He Brought Him Grapes

Edited RolePlay By Interstella and 'Jordan'.

Part Three

Something was missing.

Mustang stood at the window, looking out at the dark city as he pulled his shirt sleeve over his arm. It was so quiet in the room. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was that was missing but, in the deafening silence, it seemed to dance on the tip of his tongue. He used to enjoy the small amounts of peace and quiet he could manage to get his hands on, but nowadays it all just seemed so empty.

Roy sighed, closing his tired eyes. Maybe it was just that he had had a reasonable break and was ready to go back to work.

Yeah, right.

Roy pressed his forearm vertically against the cool glass of the window. He opened his eyes when he placed his forehead against his arm, looking out again into the night. Central was such a boring place. This hospital was painfully boring. The stark silence was aggravatingly boring.

Something was missing.

--- --- ---

Later in the night, Alphonse decided that he shouldn't stay out much longer without his brother. So, he headed back to the hotel. He hoped he had given Ed the time that he needed. When he arrived at the room, Al opened the door and tiptoed in the dark as quietly as a metal suit of armour could.

A soft moan came from the bed on the right, the one designated as Ed's. The small lump upon the bed shifted slightly, the blankets falling from him. "Ngnnh…" Both arms were above him, his back arched from the bed slightly and there was a definite bulge in his pyjama trousers.

Ed was having one hell of a dream.

His automail leg was raised slightly, and his other was spread, almost as if he was waiting for someone.

It took Alphonse a moment to comprehend what he was looking at before he completely froze in his place. If he could blush, he'd probably turn so bright a colour that he'd have to be the one taken to the hospital.

Al had never seen his brother like this. It was so… so…

So not what he should be looking at.

He whipped around to face the opposite wall, both hands slapped over his 'mouth'. He couldn't believe how embarrassing this was, and couldn't imagine how embarrassing it would have to be for his brother. What was Al going do?! If he left the room, would that wake Ed up? If he went into the bathroom, would THAT wake Ed up? Hell, even just moving could make a noise that might have woken him up.

Alphonse had no other options.

He had to stay still.

Very still.

Until the morning… when he could pretend that he had just gotten home.

Another moan came from the bed, this one more desperate than the last, a soft 'please' worked its way from his lips as his hips thrust again, the bulge growing and becoming quite painful for him. "Please…" he moaned again, "R-ro-ahh!" After the final moan, he lay still, the distinct smell filling the room. His dream had caused him to come to completion. He rolled slightly, a soft content smile on his face.

--- --- ---

Morning came, and Ed woke feeling sticky and messy. He groaned as he sat up. He noticed Al and had to hide a blush as he made his way to the bathroom to clean up, hoping that Al hadn't witnessed his dream or at least, he hadn't figured out what happened.

Alphonse finally moved to a chair when the sun arose. That having been quite possibly the longest night he'd ever experienced, he was relieved to be able to start off a new day.

When Ed got up, he immediately went to the restroom, as expected. Alphonse saw no way that anything bad could possibly come of never speaking of this again. Ed would definitely be more comfortable if he went on believing that Al had never known about... that.

Alphonse wouldn't have minded missing the show either. He felt like he might explode from embarrassment when he realized that he had started wondering who the dream had been about. Al had to come up with an excuse to get his mind off of it. So, when his brother came out of the bathroom he decided to speak up.

"Good morning, Brother." Alphonse thought back to when Ed had seen Roy in the hospital, knowing now why he had been in such a bad mood. Al wondered if he might want to pay the colonel a proper visit as a silent apology for the day before. Visiting familiar faces would be a nice way that Al could distract himself.

"I was thinking... we should probably go back to see Mustang. Even though he's not in any danger, he's still sick. And we could see if we have any time between now and your next mission. What do you think?"

At the sound of Roy's name, Ed couldn't help the flush that overcame his face. He wasn't sure if it was from the embarrassment of what had happened the day before when he'd seen Roy, or from the after effects of the dream. He was glad that Al would be with him though – he was sure that he wouldn't have been able to spend any time alone with Roy.

