Authors Notes: Well, Thanks again Animyth for betaing! XD It means a lot to me! Enjoy !
Just Like the First Time I Saw You Ch. 2
Ed awoke, early the next morning, to find that his front was
surprisingly warm. Noting that his back was freezing, Ed blinked his way out of his unconscious sleep state.
Turning his head, he saw an open window, and his sheets crumpled at his feet. Turning his head more, he came in contact with what his arms were wrapped around. A blue military uniform was all Ed could see.
His arms twitched slightly, as he felt his way around what he was holding. Inching his head up, he found himself facing a head of black, silky hair. Ed inhaled sharply.
Roy Mustang was sleeping in his bed, and what was worse…Ed had his arms wrapped around him! Ed nearly fainted at the feel of Roy's abs beneath his splayed fingers. He smelled of whisky and strangely enough, soap. Ed inhaled again, enjoying the scent.
A sound from outside his door brought Ed crashing back to reality. Al
was making breakfast.
"Brother, are you awake?" Al called softly through the door. Ed
panicked.
"Yea, just give me a sec, ok?" He whispered back.
He froze when he felt the colonel shift beside him. Roy was now facing
him. Ed's arms were free, and he blushed deeply at the sight beside him. Ed
sat up and slowly inched away. 'What in hell is going on!' Ed screamed
mentally.
Roy moaned at the loss of warmth, and curled up on the bed
like a child. Ed looked dumbstruck at the colonel. 'What is he doing here? And in my bed! Augh!' Ed's brain nearly exploded at the amount of questions racing through his head. He stared at the colonel again.
Roy's bangs fell exquisitely over his face, his cheeks red from the alcohol, and his shirt completely wrinkly and undone. Ed's eyes traveled from Roy's sleeping face, to his perfectly chiseled chest, followed by his delectable abs. Ed's eyes stopped, as he turned away, face awash with redness. He scooted off the bed, putting on pants and a shirt.
Completely embarrassed and shaking, Ed opened his door quietly, and
shut it, not wanting Al to peek inside.
"Pancakes ok?" Al asked cheerfully.
"Thanks Al, but how many times do I have to tell you? You don't have to
cook for me." Al shrugged.
"I know, I guess I just like to, even though I can't eat it." Ed's mind
jumped from the kitchen to his bedroom and back again in rapid fire.
"Uh Al, do you remember anybody coming in last night?" Ed picked at his
pancakes.
"Uh, no." Al looked at him. "Why do you ask?" Ed looked at the table.
"Oh, no reason." Ed continued picking at his pancakes.
"Is something wrong brother? You seemed distracted." Al coaxed.
"What, me? Naw! Everything is fine! Honestly, I couldn't be better!" Ed
insisted, smiling haphazardly.
Al sighed. A noise from Ed's room, caused Ed to freeze, pancake midway
to his mouth.
"What was that?" Al asked.
"It was a uh…a cat! Yea, I've seen him outside my room for a few days
now! Just a cat." Ed responded hurriedly. Al was silent. Ed starred around
his brother at the door.
'Please don't wake up; please don't wake up, please
DON"T WAKE UP YET!' Ed's mind raced. Ed shoveled the rest of the
pancakes down hurriedly, and rinsed off the dish.
"I'm going to go read. If you need me, I'll be in my room. Just knock,
ok?"
"Ok brother, but I'm going to buy groceries. We're out of food." Ed
waved and inched through his door, out of sight.
Once inside his room, Ed let out a breath of relief. He looked up to
find Mustang still asleep on his bed. He lay on his back now, one hand
resting on his chest, another at his side.
Ed disobeyed his gut instinct and walked to his bedside. He stared down at the sleeping figure. Mustang actually looked at peace, sleeping there, on Edward's bed. 'Tsk, probably just the whisky.' Ed scoffed. 'Still…I kind of wish he could be this peaceful…everyday.' Ed stared.
"Augh, what am I thinking?' Ed shook his head. Grabbing a chair, he sat
next to his bedside table, a few inches away from the bed.
"I wonder colonel, how did you end up here of all places?" Ed asked,
whispering. Mustang didn't respond. Ed gave a devilish smirk.
Suddenly Mustang's face turned from a look of peacefulness to a look of
extreme torture. His muscles tensed and his eyes squinted hard. Roy's
teeth clenched together, as he clutched at the sheets beside him. Ed looked
at the colonel with a look of sincere concern on his face. are you ok?" Ed reached a hand out trying to break
whatever it was that plagued Roy's mind. Roy convulsed; screaming
loudly. Ed stared down at the colonel, terrified, as he heard the colonel start to mumble.
"Mmm, no…don't do it kid, don't lift up your gun, please I'm begging you. I don't want to…never want to…again." Roy screamed aloud again, thrashing on the bed. Ed jumped forward, unable to bear the sight of the colonel's pained face anymore. He grabbed Roy's hand and shook it.
"Wake up colonel!" Ed attempted, but Roy kept thrashing, continuing his mumblings.
"Oh god I've killed them…how could I have…they were innocent doctors,
I'm a monster. A goddamned monster! They had a baby girl! I took her parents!" Tears began leaking through Roy's eyelids.
"Stop it!" Ed cried out, still unable to break the visions that plagued Mustang in his sleep.
The sentence hit Edward like a ton of bricks. Mustang had killed
doctors, with a baby girl?
"Oh my god." Ed let go of Roy, and fell into the chair.
Eyes blank, he flashed back to the days when he was a kid, remembering
the trip Al and he had taken to Winry's house, finding her crying.
"They're dead, don't you get it! They can't ever come back!"
Ed's eyes widened, as he shook. It was Mustang who had killed them?
