NOTE: This chapter has been revised as of 29/09/09.
Hope this isn't a late update .. wait, it isn't. I'm sorry I didn't reply reviews! I didn't have time to because I was working on this chappie. I finished it just now and I quite like this chappie, I guess.
Well. Thanks to all those lovely, wonderful reviews! Here's Chapter 8!
-8-
The next few days had been nothing but a blur. The temperatures began to drop as the leaves from the trees started to change colour. Roy's attempts to teach the recently christened 'Edward' the basics of household keeping was difficult. All and all, he still had problems in keeping up with the persocom's complaints and arguments whether it was from teaching the persocom how to cook (food would end up all over the counter, the floor or all over themselves for that matter), how to use the vacuum cleaner (Edward would sometimes attack him if Roy playfully tried to use the vacuum cleaner on his hair) and doing the laundry (Edward would sometimes forget to separate the whites and Roy's clothes then came out in different colours).
In realising his attempt to convince Edward to give up that stubborn attitude was hopeless, he decided that he was just better off trying to get used to Edward's rants however irritating they were. Whenever Roy was peckish or bored, he amused himself by teasing the persocom about his height. Edward's reaction to this entertained Roy, even if it ended up with him getting tackled down by the humanoid computer. Sometimes, he just couldn't help himself. It was fun seeing the persocom get worked up by his teasings.
Simultaneously, Roy began to notice just how fond Edward was of his coat. He had berated the persocom not to wear the coat indoors. Initially, the persocom had been reluctant and refused to obey until Roy had no choice but to force the coat off him. Edward had been angry towards him and just like a child, shouted at him to give it back. Roy, over the persocom's yells, loudly reassured him that just for the coat's sake, Edward would be busy doing chores that could damage the unknown fabric responsible for removing 310 Centz from his bank account. Edward, although bitter about admitting it, finally agreed.
So every time they left the house, Edward would follow Roy's example of collecting his coat and putting it on. The dark-haired man found it unusual to see the excitement contained in Edward's face whenever they planned to go out. Perhaps it was just because Edward really liked to wear that coat so much. Somehow, seeing the persocom looking … well that happy made him feel better.
One of the most annoying things about keeping Edward was his inability to function asa computer. It turned out that Edward did not know how to connect himself to the Internet and refused to even try. Roy could only check his mail in the office now. He could, however, upload files into Edward, providing he had an external connection cord and another system. Overall, Edward's only ability seemed to be his tendency to learn new things – whether it was learning new ways of cursing (thanks to those drunks at the bar Roy usually drank with Hughes) to learning how to shop for groceries (Roy had a call from the supermarket's manager once because of the incident Edward stirred up about the high cost of a bunch of tomatoes).
It was late afternoon on a sunny Sunday where Roy lazily sprawled across his couch, his finger tapping on the side of the remote control. He was watching the day's soccer match on his plasma screen TV. Edward was sitting quietly on another sofa, his attention focused on the book he was currently reading.
When the first half of the match was over (the score being 0:0), a news programme came on and Roy stretched for a while, aware that he was feeling thirsty. Feeling very lazy at the moment, he called out to the absorbed persocom.
"Fullmetal?"
"Edward, remember?" replied the persocom without looking up.
"Fine, Edward," Roy said, glancing back at the TV. "Get me a beer in the fridge, will ya?"
"Get it yourself, lazy ass," Edward muttered, flipping over a page, not bothering to lift his gaze up from his reading. Roy narrowed his eyes and considered the idea of tossing a cushion at Edward but in the end, decided against it.
Instead, Roy silently got up, despite his grumpy mood, and walked into the kitchen to fetch himself a can of beer. In returning, he found the news still on TV where the reporter was delivering a news report about the prison jailbreak in Central of a man named Zolf J. Kimblee, an ex-soldier from the last Civil War.
Roy flopped down onto the couch and leaned his head back. It was a peaceful day today as the golden rays of sunshine shone through the open windows. He took another sip from the can and glanced over at Edward, who hadn't moved from his spot. From where he curled comfortably on the couch, the sunlight shone onto those golden locks, highlighting the focused eyes. Edward appeared completely oblivious of his surroundings when he was reading. And boy, did the persocom like to read that much.
