Title: I'll Be
(Series of Drabbles, based on the lyrics to the song "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain)
Pairing: EdxRoy
By: Magick
Chapter
1: The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath.
Ed's face was upturned and his lips were parted in anticipation. Wheaten strands fell across heavy lidded eyes, catching the light and coloring the boys orbs wondrous shades of amber and gold. Roy paused in his descent and just gazed at the boy; his chest still as he unconsciously held his breath.
"Roy?" Ed's voice startled him from his reverie.
He watched him wet his lips then part them again, still waiting. Roy was quick to oblige him and captured the boys' lips in a kiss. (88)
Chapter
2: Tell me that we belong together,
Dress
it out with the trappings of love.
"I don't want all that mushy shit, Mustang! I DO NOT love you!" Ed hissed between clenched teeth.
"Really now?" Roy smirked as he cornered the boy. It really was tiring to have this argument so often.
Roy raised his hand and was hurt to see the boy flinch. He laid his palm gently on Ed's chin and lifted his face. Anger still burned in Ed's golden eyes.
"I don't want you dressing this up like its love or something. It's an arrangement, that's it."
Roy's hand shifted to cup his cheek and his thumb traced the outline of Ed's full lower lip.
"Tell me that we don't belong together, Edward. Tell me."
Ed sighed. His futile anger uncharacteristically left him and he sagged against the older man. His only answer was a short, defeated nod. (136)
Chapter
3: I'll be captivated
I'll hang from your lips
Roy was captivated. Ed was standing in front of him just rattling off his report like a good little boy; but there was something about him… It was his lips, Roy decided. They were red and kiss swollen from the rather enthusiastic greeting Roy had given him. That had to be it. They were so shiny-- and that pouting lower lip was enough to drive a man to distraction…
"Are you even listening to me, Colonel Bastard!" Ed demanded, coming around his desk and pushing his chair to face him.
Roy didn't answer; he just pulled him closer and kissed him. (102)
Chapter 4: I'll be your crying shoulder
Ed was silent; though his shoulders were too tense and his back too straight for him to be asleep. His breath came in soft gasps and finally Roy decided he'd had enough.
"Edward…" He pulled the younger man closer to him. He aligned his bare back against his chest and continued to pull him until blonde hair tickled his nose and he could feel Ed from top to bottom.
"Relax Edward; you don't have to be strong around me." He turned Ed over and pressed his face into the crook of his shoulder.
The tears came slowly, but once the dam was broken they began to pour out violently. His sobs shook the bed but Roy just held on. (121)
Chapter 5: I'll be love suicide (Ed)
The decision to love Roy was not something Ed had taken lightly. He had fought it, then raged against it then finally, gave in to it as inevitable. That didn't mean it was a good idea. When out on mission Ed had the habit of staring into the distance for hours on end until Al would force him inside and into bed. His cold, empty bed that always reminded him of the warmer, much fuller one he shared with Roy.
Love was like killing yourself slowly. Ed could feel the pieces inside him dying as he lay awake counting the minutes until morning. One thought kept him from giving into the destructive feelings that swirled inside of him:
"I hope you feel just as bad as I do, Colonel Bastard."
Chapter 6: I'll be better when I'm older
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE DISAPERS BEHIND A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER!"
"Edward, I said nothing of the sort…" Roy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Ed laughed. "I know. I'm just keeping you on your toes."
"Oh, like you have to be to kiss me?" Roy smirked.
Ed's vision went red.
"WHO'S SO SHORT HE'S LIKE A TODDLER TRYING TO KISS HIS DADDY!"
"So I'm you're daddy now?"
Ed blushed. "I'm going to grow soon, you know."
"I'm sure you'll be great, and tall, when you're older." Roy smirked again, awaiting the next outburst. (96)
Chapter 7: Rain falls angry on the tin roof
As
we lie awake in my bed
You're my survival, you're
my living proof
My love is alive not dead
Ed hated when it rained, many of the ill-fated events in his life could be linked on rainy nights. Ed wasn't surprised when he and Roy found themselves lying awake while the rain angrily lashed against the roof. The silence that stretched between them was not a comfortable one; it rang with all the things they'd left unspoken.
"Edward… you already know that I love you. Why does it matter if I say it?" Roy's voice was choked as he tried to hold himself in check.
"Because when ever someone says that to me, I hurt them." Ed whispered. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Roy felt the bed tremble.
"There isn't some force out there Edward that waits for someone to love you just so it can kill them! You mother did not die because of you, Nina did not die because of you, Hughes—" Roy choked on the name. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"Hughes died because he knew that I would have reacted badly to hearing of you in danger. He kept it to himself to protect me, so I could become Fuhrer. You did not kill these people, Edward. They died from circumstance."
"I just don't want to lose you!" Ed whimpered brokenly and Roy pulled him closer. "You taught me I could love again after… everything. But every time I've opened my heart to someone on this journey they've died. "
"I'm not going anywhere." Roy promised, kissing the top of his head.
Ed relaxed into his arms and finally decided to take his word for it. (255)
Chapter 8:
I've been dropped out,
Burned up,
Fought my way back from the dead
Tuned in, turned on,
Remembered the things that you said
Ed fought his way through the gate as hard as he could. Years of this other world was enough for him and he'd finally found the link. Only death opened the gate out of this world. As he lay dying he hoped he'd have enough energy to barter with the gate once it opened. The last thing he remembered before blackness over took him was the ghost of lips in his hair and the whisper of;
"I'm not going anywhere."
When he woke back up it was to the smell of antiseptic and medicine. He looked around wildly, terrified he'd see a sawbones and hear gunshots, but he sight that greeted him made him dizzy.
Roy, graying slightly at the temples with an eye patch on one eye, was sleeping at his bedside. Ed gasped softly and tried to call out him but his voice wouldn't work. The gasp was enough though and his dark eye opened.
"Full Metal." He said, and then smiled. Ed could only gape at him questioningly.
"I told you I wasn't going anywhere."
