"Uhhh... sir...? The- the Rebellion Base Leaders are uh.... here... to see you...." Pat had rushed to Tord's office the moment he saw his adopted son's former friends nearing the base. Pau was with the two of them now, keeping them hopefully occupied for a bit.

"How even-" Tord had only recently started hearing the name "Rebellion Leader", and he knew that the Rebellion Base had two join Leaders, and they weren't the best to mess with. Before Pat could reply, Tord could hear Pau yelling from down the hallway. Seconds later, two familiar faces appeared next to Pat. Tord's eyes widened, and half instinctively, he reached over to take the hand of the Brit sitting next to him. Tom wasn't sure exactly what was happening; but he shifted his seat closer to Tord, sensing the Norski's discomfort. He felt the tension in the air; he knew he should be sharing at least some of Tord's attitude, but his lack of sight must have been what what keeping the difference in his own mood. 

"Hello, Tord," the voice of the man who had once greeted him with open arms and warm welcomes now spat his name venomously at him, as if he wished he never even knew the name. Beside the brunette stood his best friend, though the British ginger's features were scarred and disfigured. Before Tord could even respond, Edd's gaze shifted from him to Tom, and his eyes narrowed even more.

"What did you do to him?" the brunette hissed.

Tom's blind gaze shifted uncomfortably to look in Edd's direction, then in Tord's, then back to Edd. That voice... it was familiar, like something he had heard before, but nothing he could connect it to. A face, a person, anything. It was like having a single piece of a puzzle left of something started years and years before, and thinking about it just made Tom's head hurt. He was vaguely aware that his head felt really fuzzy and blurry trying to think about anything that could relate to the voice of the man in front of them.

"I-I'm fine...." Tom said, somehow answering before Tord could even open his mouth. The Norski frowned a bit at Edd, then turned his attention to Tom for a moment.

"It's alright, kjærlighet," Tord murmured, gently stroking the side of Tom's wrist with his thumb, slightly tightening his grip on the Brit's hand.

"So you're the Rebellion Leader, huh? Should've gues-"

"Stop changing the subject, Tord. You must have done something to him. I'm only here for him, nothing else."

Here for him? But Tom didn't want to go anywhere else. He actually ... liked it here. Sure, Tord's goals of taking over the world would have been a concern normally, but ever since the event that they called "The End", Tord's focus had shifted from taking over to simply keeping the territory he had. Some of the other Leaders were starting to get a bit... aggressive. 

But as far as everything else was concerned, the base wasn't that bad. It didn't feel like he was living at an army base. It felt like......home. 

"Tom is here under his own free will, last I checked, isn't that right, elskling?" Tord replied, a not so hidden streak of acid in his honey filled tone. Tom nodded, leaning his head against the Norski's shoulder. Edd could see that his friend was scared, but not for the reason the brunette was assuming. Tom wasn't afraid of Tord, not at all. He was fully aware of how dangerous the Norski was, but he had respect for it, not fear of it. And on top of everything, he and Tord had just made up after years and years of drama, and they were finally back where they were ten years ago. And he was NOT going to let someone ruin it for him again.

"Yeah right. Normally by now Tom would have been trying to kill you for even touching him. You probably just like threatened him with his life if he disobeyed you."

"Now, why would I threaten my second in command?"

Even Tom wasn't sure how to react to what Tord had just said. He was just Tord's assistant, not anywhere near second in command.... right?

"Wait, WHAT?!" Edd almost yelled.

"I don't believe I have to elaborate on that. Even if you are a Leader. Speaking of which, are you going to be going to the Gala this year?"

"What...?"

"Every year, the army leaders from around the world meet for a gala, a sort of truce party. We're all at each other's throats so often that it's nice to have at least one night to be able to enjoy everyone's company without worrying about someone backstabbing you.... in some cases, literally.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh..... okay........?"

"Excellent. I suppose we'll be seeing you there then?"

"We?"

"Why, I'm taking Tom with me this year, of course." Tord grinned, then waved to a figure standing    behind Edd," Anyway, I believe we're done here. Pau, would you show these two out, please?"

