scribblescrabblebabble

[scribblescrabblebabble]

FMA Gift Exchange 2019!

Title: Snow Day

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Trisha Elric/ Van Hohenheim

Cross- Posted on AO3 (link)

This is my (kinda late :/ ) gift to @melissamelody for the @fmagiftexchange on Tumblr. They said that anything would do, and I was inspired to do a cute fluffy snow thing because I have never gotten a lot of snow over the holidays due to where I live, and I'm finally about to get some up at my college, so it has been on my mind a lot! I hope you enjoy!

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It took Ed several loud thunks to realize he had been awoken by snowballs. On his window. Flicking his gaze to the alarm clock a foot from his face, Ed rolled his eyes and nestled deeper into his pillow.

          ‘8:00 am! What kind of cruel fuckery is this?’

The thuds continued for far too long, hitting square in his window just when he thought the tirade over. After about the millionth thud, a new sound disgraced Ed’s sleepy daze: the loud buzz of his phone on the mattress by his ear. With an indignant grunt, he rolled his face to the edge of the pillow (out of the nice, warm divot his head had made through the night) to glance at the screen.

           ‘Message from Roy <3 : Get up! Hands r numb from snowballs :( ‘

“Of fucking course,” Ed grumbled, pulling himself blankets and all from bed and over to the window that stood mockingly across the room from him. He pushed the window open as far as it would go, leaning out into the frigid winter air cocooned into his comforter indignantly.

Below him stood his stupid neighbor-boyfriend, covered to the hat in flakes of snow and a truly ridiculous number of floral coats and scarves. Around him spots of frozen grass were visible where the teen had scooped up snow to form his projectile annoyances. He smiled radiantly up at Ed’s scowl, “Morning! Look, it’s snowing!”

Ed rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I can tell, dumbass Southerner. You look like you’ve been rolling around in that shit for hours.”

In response, Roy just shrugged, still grinning like an idiot, “And you look like a quilted burrito.”

“…Paisley marshmallow.”

“Grumpy caterpillar.”

“Bastard.”

“Killjoy—Oh, good morning Mrs. Elric!” Sure enough, Ed turned to where Roy looked, spotting his mom’s head poking out from the front corner of his house.

“I thought I heard something! What’re you doing out here Roy?” Trisha asked.

“Serenading your son, ma’am.”

Ed snorted, “Yeah, with projectile snow. Mom, tell him to stop being shitty and let me sleep.” Trisha looked up, noticing Ed’s disgruntled form. She laughed, “Oh my, I see I’ve interrupted! Roy, dear, why don’t you come inside and have some coffee? You look near frozen.”

Ed let out a betrayed shout following Roy’s polite ‘yes ma’am’, “You’re supposed to be on my side Mom!”

Trisha scoffed, “And pass up the chance pick on you? Oh, please, I’m your mother! Get dressed, it’s a beautiful day to be up early.”

“Ugh, fine.” The blonde stuck his tongue out at Roy’s smirk before pulling his head from outside, relishing in the warmth of his room tingling against his cold cheeks.

He hefted the window closed, letting his comforter fall to the wayside in the process. After struggling into a less-rumpled sweater and jeans, Ed gave his invitingly unmade on last, wistful look before leaving his room to face whatever bad joke he could hear Roy politely laughing at downstairs. In the kitchen, Ed found his boyfriend (shed of his comical layers of warmth) receiving a mug of coffee from a scrub-clad Trisha at the table, his similarly-clothed dad tapping away on his phone by the counter where it was plugged in.

“Work day?” Ed asked, making Hohenheim look up. “We were called in a minute ago. Apparently, the snow caught a lot of people by surprise and the ER’s packed.”

“And because a ton of people are injured, you decided to wear matching cat scrubs?” The blonde teen took the coffee proffered to him by his mom and sat by Roy, who kicked his foot lightly in greeting. He kicked back.

“It couldn’t have been a nice coincidence?” Trisha asked innocently.

“Absolutely not.” Ed deadpanned, sipping the coffee and finding it pleasantly over-sweetened. He turned to Roy, whom he found gazing out the window at the flake-coated tree in the (other) neighbor’s lawn. The former elbowed the arm not holding a mug of coffee and asked, “What haven’t you done yet in the snow? Since I just so happen to be up this early, we might as well do something.”

The dark-haired teen was silent for a moment, sipping thoughtfully at his drink, “I’ve really only been in my yard today. Maybe we should walk around.”

Trisha interjected before Ed could comment, “That’s a lovely idea! The park always looks beautiful in this weather. Just be careful; as much as I love spending time with you, Ed, I don’t want you making any unexpected visits to us at work today. You wither, Roy, your aunt would have a fit.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Kissass.”

“It’s my Southern hospitality, Ed.”

The aforementioned scoffed, “You’ve been out of there for like a year and a half, the hospitality shoulda worn off by now.”

Roy faked an affronted look, “A gentleman never loses his hospitality!”

“A gentleman who throws snow at his boyfriend to wake him up at 8 am?”

“Yep!”

Ed let out a small laugh, “You’re hopeless. C’mon, it’ll take half an hour just to put all of your coats back on- best go ahead and get started.”

“I like being warm. ‘S not my fault Riza stole my good coat to walk Hayate.”

“You aren’t going to have breakfast?” Hohenheim asked Ed as he grabbed his keys and herded his giggly wife out the door.

“I’ll eat later.” Ed waved his parents off as they closed the door, leaving the young couple sitting with their coffees at the small kitchen table. The blonde turned to the other, “My family’s way too used to you, you know that?”

“I prefer to think they’re just the right amount used to me,” he stood, walking to his coat-pile, “Besides, I could say the same for you and Aunt Chris.

Ed huffed, moving beside Roy and taking his thick red coat from its hook, “That’s different- Miss Chris’s been out neighbor forever. My folks’ve only known you for like a year. You’re just way too charming for a seventeen-year-old.”

“Seventeen and a half, thanks. And you’re too grumpy for a sixteen-and-three-quarters-year-old. Ready?” He had just finished putting his final scarf (purple with blue roses) on as Ed yanked some gloves on and opened the front door.

The blonde was still cringing from the blast of cold air as Roy sped out into the blanketed lawn. He gained his bearings and joined, standing with his boyfriend in the whiteness.

“It’s so peaceful.” The older teen commented, looking into the cloudy sky serenely.

Ed hummed his agreement, crunching over to the shoveled-off sidewalk, “Let’s go,” he said with a small smile.

Side by side, the two strolled in peaceful silence, Roy taking in the new scenery and Ed silently enjoying his boyfriend’s company. The park sat two blocks from their houses, and since the neighborhood did not boast of a huge population of children, the mid-morning snow sat untouched on the park’s grass and benches.

“Your mom was right, Ed, it really is beautiful here. Look at the trees!” Roy exclaimed, grabbing Ed’s gloved hand in his own and dragging him further into the space. They ended up under one of said trees, the branches little black outlines against the piles of snow atop them. Both were content to be close to one another, looking around at the scenery for a time.

The moment, of course, was not destined to last, as just then two particularly large snowballs collided with their faces quite spectacularly. Both teens startled back, stuttering and wiping the freezing material off of their faces. Ed whipped his face to the tree’s large trunk, behind which he could hear uproarious laughter and two excited dogs’ barking.

Just as Roy shouted an indignant, “Riza!”, Ed yelled, “Fuck off Winry! You too Al!” Three giggling blonde heads popped out from around the tree, Den and Hayate yipping at their heels.

Quicker to react than Ed, Roy responded to the attack with a chunk of snow to Riza’s face. She was still in shock, then grinned and made to form a new ball. They scattered, laughing, and the wintry war was on.

~End~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week 2k19 Day 6!

Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes

Chapter: Day 6- Wait for me

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3   fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

This is a prompt from day 5, but lets ignore that hehehe.... Hughes lives! AU

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A long time ago, Trisha Elric had told her sons that, “Good will come to those who wait,”. It was a common phrase, and she had meant this to mean more on the lines of “wait your turn” and “don’t skip in line” and that sort of thing.

Ed mused on his mother’s advice. He noted wryly that waiting hadn’t done her much good at all- it probably did her a whole world of bad, in fact. He never understood why she waited so dutifully. Never, that is, until now. As he looked upon his garden that Friday evening, the alchemist realized that he, unexpectedly, took after his mother in this way.

----~----

Ed awoke on Saturday two hours after he fell asleep; his alarm for 6:00 had yet to ring. Even in his sleep Ed had been restless, as the blankets were twisted at the bottom of the bed, and his pillow lay a few feet from his dresser across the room. In an attempt to calm his nerves, Ed took a long shower and, unable to find a second towel, called Winry with his hair dripping all over the office rug.

As he waited for his sister-in-law to answer, Ed looked out upon the back yard in the office window, dewy and colorful in the early spring sunrise. Maybe he’d pick a few of the flowers to spruce up the house a little bit- was that too cheesy?

Winry’s tired voice greeted him at last, “Hello?”

“Heya Win.” Ed replied, followed by what he guessed to be a sigh.

“Edward, the sun is barely up! What could you possibly need from me? If it’s an emergency I’m sure there are people who live closer to you to call.”

He chuckled a little guiltily, “Sorry Win, ‘M just trying to kill some time until 10:00. I’m too jittery to get anything productive done.”

Winry gasped, “Oh, is today the day?”

Ed nodded, knowing she couldn’t see, “It’s the day.”

            --~--

The past two years had been a long string of going to work at the lab or in the office with Team Mustang, reading the paper, and anxiously awaiting the rare phone call from Al or Roy. To both of their credit, they called whenever possible, but Al was very busy with his teaching job and helping Winry with their young daughter, and Roy…

Roy was never around phones much, Ed guessed.

The blonde currently slouched in his office chair, doodling on a spare sheet of paper in lieu of alphabetizing the sources for his latest compilation of research. Riza looked at him reproachfully from her own desk across the room until he sighed and got back to work, balling up the spare paper and throwing it into the bin. Even then, it took him a minute to focus enough to actually comprehend the words he was trying to sort.

‘Abrams, Addison, Anderson, Amaryllis… wait no, m before n… shit this is dull, I need to get out of here.’ He pushed himself up and muttered about an early lunch break before he strode out of the large room. He looked disdainfully at the coffee machine, before deciding a quick stop by a café would do him better than the bitter crap in the office.

He hadn’t been sleeping well, even worse than he usually tended to, and it was only partially because of the workload regarding his research.

Outside, the air smelt of rain, and Ed regretted not taking an umbrella or something with him when he left (Riza would give him an earful if he came back dripping all over the freshly polished floors). The old coffee shop stood in a quaint corner, rather out of place in the midst of military office buildings, yet wholly welcomed by the lot. Ed knew the barista, Louise, well, and when he walked in she smiled, “Morning, Major! Usual?”

“Please.” Ed sighed, giving her a wad of cash, insisting she keep the change because he was too lazy to try and count it out, and sitting at a small two-person table towards the back of the building. He hadn’t brought any work with him, so while he waited, the alchemist kind of dazed out, just letting the ambiance of the little shop clam his nerves a bit.

A familiar female voice interrupted his tranquil state, “Edward?” He looked up in surprise, coming face-to-face with Rose’s friendly smile. He moved to stand and greet the young woman, but she motioned for him to remain seated, and took the chair across from him.

“Rose, what brings you to Central?” Ed asked curiously.

“Winry asked me to come drop off some parts with clients she has over here. And to check up on you, of course.” The Leorian responded, “Speaking of which, Edward, you look absolutely tragic!”

Ed was about to retort, but Louise came to the table with his usual coffee and sandwich. He thanked her, and took a large bite of his food before continuing where he was interrupted, “I do not look tragic, Rose, you’re being dramatic.”

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Uhh…”

Ed knew Rose wasn’t nagging just to be annoying, as the evident worry in her eyes was practically palpable. He only assumed everyone else back in Resembool would have the same expression if they saw him like this. This thought sent an arrow of guilt into his stomach, but he suppressed it quickly, changing the topic of their conversation, “Well, they say the war’s dying down a bit in the east. Some Ishvallan insurgent groups and all of the Southeastern front are still neck-in-neck, but that’s a good sign, right?”

Rose gave him a very unimpressed look, knowing full well what he was doing. She took to bait, however, to appease him, “Yeah, I heard the Fürher’s been trying to start peace negotiations, futile as it may seem. Have they begun sending soldiers home yet?”

Ed nodded with a small frown, “Hawkeye said they’re releasing some who have families and stuff to tend to at home: pregnant wives, senile grandparents, and the like. Just means the non-priority soldiers’ll have to stay out longer.”

Rose frowned as well, “Not necessarily. If there’s less conflict, then they don’t need as much workforce out there, you know?”

“I guess.” He sighed.  

Rose rolled her eyes, “I know what this is about, Edward. He’ll be back soon.”

“What, did he tell you? ‘Cuz the certainly didn’t tell me.”

Rose looked cross, “He’s fighting! Not getting any response is better than a letter saying he’s dead! Do you really think digging a pity hole is going to help the situation?”

Ed looked at her angrily, then his expression dropped as he saw then emotion on her own face. He remembered the Rose of eight years previous, broken in the midst of a war, yet not fallen prey to self-pity. Sure, she had been manipulated by Dante, but everything she did was for a good greater than herself. Settling in Resembool, even, was for her son to be happy, and she took her present with such grace it was ridiculous.

Ed looked to his plate and quietly admitted, “It’s just… stressful, not knowing. God, I wish I knew how he’s doing, Rose.”

She smiled, “I know, it’s the worst. But you know what?”

“What?” Ed asked around another bite of this lunch.

“When you do find out, it’ll be worth the wait.” She stood up, “I’ve got to deliver these parts, but I’ll swing by your place tonight. We can make some dinner or something, okay?”

Ed smiled at her, “That sounds great. I’ll see ya then.”

“See ya!” She turned out the door. Ed sat at the table, alone again. Now, however, the thought of returning to his list of names wasn’t so daunting, especially with the promise of Rose’s divine cooking in his future. He took his time finishing the sandwich, and took his to-go cup of coffee back to the office with him.

Riza was the first to acknowledge Ed as he walked in, placing his cup on his desk and making as if to sit down. She held a little orange envelope out to Ed from her desk, and Ed quickly took the telegram. Seeign Riza’s small smile, he had an inkling who it could be from.

“Excuse me.” He muttered, taking the envelope into the long-closed room to his right, Roy’s private office. He pushed down the sadness at the empty desk and lack of paper heaps set out to be avoided, sitting hard on one of the large office chairs, hands shaking a bit as he opened up the folded paper. A smaller slip of paper came out, and Ed read the words greedily.

‘Coming home Oct 16, 10:00. Central West Station.

I have a surprise. Love you more than I can say.

-Roy’

 --~--

After Winry hung up, stating that Trisha had awoken and needed ‘Mama time’, Ed was at a loss for what to do. He trudged back to the bedroom and changed into his day clothes (no point in pretending he may go back to nap). He threw his old clothes into the laundry basket and decided, on a whim, to change out the bedsheets and throw the old ones in with his dirty clothes. That started, Ed began obsessively cleaning the house- once the laundry was piled up, a table looked dusty, then the oven needed a wipe down, and he had to cook his own breakfast so there would be dishes, and so on, until before he knew it, the clock struck 7:00 and the phone rang.

Ed threw down the dish rag, seemingly broken from his mindless work trance, and retreated back to the office to answer it. This time, Gracia’s voice greeted him.

“Edward? How’re you doing?”

Ed sighed, but it came out as more of an exasperated laugh, “Just barely keeping it together, I guess! Trying to find something to do until I can go down to the station.”

Gracia laughed as well, sounding just as tired as he felt, “I understand the feeling. Elicia and I’ve been up for hours!”

“Have you talked to Maes?” He hoped he didn’t sound too desperate, but that hope was fairly fleeting.

“Not for about two weeks, but I haven’t heard from anyone else about him so that’s a plus, yeah?”

Ed didn’t want to tell Gracia that to him it absolutely wasn’t a plus, so he just hummed in agreement, “Roy hasn’t called or anything since the telegram. I guess we’ll see what that means today.”

“have you thought about what that surprise could be?”

“Yeah, probably too much.” Ed laughed a bit, “It’s making me even more anxious, somehow.”

Gracia laughed lightly, “Hey, so I called to ask if you wanted me to bring some lunch to the station for you. I’m already bringing some for Elicia so it’s not a big deal.”

“No thanks, I can’t eat right now.” Ed politely refused. Gracia seemed to understand, for she didn’t push the matter.

They talked lightly until Gracia hung up (something about an oven or something like that). The blonde stood in the study, anxious and with nothing to do for the next three hours.

--~--

Ed watched the tracks obsessively. He knew he’d definitely know when the train came to view, but he’d grown so anxious and excited he couldn’t do much more than sit and stare. Gracia sat beside him, reading the paper with Elicia working through a novel beside her. She seemed very composed and must make Ed look like an absolute wreck in comparison. Her day dress looked very clean and neat, whereas Ed had barely the patience to bother fully buttoning his own shirt.

Elicia noticed the train first, dropping her book and standing quickly, “Mom, Ed, I heard a whistle!” The eleven-year-old bounced excitedly as the train slowly screeched into the station. Ed felt his nerves burn deep in his abdomen, and he almost felt sick as he stood with the woman and girl, watching the train cars take far too long to slow down. Inside the train, every window was filled with blue-capped soldiers, their faces practically pressed to the glass, much like small children, in search of their loved ones. Several groups in front of Ed jumped and waved, their husbands or wives or whatever identified out of the many faces in the vehicle.

Finally, the train stopped, and the soldiers were let off one-by-one, each saluting their superiors at the doors before they were set free to find their families. Ed anxiously stood about the growing crowd of soldiers.

Hughes was the first out of the two, happily saluting his superior and running straight to Gracia, having seen her already from inside the train. HE managed to lift and spin both Gracia and Elicia at one time, an all-around bubble of joy. Seeing Ed, he shot the blonde a broad, knowing smile. After three more men, Ed finally, finally, spotted Roy. He boarded off the train, saluted, and scanned the crowd hopefully.

His eyes found Ed the moment the blonde’s feet began to move and was thusly prepared for Ed’s weight as he ran full-force into Roy’s arms. They didn’t talk for a short time, too busy trying to get each other as close as possible, as if to make up for the lost time. Then, Ed leaned back to look over the other, checking for injury.

Roy laughed, and it sounded pretty close to perfect, “I’m not hurt, Ed.”

Ed laughed too, finding his emotions burst out with his smile, “I had to make sure, you haven’t really contacted me aside from a single telegram in-“

He fell quiet, as suddenly Roy’s mouth was in the way and he was too busy kissing him back to continue his protest. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as they parted.

Ed sighed for dramatic effect, “I think I can excuse it this one time. Besides, I believe there was a surprise I was promised?”

Roy’s smile brightened, if that was possible, and he quickly looked to the superior officer at the door and back to Ed, “Of course! They should be off of the train soon; had to have a double check.”

“They?” Ed repeated, confused. Roy just smiled and took Ed’s hand, leading them to the door of the train. Looking back, Ed could spot Maes with a devilishly gleeful look, Elicia jumping around excitedly, and Gracia looking at he and Roy with a hand over her mouth. “Roy, what’s going on?” Ed asked.

They reached the doors as the superior officer helped out the last of the ensemble, two very shaken looking Ishvallan children, a boy and a girl. If Ed had to chance a guess, he’d peg them at around two or three years old. They looked around, helplessly confused, and Ed realized with a sinking feeling in his gut that their parents weren’t with them. They didn’t have anyone to meet at this station. Except…

They noticed Roy, and walked quickly in a beeline to him. As they reached the couple, the children seemed to realize that Roy had a companion and slowed shyly. The older man chuckled and squatted down to be eye-level with the two, “Molly, Gregory, this is Ed. He’s my husband.” He looked up at Ed, motioning for Ed to join him on the ground. He did, and the children seemed to look at him curiously. Roy continued, “Ed, this is Molly, and this is Gregory. Their parents asked me to… to take good care of them.” The blonde’s heart stung at the visible pain in Roy’s eye from a memory he was sure to learn of later.

He also saw a bit of uncertainty in his husband’s face. He realized that he’s been awfully non-responsive to the two so far, and Roy was essentially bringing kids into the complicated equation of their relationship. Smiling, Ed squeezed Roy’s hand affirmatively.

“Molly and Greg? Well, this is a surprise!” Roy’s grin lost it’s callous edge, seeing Ed’s positivity, and he pulled the both of them up to their original standing position.

Ed turned to the little kids, “We’ll make sure to take great care of you. I’m not very good at doing things halfway.”

Molly nodded and replied, “kay,”.

“You alk-mee too?” Gregory asked, hiding a bit behind his sister.

