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Tom had just finished an important 2 month long mission for Red Leader, the team he’d gone with to America had made a small mistake and nearly got them all caught. It led to Tom needing to be partially transformed into his monster form, becoming taller, stronger, and it made doors a hassle. Usually he wouldn’t return to base in the state he was in, but his supply of ‘Monster Tamer’ serum had run dry and he left his emergency supply on his bed back at the main Norway base. Already, Tom knew that Tord was going to have a field day with that.
Though Tom really couldn’t care less what the man was going to do, he had picked up a souvenir on this mission and a little someone was waiting for him. He was barely patient when Pau and Patryck asked for his report while medical staff checked over his form and his visor to make sure things were still functional. After Tom told them the situation, Pau sighed heavily with a crooked smile on his face.
“You know Red’s going to basically velcro a spare syringe to your vest because of this right?” Pau huffed, Tom rolled his ‘eyes’ and scoffed.
“Please, he’d probably mass produce them and make sure they were on every surface and several in the possession of every soldier in this facility if you two weren’t there to remind him that it would waste our budget. Now, are we done? I gotta head off to see someone before I report to Red.” Tom sighed, smiling when he heard Patryck laugh at the imagery of Tord mass producing the ‘Monster Tamer’ serum. Then the mention of Tom needing to go somewhere caught the two’s attention.
“Oh, you’re going to go and see…?” Patryck trailed off, knowing who it was and smiling when he saw Tom hold up an item in his monstrous hand and nod. Pau and Patryck’s amused smiles faded into more gentle ones.
“Alright, run off Tom, we’ll keep the bossman busy.” The Polish man waved him off while Pau winked and gave a thumbs up. They were a strange duo but honestly, Tom found that they’d grown on him, both reminded him of Edd and Matt back before Tord began his invasion. Such a thought brought a pang of longing for his friends again, but it couldn’t last long, he gave the two commanders a grin before rushing off to his room. There was a little one that he needed to see.
The run back to his room was a little rough, especially when he was a lot taller than most of the doorways right now. He ended up having to run on all fours and threatened to maul any of the soldiers if they were laughing or filming him basically running like an animal in order to make it back to his room, where he could track the scent of the young boy he’d been caring for since he joined the Red Army.
He’d met the boy back when the zombie attack at the ASDF Land theme park had happened, handing the boy a gun after many alcoholic beverages clouded his judgment and made him think that the actual zombies were a part of an arcade game. The little boy managed to not get bit or killed and instead had been picked up by Tord, Patryck, and Pau. He didn’t talk, had no living family, and proved he had skill with a weapon. Since he didn’t talk to them, they dubbed him A.K after the gun he’d been given.
Being too young for training or recruitment; Pau, Patryck, and a handful of trusted soldiers would take turns in raising the boy and making sure he was well provided for. He still wouldn’t talk, but they knew he appreciated that they were caring for him.
And then Tom joined the army.
The blue-clad secretary had been in the building for about a few months before he met A.K, that had been because of training and tests needing to be done regarding his visor. When he was finally freed from Tord’s personal labs and passed his recruitment tests with flying colors, Tom was free to roam around the base and had been roaming the halls to familiarize himself with all the routes and rooms when he had quite literally bumped into a pre-teen A.K.
That was the first time A.K had ever spoken since the day he was taken in by the Red Army. Calling Tom ‘dad’ and hugging him tightly before the older man could even register what was happening and who the kid was. Pau had been chasing after the young boy and nearly passed out when he heard A.K speak, it was a shock to anyone that knew the boy. Just as it was a shock to be called ‘dad’ by a kid that Tom met only once. A.K didn’t care though, he found the person that he associated as a parental figure, and Tom didn’t have the heart to reject the young boy.
After that, Tom’s roaming of the halls usually meant that A.K was close behind if he wasn’t helping in tasks asked of him by the Commanders or Tom himself. Eventually as this persisted, Tord ordered his commanders/close friends that Tom would have the role as primary caretaker and to move A.K’s quarters closer to Tom’s so it would make things easier. Tom didn’t complain and A.K was happy so it was all that mattered in the end. Tom had always been a mother hen to his friends and cousins, so finally having a little one to raise and mother hen? It was like a little puzzle piece had fit and made some things okay again, there was a sense of normality being brought back to Tom and it helped.
