Woobatty: I'm afraid that by the end of this story I'll have killed you. Please make sure to haunt me if that happens.
cHAOsrulesoverall: You know, one of my favorite pastimes is messing with fangirl emotions. Although trust me, I've often wished I could get them kissing. I'll be sitting here writing the next chapter and go 'if Roy could, he'd be kissing him right now, darn it!'
Mesonoxian: That they are. They've no idea how much, and they just keep getting cuter.
RealityDidMeIn: I can only hope the theater went well. I have never written a play inside a story before, much less one meant to be rather silly. And I was so happy to be able to drop Roy down a few stairs... you've no idea.
egyptian1995: Yes! Fuhrer Trip and Fall has returned! I was so delighted for that. Now he just has to fall spectacularly a few more times and Ed can reassign the nickname XD
Kat-of-Shadows: When I wrote Ed rolling around in that bed, all I could think of was one of the holiday cards I drew and sent out where I'd stuck Ed in a box and sent him to Roy. Nice and contained and ready to be held. Ed strangely becomes twice as adorable when rolled up in some fashion.
Christina E. Lupin: To the readers, and to me, it's been painfully obvious. I can't count anymore the times I've wrote a chapter one way just for fun, and then rewritten it to actually be "The Story". And I plan to have fun in Egypt, thanks! Still have some time to go, and some money to save, but I'll probably come back with all sorts of random egyptian themed Roy and Ed fics.
Cheru-chan: But weren't you the one who mentioned commando a few days ago on my facebook? XD
DormantDrake: Oooo I like mandarin oranges! They're wonderful! And yes, go reread. Everything. I'm going to be passing out quizzes soon XD
Alex: Roy's just way too fun as a spitfire. Rather like Ed... but somehow Ed makes it cuter. And I'm so glad you liked your card!
secret25: There was a solar eclipse here about two weeks before I wrote that chapter. It was definitely inspiration. And yes, the carnival scene will be coming up. The carnival is on a Saturday and they're just about to finish Tuesday.
Blessed24 7: Oh trust me, I'm about to be far more of a tease about that this time around XD
Kimba Lionheart: It's what makes Roy so endeared to us all.
Soaha: I think 'bad' doesn't even begin to touch it. The man is manic XD. Probably why you can't spell manic without 'man'.
Eli: Just you wait until I get to angsty! It'll be fabulous! I'll have an angsty Roy in boxer briefs!
cynder81: Hazel always gets his revenge! He knows where the toy boxes are kept.
Sapphire Nymph: Kissing while in bed then? XD And yes... Roy is definitely making progress.
Whispers of Silence: Haven't we all had meetings with the stairs? And the sidewalk? It's something we all can point and laugh at, because we know how it goes. And I'm so glad to hear that you've been enjoying the story so much, I loved your rambling very much. Never be afraid to ramble, we've all done it around here XD
KellyDoll: Thank you! And I hope you had a fantastic holiday as well!
Barranca: I'd be checking Roy out too if I were Ed... they do sleep in the same bed each night. Ed's got to have something to do XD
The Second Hand of Time: You abused the page as forewarned, with awesome skill XD I'm so glad you started reading this, and are enjoying it so much so far! Especially considering you're still not past... episode four I'm guessing? We must fix this. We shall have an FMA marathon with snacks. And I shall happily point out all Scar/Al moments to you, since I've got you hooked on that story as well.
gali-o: I've actually never read the Twilight series, or seen the movies. Although Roy as the... damsel in distress role will be fabulous.
accident prone: Yes, where have you been? I'm going to lock you up somewhere. And yay for punching Hohenheim!
Nekochan018: Why thank you! And they're getting much closer to it. I'm relieved for that, you've no idea.
Koneko: I think first plan of attack against Roy is to take him shopping. And then give Roy a talk about how he's being hypocritical about the commitment thing.
GreedxEd: Next will be Roy's pink boxers.
ZemyxDexion: Well, with your permission I shall. And I shall ask Roy about his brand of underwear. This is a very important question after all. And then we shall take him shopping for proper colors.
Darkspider: About how long were you away from the fandom? But I'm glad you've come back to find some nice fics to read.
I think I'm finally over being sick again. Almost three weeks of feeling like death warmed over... but there's nothing a bit of denial won't cure quickly! Or... something.
Then of course my muses had to land me with writing a play which I've never done before. Which sounds silly that it would throw me off a bit, but I got it sorted. Or I believe I did. I'll let you all be the judge of my silly, rather lame play XD
And now I am sitting here watching Kekkaishi and trying really hard not to read between the lines. Whilst imagining Ed saying some of Yoshimori's lines. It's far too amusing sometimes and it distracts me. And then I cannot fangirl squee over the cute doggies.