“A-alchemy? Yeah, I’m an alchemist.”

Roy muttered, “Greg’s blown away by alchemy. Thinks it’s the coolest thing he’s ever seen.”

Ed grinned broadly, “Well, that’s good! Cuz you’re gonna be around a lot of alchemy, right?”

The little boy’s eye sparkled, “Ya!”

Roy proffered the hand not already taken by Ed, which Molly took gladly. Greg was hand-in-hand with Molly as Roy led the little pack towards the Hughes’s, Gracia looking like she might cry, and Elicia already running to give her Uncle Roy a big welcome hug.

Ed looked back at the two kids- technically his two kids. ‘Oh, fuck I’ve got kids!’ he thought, finding himself increasingly excited about the prospect. Plus, if these kids already thought alchemy was awesome, what could possibly go wrong?

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 5

Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 5- Speakeasy AU (pt.5)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3   fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

Pt. 2 of the Speakeasy!Au! Roy snoops and finds out who the strange blonde from the night before really is!

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The shop itself was rather unassuming, maybe even quite charming in the late morning light. A pleasant little bell chimed as Roy pushed open the door, hit with the scent of flowers and the sounds of scratchy violin music from a phonograph in the corner. The flowers inside bloomed in every color Roy could imagine, a much-preferred contrast to the bleak, overcast autumn outside.

A young man with rusty blonde hair and an apron popped out from behind a large display table, holding a little watering can, "Good Morning, sir! How can I help you today?"

"Hello, are you the owner?" He asked, "I'm Roy, I own the restaurant next door."

A sweet smile lit of the young man's face, "Yes! I'm Al Elric, it's nice to meet you! My wife and I've wanted to go try your food out for a while now."

Looking at this pleasant young face, Roy felt confused. He seemed so unseemly and nice, what was the whole 'throwing-men-in-the-alley' business he and Jean had witnessed last night? Certainly, that business couldn't be related to this sweet little arrangement over here! The older man smiled politely, "Well, we would certainly love to have you."

"So, Roy, do you need an arrangement or anything? I'll be glad to help you choose some flowers if you want."

Roy shook his head, "Not today, unfortunately. I actually wanted to come to check on you guys; my cook and I saw some strange business in the alley behind our places last night. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Al's smile dropped to a concerned frown, "What happened?"

"Well, we were out back for some fresh air, and a man appeared from a door and dropped another guy, unconscious, into your garbage pile. Seemed pretty sketchy."

Roy watched carefully as Al's face visibly paled, and he put his watering pail down with a little too much force on the display table, "Oh dear, is that so? I didn't see anyone out there this morning, I hope he's alright! Hold on, I'll call over my brother. He deals with our later shifts." His words came out quickly and more high-pitched than usual. He turned to a corner of the room obscured by plants, shouting, "Edward! Come over here a minute!" Roy heard a loud groan of protest, followed by the snapping of a closed book and the dramatic stomping of feet. Al rolled his eyes.

"What? I was getting to the good part of my b- Oh fuck!" Much to Roy's surprise, the blonde from the night before turned the corner, a look of disdain on his face when he recognized who his brother currently attended.

Al's hand immediately went to his forehead, "Very discreet, Brother.

Edward ignored the other blonde, pointing at Roy, "What the hell do you need from us? I told you last night, it's none of your damn business!"

"None of my business?! That man-"

"Hey!" Al piped, pushing both men into the back room quickly, "The shop is kind of open." This new room was darker and full of flowers not-yet-bloomed. Ed sat in the only available chair as Al left to attend to a different customer. Roy leaned against a table gingerly.

"… As I was saying, that man was injured! Besides, ever since this shop opened, strange characters have been coming into my restaurant, harassing my staff, and deterring potential customers! It is very much my business if you're being shady as fuck and hurting my business!"

Edward sighed, dragging a hand down his face, "Okay, buddy, listen. That guy last night was bad news. Our night crowd is usually fairly respectable."

"Your 'night crowd'? In a flower shop?!" Roy was bewildered, "What the hell are you doing selling plants past your closing hours?"

The blonde blinked, "Wha- no. You…. You really haven't… okay." He huffed out a sigh, "I really have no reason to trust you, but since you haven't gone to the cops yet about the guy I guess you're okay. Follow me."

"Wait, wait, what the hell are you on about? Do the cops need to be involved?" This conversation was really going nowhere, Roy realized. He didn't even really know what they were talking about now.

"No, not really. Not in a sane society, at least. Just… follow me, you'll understand." Ed motioned for Roy to follow, and they headed back into another, smaller room. It was obviously meant to be a storage closet; the space was so small. Carefully, Edward felt along the wall until he managed to take hold of a divot in the paneled wood walls. Roy gasped as the wall creaked to the side, and a dusty, low-lit staircase led down five steps to yet another door, this one locked tight. Luckily, Edward had the key in his pocket around a chain, and the door opened into what Roy quickly realized was a rickety-looking bar. It reeked of alcohol, a smell Roy hadn't been acquainted with since his war years. Edward turned to face Roy, gesturing broadly to the space around them with an eyebrow quirked.

"A speakeasy," Roy stated.

"Yes, Einstein, a speakeasy."

Roy took a deep breath, not ready for this turn of events so early in the day, "You're really damn luck I give exactly zero shits about the whole Prohibition ordeal, or I'd have police on you in an instant. Why would you trust a stranger with a secret like this? I work in fine dining! The exact people you don't want to know about this place frequent my establishment."

He looked relieved, "Well, I'll know to be careful from now on."

"From now on? Your business is inherently illegal, you should have been careful from the get-go!"

Edward rolled his eyes, "Oh come off it, you sound like Al. I'm careful as fuck! Haven't been caught yet, have I?"

"You almost were last night by me and Jean, or do you not remember loudly disposing of an unconscious man in a public area?"

"Well, I made a mistake, sue me! You know, this whole nagging thing is really not doing you any favors." Edward turned to go behind the bar, Roy quick to take a seat at one of the tall, wooden barstools.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Edward shrugged, pouring himself a clear liquid that Roy could reasonably guess wasn't water, "Just what it's supposed to mean. Want some?"

The chef shook his head, "Not till it's legal, thanks."

Edward laughed, "That's cute. You're cute, you know that?"

"Excuse me?" This conversation kept making the weirdest turns. Hadn't they started out arguing about some guy in an alley?

A wide grin, "I said you're cute. In a grumpy, prudish way, but still cute."

Roy flushed a bit, to his own mortification, "I will have you know I am neither grumpy, prudish, or cute!" He stood up, receiving a slight frown from the blonde, "I have to go help set up for lunch at the restaurant. Your secret's safe with me, so long as you keep it out of my business. I'll see you later, Edward."

"Just Ed's fine, and I do hope I'll see you again soon. Maybe another guy'll get violently drunk and I'll have to dispose of him."

Roy quirked a brow, "Or you could just come over like a normal human."

Ed's smile brightened, "I'll be sure to!"

Having waved goodbye to Al and wishing his day the best, Roy took a quick walk around the block before re-entering the restaurant. He didn't want to get involved with some illegal bar ordeal, but he was strangely intrigued by Ed. He was spunky, if not a bit reckless, and if Roy had to admit it, he was quite attractive in his own way (although he'd stay indignant over the 'cute comment!).

Whatever was to come, Roy was certain Ed would be there, and that it would be nothing if not entirely interesting.

~End~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 4

Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 4- Speakeasy AU (pt.1)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3     fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

posting in 2 parts bc I didn’t finish it all in one day oop!

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“So, what’s your spring special?”

           Roy turned sharply at the words, watching his hostess, Sheska confusedly stammer an apology as, “We don’t have a spring special, sir.”

Roy sighed and took it upon himself as the owner and manager of the restaurant to intervene, striding towards the skeevy-looking guy currently harassing the poor girl.

“We have no spring special, but I hear the florist next door has a lovely spring combination of petunias.” The man looked confused, before quickly realizing his mistake, and slunk away. As the door closed, Roy muttered a quick, “Good riddance!”

“Mr. Mustang? What was he on about?” Sheska asked.

Roy shook his head, “Just some loon; don’t pay him any mind. And like I’ve said, just Roy is fine. You’re doing a good job out here, keep it up!” With a pat on the back and the girl’s stuttered “Yes sir!”, Roy left the dining room and it’s many frivolously rich, entitled patrons draped in all the finest fashions of the season, in favor of the more casual ambiance in the kitchen.

As always, Maes (Roy’s chef and best friend) had one of his upbeat jazz records playing in the corner as he, Riza, and Jean efficiently cooked their patrons’ dinners to perfection. Roy sighed, leaning against the wait-station-table. Hughes looked over at him quickly whilst fancifully sautéing a plethora of vegetables in a large pan, “Spring Special again?”

“I am seriously going to murder the next bum who enters this building and dares to utter the word spring. It’s autumn! That flower shop’s got some shady-ass shit going on in it, I’m convinced.”

Riza shrugged, wiping her hands on her men’s slacks Roy insisted she wear to work to protect from kitchen burns, “I’ve met Alphonse, the owner. He’s a really sweet guy, and his wife’s a gem. Unless they’re great actors, I doubt it’s anything too malicious.” She picked up a large knife and began to cut up some meat awaiting seasoning by Havoc.

“But it does hurt us, having all these scummy characters come in with obvious illegal intent.” Jean pointed out.

Roy nodded in agreement. “I’ll check it out for myself tomorrow.”

The redhead plated his wares, sent them out with the young waitress Paninya, and took quick leave out the back for a smoke, trusting Riza to take over seasoning. Roy went with for a brief breath of fresh air. They stood at the back wall, a streetlight around the corner and Havoc’s lighter the only light sources. The distant murmur of their clients, Hughes’s muffled jazz, and the clangs of kitchen life were the only sounds prominent in this little corner of the block. Roy basked in the relative quiet. Apparently, Roy was too quiet, for Havoc asked, “What’s buggin’ you, Chief?”

Roy laughed dryly, “Just thinking.”

Jean looked sideways at him, “What about?”

“It’s ironic, you know? We left the military to not be serving the whims of bossy, elitist assholes, yet here we are.”

Jean laughed, “That’s life for ya! At least we’re alive, eh? Don’t have to kill anyone in fine dining.”

“Yeah, might want to sometimes, though.” Roy smirked, “It just seems s-“

Roy’s words stopped short at a crash in the alley a few meters away. Outside the flower shop’s backdoor a blonde carrying an unconscious man over his shoulder stood, breathing heavily and swearing under his breath at the poor guy atop him. He dropped his “load” rather unceremoniously on a full trash bag, not noticing the other two men in the small space staring at the scene, open-mouthed. Havoc had even let his cigarette fall from his lips to the dirty pavement at his feet.

The man was about to turn round to re-enter the back of the shop, supposedly intending to just leave his charge in the garbage, when he caught sight of the small glow of the cigarette, and realized that he wasn’t quite as alone as he’d expected to be. Roy and Havoc continued to stare at the other in shocked silence, whilst he froze up and stammered incoherently, eyes locked with Roy’s.

���D-don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine in the morning.” He got out, and Roy cocked an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s none of your business, is it? Shove off.” The blonde made a quick retreat into the flower shop. Havoc and Roy turned to look at each other, and slowly backed away into the security of the restaurant. The door closed behind them, Havoc asked what was on both of their minds, “What the fuck is going on in that flower shop?!”

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[Part 2 coming out tomorrow!!]

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week 2k19 Day 3

   Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 3- (Fantasy AU)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- Fanfic.net   AO3

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

pasted late bc I have other work to do oops!!

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Roy had never seen the Great Hall so beautifully decorated; it was hard to tell where the school hall ended, and wintry palace began- the decorations were so wonderfully chosen! As he spun around with his dance partner, his long-time best friend Riza, the two other Triwizard Champions and their dates twirling similarly, Roy both admired the wonderful mix of glamour and dance and wished he wasn't dancing at the moment.

At least, he wished he was dancing with a different blonde, although Riza was definitely a close second choice. In fact, if he weren't required to take the first dance as a Champion, Roy probably would have shirked it off to go find Ed the moment he realized that his boyfriend's distinctive hair was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.

Over the snickers and awes of the crowd, supposedly assuming that Riza and Roy were something more than childhood friends, the blonde woman must have heard Roy's faint sigh, for she sighed as well and discreetly stomped on his foot as they changed direction, "Can you pretend for five seconds that you actually want to dance with me? I know it means nothing to you, but I tortured myself with wearing this monstrosity just because we're the center of attention."

Despite her disdain towards it, Riza looked quite stunning in her pale blue dressing gown, and Roy had just enough self-preservation to point it out before responding quietly, "It's not dancing with you that upsets me and you know it."

He knew that, even though he was half-assing it at best, they were still by far the best dancers out there, as years of ballroom dancing classes together would not be proven futile by their muggle parents.

Roy remembered the both of them receiving their Hogwarts letters and thinking it a big joke until two owls stampeded them in the park, and they looked at each other with such excitement that their parents knew their lives would never be quite normal again. His muggle mother had been at the school until recently, given a brief let-in to watch her only son compete in the dangerous Triwizard Tournament. Having never seen her son use magic before, it was a very… interesting time for her to watch him wave a stick at a whole-ass dragon and manage to stupefy it to unconsciousness (he chose to ignore his currently sprained and splinted wrist, and the several bandages that scratched against his shoulder and chest).

Back in the present, Riza rolled her eyes, "After this dance, you can go find him, I'm not stopping you. I think Jean's called dibbs on my next dance, anyways.

Roy smiled at the girl gratefully, and picked up the dance, noticing they were worryingly close falling out of step with the tempo of the spritely violins. After a few more laps around the dancefloor, the music finally died down to silence, and the audience clapped lightly, more eager to join in than pay mind to the current dancers.

Bidding Riza good luck with Jean, Roy quickly wove his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Ed. He found, instead, Al dragging a less-than-willing Winry out to the floor. The younger boy stopped when he saw Roy, and Winry sighed in relief.

"Roy, you and Riza danced so well!" He chirped.

"Thanks, Al. Hey, do you know where your brother is hiding? I haven't seen him around." Roy asked.

Al giggled, "Check around the food. He's probably afraid you'll ask him to dance."

"Well then, he's got a right to be afraid. Have fun out there." He turned from the betrayed look Winry cast him and started for the tables piled high with food. Ed's brother and closest friend (as well as Riza and Maes, of course) were practically the only ones who knew of his and Ed's relationship. Roy had no problem with making them public, but Ed had expressed his concerns enough for the other to hold off from straight-up snogging him in the halls. The blonde, for all his vivaciousness, was terribly shy about showing public affections, and didn't know how his fellow housemates would take his dating a boy- a Gryffindor boy at that!

Ed was nowhere to be found around the food, and Roy furrowed his brow in contemplation. He did see Lust, a fellow Slytherin classmate of Ed's, and decided to test his luck.

"Lust!" He called, and the aforementioned looked at him boredly.

"Mustang, what do you want?"

"Have you seen Elric anywhere?"

"The sweet one or the obnoxious one?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"The one you share a house with." Roy gave in a dead-pan, and Lust's unamused eye-roll did little to help him believe she would actually tell him.

"Well if you need to know, Envy said that he saw Ed on the staircase to the left of the Hall entrance reading.

Roy nodded, "Thanks, I guess." Lust shrugged and walked away.

Roy, thinking ahead, piled two plates with pastries and made his way out of the hall and to the left. He quickly found his boyfriend sitting on the second step, a book rested lightly between his bent knees. He looked up when Roy sat beside him, their legs bumping.

Roy handed over Ed's plate, which he took gratefully, "What're you doing out here? Already abandoned poor Riza to fend with Havoc on the dancefloor?"

The Gryffindor responded as Ed took a large bite of a particularly flaky little pastry the Beauxbatons cooks had prepared, "Riza quit on me. Said I was 'too distracted looking for you' to dance right."

Ed shrugged, "You know I don't like dances, shoulda guessed I wouldn't be in the ballroom."

Roy smiled lopsidedly, "Not even to watch me dance? I looked amazing out there; Al said so!"

Ed snorted, "First of all, watch your ego. Second, Al would tell the worst dancer out there they were great. Dances are just dumb, is all. Shouldn't just having the stupid tournament be enough celebration of inter-school comradery or whatever shit they're promoting?"

"I think it's sweet." Roy commented, not very forcefully. They'd had this same conversation hundreds of times, it seemed, "Either way, if you didn't want to be here so bad, why not just go up to your common room? I'm sure even the dungeons are more comfortable than these stairs."

"The Slytherin common rooms aren't just dungeons, I'll have you know!" Ed retorted, flicking a pastry he was holding slightly at Roy for emphasis, "They're actually very nice, it sucks you don't get to see 'em. I'm here because I didn't get to see you much after the challenge 'cuz of all the press commotion and shit." Ed frowned slightly.

The dragon challenge had been the day before, the three schools deciding that the dance and challenge should follow each other closely to 'lighten the mood' after such a frightening task. True to Ed's words, Roy had been swept away by several Prophet reporters following his close win (after his more serious wounds were treated first, of course). He'd been tired, bloody, and sore all over, so by the time they were done pestering him, Roy had barely the energy to fend off his mother's crushing hugs and frantic words. He had walked her back to the portkey once she was satisfied that he was safe until the next challenge, and from there went straight to his dormitory to sleep, Riza breaking the sea of students for him. The next morning, he had been wholly unamused to find his miserable face headlining the reports of the tournament.

He bit into his food, keeping a smile on his face in spite of Ed's fouled expression, "Well, you can see me all you want right now."

Contrary to Roy's intentions, Ed's face darkened further, "Until the next challenge."

"Ed, What's really the matter?" His proffered hand stung when Ed swatted it away, twisting in such a way to disturb several sore spots.

The Slytherin caught the other's wince, "THIS is the matter, Roy! Look at you, it's like you've been through a goddamn warzone or something! They carted you off the arena; I had to sit through two other dragon-themed ass-whoopings before I even knew you weren't dead. Your mom was in hysterics!"

Roy sighed, "Believe me, I know. I got her earful yesterday."

"At least she got to go down and see you immediately. I've barely seen you since Charms this afternoon, and that was the first time today!"

"So, you've been worried this whole time?"

Ed looked bewildered, "Of course I've been worried this whole time! I fucking lo… li… uh, care about you, you complete asshole!"

Roy, setting his plate aside, took Ed's plate quickly and ensconced the other boy in a tight hug, feeling the tension in the blonde's body coiled up in his shoulders. He relaxed a little in the Gryffindor's hold, huffing out a frustrated breath. When Roy felt a pair of hands gently wrap around his waist, he said, "I'm sorry I made you worry. If it's any consolation, I tried to find you after the challenge and at our meals today. I was too exhausted to really think yesterday, but when I looked today I didn't see you anywhere."

He could feel Ed rolling his eyes in his shoulder, and a second later he heard a muffled, "Had extra credit work in a few classes."

He hummed in response, and they stayed in their embrace for a while. Roy could feel Ed relax the longer he sat against the other, as if the constant assurance that Roy was there made his anxiety lessen. This said, it surprised Roy that Ed was the first to break the hug, standing up at the bottom step with a hand extended.

At the Gryffindor's confused look, Ed blushed, "Well, affection is sort of your thing, so I guess it wouldn't hurt me to dance, at least to make any lovesick Hufflepuff girls aware that you're unavailable." Roy sat, astounded. As far as he knew, Ed kind of hated public affection like this. Ed's blush intensified, probably because he knew vaguely what Roy was thinking, "I- I don't love this, but watching the challenge made me realize that I didn't want to waste my time across the room from you, watching other people try and get in your pants when I could just fucking suck it up and let myself have this, ya know? Shit, I'm embarrassing myself, just take my hand already, yeah?"

Roy grinned broadly, following Ed's orders. He led the way into the dance hall, noticing Ed stiffen when they were at the doors and Roy made no move to release his hand.

"Ed, you don't have to force yourself to do this if you're uncomfortable."

The blonde shook his head, "No, Roy, I want this. I want people to know we're a- a couple. This is a pretty good way to do that, right?"

His smile widened, "It's a great way!"

The brightness of Roy's smile caused Ed to smile as well, and they entered the hall to the vibrant sounds of an ending orchestral piece. They hurried to the floor before the next one started, and Roy had enough time to flash a wink at a confused but excited Al and Winry before the next dance began.

With Roy leading, there wasn't a chance they would mess up, and Ed seemed to trust their steps. Of course, he was flustered at first, glancing around at the other students too much (and sending dirty looks at Winry's smirk) and continually tripped up, but Roy got the other's attention back to him as the dance picked up with a gentle squeeze of the shoulder. Roy could feel eyes on them and heard quite a few girlish voices chirp their names, but he kept them out of his mind. He didn't care a bit about their judgment.

