Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

Tom stared at Matthew, debating ways he could choke the ginger in front of him with his spoon and a bowl of cereal out of a pure loss of patience.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'wHo aM i?'" Tom uttered mockingly, rage filling his insides as he glared at the poor bastard across him.

He knew Matthew had decided to put up a new 'innocent' facade so he could fuck people over when they needed him in his typical asshole way but really? Does he have a death wish or something? Possibly.

Really, he should have expected this new level of stupid asshole with how weird he had been acting ever since Tord left a week ago for the 'big city'.

Aw shit. What does he have to lose anymore?

Certainly not his parents.

Might as well see where this game of Matthew's will go. He's too tired to give a damn anyways and it's morning and did he mention he's tired? And-oops Matthew's talking. Maybe he should start paying attention. Or go to a therapist for once…..Nah.

"-ho I have no idea who you two are or who I am with no idea of my parents or past except my name and that's it. And I'm just, kind of um….worried? No, no, no that's not it. Um, well the best way I can put it is worried and scared? Yeah, some mixture of that and I really didn't know how to bring this up without being awkward but I finally realized I can't live like this in the dark forever and I need answers. An-"

Damn. He certainly is talkative today. Trying to get Matthew to talk was like pulling teeth and it still surprises him that even Tord talked more even though he had went back to Norway and lost grip on the language and-fucking damnit. Go to hell Tord. Fuck, right, Matthew now, he can scream obscenities and curses and other stuff at Tord later while drunk off his ass.

Fuck, why did he ever agree to come live with these assholes. Fuck everyone. Except Edd, and his siblings. God, does he want to relax for once in his life with them.

"Alright, shut up idiot. I get it. You have no idea where you are or who I am and I try to explain this as much as I can until I decide I'm sick of you. We just need to wait for Edd and the-" Tom frozed.

Wait, no. Fuck Edd as well. Damn bastards leaving him with other, even worse, bastards.

Out of all the possible days, today he had to go to his family reunion. It's too fucking early for this shit. He hasn't even had his coffee yet-

"-Never mind. I'll just explain everything. But that's after we finish breakfast and I call in a sick day at work because this is going to take a while to explain and I want to eat." He declared, going back to his cereal.

"I-Alright. After breakfast then." Matthew resigned, seeming to understand that Tom wasn't going to budge on his decision.

Good, seems like Matthew decided to go along instead of pushing the matter even more like he usually would to piss Tom off just enough to not go over the edge.

Christ, he needed a drink. Fuck mornings indeed.

Chapter Text

"Alright, dumbass," Loud shattering was heard after that proclamation. "Stop looking at me like that, I'll clean it up later."

Tom scowled at Matthew. "It's not even our cup. So don't worry too much about it. It's from a roommate that recently left. Not like he's going to miss it much."

"But he might come back f-"

"No. He's not coming back. End of story, alright?"

"...Okay."

"Good. Now," Tom plopped himself in the chair behind him, leaning back, "Matthew, you better listen because I'm only saying this once before hiding out in my room to hibernate until Edd, the guy in green obviously, comes back."

Matthew nodded, letting an awkward smile grow on his face.

"Good. So, obviously I'm Tom, and your full name is Matthew Windsor, son of George Windsor and Valerie Windsor." Vague gesturing from Tom was motioning to Matthew.

"We, were a group of four buddies fucking around and having adventures from time to time. From zombie apocalypses to stabbing each other. Until, as you can see, one of us moved out. Tord, to be more exact. The trigger-happy, hentai loving freak show." Pausing for a bit before flicking his middle finger to the window next to him before putting it back down.

"Edd's a Coca-Cola addict who draws in his spare time and I'm an alcoholic who can't hold an actual steady job before jumping into something else. Last of all, you, Windsor, are, or used to be but that doesn't seem the case, a fucking narcissistic asshole who gives no shit about who you harm as long as you stay on top."

Matthew felt a shiver crawling up his spine from the icy glare that from thrown his way, "Sooooo, we were just roommates who didn't like each other?"

"More like hated on my end but nonetheless yes. Just roommates. And one more thing," The alcoholic took a quick glance at the clock before looking back at the ginger looking at him nervously, "The topic of parents is forbidden in his house for the exception of Edd's because the rest of us got shitty ass parents. Yes, even yours. They kicked you out when you turned 18 so don't try to contact them blah, blah, blah."

He got up and turned to leave, "You know where your stuff is and I've got somewhere to be so. If you don't mind," Taking his flask and opening it to take a quick sip before closing it, sighing disappointingly.

"I'm going to the store to pick up some groceries, my number is in your phone if you need anything. And your keys are in the kitchen so stop staring at the fridge and wondering why it's locked."

"Why is it locked in the first place?" Matthew tilted his head looking in the direction of the kitchen.

Tom shook his head. "Edd is just that protective of his Cola after you took it and used it as bait one time a few years ago."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now can I go?" Tom demanded.

"Ah, sorry. I think that's all my questions for now." The ginger replied, "I'm really sorry for disturbing you Tom."

The alcoholic grunted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Slipping on his checkered shoes and taking the house keys from their place on the shelf he walked to the door and shut it loudly, leaving the nervous ginger to fiddle for an undetermined amount of time before getting up and going to his room to wonder if all the sweating ruined his makeup.

Chapter Text

Looking around, Tom grabbed items from the shelves that he deemed were essentials. Even if it was mostly junk food and a few other items to appease Edd and Matthew to stop them from getting on his case- mostly Edd when he came back, 100% Edd- and well, in his opinion. Why the fuck not?

Nonetheless, after picking out those items out, paying for them and shoving them into the trunk of the car, he headed over to the liquor store to buy his weekly supply of Smirnoff.

His cheerful mood is brought down when he remembers Matthew and Tom huffs in anger.

Thinking about Matthew always made him sick and he really wasn't sure how long he could handle him and his stupid ass mind games that he liked playing.

Matthew may have been quieter the past week and seemed more expressive and open than usual and Tom is really weirded out about the whole thing but that didn't mean he couldn't be suspicious.

But noooo, Edd thinks Matthew is just contemplating about his past actions and might be having a change of heart.

Of course, Edd. Embrace the asshole who willingly shove your other friend down the stairs for 'just standing there.'

It's like he's just asking for death to come and kick them in the face. No really, Tom wouldn't be surprised if Edd's gullibleness was what got them killed.

Tom sighed, wondering when he became the most responsible person of the group. Which really said something about all of them.

"Fuck." He muttered once he was in the car and turning the key to turn on the engine, upset that he couldn't connect the dots and see what Matthew was up to.

It really seemed like Matthew was telling the-No.

Tom's eyes went white in surprise as he had a sudden epiphany, turning the wheel and hauling ass to get home as quickly as he could.

Once he did get home, he took the bags out of the trunk of the car and shoved the key into the knob before running down the hall and tossing the bags into the kitchen. Being a lot more careful with the bags that carried his vodka than the bag with the carton of eggs inside.

"I'll get some more later, no big deal." He mumbled, dashing through the house and bursting through Matthew's bedroom door.

"Matthew! Think quick! What's your favorite alcoholic drink?"

Matthew jumped in surprise from where he was standing, nearly dropping the picture frame he was holding onto the ground and shooting Tom a look of confusion. "Uhh… Orange juice?"

A brief flash of frustration crossed Tom's face before he banged his head against the doorway, whispering under his breath, "It's whiskey. The answer was whiskey. Fuck."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, just let me grab another drink."

"But you just-"

"Matthew. Or Matt, whatever. Hey buddy, pal, amigo, when I say I'm going to grab a drink, I'm going to grab a drink and there's nothing you can do about it capiche?" Tom said exasperation clear in his tone before exhaling.

