This little onsie isn't beta'd and I kind of wrote it instead of sleeping so it might not be my best work? But I hope you enjoy- let me know what you think ^.^
(also because I can never get enough parental!roy and Al is a precious cinnamon roll who deserves love and goodness. definitely going to write more stories with parental!roy because there can honestly never be enough (next one from Ed's perspective :)
…while I somehow finish writing the rest of my other half-finished stories…yeah) *title inspired from Sanders Bohlke 'the weight of us' give it a listen!
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The Weight of Us
Al sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him, adjusting his position on the floor next to Ed's bed.
I should have brought, like, three more books. Al thought, gazing down mournfully at the book that he held limply in his hands. It isn't even that good of a story- some cheesy romance novel that Al had picked up at one of the bookstores he and Ed had visited a few days ago.
(The cover just looked so lame that Al had to buy it.)
It's strange how quickly the day flies by- Ed's constant chatting (or screaming, ranting, swearing, yelling, laughing) and the non-stop moving makes it seem so vibrant. But Al can sum up his nights with one word: lonely.
With as little noise as possible, Al stands and crosses the room, tensing as the door squeaks open. He looks back at Ed who is sprawled out on the bed, hair splayed out over his pillow with his blanket hanging close to the floor. His face is miraculously relaxed and his breathing even.
No nightmares, then. Thank goodness. Al is grateful for small mercies.
He quickly exits the room, closing the door softly behind him.
I just need to walk a bit. Just- just take a break. Al grips his book in his hand and starts walking, not knowing where he is going, just trying to push back the loneliness and hollow feeling.
I have no right to complain. Brother is sacrificing everything to get our bodies back. I have no right to complain.
Al sighs as he rounds the corner at Central Headquarters, the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the empty hallways, and he desperately wishes it is six o'clock in the morning instead 2:03am.
(So many nights of just being alone of hours crawling by of nights of silences and loneliness-)
"Wha-!" Al feels something collide solidly into his chest plate with a startled exclamation of "the fu-" as both he and person-? go sprawling to the floor with a rather impressive crash.
Great, Al. That was loud enough to wake the dead- no human transmutation circle needed.
Al sits up, checking to make sure his helmet was still in place, taking the scene in. Papers are strewn about on the floor- and there is something about the person who was laying on the floor next to him that looked familiar.
Al blinks
"Oh-! Colonel?" Al looks surprised, at Roy who sits up next to him.
"Alphonse?" Roy askes, massaging his left shoulder with furrowed brows. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't- well, can't sleep," Al says, not able to keep all the bitterness out of his tone. He looks back at the Colonel who looks at him with a strange expression. "Uh, because of, well," Al trails off and gives a half-shrug, the clanking noise from his armor echoing slightly.
Roy gazes at him before running a hand through his hair, pushing his bangs back then letting them fall forward again. He's wearing just a white button down and blue military pants, and his onyx eyes have dark bags underneath them.
"Well," he says as he starts to gather the papers that are scattered around them, "that makes two of us, although for me it's because of paperwork."
Al can't help but laugh a little at Roy's expression, the colonel looks like the papers had personally offended him.
"Oh, um, sorry for running into you," Al says sheepishly, "I was a little spaced out."
Roy gives a hand gesture as if saying it's nothing as he stacks the papers haphazardly and stands up. "You're fine, I wasn't watching where I was going anyways."
Al just nods and climbs to his feet, not exactly sure what to do with the situation from here. On one hand, Al is grateful running into the flame alchemist, talking with someone that he knows right now is honestly something he needs (because he's so tired of being alone). But on the other hand, Al doesn't really know what to talk about, and he's pretty sure that Roy doesn't have time to spend talking about cats if he's up at two in the morning doing paperwork.
Roy crouches down and picks something up off the floor, pulling Al from his thoughts. "Is this yours?" Roy holds out the book Al had been carrying- he had totally forgotten about it.