Other than that, I do believe I am officially exhausted, and should crawl into bed soon. I definitely have been lacking that very essential need.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! ...*cackles*
Chapter Forty
Maes was sitting in Roy's desk chair, the envelope with his name on it since having been slit and the paper pulled free. A paper with only a singular 'X' drawn across it. To anyone else, it meant nothing, even if they could see that it meant something.
"Who the hell are you trusting…" Maes whispered to the empty office, as if it or the paper he held could give him the answer. As Roy's best friend and a pretty damn good spy, it bothered him that he didn't know who else had secretly fallen into Roy's favor in such a matter so important.
But just as Roy trusted him unconditionally, he knew he had to trust Roy… and by extension, whoever Roy was trusting.
Even if it still bothered him.
The paper crinkled slightly in his hand as he pulled free the desk drawer he knew the map to be rolled and hidden in, beneath a dummy bottom. It was old-school trickery, but sometimes military spies could be surprisingly dumb. The paper meant nothing on its own, but with the map, it meant far more.
Taking a quick glance back towards the office door, checking for the second time that he'd indeed locked it, Maes spread the map over the desk. The facilities that had already been checked and cleared had once been crossed out as well, but now they were colored completely black to leave only one 'X' remaining.
A fresh one.
Maes only needed a moment to orient himself to the location Roy had indicated, and when he realized, he swore softly. If Grand was making a philosopher's stone, it suddenly all fit, and he wondered why they hadn't seen it before.
Laboratory Five.
It was decades abandoned by the military, but never torn down. It had been the site of previous heinous experiments. But its past wasn't what had caused him to swear. A military laboratory was a military laboratory, few of them came with clean pasts. It was the fact that Laboratory Five was right next to a prison. That prison.
To be sent to that prison was as good as a death sentence. The number of executions was so high that prison officials barely filled out adequate reports of them, if they did at all. And a prison housed people that the State no longer wanted around.
If Grand was in cahoots with the Fuhrer, he had all the influence he needed to make those prisoners disappear without a single record of such a transfer. And being that a philosopher's stone needed a staggering amount of sacrifices… prisoners next door were a handy choice. No one would miss them.
Maes closed his eyes briefly, looking strained, before he seemed to jolt into a new level of awareness. Deftly he rolled the map back up, putting it back in its hiding place and shredding the envelope he'd been left into the trash bin. The note, on the other hand, he grabbed a pen for.
With a bit of a sarcastic smile, Maes clicked the pen to the ready and drew a very jaunty 'O' right next to the 'X'. "Love you too, enjoy your night off, you bastard."
He propped the note up against Roy's desk clock and replaced the pen.
Grabbing his jacket he made his way out of Roy's office, nodding once to Hawkeye who gave him a searching look he waved off. "It's almost time, but not yet." And leaving it at that, knowing she'd understand, he quickly left the office. He had dinner waiting for him at home, a story to read to his Elysia, and a wife to apologize to.
Riza was left alone in the office, staring at the door leading to Roy's private office that seemed to be hiding so many more secrets than normal. She wasn't used to the silence, none of them were. And it appeared that even Maes wasn't being told everything, which after knowing Maes for so long… she could tell it was wearing on the man.
Looking down at her desk, where her gun rested gleaming softly in the bright light of the office, she sighed and picked it up to twist it back and forth in her view. All they could do was wait, getting tenser day by day for the orders they knew would come suddenly and without any preparation for the team.
But it was their duty. Their duty to a man who'd saved them all.
Meanwhile, that man was standing patiently in line at the theater, a smile twisting in the corner of his mouth as he fought not to burst out grinning like an idiot in the middle of a queue. No one trusted the man grinning whilst in a queue. Queues sucked.
And Edward was quite onboard with that universal sentiment.
"Roy," Edward whined, hopping in midair as he stared with distressed eyes at the line ahead of them that was being held up by a patron who wanted to argue with the staff about something. He was sure it was unimportant. "I thought you were a highest paying patron or something lame like that. You bought out an entire balcony for us. And you're looking really good tonight, can't you just go up there and charm them with your military power and your chest so we can get inside?"
Roy, unable to keep back the amused snort, was forced to quickly pretend that he'd sneezed. Charm them with his military power and his chest? He cast a twinkling look at Edward, his smile even harder to fight back now.
"You know," Edward wheedled, a hint of whining still in his voice, "it really sucks sometimes that I have to wait for you. I could be in there by now if I'd seen it before."
Roy rolled his eyes under the cover of being annoyed with the unmoving line he was in.
"Which means we're coming back again." Edward decided as he came to a rest on the sidewalk next to Roy. "And you can wait in line while I have fun."
Roy had no doubts that Edward would… and no doubts that he'd bring Edward here again. As long as Edward enjoyed himself somewhere, he'd bring the ghost back to it again.
"Aha!" Edward suddenly crowed, waving his arm eagerly at Roy's right. "See? Look! They spotted you."
