ROY
"And this can be your room for the time being." Sparse, but I had a feeling that Edward really didn't care. A double bed with black bed sheets, a single silvery gray comforter that had been a gift from my mother, a dark cherry dresser and then another hunk of cherry in the shape of a desk. A set of double doors for the closet to the left of the bed, and opposite them a single bathroom. Simple, and unlived in. "Al already put your clothes away, and your research in the desk. Dinner will be in about an hour or two. You mentioned something about a nap?"
Helping the small blond over to the bed, I ignored the single hiss of pain as Edward swung his new metal limb up onto the mattress as he passed the cane over to me.
"Stupid cane, haven't needed one since I was twelve." Ed grumbled, glaring at the stick of plastic as it had done him great disservice. "Next time Winry throws something at me, I hope it's a wrench."
"And in addition to the Rockbell rules, I have a few of my own. Any messes you make, you clean up. Anything you need from the market, write it on the list attached to the ice box. I go at the end of the week." Ignoring the new grumblings as Edward settled himself into the warm bed, he passed over the water bottle and two blue pills that Edward needed to take now. Another pair would be needed at dinner. "A maid comes in every Tuesday and Saturday, her name is Sandra and I'd appreciate it if you were at least civil to her. I don't have a real 'bed time', so if I bother you say something." I was trying to think of anything else that needed to be said. "Erm, the water heater's broken; you have to hit the pipes a few times before it works. It's due to be fixed sometime next week."
That was pretty much it. I wouldn't be having any women over while Edward was here, or at least not until I figured out what exactly Edward wanted. Of course, if I could figure out what I wanted, that might be a step in the right direction too.
"Need anything?" I realized I had been staring, lost in thought with a finger to my chin, for the last twenty seconds. Not good.
"For you to leave and get the lights on your way out." Edward grumbled, squishing his face into the pillow. Bright gold strands escaped the confines of a braid and sprang up into the air, waving slowly before relaxing back onto the cotton. "You hovering is weird, freakin' me out. Go 'way." A sleepy yawn and eye blink before my young guest conked out, snoring lightly.
"Yes well, if you do need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call." I said dryly, edging myself away from the bed.
Shutting the door, I sighed heavily before heading down the hall to my own room. Better decorated then the spare room I had thrown together not two days ago, I kicked off my boots before stripping out of my uniform to dress down in civvies. Starched blue hit the floor in exchange for a comfortable pair of black sweats and a white sleeve-less muscle shirt in exchange for my jacket and dress shirt. Gah, sweltering in the best of weather. And no real need to dress up when the only other occupant of the house was wearing a thread-bare pair of shorts and a holey shirt. Old clothes that didn't hide where the two limbs clashed with metal and flesh.
"What to make for supper…?" Edward had been using both arms lately, his fingers out of their prison and moving freely. And with his new right arm attached three days earlier then both legs, he had been eating a greater variety of food. Sweet rolls not included.
Checking in on the blonde was not something I felt inclined to do. Edward slept lightly when not drugged and hated to be bothered for something as trivial as a check in.
Tromping down the stairs as quietly as possible, socked feet slipping across lacquered wood before hitting the second landing. Grapping the wooden post, I gave a twirl on my uninjured arm before heading down the bottom steps. I hated my house, all empty and big enough to make things echo dimly. Footsteps would thud dully across the halls and no matter how many rugs or paintings or things I pushed into empty spaces there was always an underling chill that seeped into the skin. And the several fireplaces on each story did nothing for it.
The kitchen, sparse and silver in perfection, opened up under skilled fingers as I set about making the promised pasta. In seconds I had a pot of water on the stove and another pan heating before I placed a mixture of ground hamburger and sausage onto the heated metal. Fat spat harshly into the air as it cooked, and I turned from it to pull a spinning spice rack from one corner. Fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers joined a cutting board moments later, accompanied by yet another black pot.
Cooking was just another form of alchemy. A looser, more taste orientated alchemy, but one none the less. One that I had learned from my mother and all my aunts before they had trickled down to only one or two family members. The youngest of the brood of Mustangs, I had been trapped in the kitchen with the ruling females of my extended clan.
Picking a knife off the chopping block, I started on one of the tomatoes, feeling the mushy insides coat my fingers as I diminished it from a sphere to more cubes. It was odd how relaxing it could be, and one of the main reasons why I preferred to cook rather than go out and eat.
'I wonder if Ed would like to try Xingian food? It's been awhile since I've actually cooked any of my mother's recipes for anyone. Hughes liked them well enough, but not a lot of people really prefer spicy food. And Edward does have a bit of a sweet tooth.' Forgoing some of the heavier spices in favor of making the home made sauce a tad bit sweeter than I normally would have, I starting in on the salad as the sauce simmered, softening the tomato chunks.
