KissMeDeadlyT-T: Happy birthday, daaaaaarlin'!
So, yup, this is VERY LATE a birthday present for Loreyulia, since I can't give her a real present due to the whole fact we live in separate countries and all. Ah, and it'll be broken into two parts because I want to at least get SOMETHING up before the end of September.
BTW, she's totally awesome, and she's the Roy to my Edward, and she has a fic called 'Leather Pants' that each and every single one of you should read 'cause it's awesome. She's actually a pretty fantastic author, so if you guys are interested, check my Roy-baby out. ;3
Sorry if there are any errors; I did my best to fix them all but I'm sure I missed some. I don't own FMA, as usual, and I don't make any money from this which sucks 'cause imagine if I made money from every Roy/Ed thing I wrote I'd be a frickin' billionaire by now. :'(
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Just when Edward thought that his day couldn't get any worse, it did.
It was bad enough that he'd woken up with a brutal migraine that didn't seem to go away no matter what he did. Today was February third, his birthday; today should have been a good day. Birthdays were never really important in the past, but all of that was over now, and he and Alphonse had made the promise that they would treat each special day and holiday with extra enthusiasm since they'd missed so many of them during their typhoon of a childhood. After waking up with a pounding pain in the crown of his head, he'd rolled out of the guest bed at Winry and Alphonse's house to frigid air and discovered that the heater was broken in the middle of winter— and winters in Risembool were nothing to laugh at.
He'd been looking forward to getting back to Central, where they were having a relatively warm winter, with little to no snow and mostly rain. Now, an assistant was walking down the aisles of the rocking train, giving sympathetic looks and informing the passengers that the train was to be delayed due to the storm coming into Central. They were stopped in the middle of nowhere, wind howling and swaying the train, sheets of rain pelting the windows, thunder cracking and lightning flashing, and Ed thought miserably that it was just his luck that the universe still hated him, even after all these years.
Twenty-two years of the same bullshit. Can't I get a break?
Lightning cracked and hit the ground barely fifty metres from the train, sending an ear-splitting round of thunder booming through the air. Edward's migraine cried out in agony.
Apparently not.
Sighing, he raised his head away from where it was pressed against the window and glanced up at the clock at the front of the car. It was just about six-thirty. They were supposed to arrive in Central at seven, and they were still a good two hours away. He released another heavy sigh and let his head thunk painfully onto the window pane. Perfect.
He wondered if Roy would wait. His heart squeezed pathetically in his chest, and guilt prickled in his gut; he was supposed to pick him up when his train got there, but now Ed was stuck in this mess, and he obviously wasn't going to be on time. He knew there was no sense feeling guilty, since it really couldn't be helped, but he still felt irrationally bad about it. He let his eyes slide shut and forced all negative thoughts out of his head, focusing on the fact that sooner or later, he was going to see Roy, and that he just needed to bear with this bullshit until that time came.
Eventually, the train lurched, and a pleasant female voice told them through the intercom that the storm had cleared up enough for them to start moving again. There was a collective sigh of relief and Ed even heard a few cheers, but he was too exhausted and miserable to manage much other than a sigh and a muttered, "Finally."
He must have drifted off, then, because the next time he opened his eyes, the lights of Central were in the near distance and approaching fast. All around him, people were gathering their carry-ons, hushing their children, bustling about in preparation for arrival. He straightened, grimacing slightly at the heavy feeling in his throbbing head, and clutched his suitcase in his hand, fingers tightening and untightening anxiously. He couldn't wait to get off this damned train, already. He waited as patiently as he could manage, foot tapping incessantly against the floor, until he felt the train's speed slow down, and vaguely he heard that same voice chirping that they had arrived in Central. His shoulders relaxed slightly and he sighed again. He just wanted to go home.
As the train slowed to a stop in the station, Ed scanned the crowd, but he couldn't spot Roy. He supposed he must have just gone home; it was a whole two hours later than he was supposed to arrive, and though Roy was patient, Edward couldn't imagine he was that patient. He'd just walk, then. It wasn't that far, and he could probably use the time to try to get himself into a good mood before seeing Roy.
He stood up and followed the rest of the crowd as they filing out of the train. Impatience made his temper a bit shorter than usual and he grit his teeth with multiple 'excuse me's as he shoved his way out of the lingering throngs of people milling about. Once he was finally in a more-or-less open space, with only the occasional rushing person like himself, he let himself take a breath to calm down. One would think that after all of this time, he'd be able to stand crowds, but they still made him want to bash his head against the nearest wall. With another sigh, he hurried out of the station, eager to leave the horde of people behind and just get home already.
