're... Um..." Pat trailed off.
"Practically trying to fuse with our leader," Pau finished, a smirk on his face.
"PAU!" Pat scolded.
"What? He was!" Pau rolled his eyes. Meanwhile Tom sat there looking completely red. Hearing someone else recount the events that had just taken place... The reality of it had started to sink in. Tom let out a groan and buried his face in a pillow.
"I can't believe I just did that..." He groaned. A look of concerned flashed across Pat's face, while a knowing smirk crossed Pau's.
"Well whatever just happened, you certainly didn't seem opposed to it," Pau chuckled.
"Will you just shut up? I don't even know who you are!"
"You did at one point kid, and I bet the version of you I met would be squealing like a thirteen-year-old girl with braces at a Justin Bieber concert at the prospect of having kissed our leader," Pau shrugged. Tom froze for a moment, trying to think back to whatever happened during the time he had been temporarily turned back into a child.
"Was I that attached to him?" Tom asked, lifting his face from the pillow with a meek expression.
"Like a leech..." Pat sighed. Tom groaned again, pressing his face back into the pillow.
"Pressing your face into our leader's pillow isn't exactly benefiting you in any way..." Pau admitted. Tom simply protested by pushing his face deeper into the pillow and groaning louder. Pau snorted a bit, prompting another glare from Pat.
"Are you feeling alright? Red leader said you were injured," Pat asked.
"Why do you care?" Tom mumbled from the deep recesses of Tord's pillow.
"I doubt you remember, but whenever Red leader was too busy to watch over you, he had us do it and I guess we developed a bit of a... Concern for your well-being as a result," Pat explained.
"This guy has at least, you would've thought he lost his son, he was that worried," Pau teased.
"Not true! You were worried too! You cared for him just as much as I did!"
"Yeah I was a bit startled when we found out he was gone, but it was nothing compared to your freakout," Pau smiled. Tom peeked out from his pillow safe haven, watching the two argue back and forth in bizarre fascination.
"I'm alright for the most part, bit of a headache, my arms sting a little," Tom replied, subconsciously shifting his bandaged arms.
"Did you patch those up yourself?" Pau asked.
"No? I don't remember doing it at least, I kind of just assumed the medic did it while I was unconscious but if he's unavailable then..."
"Ah, Red leader must've done it then, he's been getting better at bandaging wounds, if he learned just a little bit more about medicine and basic anatomy we may not even need a medic anymore," Pat joked.
"God I hope so," Pau mumbled. Tom gazed down at his arms, feeling a small twinge of warmth in his chest and a smile creep onto his face. Pau laughed upon noticing this, earning him a small punch in the arm from the man standing next to him. Tom forced the smile away and was tempted to burrow his way back into the pillow. He still wasn't entirely sure why he had just kissed his mortal enemy. He had just felt Tord's hand on his face and just... Went with it. There was no voice in the back of his mind screaming at him to stop, no heart thumping adrenaline alerting him to the danger the action implied, just him and Tord and his muscles urging him to lean in. He wasn't even mad at the fact that it was such an intrusion of personal space, he was actually mad at the fact that it had felt good. It was almost a relief to kiss Tord, like he was finally finishing something he hadn't remembered ever starting. He had been trying to work up even an ounce of anger or remorse towards the situation, but he was having no such luck. That is what frustrated him the most.
"Everything okay?" Pat asked. Suppose his contemplation had been noticed.
"Yeah... Yeah sorry, was just thinking," Tom shrugged. He wasn't sure why he had even answered the man. Just a few moments ago, he didn't even want to talk to them, but some part of his mind had clicked, and he felt the need to confide in the two men.
"Yeah making out with a dude after waking up in his bed out of a coma will do that," Pau sighed, saying that as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Tom threw him an angry look and chucked the pillow at him, hitting him in the face despite his best efforts at blocking the red velvet monstrosity. "Hey!" He frowned.
"What do you mean "hey?" you were asking for that!" Tom argued.
"Back me up here Pat!"
"I mean you kinda were..." Pat grinned at his companion.
"Since when was this a team up?! Man I liked you better as a kid, young you would've sided with me..." Pau huffed. Tom and Pat laughed a bit, before yet another silence cloud started forming around them.
"Hey uh... Could you maybe throw that pillow back this way? It hurts to stand up for too long..." Tom chuckled.
"Oh I'll-" Pau didn't have time to pick the pillow up off the floor before Pat swiped it up himself, tossing it towards Tom in order to make sure he could catch it without hitting him.
"Thanks," Tom sighed.
"No problem, we're here if you need anything by the way, I know Tord just asked us to watch over you for now, but since the medic is 'out' right now it seems like you'll be around for a bit so... We're here for you if you really need us," Pat offered.
"Or if you just need a break from Red leader, lord knows we could all use a break from that train wreck every now and then," Pau shrugged.
"...Harsh but true," Pat smiled. Tom couldn't help but smile back a bit. While Tom still felt a bit apprehensive when it came to these two, he had to admit it was nice to know he had a friend or two who thought Tord was just as obnoxious as Tom viewed him. Although... Now he wasn't sure if that was a solid opinion or not. Tom didn't want to think too hard on his feelings for Tord at that moment. It was confusing and just made his headache worse. He decided to fill the space with some idle chat for a bit, trying not to think back to what had happened the last time he'd attempted to do so.