Coughing slightly, Ed nodded, adjusting the towel that was around his waist as he moved to pick up some clothes to wear. He didn't have any problems changing in front of his brother. They did it all the time, so he stripped and dressed himself carefully (he didn't wear any underwear with the leather trousers, so he had to be wary of how he put them on).

After dressing, he looked at Al. "You're… you're really okay? With me I mean…" He said quietly, "With the way I… the way I am…" He still didn't like admitting it, feeling that it was wrong. But this time, he kept his eyes on Alphonse, meeting the glowing eyes of Alphonse. "Are you sure you're okay with it?"

Alphonse looked at his brother and sighed gently, smiling inwardly. "Of course, brother. I told you I was, didn't I? Really, there's nothing wrong with it. And I hate to see you beating yourself up over this..."

Al stood up, looking down at his big brother. There was no one he was more proud of, or more indebted to. Alphonse just couldn't understand how Ed could think badly of himself when Al held him in such high favour. And none of this about his brother's sexuality changed a thing. After all, it's not as if Al still thought that Ed was going to keep his vow to marry Winry. When he thought about it, those were the only times that these kinds of subjects came up. It just went to show that when it came to changing their relationship, he had nothing to worry about.

"Come on, Brother." Al walked over and opened the door, his voice resonating his usual optimism; "Let's go."

--- --- ---

The rays of the sun pouring in through the window were glowing softly against pale skin when Mustang awoke to a twinge of pain in his neck. Groaning softly, he reached up to gently massage the sore muscles. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had slept through the night in a seated position at the windowsill. He squinted at the sunlight draping across his face and shifted his weight off the wall so he could stand. His hair was tousled and it was apparent that he hadn't ever gotten around to buttoning his shirt. The last thing he could remember, actually, was pulling it on over his arms. He supposed that's when he fell asleep.

Roy closed his eyes again as he rolled his shoulders back a few times, trying to shake the nearly overwhelming grogginess. He tried smacking his cheeks a few times, but even so when he re-opened his eyelids, he couldn't keep them from drooping.

Dragging his feet against the floor he made his way over to the small dresser that the nurses had hung his clothes in. He may very well have stared at the interior of the dresser for a full two minutes before stretching his arms up toward the ceiling suddenly and letting out a yawn.

--- --- ---

Mustang took out his clothes and placed them on the bed. Noticing the papers on his night stand, he picked them up and scanned them over again. There was something about Ed's reports that made them more interesting than any others. Roy wondered if it had anything to do with the writing style, but it seemed that it wasn't the reading he enjoyed so much as merely gaining the knowledge of everything that had happened. He shrugged, tossing the papers back onto the table. Nothing abnormal. Wasn't that what reports were for anyway?

Roy slid his pants off and replaced them with a clean pair of boxers. He then turned his attention to the clothes on his bed. He placed his hands on his hips, his gaze still on the shirt and pants as if he were debating whether or not he should go through the trouble of getting dressed or not just yet. That's when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Turning his attention to his new found interest, Roy bent down and picked up something small and round and held it up to the light.

A grape.

He must've missed one when he was cleaning up.

"He bought you grapes..."

Mustang's eyebrow furrowed at the thought. That was uncharacteristic of Ed. In fact, Roy wouldn't be surprised if the blonde actually went out of his way not to get him gifts. It was part of the whole routine they had going. Ed reports to Roy, Roy comments on Ed's height, Ed erupts at Roy, Roy assigns Ed another mission, Ed becomes more irritated. They didn't do nice things for each other. They just didn't. Nothing so direct, anyway. And it never really got old.

Roy sat down at his spot on the window sill, rolling the grape between his thumb and index finger as he studied it. Something didn't seem quite right. He sighed and closed his eyes, tilting his head back against to wall and allowing the rays of the sun to dance against his exposed skin. The gentle warmth lulled him into a state of relaxation that reminded him how tempting it would be to sleep all day.

