Eddsworld! Alter Motives

Chapter Seventeen, "Things Sure Do Happen"

     Edd got into the serving position and readied up. He reeled his fist back and severed the ball. The ball flew over the net and went straight for Paul. Paul crouched down and hit the ball, having it sent back. Tom moved to the right and spiked the ball over the net, having it bounce against the ground. 
     “15, Tomrom!” Tord said pumped.
     Tom smiled. Eduardo rolled his eyes as he rolled the ball back to Edd as he switched positions. Edd had a cheeky grin on his face as he tossed the ball up and hit it across. Patryck dove and hit it over the net, straight to Matt’s face. Matt quickly hit it, but it went flying into the net.
     “Dude! Go easy on me!” Matt laughed.
     “Why should I huh?” Patryck smirked.
     “I let you sleep on me in the car despite my giant urges to kill Edd at the time!” Matt brought up.
     “Thanks for that! You were really comfortable!” Patryck appreciated.
     “Why thank you! I made sure you were nice and cosy!” Matt smiled.
     Eduardo rolled his eyes as the other team rotated. Tom quickly served the ball as it went for Eduardo. He yawned as he hit it back. The ball went back and forth until Tom jumped up and spiked the ball at Paul’s feet.
     “Aha! Yes!” Tom smiled.
     Edd’s grin had widened.
     “Good job, Darling!” He smiled.
     Edd smacked Tom in the arse. Tom’s face turned a deep purple and his eyes whitened. Matt and Tord rolled their eyes and looked away in jealousy. Eduardo and Mark shrugged. Paul and Patryck stared in a bit of shock.
     “How can you two be so chill about this?” Patryck asked.
     “I mean, we do this with each other all the time, so it’s not really shocking,” Eduardo replied.
     “So you two are dating?” Patryck inquired.
     “No, I’m not gay,” Eduardo stated, “I just know when to respect a person’s beauty!”
     Paul snickered.
     “Yeah, I’m AroAce,” Mark mentioned.
     Mark’s comment caught Matt’s attention.
     He’s AroAce?
     Y’know, maybe I should talk with him later.
     Tom did say for me to learn more about sexuality, so this could help.
     Yeah, I’ll do that.
     Edd cleared his throat, “Strawberry Narc, get your head out of the clouds! We got a game to play!” He chuckled.
     Matt snapped back into reality and got into place.
     Tom raised his hand and swung at the ball, firing it at Mark. Mark quickly hit it to Patryck, who hit it over the net. Tord ran and quickly hit the ball with his normal hand, getting it to fly over the outline.
     “Sorry, point for us Red,” Paul smiled as he saw them switch spots.
     “You cheeky little-” Tord huffed.
     “It’s okay Honey, we can still beat him!” Edd chuckled.
     The game continued, with each side not letting up at all. Edd was getting more and more competitive each turn. Soon the score was tied, and each team was getting tired. 
     “Okay, one more shot, for the whole feast,” Tord smiled as he wiped the sweat off his brow. 
     Eduardo nodded. He reeled his hand back, and served the ball. Edd hit it back. Then Mark hit it! 
     Then Tom!
     Paul!
     Tord!
     Mark!
     Then Matt took one final swing and spiked it as hard as he could, hitting the centre of the court. The game was over.
     “Aww yeah, baby!” Matt grinned.
     “Good job, Dear!” Edd smiled.
     He hugged Matt and kissed him. Edd let Matt go.
     “You shouldn’t just praise me, though I would like that, but give the others some love too, Muffin!” Matt grinned.
     “You did swell too, Honey!” Edd smiled as he kissed Tord on the cheek.
     “And I can’t forget you, my Darling!” Edd beamed, kissing Tom on the forehead.
     Eduardo stood there in slight shock. 
     “Wow, they’re really touchy aren’t they?” He commented.
     “Yeah, they’re dating,” Patryck informed them.
     “All of them?” Mark questioned.
     “All four of them,” Patryck confirmed.
     “Woah,” Mark shrugged, “That’s a big relationship.”
     “Yeah. Kind of a lot to take in, but it’s their business and if it makes them happy, good for them,” Paul smiled.
     Edd sighed, “Well, that was a good game. I think we should call it a day and go back in.”
     “Yeah, maybe a break would be good,” Mark replied as it looked back at Eduardo.
     They all headed inside. Eduardo lightly tugged on Mark’s shoulder, motioning for them to talk in private. It followed Eduardo to another room.
     “Do you know about what kind of relationship that is?” Eduardo inquired.
     “I read it in an article somewhere,” Mark mentioned, “I believe they’re called polyamorous relationships.”
     “Huh, interesting,” Eduardo said, “Never heard of them. Where did you find this out, by the way?”
     “It was when I was researching about myself and my sexualities,” Mark replied, “I ended up finding out about it during my deep dive.”
     “I see,” Eduardo answered as he started to think, “Did you find out about your gender there too? Or… lack of it?”
     “Yeah… Yeah, I did,” Mark replied.
     “I see. I should probably do more research on this.”
     “I mean, I guess you should,” Mark suggested, “Just so you have a bit of a better sense of sexualities and gender identities.”