"I might take you up on that offer sometime... So... Um... How's the medic?" Tom asked.
"I don't know his exact state, I only caught a glimpse of him being carried into the infirmary by the ripper, the seamstress and the ripper seemed very concerned however..." Pat trailed off. Tom seemed to perk up at the mention of the seamstress. She had completely slipped his mind. From what he could remember, Tord had told him she had actually survived the shooting he had inadvertently caused. So that wasn't a bluff?
"How is the seamstress?" Tom asked again, trying not to let too much concern leak through his cynical tone.
"The seamstress? From what I've heard she's been recovering well, but we don't know alot about her current condition since... Well you know," Pat answered.
"I'm pretty sure she's fine, saw her limping around with the instructor assisting her, she's been bandaged up pretty good and as much as I hate him, the medic has gotten better at his stitching," Pau added onto Pat's answer. Tom noticeably relaxed at that news. At least he could cross that off his list of guilts. "Wait what happened to the meat shield?" Pau asked.
"Oh right, you were asleep, I'm not too sure honestly, the ripper came back to base with him and immediately brought him into the infirmary, the medic went limp at one point and well... The ripper basically gripped me by the neck and demanded I go get help immediately..." Pat explained.
"He hurt you?!"
"No! No! He apologized and walked into the infirmary after that, I think he's just stressed since the medic is so badly injured," Pat quickly corrected his statement.
"I can relate..." Pau said under his breath.
"What was that Pau?"
"I said I hope the meat shield has a brain bleed," Pau lied.
"PAU! You don't really mean that do you?!" Pat sounded horrified, and even Tom looked at him as if he were a madman. Pau just shrugged in response and focused his eyes on some random corner of the room so as to avoid eye contact with everyone else in the room. "...In any case, the infirmary is surprisingly packed right now, so hopefully we'll be able to find someone to sub for the medic for the time being," Pat finished.
"I honestly don't think I even need a medic in the first place," Tom pouted.
"You don't? I don't know... When Red leader brought you back... You looked pretty beat up, what if you have a concussion?" Pat asked worriedly.
"I know my body, and I'm sure I'd know if I had a concussion, I don't need a medic to tell me that."
"Kid, you can barely stand for more than a few seconds, and based on the way your face keeps twitching, you either have the world's worst headaches or the world's worst case of turrets, and we don't even know if that's where it ends, it won't kill you to stay for a bit until a medic can at least take a look at you," Pau suddenly chimed in again. Tom sat quiet for a moment, before letting out a small sigh.
"Okay fine," He mumbled begrudgingly. He supposed it couldn't hurt. Although he would probably need to find a way to get into contact with Edd and Matt later so as to let them know he wasn't dead. He was startled out of his daze by yet another distant clap of thunder, making Tom's shoulders tense. He had forgotten all about the evil lurking just outside. Tord was right, chatting was a decent distraction. Pau and Pat were of course able to pick up on Tom's discomfort remarkably fast.
"What's wrong kid?" Pau asked, finally seeming somewhat concerned.
"I-It's nothing," Tom attempted to pass off the whole thing, silently hoping he wouldn't be pressed for further details. He just gripped tighter to sheets and hoped the storm would pass by quicker- oh nope there was another clap of thunder, of course. Tom tried to bite the inside of his cheek in the hopes that it would stop him from shaking anymore than he already was. Sadly for Tom he, once again, misjudged his own bravery and had only started to shake even more.
"Ah, astraphobia?" Pau asked.
"What?" Tom asked. Pat seemed just as confused as the shorter man currently trying not panic on the bright red bed.
"Sorry, fear of thunder?" Pau rephrased his sentence. Tom, unable to form anymore words as the sound of more thunder filled the room, nodded in confirmation.
"Really? That's peculiar... I mean! Uh... Not that it's weird exactly, I just think it's kind of ironic given we are in the most storm prone part of England," Pat sighed. Tom opened his mouth as to deliever some sort of snappy retort, but Thor seemed intent on shutting him up.
"I know this will sound pretty dumb, but it's best not to think about it too much, try tuning it out with some other noise, doesn't necessarily have to be an actual noise in the room, just a pleasant noise you remember," Pau advised. Tom stood still for a moment, before gently closing his eyes and thinking back to the last time he had played Susan. It wasn't his best work to be honest, and he kinda wished it hadn't taken place in that old abandoned building, but he remembered how peaceful it was to just sit and idly pluck at her strings, listening to the harmonious, albeit out of tune, notes that flowed from her. He opened his eyes with a nostalgic sigh, and found that he could only hear a small rumble now. Still there and, as part of Tom's brain reminded him, still very much a thing, but he didn't seem to mind it as much anymore.
"Did it work?" Pat asked. Tom nodded, relieved.
"Used to work on me as a kid, I mean it didn't get rid of the fear completely, I got over that by myself as I got older, but it definitely helped me cope throughout those first few years," Pau smirked.
"Thank you," Tom hummed.
"...No problem kid, just don't throw anymore pillows at me and we'll call it even," Pau winked. Pat seemed genuinely impressed by the other man's expertise, and was about to voice his admiration until a concerned looking Red leader practically charged through the door. "Hey look, it's the train wreck," Pau laughed. Earning him a smirk from Tom, a light chuckle from Pat, and a confused look from Tord.