Counseling
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Threesome: Roy/Ed, Greed/various, leading to Roy/Greed/Ed, Maes/Gracia in the background
Word Count: 3.546
Warnings: some very minor angst, humor? ^^;; AU (nothing of importance is really mentioned, but it wouldn't work in the FMA universe)
Summary: Seemed like everything had worked out for the best after all.
Thanks: To lectawindwalker for the great and fast beta! *snugs* 3
Author's Note: Ok, this is the result of yet another bunny-attack XD It actually came to me as I was chatting with (more like: whining to XD) Connie (winds_of_water)and told her about how I only seem to be able to write Roy/Ed/Greed lately ^^;; If you want to see the whole conversation how it came to be, I'll copy/paste it below the fic XDDD
Enjoy!
Counseling
Storming into the office with an expression that could kill, Roy managed to avoid anyone he didn't want to talk to. Which included just about everyone. His mood was at a record low and just the thought of anyone giving him a cheerful greeting made his teeth clench.
Finally he reached his destination and let himself fall into his leather chair, dry washing his face. The day hadn't even started all that long ago and he already wished for it to be over. Though, to be honest, no matter what happened here at work, it couldn't be as bad as his morning had been.
He loved Ed. He really, really did. But that didn't mean that he didn't feel like strangling the brat nine times out of ten. Maybe it was his own fault for taking on a lover so much younger than himself, but their feelings had never been in question. While he didn't believe in love at first sight, he very much believed in lust at first sight. And that had been the case with him and Edward.
Their relationship had been... very stormy as it first started out. The sex had been fabulous and Roy was tempted to say it was the best sex he had ever had. They couldn't get enough of each other, which hasn't changed one bit. Outside of the bedroom (or wherever they thought it was a great idea to fuck at that very moment) however, it was a whole different story. Sometimes they were as close mentally as they were physically, and it was those times that convinced him that what they had was very much real, no matter what happened the rest of the time.
'The rest of the time', however, was sadly more often than not. They fought, they bitched at and insulted one another. Neither of them was submissive in the sense of the word and it showed. Neither of them was ready to back down when it would probably do wonders to their daily conversations. Lately it had actually gotten bad enough for Roy to really think about if what they had in their good times, was worth all the headaches that came with their more frequent bad times.
Despite his wish for some more privacy, it didn't take long for his best friend and co-worker to arrive at work. Maes only needed to take one glance at him before he frowned.
"You look worse every day that you come to work. Are you sure that everything is okay with you?"
He had been asking the same question more and more often lately and they both knew that it was only a matter of time until Roy caved in and told him about his doubts. Maes wasn't his best friend for nothing. However, he was also happily married and never had had problems like Roy had with Ed with his wife.
"It's nothing. Just the usual," he simply answered instead of telling him, delaying the inevitable for just a little bit longer. He couldn't explain why he didn't just break up with Edward. The younger man drove him nuts, ruined one day after the other for him and generally was just bad for his mental health. But still... at the thought of breaking up with Ed his stomach turned and he became nauseous. No. No matter what would happen, breaking up definitely was not the answer to their problems.
"You know Roy, if you really are so desperate to hold onto the jailbait, you really should consider marriage consulting," Maes interrupted his thoughts, reading them as easily as if he had written it down for him. Roy turned towards him, his eyes wide.
"Marriage consulting? What are you talking about? Ed and I aren't married and as it stands with the current laws we're not likely to get married anytime soon," he told him, nearly choking at the thought of actually being married to his blond lover. He didn't waste a thought to question how Maes had guessed what was wrong with him. Trying to figure out how that guy got his information was a lost case. He had figured that out years ago.
His spectacled friend just snorted.
"Marriage consulting isn't just for married couples, Roy. The thought behind it is to work with couples in a committed relationship who don't want to let go of another but know that the way their relationship works isn't how it should be. You and Ed can just as easily go see one as Gracia and I could."
That idea had some merit; Roy had to give him that. He had no idea how Edward would react to the suggestion that they should see a marriage counselor, but it couldn't be worse than this morning. Nothing could be worse than this morning. Just remembering made him wince again.
In the end, he nodded.
"I think you might be right. Just be prepared that you'll be able to visit me in the hospital after tonight when I bring up the idea with Ed. I honestly have no clue how he will react to it."