--- --- ---

Ed was silent during their walk to the hospital. He was trying hard to force all his feelings aside, just relying on that one, single emotion that he could truly understand. Anger. He could easily find something to be angry about, Roy was a self serving manipulative ass most of the time, and now, he was making an illness seem worse than it was, just to get out of paperwork, thus worrying him, and giving Al a few hints to work things out.

After his confession the night before, Ed was sure that Al would be able to figure out his… attraction to Roy. Even if it was only because of hormones, and the fact that Roy had simply been there for him, it was still an attraction, and he could only hide it for so long.

He just hoped that it would go away before he did something to make it too obvious.

When they arrived at the hospital, the nurse manning the front desk was the same from the day before. She kept eyeing Edward suspiciously, unsure if she ought to allow him in to Colonel Mustang's room again after his last visit.

Ed glared at the nurse, managing to find the anger and hang onto it. He had to make sure that his mask didn't slip.

Walking in front of his brother, he made it into Roy's room before looking up. A soft gasp escaped him, and he froze, staring at the sight in front of him. Roy Mustang was sat on the windowsill in his underwear. The light from the early morning sun was streaming in through the window, giving him a halo like glow. His dark hair was mussed, but what got Ed was the way he was sat.

One leg was draped over the side of the windowsill, while the other was bent on top of it. An arm was resting over the bent knee, and in it, was a grape. One of the grapes he'd thrown at him.

Ed couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. He was sure that his body was doing all sorts of things he'd rather it wouldn't, and he could feel the heat in his face. Swallowing, he tried to put some moisture in his now dry mouth. He knew he was giving himself away, to Al if not to Mustang, but he couldn't help it, couldn't help but stare at the beauty before him.

But as he stared, he noticed each and every exposed muscle, the expanse of creamy white skin, the hint of curly dark hairs just above the waistband of his trousers. He wanted to know what it would feel like, how soft it would be to his touch. He ached to reach out and find out how Mustang would react under his fingers. Would he gasp and arch into the touch? Would he moan? Would he return the gesture, stroking and kissing Ed in the way that Ed wanted to do to him.

Now, he was fully aware that his trousers were getting uncomfortable. But still, he couldn't move. He couldn't shift his position to make it less obvious. All he could do was stare at Roy.

Alphonse had walked in behind his brother, briefly noticing Mustang on the window sill before his attention had turned to Edward.

"Brothe–" Al stopped suddenly, seeing the look on his brother's face. He followed Ed's train of sight back to Mustang, who had at least the decency to be wearing underwear - thank god.

That's when it clicked in his mind. All the pieces of the puzzle came together and a little voice in the back of Alphonse's head reminded him that he better report back to Super Secret Spy Headquarters.

How could he have not put two and two together sooner? He nearly hit himself. It was so obvious - Ed might as well have been drooling all over the floor. That's why he was nervous to return to central. Roy was the reason why Ed rushed to the hospital and why he was throwing fruit!

Alphonse was so pleased with himself, he almost didn't notice Edward's problem downstairs - almost. And when he did, another realization came to mind.

Alphonse tip-toed backwards out of the room slowly and shut the door.

At the sound of an opening door, Roy began to stir. He heard footsteps barely going anywhere before they came to an abrupt stop. How odd.

Roy slowly opened his eyes, turning his head to face his guests.

Edward Elric was the last person he was expecting to see, but Roy's mind was far too fogged with sleep to show any reaction. So for a moment he remained calm as he stared back into those golden eyes that were so heatedly staring at him.

The sound of the door opening and closing once again echoed through the room.

Roy blinked. Once... twice...

His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion before his eyes took on a look of realization.

"FullMetal?" he asked as he sat up further in his seat. Ed still didn't move.

Mustang arched an eyebrow. Jesus, the kid was staring at him like he was God. Suddenly feeling cold, Roy looked down. Oh, that's right. He had forgotten to get dressed.

The colonel lifted his head slightly, looking up through his bangs. "I don't suppose... you ever considered knocking?"