The second half of the soccer match came back on, causing Roy to tear his gaze away at the persocom to settle on the screen again. Enough with Edward. Roy decided that the only way he could handle the stubborn blonde was to treat him like a child.
After another hour, the match finally ended with both teams losing (the score was still 0:0). Roy switched his gaze from the screen to the empty can set on the glass table to the window. The sun still shone in that late afternoon and suddenly Roy felt as if the outside world was inviting him. He got up from his seat and stretched, raking his fingers through his dark tresses as he turned and walked out of the room, his mind set on deciding which places he felt like going once he was outside.
He stopped when he realised that Edward was still curled up on the couch, absorbed in his reading. He toyed with the idea of bringing the persocom along. It wasn't as if the persocom would do anything improper at all. Heck, he'd probably liked to be invited out anyway due to the fact that the said blonde was fond of putting on that red coat. What was wrong in seeing that contented expression on Edward's face?
He stuck his head into the living room and called, "Edward, we're going out."
Edward's head shot up to look at him and he instantly stood up, the book dropping to the floor, entirely forgotten. Edward formed a grin as his bright eyes large with that childish excitement Roy recognized whenever they went out. In seeing this, Roy couldn't help but smile.
They put their coats on as usual and Edward began to blabber on about the numerous locations he usually went when on his own – the park, a science museum, the National Library at Central … Roy couldn't help to chuckle at his lively mood.
They left the apartment and made their way towards the park. It was, in a way, colourful that afternoon where the surroundings were blessed with reds and browns of the swirling leaves that were being carried by the wind.
After a while walking through the park, Edward stopped walking to stare at a memorial ring of the recent famous doctors of Amestris. Around them, families noisily strolled by with their humanoid and animal persocoms. A small gust of wind rippled through their coats as Roy stood himself beside Ed, silently waiting for the persocom.
Edward peered at the carved name on the dark marble of the memorial, his lips moving to murmur out the words.
"Timothy J. Marcoh. Died December 7th, 2032. Beloved Military doctor, gifted computer expert and loving friend. Geez, wonder what sorta stuff he did to–"
From the corner of his eye, Roy saw Edward suddenly knocked aside and fall onto his back. Surprised, he turned around to see another child, a small blonde boy wearing a green chapska, scrambling off his motor scooter (those new popular transporters these days) before nervously approaching the sprawling persocom by his feet.
Edward whipped his head around to see the boy and yelled harshly at him, "What the hell was that for?!"
The poor boy looked frightened at those words, "I... I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to crash into you. I didn't see you–"
"Liar. And what the hell do you mean by you didn't see me, huh?"
Uncomfortably, Roy shot the boy an apologetic look, "I'm sorry about this. He's a little hot-headed sometimes. It's not you."
"Will you shut up, Mustang?" Edward snapped and Roy felt an irritated twitch from the vein on his temple. Edward continued shouting at the boy, "Your stupid scooter is dangerous! What were you thinking? Zooming around the park like this – people could get hurt from–"
"Edward …"
"–and besides! You're just being careless with that thing …!"
"Ed, stop it." Roy found his attempts useless because his persocom continued shouting and his loud volume was beginning to attract stares towards their direction. The poor boy Edward was shouting at was close to tears. Roy narrowed his eyes as he reached out and grabbed Edward's shoulder and pulled him away from the boy, speaking wearily above the persocom's loud voice, "I'm really sorry about that. Don't listen to him, okay? He doesn't mean any of those things!"
"Wha-? Hey! Mustang! What the hell -? What are you doing?" Edward struggled against his grasp and Roy continued to drag him until they exited the park. The persocom swung his arm and a metal fist hit Roy's shoulder. Roy let go of the persocom as Edward spun around and glared hotly at him through bright golden optics.
"Ed," Roy reassured quietly, trying hard to hold his temper as he brought up his hand to massage the forming bruise where the persocom hit him. "That boy said it was an accident, okay?" he paused as if to let the words sink in before continuing. "He didn't mean any of those things – he wasn't trying to hurt or annoy you at all …"
Edward's eyes narrowed in disgust. "There you go again. What is up with the way you talk to me like that? It's like you're talking to me as if I was a child!"
