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Edward had been coming around for a few months. As much as Roy found Ed’s company delightful, at first there had been a learning curve. Food wrappers appeared in places other than the garbage (mostly in Roy’s library where Ed often took up residence to read), and there would be dirt or mud either near the entrance to the living room or even in it.
Roy also knew sometimes Ed purposefully left messes out of spite. Usually the bigger ones happened after they had a good row. He knew that’s what Ed was doing, but acknowledging it would be the same as backing down. However, there were plenty of other times, like this one, where he was pretty sure Ed simply forgot or became so engrossed with whatever he was reading that cleaning up never entered his mind.
He didn’t keep much furniture in his living room, but in his study, Roy had two Queen Ann chairs that were long enough for someone to somewhat comfortably curl up on and take a nap. Or sleep in Ed’s case because it was nearing one in the morning. After the first couple of times of attempting to wake Ed up and get him in the guest bedroom, Roy had simply solved the problem keeping a couple blankets in the chest between them.
Bypassing the stack of books on the floor and the empty plate from dinner, he retrieved one of the blankets from the chest. Roy spread it out over Ed and neatly tucked in the corners. He took another look around the study, surveying the damage.
He bent over and picked up the first set of books. This mess wasn’t so bad. He could stave off sleep a little longer and clean up before bed.
~Their heated debates on alchemy only got better each time.
The more their conversations continued the more Ed pushed Roy to think in ways he hadn’t considered. It was as if he couldn’t wait to hear what Roy had to say. Probably to prove him wrong, but there were times when Roy liked to believe his company was thoroughly enjoyed. It made him want to dig deeper into the depths of Ed’s mind and find out what resided there. Because Ed was a sideways thinking. Normal rules and laws that most people applied to their thinking didn’t apply to Edward. They never had.
Ed had such a beautiful mind. It was a damn shame he could only theorize instead of practice alchemy.
Roy loved the way Ed’s eyes lit up with each counter argument. There was fire in those eyes, perfectly complimented by the way his eyebrows furrowed while concentrating. Ed’s hair often came loose if he had it pulled back. Tonight he didn’t. It lay in a perfect golden mess around his shoulders with a few stands falling down over his chest. Roy’s eyes moved up, watching each word formed on Ed’s lips, and he wondered if they were as soft as they looked right now. It would be so simple to lean forward and find out. He caught his hand starting to raise before quickly pulling it back down.
Then it sunk in. What he was doing. It certainly wasn’t debating alchemic theories with Ed. He had been…
Oh no.
No. He couldn’t possibly be…
And yet…
“The fuck is your problem?”
Ed’s voice startled him enough to almost knock off his game. Roy scowled. He shook his head and sighed. “You raise a good point about the array, Ed, but it’s something I’d have to test out before conceding my point.”
Good. Roy’s heartbeat started to slow back down. His voice sounded steady, yet slightly annoyed enough that he was fairly sure Ed wouldn’t catch on to what he had really been doing.
~His fingers were steepled together with his chin resting on top of them. He glanced at the clock then back in front of him. Ed had been ranting for a full twenty minutes now and didn’t seem close to running out of steam. Roy sat at his kitchen table, thoroughly enjoying it, though he would never let Ed realize that. Partly because Ed might get his feelings hurt, and partly because Roy sometimes felt like and ass for enjoying every passionate emotion that came from him. This was no different. And no one threw themselves quite into a rant like Edward Elric.
Some fool had dared to cut in line at the pizza place. And Ed being Ed that had led to minor scuffle, which led to Roy picking him, and smoothing over any hard feelings caused by the fight. Fortunately, the manager had agreed to allow Ed to keep coming back and even let Roy take a pizza home with them.
Ed paused, and the silence snapped Roy out of his thoughts. He looked up. Ed’s hair was starting to come undone from the hair tie, and if looks could kill… well it would be the most sublime way to go in Roy’s opinion. He made sure to keep the most serious look on his face he could muster and resisted the urge to stand up and give Ed another outlet for all that passion. Instead, he took another slice of pizza out of the box and slid it across the table. Then watched as Ed devoured the slice with a vicious fury that only he could accomplish. The damned thing was inhaled in under…
A minute. Not even a full minute had passed. Amazing really, considering how most people needed to come for air when they ate. Normally, something like this would gross him out, but Ed looked adorable, and even more impressive, after the slice of pizza was gone, the rant continued without pause. Twenty five minutes and counting.
Roy nodded his disapproval for ‘dumbasses’ and their ‘stupid smug faces’ and wondered if Ed would go for a full hour this time.
~He folded the shirt up and neatly tucked it into the box. Now that Ed had left, Roy felt he could safely retire this thing and pack it away. Maybe by the time Ed came back the shirt will have been long forgotten or at least filed away in their memories. After all, gag gifts were only meant for a few laughs then both parties appropriately moved on to something else.
Only, seeing the shirt Ed had bought him in the box unsettled Roy. His hands were still on the edges of the flaps, ready to close it up and store it safely next other gifts close friends had given him. Yet, he hesitated. It didn’t matter that his brain was telling him to fold the edges over, his hands would not move until finally he gave up the battle long enough to reach back in the box, lift it out, and examine it once again.
Roy remembered the day he had worn it, and how delighted Ed had been to poke fun at him. The pony and flaming mane and tail by all rights should have looked ridiculous to him. Let alone the shirt had been two sizes too big for him. Roy usually hated wearing clothes that were too loud and didn’t fit, but he only smiled fondly at the memory. It was one of the rare times he willingly let Ed win one of their teasing matches.
Ed had finally started to catch on and goad him back much to his delight, and now his house would feel entirely too quiet. Cooking for himself again would feel lonely, and there weren’t many people around who could theorize like Ed (or drive like an old grandmother either), but the teasing… Six long months, and that’s what he’d miss the most. Roy sighed and set the shirt down on the bed as if looking at it harder would erase the fact that he had come back from a two-week mission to an empty house.
Perhaps packing it away so soon was a bit hasty. The shirt would find a better home in the bottom drawer of his dresser. Or better yet, it couldn’t hurt for him to wear it one last time before retiring it…
~Despite the windy afternoon, Roy walked as fast as he could manage without breaking into a run. The park wasn’t too much further, and hopefully, Ed would still be there. Twenty minutes late. Pissed off didn’t even begin to cover how he felt. Roy hated being late to any meeting, but making friends wait was almost inexcusable, especially when that friend was Edward and was only visiting for a few days. They didn’t have the time to spend together like before. Between his duties and Ed’s travels, Roy always made time and room, but occasionally his job put a wedge between their plans.
Sharply turning the corner, he kept his hands in his pockets and focused on each step in front of him, intentionally ignoring curious glances tossed his way. He could only imagine what people thought about the Flame Alchemist tearing through Central like the devil was after him. But when he finally reached the park, his irritation and bitterness almost immediately washed away.
He stood there, a bit surprised and stunned (though that probably wasn’t quite the right word for it) before sitting down on the closest park bench. Ed was bent down while a small group of children gathered around him to play a game of marbles. The wind blew his golden locks every which way, but Ed didn’t seem to mind or care. Instead, his focus was solely on those children, patiently explaining something to them, most likely the rules to the game. Their laughter could clearly be heard by any passerby. He corralled those kids like a natural, and not once did he appear annoyed by their constant chattering and questions.
Roy could sit there and watch. He should make his presence known, but it felt far too intimate a scene to interrupt. His heart beat sped up. He had always known Ed was good with kids, but seeing it play out before him left him breathless.
