Deliver Me
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Chapter Five: Cold
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Work was over, Roy was home. He'd gone past the dogs and had gotten upstairs.
He tugged off the tie that kept the jacket of his military uniform just right. He tossed it onto the couch, peering around the room. There were few sounds, except for a few snores from one of many of his pets on the floor and chairs.
Sighing softly, he stared at every mass of fur, looking for a familiar orange.
He didn't see it. In fact, Ed hadn't come to greet him at the door that day. No piercing meow...and the dogs were still sleeping. Usually Ed woke them up and had them charging at him when he came in the door.
Not today...
Okay, he was officially worried.
He rushed through the house, checking each room upstairs and downstairs. Calling out the cat's name, he strained to hear that familiar screech of a sound. But again, nothing.
That meant...that Ed had gotten outside, was wandering around alone. And...in the rain! It'd only been a light shower and now...
Shit!
Forgetting to grab his jacket, Roy ran out the door into the pouring rain in search of his cat.
It was wet. Cold. Absolutely freezing, and Ed didn't like it. Wet and cold were some of his least favorite things, after needles, maybe.
Three days since he'd gotten his limbs back. Three days since he and Roy had... well, yeah. The rain hadn't let up much. It had drizzled over night, and now it was pouring again.
Edward was fast deciding that he hated rain.
Earlier that day, he had been surprised to hear a yowl from his front door. He'd thought for a minute it was some stray, but one he'd opened the door...
It was the cat. Roy's. The one named Edward. He couldn't figure out why it would come to him, or how he had known where he lived, but there was Ed. And he just seemed all too delighted to be there.
"Hey!" The orange tail he'd been following for what felt like hours disappeared around a corner, and Edward skidded to a stop. He could hear footsteps, but those didn't seem important. The cat had stopped, head turned to look over his shoulder at Edward. Muffling a curse, Edward ran to catch up, and the footsteps at the other end of the street grew louder.
"EDWARD!" Roy called out, hair whipping around his forehead wetly. Through the streets he ran, rounding corners and searching for the cat that had gotten away.
He growled under his breath, thinking of just how sick that cat would get in this cold. His white shirt clung to his chest and he found himself wishing he'd remembered a jacket or something.
"EDWARD!" He yelled again, "ED-" He stopped partially into the name.
There!
A tail!
He sped up, rounding a corner and ran right into one of the last and first person he wanted to see.
"What?" Edward snapped in response to his name, standing and turning around with the cat in his arms. Even wet and bedraggled, the small animal purred loudly, rubbing his head against Edward's chest.
Oh. Edward clenched his jaw. He didn't know what to say, faced with a very wet Mustang. His own shirt, the black sleeveless tank top he usually wore under his jacket was soaked. He'd bolted when the cat ran, chasing after it to keep Ed out of the rain.
A wet cat could get so sick it was fatal. No matter how much he didn't like Roy (He absolutely refused to admit to anything else), he didn't want his cat hurt.
Roy didn't have time to freak out that he'd just run into Edward. Instead he stared at the boy for a moment before his eyes found the wet cat in his arms. "Shit!" He hissed, reaching for him and holding him up. He was shaking.
He could tell that Edward's home was farther away from here, that his was a bit closer. "Come on." He said, holding his cat close to his chest to keep him at least somewhat warm. Ed meowed quietly.
Shuddering himself, Edward hugged his arms around his middle. He tried to hold back a sneeze, covering his mouth as his shoulders shook. No... He refused to get sick.
"I'll just... go..." He lowered his hand and took a step back, away from Roy, who looked sinfully warm, and toward the sidewalk.
If he got home, he wouldn't have to deal with this, and he could get warm again. As long as he didn't get sick, it wouldn't matter.
"Don't make me pick you up too, Fu - Edward," Roy said, "Just come on."
Taking a step forward and reaching out, he pulled on the boy's arm and pulled him toward him so that they could at least conserve body heat. For the most part, Roy was completely soaked. He was half in uniform, his jacket sitting on the couch in his home.
And he started walking.
Edward sneezed violently, leaning against Roy to hold himself up. When they started moving, he straightened, groaning under his breath. Ugh. He felt like crap.
He let Roy lead him, thankful for the added warmth at his side, even if it was damp. He hardly realized where he was until they were at Roy's house, and he could hear the dogs barking and whining from inside.
Roy had one arm wrapped around the cat as to keep the poor thing warm and another around Edward to keep the boy up.
As soon as they were at his door, he sighed in relief before opening it. The dogs knew well enough not to go outside (they all hated rain, actually) so they didn't jump out. But it seemed they were worried about little Ed.