"I just. Fuck, you really were telling the truth. God fucking Christ no. Why must the world inflict this type of shit onto me?" He said dramatically, sliding down the doorway.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

Chapter Text

Matthew paced in front of Tom's bedroom door, turning towards it and walked right in front of the door and knocked."Tom?"

"What?" A muffled voice called out.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"No. Let me drink in peace Mat-Matthew." Tom groaned out, rolling over the edge of his bed and onto the floor, making a loud thud on the floor.

"Fuck." He let out slowly, before rolling over again and sitting up.

"Tom?" The ginger repeated, with more worry in his tone.

"Mmmm fine Matthew. Really." The alcoholic insisted as he stood up and glared at the door, taking another swing of the bottle on the floor. "Just wait for me in the kitchen and pray Edd gets home soon."

Matthew stared at the door with a look of frustration and worry on his face, exhaling and then nodded before he remembered Tom couldn't see him. "Alright Tom. Just, call me if you need anything."

Tom let out a hum of approval as he heard Matthew walk away, trying to think of an idea that would confirm if Matthew was truly, 100%, absolutely telling the truth.

Having a hint of paranoia was never a bad thing after all. Having too much though, would just ruin the soup.

Fuck. Tom smacked himself, letting out a breath of air. 'Focus Tom, you fucking moron. Don't think with your stomach.' He recited mentally, thinking of the hundreds of methods he could try to be completely and totally confident in his decision.

A lightbulb suddenly went off inside his head before a huge grin took over his face as he dived under his bed, looking for a bottle he was sure he kicked under there a month back.

"Yes." He cheered quietly, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and looked for a cup under his bed.

He should reallyclean that up later. Christ, when the fuck did he become such a damn slob.

Nonetheless, he cheered once more after he found a cup from within all that mess and jumped over his bed to his door.

Nearly, banging his head on the door as he rushed towards it, the Brit unlocked it and quietly tiptoed to the bathroom. He may be an asshole, but he's not that much of an asshole to let Matthew drink out of a dirty cup.

After that, he poured some whiskey into the cup and ran back to his room to shoved the bottle back under his bed.

Taking a deep breath, he headed to the kitchen to test his final test. If Matthew failed well, he would just toss him out the nearest window for making him unnecessarily panic.

Fuck everyone after all.

Chapter Text

Matthew stared at the cup in front of him before looking at Tom again, who looked very proud of himself as he puffed his chest out.

"What's that?" The ginger asked, looking back at the cup in front of him.

"Apple juice." Tom declared with such confidence that Matthew couldn't help but believe him.

"And why should I drink it again?"

"Wer-Were you even listening to me?" Tom questioned, seeming to deflate.

Matthew suddenly felt guilt flood his system as seeing this was the happiest he had seen Tom all week. "I-Uh no, I'm really sorry Tom."

Tom frowned at Matthew, tilting his head up and sighing. "Short version is that I just um. Shit. Give me a sec I forgot."

He pursed his lips before opening his mouth, "I just, we may not have gotten along in the past, but I really wanted to celebrate this occasion with something." He lied through the teeth, smiling widely as he tried not to gag from the words that came out of his mouth.

"Aww, why didn't you say so?"

"I did say th-"

Matthew grabbed the cup and slammed the drink down his throat before Tom could finish his sentence.

Tom stared widely before immediately jumping back with a yelp of surprise as Matthew spit out the drink from his mouth.

"Eww, what was that!?" The ginger yelled out, gagging and running over to the sink to grab a drink of water.

"Apple juice." Tom muttered incoherently, looking away from Matthew and down at his feet. Hearing Matthew gagging and spitting out the leftover aftertaste from the whiskey in his mouth, Tom quietly had a mental breakdown.

'What the absolute fuck in the name of God.' Tom wondered, staring holes into his feet.

'Shit, this is real.' He thought as he walked over to the counter and picked up the keys that was on top of it, 'Matthew wasn't lying this time.'

Opening the fridge and moving over the chain from the door, Tom took out a can of Cola, praying in the back of his head that Edd wouldn't notice before closing the fridge door and locking it up again.

Walking over to Matthew, he opened the can and shoved it into the ginger's hands. "Drink it." He said firmly with an empty look in his eyes

Matthew was quick to accept the can and chugged it down, letting out a burp after he finished. "Oops, please pardon me Tom." He said, not noticing the other Brit's internal meltdown.

Tom nodded stiffly and turned around to head to the living room.

Matthew was quick to follow the smaller Brit, tossing the can into the trash can on his way out.

Tom was quick to turn around and shove Matt into the couch once he heard the other following him. "Matthew, for the love of god and all that is holy, stop following me like a lost puppy and just-just sit down, okay!?"

Matthew flinched, backing into the couch before relaxing, "I'm really sorry Tom, it's just that-I'm sorry."
He muttered, curling up into himself.

Tom stared at Matthew for a moment before sighing and resigning himself to his fate as he sat next to the ginger.

Placing a hand on the other Brit's shoulder, Tom smiled awkwardly, "Listen Matthew, I get it. You don't understand what's going on and that's fine. But please respect my privacy. And if anyone needs to apologize it's me. I've been nothing more than an asshole to you and that's not okay. I'm, uh-sorry about the Apple juice thing. My fault for not checking the expiration date."

Matt looked up at Tom and nodded before smiling back. "Alright, I think I can do that. And I accept your apology."

Tom nodded back, lifting his hand out for a handshake. "Welcome to the household Matth-Matt. Nice to officially meet you."

If possible, Matt's smile got wider as he took Tom's hand. "Nice to officially meet you too, Tom."

Chapter Text

Edd sighed as he got out of the taxi with his suitcase, pulling out several pounds from his pocket to hand to the driver and wave off.

When the taxi was in the far distance, the brunet let a smile crawl up his face as he turned on his heel towards his house.

Sure, being with the rest of his family was wonderful and a great pick-me-up after, well, Tord's unfortunate departure but he missed being in his own home with his friends.

Honestly, all that he hoped for is that there was no damage to the house or his friends from any potential fights.

Marching up the sidewalk, Edd stood in front of the door and turned the knob, finding it unlocked. He tsked, shook his head fondly as he opened the door and stepped inside, his suitcase right on his heels.

The brunet perked up when he heard distant chatter coming from the living room, his grin curling on his lips.

Did Tom and Matt finally make amends while he was gone?? Shoot, he should leave more often if that's the case. Either way, this was fantastic news, Edd thought as he peeked around the corner and he saw Tom and Matt sitting together pointing at an old book.

Edd's smile couldn't get any bigger but it did, watching two of his oldest friends finally get along after two long decades. He stepped from behind the corner and left his suitcase behind, tiptoeing towards the other two Brits.

He stood there, watching the two of them reminiscing about their childhoods. Well, mostly Tom seemed to be doing the talking and Matt was nodding along, like he was hearing this for the first time, which was weird but oh well.

Edd stretched his arms wide before going in for the kill and scaring the heck out of his buddies.

"Boo!"

Matt jumped and so did Tom but the alcoholic was quick to slam the book in Edd's face.

"Intruder!" The blue hoodie wearing Brit cried out, holding the book out like a weapon and nearly going to slam the book in Edd's face again until he realized who he was.

"Edd?" 

"..ow, that's me." Edd choked out, rubbing his nose from where he was knocked into the floor, whining incessantly.

Tom lowered the book and a look of exasperation flashed in his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Edd, do I have to explain again why sneaking up on me, specifically, is a very bad idea?"

"Nnnoooo?"

"I sure hope not. This would make it the what? The twenty-fifth time?" Tom mused.

"Why is sneaking up on you a bad idea?" Matt piped up, glancing at Edd every other second.