Maes gave a sympathetic wince and patted his shoulder on his way to his own desk.
"It will be fine. Trust me with this, Roy. If Ed loves you just half as much as you love him, he is bound to agree with the idea. And if not… well, then you know that it's time to get used to the idea of letting him go."
Roy nodded, looking miserable. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that his friend was right. He just hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
~*~*~H~*~*~
Shockingly, Ed reacted rather well to the news.
"That might be a good idea. I'm not sure what will come from it yet, but it seems like something we should at least try," he said, nodding his agreement as Roy hesitantly brought the idea up at dinner. The mess from this morning had been cleared away before he had come home and he wondered if that was Ed's way of apologizing.
He gave the blond a timid smile, a thanks for agreeing to the whole consulting thing, before going back to his dinner. It was times like this when he wondered why it couldn't always be like this. Comfortable silences and playful smiles. It was evenings like this that he loved and craved. On evenings like this he could see them growing old together, no matter how long that might be.
Later that night they laid together in bed, holding one another after a rather passionate round of sex. This, here, was where they understood another. Understood their bodies and their minds. When they were together in bed they were invincible.
"When do you think we can get an appointment?" Ed asked, a yawn splitting his jaw nearly in two. "I'll have to check my schedule to make sure that I'll be able to be there." Roy just nodded, knowing. Since the blond did freelance work more often than not, his work-time varied most of the time.
"I'll look into it tomorrow to get a vague idea. I'll tell you when I have anything more concrete. In the meantime, maybe it would be good if you could copy me your schedule so that I know when it would be best for you?"
Ed just hummed in agreement. Tightening his arms around his taller lover to tell him 'goodnight', he closed his eyes, obviously prepared to sleep. Roy just smiled down at the blond head before his nose.
"'Night Ed," he whispered, knowing the other had already dozed off, before closing his own eyes and relaxing into the pillows.
Somehow, his sleep that night was as restful as it hadn't been for months now.
~*~*~H~*~*~
"Gentlemen, I wish you a good evening. Do you want anything to drink?" a rather tall man greeted them, an open smile on his lips. He didn't look at all like one would expect from a counselor. The black dress-pants were formal enough, but the sleeveless top that clung to the man's upper body was better suited for a club than an office. Not to mention that leather jacket…
"I hope you don't mind my clothes – I've thought I would have an early evening and had already changed as my secretary called me back. Seems like she mixed up your appointment with a couple that had cancelled earlier. But never mind, come in and take a seat. I'll be with you in a minute."
Taking a quick look at his lover confirmed to Roy that Ed was just as thrown off as he was. They both had been expecting something… different. He didn't know what he had expected, but finding someone who they easily could have met in a club sure wasn't it.
Shrugging, he decided to shake off his surprise, walking over to one of the two armchairs in front of the desk and sat down, watching his lover do the same thing. It didn't take long for the man to come back and sit down behind the desk.
"My name is Dr. Greedero Luka, and no, this is no joke. My parents knew no mercy as they named me," the short-haired man introduced himself, his smile turning into a wistful grin. "You can either call me Dr. Luka or Greed, depending on what you're comfortable with. I would rather you don't use my whole first name though."
Having had to crack a grin by the introduction of the ridiculous name, Roy nodded. "Dr. Luka, then, for now," he said, trying to keep his mental boundaries up at least somewhat. He knew he could easily look at this counselor as something else – and he was pretty sure Ed thought the same way – but they were here to repair their relationship, not destroy it any further.
The man behind the desk just lifted one eyebrow at him and then shrugged, obviously unconcerned.
"Ok gentlemen… since you're here you're obviously having problems with your relationships. I'll ask you to answer me some questions first. Please keep in mind that, for the best results to come from this, you should answer them as truthfully as possible. If you're not comfortable with your partner listening while you tell me it will be ok for the first few sessions to ask him to stay in the adjoining room. However, I'll let you know right now that it's better that you both stay in the room at all times. Later there will come a point where you'll have to trust another enough to talk to another anyway, without me there." Greed told them, suddenly all business, though his open carefree attitude was still in place.
"Should you proove to be unable to list the problems you're having with another without starting a fight, I'll have to separate you for the first couple of sessions. I hope it won't come to that, though, seeing that you both seem sensible enough to come here in the first place."