"I'll start a fire in the main library room after I get some dry clothes," Roy said, pointing at a door across from them. "It was supposed to be a living room."
He let go of the younger man before starting to walk upstairs with Ed in his arms. He needed to get the cat wrapped up in a towel or something.
Rubbing weakly at his nose with a hand that used to be made of metal, Edward nodded and started for the door. His legs shook, prickled from the cold outside and the warmth of the dogs pressing around him. Lacking the energy to push them aside, Edward let them guide him into the room, and it was their fuzzy weight that kept him from falling all the way to the couch.
There, he collapsed. The puppies scrambled to get up, and in seconds, Edward was covered in six warm, golden bodies. He hardly noticed, one hand resting lightly on the puppy that had stretched out to cover his abdomen.
It was warm, and it was that warmth that seduced him pulled him down into a sick kind of sleep.
Roy wrapped Ed in a towel; the cat stopped shivering as he rubbed it dry. Picking him up again, he went into his upstairs bedroom and got two thick blankets and tossed them from the stairs to the entrance of the house.
Then, he grabbed some of his extra clothes (big on Edward, but...) and started back down. He picked up one of the blankets as he went into the room. An adorable site met him, his puppies all snoozing around Edward and the boy lying there asleep.
Well...Roy hated to disturb the sight but if he was left in those wet clothes, the boy would surely catch a cold. Sighing softly at the sin he was about to commit, Roy gently woke up the puppies and picked them up one after the other as he was careful to be gentle.
There wasn't any time for him to think any perverted thoughts about how he'd be undressing him, so Roy pushed them away as he undid the boy's boots and pulled them from his feet along with his socks. Next, he paused before tugging on Edward's shirt.
Shit. He couldn't get them off, since the younger man was lying in such a way that made it impossible. Mumbling to himself, Roy let his hand underneath the boy's back and lifted him up a little hoping to death that he wouldn't wake up.
Groaning in his sleep, Edward buried his face in Roy's shoulder. His arms wrapped around the body holding him up, soaking up the warmth unconsciously. His legs pulled up, and he was nearly curled into a ball in Roy's lap.
He squeezed his eyes tighter shut, fighting against waking up. No... He didn't want to wake up. He wanted to stay asleep, where it was warm, and he didn't have to worry about anything.
Roy could have smiled, blushed, laughed...but he didn't. For a second, his arm curled around Edward's side and held him close. Then, carefully, he unbuttoned the boy's pants and pushed them down his hips. Grabbing the blanket, he covered him with it while he held onto the leg cuff and the pants off of him.
He realized right then that there was no way he was getting Edward off of him without waking him up. And he didn't want to. He looked so angelic and content when he was asleep...
Sighing, he shifted his body just enough that he was lying against the couch but still holding up Edward. Fixing the big, thick blanket, it covered both of them but he held the younger man close and shut his eyes.
So much for a fire, he supposed. Or...
Oh. His gloves. Moving one arm, he reached into his pocket. It was a special kind of pocket that was sealed off from outside because if his gloves got wet, he couldn't use them to create the spark.
It was hard getting it on with one hand, but somehow Roy managed. Raising his arm, he snapped his fingers and the fireplace roared to life and burned. Heat filled the room, making him feel even more tired.
Yawning softly, Roy kept Edward pressed to him and fell asleep holding him.
Edward woke with his cheek pressed into something warm. His immediate thought was the puppies, and then he opened his eyes. Black hair tickled his nose, and he caught sight of pale skin just beyond it. He blinked twice, and slowly his other senses began to kick in.
He could feel the length of what was unmistakably a body under his. He felt the rise and fall of a person in deep sleep under his chest, and arms wrapped around his waist. His own arms were caught under the body, tingling to show that they were alive.
And when he pulled back, he pulled his arms free and tried to move away. How had he fallen asleep on Roy! His eyes widened when he realized his legs were cold. Glancing down at his feet, he realized his pants and boots were gone.
"AH!" He pushed against Roy's chest and scrambled away.
One second Roy was sleeping peacefully, the next the air was leaving his lungs and he was half-staring at a startled boy.
"Mmph." He mumbled, yawning into his fist. Glancing over at a large grandfather clock surrounded by books, he noticed it was only a few hours after they'd gotten here.
Rubbing his eyes, Roy stood up and stretched. Then, he stared down at Edward. "What're you so riled up about?" He asked as he picked up the blanket and dropped it on top of the boy's head. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything except get you out of your wet pants and boots. I couldn't get your shirt, but I guess you would have screamed and killed me if you'd been that much undressed."