Tom pointed at Edd to show as an example. "That's why."

"Oh. But wh-"

"Matt please. Shut up."

"Sorry Tom." Matt apologized, peeking at Tom sheepishly.

Tom rolled his eyes(?) and placed his hand on the edge of the couch as he jumped down next to Edd and held out his hand.

Edd moved his hand off of his nose, looked at Tom with a rueful smile and took the other Brit's hand.

Tom pulled Edd up and slapped his back, "Anyways, nice to see you back Edd!" He said with a genuine happy smile on his face.

"Nice to see you too Tom, Matt." Edd grinned back, looking over at Matt who returned the grin with a thumbs up. "Soooo, what have you two been up to?"

"Nothing much." Tom replied quickly. Too quick in Edd's opinion. Something fishy happened indeed and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Edd raised a brow, surveying Tom's sudden stiff posture and smile. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you reaaallllyyyy sure?"

" Ye-"

"Welll, if you really want to know. Tom and I just talk about what we're going to do about-" Matt oh so kindly interrupted before getting Tom's hands slapped over his mouth.

Edd then raised both of his brows, looking at the two suspiciously as Tom glared at Matt for his lack of a brain to mouth filter. 

Matt shrunk down into his purple hoodie, fiddling with his hands under Tom's gaze.

The tension between the three, especially between Tom and Edd, quickly evaporated and Edd jumped back to his cheerful persona.

"Allllright! Don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough." Edd remarked confidently, "I'm just gonna go and unpack my stuff, come prepare dinner and then pass out. Okay?"

Tom hummed in agreement, watching as Edd turned away to his suitcase and then towards his room before slapping Matt upside the head.

"What was that for?!" He whispered shouted, trying to restrain himself from choking Matt.

Matt winced, trying to figure out what would calm Tom down. "He wanted to know what happened while he was gone and you weren't saying anything!"

"For a reason!"

"What reason!?" Matt shouted back, looking frustrated at Tom's keenness to keep everything secret from Edd.

Tom jabbed his finger into the ginger's chest harshly, "How many times do I have to repeat to you, that Edd. Would. Not. Be happy on why you had a fucking memory eraser gun. Shit, he would be fucking devastated that past you commissioned that from Tord and that you were planning on using it on us. He would figure that shit out if we told what went down while he was gone and that apparently you lost your memory without getting fucking hospitalized . Us still being unharmed and in one piece is suspicious enough as it is Matt. " He hissed out, and if looks could kill, Matt would be a burning corpse in hell by now.

Matt glared back, not liking that they had to keep this whole incident a secret from Edd. "Can't we just, try and explain it?"

" No . " Tom growled, "We simply can't Matthew."

"But-"

" End of discussion Matt-"

"Hey guys! What would you like to eat?" Edd yelled, coming out of his room in his regular green hoodie and some sweatpants.

Matt and Tom jumped back, not knowing when they had gotten that close and turned their attention to Edd with forced smiles. 

"Take a break Edd, I'll cook tonight." Tom offered, moving away from the couch and strolled over to Edd.

"Tom please, I'm pretty sure you had enough trouble keeping Matt from the kitchen and burning down the house." Edd quipped with a smirk, tossing his arm over Tom's shoulder.

"Oh please, I insist. After all, I'm the best chef in this house." Tom tossed back, ducking under Edd's arm and went into the kitchen.

"If you say so." Edd cheerfully replied, following Tom.

Matt stared at Edd's back with remorse in his eyes, wondering how Tom managed to brush it off.

Edd turned back towards Matt, pointing to the kitchen. "You joining us Matt?"

Matt quickly removed the guilty look on his face and replaced it with a smile, nodding. "Yeah, give me a minute."

Edd accepted the reply and left Matt, sitting on the couch with a heavy heart.

Chapter Text

The clinking of forks against silverware managed to distract Matt from the happy chatter of the other two.

Their smiles refused to leave their faces as they talked about Edd's family and what other questions Tom threw at Edd to keep him distracted.

Matt didn't understand how Tom could just lie to Edd's face willy-nilly. He just couldn't. Did they do this all the time or something? Edd didn't seem bothered at all that they were hiding something from him. 

It even looked like he completely forgot about it.

He bit down on the sausage on his fork after Edd glanced his way. Tom was going to kick him later at this rate. He was acting too suspicious.

One thing Matt's is going to admit though, Tom really can cook. And he wouldn't say this out loud, but it may be a teensy-weensy bit better than Edd.

Just a little bit though. Shame, Tom doesn't really cook often. Apparently only on special occasions.

Truly a shame.

Anyways back on topic. Um, what was he- oh right! 

Tom and lying. What they discussed about the past few days since he came out with the truth about his memory loss.

First, Tom made him go back to the first thing he remembered which was the red gun that Tom quickly snatched from him when he regained consciousness.

(Is that the right word? Probably not.)

So the gun. First thing that Tom tried to do is find a reverse switch of some sort and when he failed to find said switch he stormed into Matt's room.

Said light-haired brunet proceeded to scavenge around in his room. And when said eyeless brunet found a book, and not just any book. A bloody diary , Matt didn't hesitate to try and grab it.

Bad idea in retrospect. He's still not sure why he did it. Muscle memory or reflex, he's not sure. But really what does he have to hide? There's no way Matt was a bad person!

(Still wouldn't explain why Tom glared at him on occasions before he came out with his whole...situation. Tom's is a good guy! He just probably screwed up. And- as much as the ginger hates to say it- he isn't perfect.)

Also, he has no recollection of the life he used to have. He literally has yet to screw up or have any reason to hide anything.

Either way, that was still an invasion of privacy even if the person who the diary belonged to was gone.

(Is the person who said diary belongs to gone though? Ugh, he doesn't want to think about this. His head hurts already.)

When he lunged at Tom to grab the book, Tom proceeded to kick him in a very private place that hurts a lot when someone hits there.

Matt went on to keel over and whimpered on the floor as Tom opened the book to the last page and read

Then, not even a minute later, Tom kicked him again. Much harder, twice the kick and looking very pissed.

Suffice to say, Matt did not want to get up ever again.

Even so, Tom forced him to get up and dragged him to the living with some struggle. And then explained that there was no reversing what happened to him and that he…..

Matt grimaced. Yeah no, he takes back what he said about past him being nice. There's no way someone who cares about their friends would do that.

Nuh-uh. No way. He repeated as he bit down on the rest of the sausage on his spoon and then dug into the mashed potatoes. No way.

And now, here they are. This time with Edd and hopefully they'll tell him so they can work together to figure this out.

Maybe. If Tom didn't seem so insistent on not telling Edd and keeping him in the dark. Which seems like a bad idea because wouldn't it be better to have three brains than two?

Matt rubbed at his temple and placed down his fork when he finished eating, feeling mildly distressed.

He highly doubts he could get away with telling Edd. No matter how small Tom looks like, he looks like he could easily break every bone in his body without hesitation.

Matt shudders at the thought and stands up to place his plate in the sink.

"Hey guys, I think I'll turn in early tonight." The ginger quietly addresses as the two other people in the room turn to face him.

Edd nods and Tom just looks at him. And then nods in acceptance as well.

"Alright, goodnight Matt." Both brunets uttered out and proceeded to return to their conversation.

Matt nods and walks out of the kitchen and towards his room.

He's not sure how Tom does it, but this situation feels heavy on his shoulders. The lying may seem light but Matt already hates it. He already hates the lying and he doesn't want to replace the person who he used to be.

It seems wrong to take over someone else's life entirely. He may have the same body and physical features and family but the memories aren't there anymore.

And as he lies in the darkness of his room and hears the other two turn out for the night and say their goodnights, Matt stares at the ceiling restless until he falls asleep.