"Oh yes, thank you!" Al takes it and tries not to laugh as he looks at the cover. It's just so cheesy.
"I didn't know historical romances were something you enjoyed." Roy says with a wry grin, raising an eyebrow at the book.
If Al could blush he just knows he would have. "Well it's, um, yeah." Al finishes lamely, rubbing the back of his helmet with his hand. Oh my gosh can the ground just open up and swallow me now.
Roy laughs, shaking his head. "What's sad is that the sequel is actually worse, which is pretty incredible."
Al's please for a quick end comes to an abrupt halt as he processes what Roy says.
"Wait, you've read them?" Al asks, shocked. Because Roy is the Flame Alchemist, Hero of Ishval, youngest colonel in the military. It honestly does not fit.
Roy nods his head. "My sisters gave them to me as gift one year, more as a joke really, but I ended up reading them during my trips home from studying with my master."
"You have sisters?" Al blurts out before he can think of what he's saying. "I'm sorry," he quickly backtracks, "that's none of my business."
"Its fine," Roy answers, waving off Al's apology his expression changing to one of fondness, "but yes, I do have sisters."
"Oh." Al says, still trying to process the fact that Roy reads lame historical romance novels and has sisters. It's strange now that he thinks about it, but Al and Ed had always just assumed that Roy was a single child who came from a rich family that owned like, prestigious horses or something. (Ed's theories were half based on his stupid pun, because horse and mustang. Al lost all hope in his brother after that.)
Roy pulls out his watch, groaning at the time. "Just kill me now."
"Oh, sorry for keeping you," Al starts, realizing that they've successful wasted ten minutes doing pretty much nothing. He winces as he eyes the amount of papers the colonel has in his arms.
Roy just shakes his head. "Trust me, anything is more enjoyable than this." Roy motions with the stack of papers, rolling his eyes.
Al laughs, knowing that he should excuse himself but also knowing that he doesn't really want to. Because the past ten minutes have actually been enjoyable (if not kind of really weird) but Al was able to just stop thinking about everything and nothing and not be alone at night.
"Hey, Alphonse?" Roy says before Al can say anything.
"Yes?"
Roy says, "if you're not up to much right now, you're welcome to come with me to the office? Paperwork's a pain in the ass but it's slightly bearable with company."
Al blinks, dithering, trying to figure out why the colonel would offer something like that. Al wonders belatedly if Roy has noticed the fact that Al is avoiding being by himself, that Al is sick of being alone, that Al has been talking with the colonel for the more than ten minutes to delay all of that?
"I don't want to hold you back from your work or-"
"It's quite alright." Roy states firmly, but kindly. "Like I said, I would enjoy the company."
"Oh, um, then thank you." Al answers, not quite knowing what to expect or if he should have said no but not really finding it in him to care.
"Come on," Roy beckons as he starts back down the hall, "budget reports are incredibly exciting, we have your brother to thank for that, the brat."
Al just laughs.
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After Ed finishes his loud and vibrant report the following morning, Roy passes Al the sequel to his book on their way out, the cover slightly worn around the edges.
"You can't stop now, you have to finish it to the end." Roy tells him, trying to be serious but failing because the cover looks absolutely ridiculous.
And that somehow becomes a thing, and the it somehow happens that the next time, and the time following that Ed stays at the dorms Al finds himself going over expense regulations and mind-numbingly boring forms with Roy (Al is a little worried at the amount of coffee he's able to drink in one night) as they talk about whatever current book Roy has lent Al or something or nothing.
And some nights Ed wakes up after his nightmares tear at his mind and he somehow ends up joining them, making himself at home on the couch and throwing insults back and forth with Roy or joking about his tastes in books.
(None of them talk about Ed's haunted look or Al's desperation to not be alone or Roy making sure to work late those nights.)
And Al realizes as he sits there one night laughing at Ed's retorts and Roy's exasperated expressions that he's okay. He doesn't care what time it is- and he feels somehow lighter, less weighed down, and less alone.