Chapter 10 - Ties

Edward looked in the mirror and sighed at the monstrosity around his neck. The black tie was tied haphazardly around his upright collar.

"Why won't you tie properly?"

He pulled it off and threw it at the mirror. His scowling face looked back at him from the glass. He had tried and failed four times now.

Stupid party. Don't know why I have to go anyway.

Roy had insisted in his and Al's attendance at the party which was for the family of the East City Police Department. For some reason, Roy was desperate to introduce them properly to his colleagues. He hoped it wasn't because he wanted them to place nice with Miss Hawkeye again. Edward's lip curled at the thought. His guardian had not mentioned anything about her since the barbecue, but since he had been singing in the shower every morning, Edward was pretty sure that seeing Hawkeye in a nice dress was probably one of his principal reasons for attending.

Edward rolled his eyes. He didn't see what Roy liked so much about Miss Hawkeye. Yeah - she was pretty, but she rarely smiled. Although, she had smiled during the barbecue when she was with Roy.

A light tap on his door interrupted his thoughts.

Edward sighed. "What?"

"Are you ready yet, Brother?"

"Nearly, Al.".

Like he would admit to Alphonse that he was struggling to put on the damn tie.

Edward listened to his brother's footsteps fade before decided to face the lesser evil of asking Roy for help. Once he heard the sitting room door clicked closed, he bent over and picked up the tie from where it had fallen on the floor.

Opening the door a crack, Edward looked around. Satisfied, he opened the door fully and walked down the landing to Roy's door. The door was ajar.

"Roy? You in there?"

"Yeah - come on in."

Edward entered the room. Roy was already dressed, although his cuffs were undone.

"Did you see my cuff-links by any chance?"

"No - why would I have your cuff-links?"

Roy's sigh was long and drawn out. It was the one that he reserved especially for Edward, or at least he had never seen him use it on Al.

"I just asked if you saw them. Not if you had them."

"Well - I don't okay."

"Fine." Roy rolled his eyes. "So, you wanted to ask me something."

"Do I have to go to this stupid party?"

"Ed, this is really important to me. I want to make a good impression with the higher ups."

"But why do we have to go?"

"Because I would like you there, and everyone wants to meet you two."

"Whatever." Edward shook his head. "What about the tie? I hate wearing a tie."

"It's a formal event, Ed."

"Of course," he said snidely. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you, Roy."

"Come on, Ed, I don't ask for a lot, " Roy said. "Surely, you can put up with it for tonight. We can do something fun tomorrow."

Edward glared at him. "Show me how to tie the damn thing so."

Roy's eyes widened and his mouth opened into silent "oh.""

"I wore a tie at Mom's funeral, but Pinako tied it for me."

Roy's face softened and he walked over to Edward. He took the tie from Edward. Hand on the back of his back, he pushed him towards the mirror.

"Criss cross the wide end over the the thinner end, the wide end should be to your left-"

"I know how to get that far," Edward said. "I'm not completely useless."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Do you want my help or not?"

Edward nodded. "But, Roy, would mind not telling Al?"

"I promise. I solemnly swear your reputation will not be damaged."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Do you have to be such an asshole?"

"Someday, that mouth of yours is going to get you in serious trouble, and I won't be there to get you out of it."

Edward looked at his watch. "Look can we get on with it?"

"Loop the wide end over the narrow end and pull it across again."

Edward followed the instructions. "And now what?"

"Loop the wide end back over again."

The front of the tie was facing forward again.

"Yeah - that's right. Now, put the wide end up through the back loop."

Edward bit on his lip in concentration.

"Uh -huh. You need to bring the wide end down through the front loop. Then tighten it when you're done."

Edward did as he was told and then looked at his reflection. The end product looked a lot better.

"See not that hard after all." Roy pulled the tie a little more to secure the knot.

"Thanks Roy."

"What for?" He arched an eyebrow. "I did nothing after all. I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes."

Edward smirked as he left Roy's room. He went back into his own room and grabbed his phone from the dresser. He put on the suit jacket and went downstairs.

Alphonse was waiting in the sitting room when he walked in..

"Hey Ed. Did you have trouble fixing your tie too?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "What are you talking about? It was easy."

"Lucky you, " Alphonse said. "I had to Google how to do my tie."

Edward's face darkened. Shit! Why didn't I think of that?

To be continued...