Eli: Yes, please destroy the axe. And any axes owned by your family. I know that's what your fics are about XD. Nothing like some Ed on a couch. But oh I am so excited that the sexless sex scene is almost done.
moonstone: Hazel isn't the only one pleased to have Ed there XD.
Rei-chan: Those replies are up now, in case you hadn't yet seen. And thank you, I'm so glad it's getting love, and that Hazel is as well.
AnimeAddic5: Thank you very much. You leave such kind reviews. I hope I never give you a reason to do otherwise.
Koorii: Yes, well, knowing you, I don't think you could last ten minutes in a locked room knowing you had no way out. That might be interesting to watch, actually.
Twisted Vixen: Ed on a bike, but people not seeing him, is an image I have had over and over again too. It's just too funny! They'd probably believe they were hallucinating and that those brownies their kids made had something extra.
mutantpenguins: That is an awesome dorky happy dance. Be proud of it!
Kiss4theRain: The Al question is one I can answer, and yes, Al will eventually be coming into the story. I couldn't see writing it without putting him in. And of course that would be okay with me! If you drew pictures for some of the scenes I would be very honored. I always love seeing art of that sort.
Sailor Silver Rose: All Ed has to do is bat those eyes and Roy would do whatever the ghost wanted, including something to do with Al. Deep down anyway he knows he would. -evil laugh-
Mary: There will be new characters. New and old OC's of mine, as well as characters familiar to the actual series.
MandaxPanda: Yes, this does mean that Ed's world of people will be expanding too. And shortly I'll be getting into that. He is definitely going to be launching into his own sort of shenanigans.
Hikari Kura: I'm so glad you thought the line about Ed listening to Roy breathe was cute. It was one of my favorites, so I'm glad it was liked by someone else as well. And can you imagine a bike without a rider? It's no wonder Roy doesn't want to pass up the opportunity to be around while Ed learns.
GreedxEd: Roy needs to listen to Ed about the manwhoring.
crackedmind: Wow, I sincerely hope you went to bad after reviewing. Six and having motorcycle lessons... you aren't by any chance Maes and Gracia's daughter, are you? I hear that skunks are also very protective of homes, a bit like dogs... and certain llamas... I need to research this. But I think they'd be cute to have if you got any chances of having to take a tomato soup bath out of the way.
Alyzabeth: It's really hard to not feel happy whenever Ed is about something monumental to him like that. And Ed will be eventually meeting Maes's family, with Maes and Roy being best friends I can't see Roy not taking Ed there every so often because he wants to visit his friend.
neena: I think being stuck someplace like that for seven years would drive a lot of people crazy. It'd be virtually the same thing day after day. But at least Ed has a lot of dirt now on people.
blackrose5130: Yes, Mustang is a magician! He can make things hover, move, and burst into flame all without laying a hand on it. He needs his own magic show. And thank you for your kind words, I shall definitely do my best to continue this 'greatness'.
haganeno: Oh, you know Roy, he'd just claim they'd been drinking too much. Or were seriously ill with an allergy no one's heard of but him that causes hallucinations.
Tana: Yeah, I was renting a condo in gutter land for a while, until I just up and bought the condo. Figured it was an investment that would pay off. But those two really need to get together and have... fun XD.
xwhitexspirtx: My cats actually open doors like that as well. I've taken to having one of those child proof door things at the top of my bedroom door to keep them out. When my aunt no longer needed them for her son I swiped them. She looked at me funny when I told her it was to keep the cats out of my room.
Cheru-chan: Hah! Yeah, Roy is in for a rude awakening about his nightly escapades. Poor thing... alas! It will be fun to watch.
DeannaJ1: Don't take this the wrong way, but I absolutely love you now XD. I did have Fallen on the brain actually, and I didn't even notice I did that! You're the only one who said something to me. I laughed myself silly over that typo. Thank you so much for catching that brilliant little slip.
amiegirl: I've never heard of that series, but it's kind of a good feeling that something of what I'm writing must remind you of it.
Infinity: Yes, Ed does have to be a bit different from what we're used to in parts. The way he's grown up is completely different, so I have to work with that. I hope he's still bearable for you despite it. But I'm glad to hear you like the story and the idea so far.
kazuko: Oh, a ninja. You must teach me. I need those skills... you've no idea how badly. But yes, Roy's motorcycle will be a big one... I couldn't see giving him anything else than a bike as badass as he is for driving one. Yes, just let me know when you're ready, until then I shall eat pizza!
