Strawberry Panic {TomTord}

Absolutely bamboozled

Light and feather-soft, lips brushed against each other, both of them hesitant, and yet equally eager. Slow, tender pecks were pressed affectionately, longingly, against plump bitten flesh- tinted red from anxious abuse and loving worship. Warmth blossomed from the inches of skin that touched, scorching in a gentle passionate haze, lapping insistently at their exposed nerves, a cooling rush of goosebumps sending sparks of happy, bubbling emotions through to his core. 

This is perfect.

Flickering open his dark eyes, Tom kept his clouded gaze half-lidded, absorbing the sight of his flustered partner. From the hitching of his laboured breath to the way that his cheeks dusted a faint cute pink- he silently adored it all, taking in every detailed imperfection that branded itself into Tord's form, and loving him even more for them.

You are perfect.

Smiling, Tom followed his instincts, and lightly kissed the tip of his nose, fingers still cradling the smooth expense of his mechanical arm. 

"Tom-"

Expression pinching, Tord exhaled deeply, folding his mouth into a straight, neutral line as he worried it between his teeth. Mutely, he rested their foreheads together, stare flickering between their intertwined limbs and the gentle, imploring gaze. Swallowing, he finally whispered a quiet, "Am I in your future?"

Uttering a soft noise, Tom paused, swamped down beneath a multitude of irrelevant, and possibly, inconsequential questions as he strained for an answer. Muscles churned dryly in his throat, only managing a muffled, "Huh?"

Leaning in closer, he lovingly bumped their noses together. Humming in amusement, Tord pressed another chaste kiss to the rough lips, only this time longer and impossibly more drawn out- almost as though it pained him to be apart for too long. 

"You mentioned Edd and Matt-" Lids closed, strangely defeated as he muttered, "I've always imagined you to be in my future- maybe not romantically, maybe not peacefully- but you were always there; present until the end." 

Silence hung over them, the words creating an uncomfortable, tense atmosphere that threatened to choke in its tightness. Reality washed over them, overwhelming and blindingly harsh, lapping at their senses with a cold, tangible slurry of mixed emotions. Even the series of high pitched, screeching beeps couldn't pop the little bubble of self-realisation, the sounds becoming more and more frequent the longer sentiments were left unsaid. 

"I don't know what's going to happen in the future. Everything has changed so quickly and so drastically that I don't know where we're going anymore, but-" Breathing the same air, they remained mere centimetres apart, heartbeats in sync, "I know that I want you to be in it- I love you, Thomas."  

Something sunk in his chest, a gaping hole left to fester and rot as his heart twinged painfully. 

At the time, amongst the chaos of contrived suicide prevention, and interdemsionional past selves, Tom hadn't exactly stopped to reflect on the events- or rather, hadn't stopped to reflect on what had been missing from those events. An obvious exclusion of Tord hadn't been thought about, the glaring issue covered up and filled with niggling, neurotic episodes of Matt, vodka and depression. 

But now, with the context of togetherness and lifelong affection, it hit him like a physical blow- why hadn't Tord been there?

When push came to shove, wouldn't Tord go out of his way in order to stop and comfort his obviously distressed friend? Driven so far as to actively try and kill himself, Edd had been manic in his behaviour- so full of blinding self-hatred, and dissociative tendencies, it took nothing short of reassembling the known universe in order to stop him in his tracks.