A knock came from his bedroom door before Tord poked his head into the room, already dressed in his army uniform "Hey" Tord smiled, stepping across the room "Just wanted to say goodbye before lea- what's that?" the soldier questioned, glancing down at the screen of Tom's phone before the half demon quickly covered it "Nothing". "Tom, that was an article on memory magic" Tord stated, concern drawing across his face "If it's really bugging you, we could go back to Euanthe and see what she can do?" "No, it's fine" Tom assured the soldier yet Tord wasn't buying it "...what about you spend the day with me?" Tord suggested as Tom's brows knotted "At the Red Army base? are you crazy?" the half demon questioned. "You'll get in trouble" "I won't" Tord stated "Yes, you will- you can't bring a random civilian into the army bases, the Red Leader will kick you out immediately" Tom told the soldier "You spent so much time and effort on getting into that army specifically" he continued "You're not throwing away your chance just to spend the day with me or distract me from my own thoughts".
The Red Army was what tore them apart, and Tom was not going to be the reason why Tord gets thrown out of it.
And yet the look Tord pulled on his face said otherwise "...what?" Tom questioned as Tord slowly sat down on the bed with Tom "Tord, what is it?" "Nothing, I promise-" "You pulled a look like you won't get in trouble even the slightest" the half demon said, narrowing his eyes at the other "So tell me why exactly you wouldn't get in trouble for breaking the rules that the armies are very strict with". 'Well, guess now is a better time than ever...' Tord thought before taking a shaky breath "I-I'm... I am the uh..." and the words quickly caught themselves in horrid knots in his throat "You're the what?" Tom questioned "...Red... Leader..." the answer came out of Tord's mouth as the most unconfident and fear-ridden answer that could ever leave a nineteen year-old's lips. Tom's body stiffened as he looked at the army-dressed guy in front of him, shock and disbelief filling his face, then slowly shook his head "...no" he said as Tord nodded his head "I am" "But... the Red Leader's the most scary and horrifying army leader- how?!" Tom questioned "You said you were taking over your father's position in the army" "He was the previous Red Leader" Tord answered, watching the half demon's jaw drop. Funny, friendly, dad-joke filled Joseph Larsson, the Red Army Leader before Tord- Tord Larsson, the guy he's now dating- "Holy shit- I slept with the Red Army Leader" Tom breathed out in disbelief as Tord held back a laugh, the half demon's head immediately snapped back to him "No! this isn't funny- why didn't you tell me sooner? we were best friends!".

"I'm not allowed to- none of us leaders are" Tord answered "Only us and our families can know our identities, the only other exception is the leader's partner" he stated as Tom's cheeks slowly started to heat "...you see me as your partner?" "Tom, you're the only person I've ever loved and probably the only one I ever will" the soldier told the half demon, reaching over and gently holding Tom's hand. "I would understand if you don't want to be with me anymore because of who I am-" "Don't talk like that" Tom told the soldier, cutting him off a little "Don't beat yourself down just for my sake" "You don't like the Red Leader-" "I didn't like the fact that the Red Army dragged you away to Norway last minute and kept you there for several months" the half demon corrected Tord. The soldier's head hung low "I'm so sorry... for everything-" "Don't apologise" Tom told him "Never apologise, especially for being who you are" the half demon said, slipping his hands out of the soldier's grasp and caressing Tord's face, a small warm smile drawn over Tom's lips. Tord returned the smile before Tom spoke again "Weren't you leaving for work?" "Oh shit" the soldier swore, jumping off the bed yet quickly rushing back over to give Tom a quick kiss goodbye before rushing back out the door.