Once Ed was comfortable enough with the movement, he and Roy began chatting amid their dance, mostly about the other dancers.

"You know…" Ed mumbled, his sweet blush never having left his face, "You and Riza did dance very well together."

Roy laughed, "So you did see us! I didn't see you in the crowd!"

Ed mock-glared, "Well it's not because of my height, I know what you're thinking Roy Mustang!" He laughed a bit, "You probably dance better with her than with me."

"Well, I like dancing with you better." Roy murmured, leaning down to speak directly in Ed's ear.

"Oh, shush." Ed huffed, embarrassed. The song slowed to an end, and Ed pulled them off the floor with a small smile, "C' mon, we left our food on the stairs. I'd hate to waste it." His pull wasn't at all in the direction of the stairs, but to a table huddled away from the crowd, absolutely heaped with decorations and food. They could get some good privacy behind that heap…

Roy chuckled, Ed smirked, and they hurried to the table, not seeing the knowing looks of their friends and swelling gossip circles of those newly exposed to, possibly, the most unexpected coupling at Hogwarts.

~End~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week 2k19 Day 2!

Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 2- Colorless (Photographers/ wartime Au)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- Fanfic.net   AO3

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

......................................................................................................................

Ed sighed in frustration, "Okay, which of you can tell me a single technical aspect of this photo?" He clicked to another picture on the Smartboard, seemingly the hundredth that period. His students' last assignment had gone so poorly he felt that they all needed a class-long review before he could trust them with another.

'11th grade my ass.' He internally seethed. At least his punishment was working- they all looked as miserable as he felt.

His question was met with silence, and Ed wanted to be allowed to punch school property, "Tell me or you all fail the project."

Half of the class readily shouted, "Rule of thirds!" Whilst others guessed very valiantly.

"Good. This one?" He clicked and was met with several "umm"s, but no real answers. Even Chelsea Jones, his star pupil, looked glassy-eyed with boredom! And her project had actually been okay! Apparently, none of these kids were afraid of an F in Photography.

He decided to be generous with this one, as it was a trickier piece, "I see a good use of texture and natural framing with the branches and the model, yeah?"

The class agreed unenthusiastically.

"Listen, if you guys didn't want this, you should have given half of a damn about your work! I know most of you just want the art credit, but you actually have to pass the class to receive the credit, you know.

A few weak, "Yes Sir"s, and Ed forged ahead.

He clicked to the next piece, and almost didn't hear the varied shouts of "diagonal lines" and "shallow depth of field", as the photo in question caught Ed off guard.

It was one of Roy's photos.

An older one, back when he was journaling some strange commune in the Eastern region of Amestris.

Ed must have been silent for longer than he'd have liked, as Ella Swindell in the back of the classroom tentatively asked, "Mr. Elric?"

He snapped his attention back to his class and coughed, "Yes, good answers. Another good element here is the choice of black and white. In this scenario, it really adds some good drama to the piece."

Black and White photography was a favorite of Roy's. Not only because of its homage to printed papers but because of his ever-present flair for the dramatic. Roy left for a month on that job, and right after his return he'd proposed to Ed. At the time it had been their longest work-related time apart. How long had it been since he'd seen Roy? Five months? Or had half a year really already passed? Would he see-

Ed stopped his train of thought right there, violently jabbing his trackpad to move the PowerPoint along. To Ed's dismay, it was another of his husband's works taken of their late cat, kindly named Pissface. This particular shot had been on their cat's supposed birthday, and she wore a little birthday hat and a confused expression.

Roy had cried when Pissface died. She was old, but it had still seemed too sudden the morning they found her. Ed had cried watching Roy cry, and it was all just a big mess of tears. Al had even teared up audibly over the phone when Ed broke the sad news. It was an all-over tear-filled day. If Roy died, Ed didn't know what…

'Nope, stop it!' Ed willed his mind away from death, 'He hasn't called because there is a fucking war falling out around him, idiot brain!'

A few students "aww"ed at Pissface's cuteness, and others scanned the photo quickly for an answer to their teacher's impending question. Ed decided to throw them a curveball, "Improve this photo for me. Tell me where it falls short."

One kid, Ed thought Jason Matthews, but he wasn't paying much attention, suggested, "Maybe make the depth of field shallower so that the cat was more in focus?"

Ed hummed in thought and let a few more students ramble out some stunted ideas. He clicked to the final slide as the classroom door behind him opened. Assuming this to be Mordecai Fitzgerald, who had been out of class finishing a test, as per the teacher's email, Ed didn't bother with a glance.

He droned, "take a seat and don't be a nuisance." And to all, he said, "Well, give me some ways to improve this one!"

They continued, embarrassed silence would have sent Ed up a wall, had a noticeably deep, very Roy voice not interjected, "You could make it black and white. It would take away from the busy background and add a nice bit of drama to the subject.

He whipped his head around to meet the merrily amused gaze of his husband. As per Ed's command upon entering the classroom, Roy had taken a seat in a further back desk. Several students looked between him and their shocked teacher confusedly.

Ed smiled brightly. "What did I say about being a nuisance, you ass!" His reprimand meant little, as he had already stood and hastened to his husband's side. He only just remembered not to pounce him in front of the dozen seventeen-year-olds in the room, so he settled on a tight embrace and a regrettably chaste kiss. The class murmured, and a few let out joking "oooooo"s.

Ed, still with Roy's arm around his middle, turned to his class to snap, "Shut it!" After a short admonishing look from his husband, Ed sighed, "Class, this is Roy, a photojournalist. He's been out of the country for a while doing work journaling the war effort up North."

Eric Headley, the son-of-a-bitch, called out, "D'ya kiss a lot of photojournalists, Mr. Elric?"

"Only the one I'm married to, Eric. Now, everyone, go fix your pathetic excuses of projects until the bell rings. And if I see a phone, we all get to stay in class for fifteen extra minutes after the bell, got it?"

The students, now far more interested in their teacher and his husband than their work, reluctantly slouched to their respective computers to work the class away, keeping a curious eye on the two men now talking quietly together behind Mr. Elric's desk, wide smiles on both of their faces. If Ed discreetly rubbed away some water building in his eye, nobody commented.

Back at home, after their kisses had turned far less chaste and after Roy had barely had the time to set his luggage down properly before Ed practically attacked him, they lay in their bed together, Ed's head on Roy's chest and Roy's laptop on his stomach, clicking through many photographs detailing his journeys with the war effort.

"NatGeo's gonna go fucking ballistic over that one." Ed commented on the current picture on display of a soldier playing some kind of ball game with some civilian children.

Roy laughed, the sound a deep rumble to Ed, pressed against the other man as he was, "Just you wait till I get to the shoot of these kind, elderly weaving-women. It's got dusty lighting and everything."

Ed hummed, "Perfect. I'll have to show 'em to my class the next time I need to re-teach them shit."

"I'm honored my work'll be put to such good use. Did they take well to my others?"

Ed leaned his head back to catch Roy's amused gaze, "I knew you added those! Last time I share a PowerPoint with you."

The photojournalist grinned, "I wanted to give them something other than Ansel Adams to critique."

"Hey, I had more than just Ansel on there! I wouldn't want to make it too easy for them."

Roy smiled and lifted his hand from the trackpad of the laptop to stroke Ed's loose hair, "Of course not."

Before Ed could pick up Roy's job of clicking through the photos, the hand left his hair and closed the laptop. The blonde whines as Roy turned away to set the computer over the side of the bed, "I wanted to see the weaving women!"

Roy turned back, and Ed latched back onto his chest to hear the rumble of his light laughter her again, "We have all the time in the world tomorrow to look at the rest. Let's get some sleep, love."

Ed grumbled about the pet name but settled into Roy's side all the same, not about to let a half year's worth of waiting go to waste.

They slept, and if Ed gripped his husband a little tighter in his sleep, well, Roy definitely wasn't complaining.

~End~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week 2k19 Day 1!

Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 1- Modern AU (high school theater fluff & dramatic!Roy)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- Fanfic.net   AO3

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

Day 1- Modern AU

           Ed stared bleakly down at the many slides and switches laid in front of him. He had finished his homework an hour ago, so now all he could do was sit in the small booth and watch his classmates argue with the Drama teacher below him.

‘Theater People’ He thought with an eye-roll, ‘Roy’s real lucky I’m such an upstanding boyfriend for helping him like this.’

           “Edward, honey, turn on the presets for scene five!” Mrs. Lamine, a Drama teacher very befitting of the title, called from the stage as she directed Ed’s aforementioned boyfriend and a few other students to stand over little strips of colored tape.

           Ed gave a quick thumbs-up and pressed one of the preset buttons, and all lights but for some red and blue lights on-stage dimmed or turned completely off (he had watched in trepidation as two techies hung the gel-covered lamps from bars over the stage on a rickety-at-best scaffolding a week ago).

           The board had been easy to learn, compared to the “computer stuff” (as Roy dubbed it) Ed worked on for fun. His only real qualm with his current situation was just about everything else about participating in a high school theater production when he could be doing just about anything else. Stupid Colin and his broken legs, and the wheelchair non-accessible light booth. Stupid Roy and Al, too, for their dumb influence over Ed’s emotions. And, most of all, stupid theater for having a production in a week and not enough funding to hire a booth guy.

           With a sigh, Ed leaned back in his chair and watched Val Smith screw up her lines for the umpteenth time that hour.

--------

           Of everything he hated about staying until seven at school every day for an extracurricular he couldn’t care less about, the sheer nosiness of the actresses (especially Val fucking Smith) got to Ed the most.

They were running a few scenes with just the house lights on for the moment, so Ed had nothing to do until Roy and Jean managed to remember their swordfight choreography the whole way through (and it wasn’t like Ed didn’t absolutely love watching Roy accidentally hit Jean in the shins with the prop lance, but at this point they would actually have battle wounds when they weren’t even really supposed to touch each other!). Suddenly, Ed saw two of his classmates, Christy and Paninya, approach the light booth in his periphery. He hadn’t heard the balcony door creak open as it usually did, so their sudden appearance took him by surprise. Their all-too innocent expressions didn’t a thing to soothe Ed’s irritation, either.

“Hey, Ed.” Paninya greeted quietly as they slid into the booth and crouched next to him, filling up the little free space he had.

“What’s up?” Ed asked nonchalantly. He knew from their smiles that they weren’t just up here to ask after his well-being.

“So… You and Roy are an item.” Christy stated.

Ed blinked, taken off- guard. Sure he wasn’t exactly private about his relationship with Roy, but none of the theater girls had previously so much as acknowledged it (Ed had his suspicions it was because they quietly resented Ed for snagging their dream boy away from them). He slowly said, “Yeah…. So what?”

Paninya shook her head quickly, “No, we don’t care or anything. We think you two are really good together! We were just curious about something. Actually, we have a bet, you see.” The scheming smile was back.

‘Oh God,’ Ed thought.

Christy asked through a little giggle, “Who tops?”

------------------------

           “You’re not really still salty about running lights, are you?” Roy asked incredulously. True, it had been a week, but Ed was nothing if not persistent. Plus, he had one more whole week of this ordeal, and if he had to deal, so could Roy. However, Ed hadn’t quite planned on his “salt” affecting his current situation, which saw him straddling Roy in the dark-haired boy’s beanbag chair, an amused smirk cast upon his bright red blush.

Ed scowled through his flushed cheeks, removing his hands from where they had been previously removing Roy’s shirt, “Is now really the time?”

“You’ve never pouted so much during a thrall of passion; I had to ask.”

Ed groaned, “Don’t call it a thrall of passion, ya dork! I was just reminded of stupid Christy and Paninya and their dumb bet.”

Roy laughed loudly, “Oh geez, of all the times!”

“Yeah I know, right?” Ed scowled, yelping a bit when Roy ran his hand lightly up his waist.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re helping out. I like getting to see you after school.”

Ed’s blush could have melted ice, “Shut up and continue doing what you were doing, you ass.” Roy laughed, yet compiled all the same.

---

           That Thursday night, it was Al’s turn to bear witness to Ed’s tirades (not that he hadn’t had an earful already). It was the night before opening night, and they had just come back home from the final dress rehearsal, Al still smeared in stage makeup, and Ed wearing a scowl to beat all other scowls.

           “Fuck the stupid theater!” He growled, throwing his backpack onto the couch as Al pulled out a Tupperware of leftover dinner with the note ‘Left this out for you boys to eat after rehearsals. Dad and I won’t be home until tomorrow morning. Don’t get hurt, we don’t want you two to turn up at work. <3 – Mom’

           “Mom and Dad left out some food, Brother. Let’s eat.”

           Ed nodded, “Did Mom leave a crappy ER joke?”

           Al shrugged, “It’s more of a warning this time. Hurry up and sit, I’ll toss the food in the mic for a sec.” He did so, keeping his back to Ed at the kitchen table as the food spun around cooking, “Ya know, I’m really glad you’re doing this for us. I know you’d rather be doing other stuff.”

           Ed huffed, “What? How could you tell?”

           “I really hope that was sarcasm, Brother.” Al turned to see Ed, legs kicked up on the table scrunching up the decorative table cloth their mom insisted on laying out to “accent the fruit bowl”.

           “Do you know me, Al? I’m made of sarcasm. And anyway, it’s not a huge problem, I’m sure Roy would have just bugged me until I gave in anyway. I just don’t see how you can stand being around those people for so many hours every day!”

           Al rolled his eyes over the mild jab at his friends, “I mean, you chose to date a theater guy, so I don’t know what you can really say about that.”

           “But it’s Roy.”

           “Yes, exactly my point. The biggest personality in our theater class: Roy Mustang.”

           “What’re you getting at?” Ed asked.

           “Well,” Al responded, “I’m just saying that if you can handle Roy every day and choose to date him, then you can deal with Val Smith for a few hours.”

           “But it’s different! Roy’s cute when he’s being dramatic. Val makes me want to punch something.”

           Al shook his head, “You confuse me, Brother.” The microwave beeped, and Al served up the warm food. Ed took a large bite of his pasta.

           “You nervous about the show, Al?” He asked around the food in his mouth, changing pace.

           Al blinked, “A bit, but I’ve got a pretty minor role. I’m more nervous that our poor excuse of a tech class will screw up a set or not get the right stuff onstage between scenes or something like that and throw off the flow of the performance.” Al paused to eat some food before continuing, “What about you?”

           Ed cocked a brow, “You know I don’t a fuck about this play.”

           “But you’ve got a pretty important job. If you mess up a light cue, everyone will freak out and mess up.”

           “So? I won’t fuck it up.” Ed shrugged.

           “You’re not even a bit nervous for Roy? You don’t give a fuck about the play, but you do give a fuck about him.” Ed paused, wishing Al didn’t know his thought process so well.

           “Well… I’m worried that Roy’ll be a big drama queen about wanting me to do well if that’s what you mean. You know how he is.”

“But I thought you said he was cute when he was dramatic.” Al giggled at Ed’s blush.

“Not when he’s being dramatic over me!”

Al burst into real laughter over his brother’s flustered face, “He’s probably gonna be more nervous about himself messing up than you, in all honesty.”

“But he’s, like, the best actor y’all have (no offense)! He’s got nothing to worry about.” Ed defended. In all honesty, it hadn’t crossed Ed’s mind that Roy may doubt himself onstage. Sure, he had some self-confidence issues (it took Ed ages to convince Roy to come out to his friends- all part of the theater- about their relationship), but he seemed so… relaxed when he acted! Ed just assumed he’d be less unsure in himself in that area.

Al sighed, “He is the best- that’s why he gets super anxious backstage. He’s got a reputation to uphold. It only happens right before he has to go on, so I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed, but he gets all freaked out and panicky. Almost threw up once.”

“Ew, Al, I’m eating!” Ed groaned, squeamish with puke in conversation, “So what you’re saying is that if I mess up, it’ll get to Roy’s head and he’ll have a panic attack?”

“I didn’t say that! God, Ed.”

“Well you don’t have to, because I won’t mess up and Roy will be great, and you’ll kill it, and this play will be a hit. I didn’t waste two weeks on this damn thing to fail my one job opening night.”

Ed stood with that comment, scraping his leftover food into the garbage (Al winced at the waste) and taking his leave to go finish his homework with a quick “Goodnight” to Al. The younger Elric brother to the last bite of his dinner with a smug look on his face, having new confidence in Ed’s secret enjoyment of the theater. All he had to do now was get through opening night, and the rest would be a breeze.

-----

At last, it was opening day, and Ed could see the light at the end of the theater-shaped tunnel. Only today and the weekend to go before he’d have his afternoons back and Roy would be indebted to him interminably. That is, Roy would be indebted to him once he got out of whatever dumb slump he’d been in since that morning. He’d been distracted during all of the classes they shared, and not just his usual “too cool to take notes” kind of distracted! Ed had his suspicions it was because of the play, considering what Al had told him last night.  

At lunch, Ed and his friends ate in their usual stomping grounds- the chemistry teacher’s classroom. He’d let them eat there on the conditions that they clean up after themselves and help set up for his labs after they eat. He entered the room, surprised to find his brother and Roy there, chatting with James Slayton (a classmate of Al’s who liked to hang around Ed’s group). It wasn’t unheard of to find either boy in the chem room with Ed, he had assumed they would be eating with their theater friends before the big show.

“I didn’t expect you guys to be here.” Ed said when Roy and Al noticed him set down his backpack and lunch tray at his usual desk, “Not hanging out with the cast?”

Roy shook his head vigorously, “They wanted to run lines for the first act while we ate. If I have to hear that script before tonight, I’ll scream.”

“I tagged along.” Al shrugged, turning back to James.

Roy sat at the desk in front of Ed, turning his body around so that he faced his boyfriend, his chin rested on his folded arms at the end of Ed’s desk. Ed poked him on the nose with his plastic spoon, “You tired?”

“I’ll have you know I slept wonderfully last night… with the help of Melatonin. I just want this show to be over with.”

Ed blinked, “I thought you loved acting.”

“I do! It’s just… opening a show is always nerve-wracking. The first show can really set morale for the rest, so it’s gotta be good. And some actors, not me, of course-”

“Oh, of course.” Ed agreed wryly, receiving an exasperated look from the other.

“-some actors just get progressively worse and worse if they start out making mistakes. It’s a mental thing, ya know? Everyone wants the show to go smoothly, but nobody trusts the other actors to take it seriously and try their best!” Roy sighed.

Ed grinned a bit at his expense, taking the opportunity to run his fingers in Roy’s hair with the hand not holding his fork. Russel and Rose entered the room around this time, immediately making gagging noises at Ed’s show of affection. He put his fork down to flip the duo off before turning back to Roy, who looked like he was trying not to laugh in favor of being dramatic and sad. “You’ll fucking rock it, Roy. You know that. Besides, how can this thing fail if I’m involved? Like I told Al, I didn’t waste two weeks of my life to let my efforts crash and burn. Plus, you get to beat the shit out of Jean with a fake sword! You’re forgetting your blessings here, man.”

“That’s the spirit,” Roy laughed, “Can I snag a fry?”

Ed consented said snag, wondering aloud, “Did you not get your own food?”

Roy shook his head, now lifted from his arms, “I’d throw it all up.”

Ed put down his own fry, “You and Al need to stop it with the puke-talk!” He could hear Al laugh behind him as he exited the classroom with James for more food, Ed presumed.

Roy was going to respond, when Val poked her head into the room, obviously looking for him, “Roy! We’ve been looking all over for you, we need to run lines for scene six and find Al! Meet us onstage in five.” She flipped her hair back and strode back into the hall.

Ed noticed Roy instantly slump back down and couldn’t stop the angry, “Fucking bitch,” from leaving his mouth.

Roy shook his head, “Only on production week. Usually, Val’s sweet.” He moved to stand, looking confused when Ed did as well.

“No, wait a moment!” Ignoring his friends’ joking comments about PDA, Ed pulled Roy into a hug, murmuring, “Don’t let yourself get too worked up, yeah? I’ll see you after school.”

He could practically feel Roy’s smile as the boyfriend in question gave Ed a reciprocating squeeze and stepped back, “See you then.”

He turned with a wave and left for the theater, and Ed sat back in his seat.

“You two are disgusting,” Russel commented. Ed just grinned at him.

-----

As Ed predicted, Roy killed it onstage. Jean probably had a few new welts from that sword, but the scene looked great so he’d let it slide. As a matter of fact, the only person who majorly messed up was Val Smith (which had Ed mentally cheering, unabashed at his own malice. He just really fucking hated Val). Back in the changing rooms, Ed found his boyfriend hugging a few of the actresses in celebration of a well-done opening show, face red from exertion and makeup wipes.

