Entry to RoyEd Week 2023 August 2nd Day 2 - Soulmate AU
(Edited: Long fic ahead! Also I posted this on ao3 too :> thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments!! I am all giddy over them)
It was already late when they arrived at the Rockbell’s house, where villagers said they could find the Elric brothers if they were not home. The cottage was dim inside, only allowing the faintest trace of dusk to put shape to the helpless boy in the wheelchair, and the enormous suit of armour towering over him.
In the literal blink of an eye, Roy Mustang’s life was turned upside down.
Despite the darkness, Roy saw the boy in foreign vividness that he had never witnessed; colours exploded in front of his eyes like fireworks, rendering him speechless. The boy’s shade was accentuated by a distinct warmth— Roy would later learn the name of the colour that was gold, a pigment that he would come to associate with justice, passion, and everything that was pure and magnificent.
Before arriving at Resembool, Roy had rehearsed his recruitment speech for five different situations, but none of which took the current one into account. For the first time in a long while, he had no idea what to say.
At that moment, assaulted by colours he had yet to know, he only knew one thing— that destiny had cursed this little boy to be attached to him, Roy Mustang. A man who had far more enemies than allies, more nightmares than sleep— more dead than alive.
The boy did not give any visible reaction to Roy’s loud entry into the house, and his aimless eyes had already betrayed his state to Roy.
He could not afford to have a soulmate. Not when his soulmate sat defencelessly like this, deaf to the entire world. Being his soulmate meant putting a target on their back, meant always sleeping with an eye open, meant never finding peace till the day of his death.
He could not, in good conscience— with what little he had remained of it— put his soulmate through what his life entailed. Anyone sane enough would be able to see him from a distance and turn around immediately. Nobody deserved to be Roy’s soulmate to experience what he would inevitably put them through. No one would be tough and yet foolish enough to stay.
Ignoring the nausea this revelation has caused him, Roy bit his tongue and demanded an explanation for the situation instead. He listened, in slowly freezing horror, to the younger brother of the Elrics– Alphonse Elric– explaining how they ended up in their current bodies.
Roy looked at Edward Elric who was missing two limbs, and reminded himself that this young boy in front of him had committed the greatest taboo in alchemy and survived. Then, as if it was not enough, did it again to bargain his brother’s soul back. An improbable, stupid, and lethal decision—yet it was undeniable that he had done the unthinkable and survived the consequences. At such a young age nonetheless, when most alchemists' apprentices were still struggling with the most basic of elements.
Perhaps given time, this boy could grow into someone beyond Roy’s imagination. Perhaps given time, Roy could grow into someone strong enough to shield his soulmate from harm.
And so Roy told him, in an earnestness that surprised even himself, that when he was ready, he could find Roy in East City and Roy would provide him with resources that could put him back on his feet. That it would be a road filled with thorns and danger, but the rewards were worth the risk.
Against his better judgement, Roy had provided his soulmate a choice. Edward could choose to run after him into the shower of bullets and webs of lies, or he could choose to stay in the quiet countryside and never let their paths cross again.
Secretly, Roy wished that his soulmate would choose the latter, wiser option. But he also knew acutely that the world had a morbid sense of humour, and whoever that was tied with him could never have any good sense in them. If fate had decided that they were meant to be, then his soulmate must have been as much of a stubborn fool as him, if not more.
Roy bid the family goodbye, and walked out of the dark shadows of the cottage. He was greeted with an entirely new world, now coloured in radiant hues he could not put words to.
He examined his palm under the flickering street light. He could see his veins faintly under his skin, pumping blood into every corner of his body. It was purple and flesh and red and human. It was warm and colourful and alive.
Remember it, remember what I’ve said, and catch up to me. Roy thought. Those who cannot keep up with me cannot be my soulmate.
I’m putting my faith in you that, no matter which way you end up choosing, our paths will converge, and we shall meet again at a time when you and I are wiser and stronger and unmovable in the face of danger. I’m putting my faith in you that, regardless of the dangers on my journey, you will find me and stay beside me and not be frightened.
