terracannon: I think Ed would happily make it a hobby to mess with Grand.
silvers-edge: Roy isn't beyond hope, luckily for him. He's just never thought he'd ever crash head over heels for anyone. Poor, unsuspecting bastard that I love to torture XD
Mesonoxian: Oh they are, they are my needed dose of writing fluff.
dormantdrake: Yay! That's always a good thing. One must love what they read, and they must read about Roy and Ed XD
moonstone: Maybe Bradley should make Grand join the military long jump team as punishment?
80x18: Cheez-its? You have Cheez-its? -crawls towards you- I need Cheez-its...
ChemistOfA: I shall have to make one of your nights glorious too, then.
Barranca: Oh they are, it's pushing my fluff limits but I'm pressing on for the pure need of it. They're both so clueless that I kind of have to go blatant -headdesk-
Alex: I'm glad at least one person got the humor from that line XD
black-klepon: You just had to bring up Armstrong XP
Batsutousai: Ah, so that's where you've been. I thought Walmart ate you. And don't worry too much about Maes, worry about that bacon! Save de bacon!
Zemyx: Accordions are just cool, they fold... which shouldn't be so appealing as it is to me. And don't worry, I'll dose you up on plenty of cheese before I go have fun in angst land.
elemental heiress: I was thinking Roy could stick Grand in a maze and then light part of it on fire and see if the man can make it out the other end.
Halftere: Luckily not much longer, lucky for me at least. Sometimes the cluelessness can make me want to shove them in a closet together... but then I realize Ed would just float right out and open the door for Roy. Back to square one.
Neko: I think Roy has a bit of a control issue when it comes to -not- spoiling Ed.
Ana Lilly: Thank you!
Soaha: More than one Ed is a pretty intimidating thought... no building would be left standing.
Liloi: Yeah, Bradley always gave me the creeps with his ever-present smile. It is just not normal for the man to always be so welcoming looking while he's thinking about all the ways he could kill you.
Kimba Lionheart: More of Armstrong... oh the world conspires against me XD
GreedxEd: Yeah, but now I have to actually write not only a chapter, but the play. I'll need wine for that little venture.
secret25: Unfortunately I can't answer that one, but eventually we shall see.
tsuki1613: Oh, you have more theories to add to the pool. I love hearing everyone's theories about stuff, it'll make it such fun when I get to the end.
cynder81: Now I just have this image of Roy getting thrown into jail and Ed taking his sweet time picking the lock as he taunts Roy.
Cheru-chan: I know I'd need a support group if either of those two were my kiddos. They're a handful.
j.d.y: Roy is one of the best complainers to ever exist. Bless him for it.
blame-my-ADD: Hey, my hat is off to you for even being able to get a passing grade in statistics. I steered clear of that class for a reason -shudder- Although that is not to say that I hope you don't get a fabulously higher grade again... nor do I ever condone reading over homework... XD ah who am I fooling, reading is more fun!
Eli: Why, were you hoping to shack up with Roy, little sis? Naughty, naughty.
gali-o: Oh they are, they make me want to brush my teeth after writing them. But hey, I need some fluff for this thing before I have my fun with the angst.
Koneko: Wouldn't you like to see the men of the military on a long jump team? Shirtless, oiled bodies of perfection running down a track and then leaping into the air to land in a buttock-flexing crouch.
Well, I'm getting this up a day later than I planned... not that anyone but me actually knew that, but it's the principle of the matter.
But I have learned that the day I want to post an update is not the day to get on an hour-long phone convo with another author and end up discussing how suspiciously sweet your bird is being. And then don't end up in a chat conversation with another author as she tells you how to make various champagne cocktails. Yeah, last night was fuuuuun. If not very unproductive.
And now it is approximately two hours past my bedtime, so I'm going to crawl there now and attempt to sleep.
I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Two
The next morning was a rush of familiar activity.
Roy packed his suitcase for their overnight trip while Hazel watched with nefarious plots in his beady eyes and Edward darted around the rest of the house trying to secure what he could against a certain fluffy rodent.
It was a losing battle, but both human and ghost waged it.
And then they were firmly locking Hazel inside, whilst knowing what would happen as a result while they were gone, and set off for the train station despite that. Roy wasn't sure what time the train would be leaving for the town he needed to get to, but it was better to get there early anyway than miss the only one.