It took Ed a considerable effort to get his mouth to work, to be able to swallow enough to use his voice, but when he did, all that came out was a strangled sound. His body, which had remained completely still for the most part, now started trembling with desire and need. No. This was wrong, it had to stop.

"S-Sorry!" He exclaimed, finally able to remove his eyes from Roy. Without his gaze on Roy, the hypnotism was broken and control over his limbs returned to him. Without a second thought, he turned and fled from the room, the door slamming behind him. Noticing his brother in the hallway, he gave him a nervous smile as he passed, never slowing on his quest to find a private bathroom. Somewhere where he could get rid of the painful throb in his trousers.

He knew things were going to change now, he'd be unable to look at Mustang without remembering him in his state of undress, wearing nothing but his boxers. That image would forever be burned into his retinas, to haunt him every time he closed his eyes.

Once he reached the private bathroom adjacent to the public one, he closed the door behind himself and locked it, leaning against it for a moment. He had to get over this. There was no way that he could continue on with this crush, it was ruining him! He assumed that Al had figured it out, the youth wasn't exactly an idiot, and he also knew that Al wouldn't go blabbing to Roy. But he was still afraid that Roy would realize.

He'd brought him grapes, after all.

--- --- ---

A vein was throbbing at the colonel's temple. That was the second time Ed had sneaked into his room while Roy was sleeping, done something impossible to explain, and run away without an explanation.

Well, not this time.

Roy jumped down from the window and walked over to his bed (remaining mindful of possible booby traps that Hawkeye had undoubtedly set up). At the success of making it safely to his clothes, he hurriedly pulled them on and ran out the door. Jerking his head left and right, Roy's eye caught a gleam of reflecting light. Alphonse Elric stood not five feet down the hall.

"Alphonse! Where is your brother?!" His voice, low and threatening, boomed against the walls and resonated down the hall. Colonel Roy Mustang was pissed.

Al jumped slightly in surprise at the yell. Not sure quite how to respond, he merely pointed a timid finger in the direction of the restrooms. Roy was gone in a flash.

The door to the men's restroom was kicked in and after it marched Mustang.

"Ed!! Where the hell are you?!" Starting from the first cubicle, Roy systematically went down the row, kicking all the doors in one by one to find that little... well, whatever he was, he was certainly little!

Hearing a commotion from the bathroom next to the private one that he was in, Ed frowned. When he heard his name called, he froze again before opening the door and exiting the room. Thankfully, the shock of hearing Roy call his name like that was enough to deflate him. "I-I'm h-here…" He managed to squeak out, leaning against the door in case he needed to hide behind it.

Really, he was acting like a coward! But what else could he do? He was terrified of Roy finding out what Ed wanted. He trembled a little, staring up at the other, feeling more tiny than he'd ever felt in his life.

"I-I – uh… D-Did you like your grapes?" He asked quietly, trying to change the subject that hadn't even been started.

Hearing Ed's voice, Roy whipped around to face him instantly. He shot daggers at the blond with his glare as he walked over to stand in front of him. The walls made a loud "bang" sound when the Flame Alchemist slammed his hands against it, on either side of Edward's head.

FullMetal was so lucky that the Flame didn't have his gloves on.

Mustang lowered his voice to a growl, "Care to tell me what exactly is going on?"

His body was bent over so that Roy could look Ed directly in the eye, leaning his weight against his hands on the wall. The drowsiness was gone, and he now emanated strength. He was feeling a hell of a lot better.

Trembling even more, Ed stared up at Roy, his breath coming out in short pants as he tried to slow down his heart. Swallowing, he felt his eyes close as he moved closer to Roy, automatically leaning up as if to kiss him. But pulling back, he shook his head, trying to regain his senses. "L-Let me go…" he was trembling further, his emotions pushing to the surface as he tried to hold them back. He was so lost and confused, and the last thing he wanted was to have Roy figure it out.

Unbidden tears fell from his eyes as he tried to pull away, turning his head. He didn't want Roy to see his face, to see how he was feeling, how afraid he was for Roy to figure out that he had a crush on him.

Hell, it could probably turn into more than a crush.

