Chapter Text
Tom tried to act like it wasn't bothering him, but it was.
His worsening of eyesight was worrying him, scaring him even. But he couldn't show it, not at all. He had to remain strong. Of course he did, there had to be someone who was brave. Even with prescription glasses, Tom refused to show it to the others. He opted to wear contacts instead, although he inevitably had to permanently revert back to glasses.
What scared him though, was how quickly his eyesight was declining. And still, Tom managed to hide it from his friends.
Hell, he even managed to keep it from Tord. And Tom himself didn't even know how he pulled that off.
Eventually, the truth had to come out about it all. Tom knew that, and he was scared, terrified. His friends knew he was hiding something, and they pried. Tom, the ever stubborn refused. But they knew, they knew and he couldn't hide it for much longer. From appointment to appointment, Tom had been given nothing but references to another and stronger prescription glasses. Everything was futile, and Tom still hid it.
Tom would squint while reading, and his friends saw.
Tom would have to hold things close to read, and they saw.
Tom was scared, and they saw.
God.. Edd,
"Tom," Edd spoke up after awhile. Edd looked worried, but Tom could just barley see the look on his face, and god, did it scare him. "What, Edd?" He answered, head aching as he strained to make sense of the paper he had to mark. If only he could see the pitiful frown that lay on Edd's face. "Are you alright?" He asked, "You seem to be struggling there.. I could help you with that! I'm sure Tord... Er, The Red Leader wouldn't mind." Edd would say, reaching out to rest his hand atop the man's shoulder.
Tom flinched, almost as if he hardly registered the movement. "No," Tom replied, bitter almost. "I'm fine," Tom would say, hunching his back as he turned the slightest away from Edd. Edd sighed, one of defeat. "Okay.. Just.. Remember, you could always come to me and Matt for help, alright?" God, he wished that were true.
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Matt,
"Tom?" Matt would gasp, almost worriedly. Tom nearly dropped his new eye-wear, scrambling to hide it away in a pocket of his new blue vest. "Matt, jesus christ!" Tom exclaimed, trying to ease himself of anxieties. "What are you doing here?" He'd ask, having been looking in the mirror and frowning at the new appearance he had.
"Are those glasses?"
"Matt," Tom chose to avoid the question, "Did Tord send you?" Was all he said, turning back to the mirror and straightening out his button up sleeves. "Tell him I'll be out in a minute."
"Tom.." Matt's voice was quiet, more careful. "You.. Were you crying?" He'd ask.
.. Shit.
"No, I wasn't. Now, if you you don't mind, I need to finish getting ready."
"I.. We'll talk about this later, alright?" Matt was stern with his words.
And then he left.
Edd, of course, was the first to confront Tom on such problems. He trusted Tom, of course he did! Wearily, but still he believed Tom would be okay. Matt was the next, being the first to see Tom with glasses, even if it were for a moment. And Tord? Well, Tom avoided Tord. If anything was up, Tord would know.
Tord would take notice in the changes, subtle or not. Tord loved him, of course the man with one arm would confront Tom. With much more vigor than Edd, with more persistence.
The man wouldn't stand down. Tord lead an army, of course he wouldn't let up. Much like the war he was starting up.
Relentless and stubbornness was what kept Tord going. Tom both loved and hated it from Tord. Especially when it came to him hiding his own troubles.
Now, Tom hopped from ophthalmologist to ophthalmologist, all taking worry in how bad his eyesight had gotten in mere months. Eventually, there was a diagnosis. How lucky. Not one of good news, however. Of course it wasn't. Losing your eyesight isn't a good thing, but he hardly expected it to be of such bad degree. Especially after a screening and testing for Cancer.
Especially over phone, from your ophthalmologist..
"You're Thomas, am I correct?"
"Yes, I'm Tom." He cringed at how shaky his voice was. He felt dread, overwhelmed in fact.
He was anxious.
"Tom," the woman corrected herself quickly. "Your results have came back." There was a grave sigh.
"Tom.. You have Cancer."
And Tom just swore he would've passed out right then and there. His head felt light on his shoulders as he spoke, "Oh.. Oh fuck.."