Roy felt his eyebrow rise. Edward had finally caught on. "That's because – despite the fact that you are a persocom, Edward – the way you act is undoubtedly that of a child. Therefore, the only way to deal with you is to treat you like one."
The persocom's eyes widened with disbelief. He opened his mouth to retort back but shut it. Golden orbs started to burn as an upper lip lifted into a snarl.
"I'm not a child!" he finally spat. "So stop treating me like one because I hate it!"
Roy smirked. He really wished he could record this on tape so Edward could really hear how much of a child he sounded like. "Well," he said calmly, crossing his arms as he gazed down at the fuming persocom. "I'll gladly give you a number of reasons as to why I think you should be treated like a child, Ed. Firstly, you are very demanding."
"I'm what? Since when-!"
"Demanding behaviour is so very child-like. Children ask their parents to get them what they want regardless of situations. Secondly, you complain and whine about everything."
"When would I–"
"Thirdly, you are impossibly rude and impolite to people–"
"STOP IT, MUSTANG! STOP IT! I'M NOT A CHILD!" Edward screamed, his face now twisted with anger. He turned around, kicking dirt into the air and took off running, leaving a surprised Roy behind.
Roy blinked as he watched Edward's figure growing fainter into the depths of the city centre up ahead. He let out a heavy sigh to relieve his previous irritation. At the moment, he was feeling two things. Firstly, he was impressed at his attempt to confront Edward in such a calm manner. Secondly, he was very much surprised that Edward, his persocom, was indeedacting just like a real child. Especially running off like that. Didn't children behave like that when they got upset with their parents?
Roy felt oddly paternal after realising so. He didn't expect Edward to become this upset with him. After all, Ed was a persocom.
But a persocom being upset? What sort of persocom reacts this way? It's almost as if Roy had hurt his feelings. As seconds passed, Roy began to realise that even if Edward was a persocom, the dark haired man felt a little guilty about upsetting him like that.
Except why on earth would he care if the persocom was upset? Ed wasn't human so why should he even bother?
However the more he thought about it – thought about the way Edward looked so angry at him like that – his guilt intensified. Dragging his feet towards the direction of the city centre, he finally made his decision.
Evenif Edward was a machine, Roy needed to apologise. No, he wanted to apologise.
He broke into a jog, remembering the path Edward took. Passing a couple of shops, he kept that same direction until he reached a small, deserted alleyway between two buildings. He was about to turn around to look at his surroundings when he heard a strangled yell coming from inside the shadowed lane.
He turned – and his eyes grew wide.
Edward was struggling to get out of the grip of a man with a grey overall who had a long, thin blade held up against his throat.
Roy took a couple of steps towards them before the man turned and saw him, instantly pulling Edward against him. The knife gleamed threateningly against Edward's pale throat. Roy's eyes focused on the red lettering on the man's clothes.
The words tattooed on the breast pocket of the grey uniform spelt out:
7906. KIMBLEE Z.J.
(end chapter)
Oooh… I've added Kimblee in! I need some research into his character if I'm going to get him to talk next chapter. Anyways! There's a very important clue in this chapter that's relevant to the rest of the story! But I shan't tell you – not yet anyway, it will spoil the surprise!
I'm a bit uncomfortable with Ed shouting at that boy with the scooter and Roy giving reasons on why Ed should be treated like a child. I thought it was a bit vague and needed more description or something else added – but I couldn't think of any! Oh well! I think you may notice that Ed and Roy have a sort of paternal relationship thingy going on – Roy acting almost like a dad to Ed. Well.. that's just a starter on their developing relationship. We may be seeing more paternal EdRoy fluff before the romantic feelings start to form.
Hah! I have some questions to ask you guys! Remember when I asked Ed and Roy's birthdays, I decided on Ed's birthday date already! And a present for him but out of interest –
1) What sort of present should Roy give Ed?
And secondly, I've been trying to decide between the two and I don't know which to pick!
2) Should Roy kiss Ed – or should Ed kiss Roy?
Oh, and tell me what you think of this chapter please! Stay tuned! XD