Mustang's cries brought Ed back from the past.
"Edward…I'm sorry. I know you must be hurting, but I can't…I can't help you. What would they think? Nina…you can't…she's gone. I'm sorry." Roy stopped convulsing, but was reduced to a dull shaking, tears streaming down his face still. Ed stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Mustang…" Ed's eyes began to water, as he flung himself once again at the colonel.
"Wake up damnit! Wake up! Stop it now! It's not your fault! Please!
WAKE UP ROY!" Ed screamed. Arms wrapped around Roy's neck, Ed sobbed uncontrollably at the sight of the colonel's pained, nightmare ridden face. Ed clutched Roy to his chest, face embedded in Mustang's soft hair.
"It's ok." He choked. Roy's eyes fluttered open, and he tensed as he
became aware of his surroundings.
Ed continued to softly cry into Mustang's hair.
"It's ok, it's ok…" He whispered. Mustang's eyes grew wide. He felt his
wet face, pressed against Ed's heaving chest. 'Where am I?' He thought.
"Edward…what's…where am I?" He said, his voice muffled by Ed's shirt.
Ed froze momentarily, and then pulled himself away, starring down into obsidian orbs that were still wet. Shock overtook Ed's features momentarily, as he stared at the colonel, his honey eyes still awash with tears.
"Co-Colonel." Ed stood up briskly, brushing the tears from his eyes.
"I, uh…" Ed looked frantically at Mustang, trying to drudge up some
explanation.
"You were having a nightmare, you were, ah...talking, screaming even. I
didn't know what to do." Ed stared at the floor.
"I was talking?" Mustang took in the room, the sight of Ed standing
there, face red for some reason.
"What did I say." Ed twitched. "It was nothing, I couldn't make it
out." Ed clenched his fists.
Mustang knew full well what it must have been he had said. He relived
these nightmares each night, knew the words that reverberated in his
memories. He stared now at the sheets, face red, wondering what to do. 'Oh god, he heard it all. I'm a fool. What will he think of me?' Roy mentally chastised himself. Mustang dragged himself from his own agonizing thoughts.
"How did I get here? Last thing I remember is…" Mustang stopped. 'Last
thing I remember is walking out his door, and going drinking with Hughes. Oh god. Hughes, you're a dead man.'
"Not even I'm sure how you ended up here. In my bed no less!" Ed had
meant it as a joke, but instead, the two blushed furiously at each other.
"So, um…are you, hungry? Al made pancakes…" Ed trailed off, unsure of
what to say. He glanced uneasily at the colonel, who now had a smile
plastered on his face, which did not hide the irritation and embarrassment.
"Pancakes would be great."
Ed walked out the door and into the kitchen. He began shuffling around, heating up pancakes, and pouring orange juice. Roy remained sitting upright in Ed's bed, staring at the sheets. He replayed yesterday's events over and over in his mind. The worrying, the fighting, the drinking, waking up here.
It was all too much.
Snippets of his nightmare flashed through his mind. The
kid from the war, the doctors, it hurt so badly. And Ed. On the night he
discovered the truth about Shou Tucker's research, the look in his eyes
as he stood in the alleyway, hands pressed against the bloody stain that
was once Alexander and Nina. Roy tried to hold back tears once again. He
gasped for air around his choking sobs.
"Colonel?" The blond came running back into the room to find Roy
hunched over, hands covering his face, shoulders shaking with his sobs.
"Colonel, its ok, please, stop it." Ed stepped forward, wrapping his
arms around the dark haired man, pulling him close for the second time.
Mustang pulled away and looked up.
"I'm sorry, Edward…I-" Ed's eyes met with his.
"Shhhh." Ed pulled Roy into his arms once more, placing a soft,
reassuring kiss on Roy's forehead. "It's ok."
Ed watched Mustang eat pancakes half heartedly.
"So..." Ed sipped a glass of orange juice. The colonel looked up,
trying to read Ed's eyes. The kid always was an open book.
"What is it shrimp?" 'Anything to break this awkwardness.' Roy thought.
"I'm not a shrimp." Ed retorted, rather sadly. The dark haired man
sighed.
"Listen Ed…er, Fullmetal, I'm sorry about everything." Mustang set his
fork down.
"Don't apologize." Ed stood up hastily, face red.
"We should probably report to Central command." Roy nearly died. He had
forgotten all about work.
"Yes, that'd be a great idea."
Al opened the door, just as Ed was cleaning up.
"I'm back." He spotted Roy, still sitting at the table.
"Oh, good morning colonel Mustang." Al nodded. He waved back.
"Ready to go colonel?" Ed muttered. The taller man stood up, and they
walked out the door.
"I'm going to work Al. See ya!" Edward waved as he walked away.
The two walked mostly in silence, commenting now and then on how the
weather seemed gloomier now.
"More rain." Ed laughed, trying to ease the tension. "Do you not like
the rain Roy?" Mustang blushed at the sound of his name on Ed's lips.
"The rain?" He thought a moment. "It can be peaceful, although I don't
remember a rainy day in which something awful didn't happen." He
paused.
"Oh." Ed looked at the ground, watching his feet kicking up dust and sand.
Small drops were appearing all around, and he felt icy rain collide
with his head.
"See what I mean? We'll be drenched by the time we get to headquarters." Roy sighed. Ed thought a moment.
"Hold on a second, colonel." The blond crouched down, clapping his
hands together. Placing his hands on the ground, light flashed momentarily,
and on the ground lay an umbrella. Picking it up, Ed handed it Mustang.
"Here."
Roy took it, and opened it up, revealing a rather large umbrella. He
smiled at the pattern imprinted upon it, little flames. He stepped closer to
Ed, shielding them both from the freezing rain.