Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry that I haven't updated my other fics in a while. Besides grad school keeping me insanely busy, I've moved twice this month, and that is ridiculously time consuming. Two of my three summer classes end in a couple weeks, so although I'm busy with finals right now, I should have more free time once I only have the one class. I'm planning to make progress on Redo then.
As for this story, I've been wanting to write this one shot for months, but haven't found time. Yesterday, I had an hour free before class so I finally wrote it. It's not part of the Redo verse, but I hope you like it!
When Roy sighs, he can really sigh. It's not a loud or obnoxious sound, yet he somehow manages to put more suffering in one small exhale of breath than seemed possible for one man to feel. And it annoyed the hell out of Ed.
Another sigh. Ed's eye twitched.
"I don't see anything. Let's just go."
For fuck's sake.
It took weeks to get him to go to the eye doctor, days to get him to the glasses store, and now, after wasting an hour just looking at glasses, he wanted to leave? No.
"You haven't even tried anything on," Ed ground out as he turned to face Roy. Be calm, be patient, you know Roy is hesitant to get glasses. "We are not leaving this damn store unless you've tried on every fucking pair of glasses in the store, and we both agree none look good." So much for patient.
"Ed," Roy began before he sighed. Again. The fucking bastard.
"They're just glasses," Ed said before Roy could say whatever excuse his put upon sigh was leading to.
"Keep your voice down," Roy said gently, and Ed was even more annoyed that that may have been good advice since he may actually have been closer to yelling than speaking. "Fine. I'll try some on. I don't know why you're pushing this though; I really don't need them."
"When you read, it looks like you're centimeters from smacking yourself in the face with the book," Ed said, and he didn't even yell it this time.
Roy's mouth and nose twisted a bit at that, but despite the grimace Ed thought the thin black frames Roy was trying on looked pretty good. They added even more dignity and intelligence to the already arrogant Brigadier General's face…if Roy ever realized he looked good in anything, including glasses, he was going to be hell to live with.
When Roy put the glasses back on the shelf, it was Ed's turn to sigh. He understood that Roy was self-conscience about needing glasses—he didn't think they looked good and he didn't want to tell the world that his eyes were now a source of weakness—but Marcoh had warned them that the transmutation on his eyes hadn't been entirely successful. They'd known for years that one day Roy would need glasses. Maybe knowing something in advance didn't make it easier to accept the inevitable, but it gave you time to prepare for it.
But no, Roy Mustang would rather spend the years pretending his eyes weren't getting worse, and he'd never need to obstruct the lovely view that was his perfect face.
Fucking bastard. Ed would want him no matter what was on his damn face.
Well, maybe not 'no matter what'. If Roy showed up with an ouroborus tattoo and freaky powers, or even worse, if he tried to grow a mustache again…Ed would definitely have to leave him then. And that would suck because he actually kind of liked living with and dating Roy.
"Try these on." Ed looked over to see Roy holding out dark gold frames to him.
He sincerely hoped his face showed exactly how unimpressed he was as he said, "I'm not the one that needs glasses."
"So? I just want to see you in them. I'll bet you'd look stunning."
Sometimes Ed hated Roy; most specifically, times when a few words from Roy had him slipping glasses over his red tinted cheeks.
Just as he thought, they looked awful. The cut of the frames made his chin look squarer, and with the way his hair was up high…Disgusting.
"Absolutely stunning," Roy said.
Shaking his head, Ed said, "Not stunning. I look like my dad." Then he took the glasses off, and put them back on the rack.
"No, I think you looked like you. Older, more refined, but definitely like you."
"Are you saying I'm not fucking refined without glass hanging off my face?"
"I'm saying that now we know you look sexy with or without glasses," Roy whispered against his ear as he wrapped an arm around Ed.
"Maybe I think you look sexy in glasses too," Ed said, trying to ignore that even after so many years together, one touch from Roy made him feel like he was on fire. Fucking Flame Alchemist. "So just get a damn pair."
"But if we both look so sexy without glasses, then I can think of much better ways to spend our day," Roy said because, as Ed has always known, he's a perv who will use his body to get out of situations.
At least, situations with Ed.
…He better only be using his body to get out of situation with Ed.
Ed glared at him, ignoring the blush still staining his reflection's face, and pointed at another pair for Roy to try on.
And the damn bastard sighed again.
They didn't get glasses from the store that day because Ed was in love with an idiot. An idiot who was trying to read with his face almost crushed against the newspaper. He was a cute idiot sometimes, but still an idiot.
"Do you think you'll get ink poisoning from breathing that close to the paper?" He asked, and his voice sounded entirely innocent around the toast he was chewing. Al would have been proud. Correction: he would have been proud at Ed faking innocent; he would have yelled about Ed speaking with his mouth full.
Roy shot him a look that was full of irritation—Ed loved annoying Roy enough to earn that look—before he said, "I've been too busy to go back to the store," and turned back to his paper.
"Uh huh," Ed said in a tone that really said 'I don't fucking believe you, you lying bastard General.' "Then isn't it lucky for you that I took your prescription and bought you glasses?"
"You what?" The newspaper was down now, and Roy looked a strange mix between surprised, confused, and completely dismayed.
"They're in the bathroom," Ed said, and then stared at Roy until he went to find them, which took less time than Ed expected, but twice as much grumbling.
He was almost sure this was a good idea. It had seemed it at the time at least. But now, with Roy's reaction so near, waiting was making Ed's nerves dance in anticipation. What was taking so long anyway? Did it really take more than a minute to find glasses?
Another minute, and Ed decided to go find Roy himself. He felt warmer with each step he took, more on edge as he neared Roy and the consequences of picking out Roy's glasses. But when he got to the bathroom, Roy didn't say anything. He was wearing the glasses and staring at himself in the mirror.
Ed couldn't read his face, but the silence forced an explanation from him. "Gracia had an extra pair of his frames. I got your prescription made to fit, and yeah…" He trailed off, still uncertain with Roy so quiet. "If you don't like them, you don't have to wear them. Gracia said you could keep them anyway, that Hughes wouldn't have minded."
Roy turned to face him then. The frames were familiar, but they didn't make Roy look like Hughes as much as he'd worried they might. He still looked like Roy, the glasses fitting his face in an entirely different way than they had their original owner. Maybe it was the glasses magnifying his eyes, or maybe it was that slight reminder of his friend and their shared good times now attached to him, but Ed could have sworn the glasses made Roy look younger, happier.
"They're perfect," Roy said. Then he finally smiled. So did Ed.
Maybe it wasn't so bad looking like someone else when it was someone you liked.