A.K didn’t like it when Tom went out on missions, usually getting really quiet and glum the closer they got to a mission date. Tom couldn’t say that he blamed the boy, he didn’t like the missions either… but this was his job now and he always vowed to bring the little one a new souvenir after each successful mission. Sometimes it was small things, like tiny toys or a piece of debris; other times it was something pretty cool, like a piece from one of Tom’s monster form teeth or even a piece of a busted tank. No matter how simple or amazing the souvenir was, A.K still got excited and set his gift on the desk where his collection lay.
So that’s why Tom was running through the halls on all fours with his monster form’s tail tightly holding his newest souvenir for A.K. Tom was already two days late in terms of his mission arrival thanks to things going south, so he began tracking the boy’s scent all the way back to his room. Anytime Tom went out on his missions, to make A.K feel less apart from him, he would keep his room unlocked in case he ever wanted to sleep there instead.
Soon now, Tom’s electronic green eyes locked onto the sight of his door with the same logo he wore on his uniform. A.K was in there, likely already having been told that he returned. Tom stood up finally and opened the door, he did have to duck in order to get through the door like every other door… maybe he should talk to Tord about making the doors in the base higher for when he was stuck in this monster form, he saved that thought into his visor and took his gift for A.K out of his tail and into his hands and looked around his room.
“A.K?” Tom called out, looking around with a small smile on his face. The boy wasn’t anywhere that he could see in front of him, but he was here for sure. Tom’s enhanced sense of smell proved that the little one hadn’t left, and judging from the giggles, A.K was hiding somewhere in the ceiling vent above him. A soft chuckle escaped Tom as he stopped himself directly above the vent’s opening.
“A.K…. c’mon ouuuut~ You know I can sense you.” Tom chuckled, unable to fight the smile of amusement on his face when he heard A.K trying to stifle his giggles. Tom began to ‘look around’ for his charge, just before he was about to feign leaving the room to search for him, the vent opened up and A.K made himself known.
“SNEAK ATTACK!” A.K cried out, grabbing Tom’s horns and swinging himself to sit on the older man’s shoulders. Tom did lurch forward a little from the momentum, but for the most part he didn’t move much from it. A cascade of giggles escaped A.K once he settled himself on Tom’s shoulders and took in that the other was really back.
“I got you!” A.K grinned, letting go of Tom’s horns so the older could shift his head and look up at his charge with an amused expression.
“You got me.” Tom replied softly, snorting when A.K’s smaller hands covered up his visor screen.
“And now you’re blind!” The young boy could feel Tom’s monster tail wrap around his waist to lift him off of his caretaker’s shoulders and back onto the ground. Tom himself began to slowly crouch down once A.K was set onto the floor, holding the gift behind his back and looking at his charge with an amused smile.
“Tiny hands… my only weakness.” Tom huffed out, A.K began to giggle again. His primary caretaker was finally back and he was absolutely thrilled.
“So, were you behaving for Pau and Patryck while I was gone?” The older man asked, keeping his gift for A.K behind his back so he could surprise the other. A.K shifted on his feet with a smile on his face, one of mischief that Tom knew well.
“Welllllll yes and no? I did do a few pranks here and there, but it was with their help! The Red Leader fell asleep at his desk, and I thought it’d be funny to cover his robot arm with different kinds of magnets. Pau thought it was hilarious and elected to help while Patryck supplied us with the magnets and warned us that it was a bad idea.” A.K then quickly took his phone out and showed Tom the pictures he took of Tord slumped in his cushy chair with his robot arm on full display covered from deltoid to palm in different colored and shaped magnets, Pau was in frame looking like he was trying really hard to not bark with laughter. Tom couldn’t help but start laughing himself, ohhh he’d definitely have to ask Tord about it when he noticed that most of the magnets were rainbows and lollipops.
“Oh that is fantastic, now then… what did Red punish you with when he found out about you and Pau’s little stunt?” Tom asked, watching as his charge slumped and pouted.