“What did I fucking tell you, Roy Mustang?” Ed asked, making Roy look up. The girls (Christie and Paninya, Ed noticed with a grimace) collectively grinned and pushed Roy out of their arms to Ed, who caught him before they both crashed to the ground. Roy’s laugh was contagious as he hugged Ed tightly, and the blonde found himself chuckling along with him.

The quick (and rather violent, in Ed’s humble opinion) kiss was a surprise, and Ed was still reeling a bit as Roy raved, “Ed, it went so well! You did great!” above the ‘Oooooo’s sent their way by Al and Jean (who was, in fact, holding a small ice pack to his waist).

Ed blushed a bit at the compliment, “Hey, I told you I wouldn’t let my wasted afternoons be for nothing. Besides, tonight was pretty fun, at least. Not saying the rehearsals were at all, though.”

That seemed to be the right response, because Roy totally lit up, obviously glad that Ed had had some fun in the subject he adored. Then, however, a smirk blanketed his glee, “So you’d help with the next show too?”

“What? I NEVER said that! You must be diluted or something!” Ed fussed over Roy’s laugh.

But as they left each other’s holds for Roy to finish changing back into his normal clothing Ed realized, deep down, that he would most likely end up helping his boyfriend if he asked. Because, as much as he hated theater, he kind of fucking loved Roy Mustang.  

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 6 (LATE!)

Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: 5 (Together/Apart) [Masquerade Ball ‘03 reunitation because I’m in denial]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3; Fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now

Roy's face itched. More specifically, the mask that obscured half of his face chafed against his jaw as he talked, and thus his face itched.

Not that he could really complain, though, for as it were, his mask was comparably lighter than many of the men and women populating the sparkling ballroom. For once in his miserable life, Roy found that he couldn't afford a mask so extravagant for the annual military masquerade.

It was astounding that he was actually here, if he were perfectly honest with himself. He wouldn't have even known it was the right time of year had Riza not shown up at his snowy cabin weeks before and demanded he come; the days all seem to blur into one when the only thing for miles is barren snowy wasteland. Roy had agreed to go, but only because he was fairly positive nobody would try to invade at the current height of winter.

He felt a tap on his elbow, and turned to find the aforementioned blonde, eyes and forehead masked in shimmering blue and an uncharacteristic smile gracing the corners of her mouth, "Glad you could make it," She greeted simply.

"Glad I could leave that hellhole for a weekend," Roy murmured back, "Five years its been since I traveled any further than the nearby town for food."

"Your eye hasn't been a trouble?" Riza asked, nodding towards the masked area of his face. Roy had forgone his eye patch in favor of the mask, but visually it didn't make a huge difference- this just itched a bit more.

"I've gotten used to it. Care to dance? I'll have to warn you in advance; I haven't danced since before I lost my depth perception." Roy offered Riza his hand, which she took, and led her to the center of the large ballroom, where couples twirled glitteringly.

Luckily, Roy's muscle memory seemed to be unaffected by time, as he found himself easily maneuvering the steps of each dance smoothly, only occasionally hit by a woman's dress tassel as she swung about or brushing another dancer's back when the temp increased suddenly. As the mass of people began to become vibrant blurs of beads and feathers, Roy caught a glimpse of gold. There was a lot of gold in the room, but only one set of golden eyes that pierced through a mask of tanned, ornately carved leather.

Roy only realized he'd stopped moving when Riza prodded him sharply with her elbow, and several annoyed dancers cursed him. Although he couldn't see her facial featured amazingly, Roy could read the concern that poured Riza's blue eyes like a current. Roy hastily moved them to the edge of the dancing crowd, smiling apologetically at his former subordinate, "I have to go check on something."

"What? Is something wrong?" Riza asked, reaching down to place her fingers at her thigh, where Roy could assume her trusty pistol was strapped.

He shook his head, "No, I just… I need to find someone."

"Okay…" The blonde woman nodded, "Well, I'll go make sure Jean hasn't gotten himself wasted on champagne."

Roy nodded absently, already intent on his curiosity. As Riza melted into the crowd, he began to ponder. Had he really seen golden eyes? Or was he just projecting his wants into the extravagance of his current setting? Was he really that sad and desperate?

He decided to slip through the crowd, keeping a very sharp eye out for the leather mask and golden set of hair and eyes, towards a gigantic stone balcony, whose doors were kept open for the partygoers to admire the expansive gardens of whoever's wealthy family home this was.

He assumed the air was cold for central at this point of winter, but he simply couldn't find the air anything but pleasantly fresh and not violently windy. It wasn't even snowing! Just to feel the chill he once mistook for real cold, Roy shed his jacket, holding it folded under one arm.

The smell of freshly mown lawn hit him as he approached the edge of the balcony, resting his arms against the ornate railing. The stars twinkled above him as populous and vibrant as the dancers behind him. Several glass lanterns hung from hooks along the balcony, shedding light into the otherwise dark nooks not brightened by the flood of ballroom light. He appeared to be the only person on the balcony, he guessed because of the apparent cold.

The golden eyes claimed his mind. How long had it been since he had last seen the gleam of confidence- of total faith in success- that had rested so permanently in those eyes?

Ed would be, what, twenty now? Was it futile to believe he was still alive, as Al so ferociously persisted? After all, they hadn't found a body, and the Rose girl had said that she saw Ed sacrifice himself for Al.

Was it possible, after all this time, Ed had found his way from the gate?

He vaguely heard the sound of footsteps behind him. The steps stopped a few paces away from Roy, and then resumed until they stopped again on his blind side. He was too focused on his thoughts to really care about whoever currently stood beside him.

The dumbfounded, "You gotta be fucking kidding me!" broke Roy from his stupor. He turned around to find Edward Elric's golden eyes burning into him behind the leather mask, "There's no way you're not cold right now."

"Fullmetal." Roy said stupidly, unable to really process the situation.

Ed rolled his eyes, pushing the mask to the top of his head, "No shit- took you long enough to see me, I've been standing here for like five minutes." He looked older, unsurprisingly, but seemed to have maintained his small frame.

"Y-you're standing in my blind spot," Roy momentarily flipped up his own mask in explanation, exposing the rough scarring that now replaced his left eye, "Where the hell've you been? It's pretty rude to up and leave everyone worrying about you for nearly five and a half years, you know."

The blonde looked off to the side, resting his arms against the railing as Roy had previously, done, "I was in another world- on the other side of the gate. Alchemy wasn't a thing there, so it took a bit of creativity to find a way back."

"Another world?" Roy repeated, "What kind of world was it?"

Ed paused to think, "It was like… the same, but… I don't know, not?" Roy must have looked incredibly confused, for Ed slid a hand down his face and elaborated, "It's a lot. The people there were the same people as there are here, like everybody has a doppelganger from this world in that one, but they were all… off, like something wasn't clicking to make them just like the people here- FUCK, it's cold."

"Inside, then." Roy suggested.

"Yeah," Ed agreed.

They left the balcony to seep in the nighttime darkness. The air back inside was much nicer, but the noise was obscene. Ed led Roy to a cluster of tables, one of which was empty in the very back corner of the room. He had pushed his mask back down over his face, as was the dress code of the night.

They sat in silence for a minute, Ed with a conflicted look on what Roy could see of his face, "…There was- I mean- I met you there. Like, your other version."

Roy raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" He hadn't expected Ed to tell him something so specific.

"Yeah, we were, uh… friends," Ed explained, a blush poking out from under his brown mask that made Roy question Ed's use of 'friend', "Every bit as stupid as you, but he was more… naïve, I guess."

"How do you mean?" Roy asked, choosing to ignore the 'stupid' comment.

Ed sighed, "I don't know, I guess it was just because he's like my age there? I guess I've always been closer to adults than people my own age, so a lot of my peers in Germany just seemed so naïve, especially with that Roy. I couldn't help comparing him. Same thing with Al's double; I saw him and could only see how much he wasn't Al," Ed frowned, but quickly snapped out of his stupor with a change of topic, "How'd your eye go?"

It was Roy's turn to sigh, "Archer's bullet got me after I was done at Bradley's mansion the night you left. As you can imagine, I was demoted to Enlisted Man as soon as I came to, and I've been cooped up in a cabin up north freezing my ass off ever since. This is actually my first night away from that shit shack in five years."

"And you were about to spend it alone on a freezing balcony." Ed snarked, crossing his arms.

Roy laughed, "Trust me, the outside here is like a fresh spring morning compared to my post right now."

"...That's my fault, isn't it? I made you go kill Bradley." Ed asked tentatively.

"Ed, I wouldn't have gone if I didn't think it was the right thing to do. I chose the outpost over one in Central, you know, because if I stayed here it could only remind me that I was bleeding out when I could have been down there helping you. Maybe you wouldn't have had to sacrifice yourself then." Roy explained, doing his best to keep eye contact with the young blonde, even if he wanted to look away out of embarrassment. He hadn't had to face people and emotions for five years, and the fast refresher was like lemon juice in a wound.

Roy stood, raising a confused and slightly disappointed look form Ed, "You know, I didn't travel hours from my post for the first time in half a decade to attend a masquerade ball and not dance."

Ed realized what Roy was hinting at and shook his head violently, "Not a damn chance, Mustang. I can't dance for shit."

"And I don't have depth perception. We'll be the perfect annoyance to the higher-ups out there."

"You danced pretty well with Lieutenant Hawkeye," Ed retorted.

"She's one of the best dancers I know; it'd be extremely hard to look bad dancing with her," Roy replied, "Were you watching me dance?"

Ed blushed, "N-Not like- I just saw- don't make this fucking weird! You know what? Yeah, lets go dance," Ed stood hastily and grabbed Roy's arm whilst the older man laughed at him.

They moved into the throng of dancers in between songs so they were able to somewhat gain their bearings when the next tune began. Ed wasn't a bad dancer. In fact, he was surprisingly good, if not a bit uncomfortable, but that all really came down to experience.

The dances grew longer, and they all began to blur into one, with he and Ed following the steps of the crowd the whole while and laughing at each other when they messed up.

Roy didn't really know how it happened, but he and Ed were dancing in the ballroom at one point, and then somehow found their way back onto the deserted balcony, and then he was kissing Ed against a wall. The music's orderly and elegant tempo hardly matched the pace of their kiss- on Ed's part it was almost desperate, whilst on Roy's it was astounding relief.

Later, they would have to talk, and Roy would probably have to ask Ed exactly how close he and this 'other Roy' were to each other. They may just hook up for a night, or allow their feeling to flourish into something more.

But that could come later.

{END}

[scribblescrabblebabble]

ANNOUNCEMENT

My Day 6 and 7 RoyEd Week Fanfictions are going to be a day or two late because of my insane school workload. I don’t want to rush these posts because I want them to be of the same quality as my previous days. I’m so thankful for everyone’s support and my stories, both on here and through fanfic.net and AO3! Thank you!

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 5

Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: 5 (Cold/Warmth) [The ever-necessary Royalty! AU nobody wanted]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3; Fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now

Once Upon a Time, there was a large kingdom.

All across the land, the royal family of the Mustang regime was known to live life to the utmost standards of grandeur. The King and Queen had one son, Roy, whom they treasured with their lives. Roy loved his parents dearly, but no dearest parental love can merit the lack of secrets. The teenage prince had a secret he would keep from the king and queen with his very life, for if the secret were uncovered the royal family would have no living heir.

There were secrets he confided with his cousin Maes, including but not limited to: he hated long ceremonies filled with frumpy old men, he was, in fact, the one who slipped the rat into Riza's boot that one time, and that the aforementioned chambermaid scared the living hell out of him. Roy's biggest secret, however, he kept only to himself.

Just because he hadn't told anyone this secret by no means meant nobody knew, however. In fact, exactly one other person knew this secret, namely because he was the secret. Or rather, the entirely-sexual-and-definitely-not-emotional-but-actually-kinda-emotional relationship between Roy and the stable boy, Edward, was a strict secret.

It had started when the prince had gone out on a leisurely ride in the woods.

As was customary for the stable boy of a prince's horse, Edward had tagged along behind on a horse of lesser breed than Roy's own. A torrential rain had hit them in a valley east of the castle, so Roy decided to wait it out in a small alcove built for archery. With their horses tethered close under the thick forestry behind the covered platform, the teenagers sat beside one another, both drenched from the downpour.

"How long do you think the rain will last?" Roy asked nonchalantly, "I have schooling come dusk."

Edward rolled his eyes, "No damn clue, 'highness, or else I'd tell you and we wouldn't be out here. I have things to do too, ya know." The blonde pulled at his woolen tunic sleeve disdainfully.

Roy smiled. Whilst his father may think it offensive, Roy liked Edward's rash attitude. It felt more genuine than the stiff formality of the other servants, save Riza. His smile faltered a tad as he noticed slight tremors in Ed's hands. He was shivering. Personally, Roy felt quite hot in such close proximity to Edward, so he was glad to shed his cotton riding-coat and drop it unceremoniously around Ed's shoulders.

The blonde jumped, startled by the sudden feeling of warmth on his back. Realizing what the prince had just done, he glared up at the other, tugging the coat further around his body.

Roy smirked, "You were shivering."

Ed pouted, "It's just that my metal limbs get a lot colder than the skin ones and give me chills. Now you'll be cold, and my punishment for you getting sick will be much worse than if I get sick."

"I'll tell them I gave you my coat." Roy shrugged.

Ed quirked an eyebrow, "How do you think they'll interpret that one? I'm the lowly peasant, I should be the one taking my clothes off for you."

There was a small silence where Ed realized how exactly that might have sounded, and turned an adorable shade of beet red. Roy laughed loudly.

"You'd strip for me, Ed? How loyal you are!" Roy said through bursts of laughter.

Ed looked away from the amused royal, hands clenched tightly around the large coat, "Shut the fuck up! You know I didn't mean it like that!"

"Why not?" Roy asked, silencing his companion.

"…What?" Ed turned back to look at Roy in the face. He looked contemplative, rather than joking, which confused him.

Roy met his gaze, "Why shouldn't you?"

Ed's blush spread, heating up his belly and making the large coat feel incredibly uncomfortable, "W-well, we're both men- I'd be killed were we found out, you probably would be too."

"Nobody's out here." Roy commented, moving a hair lower towards Ed's face, "We wouldn't be found out."

Ed's voice grew breathy the closer Roy drew, "They'll come looking."

Roy smiled, his voice uncharacteristically low, "No they won't." Ed would deny it, but the tone made him throw away his inhibitions and meet Roy's mouth as it kept nearing his.

Their lips were damp from the rain but hot against one another. The cheek that Roy brought his hand up to cup felt equally so. Feeling bold from Roy's reciprocating touch, Ed ran his tongue along the bottom of Roy's lip. Roy readily let the kiss deepen, pushing his tongue past Ed's chapped lips and around the wet heat of his mouth.

Ed wasn't able to hide a quiet groan, the new sensation sending bursts of feeling down his body. He wrapped his arms around Roy's neck, turning to sit on Roy's lap for better leverage. Roy moved his hands to the back of Ed's head and waist, pulling the younger teen flush with him.

As they made out, the rain seemed to pick up, pelting the roof of the shack relentlessly. They didn't get any further than just kissing on that day, for the rain soon cleared and their horses had grown impatient enough that they were making frustrated noises.

Roy stopped the kiss, poking Ed lightly on the nose with a grin, "We should probably continue this later, yeah?"

"Yeah," the stableboy replied, shrugging off Roy's jacket and handing it back to him, "I probably should arrive back at the palace wearing your shit."

The prince laughed as Ed awkwardly stood from his lap, "You're blushing."

Out of sheer adherence to Roy's title, Ed refrained from snapping back that he was also blushing violently, "I'll ready the horses." He stepped out of the archery stand, not altogether excited about the long, wet journey back to his workplace.

So, obviously, this secret was a strictly between Ed and Roy… as well as maybe Ed's younger brother.

"He kissed my face, Al!" Ed exclaimed inside the small cabin he and his brother owned just outside the town's gates.

Al had been startled when Ed nearly kicked the door in, hours after his rendezvous in the forest, with a red face and confliction written across his features. He had been even more startled when he found out why his brother looked so out-of-character.

"Okay yes, you've told me this several times already, Brother. What did you do when he kissed you?" Al asked, attempting feebly to assuage the situation. The cabin had been leaking since the rain, and the youngest Elric brother was already frustrated with the fire that refused to burn hot enough to boil the stew. He absolutely did not want Ed to leave him hanging on this turn of events.

Ed threw his hands up, "What the hell was I supposed to do? I would much prefer making out with him than being flogged, thank you."

"You're being dramatic, Ed. You know what you two did is just as dangerous for him as it is for you." Al reasoned

Ed paused, letting his hands fall from the air, "Yeah, I guess so."

"So…" Al started as he threw a tragically damp log into the smoldering fire, "How was it?"

Ed flushed, "I'm not talking about this with you."

"Was it that bad? Oh my God, was he unimpressed?" Al asked, unsure whether to laugh or be sympathetic.

"Wha-NO! Why would you assume I'm the bad one?" Ed shrieked, feeling about ready to go outside and drown himself in the village cesspool.

"So he was bad?" Al prodded.

"No, he was grea- wait, why am I telling you this?" Ed groaned and planted his face into his arms folded atop their small, rickety table.

Al laughed, "I'll go get some more firewood and let you die in peace."

"Thanks." Came Ed's mumbled reply as Al left the tiny room, closing door tight behind him.

About a month had passed, and Roy had found opportunities to spend time with his stable boy almost every day, most of these consisted of them riding out somewhere and finding a niche or cove in which to share quick, passionate kisses.

With these adventures came a lot of time spent talking and generally associating with Ed. Roy began to know him much better than as a prince and stable boy should probably know one another.

He knew that Ed only refused to live in the castle because he had to look after his younger brother, and that Ed had lost his limbs in a farmer's dispute-gone-wrong in the marketplace, and that the only reason he was lucky enough to get metal replacements was because his close cousin was the automail mechanic for the castle, Winry Rockbell. Ed had also explained that this connection had landed him his current job.

Roy knew beforehand that Ed could be brash, but he hadn't expected just how brash and sarcastic he really was. To Roy, this upfront attitude was almost a breath of fresh air from the formality he received from his peers on a regular basis. It made him enjoy the blonde's company all the more.

Considering how routine being with Ed had become, Roy was more than slightly taken aback when, on a particularly cold afternoon, the stableboy was nowhere to be found.

The stable-master, the butcher's temperamental wife Izumi, curtsied unemotionally and told Roy that the younger teen had felt ill the previous night and was probably not going to be at the stables for a while.

So, donning a commoner's tunic and cloak Riza had bought him (because he tended to attract too much attention when he came to visit her home in the market), Roy set solitarily on Ed's horse to the wintry fields outside the village gates. The cabin Izumi had described sat roughly one hundred meters from the frozen-over cesspool (Roy could only imagine the smell the pool emitted during the summertime). The hut's wooden walls almost seemed to quiver with the chilling wind.

A boy who looked a few years younger than Ed answered the door. Roy guessed this was Al, Ed's brother.

Al stood in the doorway for a moment before he gasped, "Wha- Your Highness?"

Roy sighed, "Was I that obvious?"

"U-um, not at all! You just look like Brother's descriptions." Al squeaked, "Come in!"

Roy thanked the boy and briefly observed his surroundings by the light of two windows to the left and right of him respectively. The entire place was a most eighteen square feet all around, but a rickety table in the very middle, papers and candles strewn about it. A chimney's fire crackled across from Roy, over which a large pot boiled, from what Roy could smell, with stew. Beside the fireplace, a sleeping pad of sorts took up the entire space between wall and table.

"Did you come for Ed? Pardon my upfrontness, prince, but he is in absolutely no shape-" Al stopped when Roy held up a finger.

"I'm not here to make your brother work, Alphonse, I was just worried for him." Roy explained.

"Don't be," Came a raspy reply from the sleeping pad, "It's not your- cough- problem to be worried about. Go make out with some other servant while I'm away."

After a nod from Al, Roy moved to sit cross-legged beside Ed's curled form, "You know I don't want to do that. Plus, if I kissed Riza I'd probably die a crueler death than what even the executioner could bear."

From the pillow-end the bundle of scratchy blankets and limbs Ed's blotchy and tired face popped out, "You're an idiot."

"You're probably right, but I don't really care." Roy replied indignantly, "You look terrible, by the way."

"Thanks, I try." Ed was about to extend his retort when a peal of coughs wracked his body, "Damn, I hate this. You should probably go, Roy, I don't want to make you sick. Remember what I've told you; I'll probably be punished if I get you sick."

"Not if nobody finds out," Roy shot back. He turned to Al, who had been tending to the soup and pointedly distancing himself from the couple's conversation, "Hey, Alphonse?"

Ed's brother turned and placed his stirring spoon beside the fireplace, "Just Al, please. What is it?"