I’m choosing to believe, if fate has decided that I’m still worthy of a soulmate despite my sins, then there must still be something redeemable in me, and you must be someone with enough love to love me for the monster I am.
Please find me soon.
==============================
And then Ed surprised him after a year when Roy expected to wait at least 5 more years lmfao
I wanted to play on the idea of “you only begin to see colour once you’ve met your soulmate” and thought VERY hard about how to visualise it without turning it into a long comic. My very stupid, no good brain came up with the idea of putting a colour wheel in the background :> in hindsight it’s very cringe but at that point it was already too late to give up or change it lmaooooo
I also put paint and paint brushes around as decoration which i think is kind of cute ^^ and special thanks to my sister who helped me fix the colouring because my usual way of doing it just… lacks the vibrancy this prompt asks for. She’s a goddess and 192729% better at this drawing business than me.
Okay, so for this AU, everyone has heterochromia, and the color of your right eye matches the color of your soulmate’s left eye, and vice versa. That way, when you face each other, your soulmates’ eyes are a mirror image of your own. Multiple people can have your corresponding eye colors and can potentially be your soulmate. However, Roy is pretty confident that he’s just found his, seeing as how Edward is the only person alive who has a golden left eye and a black right one.
Keep reading for the full summary:
Throughout his life, Roy gets a lot of attention due to his unusual eye color. Seeing as how no one else has possessed a golden eye since the fall of Xerxes (or so he believes), Roy concludes that this is the universe’s way of telling him that he doesn’t have a soulmate. He eventually meets Edward of course, but while their eye colors do match up, the idea of them being soulmates… it just can’t be true.
While Edward is under Roy’s command, Roy has him wear an eyepatch over his gold eye whenever he is in public. That way, rumors won’t spread about who Edward’s soulmate might be. (I think the covering of one eye would be somewhat popular in this society, particularly among those who reject the idea of predestined soulmates and instead wish to seek out their own romantic and platonic connections. When you look at your soulmate with both eyes however, you are able to gain an innate understanding of their emotions. The eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say.)
Edward spends the following years in denial about Roy being his soulmate, and as he searches for the Philosopher’s Stone, he also secretly searches for someone else who could possibly be his other half. He comes up empty handed however, and over time, he finds himself developing feelings for Roy.
Sometime before Roy loses his eyesight, Edward reports to him in Central. For the first time, Edward refrains from wearing his eyepatch because he lost it somewhere along his travels. However, when Edward goes to meet with Roy, Roy refuses to speak with him without his eyepatch on. Roy also avoids looking Edward directly in the eyes, and Edward notices this. Because Edward is looking at Roy with both eyes for the first time since they first met, Edward can finally see into Roy’s soul, and he realizes that Roy is actually afraid to look at him.
Edward gets angry because he realizes that they could have had this profound emotional connection this entire time, and Roy denied him of that. Also, Edward has come to almost resent Roy for forcing him to hide a part of who he is.
Roy did this both to protect Edward, and to prevent something from happening that could maybe make it more difficult for himself to reach his ultimate goal. But also, Roy did it because he simply can’t bear the sight of Edward. It makes him sick to his stomach to think that Edward is destined to be with a monster like him. Whether Roy realizes it or not, he wants Edward to hate him. He wants Edward to love him. He wants to punish himself for his past mistakes by denying himself of this bond that he was destined to have.
Edward realizes this, and he tells Roy that punishing himself accomplishes nothing. Roy is just hurting himself. He is hurting Edward too on an emotional level, and maybe if he looked Edward in the eyes sooner, he would have realized that.
When Roy and Edward part ways, they still aren’t on good terms. But later on, when Roy chooses to use the Philosopher's Stone to regain his sight, Edward understands that Roy is breaking away from his previously held mentality. Roy is not forgetting about his mistakes, but he’s leaving the past in the past, and he’s looking forward and seeing what he can do to make a better future. And maybe in that better future, Roy will finally be willing to share his soul with Edward. The end.