Tomorrow is another day after all.

Chapter Text

Apparently, sleep only seemed to be a luxury for the wicked, Matt decreed. 

"It's only beennnn-" The ginger turned to his alarm clock. "Four hours. Four bloody hours oh god." He mumbled as he stumbled out of his bed and onto the floor with a smack.

"Noo. It's 4 am and I can't sleep." He whined, squeezing his eyes shut in hopes that he would go right back to sleep. Of course, that plan didn't work because not even a second later he got up when he heard a yelp and thump out the door.

Nope. He's not getting any sleep tonight. Will he ever though? The last two days before Edd came back were spent in anxiousness and even before he told Tom about his whole memory issue, those nights were spent pacing around the house. Quietly, of course.

The ginger sighed mournfully and he longed for a good night sleep as he rummaged through his nightstand for his old glasses that he most likely never used, and shoved them on his face. 

Stepping out of his room and into the hallway, he saw a scene that he wished he could take back.

"Oh god, what is that-"

"Shhh! Shut it Matt." The other tense resident said as his grey shirt got stained with blood.

"Tom, what happened!?" Matt exclaimed, staring in horror at said alcoholic with the miserable cat yowling in pain in his lap.

Tom wobbled as he got up with Ringo in his arms and a panic-stricken expression on his face. "I didn't see Ringo and accidentally stepped on her!"

"Who?"

"...You really did not pay attention to me two days ago huh?" Tom stared impassively at Matt, shaking his head.

Matt shrunk back, smiling nervously. "Well, you got boring after a while."

Tom frowned, felt slightly miffed at Matt's excuse and proceeded to kick him in the shin.

Matt yelped and jumped back away from Tom, holding his shin in pain. "You certainly enjoy hurting me, don't you." The ginger whimpered, staring at the blood stained brunet.

"It's funny. Anyways, I'm going to take Ringo outside into the backyard and see what I can do about her uh, leg. Her broken bloody leg. Yeah. Feel free to join if you want." Tom drawled out, any previous panic gone and in its place, a bored monotone voice as he turned around into the bathroom.

Matt nodded as he watched Tom take the first aid kit from the bathroom and walk down the corridor to go outside.

'Guess the wicked aren't immune to insomnia.' The ginger mused, getting up and bounding off towards Tom's direction.

Matt still wondered why Tom was awake but that thought quickly flew out of his head as he exited the house and towards the backyard where Tom said he would be.

Matt crouched down next to Tom and watched the other take out supplies from the first aid kit. "So, is this your first time? Because it doesn't seem like it." The ginger remarked, tilting his head in curiosity and wincing at the amount of blood on Tom.

"Very observant of you Matt." Tom stated sarcastically, carefully moving Ringo's leg as she mewed quietly. "But to answer your question, no, this is not my first time fixing one of Ringo's legs nor will it be the last."

"Huh, so is she your cat?" Matt asked, looking at the grey tabby cat.

"Nope, she's Edd's. He got her when he was like 16. I think, it's been a while." Tom answered.

"Why haven't I seen her around?" Matt pestered, running his fingers through Ringo's fur. 

Tom gave Matt a dirty look and kicked him again. 

"Ow! That hurts Tom!" Matt whined, backing away.

"Stop asking questions and go get a bottle of water, a flashlight and some rags. Clean ones." Tom demanded, kicking Matt once more.

Matt scattered back and stood up, "Alright, alright I'm going! No need to be mean." The ginger yelled as he ran back inside to collect the materials.

"Don't wake Edd dumbass!" 

"I won't!" Matt shouted as he zipped inside.

Once Matt grabbed what Tom asked of him, he ran back outside and handed the items over to Tom who snatched them out of his hands.

"Rude." Matt frowned, sitting down across Tom. 

Tom just glanced at Matt before turning his attention to the tabby and handed the flashlight back to Matt.

"Turn it on, will you?"  The brunet ordered as he poured water onto the patches of grey fur with blood on it.

The ginger bobbed his head up and down in agreement and pressed down on the button on the flashlight. Which after a few seconds of playing with it, turned the light towards Ringo and where the injury seemed to be.

Tom proceeded to clean the wound with water and grabbed a sterile pad from the first aid kit to place over said wound. After placing the pad, he grabbed some rags and gently wrapped them around the leg to keep the pad in place.

When that was done, Tom gestured towards Matt to move the flashlight around to see if there was another injury he didn't notice. 

Turns out, Ringo had an unusual bump on her hip and when Tom discovered that, he groaned.

"What?"

"I think I broke Edd's cat."

"....What..?"

"Just get the car keys, my hoodie, a drink from the fridge and her carrier please. Take the kit back to the bathroom because Ringo's injury seems to be more than I can handle and we might need to take her to the vet." The brunet sighed out, hesitantly getting off the ground and gently picking up the tabby.

"There's vets open at this time in the morning?" The ginger inquired, looking slightly dismayed.

The brunet nodded in affirmation and then walked off towards the car.

Matt's shoulders slumped and he sighed as he pressed his face into his hands. He just wanted to go back to sleep. Why did he have to get caught up in this mess? 

He whined as he picked up the first aid kit, closed it, and then walked back inside to grab what Tom asked of him again.

He really hoped that Tom and him won't get in trouble with Edd because if what the brunet said about Ringo being Edd's pet companion was right, they might as well be dead.

The ginger shudder in fear, just thinking about an angry or upset Edd was enough to get him moving to complete the tasks so they can leave and come back in time before Edd wakes up alone in the house and full of questions.

Well, one thing he can do is hope that they do manage to get back in time, he thought as he shoved the fridge keys into his back pocket and Tom's Smirnoff into his hoodie's pocket before rushing out of the house with the rest of the items requested of him.

Chapter Text

"Order 573!"

Tom looked up and sighed as he got up from his seat in front of Matt. Walking over to the counter, he grabbed the paper bag and two cups from the blonde employee and muttered a "Thank you."

Motioning towards Matt to follow him, they both strolled out of the fast food restaurant.

"Are you really going to eat that?" Matt asked, pulling a face when he looked at the bag in Tom's hands.

Tom proceeded to try and down one of the cups in his hands, only to quickly regret that decision when he burned his tongue. Coughing harshly, he nodded in response to Matt's question as he placed his hands on his legs.

After his coughing fit, Tom took a deep breath and leaned back. 

"It's literally 8 AM Matt, I'm bloody starving." He grumbled out, juggling with the items in his hands as he pulled out the car keys to open the door.

"But still, couldn't we go somewhere more… tasteful? Why such a tasteless place." Matt hesitated, sliding into his seat.

"Fuck you, I'm an adult. I can do whatever I want. Also, I'm the one out of the two of us who can drive." Tom shook the keys into front of Matt's face before jamming them into the ignition switch.

Tom placed the cups into the cup holder and the paper bag on top of the center console as Matt stared in disgust at the bag next to him.

"Alright. I get it. You can drive no need to brag." The ginger muttered, crossing his arms across his chest and pulling on his seatbelt.

"Damn right I can drive." Tom responded, backing the car out of the parking lot.

Matt sighed and leaned back in his seat, resigning to look at the scenery go by instead.

"Anyways, aren't you hungry? It's been like four hours since we woke up Matt." The brunet glanced over, stopping at a traffic light.

"Kinda, but I'll just eat at home."

"All that's left at home is the sugary sweet cereal dumbass, that you refused to eat and had egg and toast for the past few days because 'that cereal is unhealthy.'"

"I mean, that's a lot of sugar and calories-" The ginger started but was quickly cut off from continuing his rant.