“He conked us both on the head and put us on cleaning duty at the recruiters barracks…” Another bark of laughter escaped Tom before he ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Well, you need to be more careful with your pranks then, if you’re pranking Red then you need to be sneaky. Though I advise against pranking him anytime in the future, he may look for revenge.” The older male put on his ‘playful scolding’ voice and smiled when he saw his charge snort and already begin to plot better pranks, with that out of the way, Tom figured it was time to show A.K what he got the boy.
“Now then! As promised, I’ve brought youuuu..” Tom shifted his hands in front of him to reveal the item, A.K leaned in with anticipation as Tom’s monster claws opened up to reveal a large dark amethyst crystal. The young boy’s eyes widened with more excitement as Tom smiled at him.
“A crystal?! You managed to get a crystal?!” A.K practically squealed as he took the stone out of Tom’s hands to inspect it and see if it was fake.
“The rebel base I was supposed to infiltrate on my mission was located in a crystal mine in America. I figured that would be the best choice. Was it worth the two day delay?” Tom asked with a hum as A.K laughed and practically jumped into Tom’s arms for a tight hug. Seemed like it did make up for his delay returning to base, what a relief.
“Best gift yet Dad! I don’t think I’ve gotten anything from America yet!” A.K cheered, rushing out of the hug to begin finding a place for his new gift in his room. Tom carefully followed him out to see where his charge would put it.
“I’m glad you like it A.K, now then… I need to head up to Red’s office to give my report soon. Did anything else happen at the base while I was away?” Tom asked, watching as A.K looked around on his desk to see where he could put his new gift. The little menace soon found the best place for it and thought on the question with a hum.
“Uhhhh oh! I think Red Leader missed you, he’d work non-stop to occupy himself and then when he got too tired, he’d walk to your room and flop into your bed to sleep.” A.K snorted, catching Tom off guard. Tord was going to his room? Tom had been so busy trying to see A.K that he’d missed the underlying scent of Tord in his room and on his bed. Now that was interesting to hear.
“Awww, well good to know he was at least sleeping a little. Now then, I’ve got to go and make my report to him. When I’m done, let’s go get lunch from the mess hall… I hear that it’s stroganoff this time.” A.K perked up and nodded in excitement before pointing to Tom’s half-monster form.
“You should probably not look like that before you go see him though. I’ll get the Monster Tamer!” A.K giggled and Tom looked at himself when he realized that he’d forgotten to ask one of the medical staff to get the spare syringe in the office… oh well, at least A.K remembered to get it for him.
Fifteen minutes later and a quick change into a less ripped uniform, Tom made his way into Tord’s office without knocking and saw the other hunched over at his desk looking over blueprints and paperwork with an irritated expression. Clearly he hadn’t stopped working, when he was in this zone, he tended to ignore Tom’s stand-in when they gave him reports or announcements. So it was very likely that Tord wasn’t fully aware that Tom was back.
“Y’know Commie, if you keep hunching over your desk like that, I may end up taller than you because you’ve done nothing but slouch.” Tom called out, jolting the other from his work and looking up at his ‘intruder’ with a surprised look on his face. The scowl on Tord’s face softened slightly before a smirk cracked through and he stood up to stretch.
“You wish Thomas. The only time you’ll be taller than me is in your monster forms.” He chuckled, rounding his desk to approach Tom and look him over as if there was the potential that his highly trained medical staff missed any potential injuries. Tom scoffed, but allowed the other to check him over, if it kept the other from being slouched at his desk then it was fine.
“I hope you didn’t have trouble on your mission, it’s unlike you to be late.” Tord muttered as he pulled away to pour two glasses of alcohol, one for himself and one for Tom, these were the only times where the blue soldier drank now. While the drinks were being poured, Tom rounded Tord’s desk and sat on the comfortable chair, the worn leather was still warm from where Tord was sitting.
“Yes well… some of the soldiers got captured during the infiltration, I and the others all rushed to get them back and there was a point where I half shifted. It got the captured soldiers out, but I didn’t have anymore Monster Tamer on me… I left my emergency syringe in my room here.” Tom figured he may as well make sure Tord was aware, he’d be teased for it anyways.
Tord turned his head with an amused expression on his face, laughing as he walked over with their drinks of choice and watched as Tom took a slow sip.