His already-foul mood dropped when he stepped down the first few concrete stairs and saw that it was pouring. For a moment, he stood there, letting the rain soak through his clothes, allowing himself a moment to feel completely miserable. He almost wanted snow now. At least it wouldn't immediately drench him. Burying any lingering negative thoughts in the back of his mind, he trudged down the last few stairs and took a right onto the sidewalk that would eventually lead to Roy's house. There were puddles everywhere, occasional patches of slushy snow that he carefully avoided, and the wind that made the rain pelt violently against his numbing face was nothing short of glacial. Grimacing, he tugged the collar of his coat up higher, ducking his head against the storm as he trekked on.
His ears were just about numb when he heard someone calling his name. He was reluctant to stop— he just wanted to get out of the cold, damn it— he slowly turned around. The cold was attacking the automail ports on his leg, and it was getting hard to stand, but he managed it and squinted back into the storm. He could just make out a blurry figure running towards him. The train station was a dim glow in the near distance and the faint light from it helped Ed's eyes focus, and instantly, a warm feeling swept through him. An involuntary smile curved his lips.
He didn't leave!
"I thought you went home," he yelled over the howling wind.
"Of course I didn't," Roy replied somewhat breathlessly as he slowed to a stop in front of Ed. He lifted his hands, which were curled around two steaming cups, and held one out. Ed immediately took it, warmth seeping into his numb hands, a sigh of relief escaping him. "I just ran to the café to grab a coffee and I heard the train pull in," Roy explained. "By the time I got to the station, you weren't there." He grinned, and Ed found himself grinning back, dropping his suitcase and launching himself into Roy's arms, coldness and bad mood forgotten just like that. "Come on, Ed," Roy murmured into his ear, smiling, "you really think I'd leave without you?"
"I just thought you'd be tired or something," Ed admitted.
"You've been gone for two weeks," Roy said softly. "There's no way I'd leave the station without you."
Ed's cheeks flushed, but it wasn't from the frigidness of the storm. In fact, he'd completely forgotten about that, and neither of them seemed too bothered about the fact that their clothes were drenched and hair plastered to their heads. After a quick glance around, Ed stood on his toes and pulled Roy down for a quick kiss, smiling again when his tummy fluttered pleasantly and warmth flooded his veins again.
"Oh, by the way," Roy murmured against his lips, smiling softly, "happy birthday."
Ed grinned. "Thanks."
There was a chilly grip tugging at his left hand. "Come on," Roy said, leading him back towards the station. "I'm parked over in the parking lot."
The walk to the car and the drive back to their house was relatively uneventful. The vents blasted heat at Ed's frozen, damp cheeks, a sweet relief that had him relaxing back into the familiar cloth seats. Their fingers intertwined on the glove compartment, and that somehow made Ed feel even warmer inside than the heat vents. Despite his shitty day, he couldn't keep a smile off of his face.
"How was your trip?" Roy asked, and Ed's heart fluttered as Roy's thumb smoothed over his knuckles. He let out a short laugh.
"It was good, up until today." He suddenly remembered something, and laughed again. "Okay, so, on Saturday, Winry and Al decided to surprise me with a cake. We were just doing a birthday dinner since I had to leave today and it would have been pointless. Anyway, Winry and I were sitting there waiting for Al 'cause he went to get the cake and when he walked out of the kitchen—" He snickered. "He frickin' tripped over Den and landed facefirst in the cake! I swear I haven't laughed so hard in forever!"
Roy laughed and shot him a sidelong grin. "Sounds to me like a case of the famous Elric elegance."
"Pretty much."
Roy seemed to hesitate, then, before finally asking, "Did you visit your parents' graves?"
Ed's smile wavered. He looked down at his lap, chewing on his lip, feeling that sinking weight of sadness settle down in his chest again. He'd spent most of his last night in Risembool at the graveyard with Den, sitting in front of their tombstones—his mother's starting to crumble with age, and Hohenheim's newly erected slab next to it. They were finally together again, and it left a bittersweet tang in Ed's mouth, one that made his heart throb in simultaneous sadness and joy.
"Yeah," he eventually answered, snapping out of his memories. "I was there for a while last night."
"That's good," Roy murmured. "I'm sorry for bringing it up." His thumb swept softly over Ed's knuckles again, and Ed felt a new smile tugging at his lips.
"It's fine." He flushed slightly and turned to look out the window. "I'm glad they're together, wherever they are. It's just…" He fidgeted a bit, staring at one smudge on the window, and mumbled, "I kinda wish they could have at least lived to see… me… like this." His fingers squeezed slightly around Roy's. "You know?"
Roy's lips quirked up. "Is it so hard to admit you're completely enamoured with me?"
Ed's cheeks flared hotly and he looked out the window again. "Shut up," he muttered, but he couldn't quite stay angry when Roy's fingers squeezed his back and that rarely-seen smile blazed in the corner of his eye.