Which was how they ended up sitting together on one of the many benches lining the platforms. One of which they would be needing in the coming two hours. Roy had predicted that meant they'd be able to finally get to his mother's place just in time for him to get a late lunch. It seemed that their end destination was only about an hour or so walk away from the train station they'd end up at.
So while they waited, Edward was indulging in a game of yes-or-no questions that had long since caused him to dissolve into helpless chronic laughter.
"Will you survive if your mother ever finds out you have a motorcycle?" Edward asked with a wicked smirk.
Roy groaned, rolling his eyes and shaking his head empathetically in the hopes it would dissuade Edward from ever devising a prank to let his mother in on that little secret.
"Did you ever bring someone home for her to meet when you were younger?" He knew the details of Roy's sexual escapades now, but he was admittedly a bit hazy on those before.
Roy cracked a small smirk as he shook his head again.
"Roy! Just how depraved are you?" Edward exclaimed with a fresh bout of laughter. "She does know then about your conduct with all your supposed virgins, right?"
Roy only grinned, shooting him a wink before nodding and settling back into his seat to stare down a small child who'd been watching him too long. Only grinning more when the child turned and ran back to its mother.
Edward watched the exchange with an almost exasperated look. "Do you like any kids besides Elysia?"
Roy shrugged in answer, he wasn't exactly in a position to elaborate, and even if he could, what other children did he know? Not any. Maes was the only one who'd settled down like that, and personally, he took every precaution to be sure he didn't end up with any children himself.
Edward shook his head wryly before plunging back into his questioning; mostly in the attempt to see if he could get Roy to break his silence and actually let slip a few words. So far, he wasn't having much luck, but Roy's expressions sometimes more than made up for it.
By the time their train had pulled in and unloaded its prior cargo and was made ready for boarding to the next destination, Roy hadn't slipped once. Which made the already cocky man preen with pride as he led the way onto the train and into one of the private military cabins.
"You're not allowed to ask any more questions for the entire train ride." Roy pointedly informed the ghost as he sunk into one of the bench seats with a relaxed sigh.
Edward smirked at him, curling onto the seat beside the man and blinking at him innocently. "But you're allowed to talk now."
"Bad ghost." Roy pointed a finger at him, trying his best not to smile but fearing he was failing utterly.
"Bad Roy." Edward rejoined, taking care to sound as pet-scolding as possible. "You realize Maes will have a crazed fit when he realizes you've run off somewhere again. I get the feeling he'll notice you're gone."
Roy chuckled briefly, smiling at his partial reflection in the window. "We will be assured of entertainment on Monday then."
"You knowing me must be putting the poor man through hell." Edward smiled as he closed his eyes and settled into the seat as best he could, wrapping his arms around his legs to pull them in close to his chest and lay the side of his head down on his knees. "One day you'll take pity on him and tell him about me so he stops tearing his hair out."
Roy looked back over at him, face expressionless. Would he? That really was a question, wasn't it. When the subject had first come up he'd been adamant that he would never. Never take the chance that his best friend wouldn't believe him about Edward. But that was before he had formed such a close connection with the ghost. Before he and Edward did almost everything together.
It wasn't exactly anything he could easily answer.
They sat there together in comfortable silence as the train began to pull out from the station, at which time Edward straightened up a bit so that he could look out the window with unwavering curiosity about the world beyond Central that he'd not yet seen.
"I think you're going to make her very happy, showing up." Edward murmured almost an hour into the journey. "I think mothers would like being surprised like that by their kids. What's her name, anyway?"
Roy glanced over at him only so that he wouldn't lose full sight of the scenery beyond the window, and he faintly smiled at the words. "Besides 'mom'? Daphne. And she will be. I don't see her often enough for her liking. She was an absolute mess when I first left home. For months I had to call her every day until she got more accustomed to me being gone."
"I wonder what I would have done, if it would have made my mother worry about me." Edward mused as he stared out the window.
"As long as you still ended up with me in the end, she wouldn't have had to worry too much. I'd have taken care of you." Roy replied as he rested his head against the headrest nearest Edward, still keeping his attention on the scenery.
"I don't need anyone to take care of me." Edward replied, sounding almost sleepy.