"P-please…Colonel…" He managed to gasp out, knowing full well that his body was responding in other ways to Roy's proximity. Hopefully, Roy wouldn't notice until Ed could safely get away.

Seeing tears fall down Ed's cheeks, Roy's expression suddenly changed. He was shocked. Having the kid start crying was the last thing he expected... or intended.

"Ed?" Roy shifted out of his dominating stance to cup the boy's cheek in his hand, gently turning his head to face him. "What's gotten into you? ...What's wrong?"

He didn't know why he felt his heart clench, or why he suddenly had the urge to wrap his arms around the smaller boy and protect him... from everything

As soon as he felt Roy's hand on his cheek, Ed's entire body stiffened. He allowed himself to be guided into looking at Roy, and instantly wished he hadn't. The man was looking at him with such intense eyes, like he just wanted to… do something. Ed couldn't be sure what, but there was a spark of determination behind those impossibly dark eyes.

His flesh hand raised on its own to cover Roy's for a second before he nudged it away. "G-Get away." He ordered weakly, wanting the other to leave before he acted impulsively. "For once in my life, I'm thinking before acting, so just let me go before that changes!" He ordered, still trembling and longing to lock himself into the bathroom, to hide away and take care of himself. The longer he stayed in Roy's arms, the more likely it was that Roy would notice the little problem that had returned to him, as soon as he became trapped by the older man.

"I don't want you to know! I don't want you to know! So just go away!" He was weakly punching Roy's chest now, dealing no damage as his emotions finally came free. "I'm sick! I'm wrong! I'm disgusting and I don't want you to know! I don't want you to know!"

His tears had quickly dried up, leaving confusion, shame and anger in its wake. Why did he have to feel like this for a guy, for Roy of all people? Why couldn't normal things happen to him? Was he destined to live his life out as being an outcast? Why couldn't he just feel like settling down with Winry, having a nice family? Why did he have to let himself down all the time?

The thoughts churning in his head caused the outburst that had him angrily punching his superior's chest, had him pinned against a wall, feeling like the entire foundation of his existence was crumbling around him. "Why can't I be normal?" he asked himself, not realizing he was still talking out loud. "Why can't I get normal feelings! Why does everything have to happen to me!?"

The hands stopped punching, instead they clutched at Roy's shirt, groping for some sort of comfort. His mind wasn't completely comprehending what was going on anymore. It was like he wasn't really there, and all that existed was his thoughts, his feelings. He'd forgotten just who it was that he was holding on to.

"Please, just let one normal thing happen to me… Let me pretend that I can be just like everyone else, even if it's just for a minute. I don't want to feel like this anymore. I don't want to be like this anymore." The trembling had never stopped, but now, it seemed to have grown worse. "Why can't I just like girls….?" He pulled himself closer to Roy, the words being whispered into his chest as he held on tightly, trying to understand his own feelings while receiving some sort of comfort from somebody he trusted. "Please, just let me be right."

His words seemed to be slowing down, like he'd said everything he needed to say. The pleas, the begging, it had all been a way for him to sort out the questions, ask them to himself. He felt like falling to his knees and begging the gate to just take away all his impure thoughts, to remove what he believed to be evil from him. The gate thought of equivalent exchange, but what if Ed offered it those parts of his being without asking something in return?

Dimly, he was aware that he had warm tears on his cheeks. When had he started crying again? But right then, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that he felt safe, felt warm and protected. He didn't' know why, and he didn't care to ask, but a soft sense of blissful emptiness covered him, as if he'd finally thrown all the questions that had been building up out of his system.

He was completely unaware that he'd begged and pleaded out loud, and he had no knowledge of who's chest he was currently pressed upon, or who's shirt he'd successfully rumpled, or that the problem he'd faced before had died down, causing his trousers to once again become slack.

At some point during the breakdown, his metal arm had gone around Roy and he was holding himself as close to the other as possible, as if the colonel would somehow save him from the emotional torrent that had overpowered him.