"Matt, you nearly burned down the kitchen and we had to repaint it because of how bad you left it. We had the bacon that was placed aside for Edd for a welcome home present that I was forced to make. Now, we have to go pick up a cake and more bacon so Edd doesn't realize the bacon's gone before he wakes up." Tom glared over at Matt, pulling into the parking lot.

The ginger slid down in his seat, trying to look innocent but ended up crumbling under Tom's glare.

Matt sighed and nodded, opening his hand out towards Tom who reached into the paper bag and pulled out a burger to give to the ginger.

While Tom happily dug into his meal, Matt took hesitant bites of his. Eventually giving up halfway through, shoving the burger back into the bag and drunk his water to remove the taste of his meal.

When Tom finished with his meal and was drinking his coffee, he just stared disappointingly at Matt as he shook his head and got out of the car.

Matt followed suit behind Tom as they walked into the store.

"Here. Go get the bacon and I'll get the cake." Tom said as he shoved a basket into Matt's arms before turning on his heel and towards another direction.

Matt gazed over at Tom as he vanished out of sight before looking down at the basket and focusing on his mission.

Find the bacon.

After various distractions caused by shiny items, mirrors and toys, Matt finally arrived at where the bacon was.

Of course though, Matt stood there for another couple of minutes, looking over at the various packs of bacon as he tried to recall which one they had in the fridge awhile back.

Sliding down his arm across the shelf, the ginger decided to get at least one of each and dropped them into the basket.

On his way back to where Tom left him, Matt decided to grab a few mirrors.

Just a few.

Okay, so maybe grabbing ten was a little excessive and will most likely get him punched, but, mirrors! 

Matt smiled merrily as he held up one of said mirrors.

"I look good." The ginger grinned, stroking his square chin as he gazed into his reflection.

"Who looks good?"

Matt jumped into the air as he let out a yelp, and whipped around only to realize that the voice was just Tom who looked ready to go.

"Oh, er- Me?" Matt stammered, placing the mirror back into the basket. 

Tom proceeded to look over Matt, walking around him and then squint his eyes together.

"I don't see it. What I do see is trash." The brunet announced, shaking his head as he walked over to the checkout counter.

Matt slumped and puffed his cheeks out as he marched over to Tom. As he took out the items from the basket, Tom looked over the amount of mirrors that Matt had gotten and pursed his lips disapprovingly.

"You...don't need that many mirrors. We already have enough at home." Tom said as he crossed his arms, glaring at the ginger.

Said ginger huffed and puffed his chest out, trying to look stern. "Well, I don't see the problem with having extras."

"They'll just end up shattering!"

"Not if I take good care of them."

"Will you though? You lost my flask the other day and I had to buy a new one!"

"Preposterous!"

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Of course I do, I-"

"Cash or credit." The cashier interrupted, staring at both men with blank eyes.

Both roommates jumped, clearly having forgotten that they were in the middle of the store.

A cough was heard behind them.

Tom smiled nervously and took out his wallet, "Credit." He said as he waved the card in the air.

The cashier nodded and watched Tom slide the card through the card reader and punch in the pin.

Matt looked away and decided to pick up the bags and cake.

And when Tom finished, he grabbed the receipt and muttered a "thank you" before quickly rushing out with Matt tailing him.

Once they were both on the road again, there seemed to be an uncomfortable silence before Matt had enough and broke it.

"So. About Ringo." He started, looking over at Tom.

"What about her?" Tom responded, glancing at the ginger.

"What are we going to tell Edd? I mean, surely he will notice that she's gone."

Tom groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel, accidentally pressing the honking button.

He sighed, "Maybe he won't notice. At this point he believes Ringo is a god so maybe he'll think she just went on a quest or something similar."

"Really?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, guess we'll have to wing it."

"Please don't say that." Matt whined, turning away towards the window, feeling a chill go down his spine.

"Hey, bud, I got experience in lying to him about his cat. I'm sure I can make a believable excuse before then." Tom tried to reassure, not looking very certain himself.

Matt only whined louder as he slid down his seat.

Chapter Text

It was cold. 

Freezing, the brunet felt like he was ice cold as he desperately tried to scramble up in the dark, murky water for air.

Okay, so maybe Tom is exaggerating a little but it is really fucking cold. Like, oh god he's totally going to get hypothermia at this rate.

'Where the fuck are Edd and Matt?' The brunet wondered, looking around for the sight of a bright ginger head or a green sweatshirt.

Cursing himself for camouflaging so seamlessly into the blue ocean water the brunet had enough and decided to go above the ocean water. Maybe he'll have better luck, he doubted it though.

Breaking through the harsh current of the waves, Tom tried to pull the jar off of his head.

Successfully pulling it off, he placed it under his arm and the look around. Only to groan in frustration when he saw land a few miles away. And on that beach, was a ginger and a brunet freaking out.

Tom shoved the jar back into his head, and went back underwater to swim toward his roommates.

While Tom swam toward the other two, Edd and Matt were busy freaking out about his potential disappearance to notice him getting closer.

What did they notice was a jar flying towards Matt's face which said ginger quickly ducked before it hit him.

Their heads snapped towards the direction where the jar came from as they proceeded to both beam with joy and rushed over to Tom who was shaking the water off his clothes.

"Tom!" Both shouted in joy, being quick to crush Tom in their hug.

"..ugh..guys? Please....let me go." Tom pleaded, trying to push the other two off of him or at least wiggle his way out.

Of course, his pleads were ignored by a certain brunet who proceeded to smother him in his chest as Matt let go and backed off.

Matt grinned cheekily as he backed off, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "You scared us for a moment there Tom. We thought you just vanished or worse."

Tom glared at Matt when the ginger just stood there and did nothing to stop Edd from squeezing the air out of him. Only to get whiplash when Edd suddenly slammed him against the ground and punched him in his abdomen.

Tom curled up and moaned in pain as Edd stood above him, his face set in a fierce expression.

"What the actual fuck Edd?" Tom shrieked, holding his legs close to his abdomen.

"That was for Ringo, you bitch ." Edd snarled, looking very pissed off.

"What did I do- oh..." Tom stopped, his face suddenly pale as he quickly got up and ran off into the distance.

Edd bolted after him with Matt following closely behind. 

"Edd please! We can talk about this together!" Matt begged, jumping onto Edd and retraining the brunet.

Edd kicked and screamed the moment Tom stopped running and started to back up, determined on kicking the other brunet's ass.

A few minutes passed as Edd calmed down, taking deep breaths and counting to ten.

Tom slowly and hesitantly sat down next to them, carrying the fish bowls and the jar from earlier in his arms.

"Can I take back my earlier statement and say sorry?" 

"No." Edd hissed, narrowing his eyes towards the other brunet.

Tom pursed his lips and nodded, "Understandable." He replied, scooting back out of Edd's range.

Edd huffed and turned away, refusing to look at the guilty ridden Tom who was playing with the sand. Suddenly his eyes widened, snapping behind him to the ginger.

"What do you mean by 'we' Matt?" The brunet asked, scrutinizing the ginger.

Matt broke out into a cold sweat as his grip loosened, looking over at a frantic Tom shaking his head 'no' then back to Edd.

"What are you talking about?" The ginger asked nervously, trying to obviously keep cool but failing miserably.

Edd stared at Matt for a while more before finally turning over to Tom. "Mate, what did you even do to Matt when I was away? He doesn't crack this easily." Edd questioned, looking slightly worried.

"Oh, so when I'm half dead on the floor you guys don't even lift a muscle to help but the moment Matt stops being able to lie you freak out? Is that it?" Tom scoffed, crossing his arms as he sighed.

Slumping, Tom pouted as he thought over his next move. "I did nothing, Edd. Speaking from the bottom of my heart here."

Edd grimaced at the reminder as Matt let him go and sat next to both of the brunets, glancing at both of them with confusion written on his face.