"I don't think it's possible for me not to want to." Roy told him, staring out the window more in pensive reflection than as any want to open up the ghost's world. "Although…" he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts, "I've done a lot of things since I met you that I never thought I would."
Edward blinked his eyes open again, resting them on the man he was sitting nearly up against. "I think whatever it is, it's good for you. You mostly seem so happy."
Roy's lips twitched faintly at the observation. "I am."
Edward smiled at Roy's profile and settled back again to watch the scenery roll by. "I am too." He said softly, and silence fell over them save for the rattling of the train.
Roy found himself smiling briefly before it faded as he continued staring out the window, still wrapped up in his own thoughts. He had done a lot of things since meeting Edward that he'd never thought he'd do. He'd promised a lot of things, and broken just as many promises. How many times did it make it now that he'd blown off the possibility of getting laid just to be with Edward? To take him somewhere, anywhere. Or just to simply be with him. Times he knew he could have gone bar hopping and still be able to function for these weekend trips.
Granted, this was only the second one, but it hadn't even crossed his mind that they might stay home. That he might go out tonight, that Edward might stay at home with Hazel. No, instead he'd arranged a spontaneous trip for them to see his mother of all people.
Which was almost as promise breaking to him as the promise he'd once made about anyone ever living with him. That had crumbled at his feet when Edward had gotten free of that office with his help. It had crumbled at his feet and he hadn't cared. Their trip to Risembool had shown him just how much he couldn't stand the thought of Edward not being there with him.
To the extent he'd as good as admitted to Edward during that same trip to Risembool that he wanted to stay with the ghost even after his own death. He wanted to stay with Edward, indefinitely.
And he was content to be so.
At one point someone did come to check Roy's ticket, but then they were alone again, speeding off towards a destination only Roy knew. Yet despite the quiet in their cabin, the journey didn't seem to drag on indefinitely. If anything, the hours-long train trip seemed to fly by as fast as the passing scenery of progressively more forest that was covering substantial hills.
So when the train began to pull into the station with the squealing of brakes and the rumbling lurch of the machine coming to a stop, Roy shook himself out of his thoughts and began to stretch the kinks out of his muscles.
"So about an hour walk?" Edward asked as he floated up to fetch Roy's suitcase for him from the overhead rack.
"About that." Roy agreed with a smile over the groan he was fighting back as he stood up and felt the stiffness in his legs. "This train was bumpier than the last."
"I couldn't tell." Edward grinned cheerfully enough, especially when he earned himself a scowl. To which he answered by smugly thrusting the suitcase into Roy's chest. "Time to go! I want to see this childhood home of Roy Mustang."
"Groupie." Roy muttered behind a smirk as he followed the ghost off of the train. Once on the platform he caught Edward's eye and led them around behind the train heading towards the outskirts of the small town they had ended up in.
His haste was equal parts wanting to get there and wanting to get out of here before the townspeople who he'd grown up with as a kid recognized that he was there and decided to pull him aside for a chat related to "the old days". Normally he wouldn't mind, but he had Edward with him, and he was on a sort of tight schedule considering he wanted to get some lunch.
So before long they found themselves walking along a barely-paved road that eventually melted into hard-packed dirt that had gouges and ruts along the sides and in the middle from the passage of vehicles and horse-drawn carts during a muddier season.
"You grew up rural?" Edward questioned at last as he saw just how far away from civilization it looked like they were getting.
"Yeah." Roy smiled, hefting his suitcase over one shoulder. "The town isn't too far unless you're walking, like us. But it's still rural out here even with the town. Why?" He looked over at Edward with that same smile. "Did you think I was always a city boy?"
Edward nodded.
Roy nodded in kind, turning his attention back to the road in order to stay on a straight path of avoiding the gouges in the road. "It's a misconception I do my best not to absolve people of. My mother moved out here with my dad when they got married, years before I was born. I only moved out to the city when I joined the military."
"I'd never have guessed that of you." Edward smiled at the mental image. "So did you grow up rural like me or rural in the sense that you were on a farm?"
"Neither." Roy grinned here, his step becoming a bit quicker. "You'll soon see."