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By the time Roy slowed the car to a stop in front of his house, Ed was in a decidedly better mood than he had been earlier. Sure, his clothes were still wet, and they still made him feel a chill even though the car had long since heated up, but Roy's presence made it not so bad. He was hungry, though, and his stomach groaned as if on cue.
Roy raised his eyebrows, turning off the ignition. "Hungry?" he asked.
"Starving," Ed replied, opening his car door. He was instantly greeted with a frigid sheet of wet snow and as if on automatic, his body began shivering and his teeth chattered painfully together. He felt Roy's hand on his back, urging him forward, and they hurried up the pathway to the front door together, eager to escape the cold blasts of wind slapping their hair and coats around their bodies. Roy's fingers stumbled with the keys for a moment, too cold to grasp them properly, until he finally let out a particularly foul curse and managed to slide it into the lock and swing the door open. They all but fell inside, Ed kicking the door shut behind him and dulling the bite and howl of the storm. For a moment, they stood there in the foyer, dripping wet and shivering, until they decided it'd be a good idea to move so that they didn't freeze on the spot.
"Damn," Roy muttered, peeling off his drenched coat. "I hate winters like these. Why can't it just snow?"
"Fuckin' tell me about it," Ed grumbled in agreement. He handed his dripping coat to Roy's outstretched hand before reaching back to wring some water out of his ponytail. It splattered onto the entrance carpet, but it was already a soaking wet mess, so neither of them paid it much attention.
"I'm going to go throw these in the dryer. If you want to bring your suitcase upstairs and change, I'll throw that stuff in too." Roy nodded towards the rest of Ed's wet clothes.
Ed headed to the stairs. "Want me to grab you some clothes or something?"
"Don't worry about it," Roy replied, with a smirk that made Ed roll his eyes and smile at the same time.
"Right, sorry, I forgot you like to walk around naked."
"Of course you forgot. Your memory's so short, I can't really blame you."
Ed shot a warning glare but didn't take the bait. "It's my birthday," he sniffed indignantly. "The least you could do is refrain from making short jokes."
Roy chuckled and planted a chaste kiss on his lips as he strolled past him towards the laundry room. "Where's the fun in that?" he called back with a roguish grin that made Ed unable to stay mad.
With a sigh, Ed rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs, dragging his suitcase behind him and leaving drops of water littering the carpet stairs. As he walked up the last stair and entered the simple second floor— a hallway, one door leading to the bathroom and another leading to his and Roy's bedroom—a sudden sense of calmness washed over him. He could easily forget about how shitty his day had been because of this— because he was home, finally. It brought so much relief and bliss that he had to stop and lean against the wall for a moment, wondering if it was real or if he'd wake up on the still-stalled train with that pounding migraine that had seemed to dissipate every time Roy had smiled or kissed him. Then, he flushed and felt like the sap he always accused his lover of being, and continued down towards their bedroom.
As soon as he walked in, he made a beeline towards the bed and flopped down face-first onto it, uncaring of his wet clothes and exhaustion and everything because damn, he'd missed this bed. He allowed himself a few moments of relaxing until his stomach began growling, reminding him he still had to eat dinner before he was allowed to sleep. Sighing, he pushed himself up. His eyes passed over his dresser and drifted towards Roy's closet.
Screw it. I've been wearing my own clothes for weeks now. He tended to snag Roy's bigger clothes a lot, since they were comfy and held the man's scent, and that was yet another thing he'd missed during his trip to see his brother and Winry. Grinning slightly, he stood up, shucking off his wet clothes along the way, and grabbed the first things he saw; a soft gray T-shirt and a too-big pair of black sweats.
Once he was dressed, he headed back downstairs, feeling more tranquil than ever. "Roy?" he called out when he neared the last few steps. "Want me to go chuck these in the dryer and—" He cut himself off with a squeak and nearly tripped down the last few stairs as Roy suddenly popped out from the hall beside the steps. He barely caught himself on the railing. Clutching his damp clothes to his chest, he blurted, "What the hell, Roy! Give me some damn warning!"
"Sorry," Roy replied, but judging from his smirk, he wasn't really. He took the clothes from Ed's arms, and Ed tried very hard to pretend that Roy wasn't naked save for his underwear. He silently cursed his lover's tendency to walk around like this— especially right now, after weeks of being away from him. Ed was fairly sure the only reason he didn't drag Roy up to their bed was because he was too exhausted to do so and because he really genuinely wanted to eat before they did anything else.
"I'm just making dinner," Roy was saying, "so go relax in the living room, alright?"
Ed stared after him as he took off down the hall to the laundry room again. "What are you making?" he asked, inching curiously closer to the kitchen. It smelled really good and his stomach was grumbling again.
