lowlighthorizon
Roy’s easy expression faltered and crumbled at the feet of those pointed words. The door was closed and it was reasonably safe to let the weariness and regret show on his face. Some days, it was worth the game of keeping up with the banter, but it was too soon after coming back from the east. Where he could still feel the grit of sand under his nails, and his sleep tended to vacillate wildly between restful and not.
“Brat,” he rumbled with more fondness than heat, letting Ed know he’d been heard loud and clear. “I did miss you. Getting promoted and all.” The pause was absolutely deliberate, and he didn’t look away from Ed’s piercing glare when he said it.
In a lighter tone, he added without letting the silence stretch too long, “Don’t suppose there’s a way I could make it up to you, is there, Bright Eyes?” In a way, he’d be making up that time to himself. He’d barely afforded time alone while resolving the conflicts around him, much less risked the call to Central, even though he’d desperately wanted to. A chance to celebrate Ed’s promotion sounded like a good opportunity to focus on why he was fighting so hard for peace in the first place.
Thankfully Ed had the foresight to quietly flip the latch of the lock on the door before stepping away from it. He wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any surprises because his mind was on a similar track to Roy’s… sometimes the game was worth it and was entertaining, but not right now. He hadn’t spent so many night’s curled up on the couch with one of the jackets that Roy had left at his apartment, fighting to convince himself that the lack of anything from him had to be good. No news meant he wasn’t dead right? He’d even actually nabbed one of Roy’s button ups to put under his uniform for the promotion ceremony instead of his usual black mock turtleneck. He’d gained a real appreciation for how Winry must have felt when he and Al were gone… and had called her more than he ever had just for the reason he knew she understood.
Closing the distance from the door to the front of Roy’s desk, golden eyes never took themselves from their fixed target. “I got a way for ya to make it up to me right now…” he replied, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the necklace he hadn’t taken off since the day Roy had left. On the length of chain would be two very familiar rings. Opening up the chain, Ed slid one of the tungsten bands off and held it out to Roy. “Put this back where it friggin’ belongs, I never should have let you give it to me to hold on to… damn thing’s heavy.” Fixing the chain once Roy took it from him, the band that matched the one he’d just handed over still hanging from it, he replaced the necklace to were it belonged, hidden beneath his shirt with said ring resting just over his heart. “At least you kept your promise so I could give it back…”
After that Ed’s expression softened as he looked at Roy. He knew it hadn’t been easy for his General either, he simply still had that pesky inability to properly deal with his emotions or express them. He really was happy to have him back and that translated to a light in his eyes that was only reserved for that precious bastard. “Damn it Sparky,” he sighed, his head finally dropping, his bangs shadowing those eyes as they changed one more time, slipping to leaking lightly, the tears falling on the polished wood before him. “I was friggin’ worried about you. The stuff they were sayin’ around here… the things they had me goin’ through to rush the decodes on… I was scared I’d never see your sorry ass again…”
For a moment Ed had to put his hands on the edge of the desk to steady himself. He’d had so many things he wanted to say when Roy finally did come back and they all seemed to have left on the last train out of Central. His mind was racing, his heart throbbing in his chest… he couldn’t bring himself to look up again not wanting Roy to full on see him break down like this. Not that the way his body moved with the shallow breaths he took wasn’t a good enough indicator. In that moment, Ed wanted nothing more than come around that desk and have Roy just wrap him up like he used to but he didn’t dare move for fear of his legs betraying him in the effort. “If… if I’m a brat than… than you’re a… a bastard…” he hiccuped a bit as he finally just let it loose not able to fight off the wash of relief and happiness he felt, still clinging to the desk for dear life.
@thefullmetaledwardelric for you to reblog