E: I'd carry a picture of a naked Roy running in my purse _. No, Roy realizes nothing yet in that areabeyond his own libido.
ferret: Thank you, I'm glad the cuteness was loved. And you'll just have to wait and see... and rant XD. Your rants always make me smile, because they're the good kind.
ICan'tRewrite: I'm not sure why it wouldn't send you alerts, I'm assuming you have it selected to send you them. That's odd, maybe it was because the site has been acting strangely. So don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're getting them now. I hope.
anmb: Returned with food! You know the way to my heart XD. But their adjustment to all of this will be a long running journey for them. The plans they make don't always stay the way they intend them to. Which makes it fun!
So I must apologize for the six day wait, but unfortunately there was nothing I could do for it. Between my fingers being smashed and thus making it unable for me to type for a few days, and some tying of loose ends still related to my dad's death, I really didn't have a chance to update either physically or emotionally. So I'm updating now! And feeling glad to be able to be back to it.
(And yes, my fingers are now fine. If not bruised.)
I am a dork for the typo I made in the last chapter. Which I did fix. To the person who brought it to my attention, thank you for that laugh you gave me at myself. I can't believe I did that. I even made a post on my LJ about the dorkiness of it. I was definitely channeling Fallen last chapter, so if anyone was wondering but didn't ask why I called my Ed a star... -laughs- Let's just claim I did it on purpose to see who was paying attention and do some sneaky shameless advertising for eight hours. Hm? XD
I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter Eight
Edward sat there on the edge of Roy's bed for the entire night and well into most of the morning. He only rose from his perch when the sky began to turn dove grey, the coming light of dawn creeping ever closer. Turning his head to look over his shoulder at Roy, he smiled faintly before floating up towards, and through the ceiling until he came up onto the roof. There he settled down onto it, facing the eastern horizon and waiting.
Yes, he had been reminded what the sunrise looked like by that picture. And it was a beautiful picture that he was eternally grateful for. But right now he wanted to see the real thing. For the first time in seven years, he wanted to see the sun rise. And now he could.
In the back of his mind he was grateful that Roy had looked around as much as the man must have during their walk to his house. For his view of the horizon was not at all obstructed by that damnable whiteness. Yes, there were quite a few parts of the sky that he couldn't see, and much of the city. It was like a jigsaw puzzle that hadn't yet acquired all its pieces. But what he could see was far more than he ever had before. It was large, and intimidating. Yet up here on the roof, with dawn creeping ever closer, he was calm.
When the first threads of light began to spill over the horizon, his mind went blank with wonder. And he watched in silent awe as dark blues and purples began to gradually become lighter and spread across the sky bringing with them splashes of pink. And then the sun was rising, a yellow and gold ball of light that made something inside him clench at the forgotten beauty of that shining mass. The familiarity of it. A hand strayed to tangle fingers in a lock of his silvery hair as he gazed at that rich gold and yellow, a flicker of melancholy in his silver eyes.
He stayed there on the roof watching the sunrise in contentment. Watched the colors chase each other across the sky until the darkness of the night before had fled entirely to give way to a pale blue morning with the faintest hints of pink and orange remaining in the few clouds that floated freely. He knew he could go to the clouds, see them up close and watch the colors dance in them. But he stayed where he was. Just watching… and deep down scared to touch.
Beneath the roof where Edward sat watching the sky, Roy was finally stirring awake.
It was not Hazel who woke him though, on weekends he kept his door firmly closed and locked. The little bugger of a squirrel had figured out how to open doors if they weren't locked, so on the times he didn't need an alarm clock, he locked said alarm clock out.
No, this morning Roy was awaking from his own volition after having an entire night of sleep – as well as the fact that the sunlight had hit him directly across the face. Now normally he might have gone back to sleep after turning over, maybe piling a few pillows over his head. But not this morning. Not when he remembered that there was someone else besides Hazel living with him now.
And he sat up in bed quickly, looking around just in case and pushing off the covers. He wasn't sure where the ghost was, but he planned to find Edward. The thought that Edward coming home with him had been a dream didn't cross his mind as something plausible. He knew with complete certainty that Edward was now free of that office.