Pau nodded, starting towards the door. Matt followed him, but Edd remained where he stood. He had his arms crossed, and his glare stayed on Tord," I wasn't-"

"Come on, let's go." Matt said softly, tugging on Edd's sleeve. The brunette stared at the Norski for another moment, before finally turning and following Pau.

Tom and Ted sat in silence for a few minutes before Tom spoke," What did you mean, second in command?"

"You'll see in due time, kjærlighet, you'll see."

Tord hadnt meant to reveal that he was promoting Tom yet, but he had indeed intended on doing so in the next couple weeks. There was so much he had to do. The Gala was in three weeks. And he had tons of preparation to do for that, on top of taking care of Ginger, and dealing  with his regular army duties. Plus he had spent his already normally sleepless nights working tirelessly on his gift for Tom. And he had just finished it a few days ago.

He contemplated the idea for a minute, then stood up, gently pulling Tom's hand out of his own, even though he didn't want to let go. He told the Brit to stay put while he went to "go get something." 

As impossible as it looked, Tord was seeming back almost as quickly as he had left. He held a rectangular case about the size and shape of a shoebox. He placed the box on his desk, opening it and pulling out a small chip that was hardly even the size of half a grain of rice.

"Thomas?" Tord's voice wavered for an instant, temporarily revealing his nervousness. He knew what he was about to try to do would hurt. And he didn't want to hurt Tom. But... this was to help him more than it would hurt him. And that was worth it....

"Hm..?" Tom was now sitting in Tord's chair instead of his own, sitting across from where Tord stood.

"Do you trust me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I... I'm sorry if this hurts you...." he didn't elaborate any further. Tom felt it was best not to question what that meant. He simply lowered his head a little bit; a tiny sign of submission. Tord walked over to stand behind Tom, taking the small chip in his hand. He traced his fingers along Tom's scalp, and once he found a particular place, he pressed the little chip into the back of the Brit's head. In almost one fluid motion, he handed the other item in the box - the actual visor itself - to Tom, then pressing a couple almost invisible buttons on the side of the device, before slipping back over to the opposite side of the table again. He winced at Tom helped in pain, his unseeing eyes widening in shock at the sudden needles of pain in the back of his head. The pain spiked through his head, to where it almost felt like it was stabbing him in the eyes. After another jolt of pain, and almost feeling like he was going to pass out, he opened his eyes again, not realizing he had shut them at all.

But before him was not the endless void of darkness he had grown accustomed to. He saw.... Color. Light. Shape. Tord.

He saw Tord.

He could see. The screen covering his eyes now showed two pupils made of green pixels, darting back and forth, unsure of how to respond to what he saw before him. It was really becoming apparent to him just how long it had been since he had actually been able to see what Tord looked like.

"Hi." Tord's voice was lightly laced with emotion, his accent cutting in sharper than normal. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"Hi." Within moments, he was in Tord's arms, nuzzling his face into the crook of the Norski's neck. His mind had done two things upon seeing Tord. Half of him was overjoyed. The other half felt the shattering of knowing why Tord was missing his right arm. Knowing why he was missing his eye. Why he bore the scars he did. Deep inside, he knew. And he almost wanted to ask. But he knew Tord hadn't told him for that reason. 

"I gotta say, for what it is, not bad, sunshine lollipops." Tom said, his voice light and teasing. Tord narrowed his eyes, but grinned at what the Brit had said.

"Thomas," his eyes glinted dangerously, and he suddenly shifted positions to where he was holding Tom's face close to his own," Don't call me that. We wouldn't want any... problems... would we?"

Tom knew he should have felt fear, and normally Tord would have done something, but he didn't. In fact, he had a better idea. In an instant, he tilted Tord's chin down a tiny bit, placing a kiss on the Norski's lip, but he drew back before Tord could kiss back. He smirked, satisfied at the look of yearning that lingered in Tord's eyes.

"Cheap move, kjære. Cheap. Move."

"I know."

———————————————

"What?!"

"You heard me. You're 18 now. It's time you start doing the things a Leader does. I never liked going to those stupid parties anyway."

"But Dad-"

"Issac. Are you questioning my authority?"

"N-no."

"Good."