Note before you read:
- Ed is aged up to be around 19 or 20ish for whenever Maes's wedding took place; Roy is around 30 plus a few
- This fic is also AU for these reasons and for others that will soon become obvious
- Roy refers to Ed as a "kid" several times throughout this story but that in no way means that Ed is underage in any way; just Roy being sensitive to an age difference.
- There is foul language in this fic because, "ED" and yeah, I think Roy definitely at least internalizes some harsh language from time to time.
Please enjoy and feel free to comment!
"So, please raise your glasses and join me in congratulating my undeserving best friend Maes, and his 'far too good and beautiful for him' bride, Gracia!"
Roy beamed his most winning smile as he concluded his toast to his best friend, Maes Hughes, as his best man. The people in attendance at the wedding saluted their own glasses, laughing and clapping as Roy moved to sit down at his place at the head table. Maes reached for Roy as he passed, grabbing him round the neck to scrub his whiskered face against Roy's clean shaven one in a ridiculous, but very Maes, display of affection; he finished off the assault with a sloppy wet kiss to Roy's abused cheek.
"This guy, this gorgeous gem; can you believe this charming prince is still single? Ladies please," Maes made a dramatic sweep towards the audience, "if an undeserving ugly bastard like me can find such a beautiful wife, surely one of you can, at the very least, right the travesty of this absolute darling going home alone tonight?"
Maes was laughing, his new wife was laughing, the audience was in uproar with laughter and catcalling; everyone was basking in the glow of mirth and joy that can only come with those who shared in love.
Roy was blushing and laughing as well and on the inside he felt like he was being gutted alive.
Roy went through the motions of the remainder of the wedding reception; the obligatory dancing, chatting and mingling, all with the pit inside of him where his heart should be growing and festering. By the time Maes and his lovely new bride finally swept away together for the night, Roy was feeling like he might actually be physically sick.
Roy desperately felt the call of his quiet hotel room and the bottle of whisky that he had bought for this very occasion. He strategically picked his way through the crowd, avoiding as much eye contact as possible, as he made his way carefully towards the exit.
He had just made it to the coat check room when he was suddenly pulled sideways behind a rack of coats. Roy turned to see that it was one of the bridesmaids (a cousin of Gracia if he remembered correctly) who had pulled him aside. She wasted no time in making her intentions known as her pink clawed fingers slid their way to the inside of his open jacket; one then moving to grip the back of his neck while the other raked down the front of his vest.
"Oh my," Roy stated brilliantly.
The bridesmaid (Tammy? Sammy, maybe?) giggled and bit her bright pink bottom lip; her finger trailing circles around the middle button of his vest.
"Hi, there, best man. I thought I'd save us the time and get right to it; Give us more time for other…'things' to do." She simpered.
She ran her tongue over her teeth.
Roy felt like he was going to lose his very nice meal of filet mignon.
"I'm sorry, Tammy (✔)," Roy started as he began extricating himself from her grasp, "Maes may have meant well, but he was off the mark with my plans for this evening; and specifically if they involved company."
Roy was pleased that he at least didn't sound like he was about to lose his insides all over Tammy's frilly pink dress.
Tammy pouted dramatically. "Oh, really? That's a shame. Are you sure you wouldn't rather spend time with me instead?" She whined as she traced her cleavage with a pointed finger.
Roy pulled himself fully from her grasp and held her remaining hand as if she were a dear thing and not the current source of his roiling anxiety. "I truly am sorry," he murmured, "Maybe another time."
Sometimes, Roy impressed even himself with his ability to bullshit people.
Tammy pouted some more before finally wandering off with a backwards longing look.
As soon as her pink heels were around the corner, Roy all but ran to get his coat; hauling it on and refusing to look at anyone until he was on the safety of the sidewalk outside of the reception hall.
Roy eventually slowed his walk as he felt himself at a safe distance. Before his run in with Tammy, Roy had fully intended to hail a cab and head straight to his hotel as quickly as possible. Now however, he thought it very unwise to head to bed (or more specifically, to his bottle of whisky) with that encounter as the last one of the night.
Having been raised in Central City, Roy was familiar with most of the local entertainment establishments as well as those that resided around the area of his hotel. If his memory served him correctly, there was a club within walking distance to his hotel that he had been rather fond of back in the day; it had been a smaller scale, more intimate place, with good booze and a relaxing atmosphere.
