Ed paced back and forth, hands folded behind his back, in front of the fireplace. He was agitated at being snowed in. He didn't mind the snow. In fact, he loved it, but when it turned into a blizzard and he had to stay inside, the blond became restless.
Roy sighed.
"Edward, please sit down. You'll wear a track in the carpet."
"I can't help it, Roy. I hate being snowed in!" Ed exclaimed but ceased pacing anyway. Roy rolled his eyes. He knew that much. It was obvious even to someone who didn't know the man.
"I know. But seeing as there's nothing you can do about it, sit down and enjoy the fire." Ed shook his head.
"I can't. It's a habit born from spending almost eight years on the road, and no matter what, I'm always restless when I'm indoors. " Nothing Roy could ever say or do would get him to relax. Roy sighed again but tried to endure the pacing as the blond resumed his nervous action. However, after two more minutes of the incessant pacing, the military man felt his patience visibly snap. He grabbed Ed's arm and forced the blond to sit next to him on the couch.
"Ed, sit. Sit and relax. That's an order."
"I'm not a dog," Ed grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring into the fire. He hated when Roy pulled the "commanding officer" crap. Not that he would refuse an order from his boyfriend, but it was the principle of the thing. At home, Roy was his boyfriend, not his commanding officer!
"It's not fair when you do that," Ed complained with a pout. Roy chuckled. It was fairly amusing to watch a twenty-one year old man pouting like a child.
"I'm sorry, Love, but you really do need to relax."
"I don't want to relax, Roy. I want to do something," the blond argued stubbornly.
"A little relaxation won't kill you, Ed. It'll probably actually do you a lot of good," Roy tried to reason.
"I've got too much to do to be sitting here 'relaxing'," Edward protested, "First of all, I have to make those training schedules. The new recruits are in no way smart enough to know what to do in the case of an emergency. Then, there are the reports to write and important documents to sign. All thanks to the fact that you won't let me bring my work home, you hypocrite!"
"Reports? Reports from what?" Roy inquired suspiciously, "You haven't been on any missions lately." Ed looked away, his eyes filled with sadness, and remained silent.
"Edward, please don't tell me that you still have that two year old report yet to write," Roy pleaded with an exasperated sigh.
"How can I write a report about that, Roy? Too many things happened. It was too personal. Besides, it doesn't affect Amestris anymore. The Gate's been sealed."
"That's not the point, Ed. The point is that it did affect us, and you're the only one who knows why."
"But, Roy…" When Ed finally looked back at Roy, tear streaks were running down his face. "It's too painful. Alfonse Heiderich, Noa, the rockets passing through the Gate into our home world, the look on Noa's face when I left her behind, Envy, Hohenheim, the day Heiderich yelled at me and left the house coughing up blood, Mabusa, Heiderich getting shot because of me, having to leave everything I had known behind again for the sake of the ones I love," he listed, voice becoming quieter with each statement. The blond shook his head, bringing himself back into the present and splattering tears on the couch. "There's no way I'd write a report on my two years in Germany. There's too much emotion there. Too many painful memories." Roy wrapped an arm around Ed's shoulders.
"Tell you what. We'll talk about this later, okay? Right now, let's make some hot chocolate with marshmallows, relax, and enjoy the fire. How does that sound to you?" Ed sniffled and leaned against Roy.
"Can we make the hot chocolate without milk?" he asked quietly. Something about the way Edward had said it, along with the timing of his statement, made Roy laugh lightly.
"Of course, Love. Of course."
Ed stared into the steam of his cocoa, nervously stirring the hot liquid. His eyes were puffy and red from crying.
"Roy, I… I'm sorry for breaking down like that. It was weak of me." Roy made a soft "hunh" sound, like a suppressed chuckle, in his throat.
"It's okay, Ed. I understand how difficult it is to have to write a report about something like that. Did you know that, after the war, the higher-ups made me write a report about my observations and experiences?"
"I didn't know that," Edward remarked with a slightly shocked expression on his face. A report about the nightmares and horrors that occurred in the Ishbal Massacre? "But still… I ruined the romantic, relaxing mood you created." For the first time in his life, Edward saw something he never thought he would see. Roy was blushing in embarrassment.
"You… you thought it was romantic?" Ed nodded.
"I still do," he said quietly, scooting closer to the taller man and resting his head on one of his broad shoulders. Roy quickly moved his mug from the hand his blond was leaning against to the spot beside him on the floor.
"I suppose you're right," he sighed, wrapping his arm around Ed's slim waist. "Everything feels perfect, from the weather outside to even our clothes and position. I'd never change any of this for the world."
~Owari~
A/N: This is the first chapter of Love Dramas and Soap Operas. Ed and Roy are actors for a soap opera and living in a love drama. You'll see in later chapters what I mean. My many, many thanks to Moro for beta-ing this for me. I'm sorry I'm not giving any one a sufficient summary on this story, but it's very hard without giving a lot away.
Beta-kins: Mwahaha oh yes... I'm with you readers all the way, because Kaleigh won't tell me a thing about the plot of this!