Roy raised a teasing eyebrow at the ghost, and would have asked if he should expose his chest if there'd been a way to ask without being seen or overheard, but as things were, he turned to the theater official who approached him with a respectful bow.
"Colonel Mustang." The official greeted, having had the man pointed out to him by a manager who clearly knew the military even out of uniform. "Come this way, please. I'll speed you through this line."
Roy smiled charmingly at the official, inclining his head slightly. "It is appreciated." And as the official held out a hand to beckon him from the line, he followed, but not before casting a smirking look at Edward.
Edward huffed, but quickly followed. "I knew if you had just said something they'd get us out of this damnable line. You should have listened to me! Instead we had to wait out here until they spotted you and probably felt guilty!"
Roy honestly couldn't wait until he was alone with Edward again. To laugh at the very least. He really didn't enjoy waiting in lines… but Edward had made it bearable. So it probably really had made the staff feel guilty that he'd been standing in line obediently for once, they probably believed they'd offended him somehow on his last visit here with… whoever she had been. But he couldn't find it in himself to feel too badly, not when he'd had Edward there entertaining him. It had been worth it.
They were escorted past the line, headed by the same patron who was still arguing with the staff taking the tickets, and into the theater gallery. It was not an opulent interior, but it was filled with warm colors, elegant oil paintings, and leather ottoman benches that gleamed with polish even in the subdued lighting.
Edward glanced up, and seeing the chandeliers responsible for the muted light, tried to fight away the instantaneous keen desire to go up there and inspect them closer.
It was about at this point that a man, dressed sharply in a suit, approached Roy as the other staff member made themselves scarce with another low bow.
"Colonel Mustang!" Greeted the man, executing a bow rather lower than the other staff member before, extending his hand towards a hallway leading from the gallery. "I am the manager of the theater. Please, come this way. We've already verified your purchase to tonight's production."
Roy nodded imperiously, as if he expected this. Actually, it'd be the first time. He really had made them feel guilty! He'd never been approached by the manager before. "Very good. I expect my regular champagne and meals have been arranged?"
The manager offered a reassuring smile. "The champagne is already in your balcony. I will ensure that food arrives before the start of tonight's production."
Roy gave another nod, halfway turning before pausing and giving an exaggerated wave of his hand as he looked at the manager once more. "My date… when they arrive, have them shown up immediately. They're running a bit late but shouldn't be much longer."
Edward rolled his eyes, but smiled. There would be no date for Roy, not tonight. Tonight, he had Roy all to himself, so let everyone believe Roy had been stood up. "Must you act all… high and mighty though?"
Roy turned away from the manager quickly, so the man might not see the amused grin and wonder. Flashing a humored look at Edward, he winked. He had his reasons, and no doubt Edward would wring them from him once they were alone.
"I'll have my staff be on alert for your date's arrival, sir." The manager assured, before promptly leading the way to the private box that Roy had reserved. Once there, the man made sure that everything was to Roy's liking, before bowing once more and closing the heavy curtain that separated the box from the hallway.
Roy waited a moment, listening carefully to be sure they'd truly been left alone, before turning to Edward with a smile. "I must act this way to keep them worried about where in the hell they misplaced my date so that we can be left alone."
Edward snorted before his wryly amused features softened and he looked around with growing excitement. There were many plush seats in the box, staggered in height by short flights of steps, and at the seats nearest the polished railing an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne had been placed. But beyond that, Edward began to grin, because beyond that was open air interrupted only by another chandelier and farther off, more private balconies yet to be filled.
And the stage, he knew the stage was down there.
It was really happening! He was finally going to see his first play!
Roy laughed as an excited noise made it out of Edward, and clearing his throat to get the ghost's eager attention back on him, smiled as he slowly lowered into his own bow, motioning with a hand to the balconies edge. "Just don't topple off."
Edward blinked at the man, thrown off by the bow. Roy had never bowed to anyone before, and certainly not to him. The sight of it made something inside him stir and want to go to him, for what he didn't know… but then Roy's words caught up to him and everything else was lost as he whirled with a squeal of delight and bounded down the short little steps to practically fall into the low railing as he leaned over it to gaze down into the theater as best he could.
Roy passed a hand over his eyes as he stifled the groan. At least Edward hadn't gone over, but it had looked close. Ghost or not, he didn't like the thought of Edward toppling over a railing. Shaking his head, he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his denims as he slowly walked down the short stairs and across the final, larger landing to join the ghost at the railing and look out over the crowd growing in the lower seats so that Edward could see them as well.
"I suppose I could have said something…" Roy began, not even realizing at first that he was speaking, and then unable to stop once he noticed, "I've never waited in that line before… but I had fun watching you."