Somewhere…
Roy got out of bed, and not bothering to shower or properly dress before going on his search for the ghost, he pulled his bathrobe on over his pajamas and began his search of his house. Yet he couldn't turn up the ghost.
"He must not be inside." Roy muttered to himself, and let himself out the backdoor to see if Edward was messing around with the motorcycle. He sincerely hoped not. Edward may not get hurt if the bike were to crash, but he wasn't looking forward to repairing the bike itself in the event of a crash. He wasn't great shakes at alchemy that fixed… alchemy that destroyed or had the potential for destruction was more his forte.
As messed up and cruel that such a reality was.
But he'd given up on redemption a year and ten bottles of various hard alcohols ago. There were just some things you had to accept about yourself. And the fact that he was a better killer than a savior was one such thing. The sooner he became Fuhrer the better…
Shaking his head he shoved away those darker thoughts. It was too early to be thinking about the skeletons in his closet. And a Saturday at that. Dusting off skeletons in the closet was more a Wednesday thing.
He walked around to where the motorcycle was kept, but it showed him no sign of Edward. Frowning he tugged his bathrobe a bit closer and looked around. Just where had the ghost run off to? "Guess he'll show up sooner or later." And turning to walk back to the house, he stopped short, doing a double-take at his roof.
There, sitting atop the shingles, was the ghost. Just sitting there and staring off into the distance.
Opening his mouth to call out to him, Roy thought better of it. Instead he walked over to the back door of the house. And using the window ledges as footing and places to grasp, he began to climb up the side of the house. Sure, he had a ladder, but this was quicker. And just a bit more fun. As a child his mother had often found him asleep in trees. The woman claimed that he was climbing the damn things before he even learned how to walk properly.
Which he found just ridiculous.
But it was little task to scale the side of the house. Getting onto the roof presented a bit of a tricky angle and a lot of guts, but guts he had. And there were trees back home that had more awkward angles than this that he'd scaled as a toddler.
If one were to believe his mother.
And with a last heave of effort, Roy was kneeling just on the edge of the roof. He breathed a sigh of accomplishment, and carefully edged away before getting to his feet and walking across the shingles quietly. It didn't seem that Edward knew he was there, the ghost was still staring off at the skyline. A skyline he kept his eyes averted from, lest he remove any whiteness the ghost was seeing and alert the apparition to his presence.
He walked over to just behind Edward, before stepping to the ghost's right and settling down quickly next to him. He smiled over at the ghost as Edward whipped his head around, shock and surprise clearly reflected in the silver eyes. "Good morning."
Edward began to relax after being caught off guard, and he smiled. "Morning."
Roy looked off at the horizon now, letting his eyes sweep it all slowly. "Were you watching the sunrise?"
Edward knew Roy was trying to fill in any gaps of white still lingering on the horizon, the man's head was doing as best an imitation of an owl as it could. And he felt warm gratitude for the gesture. "Yes."
"And," Roy looked at Edward again, "was it beautiful?"
Edward nodded a slight amount. "I'd forgotten how beautiful. The picture was gorgeous… but seeing it again in person?" He let out a contented sigh. "I never thought I would again. I'd forgotten the sun… how it shines."
Roy glanced up at it for only a second before he looked away, blinking. "It's definitely shining." He chuckled and rubbed at his eyes.
A small whisper of laughter slipped past Edward's lips. "Silly mortal. It can't hurt my eyes if I stare at it. Don't go blind trying to see if I'm right about it shining."
Roy grinned and placed his hands back on the shingles to lean back and look up at the pale blue sky, the sun barely in his peripheral. "I wish I could though." He admitted, "not that I wish I were dead so I could. But I wish I could stare at it for hours."
"Why?" Edward frowned, and looked back up at the sun.
"Because it's beautiful." Roy explained fondly. "The color, the light it gives off. The intensity of heat I know it has." He raised and looked down at one of his gloveless hands. "It's like… the divine side of fire. The side I can't create. Heaven's fire is up there… I'm down here creating hellfire."
Edward frowned, discarding everything Roy had said but that last part about fire. And suddenly he moved so that he was sitting in front of Roy, practically commanding attention as he said, quite sternly, "you're stupid."
Feeling flustered not just from those final sounding words, Roy gulped as he met those silver eyes. He couldn't look away from them, even if again it felt like they were piercing into him. As if Edward could see straight through flesh and blood, and to intangible but real things like his soul. And it unnerved him that possibly Edward could see into his soul. "Why am I stupid?" He finally asked upon getting his wits a bit more together. There was something about being chastised and stared down by a ghost that left one feeling off balance.