Drift Warden House, Perible, England, Mid
Tuesday, September 5th
7:28pm
"No-" "You can't say 'no' to paying rent in Monopoly" Jacob firmly told Chloe as she folded her arms "I'm pledging squatter's rights" she stated "It's a bloody board game!" Jacob snapped.
At the current moment, Jocelyn had scrambled together a small game night with the kids; Holly, Sean, Corey, Lilly, Chloe and Jacob whilst Blake was still over at the high school and Faith was over at Euanthe's working. Dinner already eaten, kids all in their pyjamas, just a couple hours of gathered distraction before turning in for the night. So now, everyone was sitting on the ground, around the coffee table with Monopoly set up and pieces scattered about the board.
"Careful, his eyes might pop out of his head if you keep making him angry" Sean jokingly warned Chloe as she rolled her eyes and the others laughed "Fine, take your twenty six" she grabbed out the paper money and handed it over to Jacob who shot her a slight glare "I never knew you were such a stickler for the rules" Sean said to Jacob "He's turned almost full-blown OCD maniac ever since he joined student council" Holly told the oldest teen. Corey's brows knotted in confusion "Wait- since when does our school have a student council?" "They always have" Lilly answered the boy "We looked at school clubs yet none of us signed up for one, except Jacob" she added "It's a good way to pass the time whilst giving back to the school" Jacob defended himself. Jocelyn smiled, getting an idea "I have to pop over to the store to get a few things... maybe, when I get back, we can all have some ice-cream" she suggested, all the teenagers cheering at the suggestion and as Jocelyn stood up, she nearly lost her balance for a moment "You alright, Mrs Smith?" Sean asked as the woman waved the kids off "I'm fine, just got up too fast" she told them "I'll be back, keep everything locked whilst I'm gone" she told the kids.
As Jocelyn stepped out of the room and towards the front door, Holly quickly walked out of the room and over to her mother "Mum, are you sure you're okay?" the girl asked, very worried about her mother as the woman smiled back at her "I'm fine, sweetie" she assured her "I'm just worried- this is the third time this week alone that you've had a 'dizzy-spill' from 'getting up too fast'" Holly pointed out "And that's not like you at all" she stated. "Holly-" "You've been seeming a little weaker and losing balance a lot in the last couple of weeks, mum" Holly told her mother "You told me that I should talk to you whenever anything is off with me, I want you to know that you can do the same with me" the girl said, warming Jocelyn's heart with her words. The woman caressed her daughter's face, placing a small kiss on her forehead "I am okay, sweetie, I promise" she told the girl "And the second I'm not, I will speak to you" Jocelyn promised before grabbing her car keys "Play for me whilst I'm gone? I don't want to lose" the woman joked before leaving the house, Holly making sure to lock the front door after her but still can't help being deeply concerned about her mother.

Head Red Army Base, Ashmaine, England, Mid
Tord and Tom walked side-by-side; Tord in his army leader uniform and mask whilst Tom was in a pair of jeans and a nice dress shirt, a visitor's pass hanging around his neck as the two walked through the base, eventually finding the engineering room. Upon stepping into the room, all of the workers stopped to see the two, all saluted to their army leader "This is Mr Ridgewell, I expect him to be welcomed" the Red Leader stated before escorting Tom further into the room.
A few days ago, Tord had proposed the idea to Tom about the half demon working in the army, at least with the engineers and a couple of the assistants to get a good grasp of what the army leader does. At the spoken chances of being able to tinker with a couple of the new projects the army's working on, Tom excitedly agreed... mostly because he was going to get to look at and fiddle with the new projects, nothing else.
"This is Doctor Tane Bellington-Bing," Tord introduced the tanned dark-haired with even darker bags under his eyes "Yet we all just call him 'Bing' for short" the army leader stated as Tane looked up at Tom from his desk with the most unamused face... he kind of looked really good for a heavily sleep-deprived man. "My mother fucked a fairy, get over it" Tane said as if Tom had been gawking at him, then turning back to his work, Tom was thrown off little and turned back to Tord who just shrugged his shoulders "He says that to everyone who stares, don't worry" he assured the half demon "Bing, Thomas here is going to shadow you a little for the next couple of weeks-" "I'm not babysitting a cadet" Tane stated. But after Tord mentioned that Tom had graduated high school at the top of his engineering class, Tane was a little less snappy "...fine, but he's not touching anything unless I say otherwise" he stated "It's bad enough that we're all working under Larsson's kid now, who makes a teenager the Leading Engineer of a whole department?" Bing hissed sharply as Tom gave the army leader a worried look. "He says that all the time too" Tord told the half demon as Tane waved his hand "Yeah, the kid's fantastic at the job, the only idiot I'd work under out of this lot" the engineer stated as he pointed a thumb back at his other colleagues "The kid's got good ideas that'll help the realms, no doubt, just sick of him moping about the place".