Edward found it surprisingly easy to tear his gaze from the curtained-off stage lined in glowing lights and the orchestra he could see huddled down below it in an alcove. Looking up at the man next to him, a man who seemed intent on staring at the chandelier, he smiled softly. "I had fun harassing you." He admitted, and turned to hop up and sit on the railing, leaning across Roy to get the man to look down at him. "Trying to get you to crack a smile."
Roy looked down into the shining silver eyes, smiling back teasingly. "You very nearly did. I wasn't aware you approved of me using my chest to charm people. Have you finally taken a good look at it and found it worthy?"
Edward grinned as he burst out into easy laughter, his legs beginning to kick back and forth. "I wasn't implying you start stripping in the middle of the line, but I wasn't lying…" he tilted his head with a softer smile, "you look really good tonight."
Roy's gaze searched Edward's own as silence fell over them, finding it harder by the second to keep his gaze from drifting lower. He didn't know when Edward had moved so close to him… or had it been the other way around? And when he finally spoke, even in a whisper it sounded too loud to him. "It's not my looks that would charm them."
Edward's eyes widened slightly, but relaxed when Roy's gaze returned to his, only to make his entire body feel on edge in unfamiliar anticipation. Even his habitual, unneeded breathing had stalled. Forgotten. "I'm not–"
The rattle of the heavy curtain being drawn back startled them both, Edward abruptly falling silent as Roy stiffened and moved away from him to turn and face the intrusion.
"Sir, we have two complimentary dinners for you." Announced the chipper woman who came in wheeling a small cart.
"Wonderful." Roy managed to say with enough cheer, but the look in his eyes belayed it, had the woman been looking. "Just bring it there." He pointed to the aisle they stood in, beside the ice bucket.
Edward had slipped from the railing and now stood with his hips against it as he watched Roy. Just watched him. Watched as he tipped the woman. Watched the lines of a tension he didn't understand fade from him at last. All the while trying to piece together why he'd felt so disappointed when Roy had turned from him.
Roy moved away from the covered dinners at last, having pulled himself back together, and looked Edward's way as his words died on his lips. The way Edward was watching him… he felt a part of him waver inside. It was that same gaze… that same silver gaze that looked at him, through him, as if it were timeless in its serenity, and could see everything. "You never really answered me before… can you see through me?"
Edward smiled faintly, tilting his head as he silently considered the man. "Are you afraid that I can? Or do you wish it to be true?"
"There are far greater things I wish for." Roy corrected gently, and felt the remaining tension leave him, leave him with only a strange but welcome warmth as he smiled softly at the ghost. "And how many times must I tell you that you're beautiful before you believe me?"
Edward's eyes shot wide, shock keeping him from fully noticing the eager warmth that was growing inside him. "W-what? I don't – Y-you've never… not directly!" He stammered.
"You are." Roy stated firmly, trying not to smile at Edward's lackluster beginning.
Edward blinked twice at him rapidly, feeling as if he were floundering about in some desperate attempt to reach something feeling of solid ground. "You… it's not the weekend! You can't try and fluster me tonight."
Roy's smile softened, and found himself unable to look away even as he stepped forward to pluck the bottle of champagne from its ice bucket. "Forget about that for tonight." And waving his free hand towards one of the foremost seats up against the railing, "sit with me?"
"What other idiot would I sit with?" Edward asked in an effort to pull himself back together, even as Roy's words still pounded through him making him feel shaky to the extent he dared not try and float. He wasn't honestly sure he could right now.
Roy couldn't help but chuckle at the jab, and as Edward sat in the seat nearest the wall, he took the one next to it, nearest the aisle and the food. "Edward…" he began quietly, clutching the champagne bottle between both hands as he stared fixedly down towards the stage. "I was really worried about you today."
Edward looked over, startled enough by the admission so far flung from the theatrics Roy was doing just moments before, that he felt all traces of his earlier shakiness vanish. But he didn't say anything immediately, just worried his lower lip between his teeth as he thought it over. Both Roy's words… and the way Roy couldn't seem to look at him. Was this why Roy was acting strangely? Trying to fluster him? Was he so desperate to know that things were okay now?
"When…" Edward began hesitantly, before he mustered more courage, "when I was with the Fuhrer, and in so much pain… all I could think about was you. Protecting you. Wanting you there with me. I know…" he broke off again, the weight of Roy's eyes now on him making it all the harder, but when Roy offered out a hand, he rested his own in it without question. "I know I keep acting like I can do it on my own, but the truth is… I can't do it without you. I can push through the pain if I know you're there and you need me… but alone, I'm not as strong."
"Edward…" Roy murmured with feeling, but seeing the fire of defiance flare in those silver eyes, stopped.
"So let me keep winning the arguments!" Edward demanded heatedly, before turning a desperate gaze onto Roy. "But don't you dare leave me alone or never find me! I need you."
"I need you too." Roy admitted quietly, not looking away from the silver eyes. "Edward… I swear that whatever happens, I will never abandon you. But it scares me to think he could take you from me."