"Could I perhaps borrow some ink and parchment?" Roy asked.

"Of course!" The younger chirped, whilst Ed added a grumbled, "You're paying us back, though. Those are precious resources."

"Ed!" Al yelped, "He's the prince!"

"A prince who's not getting any action once he pays me back, even if I'm not sick when the time comes." Ed grumbled, "Got that, fancypants?"

"Loud and clear," Roy laughed. He hastily jotted his note onto the sheet, excusing himself briefly to secure it to the saddle of Ed's horse. With a slap on the backside, the horse began to gallop back towards the castle (as royal horses were trained to do) and Roy was back in the cabin, "I should be fine to stay until tomorrow if you'd like the help, Al."

"I'd love that!" Al said back, "Would you like some stew? Ed won't eat much of his."

"Please," Roy accepted the small bowl and crude wooden spoon, set on being useful for once.

Izumi was replacing a stall's hay when he heard the sound of Ed's horse galloping into the barn. It was panting heavily, and her blood froze when she saw no prince on its back.

Dropping the hay, Izumi rushed to the animal's side, desperate for a sign that her carelessness in foregoing a chaperone had resulted in a tragic end of their heir's life. That sign came in the form of a sheet of rolled-up parchment shoved into the satchel on the mare's saddle.

She unrolled it and read:

Izumi,

This is your prince, Roy IV of Amestris. I can confirm that Edward Elric is indeed very sick, and I will be staying with him and his brother overnight to aid in his recovery.

Please don't show this page to the King and Queen- I have in the satchel on the horse's other side a page for them, which is a complete bullshit story to make them not worry, as well as my medallion of royalty to prove that it is I who wrote this message.

Adieu

Izumi breathed a deep sigh of relief and pulled from the horse's other side the aforementioned items. After she tied up her apprentice's horse she would deliver the letter under her prince's orders, she reasoned.

With a small smile Izumi mumbled, "Edward Elric, you're going to cause my death someday," before yanking on the horse's reigns and continuing with her work.

All in the kingdom was peaceful, and Roy's little secret remained so forever after. The End.

[END]

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 4

 Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Alphonse Elric/ Winry Rockbell

Chapter: 4 (Beginnings/ Endings) [A Tailor!Ed and Stripper!Roy AU that I kind of love and adored making]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3; Fanfic.net

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on tumblr itself because I'm too lazy to so italics and shit right now

The first time Edward saw Roy Mustang, the former had been patterning out alterations to a frumpy, lilac, day dress when the small bronze bells above his shop's old wooden door tinkled to awareness the presence of a new customer. The morning sun shining through the front shop windows inhibited Ed's view of him, but the blonde tailor could already tell by the man's uncomfortable cough this was not his usual kind of client.

His usual crowd consisted of wealthier military men and their wives, as the 'Elric & Co. Tailors' shop was located nearest of all tailor's shops to Central HQ and its surrounding barracks and neighborhoods. These clients were always very sure of themselves, bringing in only their finest garments for Edward and his brother to tailor to their bodies. This man, who had stepped further into the shop, looked the part of a Commanding Officer, were it not for his posture and less-than-immaculate clothing. He was very handsome, Ed noted in the back of his mind, with his soft features and sharp, near black eyes.

Ed put down his chalk and ruler, dusting his hands off on his (well-fitted, of course) shirt as he walked behind the desk that sat at the front of the shop.

"Good Morning," He greeted the man with a smile. The other ran his long fingers through his dark hair (probably a nervous tick) and returned Ed's greeting. Despite his rumpled state (Ed believed it was largely due to the vastly oversized coat the man currently wore) he gave a very sultry, attractive smile. "How can I help you?"

The man took off his coat, revealing equally ill-fitting dark slacks and a rumpled button-up just a tad more off-white than Ed's own.

"I've come to see if I could set up an appointment to get my coat fitted some time this week." Ed barely refrained from asking if the man would like to have his entire wardrobe fitted, but he could tell that his vaguely skeptical expression had shown well enough for the other to read, as the dark-haired man sighed, "I have the money right here if you want to see it."

Ed shook his head, "I don't charge up-front- it depends on the amount of fitting I need to do. If money's an issue, I can direct you to a cheaper tailor."

A short silence.

"The cheaper tailors don't like me."

Ed quirked an eyebrow, "You've pissed off every tailor less expensive than us."

The bastard smirked, "You impressed?"

"Who even goes to enough tailors to piss one off?"

"You're looking at him,"

Ed picked up a pen, "I'll give you an appointment because I want to know how the hell you accomplished that. Name?"

"Roy Mustang,"

Ed paused. He'd heard that name two years ago from a Lieutenant who had needed a formal dress taken up for a military ball- Riza Hawkeye. She had become a regular after she and Al had bonded over stories about their pets.

"You're Lieutenant Hawkeye's commanding officer, right?"

Mustang's smirk faltered, "Was. I haven't spoken to Riza lately, is she a customer here?"

"Oh. Yeah, she comes in now and then. Does Wednesday at- say- noon work for you?" Ed asked.

Roy thought for a moment, "Yes, but I will only be able to stay for two hours at most."

Ed smiled, "Perfect, you're all scheduled. Can't wait to hear about those pissed off tailors."

Roy chuckled, "Sure thing." And waved out the door and into the frigid winter air. The wintry breeze hit Ed, synchronized with the wave of curiosity towards his new client.

On Wednesday Roy walked into the shop as scheduled. The wind that blasted through the open door was cold enough for Ed to curl his toes in his shoes. He was surprised to see a little girl in a puffy pink coat trailing shyly behind him. Her coat looked much more expensive than that of the man she accompanied.

"Hello again," Roy greeted. "I've brought my niece along with me today, I hope you don't mind."

Ed waved at the little girl, "No problem. We've got a few cats in the back if she'd like to play with them while I measure you." Ed gestured to the wooden door in the back of the shop, just behind the small platform Roy would soon be standing atop.

The little girl shook her head, flushing and grabbing Roy's pants leg defensively. Roy chuckled and patted the girl on the head, "Elicia's a bit shy."

Ed replied, "It's fine." Then turning his head to the doorway, he called, "Al! Bring Scruffy into the main room, will you?"

A chipper voice responded, "Of course!" before an equally chipper brunette

strode into the front room with a small white cat in his arms.

"Good Afternoon!" He greeted Roy, who responded likewise. Noticing Elicia, Al seemed to pick up on the cat's necessity, as he crouched down and placed the fluffy animal down beside the desk, saying in a voice he often used with children, "Scruffy's very patient, so if you're gentle with her, she'll let you pet her for a long time."

Elicia, seeming to forget entirely about her earlier shyness, moved straight to the cat, tapping her soft head gently, "She's like a cloud!"

Roy smiled at Elicia before turning back to Ed. "Where do you want me?" He asked in a low voice that made the phrase entirely sexual.

Hoping he wasn't flushing from the thought, Ed pointed at the platform, "Go stand on that. I need to get my tape and shi-stuff." Ed corrected himself with a glance towards the little girl currently running her fingers through Scruffy's cheek fur.

As he moved to his work table and picked up his tape and notebook, Ed commented, "It's getting really damn cold out there- this your only coat? I'm going to have to keep it here to alter."

"It is, but I'll make it. As cold as it is outside, I find its always far too hot inside. They balance each other out."

Ed quirked an eyebrow, "Sure they do. Hold your arms out; I'll get your torso measurements done first. Do you have an undershirt on? It'll be easier for me to measure you without the button-down."

"Sure," Roy shrugged, quickly unbuttoning his shirt. He rolled his shoulders back slightly, letting the garment fall to a heap on the floor. The smooth action couldn't read as anything other than seductive whether or not Roy knew it, and it made Ed blush again. Looking to the side, Ed noted that his brother was also casting strange glances towards their client.

Ed looked back at Roy, and- fuck, he's a goddamn statue. Ed knew immediately that the white shirt had to have been too big for him, because it totally masked the sheer amount of lean, sculpted muscle that the undershirt did poorly to hide.

"So," Ed almost squeaked when he noticed Roy looking at him amusedly, "How did you wind up babysitting today?"

As Ed began to feel around Roy's back, asking briefly to move his arms this way and that, Roy explained, "My sister Gracia and her husband left for the rest of the week to celebrate their anniversary. Elicia's staying with my mom, but I've been watching her during the day because she works a day job."

"I see," Ed commented, not really listening. He was more concerned with keeping an air of professionalism while he ran the measuring tape along Roy's impressive shoulder muscles. Really, it was usually Al to get flustered by states of undress. Why was this happening?

'Oh yeah,' Ed answered himself, 'your raging, closeted, homosexuality. That's probably it.'

Despite Ed's internal turmoil, the measuring session went without a hitch. In less than the allotted two hours, Ed was handing Roy his oversized button-up, "I can fit this for you some time as well, if you're so set on buying oversized clothing."

Roy laughed, "I've only got enough money for the coat, but I appreciate your concern."

Ed rolled his eyes a bit, "Would the same time next week work? I'm only getting the general fittings this time, so I'll need to go back in for a closer fit over multiple sessions."

Roy nodded, "That should work splendidly." He turned to Elicia, who had turned to inspecting the various colors of fabric along the wide walls half an hour previously, "Elicia, buddy, do you want to get some hot chocolate before we go back to Grandma?"

The little girl's head shot up, "Yeah! Let's go!"

Roy smiled and placed a wad of cash on the reception desk, "Let's get going then." The two waved at Ed as they left, another blast of cold air filling the front of the store as the door opened and closed. Ed never got to ask Roy about those pissed-off tailors.

"Ed!" Al exclaimed as the door shut fully.

"What?" Ed asked back, confused.

"That guy totally flustered you. You were flustered, that never happens!" Al explained, "Did you really think he was that hot?"

Ed's face heated up as if he had suddenly stepped into a fire, "Wha-no!" He slammed his hand over the money in the desk, noticing vaguely the rumpled nature of the bills before shoving them into the old cash register that refused to open smoothly beside him.

Al, the heathen disguised as pure innocence, barked with laughter, doubling over for the dramatics, "Brother, your face is so red. You thought he was hot!"

"No I didn't. I-I'm not even into guys, how could I think he's hot?" Ed weakly defended, his voice cracking at 'think'.

Al just gave him a face better suited for a mother who knows their child is trying to hide candy behind their back, "Edward Elric, don't you even try that one with me."

Ed threw his hands up, trailing them back down his face in defeat. It was Al's eyes; he could never keep a fib up long under that scrutinizing yet still puppy-dog-adorable gaze, "Fine! He was incredibly fucking hot, are you happy?"

"…Who was incredibly fucking hot? Why wasn't I invited?" A gravely, effeminate, male voice following the chill and chime of the opening door asked before Al could reply.

Ed recognized his half-brother's voice immediately, "What the hell do you want Envy?"

The dark-haired man smiled innocently, holding up two plastic bags, "You two probably forgot to eat lunch. I brought takeout."

"Envy, you never told us you were in town!" Al chirped, taking a bag and giving the older man a quick side-hug.

"You poisoned the food, didn't you?" Ed asked, not necessarily pleased like Al to see him.

"That's right, Edward. We're all going to shit ourselves to death." Envy smirked as Al led them all through the door in the back, into a large storage/ office space. The walls were crammed with way too much extra fabric and patterns to be considered fire code-friendly, and the table set against the one large window on the furthest wall was full with papers and pin cushions.

"You don't get dysentery from poison, you dumbfuck." Ed retorted as he moved the mess from the table to the floor (accidentally dropping a paper on Scruffy, who had followed them in as well) and pulled up an extra stool for his estranged brother.

Envy shrugged, "What about explosive diarrhea?"

"Ew, both of you, we're about to eat!" Al pouted. He opened all of the various to-go boxes, parsing them out, as well as the provided disposable chopsticks, to the brother that each belonged to.

"So," Envy started, sitting on the chair not bordered by a wall, "Tell me about this sexy devil who's captured my dear younger brother's attention."

Ed choked on his noodles, "It's no one!"

Al smiled with a dangerous innocence, "His new client's got the ass of a God."

"AL!" Ed shrieked, "I thought you were on my side!"

"Never took you for an ass man, Ed." Envy remarked.

"I'm not an ass man!" Ed's blush was back with a vengeance.

Envy shook his head, commenting around a mouthful of seasoned chicken, "That's absolutely something an ass man would say."

"Shut the fuck up!" Ed yelled, shoving another large hunk of noodle into his mouth.

"Okay, let's be civil while we eat," Al suggested like he hadn't just thrown Ed under the bus seconds ago.

"Did you catch this guy's name?" Envy asked, seemingly ignoring Al's pleas for calm.

"Of course I did, he's my customer." Ed replied around his chopsticks, also ignoring Al, "It's Roy Mustang, which now that I say it sounds really fake."

Envy almost spat his food onto Al, "The one who was court-martialed a while ago?"

"H-he did mention that he used to be Riza's superior officer." Al suggested.

"Yeah, I know him!" Envy said, "Good eye, Ed."

Ed groaned, "Oh my fuck, he's not the first person I've ever found attractive, could you shut up about it?"

Envy fake-sighed, "Fine, I'll leave it for now. Have you two been out and about lately?"

"I have!" Al excitedly recounted his latest date with Winry, when they'd gone to the town fair forty minutes away from town and Winry had beasted him at the various money-trap games. Al had come home (which happened to be right above the shop) with a cheap teddy bear and the brightest smile Ed had seen on him since the last time he and Winry had gone out. It almost made Ed jealous that Al had the kind of person in his life that could make him that happy, but of course he wasn't jealous enough to actively have a social life.

As Al wrapped up his stories, Ed noticed that they were all basically done with lunch.

"Well Ed, I guess that makes us the lonely bachelors." Envy sighed.

"Yeah, but some of us don't care." Ed said back.

"So you wouldn't want to go hit a strip club or two with me tonight? You can't possibly tell me that a tailor's shop stays open late." Envy asked.

Ed flushed bright red, "Why would I want to do that?!"

"Usually that's what lonely bachelors do to get away from work. I know a few that have dudes, considering that's what you're into-"

"SHUT UP!" Ed interrupted. "I-I have work after we close up, you know. Clothes don't sew themselves."

Al shook his head amusedly, "You know Ed, it wouldn't kill you to loosen up a bit."

Ed shouted, "Al! I can't rely on you at all today can I?"

Al shrugged, "I'm just saying, you've been unhealthily obsessed with work since winter began. You should go out a bit; I'm not saying it has to be a strip club, but if that's the presented opportunity…"

"Ugh, FINE. I'll go or whatever." Ed said, suspicious that Al was only pushing the issue because he wanted the place empty for he and Winry. "But don't expect this to become a regular thing."

Envy nodded, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on top of his now closed to-go box. "Sweet, I'll wait here until you close. Trust me, you'll be happy you went." He said with a wink.

Ed was officially worried.

They closed about four hours later, with only two more clients coming in to schedule appointments, and one to complain about an inconsistency in her pristine fur shawl that had been fitted at a completely different shop.

With a feeling in his gut not entirely dissimilar to anticipation and dread, Ed called back to tell Envy to 'wake his ass up and put his coat on'.

Soon enough, Al was waving them away as Envy led a grumbly Ed to his beat-up sedan parked a very inconvenient distance from the shop. Although it was incredibly fucking cold, Ed noted that the roads were simply wet from the rain an hour earlier, and not frozen over.

When they reached the car, the blonde had to throw several dirty t-shirts, food wrappers, and already crumpled notebook papers from the passenger seat in order to sit down, whilst Envy simply sat atop the papers cluttering the driver's seat.

Envy paused to look Ed up and down a bit, "You're seriously going to wear a button-down to a strip club?"

"It's a casual button down." Ed retorted.

Envy rolled his eyes, starting the engine with a sharp turn of his wrist, "Sure it is." A burst of weirdly sweet-smelling, hot air hit Ed's face from the tiny air vents as the car grumbled to life.

"Whatever," Ed rolled his eyes back at his brother. The car bumped away in silence for about seven minutes before Ed fell curious, "I didn't know you're into dudes."

Envy shrugged, "If its human and I can fuck it I'm attracted to it."

"Ever the charmer." Ed muttered.

Envy took a sharp turn, the tires skidding along the wet asphalt. Above Ed's loud swears, Envy retorted, "I mean, it's not like I knew that you like to go matchy-matchy with the genitals until a few hours ago- look, we're here."

Envy turned into a large, fairly well lit parking lot already half-full of various models of cars in varying states of kempt-ness (Envy's car definitely fell under the less well-kempt of the lot).

The building itself looked surprisingly nice, and heavily "burlesque". The outside was brick painted with grey and black to resemble the intricate stonework of some kind of romantic Victorian theater, and heavy red curtains fell over the large windows that adorned the front of the building. An ornate wooden doorway, framed by a buzzing, iridescent light fixture stood at the very middle of the structure.

Envy smirked viciously beside Ed, "Pretty crowded tonight; Flame must be performing."

"Do I want to know?" Ed asked.

"Oh yes, you absolutely do." Envy answered, leading the two of them through the heavy door. Inside was more or less a large expanse of hard-wood floors, gold paneling, and nice mahogany tables and booths.

Everything was very low-lit, besides a bar in one corner that attached to a large, low-rising stage in the very middle of the furthest wall. Red and blue sheets of cellophane covered all of the table lights, whilst the stage and bar lights remained naked. On the large stage (around which the tables scattered), a man swung himself around a sturdy pole in nothing more than a pair of tight booty shorts and a necktie. A small pile of clothes lay below him.

A busty, black-haired woman in a scant pleather one-piece greeted them at the reception desk, "Envy, how pleasant of you to turn up."

"Lust, what's new? Flame performing tonight?" Envy asked, shooting a glance at Ed, "This is Ed, my half-bro I've told you about before."

"Yes, he'll be on in about five minutes, I'd expect. Ed, do you have an ID on you?" Lust asked.

Grumbling, Ed procured his driver's license. After Lust's affirmative nod, Ed stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Enjoy yourselves, boys."

"We will," Envy waved back at her as they entered the main room of the strip bar.

Ed looked around, noting the smell of tobacco and cologne mixed in with the expected smell of alcohol, "Seems nicer than I'd expect a stripper gig to be."

"Yeah, they're all into the vintage burlesque aesthetic and shit. As long as they've got a glory hole in the bathroom I'm game, and this place seems like more of an 'Edward Elric' kinda place." Envy shrugged, choosing a table for the two of them about two spaces away from the stage.

"Why's that?" Ed asked, "Not just because there're guys, I expect."

Envy smirked broadly, "You'll see. You want a beer?"

He nodded, and Envy left him for the bar. Looking around, Ed noticed that a lot of the audience was male, unsurprisingly, with the occasional (non-stripper, that is) woman scattered around the bunch.

It was just when Ed noticed Envy stealing glances at him from across the room that the stripper on stage ended his routine, accepting the audience's money before readily striding off the stage, shed clothing in hand.

Lust took his place on the stage, a microphone in hand. "Good Evening ladies, gentlemen. Our next show, doubtless you all know, is certain to please. Open your eyes for our lovely ex-soldier, Flame." She twirled off the stage with a flourish amidst the masculine whoops and feminine squeals of joy as the stage lights dimmed and a man appeared, silhouetted, in front of the pole.

The lights instantly flared on in time with the start of a seductively jazzy swing tune, and Ed knew why Envy had brought him to the club. Wearing a half-undone button up (under which peeked some sort of tight tank) and kicking his leg high around the pole was none other than Ed's extremely fucking hot client, Roy Mustang.

Ed could hear Envy's cackles from the bar, and he (very discreetly) flipped his half-sibling off without taking his eyes from the scene before him. Within the mere three seconds it took for Ed to make the provocative gesture towards Envy, Roy had easily slid out of his button up, flashing a dazzling smile at the raging audience.

Showing impressive skill, the performer easily hoisted himself onto the pole centered on the stage, swinging about in time to the upbeat tune. Ed was completely caught off-guard. He'd been curious when Roy had hinted that he didn't work a day job. Never would he have imagined that Roy was a stripper, but seeing it first-hand... needless to say, Ed could affirm to himself that he was, indeed, very gay.

Envy reappeared beside Ed with two glass bottles of beer and a maliciously wide grin, "Enjoying yourself, Ed?"

Ed swiped a beer from the dark-haired man's hand, "Took you an awfully long time to get two bottled beers."

Envy shrugged, "I had to get your reaction from the best angle. Trust me, it was priceless."

Ed could feel his blush spread down his neck when Roy began to move his hips against the metal pole, suspended with his feet off the ground by pure upper-body strength. He spun with seemingly no effort, even chatting up some of the closer tables over the din of noise and music. He then kicked his legs over his body, wrapping one leg around the pole upside-down, and Ed was both entirely impressed and uncomfortably turned on. All the while, he could feel Envy's unwavering, amused gaze on his face.