"First off, there's no such thing as heaven or hell." Edward started off, and a narrow-eyed look silenced Roy. "If there was, why the – pardon the necessary pun – hell am I here? I'm a ghost. Not a demon. Not an angel. To think that neither would claim me is an insult. Especially hell, I committed the greatest sin one could ever commit, and if that doesn't grant me entrance to hell, then none of those two extremes exist."
"You're an atheist." Roy managed to get in edgewise.
"You're so clever." Edward snarked at him. "Now shut up and listen to me." And Roy did shut up. "You are not creating any such thing as hellfire. We've all used our alchemy for something we wish we hadn't. Myself included. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly deluded. Yes, fire can destroy, it can kill. But it can also bring life. Just like the sun. The sun can give life, or it can take it away. So don't continue going through your life believing that you wield only the dark side of the flames."
When Roy finally got his thoughts together, Edward was again sitting next to him and staring serenely at the sky. He came to the conclusion that the ghost was the most confusing and yet intriguing being he'd ever met. "But it's not like I used my flames for a forest fire or something. Where everything would grow back again anew and for the better of it. I killed many, many innocent people. Tell me, what is the bright side in that?"
Edward looked over, still sporting that serene expression even as he gave a faint smile. "That it made you you. People have died who should have lived. And people have lived who should have died. Now all you can do is decide where you go from here. You can't change the past, Roy. Just your future. And from what it sounds like, your intended future does not include more killing of innocent people because of what I'm assuming were military orders. Sounds more like an intention for using the fire to bring life, instead of death, to me."
Roy studied him in silence for some time, their gazes never shifting from each other. As strange as it was, he was beginning to believe the ghost might be right. But he needed some more time… some more Wednesdays… it wasn't exactly easy to shift such hard-hammered views of oneself in the space of a morning rooftop talk. "You're a very kind person, you know. I'm not sure I could be as nice as you are after spending seven years in isolation."
Edward laughed at that, causing Roy to startle. "I'm just honest. If the perceived nice part of my honesty is freaking you out a bit I can always tell you what I think of your hair."
Roy's hands immediately flew to his hair, patting it down and carding fingers through it in a flurry of fastidious motions that sent Edward into more laughter. "Don't laugh!" He admonished ineffectually. "What if a virgin sees me up here and they decide to write me off because of my hair?!"
Edward's laughs turned into evil sounding snickers. "If that's the deal breaker, I shudder to think how lacking you are."
Roy scowled at the pleased-with-himself ghost. "I happen to take great pride in my hair." And after a few more frantic actions with it, he felt it settle down out of its bed-mussed state. He'd been telling the truth when he told Edward it only took him a few seconds to do his hair. It only took a bit longer right now since he hadn't had a comb or brush on him. "And for your information the only deal breaker that might, and I repeat, might, ever happen, is the person sees me on my roof talking to myself."
"So what you're saying is that even if you were mentally unstable you'd still be worth getting into bed?" Edward queried with a positively wicked smile.
"Yes." And Roy dared Edward to comment about it.
Edward ignored the silent dare. "Well, for what my opinion is worth, when your hair is in disarray from just getting out of bed you have this "just been thoroughly shagged" look."
Roy grinned, and ruffled a hand through his hair to set it in disarray again. "You like?"
Edward snorted, and sincerely wished he could shove the man. But as it was… "No!" He said through his laughter.
"Oh well." Roy lamented with an exaggerated sigh and corrected his hair back to a state of order. "Never would have worked out between us anyway. I'd never be able to ditch you."
"You're such an impossible idiot." Edward accused him in a fond sort of tone, even as he continued to laugh.
Roy laughed and cleared his throat. "Welcome to being with me away from work. It tends to make me, as Hughes likes to term loosely, carefree. I'm sorry, I won't fluster you any more."
Edward grinned at him happily. "Oh, trust me, Roy, I can take you."
"Can you now?" Roy waggled an eyebrow.
"Kill me." Edward joked, and began to float slowly down through the roof. "I am leaving now, before your atrocious attempts at obvious flirting make me want to find an exorcist."
"Right! Right." Roy held up a hand. "Come back up here." Edward's head was one of the few body parts remaining above the roof.