Curiosity was certainly incentive, and Edward hopped a bit faster from rut to rut as he followed Roy along. This he definitely needed to see, and that was nothing on how curious he was to finally have a face to put to Roy's mother.
It must have been at least an hour later that they finally came upon a clearing in the mostly wooded area, whereupon Roy stopped and nodded towards the house that had appeared to the side of the dirt road. A single story structure of dark wood and shimmering glass with a large veranda wrapping seemingly around the entire thing and contained on all visible sides by hedges and flower pots. And it was surrounded entirely by green grass completely clear of the normal forest and instead shaded by fruit-bearing trees.
"That's home away from home." Roy murmured softly as he just stood there looking at it.
Edward could only stare at first in a slight amount of awe, "it's beautiful here."
"That's not even the half of it." Roy said with a bit of pride at the knowledge that Edward felt it was beautiful. He'd hoped to do well and show Edward another place the ghost might feel at home. A place similar to where the ghost had grown up. "But come on. I'll show you the rest soon enough."
Edward followed after him as Roy led the way up the driveway, looking around avidly. Quite aware of just how few people managed to ever see this place in this manner.
They hadn't quite gotten to the steps leading up to the veranda when the door was flung open with a cry of delight as a dark-haired woman bolted down the steps to – what Edward thought, would be to hug Roy – instead she took aim and smacked him around the back of the head.
"Ow! Mom!" Roy protested, having dropped his suitcase in order to clutch at his head. "What the hell was that for?"
"For not calling me and letting me know you were coming!" Daphne scolded him with one hand on her hip and the other looking ready to smack him again.
"I wanted to surprise you." Roy explained, eyeing her warily as if ready to duck and run. And truth be told, he was.
Daphne tried as long as she could to seem scolding before her face broke into a grin and she stepped forward to pull her son into a tight hug. "I am." She muttered from where her head was buried in his shoulder.
Roy felt himself being slowly crushed in the vice of her arms, but he was smiling as he wrapped his own around her to hold her just as closely. "Are you crying, mom?"
That got him released quickly, and Daphne regarded him haughtily for even suggesting it. "Of course not. I just have very bright eyes. Unlike you. You have your father's eyes."
Roy grinned at her, "you are so going to start crying." He taunted her mercilessly before stepping forward to grab her into another hug as his grin softened into a relaxed smile. "I missed you, mom."
Daphne chuckled as she hugged him back, "missed you too, Roy." She suddenly pushed him away with a groan and a quick swipe of a manicured hand against her eyes as she leveled an accusatory stare at him, "you're trying to get me to cry!"
Roy laughed, "I am not. You know if you start crying I'd wonder who I need to kill."
"You." She rolled her eyes but beamed at him happily. "It's good to see you. You just came for a visit? Nothing's wrong?"
Roy shook his head and found himself glancing over to Edward for a moment before meeting his mother's questioning green eyes with a smile. "Everything's going right."
Daphne opened her mouth, then paused as she searched her son's face with an expression Roy couldn't quite decipher before her eyes began to twinkle and she smiled. "Why don't you tell me about it over lunch. You are hungry, aren't you?"
"Starving, actually." Roy admitted as he stooped to pick up his suitcase.
Daphne nodded approvingly before turning on her heel, fairly brimming with happiness and making her way up the steps, calling for Roy to hurry up.
Roy did, Edward close beside him. An Edward who was positively beside himself grinning after witnessing that little family reunion. Both Roy and his mother clearly loved each other, which only made their taunting better. And he vowed to have a better look around the home he was following Roy through once he had some free time tonight in which to do so.
For now he was busy getting to know Daphne in the one-sided way he'd grown so accustomed to.
She was a petite thing, really. But from Roy's expression whilst being hug-crushed, she wasn't weak. Her wavy hair was the same inky black that Roy's was, and her complexion the same paleness. But her eyes were definitely different. She had mentioned Roy had his father's eyes.
And she was pretty. Even Edward could see that, even though she must be nearing her fifties. He knew now where Roy had gotten his good looks from. Although he wasn't too sure that Roy could pull off the dress that Daphne was wearing.
"So," Daphne began as she led the way into the kitchen and began rummaging about in the refrigerator for food for Roy, "last I heard from you, you were packing up and heading to Central. How is that going?"