     “Yeah, I want to be able to support you,” Eduardo smiled, “And it might help me be more welcoming.”
     Mark nodded. Matt was in a room right next to it. He listened to the whole conversation.
     “Mark’s…? I need to talk to him,” Matt told himself.
     Meanwhile, Paul and Tord were standing outside, looking at the sky. 
     “So that was a day huh?” Paul asked.
     “Yup,” Tord agreed.
     Paul reached into his pocket, digging around as his face dropped.
     “Forgot, they took my cigarettes,” He sighed.
     Tord dug into his pockets.
     “Dammit, took my cigars too…” He added.
     Patryck walked up behind them and took out a pack of cigarettes and cigars.
     “Need these?” He smugly asked as he held them out.
     “Oh my god, you’re a lifesaver Pat,” Paul smiled.
     “Thanks,” Tord appreciated.
     “No problem you two,” Patryck smiled, “You know I always keep them on hand.”
     “You’re a real saviour, Pat,” Tord smirked.
     Paul snickered, “Don’t encourage him, he’ll get too cocky!”
     “Oh come on, that’s strike two now Paul,” Patryck chuckled as he put his arm around Tord’s and Paul’s shoulders.
     Paul laughed, “Still two too many!”
     “C’mon, you’re going to accept it at some point!”
     “Don’t be so confident about that, Shorty!”
     “You want to go, Tree?”
     “You bet my arse I do, Mini!”
     Patryck tackled Paul to the ground, play wrestling with him.
     “Take it back Paul!”
     “Never!”
     “Take it back!” Pat put him in a chokehold.
     “No!”
     “C’mon!”
     “No way!”
     Tord separated the two. 
     “Okay, break it up soldiers,” He ordered, but with a smile on his face.
     “Fine,” Patryck sighed.
     Paul chuckled and put his arm around Patryck’s shoulder.
     “If you say so Red,” He snickered as he pulled out a cigarette, “Pat, did you pack a lighter?”
     Tord smiled as he pulled out some matches and lit his cigar. 
     “Here soldier, let me help,” He answered.
     Tord brought himself higher and pressed the tip of his cigar to Paul’s cigarette. Paul blushed a bit at Tord getting closer to his face. Soon, Paul’s cigarette lit.
     “Thanks, Red,” Paul smiled.
     “Don’t mention it, Paul,” Tord replied. 
     Paul took a puff as he looked up at the sky. It was getting darker, as stars started to fill the sky. 
     “How do you think the other bases are doing?’ He inquired.
     “Hopefully, better than however the fuck we’re doing,” Tord sighed as he blew out some smoke from his nose.
     “I’m sure they’re fine. Diwi and Commander Hillary are smart, they’ll know what to do,” Patryck encouraged.
     “You think so?”
     “Yeah! They’ll be fine.”
     Tord sighed and looked up, taking a puff out of his cigar. He did hope that all of his soldiers were okay, every single one of them. They might have been seen as numbers to some people, but not to him. He just hoped he would see some of them soon.
     Meanwhile, with Mark, it was in its room looking up more sexualities and gender identities. Then, it stumbled upon trigender.
     “Interesting,” it mumbled.
     Suddenly, it heard a knock on the door.
     “Yes?”
     “Hey, it’s Matt,” Mark heard him say from behind the door, “Can I… talk to you about something?”
     “Uhh, yeah, sure. Come in!” Mark called.
     Matt opened the door and walked into the room, clearly flustered about something.
     “What seems to be bugging you?” Mark asked.
     “It’s about my gender identity… Could you help me with that?” Matt asked.
     Mark set its computer to its side.
     “Sure, what do you need help with?” He inquired.
     “Well… Lately, I’ve been feeling… Odd. I haven’t felt like a boy or a girl, but I still feel… Something,” Matt illustrated.
     “Hmmm, I can see why you are confused. I was too at first when I was learning about my gender,” Mark said touching its chin, “or, lack thereof.”
     “Thing is, I still feel some kind of gender,” Matt told him, “But it’s not female or male.”
     “Hmm…. Well, you might be non-binary. But it is an umbrella term technically. For example, I’m agender, which also falls under being non-binary,” Mark explained, “There’s nothing wrong with it though.”
     “I see,” Matt asked, “Could you explain the differences between agender and non-binary?”
     “Well, non-binary is a blanket term, when you feel something besides male or female is your gender. However agender is when you feel like you have no gender at all. It also falls under the transgender umbrella, since that is also a difference from your birth gender.”
     “Well, I would say agender, but I still feel something,” Matt described.
     “Well, what do you think you are? I can’t answer that for you,” it remarked.
     “Well, I don’t feel like a boy or a girl, but I don’t feel like there’s nothing…” Matt thought for a moment, “I think… I think I’m non-binary.”
     “Good for you buddy,” Mark smirked.
     “Thanks, Mark,” Matt grinned.
     “No problem, anything else you need?”
     “Not really, but still, thank you so much,” Matt appreciated.
     “Don’t mention it.”
     “Anyways, I’ll be on my way now. Goodnight, Mark.”
     “Goodnight Matt,” Mark replied as it went back to his laptop.
