As Tom opened his eyes, he still saw nothing. Panic came over his half asleep state, him remembering nothing about the events of yesterday. He shot up into a sitting position, frantically glancing around as if it would change anything. He was on the verge of a full blown panic attack before a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him close.

"Shh. It's okay, you're okay." An accented voice reassured.

Tom fell silent, still shaking in what he now knew to be Tord's arms. He was back, wasn't he? There was no getting away now and he knew it. "Where am I?"

"Home. With me. You're in our room."

Tom nodded slowly, as if attempting to take in every little detail of Tord's words. He tried to create some sense of understanding of where exactly he was with what little information he had. He traced his hand up Tord's arms, feeling the cold metal of the buttons on his uniform sleeve and the cotton material it was made of. He traced it all the way up to his shoulder as he tightly gripped it, turning so he could face Tord.

"What happened to Edd?"

Tom could feel the calming atmosphere fall into a tense, possessive one with those very words. He shuttered in fear. He sure as hell didn't miss Tord's psychopathic tendencies.

"That's nothing of your concern, darling. He'll get what he deserves." Tord said coldly, "No one can lay their filthy hands on you like that and expect to get away with it."

Tom unknowingly whimpered at that. He didn't want to know any further details, anyway. He was shaking and shivering violently in Tord's arms, hating all of this. He wanted to just disappear, get away from the constant pain. All of the people who hurt him.

He broke.

Tears streamed down Tom's cheeks as he tried to blindly struggle out of Tord's arms. Sobs racked his small body as inchorent mumbles fell from his lips, a mix of pleas for help and cries for a certain brunette. But Tord was quick to pull Tom back, peppering his face with kisses as he held his hand tightly.

"Thomas, sweetheart. Listen to me." Tord's voice was strangely calm given the situation, each word he spoke as smooth as honey. So Tom paused in his actions, twitching. "Everything's going to be okay. I'm not going to hurt you, I only want to protect you. You're upset, I know. But I promise I'll make things better, alright? I won't let anybody get to you." He gently rubbed Tom's palm, trying to calm him.

More tears poured from Tom eyes. Tord didn't say anything about the fact the each tear was made up of blood and not the usual salty liquid that was supposed to come from them. He knew that was his fault after messing with Tom's eyes so much, combined with the fact that it appeared glass from the broken visors had stuck into them. Tord had removed it before he woke up, but it still damaged his eye pretty badly. No wonder Tom was blind now.

Tom soon started to calm down again, his breathing no longer in uneasy spurts. He buried his face in Tord's uniform, taking in his scent. He couldn't do this anymore. He needed Tord's comfort. He couldn't live without him. He was the only person that truly cared about him. Paul and Pat were nice, but they had each other to worry about. Tom was likely just a bother to them. Edd was probably dead and he had no idea where Matt was. So that left him needing Tord.

"Please." Tom whispered breathlessly, gripping on to the only thing he had left.

Tord tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Please what, darling?" He questioned as he slowly rocked the smaller male back and forth in his arms. Tom let him, not even a small complaint leaving his lips.

"Please don't ever leave me. I-"

Was Tom really going to do this? Say those words to the man he'd resented for years? He was ruthless, heartless. A horrible person. He'd killed so many innocent people out of the pure selfishness of wanting to complete his goal. Hell, he'd kept him locked away in an army base for nearly a year now!

"Love... you."

But even so, he had no where else to turn. He would be completely alone if it wasn't for Tord. He needed him. He couldn't be on his own again. If this was the best way he could assure that Tord would stay, he needed to take it. Tom was in such a state of trauma that none of the words he said seemed to fully register with him.

Tord's eyes lit up at that, a gentle smile making its way to his lips. He'd never heard Tom say anything even remotely close to that, yet it made his heart want to melt. Finally, he admitted it. He probably could have cried in the moment from how happy he was.

"I love you too." He pressed a quick kiss to Tom's lips, not letting them linger for as long as he usually did. He needed time to recover. Tord wasn't going to pressure him into doing those kinds of things. No matter how much he wanted them.

Silence lingered between the two for a few moments, but it was comfortable. Tom had his face buried in Tord's uniform, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself down. He just let him. He could've let him sit there and do it for hours, but unfortunately they had places to be.

"Honey, I need to take you somewhere so your visors can get replaced. Is that okay?" Tord asked, deciding that he wasn't going to bring him unless he felt up to it. All he got in response was a meek nod. But that was good enough for him, so he easily picked Tom up. He was even lighter than before. There was no way in hell that could be healthy. So he made a mental note to make sure he eats enough at each meal, or else he would have to force him. He just wanted his poor boy to be healthy and happy.

Tord left his bedroom and went out into the hallways. All the soldiers who passed him merely saluted, paying no mind to Tom anymore. It wasn't unusual for their leader to carry him places, plus the fact that he was always by his side. They'd grown used to him. Tom listened to snippets of their conversations as they went by, some in English and others not. He mentally went over the route they usually took to the medical ward, every footstep and every turn having been burned into his brain. He was completely silent.

Eventually they arrived into the area, that being evidenced by the strong smell of mint that immediately hit Tom's nose. He laid his head on Tord's shoulder and simply waited for any instructions as he began to speak to some people in Norwegian. Soon enough he was set down on some sort of medical table, someone standing by his side who he assumed was Tord. He felt the sharp presence of an object pressing to his neck, making the small male immediately start to panic.

"Wh... What's going on?" Tom asked softly as he attempted to glance around.

"Don't worry. This isn't going to hurt you. If they mess up I'll slit their throats, so there's no need to panic." Was whispered in his ear, definitely by Tord. Tom moved to press himself closer to the taller of the two, only feeling more unnerved.

He felt something injected into him, but as Tord promised it didn't hurt. Tom stayed obedient and quiet for the rest of the procedure, not realizing what had happened.