I’ve been reading a lot of Eddsworld fanfiction lately, and the Tom x Tord dynamic is honestly a sandbox. The main conflict usually isn't just one thing, it's this whole tangle of ideology and ego. Tord's whole 'world domination with robots' shtick versus Tom's... well, mostly just wanting to be left alone with his guitar and his grumpiness. The tension comes from whether their relationship is a genuine, albeit messed-up, connection or just another one of Tord's manipulations. You see a lot of fics where Tom is trying to figure out if any moment of vulnerability from Tord is real, or if he's just being played like a fiddle. It's a constant push-pull that makes for some great angst.
Sometimes it gets more personal, though. I read one where the conflict was all about trust shattered after the whole 'Red Army' betrayal. Tom can't move past the fact that Tord left, and Tord can't understand why Tom won't just accept his 'bigger picture' excuses. It's less about saving the world and more about whether two people who fundamentally operate on different wavelengths can ever really make it work without one of them completely compromising who they are.