"You're a sadist, you know that?" Ed muttered to Envy, receiving a bark of laughter in reply.

"Oh, Edward. You're precious, really." Envy said before standing, "Let's go say hi."

"What? No!" Ed hissed, dodging the hand moving to grab onto his arm, "He's my client, seeing him in my shop'll be embarrassing enough now, I don't need him knowing- wait, where are you going? Listen to me, asshole!" Ed almost considered tackling Envy as he shrugged and moved ahead without him, but refrained in fear of unneeded attention.

He watched tentatively as Envy leaned dramatically against the stage. Recognition flared into Roy's eyes as he flipped down from his previous upside-down position to dance with his feet on the floor for a bit. Ed watched Roy's mouth move in conversation (still dancing just as well as previously) with his brother, before the stripper quirked an eyebrow and looked up amusedly right at Ed.

Ed felt like being impaled would feel a lot better than the embarrassment that flared like a bonfire deep inside his stomach. His blush was definitely vibrant enough for Envy and Roy to see, because he could hear another sharp laugh from the former.

Roy grinned, giving Ed a flirty wave as he twirled. He noticed the smile that stretched at the corners of Roy's mouth as he vaguely waved back feeling just as embarrassed. He noticed Envy take a small object from Roy's hand mid-deep pole swing before he strode back to Ed, malicious smirk back in place.

"I absolutely fucking hate you." Ed glared at the laughing man.

In response, Envy dropped the object from his hand onto the table in front of the scarlet-cheeked blonde. Ed picked it up curiously, finding it to be a wooden, red chip shaped like a guitar pick with the strip club's logo printed it on it in black ink.

"The fuck is this?" Ed asked.

"It's Flame's personal chip. All of the workers here have them- it's basically a ticket into their changing room for a little one-on-one. He said come in whenever; wants to talk about a coat or some shit." Envy explained, sitting back down next to Ed.

Around them, the crowd grew slightly, as the time of night was growing ripe for alcohol and sex. The bright lights and extensive exercise had built a shining layer of sweat had built up on Roy's body, almost highlighting his smooth movements. The extra body heat did absolutely nothing to assuage Ed's uncomfortable blush.

Ed could have cried in relief when, after about five more minutes of guiltily being unable to tear his eyes from his client's sultry movements, the song ended with Roy dipping himself backwards, leg kicked far above his torso.

Picking up his shirt with a smile and a wink, Roy waltzed backstage, replaced by Lust yet again.

"Damn," Envy commented, nudging Ed almost jokingly, "He didn't even take off that much clothing."

"Shut up." Ed grumbled as Lust introduced the next dancer. This time a woman stepped out to the pole, and Ed could have believed in a god at that point.

The crowd was still hot and uncomfortable, but Ed was able to calm down… other aspects of his discomfort enough to not feel out of place. It felt like ages as the female stripper danced, but Envy clarified that they were only about six minutes into the routine when he asked.

The girl seemed rather younger than Roy, and almost timid at the pole, as if she were new to the profession. He felt kind of bad for her, having so many voyeuristic eyes on her as she undressed. It wasn't a very glamorous living, in Ed's opinion. Guilt also poked him in the chest as he acknowledged that he was currently a set of those voyeuristic eyes, both for her and for Roy.

Roy.

What the hell was he supposed to say to him?

He'd apologize, but it wasn't as if he had gone to the club to intentionally perv over 'Flame'. Would acting as if they were simply in the shop be any better? In any case, formality might make the ordeal awkward, especially if Roy wanted to keep getting his coat fitted.

What if Roy didn't want Ed's services anymore? It wasn't as if Ed would financially collapse if Roy decided to cop out, but the dark-haired man was one of the few customers that Ed had had a fun time with during a session.

His usual clients were stuffy and didn't like Ed thinking he was in any way superior to them. Roy had come in and been friendly to him, even going so far as to joke around with him. Greedy or not, Ed didn't want to lose that kind of a client. Of course, his fast-forming attraction to Roy was another very large factor.

Ed looked down at the wooden chip in his palm, then up at Envy, who was gazing fixedly at the young woman on stage. He didn't bother getting his attention, as the other would know where Ed went when he finally snapped back into reality.

Ed saw Lust standing back at the reception desk, so he strode towards her.

She noticed him and placed a stack of papers aside, "Do you need help?"

"Yeah, I received this," Ed smacked the chip onto the countertop, "And I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with it."

A smirk not dissimilar from Envy's curled up Lust's lips, "Flame's room chip. It'll give you access to his private company, but I must advise you that sex is prohibited. My employees aren't prostitutes, after all."

Ed scoffed, "I'm his tailor. I just need to talk to him about a coat he wants fitted."

Lust's eyebrows quirked further upwards, "You're his tailor? He hasn't been able to shut up about you for a week; I thought you'd be more his 'type'."

Ed blushed, "Can I just cash this thing in or whatever?"

The woman chuckled deep in her throat, "Sure, just give it to him. The room's past those doors in the corner." She pointed to a set of dark wooden doors on the opposite side of the stage from the bar.

Ed thanked Lust vaguely as he turned towards the doors, walking along the outskirts of the room to avoid bumping into the bustling crowd. At the doors, a worker passing through eyed him strangely until he showed her the chip. She nodded, pushing a lock of hair over her barren shoulder before giving Ed space to pass through. Down a low-lit hall lined with old, red wallpaper he walked, reading the nametags on each door until he was standing in front of the door whose tag read 'Flame'.

Taking a hesitant breath, Ed rapped on the door, not quite sure what to expect. After a span of two breaths Roy answered the door, stage makeup half-removed and loose sweats over his tight shirt and mini-shorts.

"Hey." Ed greeted with an awkward wave, looking more around Roy's shoulder than at his face. He held out the small red chip, "You wanted to talk?"

Roy took the chip and grinned, "Come on in."

Ed observed his surroundings as he stepped into the small room.

It was covered in the same red wallpaper as the outside hall, and a mirror desk stood on the opposite wall from him. It was one of those kinds of desks whose mirror is bordered by many round light bulbs.

The wooden floors creaked underneath his feet above the sound of light classical music that wafted from a speaker on the desk. A couch sat to the left of Ed, on which lay a few pillows and a rumpled blanket. He also noted a metal clothing rack sporting a variety of costumes and casual clothing.

'Shit, does he live here?' Ed couldn't help but wonder, seeing the prevalence of the couch and blanket in an otherwise barren changing room.

"Can I take a guess to why a lot of tailors won't give you service?" Ed asked to break the silence. He leaned against the corner of the desk as Roy sat at its chair, picking up a makeup wipe and getting to work on his face.

"Guess away." Roy replied, albeit drily.

"They want validation as 'legitimate craftsmen', and working with strippers isn't amazing street cred." Ed shot back, not meaning to sound as accusatory as he did.

Roy sighed, a dejected look immediately washing his features, "I can take my coat back as soon as tomorrow afte-"

Ed cut him off sharply, "Hold on, asshole, I wasn't finished. As I was saying, it's bad street cred for tailors who actually give a fuck about street cred. As I see it, nobody gets clothing fitted anymore unless they're stupid rich, want to be stupid rich, or if they absolutely have to, so those other tailors are doing themselves a disservice by rejecting the clientele they can actually get."

Roy smiled, "I bet I'm fairly more entertaining than your usual clientele as well," He thought for a second, "No, change that. I used to work with your clientele- I know I'm more interesting than them."

"What'd you mean? I love hearing about military economic proceedings for hours on end." Ed laughed, prompting a laugh from the other.

"I'm glad." Roy simply stated as their chuckles died down.

"'Bout what?" Ed asked, confused by Roy's ambiguity.

Roy looked to the side, "I was really worried. I didn't want you to see me at my work and not want to see me again," Ed opened his mouth, but Roy held up a silencing finger, "It's more than wanting a fitted coat, really. I enjoyed spending a few hours with you and your brother the other day. If this… unfortunate stage of my professional life… had made you think anything less of me I'd be upset."

Ed could feel a blush brighten his cheeks, "Well, you're lucky Al and I aren't assholes then."

"Incredibly lucky."

Ed heard the outside music slow down a bit, and Ed remembered the company he had come with, "Hey, you're pretty familiar with my half-brother. How'd that happen?"

Roy rolled his eyes, "Envy? He's a regular here. I'm kind of middle-manning a mutual crush he has with Georg, the bartender."

"Don't help him, he's a dickbag." Ed replied.

"So is Georg. It's a match made in heaven." Roy shrugged.

"Speaking of dickbags, I probably should go check back with Envy, considering he drove me here. If I don't see you again tonight, I'll see you at noon a week from now for your next fitting, yeah?" Ed got up, noticing a flash of disappointment in Roy's features.

"I may not have enough money to pay you in full next week and still be able to buy food." Roy stated.

What Ed said next as he began to walk to the door seemed to simply fall out of his mouth, his self-control lost to an instant's opportunity, "You can pay me back with coffee and an hour of you time." Instantly, Ed stopped his steps, eyes as wide as saucers and blood running cold as ice.

There was a painful period of silence, only the soft classical music audible in the far too tiny room.

"Edward Elric, are you asking me out?" Roy questioned hesitantly.

"W-What if I am?" he squeaked back, still turned away from the other man.

He almost jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder, "Then I'd gladly accept the offer."

"What?" Ed was dumbfounded. Had he actually just successfully asked a stripper to get coffee with him like it was totally a normal thing to do.

"I said, I would like to go on a coffee date with you." Roy clarified with a grin.

Ed grinned back as he began to actually register the situation, "Oh, awesome. I'll see you Wednesday, then."

Roy's hand left his shoulder as Ed opened the door into the red hallway, "I'll be anxiously awaiting the day."

The blonde rolled his eyes a fraction, "Sure thing," and waved at Roy as he walked down the hall, out the double doors, and into the main room of the club.

Oh my fucking God.

Currently, Winry, and Envy were both laughing hysterically. Ed and Envy hadn't so much as walked into the shop's door when Al and Winry had pounced them, demanding 'the tea', as Winry put it.

"I can't believe you actually fucking asked him out!" Envy wheezed.

"At least I wasn't the one making out with the bartender while he was still on duty!" Ed shot back, face the color of a perfectly ripe tomato.

"I'm happy for you Ed, even though I'd be happier her wasn't a stripper…" Al nudged him in the side.

"U-wha-okay, MOM." Ed groaned. He turned on his heel and left the gaggle in the shop for his bedroom upstairs, "Goodnight, assfucks."

"Love you too!" Envy called, to which Ed flipped him off for the umpteenth time that night.

He had a smile across his face as he walked up the stairs, however. Come what may, he was excited. And at the absolute very least, his date was incredibly fucking hot.

[END]

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 3

  Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Alphonse Elric/ Winry Rockbell

Chapter: 3 (Canon/Au) [That soulmate AU/ Fix-it fic that nobody asked for- Post 2003]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3 ; Fanfic.net

Soulmates.

Everybody since the beginning of humanity had one, according to any historian that mattered in Amestris. In any etiquette class, children learned the importance of keeping a soulmark hidden from the public eye because of its private sacredness. For most, this was a fairly simple feat, as the soulmark usually resided on the chest, stomach, or upper arm area. However, for some, this proved to be a struggle.

For Roy Mustang, the struggle was very real. His soulmark rested squarely on the top of his right hand. It wasn’t a small mark, either. The mark was a very intricate alchemical-looking design, runes and all. All his life, except for when he was very young, Roy had had to wear gloves out in public, as his family was of the strictly traditional variety. No manner of soulmark was acceptable to be seen by anyone but it’s owner and their soulmate.

When he and Maes joined the military, he was less under the scrutiny of his parents. Therefore, he could have, by all means, shed the gloves and rebelled against his childhood structure. However, he found fire alchemy rather convenient when applied to spark-inducing fabric, so gloves became his defining feature as a State Alchemist.

Only now, as Mustang sits in his cabin in the middle of a snowy wasteland with no will to perform the alchemy that he loved, does Roy shed the gloves to stare blankly at his soulmark. They say that, no matter what, soul mates will find each other eventually. There had been no record in Amestrian history of one person with a soulmark not finding their match. Roy chuckled grimly at the notion that he may very well be the first.

----

Edward Elric hadn’t needed to worry about hiding his soulmark- it was on his chest. He thought his mark looked really cool, as it was pretty much a transmutation circle. No, his qualms lay with everyone around him being so damn fortunate with their soulmates, while he was stuck wondering.

Al and Winry had known that they shared a soulmark since the second Al was born. Their mark was one of the simpler ones- a small heart shape with a considerably intricate set of swirls encasing it. Al’s was on the side of his waist and Winry’s was on her ankle- both very easily concealable, not that it mattered much. For the residents of Resembool, farming was simply more important than the utmost adherence to the confines of etiquette. As a child, Ed couldn’t care less about the array-like design shared by only one other.

However, when he became a teenager, Ed liked to think about who could be on the other end of the metaphorical string that tied he and his soulmate together. Of course, getting Al’s body back was completely more important, but if he were on a train or drowning out Mustang’s complaints about his ‘poor conduct’, Ed would imagine who his soulmate might be.

In Munich, and throughout the other world Ed ended up in, soulmarks didn’t exist.

Ed had figured this out when, after taking a shower, he was reconnecting his Hohenheim-made automail. Alfons Heiderich had walked in and commented on how he had an ‘interesting tattoo’ on his chest.

Ed was very confused, as he had assumed his friend would understand that it was a soulmark, but he didn’t correct him out of the fear of humiliation. Later, after conducting a series of little researches, Ed came to the understanding that people in that world simply found permanent love connections on their own, with no assistance from fate (as if this strange dream-world couldn’t get any stranger).

----

 ~Winter, 1919 (Amestris’ time)~

 It snowed violently up North. Roy’s fire was dwindling, and he had been saving his firewood, as anything outside would be far too wet to use. He was on the second-to-last log of the night, sitting very close to the dying flames with his half-assed attempt at soup in a bowl beside him.

The wind howled so viciously that he barely heard the weak knock at his door and the muffled, “Help, please!” of a tired, pained voice.

When he did hear, however, he stood up quickly to save whoever it was from the wild storm.  

The doorknob’s chill bit against his bare hands as he yanked the door open, allowing a bundled-up figure to practically fall into the house.

At his feet, bleeding in various places and shivering violently, lay Edward Elric. The blonde’s eyes were clenched shut from pain, and he was grabbing at the top of his automail shoulder like he wanted to rip it off.

“Edward!” Roy exclaimed, shutting the door immediately and sitting down to inspect what had happened to his former subordinate.

Ed only responded with a series of groans, clearly losing consciousness. Roy panicked, as he really had never been in a snow accident situation in his entire time at the post (nobody every really tried to act out, favoring a warm lick of chimney fire at home). He took Ed’s jacket and waistcoat off of him, revealing the places where blood seeped through his white shirt.

Recognizing that the cold floor was probably not the best place to unclothe a freezing, passed out person, Roy picked up the Ed’s unconscious form and brought him to his bed, which sat a mere few steps from his fireplace.

He parted from the bed only to hastily grab two towels and place them next to the fireplace to warm them. His first aid set was under the bed, so Roy got straight to work. At this point, Roy took Ed’s shirt off too, only feeling the mildest bit of discomfort at the thought (because it was an emergency and he was a mature-ass man, damn it!).

He noticed three things. One, Ed had a huge scar through the center of his stomach, as if he’d been impaled. Roy could only imagine what trouble Ed had quietly caused in the near four years of absence. Second, he had many large-ish gashes, bleeding profusely, and the skin around his metal automail port looked like it was close to frostbite. The third thing Roy only noticed after he had wiped away a smear of blood from Ed’s chest. It was Ed’s soulmark- it matched his own. However much this may have completely shocked him in any other setting, Roy managed to block out this last information until a more appropriate time to freak out.

This time came about half an hour later, when at last, Ed was patched up well enough to not die, and his leg and arm ports were covered by the heated towels to prevent further skin damage.

Now, Roy freaked out. He walked back into the wall on the opposite end of the room, holding his head in his hands. Slowly, he slid to the ground, still cupping his forehead with one hand. He brought his right hand down shakily to look at his own soulmark. ‘Shit,’ he thought to himself.

Now, before their final parting those years ago, Roy had begun to develop some kind of feeling for Ed, but he passed it off as respect- at most a parental worry for the teen. He had let that idea fester around in his mind every day, his guilt for not being there to save Ed when he needed saving growing every day. He tortured himself with the images of Ed living a happier life with an in-the-flesh Al- an image that may have been possible if he had made it to them in time.

Eventually, about a few months ago, Roy had admitted it to himself- he had fallen for Ed. He had fallen far into the deep and bramble- ridden hole that is love.

----

Ed woke up. Forget that he was in a barely comfortable bed wrapped in bandages and hot towels. He had woken up- that came as quite a surprise. He, upon opening his eyes, faced a wall. It appeared that he was wearing his own boxers and also a long-sleeved sweatshirt belonging to someone several sizes larger than he. He also noted that his hair had been loosened from it’s ponytail that he was positive he’d had in when he’d landed in the snowy land.

His chest hurt- a lot. It was the open wounds, he knew, but that didn’t make slowly turning around to get a better view of his surroundings any easier. Once he was laying on his other side, he was met with the sight of a large room. The room, he guessed, acted as the whole house, as there was a small kitchenette and table on the other side of the room. Beside the bed, a dwindling fire crackled, and a window behind Ed cast mid-morning light onto his blankets. Next to him was a bed stand, which held a tray, which in turn held a bowl of soup, a cup of milk (ew), a spoon, and a notecard. Maneuvering himself into a sitting position, Ed picked up the note first. It read:

 Edward,

The soup and milk are your breakfast- finish all of it (even the milk). I have a patrol to go through and a ration to collect, but I trust that you won’t reopen any gashes eating soup. Please don’t, that’d be a mess to clean up.

 “Not drinking that damn milk.” Ed muttered, setting it aside and bringing the tray to his lap. He had swallowed down the first spoonful of the (okay at best) soup before he realized that it was rather strange that whoever wrote the letter to him knew his name and of his hatred for milk. He also recognized the neat, cursive-like handwriting, but couldn’t place the person to whom it belonged.

Looking around the cabin and out the window, Ed recognized that he was in a very snowy part of Amestris, probably up North. The problem was, he didn’t know anybody who lived up North, but this person was hinting at a relatively close relation to him. There were no pictures on the walls, nor were there any items that would hint at an identity.

The best he got was a blue military jacket that hung on a peg by the door, but it bore no bars or stars of rank. An enlisted man. Any military Ed knew was typically higher-up, as he was stuck in various headquarters for most of his military-personnel encounters (usually to receive lectures/ assignments from Mustang).

“Wait, holy shit!” Ed exclaimed, nearly dropping his soup as he had a minor epiphany. He grabbed the note, looking at it very carefully. Sure enough, the handwriting was exactly like that detailing his assignments, the same handwriting that he threw away the second he left HQ. It was Roy Mustang’s handwriting, undoubtedly. However, it seemed… tilted… somehow, and it was strange that Mustang would refer to him as anything but ‘Fullmetal’ (even though Ed wished he would call him so many other things that were much less formal).

Ed put down the note, taking in with new eyes the sadness of his surroundings.

Before Ed could make any new major observations, the door opened. The wind howled ferociously around Mustang as he pushed a large box (supposedly rations) into the room, slamming the door behind him. He quickly took off his thick overcoat and blue jacket before walking quickly towards the fire, which had gone down significantly. Placing one log down, he pulled out a box of matches and struggled to light one with his frozen fingers.

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Why don’t you just use your alchemy?”

Roy jumped and looked around, revealing to Ed that the older man’s right eye was covered with a dark eye patch. Roy remembered Ed was there and sighed, “I gave up on that with my demotion four years ago.”

Ed frowned, “Why’d you get demoted all the way to Enlisted Man?”

Roy quirked his visible eyebrow, “People don’t like it when someone assassinates their Fürher.”

“But Bradley was a homunculus!” Ed retorted.

“They saw me walk out of his burning mansion carrying Bradley’s dead son and assumed the worst. Plus, who’d believe that? The only other person who’s seen the homunculi are you and Al, and Al can’t remember anything before he was nine.” Roy said.

Ed’s eyes widened, “He can’t?”

Roy shook his head, “The last thing he remembers is your transmutation going wrong when you tried to resurrect your mother. Other than that, he’s just fine and completely in the flesh. He’s about the only person who believed you were still alive.”

As Roy explained this, he had relit the fire and it was steadily growing. He took off his gloves without a second thought, as it had become custom in the cold cabin. What he neglected to remember was the soulmark that was now in Ed’s direct view. Ed could make out the dark curves and lines that made up their marks, even from the distance they sat.