"Hey, we just got used to you getting hurt Tom, it was practically the norm by then." Edd said after a moment of silence, shaking off the memory. "Anyways, I still have the right to get worried when Matt of all people fails at lying."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But we're still not going to mention what happened when you were away." Tom responded, standing up and tossing the other two their respective fish bowls.

"Which sucks but it won't be the first time it happened. Because seriously, what happened between you and Tord? You two used to be so close." Edd stood up, catching the bowl and placing it under his arm.

Tom clicked his tongue and waggled his finger, "Nuh-uh Edd. We don't talk about that, especially since that slimy asshole is gone now and I have no one to shift the blame to." Tom answered, lending a hand to Matt who was still sitting on the ground.

Edd let out a breath of frustration and shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you give me just a little piece of what happened? It doesn't have to be detailed, in fact, be as vague as you want Tom. I just wanna know something at least." The brunet begged, taking a peek at the smiling yet nonplussed ginger.

"No, because then you'll want more." Tom shot down, "So, do you have a plan on how we'll get home, because I'm pretty sure we're not inland anymore and I'm ice cold here. These clothes won't get dry for as long as I shake." The blue-hoodie wearing Brit announced as he stared off into the distance.

"I-uh, well no."

"You really didn't think this through, huh?" Tom calmly said, getting more unamused by the second as he rifled through his pockets.

Edd shrugged sheepishly, "Well no. I didn't think we would travel this far." He affirmed, looking around.

"Goddamnit Edd." Tom grumbled, opening his flask and taking a drink.

"Maybe we could just walk around and hope for the best." Matt suggested, placing his arms around Tom and Edd.

Edd nodded in agreement, placing his hands in his pockets. "Walk around the beach and see if we find some people and then go from there."

Matt beamed and looked over at Tom who shrugged apathetically. "Might as well. Since there are no better ideas."

"Then it's settled," Edd grinned, smacking his fist against his hand. "We'll just hope for the best and get out of here." 

And as Matt raced on ahead with Tom and Edd following him, Tom looked over at Edd.

"Probably memory loss." He uttered, taking another sip out of his flask.

"What?" Edd's head whipped around, looking at Tom confused.

"Memory loss maybe." Tom repeated louder, walking quicker to catch up to Matt.

"Ah." Edd mouthed, humming as he walked along the other brunet.

"Can I still take back my earlier statement about Ringo?" 

"No." Edd cheerfully made known, slapping Tom on the back of his head. 

Chapter Text

Matt hummed cheerfully as he made his way home. Things had been going well since the whole incident with his memories. 

Apparently, Tom told Edd about his memory issue but he didn't tell him the extent of it or how it happened which isn't really any better then before but it's a start at least. It still didn't sit well with him but he'll have to deal with it the ginger realized.

Matt shifted the bags in his arms and grabbed the lanyard from around his neck as he started to see the house within sight.

At first, he wasn't the one who was supposed to go to the store. Tom didn't trust him enough after the last time they went together and Edd didn't trust him with the car or the keys.

Why he needed the keys when they were still inside is something he won't understand, but Matt already doesn't understand a lot of the rules in the house.

Either way, there was a whole fight over who would go and soon they reached an agreement. Matt would go to the store to pick up the Halloween decorations but not without a map and a long lecture from Tom. And he would walk there because neither of the brunets trusted him to drive.

When he asked why, Tom looked away and Edd shivered, mumbling something about 'casinos' and 'car crashes.'

Matt didn't ask again and left soon after getting ready.

As Matt jumped back into reality, he turned the doorknob and immediately jumped back as a projectile flew past him.

He gulped as he heard the crash behind him and took a peek around the corner. Seeing nothing, the ginger walked in and shut the door, looking around the hallway.

When nothing happened, he walked over to the direction where he saw the projectile coming.

Only to get hit in the face with paint.

"ooooOOOOHH TOM!" Edd shouted, smiling widely as he reloaded his gun.

No quip was heard back from Tom, only the sound of another paintball flying through the air was heard as Edd dragged Matt onto the floor.

"Come on you two!" Matt complained, trying to get rid of the paint on his face. "Do you know how long I spent getting ready?"

Tom snorted and shot another ball straight into Matt's face.

"Tom!"

Edd sighed and shot his ball on the floor. "He's right Tom, now stop it and help me clean up."

Tom whined and put his gun down. "But the fun was just beginning!"

"Toomm."

"Edddddd!"

"Tooooommm!"

"Eddddddddddd!"

"TOM!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to shout at me!" Tom grimaced as he handed his gun over to Edd and walked away to get the supplies.

Edd turned back to Matt and gave him his sweatshirt to clean himself off with. "Sorry about that Matt. Tom and I got carried away after we finished doing what we needed to do."

Matt grumbled as he wiped his face off, glaring at Edd. "What did you guys do?"

"Oh, we moved Tom into his new room."

"... His what?" Matt asked, looking confused.

"His new room! Well, it's not exactly new but yeah. He kept complaining that his old room was small and now that Tord moved out, Tom claimed it as his since it was bigger." The brunet explained looking at the bags in Matt's lap.

Matt smiled and nodded as if he understood what Edd had said.

"Oh! Right the decorations and other stuff!" Edd remembered as he grabbed the bags and placed them onto the couch, looking through them.

Tom walked back in with the cleaning supplies in his arms and immediately dropped them when he saw the Halloween decorations.

"Nice. You got the good ones Matt." Tom cheered, grabbing a bag of candy as Matt soaked up the praise.

"Heyy, no." Edd snatched the bag from Tom, waggling his finger. "That's for the trick or treaters Tom."

Tom crossed his arms and frowned. "Halloween is an American holiday Edd. Who's coming?" 

"Remember last year? And the year before that? When the kids knocked and we had no treats." Edd replied, crossing his arms.

Tom slumped in defeat and sat down. "You suck. You really suck Edd."

The brunet stuck his tongue out and proceeded to rummage through the bags, taking out various assortments of candy and decorations.

"Matt, you got my garlic?" Tom asked, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Sure did!" The ginger responded, throwing the bag over to Tom.

The brunet grinned widely as he stared into his bag of garlic, Edd staring at him incredulously.

"You actually bought the darn garlic… Why do you need that much garlic, Tom? Vampires don't exist." Edd stated in disbelief at both of his friends, shaking his head.

Tom looked at Edd like he said something incredibly stupid and tied the bag. "We literally went to Hell, Edd. We have seen zombies, Edd. Who's to say vampires don't exist?"

Edd stammered and ended up shutting his mouth instead of trying to make a bigger fool of himself.

Tom snorted and marched right out of the room with his garlic bag, looking quite upset.

Matt looked back at Edd as he stood up, handing back his sweatshirt. "What was that?"

"Sorry about that Matt. Tom gets moody around certain times of the year. And when he does, he doesn't like us commenting on his choices." Edd shrugged. "So, now that Tom's gone, how much do you remember?"

Matt shook his head sheepishly and shrugged back. "Can't tell you that."

"Because Tom's going to snap your legs?"

"Because Tom's going to snap my legs." Matt confirmed, looking truly apologetic.

Edd clicked his tongue and sighed in defeat. "Alright, go take a shower. I'll clean this mess up."

"All by yourself? I thought Tom would help?" Matt asked, shooting a perplexed look.

"Tom retreats into his room when he gets upset. And interrupting that time just makes him angrier. Also," Edd pointed at Matt's hair. "You still have paint. Take a shower will you?"

"But-" 

"No buts are allowed here Matt. Take a shower." Edd said sternly, pointing towards the shower.

Matt sulked his way towards his room to gather his clothes for a shower.