"I'm already a ghost." Edward whispered, before giving himself an abrupt mental shake and reaching out to pluck the bottle of champagne from Roy's hands. "I don't trust you to open this. I remember what happened the last time."
Roy hesitated a moment, still caught up in his emotions, before he forced himself to relax back into the seat with a smile. "You know, it should be me doing that, since I'm the one taking you out."
Edward smiled down at the cork as he struggled with it, trying not to let on that it was definitely more complicated than it looked. "I'm not your date. Your date still hasn't arrived."
"Yes, where have they stashed her… him… them? I did buy a lot of seats." Roy wondered aloud, smiling easier as he watched Edward struggle whilst trying to appear not to. "Need some help?"
Edward glared up at him through his silvery fringe. "No. Besides, it's not like you know how to open it. The last time didn't go so well and now I'm in possession of the knowledge that you're a fine wine man."
Roy cracked a grin, and turned to watch Edward struggle some more before taking pity on the ghost. After all, he didn't want to lose an eye. As dashing as he'd look with an eye patch. "Here." Roy murmured, reaching a hand out to lay it over Edward's intangible one. "Move your hand with mine and apply pressure where your thumb is."
Edward ducked his head so that all he could see was the bottle, unaware of the smile on his lips as he copied Roy's movements and did as asked. Within seconds the cork and cage had been removed without incident. "Why didn't you do that the first time? Instead you shot the cork through me." He accused, still unable to look up at the man as he tried to understand why he felt so warm.
"The first time you accused me of not having taken my medication." Roy smirked and lifted the bottle free. "Now before this becomes too attached to your incorporeal state, I'd like to drink it."
Edward managed to lift his eyes to Roy's teasing gaze when the smattering of applause sounded from around them. It took him a second to realize what it was, and when he had, he whipped around with a squeal to dive forward in his seat and brace his hands against the low railing so he could peer out over it.
Roy chuckled silently as he forced himself to look away from the ghost and lean forward similarly to be able to see everything properly. The bottle of champagne went forgotten in his hand as he switched to and from watching the curtains draw back to the excited look on Edward's face. At the grin and laugh the ghost made when the actors and actresses paraded onto stage to the applause of the audience.
Yet it soon died away as the first actor raised his voice to the gathered audience as he faced the actress joining him.
"I'm not sure what to do, Emily!" The actor cried, staggering and falling to his knees center stage. "Hannah is sick and the doctor's are baffled! Why is this happening to me – her!"
The actress, Emily, came forward to pat him bracingly on the back, although her manner suggested she seemed a bit nervous about comforting a grown man who was acting in such a manner. "Be patient, Patrick, they'll find something. They will!"
"The doctors have all but given up!" Patrick wailed to the heavens. "But there must be a way!"
"Patrick, I –"
It was then that a pyrotechnic flash of red exploded from the stage floor, revealing amidst the smoke a man cloaked in black who wore a very jaunty hat and carried a circular mirror almost as big as his head. "There is always a way." He cackled mysteriously.
Patrick and Emily had both let out yells of shock at this newcomers appearance, but Patrick was the first to settle as Emily only looked frantic with worry.
"What way?" Patrick demanded in worry for his beloved Hannah.
"Who are you!" Emily demanded sensibly of such a man appearing in such a way.
"I am the spirit of the mountain shrine." The jaunty-hatted stranger revealed with a slippery note to his voice. "I have heard your pleas from afar and have come to offer a solution!"
Up in the balconies, Edward snorted disbelievingly and wiggled closer to the railing. "I'm a spirit, and there's something fishy about you." He decided, much to the amusement of Roy.
Emily seemed to share this sentiment, for she clutched at Patrick's sleeve. "Patrick, no! It's a demon, or something! This, this thing can only bring misfortune!"
"Emily!" Patrick knocked her aside, "I don't care. I can't care if it will help Hannah!"
The cloaked, self-named spirit ignored Emily in favor of turning to Patrick solicitously. "I hold in my hands an ancient mirror of staggering powers. It can cure any illness, and banish any demon."
"It will cure my Hannah?" Patrick asked in desperation.
"Yes. It will cure your Hannah," and as Patrick made a lunge for the mirror, the cloaked stranger vanished with a high laugh and another burst of fiery pyrotechnics. And just as Patrick was about to cry out his distress, the spirit's voice echoed, bodiless, across the stage.
"To find the mirror you must journey to my shrine atop the highest mountain! There, my servants will test your resolve. But I warn thee… many men who have sought my treasure have perished before first light, seduced by the lies of Death."
As the echoing words faded out, Patrick leapt to his feet, seemingly unconcerned about a perilous journey. Not when it meant the salvation of his Hannah! "I will find this mirror, and thus turn it upon my beloved to save her! And then, then nothing shall stop us from wedding one another!"
