Work Text:
Both screens had gone to sleep after minutes of inactivity. Fifteen minutes to be more exact, as was the setting Edd had placed on both his smartphone and drawing tablet. That was also the amount of time that had gone past since he had received a text message he was not expecting.
He had not responded, definitely would not, not yet. The brunette shifted his hair away from his face, which he had messed with earlier in order to try and hide his reality. Picking up his phone, he read the notification again on the lockscreen. Edd had to assure himself that the message on the screen he was seeing was not a result of drowsiness and exhaustion from being sat at his desk for over two hours working on a comic. His heart still felt like it would shoot out of his mouth as he saw the notification again.
“Hey”
That was it, that’s all it said. So simple and plain. friendly, right? Why wouldn’t it be? Sure, Tord had not been around in a couple of years, but the two had still kept in touch in that time, even if their talks had slowly died off until the other went silent almost a year ago. Edd understood, he had gone away to work on himself and follow his dreams- he was busy, working almost every day as Tord had once told him during a call, but now he was reaching back out. Reaching out first, more exactly.
What if Tord was in trouble? He had always confided in Edd when this was the case in the past, what if it was the same again this time? But how would Edd help him out? He didn’t even know where the man was. Last they spoke, Tord had been on holiday visiting some family in Chile or something like that. Was he back in Europe? Dare he dream, England, even?
Or perhaps Tord wanted something? Edd thought that would be more likely and of course, he would help. He had promised all those years ago ,he’d keep his promise. But what would Tord want after being gone for three years? Money? For what? The man was sure it wasn’t that; Tord was a mechanical engineer for god’s sake. Unless he went bankrupt from buying vintage military memorabilia or anime figurines, it wouldn’t be money related. God, what if he was inviting him to his wedding?!
Edd took a deep breath. It was fine. He shouldn’t be nervous, or anxious…or this thrilled. He could feel his cheeks beginning to ache from the dumb smile he had plastered on his face since he had seen the text. Ringo laid in bed, looking over at him as he scooted around in his chair, phone still in hand, text unanswered.
Should he even answer right now? It was close to midnight. But if he didn’t, he might not be able to sleep whilst thinking, dreaming of a response. He would hate himself if he responded with the wrong thing or responded too late. Another breath, there is no need to worry about replies to things that haven’t been said. What a hot mess this was.
The phone rested on his nightstand, Edd wiped his skin after brushing his teeth and splashing some water on his face. He walked back over to his bed, sitting on the edge, looking over at the device on the surface.
He took the phone and shoved it behind the drawer, turning his lamp off, laying down, and forcing his eyes shut. Turning over, covered himself with his duvet. Edd would not think about it, he needed some sleep. Sleep in order to not make a stupid mistake.
–
Edd was right, he couldn’t sleep. Twisting and turning for over an hour was not doing anything. He had enough and got up, digging his phone back out and opening the text message, quickly replying:
“Hey, how’s it going?”
The grown man let out a laugh that he immediately regretted as he buried his face into his pillows. He was acting like a school-girl and turning twenty-seven soon, what a state. But damn did he put aside his self-cringe when he heard the notification buzz only a few minutes later. Tord had replied soon, even this late in the night, “I’ve been a tad busy, but alright besides that. how about you? i see you’re still a creature of the night lol”.
‘lol’? ‘lol’? laugh out loud !? Edd couldn’t believe he was freaking out over a ‘lol’ conversation. They were friends, two good friends, two best friends. The brunette took a breath, letting his body relax for a while as he kept the conversation going, “lol yeah, you are still a night owl too. All’s been good around here, the usual crazy and boring i suppose”.
The two chatted back and forth for a while, mindlessly talking about things they had done or movies that had come out in the past months. It felt like the old days, but not too far in the past when Edd and Tord would actually stay up late into the night watching movies and talking, receiving annoyed looks from Tom after he got back from his job. How can someone be so nostalgic for a few years ago?
Edd felt like such a loser for falling for the coolest loser he had met and gone years without telling. He had believed Tord moving out had been the end of his timer, his opportunity gone. But that three-letter text had reignited his heart, added extra time.
His hands that held his phone slowly leaned down and rested on his chest when Edd succumbed to sleep before replying to another of Tord’s texts. A smile on his round face, content and giddy in his heart and mind. He was just glad to be communicating with him again and could only hope it kept going. As he slept, he didn’t wonder what Tord could’ve reached out for, or if he even needed anything at all. Based on the vibes he had gotten from the conversation and the feeling in his chest, surely, it couldn’t be anything bad. The stars were starting to align just for him again.