Al wouldn't be back for another hour or so, wanting to go and hit the library while his brother slept. After reassuring him twice on the way over, Riza actually having to yank him from the car to shorten the time Alphonse spent worrying over the hostile blond.
Dropping noodles into boiling water, I searched the fridge for acceptable dessert options. 'Not a one.' Though Sandra had been nice enough to pick up essentials in the kitchen, she hadn't grabbed anything I could use to appease the suger-addicted teenager that rested upstairs.
'Teenager, he's still a teenager. It doesn't seem like he should be though. The force that is Edward Elric should be ten years older at least.' (I'm taking liberties and a poetic license here. Ed is 17 and Roy is only 26. I'm not big on pedophiles chaps, and the age difference is a little strange. So only a nine year difference, I can deal with that.) 'His birthday is…one week or two? I can barely remember the date as is. I'll have to pull his file again, or ask Alphonse. And then explain why I want to know.' Wouldn't that be a treat, explaining to an armor bound boy that a man nearly a decade older than his brother had an immoral fixation on the self same brother?
"Always smarter then me Maes, and I'm glad you were around to keep me from jumping the little brat." I muttered, adding another carrot to the salad. "And how the fuck you knew I was secretly gay when even I thought I was a skirt chaser just makes things weirder." Maybe gay was a harsh term, I had only had one male obsession over the years and a few dozen female ones. Selectively bi?
I checked the clock, making sure I wasn't letting time slip by while talking to a dead man. 'Another twenty minutes, and then I need to wake him up. Alphonse will need to either help me talk him into a shower or help me hold him still while one of us turns the hose on him.' Obsessive compulsive, Edward was known to slack on his own personnel appearance when it came down to it. And the sensitivity of his automail ports this soon after reconnection made him hesitant to jump into any kind of water. 'It's amazing how much I didn't know about him before this. I guess watching him outside the office has been a real eye-opener.' Sensitive or not, my nose isn't going to put up with him much longer.
Glad that I had mobility if not full control of my arm, I went about sitting the kitchen table. No reason to dirty up the stiff formal sitting of the dinning room when I knew that neither of us would adhere to any type of manners. Outside of my own kitchen, I could match Edward for lack of manners. Growing up in one of the highlights of East's bests, I knew when to enjoy the social freedoms of private eatings. Chuckling to myself, I wondered if Ed would even know there was more than one type of fork for eating. 'Not likely. I've seen him use his fingers more than any utensil.'
A pouch of medications sat innocently on the hall table, and when dumped onto the kitchen counter I sighed. Pain killers, antibiotics, vitamins to make up for the lack of bone marrow, and a few supplements to help him gain weight.Ranging from small blue pills the size of seed and others the ruby red of fresh blood and the size of horse pills. A complicated schedule sat underneath the fallen pill bottles, listing quantities, times, and frequencies of which he should take and what he could and couldn't have with it.
Arranging the ones I would need to force down the boy's throat, pain killers were all well and good when Ed couldn't move but when he thought he could handle the pain he nearly shoved them back down the giver's throat. My own medication, low dose codeine, was only taken once a day.
I'd already taken mine, thank you very much.
Both pots were combined, the messier sauce crusted one and the frying pan hit the sink and I let warm water edge over them as I carried the larger one to the table. Sink turned off, dishes grimaced at. The one thing I hated about cooking; clean up.
Turning to the wall clock once again, I decided the brat had already taken a long enough nap and headed up after him. A small part of me was happy that my private domain had been torn inside out and presented for someone, anyone, else. To let them see into it, no matter how bereft of human life.
Another part was terrified. For many of the same reasons. Everything was out in the open, I couldn't hide anything.
'But what to hide? Even in your room, the den, and the kitchen, you haven't really taken hold of this house. Things just sort of…are. What happens now? You can't push him into filling your house like your family once did.' The thoughts rankled at my happiness, making it seem cheap and short lived.
I'll just have to deal with it. It wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with people leaving, and it won't be the last.
…
Edward did not want to be woken up, and protested enough that I almost let him sleep. If not for the fact that I knew he hadn't eaten all day, as the train ride had made him queasy, I would have let him. However, after much fussing, teasing, and threatening, I managed him down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"There, that wasn't so bad was it Ed?" I couldn't call him Fullmetal anymore, because in all ways the Fullmetal alchemist had been relieved of duty.
"Bite me bastard, I know you enjoyed every minute of it."
"Now now, that isn't very nice. What would Alphonse say?"
"As my brother isn't here, I'm allowed to say whatever I damn well please."
Ignoring me again, Edward went about shoveling noodles onto his plate, pulling a small pile of French bread toast along side them.