Edward immediately popped back through the roof to reclaim his original seat. "And you thought I was bad with the references to liking chocolate on my lover."
Roy glowered sidelong at him.
Edward smirked. He knew Roy hadn't been serious with the flirting, it had been far too obvious. And far too obvious it had been done to amuse him. Which it certainly had. But he also couldn't let Roy get too out of hand.
"So," Roy finally said, breaking the comfortable if not still amused silence between them, "I'm going inside to make myself some breakfast." And he unfolded himself with a bit of a yawn to stand up.
Edward floated up as well. "I'll come with you then." And to Edward's unending amusement, he watched Roy climb back down the side of the house clad only in his robe and pajamas. It was rather interesting to say the least. The man was a squirrel himself. "I now see why you and Hazel get along so well." He remarked once Roy finally hopped down to the grass.
Roy chuckled and walked over to the backdoor to open it and let himself inside. "Maybe you've a point there." And though he knew Edward could pass through the door if he closed it, he held it open until the ghost had walked through. Something he couldn't do all the time obviously, but when he could he preferred if he might treat Edward as any other living person.
"What are you going to make?" Asked Edward as he followed Roy into the kitchen.
Roy hummed thoughtfully as he opened the fridge and took a quick inventory of his choices. Or lack of. However you chose to view a fridge in desperate need of stocking. He hadn't had a chance to shop for food since he'd moved, and the food he'd packed in an ice chest and brought with him had dwindled into a carton of orange juice, some apples and an acorn squash, some bacon, and a few remaining tortillas. "Not looking promising." He muttered.
Edward floated over to see, but as Roy was in the way and he didn't want to touch the man he came in from the side and poked his head through the side of the fridge, ignoring Roy's startled curse. "What are you, a bird?"
"Hardly." Roy coughed, and grabbed out an apple for now. "I just need to go shopping at the market to get some food. But before I do that, we need to talk."
Edward pulled out of the fridge and floated after Roy. "I'll behave." He said as he joined Roy at the table. "I won't knock down displays or anything."
Roy smiled around the bite of apple he was chewing. And once he swallowed he shook his head. "It's not behavior I'm worried about. It's how we should interact in public. Because I don't plan on ignoring you, but I also don't want to be taken for some crazy man."
"Too late to worry about that." Edward muttered, and grinned as Roy gave him a reproachful look. "Sorry."
Roy chuckled, his eyes twinkling a bit. The ghost sure was happy. Oh how he loved it when Edward was happy. "Brat of a ghost." He murmured, and then raised his voice to a normal level. "So basically this is what I'm thinking we do. You of course don't need to worry about anything, so you can talk to me whenever. However, in my case… I think we need to stick to a simple system of a head nod or shake. It's nothing anyone would get concerned over, I could just be thinking to myself. And if we actually need to talk, we'll go somewhere private. When we're alone of course, or there's enough distance between us and other people, I'll talk to you."
Edward nodded and waved a hand through the air. "I'll plan on being the dominator of our conversations in public then." He smirked belatedly at the thought.
"Don't go overboard." Roy warned him suspiciously. "And as for your behavior, don't do anything unless it's absolutely essential that you do. You don't seem like you'd prank anyone without cause, let's keep it that way."
"No worries over that." Edward remarked blandly. "No use people getting suspicious. And if strange things happen too often when you're around… well, I don't want to cause you problems."
Roy nodded, grateful for that. "And as for you getting shown more of the city at least for a start, I'll try to take you at least one new place a night until we've seen them all. After that, we'll worry about the rest of the world."
"I have an idea." Edward ventured with a sudden flash of a smile. "Be my personal tour guide! Screw the military."
"Or just carve out my eyes and carry them around with you." Roy joked back.
"Where's the knife?" Edward asked conversationally.
"You'll have to find it, ghost." Roy claimed and began nibbling around the exposed core of the apple to remove the sweeter bits of flesh there.
Edward rubbed his hands together with a smirk. "Oh goody, something to do tonight while you're asleep."
Roy rolled his eyes and stood up to walk the apple core to the trash bin. "I plan to go out tonight, should give you plenty of time to find it without you worrying about creating a racket rattling around through my possessions."
Edward frowned just a bit, but bit his tongue against what he wanted to say. Instead he floated up off the chair. "And until then?"