The brunet turned around and groaned as he looked at the mess he made with Tom. 

"Welp, this isn't going to clean itself." He commented, grabbing a bucket to fill up with water and a rag.

Chapter Text

The light pitter-patter of the rain against the window and the gentle beeps from the heart monitor was nice. Perfect enough that it nearly lulled him to sleep.

Thing is, the presence of the other smug brunet sitting next to him ruined it.

Edd refused to look into said brunet's face, quite jealous of the other's fast recovery and ability to bounce back after a uh... painful  and bloody injury.

He shivered, remembering back to a week ago when Tom kept moaning and crying about his injuries. When three weeks ago, the both of them floated in between consciousness and Matt panicked. Their doctors were worried they wouldn't recover due to how much blood they lost and instead, go into a coma.

Thankfully, their doctors were proven wrong and they recovered. Tom just recovered far quicker than anyone expected and was due to be released today when Matt arrived. 

Edd was due to be stuck for another week or three, which only served to piss him off more.

He had work to finish and Christmas decorations to put up after all! Tom would burn them all if he wasn't there.

Edd huffed and winced at the sting of pain that hit him, clutching his chest. Three stakes to the chest weren't something to take lightly after all.

"Edd?" 

He glanced over to the concerned voice, looking into Tom's face and tried to crack a smile. 

"I'm fine Tom. Just a little sting." Edd reassured, leaning back against his pillow slowly.

Tom raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced by his answer.

"No really, stop shoving it into my face about your fast recovery Tom. Go home." Edd grunted out, turning back to look at the window.

Tom grinned and leaned closer, looking ready to brag about his quick healing. 

Edd was about ready to hit Tom in the face, huffing once more.

And as Tom opened his mouth, he was quickly stopped by a click of the knob and sounds of footsteps.

Edd closed his eyes and thanked Matt for his timely appearance as he clasped his hands together.

Finally, Tom would leave and he would be freed of his presence.

"Uh, Edd? Are you...crying?"

"No, shut up." 

Edd quickly wiped the tears away with his blanket and waved at Matt.

Matt waved back, shutting the door and placing his umbrella next to the door.

"Hey, how have you two been?" The ginger asked as he slid a chair over, sitting down.

"Good." The brunets both replied, looking at each other then at Matt.

"You got the goods?" Tom asked, making grabby hands towards the bag that Matt held.

Edd snorted at the phrasing, "It's just clothes Tom." He stated as Tom snatched the bag from Matt and stood up.

"Yeah, but the hospital is freezing cold and I'm dying here Edd." Tom said dramatically as he quickly walked out of the room to change.

Edd sniggered as Tom walked out, shifting his position on the bed to face Matt. Perching himself on the edge of the bed and on his hand, the ginger smiled.

"You just wanna see my teeth right?" He asked, clacking his teeth together as he looked at Edd.

"Heck yeah I do. Open your mouth Matt." Edd grinned as he stared impatiently for Matt to open his mouth.

Matt opened his mouth wide, watching as Edd poke his newfound fangs, making sure that he didn't do anything funny.

Edd hummed as he leaned back and let Matt shut his mouth, "So, what did the doctors say? It's been awhile after all. Did you tell them about the vampire stuff?" He inquired, mirroring Matt's position.

Matt frowned and sighed, adjusting his position to a more comfortable one. "No, I didn't tell them about the vampire stuff. But it sucks. The doctors said I have to do something about the uh, iron in my blood because I was low or something. I didn't pay attention but what I do know is that I have to take some pills and I had to do a blood transfusion because I was so low." He complained, moving his hands around before sinking down in his chair with his arms crossed.

Edd raised an eyebrow at Matt, looking fairly unimpressed with his whining.

"That bad huh?" The brunet asked, tilting his head.

Matt's eyes widened and he backed away. "Nonono- I don't mean it like that! I mean, you and Tom had it worse obviously but well- I- It sucked!" The ginger stuttered out.

Edd laughed out loud at the ginger's nervous babbling, only to stop immediately as he felt a burst of pain in his chest. He moaned in pain as he plopped right on back into his bed, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Edd? Oh dear." Matt mumbled with worry, looking at Edd and back at the door.

Just as Matt was about to call a nurse, Tom walked in, all fully dressed and ready to go.

"Tom! Thank god!" Matt cried out, pulling over the eyeless Brit and shoving him towards Edd. "I don't know what I did but one moment he was laughing and now he's in pain!"

Tom blinked and sighed, leaning over Edd. "Hey buddy. Don't breathe too hard, it'll just make it hurt more. Take slow breaths okay?" He murmured, gently placing his hand over Edd's chest.

Edd nodded, grabbing Tom's hand tightly and following his instructions. Soon, he relaxed as his breathing got under control.

Tom pulled his hand away and placed it in his pocket. "Better?"

Edd nodded and opened his eyes, taking another deep, slow breath. "Yeah."

"Alright, we'll come visit you in a few days. Take a nap in the meantime." Tom said as he briskly walked towards the door.

"Please do, don't move too much." Matt pleaded, standing right behind Tom.

Edd hummed. "One question before you leave. How's Ringo? Is she doing good?" Edd asked, facing Matt.

Matt smiled, "Of course, she's fine! Sh-She's been good!"

"You feed her?"

"Of course! I feed her every once in a while!" The ginger twitched, twisting the doorknob.

Edd smiled back and laid down, getting ready for a nap.

Once, Matt and Tom had reached the hospital entrance, the brunet looked over at Matt.

"You lied, didn't you?"

Matt slouched, looking quite guilty. "I did feed her but she's kind of forgettable." He mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Tom grinned. "Nicceee. Your first lie! I'm so proud of you."

"Please don't say that. It  makes it worse."

"Yeah no, you are really fucked when Edd finds out." Tom grabbed the umbrella from Matt, "Real screwed but hey. Progress! Is. Progress! Matt. Maybe you'll become a master liar like me." Tom cheered, twisting the umbrella.

Matt groaned, "Please don't do this to me Tom."

"No, I'm going to continue. You brought the bad coat."

"Oh- that- that wasn't the coat-"

"No. Now give me your coat. I'm freezing."

Matt sighed as he walked side by side with Tom, holding the latter's former coat.

"I'm sorry Tom." He muttered, looking over at the other Brit's direction.

"Not accepting it. It's my coat now bitch." Tom replied, looking down at his phone.

Matt whined before looking over at Tom's phone. "Who are you texting?"

"Our old roommate. Asshole finally sent an update message. Check your phone when we get home." Tom answered, typing out a response to said roommate.

Matt's stopped and pursed his lips out as his brain scrambled to remember said roommate's name. 

"Oh! Todd right?" Matt grinned, proud of himself for remembering.

Tom stared blankly at Matt, phone hanging limply in his hand. "Ah yes. Todd, our good old friend. Very good man." He said sarcastically, holding back bursts of laughter.

Matt nodded, puffing out his chest as he felt proud of his achievement while Tom giggled in the background with his hand over his mouth.

Chapter Text

"Hey! Take it easy you bloody moron!" Tom yelled out as Edd ran into the living room. "You may have been released but that doesn't mean you've healed completely!"

Edd ignored Tom's warning and jumped onto the couch anyways, only to quickly regret it as a spike of pain went through his chest.

A scoff was heard from the eyeless Brit who hit him in his stomach. "Told ya you dick." 

Edd groaned, "No need to be mean."

Another scoff was heard as the brunet walked towards Edd. "Scoot over." 

Edd was quick to move his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as Tom sat down next to him.

"The Christmas decorations aren't up." Edd noted, taking off his coat and looking around the room.

Tom nodded, not bothering to respond.

Edd cleared his throat, kicking Tom in his side. "I said, the Christmas decorations aren't up."