He froze, shocked. In a way, it was too good to be true, considering that Ed had pretty much had a thing for Mustang since his hormones had begun to kick in. Ed recognized at that moment that, because he could feel bandages against his chest, Roy must have seen his own mark while Ed was unconscious.

Wincing against the pain his gashes caused, Ed sat up in Roy’s bed and made as if to get up. Roy noticed this, immediately stood, and all but pushed Ed back into the bed. “You’re really hurt, Ed. Don’t try walking around yet.”

Ed took advantage of their closeness to grab Roy’s hand and stare intently at the mark, making absolutely sure it matched his. Undoubtedly, every line and curve was the exact identical to the mark on his own chest. He looked up at Roy with wide eyes, finding the dark-haired man looking at his hand clasped between automail and skin with an expression close to sadness, or maybe acceptance.

“Roy,” Ed breathed, expression still shocked, “You’re…”

Roy didn’t respond, but he looked like he was trying to contain the very last fiber of his emotions inside of him. When Ed reached up with his real hand to touch Roy’s face he could feel how strained his muscles were to keep his expression neutral. Ed turned Roy’s face so that their eyes met.

Roy looked to the side, resting his hand atop the one on his cheek. Not trusting himself with speaking, Roy hoped that his silence would be enough because it would tear him apart to have to spill his heart out to Ed right now. He went for the next best option.

The hand that rested atop Ed’s was shaking slightly as, after a final, decisive breath, Roy leant down a bit and caught Ed lips in his own as the blonde was lifting his face upwards with similar intent. It was chaste, nothing much more than a graze, and Ed’s lips were chapped and cold, and it sent sparks of heat wildly through Roy’s body.

Instead of letting the kiss go any further, however, Roy moved his head back, receiving a small pout from his soulmate. Looking back at Ed, Roy saw eyes filled with wonder and a smile poorly masked behind his pout which, if not hidden, would probably match the one Roy felt tugging at his own cheeks. Their hands had moved to the general proximity of Roy’s shoulder.

Roy lifted his hand into Ed’s loose hair, ruffling it a bit, “You barely ate any of the soup.”

Ed laughed, “You’re a sucky cook.”

“Hey!” Roy mocked great offense, “It’s not like the outpost provides the most amazing ingredients to Enlisted Men.”

The blonde chuckled absentmindedly, moving his automail hand up to trace the area where Roy’s eye patch rested against his cheek. The metal was warm after its long exposure to the hot towels underneath the thick blankets. Not necessarily wanting to delve into the subject of his missing eye, Roy stood, Ed’s hands sliding loosely to hold either of Roy’s wrists.  “Go ahead and eat, I’ll call Miss Rockbell. I can’t say Al will be there- he’s taken up adventuring around Amestris like you did.”

Roy could see the concern lurking in the back of Ed’s gaze, but he complied, reluctantly moving his hand from where they had slid, “Fuck, I’m so relieved Al’s body’s back. Don’t know what I’d have done if I came back and he was still in that damn armor.”

Roy smiled, knowing that if the transmutation had failed Ed would just keep working to fix it. He strode across the room to the wall-mounted telephone. It had just begun to snow not-violently-enough for the phone lines to thaw a fraction, but even that was enough for a few calls a week. Looking quickly through his little phone book, he came across the hastily scribbled-down number of the Rockbell’s automail shop. He remembered Winry’s awkward visit to his hospital room the days directly after the coup against Bradley. She’d given him the shop’s number (in case he got any information about Edward) without looking at his face, and left as soon as she could. Not that he could blame her, mind.

The phone rang twice before the other line clicked open, “Rockbell automail mechanics, how may I help you?” Winry’s voice droned through the earpiece.

“Winry? It’s Mustang.” Roy greeted.

Her voice turned uneasy, “Is it Al?”

Roy chuckled, “So he’s gone off again, has he?” On a few occasions Winry had called Roy, asking frantically if her soulmate had somehow wound up in the North. On only one occasion had he actually been there. Roy continued, “No, actually, it’s the other brother who’s wound up in my cabin this time.”

He had to hold the receiver away from his ear so that Winry’s scream wouldn’t give him one less sensory organ, “OH MY GOD! ED’S THERE?”

“Yes, he’s been hurt, but just as troublesome as ever.” Roy commented, smirking at Ed when he heard the ‘Hey!’ from his bed. “He arrived last night.”

“Where’s he been? Can I talk to him? Are trains able to come close to your station with the snow?” Winry asked.

“Trains just re-opened last week, and if you give me a moment I’ll get Ed over here.” Roy answered. He heard Winry’s ‘of course!’ as he rested the receiver on the small table under the telephone. Roy turned to see Ed already standing wobbly, holding onto a bedpost with a mildly consternated look on his face. Roy quickly came to the blonde’s aid, slipping an arm around Ed’s shoulders. Ed flushed a powder-pink shade, but otherwise complied in leaning against Roy, using his soulmate as a human crutch from one side of the small cabin to the other.

When they reached the phone, Ed sat atop the table, but entwined his flesh fingers with Roy’s marked hand, thusly anchoring the Enlisted Man near his side.

Over the phone, Roy could hear Winry’s tearful and overjoyed words of welcome to her best friend, and he could practically see the joy radiating off of Edward as he reconnected with Winry. He told her that it would be easier to explain his long absence in person, which definitely piqued Roy’s curiosity.

Now that he’d calmed down enough to contemplate it, Roy had to wonder: Where had Ed been all these years? And why had he shown up in the one part of Amestris Roy was pretty sure the young Alchemist had never actually been to during his time in the military?

As Roy’s thoughts carried him further from the situation, Ed laughed and bid Winry adieu with a promise to see her soon. Roy heard the phone’s receiver slide into its holder on the wall before a metal finger poked him on the cheek under his working eye, “Arschloch, hey, you still here? Winry said she could probably get here in two days if the snow clears up further west.”

“… What did you just call me?” Roy asked confusedly, never having heard the (coming from Ed, he could only assume) expletive.

Ed paused, equally confused, rethinking what he’d said, “You’ve never been called an asshole before? That’s a fucking lie.”

“You said ‘arsh-lock’, not asshole.”

Realization dawned on Ed’s face, “Damn, I didn’t even notice.” He turned on the little table so that his gaze was downward from Roy’s face. The hand that held his tightened a bit, “Where I was- a country called Deutschland- they spoke a different language. Seems I’ve become fluent.”

Roy could sense Ed’s discomfort, so he intervened, “If you don’t want to talk about it, just wait until Winry gets here- you need to get back to bed, anyways, let’s do tha-“

Ed pulled Roy into another kiss, effectually silencing him. There was a fire in this kiss that had been lacking in their first. Ed pulled Roy flush to his body, wrapping both arms behind the older man’s neck. Roy kissed Ed back intently, their lips hot against each other in the cold air of the cabin. His hands landed on either side of Ed’s waist, careful not to disturb the blonde’s bandages.  

The sparks that Roy felt with the first kiss returned with a vengeance, and he had trouble concentrating on what was going on around him. All he could focus on were the points at which he and Ed touched- namely the lips. While definitely not the best kiss he’d ever received (or given, he’d guess) it was with Ed. What the blonde lacked in experience, he made up with fervor and emotion, which was more than Roy could have expected from the young alchemist.

Roy pulled away first, resting their foreheads together while he let his heart rate calm slightly.

Ed sighed impatiently, “I know, I know, I’m too hurt and shit to do anything.”

“Actually,” Roy smirked, “I was going to suggest me move this closer to the fireplace, but if you insist…”

“Shut up and kiss me you arschloch.” Ed replied gruffly, to which Roy heartily responded by smashing their mouths together again.

“You said that word again.” Roy commented as he lifted Ed bridal style. Ed shrieked with surprise, but quickly collected himself as Roy made the long five steps across the cabin to his bed.

He set Ed down so that they were both sitting at the edge of the bed.

“I know,” Ed whispered, and pulled him down once more.

~END~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 2

Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Alphonse Elric/ Winry Rockbell

Chapter: 2 (Celebration/Stillness)  [Trisha Elric’s ghost and Sarah Rockbell’s ghost- centric. Roy and Ed visit the Resembool Graveyard.]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3; Fanfic.net

Trisha Elric sat boredly atop her gravestone, absentmindedly poking her foot through a dandelion, when she noticed two figures walk through the gates of the small countryside cemetery. She immediately recognized the first person as her eldest son, Ed, but the other she didn’t recognize.

“Sarah, Edward’s here!” She called to her old friend, who had been talking up an elderly lady (who had died ages before the both of them) named Ramona.

“Took him long enough!” Sarah replied, “Who’s that with him?”

Trisha shrugged, “Beats me.” She inspected the second man better once the duo was closer to her grave. His dark hair almost obscured a dark eye-patch from the distance the two were still at, and he walked a respectful few steps behind Edward as they made their way closer to Trisha.

Ed was wearing a normal white button down and brown waistcoat (for once). Trisha thought the look was rather charming and much better than that ghastly red cloak he had worn throughout his entire adolescence (if she’d been alive, Trisha would have burnt the hideous garment along with those obscene leather pants long ago). Trisha also noted how much Ed’s brown trench coat made him look like Hohenheim.

The two finally made it to the Elric mother’s graveside. Ed laid down a bouquet he’d been carrying by the gravestone; it was full of pink and violet flowers that Trisha recognized as the local florist Martha’s prized spring combination. The blonde turned when he noticed the other man straggling along.

“Roy, hurry the shit up, it’ll be sunset soon!”

Roy, Trisha assumed, sighed through a small smile, “I’m barely two yards behind you, Ed.” His voice was deeper than her son’s, and she realized as he came to a stop beside Ed that he had to be a good bit older than her son as well. He held two smaller bouquets in one hand, the other rested lightly in his pocket.

Trisha hopped off of her grave, choosing to stand in front of the two as she noticed in her periphery Sarah coming towards her.

“He’s familiar, don’t you think?” Winry’s mother asked.

Trisha frowned, shaking her head, “I’ve never seen him before. Edward called him Roy.”

“Roy, huh? Maybe he’s one of those Central city-men; that’s where Edward lives, right?” Sarah asked. Trisha nodded.

Ed glanced sidelong at Roy, smirking, “Can’t keep up walking half a mile? Your age is really starting to take its toll.”

Roy rolled his eyes, “Maybe I enjoy taking in the scenery while I walk.”

Ed snorted, “That’s what old people do.”

“It’s what people who know how to appreciate days-off do, thank you.”

Ed smiled fondly, “Sure, keep believing that.” Trisha couldn’t help but notice the warmth with which the taller man smiled as he shrugged in response to Ed’s snarky remark.

Both Trisha and Sarah were caught off-guard when, having stood from placing his bouquet down, Ed tugged Roy’s arm out of his pocket and entwined his fingers with the other man’s, the newly-captured appendage quick to comply. It was also at this point, when Trisha actually paid attention to the duo’s (couple’s?) hands that she noticed the matching rings around their left ring-fingers.

Trisha was speechless, but she knew that Sarah had noticed as well, as she began to hit Trisha’s arm excitedly with the back of her hand, “Oh my God, Trish, do you see it?!”

The brunette woman grabbed at the neck of her apron, eyes affixed to the metal bands, “My little boy’s got a…”

A what? Fiancée? Husband? Friend with benefits? City people do those kinds of things, right?

“Hey Mom,” Ed greeted awkwardly, which Trisha understood. It’s hard to talk seriously to a rock, especially with another person in your midst. Ed gestured vaguely behind him, “That’s Roy, he’s a bastard but I’m marrying him in a quarter of a year. Yeah, I don’t know why either.”

Trisha would have been worried about Ed’s words, had she not, firstly, known about Ed’s snarky side and, secondly, seen the amused eye-roll Ed’s fiancée directed towards him.

Having broken the initial awkward atmosphere, Ed settled down into his usual graveyard visit rambling about his work- a research job within the military- which Trisha didn’t follow amazingly, but loved to hear anyways, just to listen to her son’s happy voice. It hadn’t been happy or relaxed for many years, so just to see Ed able to ramble without worries lifted years of anxiety off of Trisha’s heart.

While Ed talked, Trisha took this time to examine her future son-in-law. Roy seemed quiet, or maybe just giving Ed his space to do his thing, and his adoring gaze almost never left Ed (so much, in fact, that Ed turned around and lightly slapped Roy’s arm, calling him a ‘sappy old man).

Compared to Ed, Trisha noted, Roy was rather old. He couldn’t be older than Trisha, but if she had to guess, the dark-haired man was at least in his adolescence when Ed was born. ‘It’s no matter’ Trisha reminded herself, ‘Edward is an adult, and Hohenheim was a fair few hundred years old when you married him, so who are you to talk?’

Trisha kept observing the soon-to-be addition to her little family. As his eye slowly peeled from Ed to observe his surroundings, Trisha saw a near-nervousness overcome his mannerisms. He began to bounce his fingers against the bouquets in his one hand, whilst rubbing his fingers together in the other. His fond expression even dimmed a little as he scanned each gravestone around Trisha’s. His eyes and fidgets seemed to stop abruptly at the Rockbells’ graves, which sat directly behind Trisha’s.

Sarah, from beside Trisha seemed to give Roy the same scrutinizing gaze as Trisha, whilst Urey, who sat atop his wife’s stone, gazed elsewhere.

Sarah shook her head, “I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen him before.”

Trisha hummed, noticing that Ed was finishing up his talking. She stepped forwards, patting her son lightly on the shoulder (even though he couldn’t see her). He smiled wistfully and turned to Roy. Tiptoeing, Ed gave Roy a quick cheek-kiss, winning him a forehead kiss in return.

“Take your time- I’ll see you back at Winry’s, okay?” Ed said, squeezing Roy’s forearm.

“Okay,” Roy repeated, smiling down at his fiancée. He stood still until Ed passed the gates of the graveyard, watching his figure disappear amongst the rolling hills of Resembool.

Instead of taking his own turn talking to Trisha, as she’d expected, Roy moved past her grave (not without a sad smile) to the two directly behind hers- The Rockbells.

----

When Sarah first saw the black-haired man beside Edward, she was absolutely sure she’d seen him somewhere before. She definitely didn’t recognize the eye patch, but she’d been dead a while- anything could happen. What she did recognize was his remaining eye that matched the darkness of his hair. If only she could place the face to the eye…

It clicked when, despite having come to the graveyard for Ed’s sake, Roy took a detour from Trisha’s grave towards her own, two small bouquets in hand. He knelt down at the foot of her and Urey’s graves, setting the bouquets gently against either.

Urey, who had previously been zoned out atop Sarah’s grave, stood confusedly, “Sarah, do you know him?” He pointed to Roy.

Trisha spoke, equally perplexed, “He’s Edward’s fiancée.”

Urey looked surprised, “I didn’t know Ed swung that way.”

“No.” Sarah interjected, eliciting silence from the other two. She knelt down in front of Roy, who had yet to rise from his knees. He looked distantly at the stones, previously peaceful face transformed with new lines of remorse and mild terror. It was the terror in his eye that she recognized most of all. “Urey, your back was turned. You were folding bandages in our makeshift tent. You didn’t get a chance to turn around when he came in. I looked at him- that’s why he hesitated the second time.”

“The second time?” Trisha asked. Urey had gone still.

“…The second time he fired his gun.”

“Oh my God…” Trisha gasped.

“He’s the kid? Are you sure?” Urey rested his hand atop Sarah’s shoulder.

Her voice shook a bit, “I’m positive. Back then- his expression- you can’t replicate utter horror so accurately unless you felt it.”

It was true. The longer Roy sat crouched in front of the graves, the more distant and jarringly haunted his gaze became. He didn’t seem to really process the growing darkness around them, although everything around them seemed to grow tired and fall asleep, stilling with the lessening light.

The three ghosts stood in silence. Trisha looked very consternated, like her mind was waging a battle against its other half. Urey stood behind his wife, a spark of anger somewhere deep down unable to rise fully to the surface, as the man, hunched in front of them all, simply looked so pitiful it was hard for Winry’s father to feel much more than exhausted wariness. Had Roy shown up years previously, then he maybe could have let that spark of anger fester into a flame, but he’d been dead for upwards of two decades.

Sarah gazed into Roy’s distantly staring face, although the deepening dusk made it hard to discern sharp details on him.

She had also been angry, earlier on. She had been angry with Roy for taking them her away from her daughter, at the military for giving orders to execute neutrals, and with Urey and herself for leaving Winry and Pinako behind for that stupid war.

Sarah had seethed behind her phantasmal tears during her own funeral, unable to hold Winry as she cried her heart out, and for years afterward. Her anger had tempered slightly when Trisha joined them, and her heart’s anger was drowned out by sympathy. She watched when Trisha, panicked, had screamed wildly at her sons when Ed suggested they bring her back to life, and when she merely dropped to her knees in disbelief a few years later as a two-limbed Ed returned to her graveside, carried by a suit of armor whose voice resembled Al’s. Now, as Sarah sat directly in front of the man that killed her, she was surprised to find herself not feeling as angry as she had imagined she would. By this time, the sun had pretty much completely set, so only the large moon and speckles of stars made out any indication of the man’s features.

 It had to have been at least an hour since Ed had left. Roy was in the same position as he had been at the start, but Sarah and Urey were sitting atop their respective graves now. Trisha sat in between them. Ironically, the Elrics’ mother seemed the most uncomfortable about Roy.

“Edward has to have known that his fiancée is your executioner. I’m just saying, how much of a kindred spirit could he really be? He could have refused to kill you, but he didn’t!” Trisha vented.

“He was young back then, Trish. They probably threatened him with his own death. I saw soldiers on both sides, nobody really expects war to be just as horrifying as it really is. You can’t really use a decade-old war to define the life of someone who survived it.” Urey said back.

“I can be concerned for my son’s marital choices, though.” Trisha stood back up when a lantern’s light appeared over the crest of the hill that opened up into the graveyard. As the light grew closer, Sarah could see Ed’s features illuminated by the glow.

Ed reached Roy and crouched quietly beside him, setting down the lantern in front of them both. The sudden light seemed to shake Roy from his stupor a bit, as he turned his head, blinking, towards his fiancée.

“Dinner’s just about ready, and you’ve been here a while. I was getting worried.” Ed stated.

“I’m sorry,” Roy said back.

Ed shook his head, “Don’t be, I get it.”

It was Roy’s turn to shake his head, “You haven’t had to experience a battlefront like Ishbal. There wasn’t any reason for all the death- it just was. To keep living with yourself you had to strip off any kind of empathy or relativity. I had killed before the Rockbells, but they were both the first people not decidedly against us I was ordered to shoot. I argued with General Grand, because they weren’t just helping Ishballan soldiers, but our men as well. None of it was right, but their deaths were the least right- least justified.”

“Well, Mr. Fürher, sir,” Ed said whilst he stood up, Roy soon to follow, “Now you can make sure we don’t have another war like Ishbal.”

Before Ed could crouch back down to pick up the lantern, Roy pulled him into a tight hug, “Thanks.”

Ed smiled, wrapping his arms over Roy’s, “Whatever.”

After a second, Roy pulled himself away from his fiancée, picking up the discarded lantern and grabbing onto one of the blonde’s hands instead, “I guess we should go back before the food gets too cold. What is the food, anyways?”

Ed shrugged as they began to walk away from the graves, “I don’t know, but it smelled really good.”

Their voices grew incomprehensibly fainter they further from the graves they became. The land stood quiet and still behind them; not even an owl hooted its presence. Trisha, Sarah, and Urey remained how they had been, non-contributive to the stillness around them. Mildly wary and filled with new questions, they watched the lantern light bob around the hills and fade away into night.

[END]

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week Day 1

Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Realtionships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Alphonse Elric/ WInry Rockbell

Chapter: 1 (Fighting/ Making Up)- [Ed meets Roy's estranged mother and sisters]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3   FF.net

The only things Ed knew for certain about Roy’s family were thus:

1. He had two living parents, as well as two sisters: Elizabeth and Margery. His father ranked Lieutenant General, a lofty few ranks higher than Roy (a Brigadier General), and Margery, the eldest sister, worked as a history teacher back in their hometown.

2. A rather unnecessarily loud and violent fight between Roy and his father had resulted in the then teenager’s enlisting as a State Alchemist and quitting communication with his parents and siblings.

Ed had figured this much out about his fiancée about a year previously when the Flame Alchemist had drunkenly (due to a long bar night after a particularly arduous day at HQ) given Ed a long rant concerning the military higher-ups. While not the first of these kinds of intoxicated spiels, Roy rarely made it past the Major Generals before passing out, and, like other such rants, he barely remembered telling Ed these frustrations come morning time.