"It's a surprise," Roy called back from the laundry room. Ed heard a slam as the dryer shut and then the familiar hum of it starting up. Before he could reach the kitchen and continue snooping, Roy was there, steering him towards the adjacent living room. Ed looked up at him with a pout, but all he received in response was a grin.
"Relax. I promise you'll like it."
Ed couldn't really argue; Roy was an excellent cook, and he was hungry enough that he'd probably eat bugs at this point. With a shrug, he walked into the living room. He saw that his book was still open where he'd left it on the bay window seat weeks ago and grinned. "Have you cleaned since I left?"
"Not really," Roy responded distractedly from the kitchen. "I've been working and otherwise too lazy to care."
Ed's grin widened. "Figures," he mumbled, grabbing the book and flopping down in front of the fireplace. "Been using the fireplace?" he asked, eyeing the hearth.
He didn't have to look back to see Roy's grin in response. "Every night."
"Of course." Ed poked at it with the iron rod hanging next to the fireplace. He'd never been great at lighting it, but he was rather in the mood for a fire. He glanced sheepishly to the kitchen. "Hey, Roy?"
"Hmm?"
"I know you're busy, but…"
"You want a fire?"
"Kinda."
"One sec." Roy finished up whatever he was doing at the far counter, sprinkling some sort of spice into the metal pot on the stovetop. "Would you grab one of my gloves?"
"Where are they?"
"In my desk."
"'Kay." He pushed himself up and wandered over, going through a couple drawers before finally finding them amongst a clutter of pens and papers. By the time he walked back to the fireplace, Roy was already there, waiting, and Ed realized he was wearing an apron. An involuntary snicker escaped him.
Roy frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," Ed fibbed, still grinning. "You're cute."
"It's the apron, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't want to burn myself," Roy said defensively, once again reminding Ed that he was mostly naked. Ed bit his lip and forced himself not to stare, knowing that if he did he'd probably just drive himself crazy.
"You could wear some clothes," he suggested dryly, only half-sarcastic as he handed Roy the glove.
Roy slid it on. "I could," he agreed.
"…Maybe you should."
"Why, Edward," Roy said in an affronted voice. "I thought you enjoyed seeing me naked?"
Ed scowled and swatted his arm, his cheeks warming slightly. "Of course I do," he muttered. "I just enjoy it too much."
Instead of a response, he received a smirk and another chaste kiss to the lips. He pressed forward, attempting to make this one last and not leave him frustrated like the other ones, but Roy grinned and pulled back before he could. Ed glared.
"Seriously, do you think this is funny? It's been forever and you're teasing me like this." His voice took on a pouting edge, but he didn't care.
"Have some patience, Ed," Roy replied smoothly. "The night is still young."
"It's eleven-thirty, you shit-head."
"Minor details," said Roy with a wave of his hand.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Just light the damn fire."
One snap and another quick kiss later, Roy was bustling around the kitchen again, and Ed sat curled up in front of the roaring fire. The heat was a welcoming embrace from the cold. Warmth slowly seeped past his damp, cold skin, making his eyelids feel heavy and sluggish. He forced himself to stay awake by staring hard into the flickering blue and orange flames, idly brushing his damp hair with his fingers, mind wandering between thoughts until they were made vague by his own inability to find words to express them. He didn't know how long he sat there staring blindly at the fire, but the next thing he knew, Roy was kneeling next to him, shaking his shoulder. He was saying something. Ed didn't come out of his daze quickly enough to catch it.
He blankly looked up at his lover. "What?" he said, lost.
Roy chuckled. "You're really tired, aren't you?"
"Eh? Oh." Ed rubbed at his eyes, blinking quickly to try and wake himself up. "Just a bit."
"Do you want to go the bed after dinner? I don't mind."
"No," Ed muttered. He reached back to pull Roy into a backwards hug. "I want to stay up. I haven't seen you in too long. I miss you."
"I missed you too, but you look like you might pass out. There's always tomorrow."
"No," Ed repeated stubbornly. "I'm staying up."
"Okay then." Roy was clearly amused. "Well, dinner's ready." He held out a bowl, which Ed took as Roy settled down beside him with his own bowl. As soon as Ed saw what it was, he grinned widely. It was so simple, but somehow, it made the warmth in his tummy expand and he couldn't find it in himself to wipe the stupid smile off of his face.
"Stew," he laughed. "I should have guessed. Thanks."
Roy smiled softly, obviously pleased with the reaction. "Don't mention it."
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KissMeDeadlyT-T: Yeah, it was a shitty place to cut it off. I agree. Sorry about that.
Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but since I'm busy with senior year and all that it might be later than I'd like.
Thanks for reading, and if you want, leave a review! I don't bite, much.
Again, happy late birthday, Loreyulia, and sorry this took so damn long! (And that the rest of it will probably take the same amount of time!)