Nighttime rolled around and everyone in the Eddsworld household was tucked up in bed or on the sofa. Both Edd and Tom were fast asleep and dreaming about the things they loved the most, but Matt found his thoughts nervously racing around his head and preventing him from sleeping. He knew, somewhere upstairs in his room, Tord and Ylva lay awake too, waiting for the perfect moment to leave and find this gang.

Guilt gnawed away at his insides until he could handle it no more. Matt threw off the green covers and leapt out of bed as quietly as he could, leaving Edd's room and padding down the unsettling hallway into the dark living room. He crept around to where a snoring pile of blankets was draped over the sofa, starting to doubt his decision as he stared at his friend's sleeping face.

Just as he was about to turn and leave again, Edd seemed to sense something and wake up, his eyes barely open but noticing Matt's figure immediately. He blinked sleepily and rubbed his face with his hand, feeling a crick in his neck from dozing awkwardly.

"Matt?" His voice was scratchy and soft at the same time. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

"No, I..." Matt fumbled for the right words, playing with his fingers clumsily. "I think Tord is up to something..."

"I did too, but he just seems to be a little jumpy, which is understandable. Tord's changed, Matt..." Edd yawned, pulling the blankets up to his chin. "We've all got to give him the benefit of the doubt here. If he says he's not part of the military anymore and he's married, then we should trust him because he's our friend."

Screwing up his face and deciding it was for the greater good, the ginger blurted out: "I can understand Norwegian and they're going to sneak out tonight to spy on the gang."

"What?!" Suddenly, Edd was wide awake. "Did you say you can understand Norwegian? Since when?! Why did you never tell us?"

"I took it at Uni, but- that's besides the point! Edd, please, I know they're not who they say they are. If you trust me on anything, trust me on this." Matt's eyes glimmered in the darkness, his tone unusually serious and missing its usual, innocent squeak.

With a groan, Edd rolled off the sofa and got up, shivering in the sudden change of temperature. "I always trust you, Matt, and I'll believe you on this. Let's go wake up Tom and hope he doesn't kill us..."

Matt sighed with relief now that he knew Edd was on his side, trotting after his friend as they headed to Tom's room. The brunet knocked timidly, getting only a grumble in response, but then applied more force to make it louder.

"Who's there...?" Came the half-asleep voice of their alcoholic friend, considerably deeper and huskier than during the day.

"It's me and Matt." Edd muttered to the door, not wanting to be too loud and attract the attention of those upstairs. "He thinks Tord's going to do something dumb tonight."

The door immediately opened to reveal a fully-dressed Tom, wide-eye-socketed and looking fully alert. "Tord being stupid? Count me in!"

Tom led the way upstairs, suddenly filled with energy as if he hadn't just been woken up two seconds ago. It was certainly unusual for him to be so hyperactive, considering he was usually too drunk to coordinate his movements properly. The door to Matt's room was closed, and he opened it as quietly as he could, wanting to catch Tord by surprise. They tip-toed up the staircase, wincing with every creak, but paused just before they emerged into the room to listen. Tord sounded like he was getting irritated, and Ylva was commanding his every move.

"Tord, I don't care what you're doing I want you to tell us the tru-" Tom stopped and stared, seeing Tord in a skirt and tights with a sock-stuffed bra around his chest. "Uh..."

Tord looked like a deer in the headlights, his eyes practically bulging out of his head and his expression one of humiliation. Ylva had frozen too, realising her robotic arms were in plain sight due to her wearing a tank top. An extended period was stuffed with an awkward silence, during which everyone just stared at each other without moving.

"Ahah," Tord forced a weak chuckle, raising his hands slightly. "Surprise? I... I cross-dress in my spare time...?"

"We were, um, just about to go out clubbing, so, uh..." Ylva added with a strained voice, feeling the British boys' eyes travel to her arms.

"What happened," Matt was beginning to feel like he had misunderstood what they had said, but forced out his next words anyway, "...to your arms?"

Edd smacked Matt's shoulder gently. "Matt! Don't go asking personal questions like that!"

"So this is why you had painted nails?" Tom regained the ability to speak, his eye-holes locked onto Tord's human hand.

"Yes, I- uh..." Tord gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly. "I didn't want to tell any of you because I knew you would judge me..."

"Tord, we're not going to judge you. It's just a bit of a... Surprise, that's all." Edd attempted to make amends and fix the awkward tension in the air, smiling half-heartedly.

"Thank you, Edd. I'm sorry I lied to you about this." Tord slipped on a black button-up, focusing his attention on doing up the buttons.

The Brit tugged on the sleeve of his green pyjamas and fumbled for what to say. "Uh, well... We'll just be getting back to bed now..."

"Yeah, we'll..." Tom was already backing away. "...we'll leave you two to it..."

Feeling like he had to say something too, Matt squealed out a little "bye!" before hurrying back downstairs with the others.

Tord walked over to the nearest wall and began gently banging his forehead against it. "We definitely did not plan any of this enough, soldier. Now I have to suffer the consequences..."

Ylva touched his shoulder lightly and made him stop injuring himself. "At least we have an excuse for leaving this time of night, sir. And maybe they'll trust you more now that they think you shared your dark secret with them."

"Is that really worth them thinking I'm into cross-dressing, soldier?!" Tord slammed his head into the wall once more before sighing heavily. "Damn it, Tord..."

"We have a mission to attend to, sir, and you standing around here feeling sorry for yourself is not going to get the work done." She straightened up and turned on her heel to head towards her make-up bag.

"You're right, soldier. Let's just get this whole thing over and done with so I don't have to do this anymore." He pulled away from the abused wall and began running his fingers through the two gelled spikes of hair, easing them down until they were flat again.

Ylva nodded and pulled out a make-up brush, dusting some foundation over his cheeks as he scrunched up his nose. "If tonight gives us good enough information, I'm sure we'll be able to find their base and take them down soon, sir."

~

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