The fire was dead, he noticed. Stepping toward it, he picked up a couple logs to warm the room again. The puppies had fallen asleep in the small bed placed a few feet in front of it, piled on top of each other. Seems they'd taken a hint from somewhere...
He didn't look over at Edward. "There's some dry clothes on the couch right by you. You can change into those."
Glaring wordlessly at Roy, Edward yanked his shirt over his head and pulled on the one he found on the couch arm. It was a relief to be out of the damp shirt, and he let the black cloth drop onto the floor. He reached up and inspected his braid.
Damn. Soaked through.
"Where are my pants?" His voice admitted what his eyes would not. That he really didn't mind waking up on top of Roy.
"Somewhere over there but they're still soaked. They can dry by the fire if you like," Roy said, snapping his fingers to set the fire ablaze again. "I'd lend you some of my own but..."
He grinned, a you're-so-short joke hidden between his lips. He peeled off his own shirt, the white material falling in a sticky heap on the floor as he pulled a fresh one over his head.
Not really thinking much of it, he did the same with his pants. Not contrary to what he'd said, he'd brought down an extra pair of pants as well as a belt. He tossed those toward Edward.
His shorts were a little damp, but not so much that Edward couldn't ignore it. He was pointedly ignoring Roy's change of clothes, pulling the pants on without getting off the couch. He wiggling them up over his hips, and even with the belt they hung down low.
Standing, Edward stretched gratefully. His nose felt thick, and he couldn't breathe easily out of it, but it wasn't anything he couldn't get over.
"I should get back." Because he wasn't going to stick around and let Roy call him short. He ignored the inclination to hang around at all. That would only bring up issues he preferred to leave alone.
"Through that?" Roy said as he stared out of the window as it poured beastly buckets outside. He wouldn't even dare to go outside right then, the rain looked deadly.
He shook his head. "You can leave when the storm passes over."
A sudden strike of thunder and lightning flashed in the window and shook the house a little. Roy swore under his breath, skin crawling. No way was he letting Edward walk through that.
Letting out a yelp, Edward was away from the couch (and the windows) and closer to the fire in seconds. He glared at the window like it was going to bite him, scowl open on his face.
Dammit, he HATED thunder!
Sighing, he looked up at Roy with a sour expression. "Fine. Stupid, manipulating bastard..." Oh, yes. It was all Roy's fault.
"Blaming me for nature's common phenomenon's?" Roy said, amused. "That is hardly fair."
He started walking around the room, picking up their went clothes as he did. As another crash of thunder rumbled and flickered in the window. He set them on iron rods hanging above it, folding them so that they'd dry.
Edward tried not to jump. He really did, but as soon as the thunder sounded, he nearly jerked back into the fire, making a desperate sound of discontent. He hated thunder. Ever since he was a child, he had hated it.
"Dammit." He breathed, brows drawing down in a deep frown. He crossed his arms tight, staring down at them with eyes that were almost blank.
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Roy said, dropping a blanket on Edward's head. "You know that, don't you?"
He sat next to him, wrapping the other blanket around his shoulders. He sighed contently and held the dark blue fleece and cotton material around him.
"Shut up." Edward mumbled, moving back onto the couch and falling onto it. He propped his feet on the edge of the cushion, arms wrapping around his legs and taking the blanket them. "I know there's no reason to be scared."
But that didn't mean he wasn't. Storms terrified him. Scared him shitless. It was an irrational fear, but one he had never been able to counter. The last thing he wanted was for Roy to point out his weakness.
"Well, don't be." Roy said as he stood up. The blanket rose with him, clasped in his hands and draped like a robe. He went over to Edward, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "If you get scared, you can sleep in my bed. I can't sleep on the floor, so I'm going upstairs."
Stepping around the couch, he started walking toward and up the stairs.
Edward didn't stop himself from glaring at Roy's back as he went up the stairs. Scared? Ha! He wouldn't get scared. Ridiculous.
Thunder rolled again, right overhead. Stifling a yelp, he bolted up from the couch and started up after Roy. He tried to ignore the fact that Roy had kissed him. On a normal day, and in a place he couldn't really argue about because it wasn't particularly degrading.
All right, it was. He felt like a child, one being sent to bed, but that was hardly the point. It was the fact that the kiss was so... intimate that made him want to ignore it.
Trotting up the stairs, he stopped at the top and stared at the doors, suddenly realizing he had absolutely no idea which one was Roy's bedroom.
"Third door after the kitchen." Roy's voice called out.