Here it is! Anything is welcome (art, writing, podfics, etc.), and you don't have to create something for every day, just do as much as you want to/can! Feel free to combine prompts from each day, or just use one. Please use the tag #royedweek2023, and the ao3 collection is available at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/RoyEdWeek2023
August 1st - Day One:
Mafia AU / Possessive/Jealousy / "You're a shit bodyguard, you know?"
August 2nd - Day Two:
Soulmate AU / Nightmares/Chronic pain / "You're okay, I'm here"
August 3rd - Day Three:
Reincarnation AU / Ebony and Gold / "Your Highness"
August 4th - Day Four:
Spy AU / Stuck / "It was– you? All this time, it was you?"
August 5th - Day Five:
Ishvalan Ed AU / Identity Reveal / "Fuck, I'm so sorry"
August 6th - Day Six:
Role/Alchemy Swap AU / Blind/deaf/mute / "Why didn't you tell me?"
August 7th - Day Seven:
Free day
(Some unused prompts: Light in the dark / the gate / high noon / rain / birthday)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
For day 2: Nightmares.
I'm really proud of this one and I'm excited for everyone to read it!
~~~
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Characters: Edward Elric, Roy Mustang
Additional Tags: Dreams and Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pet Names, Kidnapping, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, no beta we die like men, Edward Elric Keeps Automail, whump roy mustang, Hurt Roy Mustang, Protective Edward Elric, Nightmares
Summary:
".....heart?" That damn nickname that Roy had grown so fond of calling him. Roy’s voice is low and raspy like hadn’t had water in days. Roy doesn't lift his head or open his eyes.
There’s a small smile on Roy’s lips that Ed almost missed before he’s unconscious again. Edward slowly lifts his left hand, and he lightly places his palm on the center of Roy's chest fearing the worst.
Entry to RoyEdWeek2023 August 5th Day 5 - Identity Reveal
On the day of the annual ball celebrating Amestris’ founding day, the fuhrur discovered a signed letter on his office’s desk.
“Tonight at the annual ball, I will take the Star of the East and return it to the people of Amestris. Enjoy the show!”
The letter was signed by Fullmetal, the infamous gentleman thief in central, known for targeting the rich and powerful, and distributing his acquired wealth to the underprivileged. This has made him a hero among the commoners, but a thorn in the eyes of the military— the reputation of their governance was severely undermined. Despite ages of effort being made, the military was still unable to apprehend the gentleman thief, only knowing that they had long blonde hair, which was far from uncommon in Amestris.
Colonel Roy Mustang, the youngest State Alchemist in Amestris, was appointed to protect the Star of the East, the precious jewel that was to be auctioned at the annual ball for fundraising purposes.
While he had no personal vendetta against the thief known as Fullmetal, it was a good opportunity for him to impress the fuhrur and further establish his status in the military, and therefore Roy Mustang set himself to work.
What Roy did not expect was, when he approached a suspicious guest and forcefully uncovered his mask, the person in front of him turned out to be…
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I’ve spent an UNGODLY AMOUNT OF TIME on this piece (24hrs omg) and struggled so hard working on the colours that just never seem to go on right. I don’t think I’m able to draw ever again lol it’s not perfect, but at this point I just want to get it done and posted :’) I’m however, very pleased by how Ed’s hair and Roy’s suit have turned out.
Both of their outfit are referencing the FMA mobile game, Roy’s being the Valentines skin and Ed’s the Anniversary skin. I found the way Roy wore red and Ed wore blue in their respective suits to be quite endearing (they also held red/blue roses!) so I used those designs and put in a little twists to them. In the game, Roy was supposed to be the thief, but I thought okay let’s switch their roles a little and see what comes out of it :3
Hope you all liked it and sorry for being a little late!
Currently planning this year's RoyEd Week—calling all interested writers and artists to participate! Feel free to interact or share so we can get more people participating
Here's a quick form to check interest/availability, responses are appreciated!