Roy walked over to rest back up against one of the counters nearest the stove as he watched her begin pulling containers out for reheating, and he smiled as Edward hopped up onto the counter next to him to watch as well. "All moved in everywhere. Hazel will be glad though that I don't intend to move again anytime soon, if at all. I like the place I have now."
"And the military?" Daphne asked, staring at him pointedly as she withdrew from her looting of the refrigerator. "What's going on with that?"
Here Roy bowed his head with a heavy breath before looking over at her from underneath the fringe of hair that had fallen forward. "I've got my sights set on taking down Basque Grand, first and foremost."
Daphne didn't need to ask for specifics on who that was, she'd heard about Ishbal from her son. So she merely nodded as she began readying a plate to heat in the oven.
"When I got to Central I received some information that he was up to something bad, very bad. I can't tell you what it is… but I can't allow him to succeed." Roy whispered, his eyes falling to the hardwood floor. "I'm dancing a thin line here, mom. I'd like to out him to be able to slip into his position, which puts me that much closer to having the privileges to angle in for a military coup against the Fuhrer and take over control for myself. But at the same time I'm working against time, because if he succeeds with what he's trying to do…"
Edward slipped off the counter, concern in his face and eyes as he put himself in front of Roy. Even with the man standing slightly slouched against the counter and head bowed, he could look directly up into his eyes and he did, raising a hand towards Roy's face. "It's now four against one, and I have faith in you, Roy. You're a brilliant alchemist and Grand is intimidated by you. You're the stronger, no matter what. Because I know you'll do everything in your power to stay with me. You have me. What does he have to fight for?"
Daphne watched her son a long moment, taking in the change in him even as he stood there. The way his expression seemed to soften and some of the worry leave his shoulders in exchange for a steely set. Something was different about him, she was certain of that now. And while she had her suspicions… it was too early yet to tell. But there was something there inside Roy that hadn't been there before, something that made him stronger.
"The point is," Roy started again, his eyes not leaving Edward's as the ghost moved unconsciously closer to him, "stay safe for me."
Edward smiled up at him faintly, his hand still drifting at Roy's hair as if he might be able to touch it if he just kept hoping. "It works both ways, Roy."
Daphne stuck the plate into the oven to reheat, now more than convinced. Something… no, she looked him over carefully, someone had left their mark on Roy. Just 'stay safe' without her needing to break open the wine as Roy spilled all his concerns to one of the few people he could trust? Somewhere, somehow, someone had made her son into a much more confident man. And that was saying something, considering the size of his ego. "You know I will. Now why don't you go sit and I'll get the wine out."
Roy finally broke eye contact with Edward, looking over at her and nodding even as Edward's hand fell away. Trying as he did so to shake away the feeling that staring too long into those silver eyes gave him, that complete baring-of-his-soul feeling. Trying not to wonder if Edward ever liked what he saw. "Give me what's left of whatever bottle you're on. I know you'll go through a whole one on your own now that I'm here." He suggested smugly, hoping his voice came across sounding normal.
"Don't credit yourself that much, you evil child." Daphne rejoined, tearing her focus away from him to hunt through the wine cooler for two appropriate bottles. "Do you want a glass or are you just going to treat it like that beer swill that I know you drink sometimes." She asked from where she was stooped in front of the cooler.
Roy was smirking as he moved past her to the dining room and its large, welcoming table surrounded on three sides by glass windows that overlooked the meadow beyond and out to the forest. "I would never. Of course I need a glass."
She rolled her eyes and pulled free two chilled bottles, one of which was half gone already. Grabbing two goblets as well from a cabinet she made her way over to the table just as Roy was settling down into his customary chair. "Roy, you trying to tell me that you don't drink sub-par beer is like trying to tell me you've never had sex."
Edward actually had to laugh as he took a seat next to Roy, one facing the windows so he could have a view of the scenery too if he wished it. "She has a point."
"I wasn't asking for your invasive opinion on it." Roy muttered, crossing his arms over his chest dramatically.
Edward merely smirked at him; Daphne, on the other hand, set one of the goblets down and with a flourish thrust the half-filled bottle into Roy's chest causing his arms to uncross in order to catch it. "I'm your mother, I give you my opinion whether you want it or not."