He pulled the bedspread apart, a large king-sized bed covered with a deep blue material.
Yeah, he'd figured Edward would come up here already. It wasn't hard to tell, especially with the booming thunder overhead and the obvious fear the boy had of it.
Grumbling, Edward proceeded down the hall and into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Thunder boomed over them, and it was all Ed could do to stifle a whimper. Damn storms!
He let himself scowl at the bed. "What's with all the blue?" He demanded. Even the blanket he was covered in was blue! A dusky blue, like some sort of demented flower, but it was still blue!
He was really beginning to hate the color.
"At least it's not pink." Was all Roy had to say, sliding into the bed. He yawned, eyes shutting.
Edward was finding a lot to grumble about, he noticed. Just making excuses until it finally came time to get into the bed with him and sleep. Actually, it was rather funny.
But Roy didn't laugh. That would have made the boy mad.
Snorting as if he would have preferred pink, Edward pulled off the belt. Sleeping in a belt was uncomfortable, and a total waste of being asleep. Immediately, the pants dropped around his ankles, and he rolled his eyes, stepping out of them.
Damn. Roy had to have huge hips.
This was where Edward had to admit defeat. Facing the bed with nothing else to keep him away from it, Edward was completely out of things to grumble about. He had no reason to not climb into the bed, besides his own pride.
In the end, it was the next roll of thunder that convinced him. As soon as it started, he was across the room and slipping into the bed, trying not to make any sign of his fear.
Roy would just make fun of him for it.
Sighing softly, Roy could feel tendrils of sleep creeping over him. Then, he felt a small tap land on his foot. Looking up, he watched the creeping form of Ed (actually, he looked a bit smug) step lightly on his paws in between him and Edward.
The cat settled between them, on the pillow. Like he was both glad they were together but also making sure they were a certain degree apart.
Protective little thing, wasn't he? But of Roy or Edward...?
Edward was already asleep, too far gone to notice the cat. But every time the storm let loose another round of thunder, he would make a distressed noise in his sleep, and crunch into a tighter ball on his side.
It wasn't unusual for him to be more open when he was sleeping. It was something he had never had brought to light for him, because he had no idea what he did when sleeping. It had never occurred to him to find out. Sleep was a necessity, and that was all. Something his body needed.
So it was really no shock that he didn't know he slept on his side, or that he talked aloud while he dreamed. He didn't know he kicked, tossed and turned. It was not surprising that he didn't know any of these things, and he was likewise unaware of every desperate sound he made while the storm raged overhead.
Roy really was somewhat sleeping, caught between thinking and unconsciousness. Occasionally he would find himself at that point but then he'd draw in a quick breath and his eyes would flutter.
Ed mewled at him annoyingly. He was trying to sleep, Roy assumed.
Rolling slightly, he contemplated holding the smaller man to banish the disturbed jolts and finally reached over and tugged gently at his shoulder. Based on human reaction, he hoped it would get Edward to roll over a little.
One hand shot out, hitting at Roy to make the shaking go away. When it didn't, Edward's brow wrinkled in light distress, and he groaned, still very much asleep.
"Go 'way..." He mumbled, curling into a protective ball.
He could still hear the storm overhead, and in his dream, he was running through a storm much like it. He was trying to find a place to hide, he had to save something, someone, but he didn't know what. And the things chasing him laughed uproarously at his turmoil, watched him dart left to right like a trapped mouse, looking for somewhere - anywhere! - to hide himself.
Trying not to chuckle, Roy moved over. It disturbed Ed, who hissed slightly but moved over. He wrapped his arms around the ball of hot flesh that was Edward, running his hand over the boy's hair.
How cute. He talked in his sleep! Roy was tempted to pinch his cheeks.
The instant reaction was a thrash, Roy pulling him close as the things in Edward's dream caught up with him. After a moment, Edward's writhing stopped, and his expression smoothed as that dream faded to another.
Roy was warm, and Edward's sleeping mind decided he would make an excellent pillow. Letting out a soft, "Mm..." That was nearly a purr, Edward settled down, Roy's body heat and strong heart beat lulling him into dreams where things didn't chase him. Dreams where things were happy.
Roy was a bit surprised at the purr-y sound. He hadn't expected it but...it was certainly welcome. It made him think twice as much that Edward was cute.
Settling himself into a relaxed position with his arms wrapped around Edward in a near protective way, he shut his eyes again and found sleep a lot closer than before.
In moments, he had joined Edward's steady breathing as he drifted off to sleep as well.
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TBC
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Suuqa: .