Taking out some paper and a pen, he looked at Ed first.
"Mr. Elric, what is your biggest problem that you have with your partner, Mr. Mustang, right now?"
"He is a stubborn bastard!" Edward promptly answered, making Roy glare at him.
"Me? Stubborn? Did you ever try to get along with yourself?" he threw back, making the Doctor sigh.
"I see. This might take some time."
~*~*~H~*~*~
"So Roy, how is the counseling going?" Maes asked him a few weeks later, once again back at work. The black-haired man smiled.
"Surprisingly better than I would have thought. Greed – that's Dr. Luka – is better at controlling Ed than I am, I have to admit that much. Most of the time we actually manage to have civil conversations as long as we're there. We still fight a lot at home, but at least we manage to get to the root of most problems in the sessions afterwards."
His best friend gave him a knowing grin. "So you think you two will actually work things out?" he asked, making Roy shrug.
"It certainly looks like it. But Greed said that we shouldn't think all will be well all out of sudden if we don't keep at it and I think he is right. Ed and I will never have a balanced relationship if we don't work for it. But I like to think that it's worth it."
Patting his best friend's back, Maes smiled at him.
"I'm glad that it seems to be working. You're already looking a lot better than before. You've always been pale, but that ghostly shade was simply a bad look for you. Not to mention the times your face would turn that unhealthy red. It's disturbing to see you have any color in your face at all, but that one time Ed made you nearly explode, I was seriously considering calling for an ambulance."
Roy just leveled a dry stare at him.
"Thanks Maes. I think that is exactly what I want to hear right now," he told him, gaining himself another grin.
"Just trying to be helpful! You know me!" came the cheerful answer, making Roy sigh and shake his head.
~*~*~H~*~*~
"So gentlemen, ready to go out today?" Greed asked Roy and Ed as they came into his office a few sessions later. The three of them had agreed that they had tried to sort out any problems that might occur in daily life. Now it was time for them to work at those who would come up in unusual situations. Hence, their counselor had suggested they should go to a club together. With him coming along the risk of them getting into a fight was less than usual and he would be able to see them interact with others.
Roy nodded while Ed grinned at the taller man.
"Hell yes! It's been weeks since we've gone out! I'm getting rusty here!" he exclaimed, making his lover bite back a remark about the 'being rusty'. Oh, all the good things he was not allowed to say anymore… it really was too sad sometimes.
"Ok then. I'll let you two pick the location. Remember, I'm just along for the ride. Try to act as if I'm not even there. If I see reason to get between you, I'll let you know. Other than that – just enjoy yourselves."
~*~*~H~*~*~
Standing beside his lover, Roy watched the crowd on the dance floor. Particularly someone who really seemed to enjoy himself. Despite all the words of the reason behind their outing being them enjoying themselves, Greed didn't seem to have any problems with doing some 'enjoying' himself.
"You're thinking," Ed accused him. "What are you thinking about?"
The taller of the both glanced at the blond from the corner of his eyes.
"Probably the same thing you're thinking about. You sure this is a good idea?"
Edward just shrugged.
"We won't know unless we try. And we both agree that it probably would be for the best. The chances of us making it on our own are pretty slim and..."
"… and with him there they will go up. Yeah. I've thought the same thing."
The two of them smiled at each other, one of their rare loving smiles. Lately, they had actually been able to acknowledge their feelings for one another more and more. That probably was one of the reasons why neither of them feared the way this seemed to be going.
"So, how will we get him home with us?" Roy asked after a few more minutes of watching their counselor. An unholy gleam stole itself into Ed's eyes at that and his grin became devilish, making the black-haired man swallow hard.
"I think I have an idea…"
~*~*~H~*~*~
"When you said that you had an idea, I didn't think you would get him drunk!" Roy grouched, holding onto the taller man that was slung over his shoulder, slumbering merrily. Ed just shrugged unrepentant.
"It worked. He didn't protest as we suggested to him that we would take him home with us, did he?" he offered.
"He didn't protest because he was too far gone to say anything at that point, Ed," Roy pointed out. His lover just shrugged again.
"Which will make it even easier to get him into bed with us," the blond countered. Then he seemed to think about it for the first time since they had left the club.
"You don't think that this counts as… you know, rape?" he asked, suddenly becoming concerned. The tallest of the pair just snorted.
