Summary: The evening before his big wedding, Ed seeks the advice of a male role model. Too bad the only male he could somewhat call a surrogate father is Roy Mustang... who, strangely, refrains from teasing Edward, instead taking the whole thing seriously. Edwin with heavily implied Royai.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa. I used some (altered) quotes about love and matrimony by Jodi Picoult, Sarah Dessen, Kahlil Gibarn, Paul Tillich and Nicholas Sparks.
Please enjoy!
The small inn of Resembool was a quiet place. It was already 11.30 p.m. and most of the over night guests were already asleep. Only one young, golden haired man entered the inn, almost stealthily, trying to avoid waking the other guests.
Finally, he arrived at his destination, room 106, raised his right hand, curled it into a fist - and hesitated.
It was the night before Edward's wedding with Winry and even though he did not like to admit it, Edward experienced something he never thought to feel: cold feet. The first thing that came to his head was a nice, long talk with his brother. It always soothed him and he knew that Alphonse's take on things would always help him to judge a situation wisely. But today was different. How could Alphonse with his 17 years know something about matrimony, about true love?
He felt the need to talk to an adult about it, someone with the experience of being in a long-term relationship, but asking his parents was, of course, out of the question. What about granny Pinako? She surely had to calm down a nervous Winry – or at least help her with last minute preparations. Furthermore, granny Pinako was a woman; not, that he did not trust her advice, but he felt like having a man's advice was what he needed right now.
And the closest thing to a surrogate father, even though he would cut his tongue before admitting it out loud, was Roy Mustang. Well, his long-time commitment with Riza did count as a relationship, didn't it?
Edward exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding and steeled his nerves, before knocking on the white painted wooden door of Roy's hotel room. He heard a low sigh, the rustling of clothes – and did he just hear moving furniture? – before the door opened to reveal none other than Riza Hawkeye.
"Captain Hawkeye?!" Edward stared at her incredulously, lowering his eyes to hide the embarrassment of seeing her in a short bathrobe. "I'm sorry, I thought this was the Colonel's room-"
"It's 'Brigadier General' now, Edward," Riza answered calmly, staring right into Edward's eyes as he had lifted his gaze again. It still was a strange feeling to finally look down onto this woman after having had to look up to her all those years due to his formerly short body. "And yes, this is Mr Mustang's room, actually, it's our room. Please, come in, the General is still showering," she added, stepping aside.
Edward squeezed into the room, determined not to touch Riza in any way that may seem inappropriate taking her state of dressing into account. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room, but he soon discerned two suitcases lined up at the window, two separate standard sized beds and a little nightstand in between them.
"Please, sit down," Riza's voice reminded Edward that he was being impolite and he did as he was asked, a question lingering on his tongue.
"Why are you two sharing a bedroom?"
He had sat down on the bed closest to the door; Riza smoothed down her bathrobe, taking a seat in front of Edward on the second bed, corners of her mouth twitching.
"Well, Winry did plan for us to have different, single rooms, but the General thought this idea preposterous since we are sharing an apartment in Ishval and are very well accustomed to living together." She made a face, her glance shifting quickly to the second door which Edward assumed led to the bathroom. "He found it impudent to let you pay for two rooms."
"And it would have been a shame to miss you being dressed like that, right?," the words just slipped out of Edward's mouth and with widening eyes, he clapped his hands onto his lips, staring apologetically at Riza. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate."
The young captain just waved her hand in dismissal, muttering something under her breath, which suspiciously contained the word "lecherous general," but Edward let it slip. It was then when the bathroom door opened and the steam of the shower entered the room.
After it had disappeared, Roy Mustang came into view. His hair was dripping wet, dampening the towel draped on his shoulders. His torso was naked, still shimmering with undried drops of the shower. At least he seemed modest enough cover his lower abdomen and legs, sporting long, striped pajama pants. He didn't seem to notice Edward at first - his glance was focusing on Riza alone, a strange softness clouding his eyes which seemed to spread to Riza's eyes for a second before she signaled in Edward's direction.
"Sir, Edward came to speak to you."
Only then did Roy tear his gaze from his most-trusted subordinate, toward the ex-state alchemist.
"Fullmetal?" He seemed genuinely surprised, picked up his towel to rub his hair dry and took a seat right next to Riza, "to what do I owe the honor?"
Edward bit his lip. Looks like he had to admit it now. He sighed.
"I think I'm getting some cold feet before the wedding. I felt the need to talk to someone, some kind of a male role model, I guess. You were the first that came to my mind."