"Moping about the place?" Tom questioned Tord after they left the workshop "...I wasn't really in the best of moods whilst gone" the army leader answered before the two walked into a familiar man, Joseph Larsson. "Red Leader" Joseph nodded to Tord, both smiling as though trying to hold back a burst of laughter before Joseph noticed Tom, then quickly narrowed his eyes at his son "Son" Joseph spoke in a warning and angry voice that made Tom flinch a little and grab hold of Tord's hand. Noticing that, Joseph's brows knotted in confusion as Tord quickly lead the three into the closest empty room, the command room, where Caitlyn Larsson, Tord's mother, so happened to be in. Joseph closed the door behind them as Caitlyn shared a confused look upon seeing Tom "Thomas, sweetie, why are you here?" the mother questioned as Tom bit his tongue "Tord told him he's the Red Leader" Joseph answered his wife as Tord took off the leader's mask "Sønn!" Caitlyn snapped at the army leader who immediately turned back to his father. "Far-" "Bare fordi han er din beste venn betyr ikke det at du forteller ham alt!" Joseph harshly told his son, Tord snapped back "Kjæreste!" he corrected his father, taking the man back a little as his mother covered her mouth. Tom's body stiffened as he watched the parents' reactions to what Tord had just called him "He's my boyfriend" Tord firmly stated before immediately turning to Tom with sudden worry "Wait, sorry- is that okay or-" "No no, boyfriend, yeah" Tom nodded his head, the words just... not coming out of his mouth properly as his heart beated a million miles per second. Tord turned back to his father, expecting disappointment yet was met with a small smile, absolutely surprised, but there was a smile... right before Caitly rushed over and crashed her son with a tight hug "Å min baby" she cooed, her son cringing a little before she released him from her grasp and turned to Tom. "And a svigersønn!" Caitlyn exclaimed, hugging Tom as Tord sighed "Mamma... we've been together for a few weeks" "And it took you this long to tell us?" Joseph questioned his son as Caitlyn pulled away from the half demon, although no longer crushing him with a hug, still had hold of the poor boy. "Thank the goddesses he's with you- we already know and trust and love you" Caitlyn stated, holding Tom's arms "I don't have to panic about getting to know a stranger- my goddesses, kjære, you're more pale since the last time I've seen you" the woman said in concern as she caressed Tom's face "I haven't really been outside much" "Oh that's fine, kjære," Caitlyn waved her hand with a bright smile. The woman then pointed back at Tord "But the second my son starts treating you wrong, you let me know, kjære" Caitlyn told Tom as he nodded his head, biting his tongue to keep a small nervous laugh at bay.

"Heard any news about Angelina yet?" Joseph asked Tord who shook his head "Nothing new" he answered his father "Still looking into Garrison's theory, but it's eliminating too many places too fast" Tord stated, catching his mother starting to drag Tom out of the room "Mom-" "My future svigersønn needs to know this base inside and out, you'll get him back in an hour" Caitlyn stated as Tom laughed a little, letting the woman lead him out of the room. Tord sighed, holding his head as his father clapped a hand on his son's shoulder "He's a fine young man, Sønn" Joseph stated with a proud smile "...you're not mad?" "About your taste in men? goddesses no" his father laughed, shaking his head, taking Tord back a little with the answer "You chose someone who is both a good friend and strong partner" Joseph stated. "Both your mother and I were great friends when we were army cadets, started dating when we first joined the Red Army" the man told his son "But I knew I loved your mother back during our second year of our MDC Program, it was one of the combat training sessions, she belted every single cadet with her fighting skills that day, but throwing me to the ground so easily was what caught my heart" Joseph stated. Tord gave his father a concerned look "That sounds messed up" "It does, but back then, what I really wanted to see in a partner was a loving heart and strength, someone much stronger than me and she still is" Joseph laughed, giving his son a pat on his back. "You two are amazing together, never forget that bond" the man told his son with a warm smile "But like your mother said, the second I hear that you've treated him wrong, I'm slapping you up the back of your head" Joseph firmly warned his son "I would never do that to Thomas, you know that" Tord told him, a little disturbed that both of his parents gave him the same warning.... one with a guaranteed threat.