"I doubt it. It's not like anything is likely to happen anytime soon, thanks to your fantastic idea. All we're going to do is put him into bed with us and make sure he is comfortable. Those leather pants and that tight shirt simply can't be comfortable for sleeping. And, unfortunately for him, I doubt that he is wearing any underwear beneath the pants. So see? We're doing nothing wrong here."
Ed just shot him a feral grin.
"I knew that there was a reason why I loved you."
~*~*~H~*~*~
The next morning there was a lot of groaning going on in the bedroom of the two lovers. Though sadly it wasn't due to reasons that were enjoyable.
"I knew he had too much to drink, but I really didn't think I had drunk enough myself to warrant such a bad headache now," the blond complained, burying his face in his pillow again. Roy just grunted, already having decided that getting up was not going to be on top of his to-do list anytime soon.
After they had brought Greed home with them they had undressed him and put him in bed with them, coincidently putting him in their midst, so that he wouldn't be able to escape without waking either of them. Not that they would have had to worry about that. Their counselor was still deeply asleep, obviously feeling right at home.
"When do you think he will wake up?" the black-haired man asked, daring to open one eye far enough to squint at his lover over the short-haired man's head. Ed just made a gesture akin to a shrug.
"No clue. And right now I really don't care. All I want is to stay in bed for the rest of the day."
While agreeing with him, Roy couldn't bring himself to care. After all, it had been Ed's idea to get their 'guest' drunk enough to bring him home with them. And therefore it was his fault that they had had to drink as well. However, having learned at least some things during their months of consulting, he didn't say so.
They both dozed off again eventually, not prepared to face the day. It wasn't until the man between them stirred with the first signs of wakefulness that they dared to open their eyes again. However, Greed didn't seem to notice their state of almost-awareness.
Groaning loudly he took one glance at them both before letting out an even louder and more painful sounding groan then either of them had dared so far.
"Oh damn it… not again!"
THAT made them both blink. Not again? What not again?
"My reputation won't recover from ruining yet another relationship…" the green-eyed man grumbled to himself, obviously still oblivious to them hearing them.
There was a moment of near complete quiet in the bedroom, and then Ed started to cackle, Roy joining in only a second later. Greed, just now realizing that they were awake, sat up with a start.
"You are awake?" he asked, obviously not really awake yet. The two of them simply laughed some more.
"And here we tried to think of ways to seduce you…" Roy started, "… and all the while you were waiting for the chance to seduce us!" Ed finished for him.
The man sitting between them just blinked at them for a few minutes, then he cracked a grin as well.
"Well, when you two put it like that…"
~*~*~H~*~*~
"So I take it everything is going well for you at home?" Maes asked as Roy came into the office with a smile on his face, like so often lately.
"Everything is going perfect," the black-haired man answered, contentedly letting himself fall into his leather-chair. "The idea of adding Greed to our relationship was one of the best we've ever had. He usually is able to get between us before we ever really get into an argument and the sex is better than it had ever been. Which I personally count as a small miracle I might add."
Maes laughed at that.
"I knew he was the right one for you and Ed the moment he was mentioned to me. With his reputation and the knowledge I had about you two it was pretty much predictable what would happen," he grinned. "I'm just glad that it all turned out alright. So you think you'll all stay together now?"
"It has been four months already. At this point I'm pretty confident to say that we will," his best friend answered him and they shared a smile.
Seemed like everything had worked out for the best after all.
END
That was it XD And here, as promised, my chat with Connie:
Bloody: but really, she will still get enough stuff out of the three of us... I don't doubt that for a second XD It's not like kat and I are in charge of our muses *hangs head*
forlynnmagi: That's right. Our muses do as they please and when they please.
bloody: yep
bloody: which is why I *still* haven't gotten the last chapter of facets done, nor the roy/ed songfic finished that has been pluaging me for weeks now :FFF
forlynnmagi: Yikes, those naughty muses
bloody: yep *glares at them*
bloody: roy and ed kinda don't get any sex anymore if greed isn't involved *sighs* he is like their private marriage consultist now XD only he is very... involved whenever he is involved... XD
bloody: ...
bloody: ...
bloody: ...
bloody: DAMN! :FFFF
bloody: ... and now I have a new drabble idea *headdesks*
forlynnmagi: hahaha
bloody: see how that works lately? T_T