Roy gave her a plaintive look as she sat down next to him with her own goblet and bottle – and luckily not in the same seat that Edward had chosen. "Painfully so sometimes."
"I have to pay you back for all the pain you caused me trying to give birth to you. You weren't an easy baby, you know." Daphne re-informed him as she worked the cork free with practiced movements of her slender fingers. "Your father –"
"Got bit three times as I cursed him out for being the one to do this to me." Roy finished for her smugly in the face of her mocking look. "Oh, and you threatened to castrate and then divorce him until you saw what an absolutely stunning baby I was."
"I don't remember that last part." Daphne muttered doubtfully as she poured herself a goblet of a rose-colored wine.
"Dad was a brave man." Roy nodded sagely, before yelping as a sandaled foot connected with his ankle. "I rest my case!"
Edward was trying not to laugh too hard, worried it would move his chair. But he was not opposed to looking over at Roy with a blinding smile. "I think you need to prove that 'stunning baby' point. You got to see all of my childhood pictures, fair is fair, Mustang!"
Roy groaned and took a hearty swig of wine from his goblet. "I need more wine for dealing with this. And food." And then he turned a very eager look on his mother who looked just a bit worried at being fixed with it. "Do you need any help around the place? Repairs, pruning, anything?"
Daphne rested her chin in her hand as she considered her son with growing, worried amusement. "Just what the hell has happened to you, honey?"
"Nothing yet."
As far as Roy was concerned, it took far long enough for his lunch to be heated through. It was hard enough dealing with either/or when it came to his mother and Edward. Both of them harassing him at once was just some sort of injustice. So when his lunch was finally ready he fairly flew to the oven to retrieve it and spent the next ten minutes being laughed at by his mother and having Edward roll his eyes at him as he bolted down the scalding hot food despite the temperature.
So once he was done eating he begged his way off into just walking around the property, citing some need to just wander around. It was one he'd used more eloquently on past visits, and he knew his mom understood that it helped him unwind and regain perspective and focus on some level, so it was easy enough to slip away from her, knowing that she'd keep herself busy now making a dinner and dessert that would make him feel akin to a sacrifice receiving its last fattening-up meal.
Which was how he managed to slip out a side door onto the veranda with Edward beside him, and he smiled over at the ghost as the door closed. "I'll show you around the house after she's gone to bed. But I want you to see this," he motioned with his hand and that same easy smile, "in the daylight."
Edward followed Roy's gesture, pausing a moment with his heat tilted to one side as he took in the rows upon rows of grapevines stretching farther than he could really see an end to. And off in the distance was a large structure easily as tall as Headquarters if not quite as large around. "A vineyard? You… that wine… is it hers?"
Roy walked over to the veranda railing to lean against it with a fond expression for the rows of grapes. "Ours. Although I rarely dip into the profits. When she retires or passes away the entire thing moves over into my name. But… this is how I grew up."
Edward looked from him back out onto the expansive vineyard and found himself smiling. "It's actually really… surprising." And then he leered over at Roy, "although that explains your love of alcohol."
Roy winked at him before pushing off from the railing to head to one of the series of steps so they could go down into the vineyard. "I actually didn't start drinking until my mom allowed it. I was good only stealing the champagne grapes and somehow surviving her chasing me around with the pruning shears. I think she offered to let me try wine in an effort to save herself from committing limb removal of her only son."
Edward felt he might have blanched, were he still of flesh and blood. As it was he followed after Roy with a shudder. "So wine, just how much money do you make from it anyway?"
"Enough that I can spoil you rotten and still feel as if I've done an inadequate job." Roy admitted as they crossed the grassy lawn heading over towards where the vines were growing up their trellises.
Edward shook his head, miffed at the thought of having so much money. But he shook it off, it didn't change Roy as he knew the man. Apparently Roy had always come attached side by side with money. And as they stepped among the rows of grapevines he found himself smiling as he examined them with his eyes, unable to touch the living plants."This must take a lot of work. How does she ever manage it all?"
"Three times during the week the local ruffians come over and she teaches them about caring for the grapes, to keep them out of trouble. And then she does have some hired workers that come when she needs them, during harvest. Other than that, that woman is a pistol." Roy knew how true it was, too.
"She seems it." Edward smiled and then pointed towards where the large structure at the end of the fields was. "What is that?"