"Well," Roy stretched languidly, arms high up over his head, "I need to take a shower. Then we'll go shopping at the market. After that if you're feeling comfortable being exposed to all of the stuff waiting out there for you we can wander around. I'll take you around the city some and we can just go from there. But if you have had enough by the time we're done at the market we can stay home. I still have some unpacking to do."
"I'll see how I feel." Edward told him, with not the least bit of embarrassment. He knew that there was no reason for him to feel shame over the fact that being exposed to something quite larger than that office after seven years was intimidating. A culture shock. And truthfully he felt he'd braved it quite well so far. A less brave ghost might have been a shaking mess.
Roy nodded, he expected no less. And he turned with an "I'll take my shower now", to head back to the hallway.
"Roy?" Edward called after him.
Roy paused and looked over his shoulder to see those silver eyes staring at him in an assessing way he'd not really noticed before. "Yes?"
"You really don't mind this?"
Ah, so that was it. Roy smiled, and shook his head. "You have somehow in a matter of days wormed yourself into my life in a way that only my mother could duplicate. But I'd not once wish to be rid of the commitments that come with it. I asked you to come with me for a reason, and as you said last night, I had to mean it. So perhaps now the question isn't 'will you come with me', but 'will you stay with me'."
Edward smiled at him. "Yes, of course." And when Roy flashed him a cunning sort of grin he rolled his eyes. "Go take a shower. Maybe take a crap, you're too full of yourself."
Roy sauntered off with laughter floating in his wake
While Edward waited for Roy to shower and dress, he floated up the stairs to sit in the hallway where he could hear the water of the shower running at first. And then later the sound of dresser drawers opening and closing. It wasn't that he was trying to listen in on Roy. But that he wanted to know Roy was still nearby. Spare him thoughts of 'so cute', and other such drivel. He was just a bit nervous still about being left alone in the world without anyone to hear or see him.
He only fell down through the floor of the hallway and floated his way into the living room when he heard Roy's footsteps nearing the bedroom door. And he floated around the room, tossing a sleeping Hazel glances every so often.
"Ready?"
Edward looked over at Roy's voice, and smiled. "Yeah." And he floated over with a hand on his chin that rubbed thoughtfully. "Huh, did you put on a corset or something?"
Roy blinked at him, unsure if Edward was being funny or not. "Pardon?"
"A corset." Edward repeated slowly. "You know, to make yourself skinnier."
"No." Roy frowned. "Why do you ask? Wait, do I want to know?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that you look skinnier in this." This being a pair of dark blue-almost-black denims and a dove gray t-shirt. The color reminded him of the sky just before dawn. And the general way the shirt clung to every muscle and bulge of a bicep made Edward think if maybe Roy couldn't wash his laundry properly. Clearly the wash was shrinking.
Roy got it now, and he shrugged as he stuffed his ignition cloth gloves in a front pocket. "The uniforms aren't meant to be flattering. I think they make everyone look about three sizes too large in all the wrong areas."
Edward frowned, and pointed at the shirt. "So are you compensating by wearing shirts three sizes too small?"
"It is not too small, it fits!" Roy protested as he put his hands on his hips while glaring at the ghost who was now smiling far too happily.
"It's a corset." Edward grinned, and danced away even though he knew Roy couldn't touch him.
Roy swatted his way anyway, and stepped over towards the front door. "Be glad I'm not wearing jeans that you think are three sizes too small."
"I am." Edward admitted with fervor, and followed Roy out the door.
Together they walked to the nearest market, Edward sticking close by Roy even as he looked around and dodged people on the sidewalks who couldn't see him. If he spotted a place he couldn't yet see that Roy could do some temporary fixing to, he pointed it out. But for the most part he didn't speak. Even when they were alone on the streets. You could never really know who was watching from a window during the day.
When they reached the market, Roy began to peruse the selections of fruits and vegetables. It was rather crowded on a Saturday morning, so Edward stuck close beside Roy, if not hovering up in the air by the man's head.
"So many people." He said to himself as he looked around.
"So glad it's not a Sunday." Roy answered, an innocent seeming proclamation to make to oneself amid such a multitude of fellow shoppers.
Edward interpreted that to mean that Sunday was even worse. So he filed that away. And he returned to his looking around at all the different sights. People milling everywhere, bartering back and forth, haggling loudly over prices. Live animals in their coops added to the general din with their clucks, bleats, quacks, and other noises that included the banging of their cages when an animal was selected by a potential buyer. So many colors. So many sounds. So many people, animals, and things moving. Even past the market. It was all so much to take in after his seclusion.