Roy's hands stopped drying his hair, falling onto the soft bedding. She tried hard, but Riza couldn't hide the fact that her hand sneaked on top of Roy's hand at that moment from Edward's eyes.
"I –," Roy hesitated, "well, I'd love to help you out with that, but I'm not actually married."
"Neither are Havoc or the other men of your team. Or Armstrong." Edward shivered internally upon thinking of the bulk of a man. Armstrong surely would've been the worst choice among all since he would have spent half of the night sobbing out of emotion. "But other than them, you have a long lasting relationship. Well, kind of," Edward boldly stated, stealing a side glance at Riza who understood the message and tried to let go of Roy's hand as sneakily as possible. However, Roy seemed to think nothing of that as he just wove his fingers through hers, keeping her hand firmly clasped in his own.
Edward's heartbeat picked up. Seemed, like the rumors weren't that far from truth..
"Well, I guess I am a better choice than a man that can't hold a girl for more than one date and a man that would try to help you feel better by flexing his bare muscles."
Roy chuckled a little and Riza's stiff posture loosened again, a relaxed smile tugging on her lips as she looked upon the young man in front of her.
"Would you like to talk to the General alone? I could go out for a walk."
"Oh no, please, don't!," Edward shook his head energetically. "Maybe it's better to have a second view on everything. I'd like to hear your opinion, too, if you don't mind."
The smile in Riza's face grew a little wider, her eyes, just like Edward's, now lying on Roy, waiting for him to speak.
"So... what exactly can I do for you?," the raven-haired man asked his grown-up protégé, one arm dangling lazily from his lap. "Are you afraid to have chosen the wrong wife? Do you think it's too soon to marry?"
Edward cast his eyes downwards, onto his now entangled fingers.
"I'm sure Winry's the right person for me. I love her with all my heart and I could never imagine another woman by my side. But I'm unsure of myself." He bit his lip again, unwilling to look Roy in the eye. "I'm afraid I may be the wrong man for her. She completes me in everything I do and I want to give her back everything she gives me. I'm scared I'm not able to do that, that I'm not enough, not perfect."
"Edward," Riza interfered, casting an asking glance toward Roy, who nodded, before she resumed her answer, "You don't love someone because they're perfect. You love them in spite of the fact that they're not. Even though you love Winry so much, there are quirks of her that annoy you, are there not?"
The ex-alchemist hesitated. Of course, he knew that was true. He was annoyed by the fact that his fiancée could ramble on about automail for hours before realizing Edward had already fallen asleep after a few minutes, he often snapped when he brought her something out of the kitchen and sat down next to her on the couch only to learn that just in this second, she remembered something else he should have brought her, and he absolutely hated her chastening him with her stupid wrench (even though he had to admit that she had a reason to do so most of the time).
But still, he loved her. And he would gladly accept this for all eternity if he could just spend the rest of his days with her. This must have been evident on his face, because Riza's smile grew wider and wider.
Seriously, had he ever seen the Captain smile like that?
"See?" She added, the smile plastered on her face, "It doesn't matter whether she's lazy –"
"Or a bossy slave driver –"
"Or useless in the rain –"
Edward scratched the back of his head.
"Wait, are we still talking about Winry here?"
"The important thing," Riza emphasized, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks, "is that you love her with all her faults. And she does, too. You are putting up with her bad qualities because they somehow complete you. And I'm sure that's true for her as well."
"Fullmetal," Roy spoke up now, gaining his attention, "I won't lie to you. It's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard. You're gonna have to work at this everyday. But you'll want to do that. You know why? Because you want her." His gaze shifted a little and Edward was unsure whether the rest of Roy's speech was directed at him or at the Captain he was so thoroughly looking at right now. "You want all of her. Forever. Everyday."
He could have sworn that the distance between his ex superior officers was minimizing by the second. He was just about to clear his throat when Riza turned her head, leaving a clearly disappointed Roy staring at her neck, right at the scar she received on the promised day.
"There is a saying. 'If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.' Winry was opposed by the idea to let you and Alphonse go away after your surgery. She hated the fact you went away, not getting into touch with her for several months straight, nevertheless, she still trusted you two would return. You must know, after you announced your plans of heading to the west, she called me. She was devastated to let you go again after such a long time. But yet, she did. And she trusted you to come back to her."
It was Roy's turn to speak again.
"And you did. Not like you had any choice after proposing to her," he added with a smirk, causing Edward to blush lightly.