“You really forgot it? The mother hen that makes sure everyone else has their emergency kits and supplies? Wow Thomas! The irony!” Tord laughed, Tom could see the stress being lifted from his body and it brought a smirk to his face.
“Yes I know, it’s not lost on me and I’m not letting that happen again. I’ll never hear the end of it from Pau or Pat either… I got to see A.K before I came to see you, he told me that you punished him and Pau for pranking you with magnets?” The groan that escaped the red-clad leader was music to Tom’s ears.
“Oh don’t get me started on that, your son is a menace and we all know it. Of all the magnets he could have put on me, he chose rainbows and lollipops! I know he got that from you, he may not be your biological kid, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.” Tord grumbled, downing his drink while Tom laughed and finished his own drink. The mention of A.K being called his son made the blue soldier smile a little when he heard it, fatherhood seemed to suit him well.
“He also told me something else, that while I was gone, you missed me.” Tom hummed, raising an amused brow when he saw Tord freezing and cross his arms with a face. He was trying to make an excuse that he didn’t, but Tom wasn’t going to let him try.
“He said you would go to my room and sleep in my bed, my monster form gives me a pretty good sense of smell too. You were all over my pillows and bed.” Tom grinned gleefully as Tord sputtered and became more flustered.
“That little shit… wipe that grin off your face! You were gone far longer than I expected, I thought you’d come early like most missions! But that doesn’t mean I missed you, I was just going to your bed because it’s closer and-!” Without warning, Tord felt the collar of his sweater be yanked and Tom pulled him down to press a quick kiss to the lips. Tord stood there for a while, trying to wrap his head around what Tom just did.
“Missed you too, idiot. Now you need to rest, I’m going to guess that you’ve been nonstop in the paperwork… go rest, I’ll take care of it.” Tom replied softly as Tord snapped from his daze and huffed.
“No no, paperwork can wait. We’re both getting some rest, have you or A.K eaten yet?” Tord waved away Tom’s offer and wrapped his arms around the shorter’s chest to keep him from walking towards the stack of papers. Tom sighed, shaking his head and confirming to Tord that neither had eaten yet. The Red Leader clicked his tongue and clicked a button on his arm to ring for Pau and Patryck.
“What’s up Red? Did you get to speak with Tom?” Patryck’s voice came out through the communicator on Tord’s robotic arm, the Norwegian leaned into the receiver with a huff.
“Yes, and I’ll be taking the rest of the day. Please see to it that the paperwork gets properly done and make sure Thomas doesn’t have any tasks or meeting information pop up into his visor for the day.” Tord ordered, resting his head into Tom’s soft brown hair with a sigh. They both snorted when they heard Pau coo in the background and Patryck shushed him for getting too enthusiastic before clearing his throat.
“Of course Red Leader, please enjoy a well deserved day of rest.” Tord then grunted softly and shut the communicator off with a sigh. Tom let out a chuckle, reaching up to gently pat the leader’s horn-tufted hair.
“You want me to get your civilian prosthetic on so you don’t get bothered by the notifications?” Tom asked, snorting when the man wordlessly nodded his head. Given that Tord was resting his head on Tom’s it caused the secretary’s head to move with it.
“Alright you big baby, I’ll go get it and we’ll pick A.K up to get lunch… then we’ll rest.” Tom chuckled, making an attempt to move before Tord’s arms squeezed a little tighter. Neon green eyes made their way up to looking into Tord’s single silver eye with a questioning gaze on his face, that was when Tord finally moved and pressed his lips to Tom’s with a hum.
“There we go. That makes up for the sneak attack you gave me.” The Norwegian chuckled, smiling gleefully when he saw the neon green eyes shift to a more pinkish color, matching Tom’s flustered feelings. Tord then let Tom go and made quick work of removing his work prosthetic and once Tom snapped out of his daze, he rushed off to get the basic robot prosthetic. It had a light layer of dust and likely hadn’t been given a diagnostic in some time, but it would do for the day. It didn’t have to be perfect.
Once Tord had his prosthetic back on, it was just a matter of picking A.K up, enjoying lunch, and then taking the needed time to rest for both the hardworking leader and his secretary.
And if that rest included a little cuddling with each other, then the only ones that needed to know were Pau, Patryck, and little A.K.