Emily stared at him in horror, "you fool! Can you not see this is trickery? You must not go!"
Patrick didn't appear to hear her. "The highest mountain. I can easily make it there in two days. Hannah must last until then!" And he rounded on Emily, who looked rather about to slap him to his senses. "You will watch over my love, will you not, Emily? You are my greatest friend after all."
"Patrick," Emily sighed, but did not decline right away. "I am Hannah's friend, unfortunately by default, yours. I will watch over her."
Thus Emily vanished from the stage, the props on their mechanized wheels being shifted across the stage to create a new scene in which Patrick prepared, with much agonizing and crowing in turn, about the greatest journey he would ever take. A journey to save his beloved's soul from the grips of death by unknown disease. He would be her hero, she would have to accept his proposal or marriage.
Patrick was just readying his quite live donkey for the journey when the first intermission was called, for a drastic set change during which the orchestra down in the below alcove played sinister-sounding music.
"This is fun!" Edward declared as he flopped back into his seat, looking over at Roy with a beaming smile.
Roy chuckled heartily and finally remembered the champagne in his hand. It was no longer quite as cold as he'd like, but he poured himself a glass anyway and set the bottle back into the ice bucket to hopefully chill it just a bit again. "And here I was worried that it'd be too silly for you."
Edward shook his head frantically. "It's silly, but I like it! I've never seen anything like this before… unless you count every time I've watched you pick up some hapless soul for your depraved addiction."
Roy chuckled into the champagne as he sipped at it before lowering the glass. "I've never really watched one through to the close. Usually by the first minor curtain close I've got my date either on their back or on my lap."
Edward gave him an unimpressed, deadpan look. "I'm afraid you're watching this one all the way through."
Roy cast an amused glance at his companion, "you won't sit on my lap?"
Edward quickly looked away, he'd half expected such a teasing offer, but it didn't stop him from feeling strangely flustered. And he cursed himself for it. He'd ignored worse teases from the man just fine! So he did the only thing he knew he could do to knock Roy down a peg… "what if I were to, how did you put it… want you to get me on my back?"
Roy sprayed champagne from his nose, flinching at the burn as he coughed reflexively.
Edward smirked, and in his new victory, turned to level the same smirk at Roy who was staring at him wide-eyed. "Chance is up. Guess I'm staying right here."
Roy cleared his throat, and setting the champagne aside, pulled one of the plates onto his lap and lifted the lid to begin poking at his food. Hoping it would distract him from what Edward had tauntingly asked. It did, marginally, but when the curtains lifted once more to renewed applause, everything else was temporarily driven away as Edward excitedly clutched at the railing again.
Now, Patrick appeared to be standing in a mountain pass with his trusted donkey, a shrine barely larger than a shed up ahead. All around him "ghosts" whirled as sheets on string with disembodied voices.
"Turn back…" one wailed.
"Rest, traveler." Another bade, "we will warm you."
"Is it not cold, alone in the snow?"
"Let us warm you."
"Stay with us."
"We will keep you warm…"
Patrick did his best to ignore them, but when one would zoom too close for his frayed nerves, he would yell and swat at it in an effort to drive it away. But still they circled him, diving ever closer, with more persistent promises of warmth and comfort.
And then he and his trusted donkey reached within several yards of the shrine.
"You've come for our mirror?"
"No!"
"You cannot take our mirror!"
They wailed and cried their pleas, swooping around him in ever-increasing speed.
"Foolish traveler, leave our mirror!"
"We will laugh as you die from the cold, we will not save you!"
"Mirror!"
"Mirror!" They cried together, just as Patrick reached the doors of the shrine.
"I must save Hannah!" Patrick cried, as if it would silence them at last. And releasing the donkey, who had brayed in fright as one of the ghosts swooped up against it, he did not turn to see his faithful donkey flee from the specters of the mountain. Instead, he fell to his knees and blinked to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the small shrine.
Only to gasp.
One of the ghosts laughed in high, vindictive notes. "Foolish human!"
"It's not there!" Another chided, as if to a small, rather stupid child.
And indeed it wasn't.
Patrick stared wide-eyed at the emptiness of the shrine. The gold-inlaid stand he knew the mirror must have stood on was empty, and inside the snow-powdered darkness, there was nothing else. "No! This cannot be! It must be here! Somewhere!"
And then he heard the cruel laughter of the ghosts fade into something far more frantic and angry.
"No!"
"The sun!"
"The accursed sun rises! Our mirror!"
Patrick turned to watch the ghosts whirl away in fear as a stage light beamed down brightly upon him to mimic the sun. Turning back to the shrine in relief of the ghosts being gone, he gasped. "The mirror!"
And it was true. Where the stand had once stood empty, bit by bit, a familiar mirror was beginning to form until it rested whole for the taking. And Patrick reached out to grasp it, finding it oddly heavy for a mirror. "Why, it's set into stone!" He exclaimed upon further examination.