     Edd and Tom were setting up the living room to sleep. Edd was picking up his pillow and started to fluff it up.
     “Did you ever think we would be sleeping at Eduardo’s place?” He asked.
     “Well, considering most of the other surprises we have seen, this actually seems the most rational,” Tom commented.
     “True,” Edd smirked, “Y’know, this may be a night where we don’t keep an eye open.”
     “Not true, there is one thing you need to keep your eyes open for Cola Boy,” Tom teased.
     “Oh, and what might that be, Fork Man?” Edd asked smugly.
     “This!” Tom ran at Edd and hit him in the chest with one of the pillows, laughing.
     “Oh, you little- ” Edd chuckled as he gripped his pillow and hit Tom’s side.
     Tom continued to swing at Edd with the pillow. This continued into a large pillow war, chucking pillows at each other. Soon this stopped with Tom on top of Edd.
     “Give up yet Edward?” He joked with a cheeky grin.
     “Oh! Thomas! It seems you have won! You now have me vulnerable! Oh! You deserve to do what you want as your reward!” Edd faked.
     Tom laughed, “Oh you bet I will.”
     Tom pulled Edd up by his shoulders and started to kiss him, holding Edd’s head up with one hand. Then, Matt walked into the room. Tom and Edd pulled away.
     “Hey, Casanova~!” Tom called.
     “What are my Muffin and Sugar doing, without me?” Matt smiled as he tackled both of them in a hug.
     “Oh no! I’ve been knocked down again! Now two of my lovers can do what they want to me! Oh, what will happen to me?” Edd joked.
     Matt chuckled as he kissed Edd’s cheek. Tom moved to the side and kissed Edd’s other cheek.
     “We’re buttering up our best friend, that’s what,” Matt teased as he squeezed Edd’s arm.
     “Then go ahead,” Edd smiled.
     Tom sighed, “If only the Commie were here, oh well.”
     Edd wrapped his arms around the two in a massive hug. Edd turned to Matt and started to kiss him while lightly rubbing Tom’s shoulders. Edd then moved down and began to lightly kiss his neck.
     “Heheheh. Ahahaha! Edd! Stop!” Matt laughed.
     Edd moved to kiss Tom. He began to kiss his cheek and moved to the right. Then, Edd bit Tom’s ear, making him blush a bit.
     “Ah! Edd, that hurt!” Tom yelled as small tears began to form in his voids.
     “Oh! Did I bite too hard?” Edd asked with concern.
     Tom nodded a bit.
     “I’m sorry, Tom,” Edd lamented.
     Tom kissed Edd.
     “It’s alright, Little Drawing Boy,” he smiled, “But now, you must be punished!”
     Tom began to tickle Edd.
     “Tom! Haha! What the fuck?!” He laughed.
     “Have you learned your lesson yet, Edward?” Tom snickered as he stopped.
     “Yes, I have, Thomas,” Edd grinned.
     Matt sighed happily, “We should get to bed.”
     “What about Commie?” Tom asked.
     “I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Matt replied.
     Tom nodded. He, Matt, and Edd got on the couch, covering themselves with a blanket. Edd and Matt hugged each other and soon fell asleep. Tom sat up and sighed. He moved some hair from Edd’s face and smiled. Then, he stood up and walked out the door. Tom walked outside to find Tord, Paul, and Patryck.
     “Hey, Jehovah’s Witness. You doing okay?” Tord asked.
     “Yeah, just wanted to know what you were doing. Matt and Edd already fell asleep, so yeah," Tom explained.
     “Aww~ You missed me that much?” Tord teased.
     “Of course I did Commie,” He smiled as he got closer to Tord.
     Tord put his arm around Tom’s shoulder.
     “Y’know, how are those?” Tom questioned as he pointed to Tord’s cigar.
     “Well, it feels good for me. I mostly have them for relief from stress,” Tord replied.
     “Huh, can I try one?” Tom inquired.
     “I’m not so sure about that one. Cigars are kind of intense. Maybe try a cigarette? It’s how I started,” Tord explained.
     “Sure. Hey Paul, can I try one?” Tom asked. 
     Paul shrugged and pulled a bent one out of his pack and handed it to Tom.
     “Just in case you don’t like it. It’s not for everyone,” he warned.
     Tom nodded. He put the cigarette in his mouth but then took it out.
     “Could I get a lighter?” Tom inquired.
     “Oh, I’ll light it,” Tord smiled as he took out his matches.
     “Mhm,” Tom hummed.
     He put the cigarette back in his mouth and Tord took out a match. He lit the match and held the fire to the tip of the cigarette. The tip started to burn as Tom’s eyes widened.
     “Okay, gently take a puff in Tom, not too fast,” Tord explained.
     Tom slowly inhaled the cigarette. He then blew out the smoke. Tom’s head tilted a bit and he took another puff.
     “I don’t… Know?” He mumbled.
     Tom took one last puff and stuck out his tongue.
     “Yeah, I don’t think this is for me,” Tom sighed.
     Patryck shrugged, “It’s okay. As Paul said, smoking is not for everyone. Look on the bright side, you’re not going to have to deal with lung issues in the future.”