Chained In Servility

21

TWs: Awkward, then tense at the end :)

"Edd, can you pass the salt?" Matt asked as he was trying to break the long silence.

"Sure." Edd passed it over, and the group fell into an uncomfortable stillness once more.

Matt was trying his best to get everyone to talk more, but it was clear to him no one was willing to do it.

Tord just wanted to leave. He was grateful that Edd was even serving him dinner in the first place, but he was getting tired of the daggering stares from Tom.

Edd felt the unease from everyone at the table but chose to ignore it. He was more intrigued by how Tord used his robot arm, although he would never say it aloud.

Tom was keeping his eyes on Tord, making sure he wasn't up to something.

Matt gave up on trying to get the others to talk, so he instead focused his attention on Tord, "When will I get to meet your roommates, Tord?"

Tord perked up, then shrugged, "They work every day, Matt."

"Can't you show up at their work?" The ginger quirked an eyebrow.

The Norsk opened, then closed, his mouth, thinking about it for a moment, "I hadn't thought of that."

"I forgot you mentioned having roommates," Edd asked, deciding to try and join the conversation.

"Ah- uh, yes. Two of them." Tord stuttered over his words, surprised that Edd joined the exchange, "I wouldn't call them the best pilots in the world, but they work good together than without."

"Where do they work?" Edd seemed genuinely interested, which made Tord relax a bit.

"Pau works at the arcade, and Pat works at the diner." Tord spoke, "I think they're both nearby."

"Ah, we go to those places all the time! Right, guys?" Matt forced a smile as he glanced more at Tom.

Edd let out a small agreement while Tom seemed uninterested in everything that was going on, opting to ignore everything around him instead.

Matt let out a huff, feeling a bit annoyed at Tom's effortless attempts at conversating.

After the awkward dinner sequence, Edd got out a few board and card games.

Matt nearly groaned when he saw Monopoly: but forced a smile anyway.

Edd hummed, "Uh, Tord, since you're, well, I wouldn't say new here, but how about you choose a game to play first?"

Tord's eyes widened, not expecting to decide first. He glanced around at the games, then at Matt, who gave him a side-eye.

He knew Monopoly wasn't Matt's strong suit, but it would be funny.

The Norsk gave a tiny smirk to Matt, who shook his head in dismay.

"Choisis Monopoly et je t'écorcherai vif." Matt muttered under his breath as he glared at him.

Tord only got a few words out of that, given Pat could also speak French. He also felt slightly nervous at Matt's threat as his eyes seemed to flash a red color.

Edd and Tom noticed the exchange as they glanced at each other. Edd only shrugged while Tom frowned. They had no idea what Matt said but knew it must've been a threat of some sort, given the way Matt's eyes flashed red, only doing so when he was annoyed or angry.

Tord chuckled lightly before looking at Edd, "How about Uno?"

"Sure, we haven't played that in a while." The brunette cleared the table as he grabbed the box of Uno cards.