AN: Yay, another chapter! n.n Thanks for all the reviews!

Just to make it clear: Ed hasn't forgiven Russell yet… he doesn't trust him and stuff, but he tolerates him. Ed wants to give him another chance though and Russell took it n.n I guess having him as an only friend during your school years does that to a person, eh? Well, it's logical in my mind o.o. I wouldn't want to lose one of the only friends I have to something like that, anyway x.x

Ok, so o.o… that's it. Enjoy this chapter! xD


Chapter 9

"Ed!" Roy exclaimed when he noticed Edward had returned home. He promptly ran across the room and glomped the blonde, said chibi struggling against the hold with a blush on his face. "Where the hell have you been! I was bored!" Edward rolled his eyes visibly, before he was able to pry Roy from his body and put his keys on the kitchen counter.

"I was doing some research on the curse," he explained. "I thought I told you that when I left," he muttered afterwards. Roy nodded.

"Yes, but you didn't say you would be gone for so long. There wasn't anything on television, besides those home-shopping things. Which reminds me, I ordered an electric toothbrush." Edward rolled his eyes again, but couldn't help the amused smile that crept up onto his face.

"Great, another machine to encourage your laziness. Oh joy," he replied sarcastically. Roy gave him a smirk back.

"Maybe they can someday invent something for you—an electric growth spurt, perhaps?" Roy could see Edward's face redden and was preparing himself for the outburst. Which came after two seconds, accompanied with a smack.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE NEEDS TO WEAR HIGH HEELS IN ORDER TO REACH THE DINNER TABLE!" Roy briefly rubbed his ears, though his smirk didn't falter, before he flicked the stubborn pluck of hair that was always standing straight up. Edward was still fuming and therefore didn't notice it, but Roy's expression completely changed when he did that—he became more pensive and froze briefly.

Edward's hair was so inviting, he wanted to touch it.

His hand lingered over Edward's head while Roy was resisting the urge to run his hands through the soft, blonde hair. Roy had always been a sucker for blonde… and Edward's hair was just so soft.

"AND WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CALLING ME SHORT SINCE IT ISN'T—hey, what are you doing?" Edward's ranting suddenly stopped when he felt a hand slowly caressing his head, hesitantly, and made it's way to his face, to cup his cheek. Edward blushed, completely forgetting that he had been angry just five seconds ago, and unintentionally looked up to meet Roy's eyes. They were looking at him intently, as if he was in deep thought and before Edward could even do or say anything, the hand moved away quickly, as if it had been burned.

Edward gave him a questioning blink and Roy plastered his smirk back on his face. Though Edward could see it was forced.

"What kind of shampoo do you use, Edward? It's as soft as baby's hair," he commented.

This was enough for our favourite vertically challenged blonde to forget the previous actions of Roy, and explode.

Yet again.


Another week passed by, with Edward going every day to the library in search for something to lift the curse. Edward had been famous for his determination, but after a week of spending hours and hours in the library—he was losing his hope.

Roy, on the other hand, couldn't care less about what Edward was doing. He was too busy with thoughts of his own and, although he did appreciate it that Edward was doing so much for him, he kept hoping the blonde wouldn't find the answer.

Not that he wanted to stay inside that blasted watch, but Edward made him confused. He had never felt this way before, and the feelings were so confusing for him—he'd rather go back inside than endure these things. Roy knew he cared for his master and it was a first as well—Edward was nice to him, friendly, he had a good heart and when he loved someone, he would go through anything to help those people. Sure, he had a temper and could be slightly arrogant now and then, but everybody had his or her flaws and Roy even found the chibi's short temper quite… endearing.

And Edward had treated him like an equal—giving him an actual home and giving him no orders at all. Edward had been shocked and appalled at the way some of the other master's had treated him and Roy knew the blonde would never do anything at all.

Roy thought he had been in a living Hell, until Edward had showed up.

That was probably why he cared so much for him and was even overprotective of the little blonde, but that didn't explain why he kept wanting to touch Edward, to hug him or even kiss him. And Roy sometimes even caught himself wondering what it would be like to have the blonde underneath him, panting and sweating—which kept shocking him greatly.

It was just too confusing for him—he had always liked girls!

Roy also wasn't able to shove this onto horniness—since, damn it, he had a chance to fuck a beautiful girl and he hadn't even took it!

"Crap!" Edward muttered as he was messing in the kitchen. Roy raised an eyebrow at the—rather inventive—cursing that followed and shook his head, with a small smile on his face. "Roy!" Edward called.

"Hm?" he muttered in acknowledgement.

"Could you run over to the store? I forgot the spaghetti," Edward said irritably.

"Sure, you got money?" Edward threw him a ten dollar bill, before he continued cursing at the sauce. Roy chuckled lightly, grabbed his black coat and strode out the door. "I'll be right back!" he called.

"Be careful and watch before you cross the street this time!"


"That'll be two dollars, sir," the lady behind the register said. Roy nodded and gave her the money, all the while glancing back at the two men behind him. They glared back at him for some reason and he couldn't help the weird and eerie feeling that ran across his spine as he watched them.