"But I cannot linger, my Hannah needs me! I must cure her sickness!" And Patrick staggered to his feet, turning with new purpose towards the opposite horizon where the sun beamed down upon him. "I will save her! With this mirror, I will save her!" He cried, and dashed across stage to vanish past its opposite end.
And then the props were quickly being wheeled around until the stage was filled with that which someone might find in a bedroom of times long past. In the bed, surrounded by haggard-looking doctors and a weary Emily, was a young woman.
Hannah.
Patrick burst onto the stage, breathing as if he'd just run his way down the mountain. "My beloved Hannah, I have returned for you!"
Emily looked up with a cry of surprise, and racing forward she embraced and slapped Patrick in turn. "You fool! You have taken the shrine spirit's mirror! It was a trick, I tell you!"
"But I must save Hannah!" Patrick argued, as if he couldn't believe they were still having this argument. "I will deal with the consequences once I save her and we are wed!"
Pushing past Emily, who yelled at him not to use the mirror, Patrick raced to his beloved's bedside as the physicians made themselves small. "Oh, my love, I will save you! I swear."
Emily had turned to face them, her hands on her hips defiantly. "And how, exactly, do you presume to use a mirror to cure her? Just point it at her?"
"Love will guide me, Emily. As it guided me up the mountain and to the shrine and past the devilish apparitions who tempt man into stopping the pursuit of love."
Up in the balconies, Roy snorted, finding that oddly ironic to his own situation. He realized he was probably lucky that Edward was too engrossed in watching, else he feared he'd have been hit over the head with a plate lid.
"I have but one choice," Patrick declared, "I must point it at her, and pray that it reflects the devilish disease from her!" And he turned the mirror onto Hannah.
There was tense silence from the puzzled doctors, and from Emily, but mostly from Patrick, who, after a long minute, could take it no longer and collapsed atop Hannah with anguished cries as he cradled her to him. "Oh, Hannah! You must wake up, you must! The mirror – "
And then all went silent.
"What?" Patrick cried out, rising away from Hannah in shock.
"What is it?" Emily demanded nervously, but dared not go nearer.
"She… she…"
And then the audience saw it. Hannah moved. Just an arm at first, and then she was struggling to sit up in bed as Patrick cried out in joy, clutching his healed beloved to him. "Hannah! My love, you're all right!"
"Patrick!" Hannah sobbed joyfully, her arms thrown around the man in relief of seeing him again.
And then Emily was racing forward to throw her arms around the both of them, sobbing likewise her happiness. Meanwhile, the doctors stood about looking properly confused.
That is, until a familiar pyrotechnic flash exploded onto the stage again, and the since-absent cloaked stranger with his jaunty hat reappeared with a forbidding laugh.
"Hannah, I presume?" The cloaked, supposed shrine spirit asked slyly. "It is so good to see you well."
"Who are you?" Hannah gasped in fright.
"You!" Patrick greeted angrily, whirling from the bed to stand before the girls as some form of protection. "You have no business here! Leave! The mirror is now mine."
The shrine spirit waggled a finger at Patrick. "Now, now, do not be so hasty. I never said you could keep the mirror, or your precious Hannah, for that matter."
"What do you mean!" Patrick raged, fists clenching at his sides.
"The mirror, and everything it soaks in, everything it cures, becomes mine. Where do you think those ghosts in the mountains came from? They were once Hannahs, every single one of them. And now I've come to claim another!"
Emily screamed, shoving both her and Hannah over the far side of the bed as the spirit lunged forward towards them all.
Patrick, on the other hand, had grabbed the mirror, intending to throw it down and shatter it, when something gave him pause. "Wait… you said it could banish sickness and demons! Like you! Spirits are nothing more than demons in disguise!"
And thus, Patrick turned the mirror onto the shrine spirit, who began to scream incoherently, and crumpled to the floor where he vanished with a much diminished flash of red.
There was silence for a moment, and then Hannah appeared from the other side of the bed to run to Patrick where she leapt into his arms with joy and was greeted with a tender embrace and a tender kiss.
Up in the balconies, Edward had shifted to sit back as the curtains began to close once more, to see Roy watching avidly. Glancing back down, he saw they were still kissing, and scowled. "Will you stop being such a whore?" He accused.
Roy laughed and sat back as well, smirking at Edward. "What? You refused to sit on my lap."
Edward rolled his eyes, "as if even that would have stopped you."
"I think you'd be surprised how easily you command all of my attention." Roy bantered back smoothly, but said nothing further as the curtains were drawn back so that all the actors and actresses could run out and get their applause.
Applause Edward was currently contributing to enthusiastically.
Eventually, though, the curtains remained closed, and the lower gallery began to buzz with conversation and activity as the patrons began making their way from their seats. Even the other private balconies were beginning to empty… but neither Edward nor Roy made any move to leave. Not yet.