Roy looked over before turning back to one of the grapevines he'd been inspecting with a reminiscent tenderness. "The winery. Where the alcoholic magic happens. There's also a storage basement below it all where all the kegs that aren't ready for bottling or consumption yet are kept to age. It's all heavily secured. I don't have the keys with me, they're in my old bedroom here, otherwise I'd show you right now."
Edward smiled unconcerned and floated down the rows, weaving in and out of them as he marveled at all the growing grapes and green vines. He was beginning to understand why Roy thought it would be good for him to come here, it was simple, peaceful. Probably one of the reasons Roy visited when he could besides of a want to see his mother. "I don't mind."
Roy watched after him for a while, a smile shadowing his lips before he turned to make his way out of the rows of grapevines. "There's nothing else but grapevines for several acres, and the winery, but come this way."
Edward soon fell in with him, hovering at Roy's shoulder as they moved along, and in between looking around with interest found his attention drifting back to before. "Are you really not going to show me where your picture album is?"
Roy flicked his gaze up to meet the silver eyes beside him now and smiled faintly. "It's only fair, but since we're out here you deserve to see in person some of the sites of my greatest moments."
"Do I deserve that?" Edward asked back teasingly as he twisted midair so he was floating backwards, his legs pulled up against his chest so he could rest his chin on his knees and watch Roy with shining silver eyes.
"Probably not." Roy deadpanned, although his following smirk might not have helped him to be entirely convincing. As it was, he was only laughed at, and he finished leading them over to the nearly-ancient oak tree that shaded a startlingly large section of the grass. Looking up at the branches with an almost relieved breath he turned to flop against the bark, head included.
"Old girlfriend of yours?" Edward asked with a smile, looking up at the branches above that were so thick with leaves that no light managed to pass through.
Roy chuckled and reached a hand back to pat the bark fondly. "You could say that." And his eyes slipped closed with a smile. "I used to practice my alchemy over here every day. I was hosed down just over there," he pointed blindly with one finger, "the time I caught myself on fire."
Edward dropped to the grass, cross-legged and gaping up at Roy in disbelief. "You practiced fire alchemy underneath a tree?"
Roy laughed and slid down the trunk to sit as well, opening his eyes to look over at his companion. "It was the nearest place in reach of the garden hose, which came in handy. Mom didn't want me near the house or the vineyard, so we sacrificed the tree to a potential torching at my hands."
"Just what age did she allow you to start drinking?" Edward asked suspiciously.
"You would have been two or three, I think, you do the math." Roy grinned before his face relaxed as he settled back against the tree, enjoying the heat of the day despite being in the familiar shade.
Edward shook his head, bewildered, before settling down onto the grass. Curling himself up on it as he watched Roy from barely-open eyes. "How did you ever decide to try and do alchemy growing up in a place like this? I mean, if it wasn't for my dad, I doubt I'd have ever learned… it just wasn't the sort of life other kids in Risembool had. Was your dad an alchemist too?"
"Nothing quite like that." Roy answered, voice hinting on amusement. "As a kid I started having an obsession about fire. I'd find matches and play with them. When they'd get out the barbeque lighter for the grill I'd always find a way to steal it and run off to play with the flame, make my own little bonfire. Mom started researching options for me to put my obsession to a safer use than either trying to repress it in me or letting me become an arsonist."
"She did a good job with that." Edward couldn't help but think. And he was glad she had… now that he had a life with Roy he couldn't imagine being contained in that office for the rest of, well, forever. "About Grand…" he began softly, feeling Roy's gaze find him, "I'll be there with you when you finally face him. If you need my help, don't let your ego get in the way, because he can't hurt me."
"Don't ask me to use you like that!" Roy snapped, unexpectedly fierce as Edward's eyes shot open wide and startled. "How many times have I…" he trailed off, trying to compose himself as he refocused a hard gaze on Edward. "Just because he can't, doesn't make it right for me to treat you as if you aren't alive. So don't ask me to put my ego on the backburner. Not in this. For once in my life I'm going to go about this the honorable way, and that does not include using someone I care about."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Edward asked as he sat up, eyes flashing.
"No!" Roy adamantly put his foot down on the matter. "You don't."