Something was wrong.

"Thank you," the girl giggled and opened the register—the men behind him grew impatient and decided that it was a good time to pull out the two guns they were holding. Roy narrowed his eyes—he knew what guns were, since he had seen movies with Edward where they used them to kill other people.

The girl gasped and froze, her eyes widened with shock and fear. Roy had to do everything within his power to not react the same and instead stayed calm.

"Raise your hands, both of you!" One of the two men barked at them. Roy couldn't quite make out his face, since it was half-hidden behind a turtleneck and a hat—the other man wore the same clothes, but he could at least make out that they were still quite young. The girl raised her hands, silently sobbing as tears rolled over her cheeks. Roy did the same (raising his hands, that is—Roy did not sob!) his lips tightening as the two men hurriedly jumped over the counter and took out the money, occasionally sneaking peeks under the girl's skirt.

"Hey, you think we have time to have some fun?" The one who hadn't spoken yet asked. He looked up at the other, who looked thoughtful for a moment.

"We have to be quick," he muttered. Roy felt anger welling up inside of him as he saw the fear in the girl's eyes, which reminded him of his first years as a slave to the watch. Without thinking things through, he jumped forward and grabbed one of the two men, overpowering him. The other one seemed to be in shock at first, before he grabbed the gun and hit Roy on the back of his head with it.

Roy felt immediate pain and something warm dripping down, but didn't pay attention to it as he kept on struggling with the other one.

"Shit! Can't you hit him harder?" he asked, gritting his teeth as he felt Roy's fist collide with his jaw. He screamed in pain, before he heard a shot and felt another sting of pain going through his leg. "Fuck, you can't even shoot straight! Good for nothing son of a bitch! Get this guy away from me!" He unconsciously grabbed his leg, which was bleeding heavily. It wasn't a good idea, since he let down some of his defence and Roy was able to land another punch on his face.

"Stop squirming so I can get a clear shot!" the other one shouted back at him, irritated and in panic. They didn't have time for this and—

"Shit, cops!" the one with the bullet through his leg hissed. He quickly grabbed his gun and hit Roy on top of the head, this time managing to get him off and stood up. The other robber quickly grabbed the bag filled with money and helped his injured friend out, to the car, where they drove away.

Roy staggered as he stood up, briefly walking over to the girl who was holding the phone with shaking hands. Apparently, while Roy had been struggling with the robbers, she had overcome her fear and had picked up the phone to call the police.

"Are you alright?" Roy asked her. She nodded quickly and asked him the same question. "Yeah, my head hurts. The police'll be here soon, you'll be fine," he added. She nodded again and Roy walked out the store, spaghetti still in his hands.

He couldn't let the police ask him questions—after all, Edward had repeatedly warned him about it. Roy didn't have a social security number, nor a passport or any form of ID—basically, Roy didn't exist. They would ask questions if they would ever find him.

Besides, Edward's apartment was close anyway—he could last that long.


"Welcome ba—Roy! What the hell happened to you!" Edward gave him a shocked look and Roy couldn't blame him—he was covered in blood and bruises from the fight. Roy gave him a small smile, before he collapsed on the spot. He had prepared himself for the hard crash with the floor, but was surprised when he felt two arms around him and his head pressed against a firm chest.

He looked up and came face to face with Edward, who looked at him as if someone had just died. He hoisted Roy up and took him to his own bedroom, all the way carrying him. After he had placed him on the bed and had taken off Roy's blood-soaked shirt, Edward hurried over to the bathroom and came back with a wet towel and bandages.

"What happened?" he asked him, as he started to wipe off the blood off Roy's face and neck. Roy was barely conscious, forcing himself to savour the moments of Edward touching him and caring for him. He was too tired for denial.

"Robbers… hit them… got shot at," Roy muttered. It didn't sum everything up, but it gave Edward a pretty good idea of what happened and he felt anger welling up inside of him. Knowing Roy, he probably hadn't listened to them and had instead picked a fight—that damn bastard! He couldn't stay out of trouble, even when going to a store.

"Well, you seem to be alright," Edward murmured as he gently wrapped the bandages around Roy's head to stop the bleeding. "Does your head hurt? Dizzy? Nauseous?"

"Yes," Roy breathed. He was slowly slipping into unconsciousness, mesmerized by Edward's soft and gentle fingers. His heartbeat sped up when he felt the blonde's breath on his left ear, as Edward needed to reach the back of Roy's head.

"All three of them?" Roy gave a short nod. "I think… you might have a concussion," Edward muttered softly. "You should sleep, but I'll wake you up every hour." Roy gave him another nod, before he lifted his hand slowly to cup Edward's cheek. The hand wandered to Edward's hair and lingered there, Roy watching Edward through half-lidded eyes. "You really like my hair, don't you bastard?" Edward muttered softly, sad even.

"Everything," Roy whispered, his hand slowly falling to his side as he fell asleep. The last thing he saw, was Edward giving him a puzzled look.

I like everything about you, Edward.