Roy had managed to finish both plates of food, and the bottle of champagne, and now he was relaxed back into his seat as he contentedly watched Edward watching the people down below them.
Gradually, Edward became aware of the eyes on him, around the time that the last group had filed out in the lower gallery. But still, no one had come to draw back the heavy curtain to their balcony again and see if they'd left as well. When Edward turned, the curtain was still closed, and Roy's eyes still watched him with an expression he couldn't discern.
Lowering his gaze a moment, his lower lip pulling between his teeth, Edward didn't look up as he slipped through the air from his seat, to sit just above Roy's legs where he finally looked up at the man. He couldn't explain what had driven him to it… to keep taunting him? It's not like he… he liked being near Roy. And it wasn't like this was the first time they'd sat so close. He'd sat through the man before. This was nothing!
But this time, something in Roy's dark eyes made him feel oddly warmer than before.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Roy finally asked in a lower voice than Edward remembered him having.
"Yeah… thanks." Edward answered softly.
"We should go home." Roy suggested as his hand raised towards Edward's face, and he made no move to stop it.
"Yeah?" Edward asked, barely above a whisper. "So… what happens once they get on your lap?"
Roy's eyes went wide, and he was trying to determine when Edward had gotten so good at trying to fluster him when the curtain was at last pulled back.
"Colonel Mustang, sir? I'm sorry, but your date… no one arrived asking for you."
It was the manager from before.
Roy didn't answer at first, couldn't seem to look away at first from the silver eyes that hadn't flinched when the curtain had been drawn. But finally he forced his gaze away and stood, forcing Edward away from him in the process. "It's fine. I'm sure something came up. I'll be using the back exit again, I don't feel like dealing with the crowds."
"Yes, sir." The manager dipped into another low bow, and held the curtain open for the man who passed through.
"You needn't show me out. It was rather good tonight… by the way. Keep it up, I'm sure I'll be back soon." Roy said, having paused to cast a quick glance down towards the man before sweeping off.
Edward considered the bowing manager for a moment before darting after Roy, waiting until the reached an empty employee exit to ask, "they may as well just get on the floor bowing to you like that. You're only a colonel though, what's with them? You don't make them do that, do you?"
"No." Roy shot Edward a small smile, slipping his hands into his pockets as he continued making for the door. "But not many civilians see me as just a colonel."
"Then why did you bow to me?" Edward asked with a frown, "you better not have been trying to flirt with me, if I find you do that to your dates I'm going to disable your hot water heater."
"It's because you're one third what's left of a dying race. I figured it was appropriate." Roy provided quickly, not hesitating once in his rapidly fabricated lie.
"Uh-huh." Edward deadpanned in disbelief, before pushing the matter aside. "How does it feel to finally have been stood up?"
Roy cracked a true grin at that, and slipping one hand free in order to shove the door open and walk out into chilled night air, glanced Edward's way. "Pretty good."
Edward could only laugh as he followed, and as they walked, he hummed one of the tunes the orchestra had played as Roy acted a conductor for him. He knew that Roy was getting some rather odd looks from passersby, but as Roy didn't seem to care, Edward kept humming.
It was later that night, long after they'd both gotten home, when Edward curled up on the bed to watch Roy sleep. The man had finally fallen to sleep a few minutes ago… he'd watched Roy sleep enough times to know when the man was actually out.
Curling around his pillow, Edward blinked peacefully as he gazed at the man. Tonight… he didn't know what had come over him tonight. And it had all started when Roy had – he buried his face into the pillow with a groan, curling tighter around it. He didn't even know what Roy had done! All he knew was suddenly Roy had seemed closer to him than he ever had before.
He didn't have any issues with that, on the contrary, he liked being close to Roy. But it had never made him feel like that before.
And then the man had gone off and called him beautiful. Straight out. None of the usual metaphors.
Edward groaned again, and rolled over with his pillow as he clenched his eyes shut. "Roy…" he sighed, muffled, into the pillow. He'd even gone and tried to fluster the man multiple times. But that wasn't nearly so confusing as how he'd felt when Roy had looked at him like that at the end of the play, causing him to, in his own way, climb onto the man's lap.
"I don't understand this." Edward whispered helplessly into the pillow. "I don't understand these feelings. But I wonder... if you could touch me… I want you to touch me. I want it so badly sometimes."
Beside the confused ghost, Roy shut his eyes again, turning his head away as quietly as he could. He'd heard Edward say his name on the edges of consciousness and it had woken him… but he'd never expected to hear what he had. As he lay there though, he couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have expected it. Yet he was uncharacteristically unable to think of the gravity of this… for half of him wanted to comfort the ghost, but the rest was scared at what he'd say.
So he lay there, trying to pretend he was still asleep… trying to pretend he didn't want to pull Edward into his arms.