Smirking down at him, I nudged a pile of napkins into view before crossing over to my side of the table. Keeping my eyes to my plate, I pointed to another small dish that held his medication. "I expect those taken, or you won't have dessert." 'Gate, what am I? His father? EWWW!' Dashing all thoughts of that from my head, I tried to keep my features schooled and untelling of my more gutterish nature.
"Hn." Gulping down his next mouth full, he weighed the pills with his eyes. Four to take. "What's for dessert?"
"What would you like?"
"That's not an answer."
"Regardless, I don't have anything, to make or give you. I was going to go out after dinner and grab a few things, but if you'd rather leave it up to me, that's fine."
"Like hell. I'll come with you." Negotiating his next bite by cutting the noodles in half and shoveling it onto his toast, he gulped his food down. And I thought I was bad. Bits of sauce stuck to his chin and cheeks, a lone piece of tomato sticking to his nose. And if he even thought about sitting foot outside this house, he was so changing his clothes.
"And why is that?"
"I don't trust you. You might forget or something."
That was lovely. But the mischievous glance of his eyes said more than his words did. "So says the one who spent most of the two day train ride doped to his gills. I never knew you were a happy drunk Ed, but I think after your little bout with your drugs it could be assumed."
Oh yes, most of the time Ed was either giggling his ass off or hugging whatever came within arm reach. Al had to sit on him a few times to ensure that the people going by their seats did not become victims of his little grasping fits. And along with the giggles and displays of affection came a near nonstop flow of words that might have had to do with either Al or Roy. Maybe.
"Shut it Mustang, I was drugged. And as I remember I wasn't as bad off as you. At least I could walk. Not like some useless Generals I know." He cleared his first plate and went for another, making sure of his ability to do so with an eye glance in my direction.
Grimacing, I decided to drop the subject while I was on a level playing field. My reaction to drugs sent me into a more… loose state. Stupid hot flashes. I don't think Riza forgave me either.
"If you behave yourself, and change, then yes, I'll let you go."
"So if I don't, I'm a prisoner? You going to chain me to the wall?"
"Don't tempt me Ed."
"It's not that hard pervert."
…
"Are you sure that you can carry those? I can take it if they are too heavy." Fretting over my smaller friend, I tried yet again to take one of the paper bags that Edward carried. I should have known better.
"No, I've got it bastard! Get the door if you want to be helpful." Ed snapped back, dancing out of reach when I failed to catch anything with my fingers.
Giving up, I did as directed, watching the blonde with a frown. Even as he tried to be tough and ignore the looks that I gave him, the slight limp that he got every third step or so gave him away. He had left his cane behind in his room, claiming that he'd be fine. I should have forced the thing down his throat, regardless of what he said.
Leading him back to the kitchen, I helped him stow the groceries with only one or two short taunts before ending with most of the groceries put away. Leaving the makings of triple chocolate cake on the counter. 'At least I talked him out of angel food cake.' I thought, seizing up the items before glancing down at my hobbled helper. "Do you want to help or go read?"
Looking at the counter, Ed cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. 'Well, I've always wanted a dog and Ed at the moment does look like a golden retriever, hair and all.' Thinking back on the arguments that had been started from less than an insinuation of Edward being any sort of dog, military or Mustang's, I decided not to voice my thoughts aloud. 'He is damn cute though.'
"I thought you said you'd make me dessert Mus—Roy. I didn't think that meant I had to help."
"Of course not, but it would be polite if you did."
"I don't have any, why don't you go out and buy me some? All this money and it wouldn't be a chore for you."
"Would you even know how to use them?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not spending money on you yet again when I'm assured that it will once again become a waste."
"Waste? When have I ever wasted your money?"
"Who do you think finances your little escapades? And with your stomach your research funds does little to cover your appetite."
We both missed the front door being opened, but Alphonse's metallic sigh rattled through our self-contained little world and set us jumping. "Brother, please be nicer to Mr. Mustang, and maybe he'd leave you alone, ne?"
"So now you're on his side? Thanks a lot Al. I've got a traitor for a brother!" Edward threw up his hands and stormed out of the kitchen, followed by a very apologetic, yet chastising younger sibling.
Listening to the stomping, yelping mess that was my new housemates, I decided that even if Edward worked my fingers to a bone cooking meals day in and day out, it would be well worth it if I got to keep the pair of them around a bit more.
The resonating sound of a twinkling crash, which sounded very expensive, was soon followed by a horrified 'Brother!' and a louder metal thump as one gauntlet hit one blonde head.
"I'll fix it!"
A/N
Hello again! As you can see, another new chapter, this time in Roy's POV. I have a question, do you like it better in first or limited third pov? And again, I own nothing more than a key chain with smirking Flame Alchemists. Thank you for the reviews I have been getting and all the support!