His decision made, Roy hailed a cab.
The club was very much as Roy remembered it. It was indeed small scale and intimate with booths lining the circular room; the bar stood softly lit in the center of it all with plush stools surrounding it like a ring. Being a weeknight in late autumn, the bar was far from packed and most patrons occupied the booths with a few more dotted around the center bar. A small stage was set up on one side of the bar for live music. The bar had a very mellow atmosphere and given the day that he was having, it made for an especially welcoming sight for Roy.
Roy slid into an empty booth with a sigh. He closed his eyes as he listened to the soothing music from the jazz band playing in the back. He gripped and massaged his forehead with his right hand as he willed himself to relax.
'You need to be happy for him; you know how happy he is; didn't you see how he looked at her? You know he can't love yo-'
"Hard night?"
Roy startled as his thoughts were interrupted and he looked up to see the owner of the sudden voice next to him. He felt his tongue dry up in his useless mouth as he took in the absolute vision that had appeared next to him.
A young man was standing next to his table with a wide grin on his beautiful face. His long golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail that cascaded down his lean back and incredible golden eyes almost glowed as they regarded him. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with red sleeve garters encircling his muscular biceps; a black vest hugged his abs and hips just right and tight leather pants clung to his toned legs that made Roy's thoughts turn to sin. One elegant hand held a pad of paper while the other, an automail hand, rested on a tempting hip.
The man was absolutely stunning.
And Roy was indeed stunned.
The beautiful man's grin slowly grew wider as he continued to regard Roy patiently. Roy managed to scrape enough of his brain cells together to first take note that this beautiful thing was his server, and also that said server was still waiting for an answer to the question he had asked.
"Yeah, you could say that," Roy started.
Much later, Roy wouldn't be able to say where the nerve or clarity (or lack thereof) to speak aloud his next thought came from in the presence of such a beautiful man while also still reeling from such a shit-tacular day:
"...However, it seems it just got a whole lot better."
Roy felt himself flush at his own boldness; god he really needed a drink. And sleep. And maybe a good lay. Preferably with this gorgeous young thing? Not necessarily in that order... fu-ck, he was doomed.
Rather than be annoyed at the cheesy line as Roy had assumed he rightfully would be, the server's smile instead grew wider and Roy was surprised to see a dusting of color appear on the angel's cheeks.
"Oh yeah? Well… glad I could be of service already." A pen suddenly appeared like magic on the notepad. "My name is Ed and I'll be your server this evening."
'Ed' smiled coyly at Roy. "So,what's your poison tonight?" he asked.
Roy gratefully accepted the opportunity to start over this encounter; maybe try a little more reservation and less desperation this time.
"Whisky on the rocks, please, if you'd be so kind," he said politely.
Ed nodded as he scribbled on the notepad. He flashed a strange little smile at Roy, "I'm always kind to those in need. Anything else?"
Roy shook his head in the negative and 'Ed' turned to leave.
"Be right back." He smiled at Roy over his shoulder.
Roy watched him go for a moment and not even the view of the wonder that was Ed's ass in those leather pants could stop his thoughts from turning back to the day's events. The soft jazz had taken on a bit of a mournful tune and he was soon staring blankly at the empty seat in front of him. Roy imagined that a certain dark haired man was sitting there, grinning at him as the soft lights of the bar glinted off of his glasses; a look of deep fondness towards Roy in his viridescent eyes...
Roy felt a sharp pang of longing followed by a sickening wave of guilt. He really was the lowest of the low. What was wrong with him? What would his dear, unsuspecting friend think if he only knew what a miserable, traitorous, piece of-
"Oh, shit! Man down! Man down!"
Roy looked up to see that Ed had arrived (and thank the ever blessed god) with his drink.
"Sorry! I came as quickly as I could!" Ed said apologetically as he hurried over.
Roy mustered a watery smile as Ed slid his drink to him and then carefully placed a small dish of chocolate covered strawberries on the table as well.
"Compliments of the house." He explained at Roy's questioning look. "They always make me feel a bit better at least, when I'm having a shitty day." Ed explained further with a sympathetic smile.
"Thank you," Roy said, feeling rather touched at the gesture. "That's very kind of you."