With this said, it took Ed a good minute to register who the three women standing at his doorstep were.

An older woman, black hair streaked with copious wisps of gray, tugged at her thick lace gloves that matched the off-white of her lace cardigan. Her sharp black eyes looked at Ed with mild interest. Behind her, another black-haired lady who appeared roughly Ed’s age held two leather bags, and a woman with lighter brown hair cut stylishly in a slick bob held one as well. Both young women had softer, gray-blue eyes.

The pristine folds and drapes of the ladies’ dresses made Ed feel a bit frumpy in his own catastrophe of a bun, baggy t-shirt, and sweatpants that he hadn’t changed out of since falling asleep the night previous.

“Can I help you?” Ed asked, at a loss of what these people would want from him, especially before noon.

The old woman spoke, her voice as sharp as her gaze, “Does Brigadier General Mustang live here?”

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Who wants to know?”

The woman’s gaze narrowed, not amused, “His mother.”

The blonde’s eyes widened slightly in realization, noticing now how much the old woman resembled his partner, “Yeah he lives here, but you missed him. He just left for work an hour ago. Come in, I’ll call and tell him you’re here.” Ed gestured inside, and the women filed in, “Hold on.”

With all three inside, Ed closed the door and strode into the bright kitchen. He spotted the remains of his breakfast sitting on the stove and made a mental note to clean up a bit after his call.

Quickly dialing Roy’s office number, Riza answered after three rings, “General Mustang’s office”.

“Riza, hi, it’s Ed. I need to talk to Roy, like, now.”

“O-okay, he’s not doing anything right now. Is everything alright?” came her concerned reply.

“I hope.” Ed said before muffled voices rumbled from the line, and a transferal ‘click’ switched the phone to the one atop Roy’s desk.

“Ed, what happened?” Roy’s voice was equally as concerned as his Lieutenant’s.

“Your mom and, I’m guessing, your sisters are here.”

The phone was so quiet that Ed worried for a minute that Roy had hung up on him, “Roy?”

A long sigh came as a reply, followed by an utterly defeated, “I’ll get home as soon as I can. If they ask anything just tell them the truth. Just as a warning, they don’t know I date men.”

The phone clicked off before Ed could respond. He mumbled, “Thanks for the heads up,” before placing the phone back in its place and returning to the three ladies, who were still standing in the entryway. “He should be back as soon as possible, so make yourselves at home. Just put your bags anywhere. I’m Ed, by the way.”

Roy’s mother followed Ed back into the kitchen while the two younger ladies rid themselves of their purses. “May I?” she asked with a gesture to one of the oranges piled into the wooden fruit bowl on the counter.

Ed shrugged, “Help yourself”.

She thanked him, grabbing a large orange and peeling it tenderly (she was still wearing her lace gloves) as she introduced herself, “My name is Mary, but please call me Mrs. Mustang. My two daughters are Elizabeth and Margery.” Mary motioned to the two women who had just sat at Ed’s and Roy’s small kitchen table. Based on Mary’s gestures, the woman with the bobbed hair and loose-cut, baby blue dress was Margery, and the lady currently braiding her long black hair over her gingham shoulder was Elizabeth. Ed noted a rough scar that stretched from Elizabeth’s left cheek back near her ear as she brushed her hair back.

“Nice to meet y’all. Roy doesn’t talk much about his life pre-military, so I’ve been curious.” Ed leaned casually against the counter opposite the table, and Mary moved to sit with her daughters.

Margery made a vague gesture with her hand about the table, “Well, here we are.”

Elizabeth giggled a bit, hands wringing viciously within themselves on the pink fabric of her lap, “So you and Roy are… roommates?”

Ed looked to the side with a grin, “Yeah, something like that. What’s brought on this visit, anyways? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Mary sighed, “Not at all. Elizabeth, would you care to elaborate?”

The youngest sister flushed, her flounced skirt a twisted mess in her hands at this point, “Oh-uh, well, I’m getting married this fall, and I wanted to personally invite Roy, because he deserves to at least know about it. I had to find him, though so… I-uh, kind of used Father’s military badge to sift through communication records. I saw his numbers, but I also saw that there were a lot of calls to an automail clinic in Resembool…” Elizabeth’s words faded to mumbles, her face as red as a beet.

Margery picked up for her, “Lizzie assumed the worst, and we were on the train to Central the next morning. Judging by your arm, though, I assume you’re the one who made all of those calls?”

“…Oh.” Ed was at a momentary loss for words. “… Yeah, my brother’s girlfriend is my mechanic- we grew up in Resembool.” That’s what all of this was about? The Mustang women all looked at Ed, dumbfounded when he broke down into a fit of giggles. It just seemed- in that very moment- like one of those moments in the radio-show dramas Ed had caught Roy listening to when he thought Ed wasn’t home. Of fucking course, Roy would have some uppity family that just needed to come see their dear estranged brother over a tragic misunderstanding. It was just so…HIM. “Fuck, this is priceless.”

Elizabeth, still a lovely shade of red, dragged her hands down her face warily with a groan, “I feel so stupid now, how am I supposed to explain this to Roy?”

Ed grinned through his giggles, “Just tell him what you told me, he’ll understand your stress. I’m guessing you don’t know, but Roy’s also planning a wedding.”

Elizabeth and Mary both yelled a collective, “What?!”, whilst Margery boredly inspected a chip in her pearlescent fingernail polish.

“Mother, Lizzie, you aren’t blind are you?” She asked with a hint of incredulousness in her bored tone, not taking her eyes from her spindly fingers (the narrowness of which she shared with her brother). She made the vaguest of gestures with her head in the direction of Ed, he guessed at the engagement band plainly visible on his non-metal hand.

“Margery, get rid of that tone this instant!” Mary snapped. Her lacy hand was rapidly tapping on the edge of the table so hard that the noise was plainly audible.

“Why should I?” Margery snapped right back, standing with a suddenness that sent her chair loudly back a foot. She turned from the group, muttering her desire for a smoke as she passed Ed to the hallway. After a short rummage, the front door clicked open. However, when Ed expected to hear it shut, all he heard was silence.

Elizabeth seemed to pick up on the inconsistency as well, as she followed Ed to the foyer to inspect. Margery was still standing by the cluster of purses, a cigarette pack clutched in her hand with a matchbox, a mix of a glare and surprise across her face. Her attention was focused towards the open door, where Roy currently stood, fingers still grazing the door handle. His attention was equally focused on his sibling as hers was on him.

Just as Margery turned her nose with a huff and pushed her way past a still dazed Roy, cigarettes in hand, Elizabeth squealed and nearly jumped on her brother. Her skirt fanned out around the two, as the force of her hug sent she and Roy in a small spin.

“Roy, it’s been so long- you can’t imagine how much I’ve missed- What happened to your eye?! You’re old! And what’s this about you being engaged and not calling me? You know-“ Elizabeth quieted abruptly when, with an arm around the young lady’s shoulders and another atop her head, Roy began to laugh. “What’re you laughing about?”

Roy let go of his sister, giving her cheek a joking poke and still laughing, “No clue.” He responded dismissively, “You haven’t changed, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth scoffed, “You haven’t seen me since I was nine!”

Roy held up his hands in surrender, “That’s not to say I’ve changed at all since I was eighteen.”

“Of course you have! We both have!” The youngest Mustang sibling smacked her bother softly on the arm.

Roy moved further into the house, taking off his coat and still smiling at Elizabeth, “If you say so.”

She giggled, and Roy finally looked from his sister to Ed. The blonde noticed in his periphery that Mary had not congregated to the entrance of the foyer like the rest.

“Why don’t we move this into the living room? Bugs will get in if the door stays open.” Ed commented. Elizabeth agreed, already heading back to the kitchen and through the next door, as instructed. Roy soon followed, but not without a quick kiss to Ed’s amused smile first. Ed slid his hand into Roy’s, meaning to just give his hand a reassuring squeeze. Roy, however, grabbed fully onto Ed’s hand, keeping his skin in contact with Ed as the couple made their way to their living room as well.

He noticed a lack of Roy’s mother but soon found her standing by the couch with Elizabeth. Through the window, the blue of Margery’s dress moved amongst the many flowers that decorated the backyard.

Ed slipped his hand from Roy’s before the two ladies looked over. Mary stepped forward, face seemingly blank of emotion. Even though she was considerably shorter than her son, she was still able to clip him upside the head with her right hand, demonstrating considerable force. “Roy Mustang, I cannot believe you!” She angrily scolded over his yelp of surprised pain.  

“What?” He exasperatedly asked.

“Don’t ‘what’ me, mister! I haven’t spent twenty years worrying about you- only knowing you were alive through newspaper articles to be sassed at!”

“Well, I was clearly told the next time I stepped foot in the manor that I’d be shot, so what exactly was I supposed to do?” Roy retorted back.

Mary looked taken aback, “And when were you ever one to listen to your father’s blind threats?”

“I’d never been threatened with my life before, Mom.” Roy crossed his arms.

Mary seemed not to acknowledge her son’s comment, moving on to her next point of contention, “And what’s this about you getting engaged? That never appeared in the papers! Not to mention that you have some roommate when you’re about to be married- it’s totally careless!”

Roy bristled, “That ‘some roommate’s’ name is Ed, and it’s him that I’m engaged to, thank you!”

Ed blushed, looking to the side a bit when Mary and Elizabeth turned their surprised eyes directly upon him. “U-um, newspaper companies aren’t incredibly supportive of guys tying the knot with each other, so we decided not to inform the media. It would have been a threat to our careers as State Alchemists.” Ed explained, finding the wallpaper beside him incredibly fascinating to look at at that moment.

“I-“ Mary looked back at Roy, anger seemingly burnt out into exasperation. “I didn’t know you… you…”

Roy sighed, his temper gone as well, “There was no way you could have known I’m gay, Mom. I didn’t even know until I left for the military. Its one of the reasons I never came back.”

“Roy, you know I could never be mad at you for that.” Mary stepped close to her son, resting the hand that had previously hit him reassuringly on his arm. “I know. It’s not you I was worried about.” Roy replied.

Ed eyed Elizabeth, finding her watching the scene unashamedly, much like Ed had been doing as well. She looked over at him, noticing his confusion regarding Roy’s dismissive comment, and mouthed ‘father’. Ed nodded his understanding, moving to take a seat with Elizabeth on the couch.

There was a short silence during which Margery stalked into the room from the garden, silently leaning against the kitchen doorframe. The silence was interrupted by Mary’s blunt, “Tell me what happened to your eye.”

Roy smiled ruefully, sitting on the arm of the sofa nearest Ed, “I was shot in the face. Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?” Elizabeth itched her cheek, looking at her brother with sad eyes. Ed could tell there was a piece of the narrative he wasn’t informed of.

Mary looked horrified, “Was it during that horrid affair with Fürher Bradley? It was all the papers could talk about for weeks! The assassination, and that young Elric boy going missing.”

“Exactly then!” Roy answered, smirking at Ed, “But the ‘young Elric boy’ was found, so I guess it wasn’t all that horrid.”

“’Young Elric boy’ my ass,” Ed mumbled, crossing his arms and lightly head-butting Roy in the arm. His fiancée laughed, whilst Mary gasped.

“Oh my, you’re Ed Elric? I didn’t recognize you from the papers!”

Ed waved her surprise off dismissively, “I was fifteen, I wouldn’t recognize a picture of me then if I didn’t know myself.”

“Hold on.” Roy interjected, concerned. “Not to sound unwelcoming, but why are you all here in the first place? Did something happen at home?”

Everybody in the room turned to Elizabeth, whose face flushed scarlet again, “Well…” She explained what she had told Edward, this time without Margery’s aid. By the end of her story, Margery had migrated to her sister’s end of the couch, yet to cast a sidelong glance at Roy.

“… And, well, now we know that the automail isn’t yours, so the whole trip could have been much less sudden if I hadn’t been so nosy. You’re invited to the wedding, anyway.” Elizabeth finished. “You know my fiancée, too. It’s Patrick Crowley- the boy I was best friends with as a little girl.”

“I remember Patrick, he was there the last night I stayed over.” Roy’s eyes darted to the side of Elizabeth’s face quickly. The young lady covered her scar with her hand as he looked.

“Yes, he was! He came to return some socks that I’d left at his mom’s house the day before. We’d gone swimming in his little stream.” Elizabeth recalled, “I was going to stay the night, but I left early because you’d returned from the front.”

“You shouldn’t have come back.” Margery said. Mary shrieked her disapproval, whilst Elizabeth looked stunned.

“He was eighteen and traumatized!” Elizabeth said softly.

Margery’s eyes gleamed with aggression, “You were nine and just wanted to wake your brother up! Whose fault is it?”

Ed had been confused before, but when Elizabeth defensively pulled her hair over the scar on her face, he began to understand.

“It’s been two decades, get over it!” Elizabeth shouted.

“Two decades and the least Roy could do was apologize!” The elder sister shouted back. Mary looked like she wanted to cry.

“How exactly do I apologize when my own father won’t let me into the house without a firearm trained at my head?” Roy was shouting too. He looked at Elizabeth, “Lizzy, it was an accident. I love you and the event has been keeping me up at night for more than half of my life. I’m sorry.”

Margery rolled her eyes, “Well isn’t that just the most sincere apology I’ve ever heard.”

“You put me on the spot!”

Mary, seemingly unable to stand the anger in the room, grabbed Ed by the arm and pulled him off of the couch, “You three- sort this out without killing each other. I can’t stand to see you fight after so long apart! Edward, you’re coming with me.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ed yelped as he was dragged, rather violently, from the room. “Mrs. Mustang, why don’t we go to the garden?”

Mary stopped her stomping through the kitchen, looking back at Ed, “Yes, please. I’d like you to tell me about yourself since you plan on marrying my son.” “Yeah, sure.” Ed replied rather inarticulately.

He led Mary out the front door and around the side of the house, into the large backyard. The garden lay at the back end of the yard, and during the current spring season was flourishing with flowers he and Winry had planted during her last visit. A small bench sat under an old tree, directly in the noontime shade. They sat there.

Mary took a deep breath, sighing it out as if she hadn’t exhaled all day, “What a mess. Your garden is beautiful.”

Ed rubbed his neck, mentally counting up the weeds that needed to be uprooted amongst the daffodils, “We keep it up when we can. Roy’s mentioned that you’re big on gardening.”

Mary smiled, most likely picturing her own flower patch, “I am. Does your mother garden?”

Ed laughed, “Mom couldn’t keep a plant alive for the life of her. She liked knitting kinda stuff.”

Mary seemed to pick up on the past tense, and changed the subject, “So Resembool- that’s a far step from Central. What made you move?”

“Oh, I’m a State Alchemist, but it’s more research-type work than what Roy does.” Ed tried to ignore the ‘thump’ that sounded a ton like a book hitting a wall from inside the house, instead plowing forward, “Yeah, living in Resembool was nice as a kid, but it’s too still for me now. Not enough action.”

Mary nodded, and a short silence fell over the two. Ed broke it tentatively, “Did… Roy hurt his sister?”

Roy’s mother took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose, “It was an accident like Roy said back in the living room. He had left the battlefront only days before returning home, and as you can guess he was pretty shaken up. His father didn’t want him coming back, as their fight was still ongoing, but one look at Roy changed his mind. He was haunted and needed a familiar place. “He was overjoyed to be back. I’d never seen him so eager to hug his sisters- Elizabeth especially. You know, he and Lizzy were always very close, despite being the furthest part age-wise. She was quite a tomboy, and Roy was always willing to help her dig up worms and such. “Roy fell asleep sometime in the late afternoon, and I had told Margery and Elizabeth to let him rest, but I guess Elizabeth wanted to play with him. I… I should have known, with a General as a husband, that young veterans tend to keep firearms near them while they sleep.” Mary paused, looking at her gloved hands as she finished her story, “He ran the second Elizabeth was carted into the ambulance. All I found was a note of apology on his pillow the next day.”

“You didn’t look for him?” Ed asked. Mary’s story had proven Ed’s previous theory, but he was still slightly dumbfounded.

“How? George, my husband, wanted nothing to do with him after that, and I didn’t know anybody who would know where he’d go. Later, of course, he began appearing in the papers as some kind of conniving rank climber.” Mary’s tone had turned more annoyed than its previous sad.

Ed nodded, “He really made a name for himself back then. Too bad now all they call him is ‘the one who killed Bradley’. A fucking waste of effort.”

Mary looked at Ed curiously, “You were a State Alchemist back then too.”

Ed shrugged, “Yeah, I was. That’s how I met Roy- he was my Commanding Officer when I was a teenager.”

“You were a teenager when you disappeared, and my son was almost thirty, isn’t that right?” Mary stated, more than asked.

“Yeah,” he said quickly. While their age difference didn’t particularly matter to Ed, Roy had been disturbed about that aspect of their relationship in the beginning. That issue had required various very carefully worded (as well as very blunt, Ed-style) conversations.

“Edward, you haven’t given me any reason to doubt you, but you have to see how that looks to a mother.”

“I-yeah, I know how it looks. My little brother had a really long and unnecessary…talk… with us when I told him.” Ed replied, remembering how Al had put on his most parently expression, and Roy had left the room an hour later mildly terrified.

“Your little brother gave you the ‘marrying someone older’ talk?” Mary asked in disbelief, “it would make more sense for you to give him the dating talk.” “That’s what I told him!” Ed exclaimed.

Mary laughed. It was a quiet, fluttery sort of laugh, but it sounded nice after the tension Ed had felt since the arrival of Roy’s female family members.

A thought flashed into Ed’s head, “Why didn’t the Lieutenant General come with you guys, by the way?”

Mary waved her hand absently, “You answered your own question. He’s not in a position to leave work at the drop of a hat.”

At that moment, the back door slammed open and Elizabeth popped her head out, “Come in, we’ve reached a truce!”

“After how much property damage?” Mary mumbled. Ed snorted, not expecting such a dry comment from the dainty woman. They stood and moved back into the house. Ed was a bit wary to see the state of his living room but was surprised to find it generally in order, save for a few books lying haphazardly open against walls. Roy and Margery were sitting beside each other not entirely comfortably, well-wiped eyes and resigned looks on both siblings’ faces.

“Oh good, you didn’t kill each other.” Ed commented, picking up a few of the books, folding their pages back to normalcy, and returning them to their respective tables.

“Just each other’s pride.” Elizabeth added. Margery grumbled what might have been a half-assed retort had she spoke loud enough to be heard.

Roy stood decisively, making his way towards the phone and addressing his mother, “Stay for lunch, we can catch up a bit.”

Mary smiled, “That’s a lovely idea. Can you cook?”

“He can’t for shit- I’ll do it.” Ed volunteered.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Ed, I’d like to help.” Margery offered. Ed suspected that she probably just wanted to have time away from her brother to reflect on the new progressions in their broken relationship. He was also, in a way, separating from the two more vibrant women in order to mentally prep for the inevitable onslaught of questions and talks in his near future, not to mention questions about the wedding, and if they could make it to either considering both were taking place so soon to each other.

“Sure, knock yourself out.” He replied. As the eldest sister migrated to the kitchen, and the two other ladies moved to the small dining room beside it, Roy pulled Ed aside slightly.

His fiancée sighed, leaning against Ed a bit, “I’m sorry you’ve been kind of in the middle of all of this.”

Ed shook his head, “Don’t be- it’s not your fault. We’ll talk about everything tonight, ‘kay?” He patted Roy on the cheek after seeing the small smile and affirmative ‘okay’, and went to join Margery in the kitchen.

While Ed would never have guessed an hour ago that he’d be cooking lunch for his future in-laws at that moment, he was content for the time to get to know these women and learn more about Roy that way. They would, indeed, have to have a talk about not being secretive probably. After all, it was occupational necessity that Roy know all of Ed’s childhood- it’s hardly fair that Ed not receive some payback (even if during his teen years, both Ed and Roy could not have guessed they’d end up engaged).

Ed smiled a bit as he heard Roy’s laughter from the dining room, following Elizabeth’s chirpy voice. It was a big step- reconciliation. But it was one Ed was willing to stand by Roy through.

Because that’s what love is, really.

~END~

[scribblescrabblebabble]

I wrote this a few years ago as a totally self- indulgent fic.

*CROSSPOSTED ON FANFIC.NET UNDER THE SAME TITLE*

Fandom: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST

Rating: T+

Ships: RoyEd & AlWin

Universe: Post-2003 & Post-Conqueror of Shamballa

Blurb: (HUGHES LIVES/ PAST!MPREG AU) “"A mother was taken from two loving sons, who paid dearly for her return. They knew the costs, but not to its full extent once the blessings of a mother have been felt by the eldest could he and his brother be granted the mother that they lost.“ ‘And with this proclamation ringing in her ears, Trisha Elric awoke.”