"You know, you fall in love with somebody when you're together," Roy told him, his eyes suspiciously glued to the eyes of his former Lieutenant who returned his glance. "But in the years you are apart, you fall even deeper in love with her," he added softly, seemingly forgetting Edward's presence at all.
Riza, on the other hand, was very well aware of Edward's attendance, slipped her hand out of Roy's and skid a couple of centimeters away from him. The sudden movement caused her bathrobe to twist a little, allowing the young man to have a glimpse of the nightgown Riza was wearing underneath.
Huh, that was funny. He could have sworn it bore the same design as Roy's pajama pants, but he had no time to dwell on the fact as Riza waved at him to come sit between her and Roy. He complied hesitantly, feeling the obvious annoyance of Roy on his right while also feeling Riza's arm that wound itself around his shoulders.
"The first duty of love is to listen," Riza concluded their little talk, rubbing Edward's back encouragingly. "Never hesitate to listen to her, to voice your doubts of yourself. The most important thing you two can do is talk to each other and listen to what the other has to say. This may sound simple and self-evident, yet many people tend to forget to do so."
"And, even more important: Listen to your own heart," Roy added, seemingly having gotten over the fact that Edward was now shielding him from his beloved former Lieutenant. "As much as you love Winry, don't forget to love and to care for yourself. You, too, are important."
Edward huffed a little.
"Are you alright?" Riza's voice sounded a little worried, but Edward's trademark smile was back on his face.
"Yes, I am. Actually, I feel a lot better now. Thank you, both of you."
"You're welcome," Roy answered him with a smile as Riza patted Edward's back. "You two are going to be just fine, I know that!"
"Thank you," Edward answered with a smile, stretching his arms into the air and yawning a little.
"Wow, it sure is late. I'm sorry to have made demands on your time this late." He hopped off the bed, not noticing the little package falling out of his pocket, took three big strides to the door before turning to his friends again, eyeing them carefully. Roy had slid near Riza again, his arm innocently draped on her hip, to which she chided him with her glance.
Would the pair of them ever decide to marry and have children, they would make splendid parents, Edward knew that. But he couldn't admit it out loud; Roy would never let him live it down. Instead, he opted for another solution: An insulting remark. Something, he was used to around the Brigadier General and made him feel less self-conscious and unsure.
However, he would not be able to think of something witty quick enough as he realized what Roy and Riza were examining at the moment, his hand traveling to his back pocket. Oh crap.
"I guess I'm confiscating this, Fullmetal," Roy told him, his usually smug grin returned, erasing the parental glance he sported just a second ago. Right now, he was flipping the still-wrapped condom that had fallen out of Edward's pocket between his fingers as blood gushed into Edward's face.
"Captain," Roy said with a smirk, handing Riza the condom, who looked at him disbelievingly.
"Please take care of that." She rolled her eyes, stuffing the small package into her bathrobe pocket, Edward's golden eyes glued onto her hands.
She did not put it in her pocket, now, did she?
"You, Fullmetal," Roy spoke up again, pointing with his free hand at the young adult, "won't be needing these for a while now. You can't see your fiancée tonight and starting tomorrow, we expect you to produce a whole lot of Fullmetal babies! Did I make myself clear?"
Now, that was Edward's cue to leave: His voice was gone, replaced by some gurgling sounds, his face was beet-red and the way Roy had drawn Riza close to him made him feel very out of place.
He rushed out of the room, pulling the door close behind him, letting out another breath he did not know he was holding.
Edward's legs started walking again as he made his way back into his room - he couldn't return to the Rockbell house since it was bad luck to see the bride for the last 24 hours before the wedding.
Gosh, he never had the talk with his parents since he was way too small by the time his mother passed away. And he was not eager to have it with Roy Mustang, Amestris' most famous bachelor and heart breaker. Who knew just how many girls this guy had slept with.
Speaking of which –
Edward froze. Riza's nightgown and Roy's pajama pants did not only look similar - they where the same. It was one pajama! That's why Riza had worn the bathrobe: To conceal the fact she was wearing Roy's pajama jacket.
They shared a room, they shared a whole lot of suggestive glances and they had 'confiscated' the condom that had accidentally fallen out of his pants.
Oh god. Both had been showering. Pretty late, that is. And he could not shake off the feeling he had heard some furniture moving. A bed, perhaps?
Dear god! Beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead.
They – they already had this evening – and now they were equipped for round two –!
Holy shit! How the hell was he supposed to get rid of the images to get enough sleep for his big day?! Damn that bastard General!