Ed beamed at Roy. "You're very welcome," he said. Then Ed's smile turned a bit wicked;
"Told ya I'd be kind."
Roy blinked at Ed. Was- was that what he thought it was? Was this kid hitting on him? Roy considered this for only a brief moment before he felt like smacking himself; hard. Was he really so pathetically desperate for affection that he would believe a young man in his prime would actually be interested in an older man like him? The kid was probably just being nice (or maybe even playing it up for extra tips). Yeah, that had to be it; nothing to see here folks.
"Yes, well, thanks again. " Roy said a bit morosely; refusing to look directly at the beautiful server now.
Ed seemed a bit taken aback by Roy's sudden avoidance but then smiled softly at him.
"Happy to do it. Please, enjoy your drink and be sure to let me know if there's anything … else that you need."
Roy looked up in time to see his beautiful server's alluring smile towards Roy over his shoulder; his golden hair shimmering like liquid gold as he left.
Roy took a long sip of his much appreciated whisky. He was sure he hadn't imagined his server's double entendre just now; and he sure as shit knew what that smile meant.
Yeah, ….so; the kid was definitely flirting with him.
Roy felt hope flutter it's wings as if testing its strength; he was surprised to find that the only thing keeping his hopes from taking a test flight was not knowing what Ed's intentions actually were regarding the flirting.
But then Roy's bleak reality came creeping its way back into his thoughts and Roy sighed into his whisky; this day had really gotten to him hadn't it? The sad fact was that it ultimately didn't matter what the attractive server's intentions were, because the one sure thing this night was how it was going to end; with Roy drunk, miserable and alone.
Roy spent the better part of an hour drinking whisky and nibbling on the gifted strawberries, trying to allow the gentle jazz drifting across the club to clear his mind of the persistent depressing thoughts. He was just finishing his second drink of whisky and contemplating his depressing return to his hotel room for even more whisky when Ed appeared at his table with two drinks in hand.
Roy looked questionly at Ed and the server smiled.
"Compliments," he said as a means of explanation, raising a glass towards Roy.
"Oh?" Roy said with a half hearted glance towards the bar, "from who? The house again?"
A slight blush suddenly appeared across the cheeks of the server.
"No, it's from me actually...Uh, " he smiled shyly at Roy. "...my shift is just over. I was wondering if I could join you."
Roy felt his mouth go dry and his brain check out for a moment. He was going to have to reassess this server's intentions because "looking for tips" was definitely not what was happening here. Roy felt his heart rate increase as he allowed himself the next ridiculous notion; surely this sweet young thing wasn't actually interested in him? Was he?
"Sure, be my guest." Roy really was a master politician because somehow that had come out sounding perfectly neutral and with only maybe the slightest hint of the fluttering turmoil his brain had become.
At least Ed didn't seem to notice that Roy was having a silent meltdown as he slid into the seat opposite Roy's with a smile like the sun.
"Great, thanks!" Ed said, pushing the drink he had brought for Roy across the table with his gleaming automail hand while cradling his own drink, gin and tonic, with his natural hand.
Roy, still feeling a bit stunned, picked up the offered drink and took a careful sip. He was surprised by the richness of the taste and it must have showed on his face because Ed suddenly spoke up.
"That's an old Drachman whisky, limited stock as you can imagine!" Ed laughed, his straight white teeth gleaming.
And yes, Roy could imagine, seeing how there was an embargo on Drachman goods of any kind. Ed was taking a bit of a risk giving him this; after all, he had no way of knowing who Roy was. He clearly didn't realize that Roy was a member of the military (an officer no less) with him out of uniform, still wearing his fitted black tux as he was.
So, What did it mean that this lovely young man would potentially risk his job (and this very establishment) just to make an impression on him? It seemed a bit risky just to cheer up a customer, right?... Roy felt his mind begin to melt a bit as the indications of Ed's behaviour turned ever closer to Ed actually being genuinely interested in him.
Roy managed a small thankful smile. "Yeah, I bet it is. I must seem like a pretty sad case if you felt the need to risk bringing out this stuff."
Ed's faint blush was back. "Well, my other efforts to cheer you up didn't seem to be working so, I thought I'd... up my game a bit."
