RoyEd Week 2018

Day 5 – Cold/Warmth

37 Degrees Celsius

When Roy came home late from work the last thing he expected to find in his living room was a small bundle of blankets and Edward on the floor by the fireplace. He had expected to find Edward, but had assumed that he'd be pissed by Roy coming home late again, or that he'd be lost to his research and a full out war in the house would have been the only thing he'd look up for. So when Roy had seen the ex-alchemist curled up and poking at the fireplace with an automail foot. Roy watched as Edward scowled, tugged the blankets tighter around his shoulders and glanced around the room, looking for something. When his gaze landed on Roy he grinned, a tan hand poking out of his blanket cocoon as he reached for Roy enthusiastically and how the hell was Roy meant to deny this man anything he wanted. He moved to Edward, kneeling down beside him with a frown, it wasn't that cold outside so he didn't understand why Edward was bundled up as he was.

"Light the fire." Edward mumbled, his hand warm in Roy's. It was a request, even if it did sound more like a demand and Roy frowned as he took in Edward's appearance. He was sweating, but he was also shivering and instantly Roy knew that his lover was ill. He shook his head slowly, Edward felt cold to himself, but Roy had no doubt that if he took Ed's temperature then it would be elevated. Roy pressed the back of his hand to Ed's head and it confirmed his suspicions. Fever. Without a doubt. Edward pulled away from the contact, irritably and scowled at the older man.

"What the hell? Get off. Come on Mustang will you just light the fire."

"Edward, you're burning up. You don't need the fire." Roy said softly, shifting to sit next to the blonde instead of kneeling there. "I think you have a fever, and the amount of blankets that you're curled up in won't be helping. I'm going to get you a glass of water and we're going to bed. No arguments." With that Roy stood and moved to the kitchen, ignoring the annoyed huff of his lover.

It didn't take him long to get a glass of water for Edward, but by the time he was back in the living room Edward was wearing one of Roy's gloves and snapping to create a spark. Not that it did him any good without his alchemy, but when had the little shit managed to slip one of his gloves out of his pocket. Sighing, Roy moved to Edward and pulled the blonde to his feet, taking his glove back with a very pointed look. Edward, to his credit, did look a little ashamed. Roy passed him the water and waited in silence until Edward took a sip of it.

"Everything aches." The blonde mumbled into the glass and Roy offered him a small smile. His lover was pathetic when he wasn't well, it was so out of character for Edward, but he couldn't help but feel a little pleased at the trust the blonde offered him. Edward would fight through anything and everything life through at him just so he didn't appear to have any weaknesses, but here in their home, Edward let his defences down. It didn't happen often, but when it did Roy was always warmed by Edward's complete trust in him. "My head hurts and I can't stop shivering and it feels like every muscle is screaming at me."

"Its the fever, Edward." Roy said softly, kissing his lover's forehead and then taking his hand to gently pull him towards the stairs. Edward's eyes found the clock and he frowned.

"You're late. Again."

Sighing, "I know, I'm sorry Ed. The office is a mess right now with the talks with Creta and of course Grumman wants me to sort all of the security for it." Roy explained as they made their way up the stairs. "I completely lost track of time. Had I known you were ill I would have been home sooner."

"I'm not a baby, Roy. I can look after myself." Edward grumbled in reply as Roy pushed open the door to their bedroom. It was a strange concept still to him, that Edward wanted to be here. Edward and his brother had spent too many years of their lives with no place to call home, living on the move without looking back. It had always been clear that Alphonse would be able to settle somewhere, but Roy never thought that Edward would be content in the one place. For that place to be Roy's home – their home – was something that Roy still struggled to understand some days.

"I'm perfectly aware that you are not a baby, my love. Intimately aware of it, in fact." Roy smirked at the blush that reddened Edward's cheeks as he tugged the blankets from his lover's shoulders. "But that is completely irrelevant to me coming home to you sooner if I was aware that you were ill. You are allowed to have someone look after you."

Edward just huffed as Roy took the glass of water from him and then slowly took off all of the blanket layers to Edward's cocoon and then managed to convince the shivering man to take his clothes off too. It took a while, but Edward eventually relented and stripped off to his boxers with Roy's help. Roy nudged him towards the bed while he got undressed himself and a small smile made it to his lips as he heard Ed's sigh as the blonde slipped into the bed. Hanging his uniform over the back of the chair at the deck, Roy wasted no time in changing into his pyjama bottoms and then moving to crawl into the bed next to his shivering boyfriend.

"Come here." Roy said, opening his arms and letting Edward eagerly scoot closer to curl up at his side. Roy pulled him close and the heat that radiated off of him was more than enough to warm them both. Roy kissed Edward on the head and heard him mumble a curse under his breath, which made him laugh a little. "Finish the water before you fall asleep." Roy instructed, shifting a little to pass the glass to Ed, who was muttering to himself. "Edward, a fever can cause dehydration. You know this. Now finish the water then you can get some rest."

Edward pulled a face at Roy as he took the glass, downing the rest of it and then handing the glass back with a raised eyebrow. He was such a brat sometimes. Roy just smiled at him, kissed his temple and put the glass down before letting the blonde settle against his side again. "Thank you. I just want to look after you, beautiful."

"Not a baby." Edward mumbled softly against Roy's neck, and the breath against his skin made him shiver. "And 'm not a girl."

"I'm very much aware Edward, but that doesn't mean that you can't be beautiful, or that I can't look after you." Roy said, tilting his head to Edward's and kissing him softly and slowly and he felt Edward lose himself in it. Ed's hand slipped down to the waistband of his trousers, and Roy gently caught his wrist to stop it from going further. "You need to rest, Edward."

"But..."

"No buts. Get some sleep, and when you're better you can have anything you want from me." Roy said, kissing Edward's nose and getting an irritated huff in response. A noise that just made him chuckle to himself as he tugged Edward closer, thankful that the blonde had seemingly stopped shivering. It didn't take Edward long to fall asleep against Roy's body, but Roy stayed awake a little longer, just to make sure that the blonde at his side was okay. He also took the time to marvel at the man at his side, and everything that he had achieved. Never once did Roy think that they would end up here, madly in love and in each others arms, but looking back on everything, Roy supposed that it was bound to have happened sooner or later. They had always had too much chemistry between them, Roy had always been drawn to Edward's brilliance.