Edward glared at him, "you can't stop me, Roy. I am quite capable of making my own decisions, and weeks ago when we met I made the decision to stay with you. I'm staying with you. Unless you plan to walk into this with your eyes closed, which I don't recommend, you can't leave me behind. I'm not saying you'll need my help, I'm saying I'm there for you if you need me. You're not the only one who cares about someone here, so do me a favor and treat me like your equal in this."
Roy looked away with a scowl and ran a ragged hand through his hair as he tried to come to terms with the fact that Edward was as stubborn as he himself was. He'd already known this, but it'd never been slammed against him before. "Damn incorporeal brats."
Edward raised his eyebrows reproachfully before smiling and settling back down onto the grass. "Roy… we've been through too much together to tell me now to stay away and not offer help if you need it. Be honorable, but at the end of the day remember that I don't care so much about your honor as I do about you."
Roy found his gaze resting on the ghost again, this time a searching expression in place of the scowl as he watched Edward give every impression of being asleep. Several times he found his mouth opening, and each time he closed it, turning his head away with frustration in his eyes.
He was so occupied in his thoughts that he didn't realize his mother's approach until she was nudging his leg lightly with her foot.
Edward startled up at Roy's yelp, up into a seated position hovering just above the grass, and Roy attempted not to jump in such a manner himself – mostly because he knew the reunion with the ground would leave him with a bruise in a very inconvenient area.
Daphne chuckled at his fright, ignoring the glare that was sent her way. "Nice day for a nap." She remarked as she settled down next to him against the broad tree trunk and looked up at the branches overhead. "The soil has been loving the weather we've been having here. How's it been in Central?"
"You came out here to bother me out of a perfectly lovely nap to talk about the weather?" Roy asked, wanting to make sure he was understanding this right.
Daphne smiled and spread her hands in a passive gesture. "You weren't exactly napping."
Roy looked over at Edward who was paying attention to his mother right now. "The weather has been fine." He gave in, sounding like a child robbed of its toy. "I've not really noticed considering I'm usually busy at work."
Edward looked over at Roy now to say teasingly, "yeah, says the man who left early four out of the five days."
Roy didn't even have time to wonder if he might be able to get away with embracing his immature side and sticking his tongue out at the ghost. Not with his mother only a beat behind.
"And enterprising to give me more grandchildren than I can count." She muttered with a half smile.
"There has not yet been a single case, not that it's any of your business how careful I am." Roy countered protectively.
"Not yet been." Daphne grinned through her laughter. "Marry whoever it is before you bring kids into the picture, okay? Now come on, I made your favorite kind of ice cream sundae and I want to hear all about what you've gotten up to in Central." She said, clapping a hand to his knee as she got to her feet. "I don't want any details left out!" She called over her shoulder as she strolled back to the house.
Edward looked after her with almost-silent laughter. "You're about to develop a very boring life in Central to tell her about, aren't you."
Roy groaned, although the idea of ice cream was definitely making up for the discomfort of the inquisition he was about to go through from a mother who hadn't talked to her son in weeks and hadn't seen him in longer. "Don't have much choice." He agreed as he got to his feet, brushing himself off.
Edward had flashed him a wry smile and begun floating after where Daphne had gone when Roy's voice called him back, and he turned in midair to tilt his head questioningly at the man. "Yeah?" He asked, dropping to stand on the ground as Roy walked up to him.
Roy hesitated a minute to gather his thoughts before meeting Edward's eyes seriously. "You know me well enough to know if I'm in trouble, I think out of anyone… you would know. Don't act unless I am, can you at least promise me that?"
Edward didn't answer right away, processing Roy's words carefully before he slowly began to nod. "Yeah… yeah, I promise." And he offered a lopsided smile before he looked down at the small bit of ground separating them. "I remember, you know, you telling me you don't always think of me as being dead. I understand where you were coming from back there… and thank you." He said, meeting Roy's gaze again. "When I'm with you I sometimes forget I'm dead."
Roy's expression was soft as he nodded before giving himself an abrupt mental shake and grabbing for a more light-hearted tone, "come on then, before she eats my ice cream herself."
Edward gave a short laugh as he turned to walk with Roy back up to the house. "One of these days I know I'll witness you doing all the pushups you must need to eat like this."