And there was that purposeful emphasis again; Roy swallowed reflexively and took another sip of the contraband drink. "I... see, well, thank you in any case; this is wonderful." And it really was.
Ed's lovely smile that showed his gleaming teeth was back. "Glad to hear it!" he laughed before his face slowly flushed again. "So, ah…" he started hesitantly, "was it the bride or the groom?"
Roy blinked at Ed. "Beg your pardon?" he asked.
Ed's face darkened more as he continued, "Was it the bride or the groom that you were in love with?"
Roy wasn't usually surprised by most people. For the most part, people were easy enough for someone like Roy to predict. In fact, he took great pride in his ability to read people pretty accurately. It had come with experience and some hard learned lessons; it had also become essential in helping him on the treacherous path he had chosen to walk.
Then along came Ed.
How this server, who he had just met not two hours ago, knew so precisely what was eating at Roy's very soul he had no idea. It left him breathless, leave alone speechless.
Ed scratched the back of his head sheepishly at Roy's obvious shock.
"Sorry if that was too personal," he said apologetically, "I sometimes forget that I shouldn't be so forward with people. It's just that it helps me when I talk about-"
"It was the groom," Roy heard himself say from somewhere far away.
Ed blushed and then nodded; a new gleam of "something" in his eyes as he regarded Roy.
"Is he…is he straight?" Ed asked quietly.
Roy nodded mechanically, as if he was being controlled by someone other than himself; maybe this 'Ed' knew some sort of alchemy that was making him confess to a perfect stranger.
"That's rough, I'm so sorry." Ed sounded like he meant it; his eyes shimmering like pools of molten gold. "Did he know?" Ed continued so very softly.
Roy's vision blurred and he blinked rapidly to dispel the sudden wetness there.
"No," Roy shook his head minutely as he spoke. "He doesn't know. No one knows. I- I've never told another living soul about this. Ever."
Ed smiled gently as he continued speaking in that oh so soft voice, "Except for me, huh?"
Roy looked at Ed as if seeing him for the first time. "Yeah… yeah, I guess so," Roy said, a bit amazed. Just who was this young man that Roy would decide to confess his darkest desires, shames and secrets to? Roy briefly wondered if Ed had put something in his drink but quickly dispelled the thought; Roy knew that he had been 'affected' by Ed long before he had accepted that drink.
Ed was gently tracing the lip of his glass of gin with an automail finger and Roy found himself transfixed on the shining metal as it moved. Apparently, he must have been staring because Ed suddenly laid his automail hand carefully on the table between them.
"Pretty eye catching, an't it?" Ed said with a wistful smile.
Roy blushed at being caught staring. "I- I'm sorry; I didn't mean to stare like that, I-"
Ed waved him into silence. "S'okay," he said with a shrug. "Ya want a closer look?" He smiled coyly and reached across the table with his metallic palm extended towards Roy.
Although he was still flushed with embarrassment, Roy couldn't help but reach out and carefully take the proffered automail hand in his own. It was cool and smooth and Roy marveled at the fluid movement between the joints as they moved. The surface was polished and it reflected the soft lights of the club with a silvery lustre. It was very beautiful.
Roy wasn't sure how long he held the automail limb, tracing his fingers along it's elegant lines, before he felt the cool fingers carefully interlace with his own; the metallic thumb then messaging gentle circles into his palm.
Roy looked up at Ed and felt his heart stutter at the heated look Ed was now giving him. Roy struggled to breathe because there was absolutely no mistaking what that look meant.
"Say mister, I've got one last idea to make you feel better..."
Roy's heart stalled.
"Ya want to get out of here?"
Roy had come to the "Bi-Way" club tonight for the simple purpose of having a comforting atmosphere to drink to his misery; to help dull the edge of his encounter with 'Tammy' as well as to numb himself to the fact that he had actively participated in a ceremony that forever united the man he loved to someone else. Roy hadn't thought that he would be interested in flirting with someone tonight and he certainly hadn't thought that he would be contemplating a possible 'encounter' with someone.
But then, Roy hadn't been aware that someone like Ed could even exist until a few hours ago.
Ed, this beautiful young man that shone like the sun with a heart that was as golden as his mesmerizing eyes and sun kissed skin, for some heavenly (or sinful) reason, wanted him.
And really, there was only one possible decision Roy could make.