Tom grumbled to himself, sinking into his coat.

Edd kicked him again.

"I burned them all."

"Again?" Edd asked, exasperation clear in his voice. "Tom, that's the second time-"

"-fourth time actually-" 

"-FOURTH time you did this." Edd frowned.

"You know I don't like Christmas." Was the brunet's response, sinking further into his coat like he was a kid whose hand got caught in the cookie jar.

Edd furrowed his brows, staring at Tom in disapproval. "Come on Tom. You know I couldn't put up those decorations because I was in the hospital."

"I know."

"And you know I asked Matt to put them up for a reason-"

"-I know."

"So why? Why did you still burn them down?"

"I don't like Christmas." Tom repeated, looking away.

Edd groaned and straightened up as he shoved Tom's shoulder. "Tooommmmmm. Come on, you can do better than this. I know you can." He whined, pushing his shoulder against Tom.

Tom proceeded to push back, grinning. "But Edward dear, Christmas is for loosseerrrsss!"

"Thomas Thompson! You will get up and go to the store to replace the decorations you have burned!" Edd smiled back, holding back giggles.

It was Tom who ended up breaking and bursting into laughter, with Edd following suit.

"Ahh, but no seriously Tom. Get your ass up, we're going shopping and you're paying." Edd said sternly, his previous joking tone gone and replaced with seriousness. "Christmas is not a joking matter."

Tom leaned back into the couch, grinning from ear to ear. "Already one step ahead of you, sir." He finished as the jiggling of the doorknob was heard.

Edd turned towards the hall, looking back at Tom in disbelief. "You didn't."

"I did."

"Tom, noo. Matt's not our servant just because he's being nice. Stop taking advantage of him like this."

"No."

"Tom-"

"Hey Tom! I'm back!" Matt exclaimed, holding the bags in his hands in the air.

"Hey Matt-"

"Hey! Why didn't you greet me?" Edd pouted, crossing his arms.

"Oh! I thought you were going to be released tomorrow." Matt replied apologetically, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

Edd hummed and stood up from his seat, walking over towards Matt. "Can't blame you really. Time is an easy thing to lose track of." The brunet justified, grabbing the bags from Matt. "How about we start outside, eh?"

Matt nodded before quickly stopping and realizing that he only brought a wreath to put up. He was about to say so but before he could open his mouth, Edd grabbed his arm and dragged him outside.

Edd was quick to shut the door and look around once they were outside. He relaxed a little when he saw no one and pushed Matt closer towards the sidewalk.

Matt stared at Edd, feeling puzzled by Edd's actions. Said Brit just stared at him which only served to make the ginger uncomfortable.

"Don't act like you don't know what you did." Was the brunet's first words after several minutes of silence. "I know what you did."

Matt frozed. What did Edd mean by that? He couldn't have found out about what happened right? Oh god, if he did then Tom would kill him. And thinking about that was terrifying enough.

"What do you mean by that?" Matt eventually responded, crossing his arms and staring back at Edd defensively.

"You did something to piss Tom off again. That's why he's been agitated for the past few months." Edd paused briefly, shivering as he rubbed his arms against the chilly cold air of December. "A week is a long enough time for you two to argue. And that's not even considering Tom was already in a bad mood before I left."

Edd let out a breath of air, grumbling under his breath about leaving his coat inside. "Look Matt. I know that you're trying to turn over a new leaf. I get it. But upsetting Tom will just push your progress back. You know he can hold a grudge for a long time. You need to just get it over with and apologize. I know I should have said this in January, but seriously. You have done everything except apologize to Tom for whatever you did when we were kids." 

Matt nodded as he took off his coat. "But what if I don't know what I did? What then?" He asked as he handed over his coat to the brunet who took it gratefully.

Edd shrugged, putting on the coat and buttoning it up. "I don't know. Try to figure out what you did. Do it with subtlety though. Tom can catch on quick if you're not careful. Even if it will take a while, this will be another step forward in making up for your past mistakes." Edd said as he placed his hand on Matt's shoulder who looked over at him with a glint of determination in his eyes.

"Just do say sorry eventually and not take three years or something. Because if you do, I'll deck you across the face Matt. I'm not joking, I'll do it. I haven't tried to help you along this crappy redemption journey of yours so you can call it quits when it comes to Tom." Edd cheerfully threaten, leaning into Matt with a grin.

"Of course Edd! I won't back out." Matt chirped fearfully as Edd gripped his shoulder tightly. "I promise."

"You better. Now moving on, how are you not cold? I'm just ready to run inside to escape the cold?" Edd asked, backing up and away from the ginger who shrugged.

"I don't really feel the cold much. And as I recently discovered yesterday, I don't feel the heat much either." Matt answered.

"Do you think it has to do with the whole-" Edd shook his hand in a circle. "Vampire thing?" 

"Probably. Tom suggested that's probably it." Matt confirmed, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking back and forth on his feet.

"And the whole feeding on blood thing? How are you going to take care of that?" Edd tilted his head, looking genuinely confused and curious.

"Tom said he'll take care of it. But as of now I have been eating a lot of food to make up for the missing energy. Doesn't change the fact that the craving for blood grows every day." Matt sighed out, looking slightly distressed.

Edd let out a whistle, patting Matt on the back with a concerned expression. "Just hope that Tom doesn't murder a few people because none of us know how to handle this. Trial and error Matt. Trial and error."

Matt groaned, placing his face in his hands. "Why can't we live normal lives? Is that not possible?" 

Edd laughed and slapped Matt on the back. "Nice joke Matt! That hasn't been possible since we turned fifteen. Now, help me put up the decorations quickly. I'm pretty sure Tom's getting suspicious on why we haven't come back inside now."

"Alright." Matt agreed unenthusiastically.

"What took you guys so long?" Tom asked as Edd and Matt shook off the snow on their shoes at the doorstep.

"Matt tripped and threw a fit about his face." Edd answered with a grin, looking pleased with himself.

"I did not! And if I tripped it was your fault." Matt snapped, holding his cheek.

Tom snorted. "That's funny."

"No it's not! I could have gotten hurt!" Matt whined.

"Okay, whatever you say Matt. Anyways I made some hot chocolate th-" Tom was cut off as the other two residents rushed past him, nearly falling over as a result.

"Hey! Watch it!" Tom sputtered out as he twisted around and rushed after the other two.

"Sorry Tom!" Both shouted out in unison as they took their own respective mugs and took a sip.

"Dicks." Tom muttered quietly. 

"Sorry Tom." Edd repeated, "But it's cold outside and this is great." He said in an upbeat voice, raising his mug.

Tom stuck his tongue out, grabbing his cup of hot chocolate. "You better appreciate it, I had to leave the comfort of the couch to make this."

Matt smiled happily as he raised his mug as well. "Of course we will!"

Edd bobbed his head in agreement, bringing his cup into the middle to clink it against the other two mugs before downing it in one go. 

The brunet sighed happily, taking in the aftertaste of the drink and soon after, shoving it into Tom's chest. "Make more." 

Tom nearly choked on the drink in his mouth, taking a moment to breathe and swallow before glaring at Edd. "Fuck you Edd."

"Please Tom. It's really good." Matt begged, clasping his hands together.

"Fuck you too Matt."

Chapter Text

You know what sucks, abandoning stuff without warning just to come back a year to say sorry. But like, sorry. I really am sorry to say that this it for this. I'm going to delete this and then rewrite it, not in that order and once I have several chapters ready I'll put up the first chapter of that. I just really don't like how this turned out and yea..

So uh- see yall around, I'm not sure when the rewrite will be up but hopefully I can finished it this month so watch out for that! Anyways take care, see you guys around and thank for liking this shitshow!