He was to a degree unsettled by it all. Culture shock for sure.
Casting a look towards Roy who was picking through husked corn, he decided to hell with it. There wasn't anyone bustling around near to him, so he sank to the ground and stood quite close to Roy. Discovering as he did so that the man was humming something softly to himself, and off key at that, but he focused on that one sound and held onto it like a lifeline until he calmed from this overload of sight and sound.
Roy saw the ghost move in close to him, but he didn't question it, didn't try to put any space between them. He had no problems anymore with Edward being in what was loosely termed by people as "personal space" or a "bubble". Edward wouldn't hurt him, and he didn't mind the proximity. Anyone else, sure. But the ghost defied all ways in which he would normally deal with others. Besides, he knew why Edward had sought out being a bit closer to him. He hadn't the heart nor want to tell Edward to move away.
He moved away slowly from the corn now, Edward following along beside him like a second shadow. He knew if the ghost was too overwhelmed he'd have asked to leave. So for now he continued to hum and let Edward stick to him like the incorporeal shadow he currently was.
By the time they reached the meat sections, both already slaughtered and live, Edward had calmed down again. And there weren't very many people over here at the moment. The animals were still loud, but he didn't mind them so much. And as Roy looked at steaks he floated over to peer at a goose.
"Roy, he kind of reminds me of you." He remarked as he watched the goose preen himself with a haughty air.
Roy looked up at the goose, and looked back at the steaks with a smirk.
Edward grinned back at him, and looked at a rooster now. A rooster who was crowing in puffed up glory at several hens in another cage next to his. "This one is you." He decided mildly.
Roy looked up again, saw the rooster, and snickered. Shaking his head he began to haggle for the price of the steaks he had selected.
Edward moved on from the rooster and his biddies to float back over to where Roy was now haggling over the price of a side of pig. "How are you going to carry all this anyway?" He asked as he looked down at the side of pig, and what Roy had already bought that was piled in paper bags. "Why do you need a side of pig?"
When Roy walked away with more expensive cuts of chops and more bacon for a lesser price, Edward was even more confused.
"I really don't get this haggling thing. How'd you get away with things that should have cost you more than that side of pig for less money?" Edward frowned, thoroughly confused.
Roy led them down a virtually empty portion of the market while sporting a pleased with himself smirk. "An upside of military training, convincing people that what they'd rather not do is actually the best option."
"Are you done shopping?" Edward frowned as he looked at the four full bags Roy was carrying. "I swear you've enough to feed your own regiment in there."
Roy snickered, "I like to be well stocked. You won't help me carry the bags?"
Edward held out his hands. "Sure, they won't weight anything to me. But do you really want to explain a bunch of floating bags to everyone?"
Roy shook his head, and walked back out onto the sidewalk. No, that was one thing he'd really rather not explain. He had a feeling that down the road some explanations, very elaborate ones with lots of big words so as to entice confusion and attention away from whatever occurred, would be needed. But until he crossed that street, he didn't want to go there.
"I'm thinking one of the first places I want to see is the library. Every single corner of it." Edward said as he walked with Roy down the street. Or rather, Roy walked on the sidewalk and he walked on the actual street. Cars parked along the curb were no impediment for him.
Roy chuckled at that, he might have known. And he waited until they'd turned another corner onto an empty street where there were not so many buildings as lots for companies dealing in things like lumber and steel to answer. It was more secluded here, less windows, and Edward needed to see this area as well still. "Okay, library. We'll get that done. And then where?"
"Well," Edward began with a thoughtful look. "I don't really know. I mean, besides walking around everywhere I might want to go on the streets. And out past the city. But I grew up in a rural area with practically nothing around. I don't know if times have changed Risembool, but this is the first time I've ever been in a city. Besides a library, I really don't know what cities have that would interest me."
"Then I'll introduce you to what you've been missing." Roy reassured him, and then smirked. "Might find some more one-nighters that way, walking around the city."
Edward gave him a deadpan look. "I have this great urge to trip you. Damn that I can't."
Roy merely laughed and kept walking.
They made it back to Roy's house just in time to keep the meat from spoiling, as according to Roy, it was a bit of a warm day. And as Roy set the bags on the counter Edward floated over to begin helping with pulling things out and setting them in easy reach for Roy.
"Are we still having our chess game tonight?" Edward asked, even though it wasn't even close to being noon yet.
Roy glanced over at him from where he was ducked inside the fridge putting away the extra bacon he'd bought. "If you like. I don't have any other plans. I won't hit the bars until after six."
"I would like." Edward said firmly, and passed the whole chicken – already cleaned, plucked, and packaged – to the man when Roy beckoned for it. "I'm getting better. I want to keep practicing."
"Then how about at three we start playing?" Roy proposed. "I do have an extra set in one of the boxes. It's a bit more battered than the one at the office, but all the pieces are still there."
Edward planned to watch the clock, and finished emptying the last of the bags. "Roy, where do you buy condoms?"
There was a rather painful sounding bang that issued from inside the fridge, followed immediately by a sharp yelp, and the sound of muffled swearing.
"Roy?"
Roy emerged looking bewildered and rubbing at his head tenderly. "What?"
"I asked where you buy condoms." Edward said, and smirked at the man's expression. "Not for me!"
"I know that!" Roy spluttered. "Why do you want to know?"
Edward motioned at what was still on the counter after being emptied from the bags. "You didn't buy any. I thought that surely you'd need more by now considering your rabbit-esque activities."
"I still have plenty. I buy in bulk from the pharmacy." Roy explained with a hint of red staining his cheeks.
"Ah. Okay." Edward chuckled and shrugged. "Just making sure."
Roy grabbed the jar of peanut butter to stick up in a cupboard. "I love how you look out for my welfare."
"Hey, you're the only one I have around who can see or hear me." Edward passed him a package of dried pasta that was motioned for. "Kind of implies I should look out for you."
"Well at least when I'm old and crotchety I won't need to go into a nursing home." Roy threw an overzealous smile at Edward. "You can change my bedpans for me!"
"Eww! No!" Edward gagged, and threw a dishrag at Roy's face. "I'll never be that attached to you."
Roy laughed and caught the dishrag easily before tossing it back where the ghost had snatched it from. "Come on now, help me. I want to make myself a proper breakfast. Do you want to go out afterwards?"
Edward resumed his helping, and thought seriously about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Tomorrow, but not today. I think I've had all I can take for a few hours. So we may as well just stay inside. I'll help you unpack."
Roy nodded in understanding. "Whenever you're ready. There's no rush. I'm proud of how well you handled the market. Even though you definitely were starting to… is panic even the right word to use with a ghost?" Roy asked with true curiosity. "Do you panic?"
"Yes." Edward answered calmly. "But not because of that. That is more unsettling than panic worthy. I panic at the ends of my dreams."
Accepting the explanation, Roy with Edward's help finished putting away the groceries. The ghost put the paper bags in the bin labeled 'for a bad day' that was in the laundry room, and Roy started cooking himself a proper breakfast.
Edward floated back in to hover over a counter off to the side and watch as Roy began to systematically churn out waffle after waffle while still cooking sausages at the same time. "Are you going to eat all of this by yourself?" He asked eventually when he couldn't stave off the curiosity any longer.
"Healthy appetite." Roy explained, and patted against his muscular and toned abdomen. "But I do work it off. I have this body for a reason."
"I'll take your word for it." Edward decided with a roll of his eyes. "So it's not just a healthy sexual appetite, but just in general you're insatiable?"
Roy paused to think, and then nodded. "Yep, that's pretty much it. I have my days or nights where I don't need it. But when I have it, I may as well have as much as I like."
Reflecting on the night Roy seemingly had planned for himself, Edward could suddenly see the need for lots of food. "Your sausage is about to burn." He said, pointing at one in particular that was sizzling quite ominously.
"Hm? Oh!" Roy jerked himself out of his personal moment and quickly tended to the endangered link.
Edward grinned and shook his head. Only settling in a bit farther back on the counter to pull his legs up to his chest and watch. He was beginning to wonder if Roy might actually need help cooking. But he'd save that offer for a moment when it best suited his chances for being amused.
Roy managed to finish cooking his breakfast without setting anything ablaze. And to Edward's great entertainment, he ate an entire stack of waffles, plus fourteen sausages. All slathered in maple syrup.
Only afterwards did they depart to tackle the remaining packed boxes sitting in the living room.