Long since forgotten was the fact that Roy was actually sick, not just faking it completely. Right then, for the first time since he was very young, Ed allowed himself to be incredibly selfish.

Roy stared wide-eyed at the boy in his arms. What the hell had just happened? At some point, Ed had started begging and pleading with the colonel that he could just be... normal. Where had all of that come from?

Roy closed his eyes and shook his head. No. That was a stupid question. He knew what the blonde had been through, it was only natural that he would feel he wasn't normal. Roy felt a particularly painful thump in his chest. He remembered back to when he had first gone to see Ed, when he was laying unconscious and covered in bandages in the Rockbell home. He thought about when Ed had taken his entrance exam and everyone was sure he would fail, but Roy saw something in him that was missing in the rest. Mind racing, he shifted through the memories of times when Ed had returned from a particularly disturbing mission, and every time Roy had given him his firm "we dogs of the military just need to learn to suck it up" speech... and all the times he hadn't really meant it.

It was no surprise that the Hero of the People would be feeling like this... the surprise was that he was admitting it.

The surprise was that he was here, in Colonel Roy Mustang's arms, clinging to him and crying into his chest, allowing himself to be completely open and vulnerable, and for once, allowing himself to act his age.

Mustang wrapped his arms more tightly around the smaller boy. Roy had been through a lot in his lifetime, especially since joining the military, but he knew that he had never felt his heart clench quite like this.

"Oh, Ed...," he muttered gently. Roy couldn't bare to see him like this, but he also couldn't seem to bare letting him go. Feeling the hot tears soaking through his shirt once again, the colonel fell to his knees slowly and just sat there, holding an angel in his arms.

Feeling the strong arms around him, Ed relaxed a little. With his outburst over, he felt oddly calm, as if he didn't have to worry anymore. Loosening his grip on the other, Ed just let himself be held, keeping his face pressed against Roy's chest.

They sat that way for a while, it could've been only minutes, it could've been hours, Ed didn't know. All he knew was that he didn't want to be let go.

"Sorry." He mumbled, realizing that this was the first time he'd apologized to the colonel. But then, it was the first time he'd had a mental breakdown. He kept leaning against the other though, feeling quite safe. "I'll get you more grapes…" he didn't know why he was obsessing over the grapes.

Now, he finally shifted, but instead of pushing Roy away, he snuggled a little closer, shuffling on the man's lap. He was feeling a little more… happy. It was only then that he realized he was sat on Roy. "I… I should get off you." He said quietly, making no move to follow his words. "Why…. Why are you holding me…?" He asked, not that he couldn't remember his out burst, but why was Roy acting so nice when he'd previously been so angry. "Why are you being so nice?"

"I'll get you more grapes..."

Roy chuckled. He could feel Ed relaxed against him, and could tell that he felt better, but Roy still didn't let go. He supposed he was just afraid of a relapse. But, even with that reason for himself, when Ed asked the simple question "Why?" Well, he didn't even know why he couldn't answer.

Why was he being so nice? Hadn't he just been telling himself how the two of them just didn't do nice things for each other? Even so, it didn't really seem to matter at this moment. Holding Ed gave him and indescribable feeling. It was inexplicably blissful. Mustang began to wonder why he'd never tried it out before and proceeded to make a mental note to do it more often.

When the colonel came to terms with the fact that he really had no idea how to give the boy a proper answer to his question, he settled with the decision to avoid it all together. Roy pressed his nose gently into the blonde hair and, smiling slightly, muttered against it, "Hn... shut up, Squirt."

Ed stiffened slightly, the emotions returning to him full force because of that simple statement. Squirt. Why was he making jokes about his height now of all times?! A quiet growl worked its way from his throat, his normal anger intensified by his confused thoughts.

Pulling back from Mustang, he got to his feet and glared down at the other. 'Well,' he thought, 'that's a first. I'm looking down at Mustang.'

"You say something like that now?" He asked in a quiet, deadly voice, obviously pissed, and more than a little hurt. Roy had seen him at his most vulnerable, and had still teased him about a very sensitive issue. The fact that Ed was well and truly head over heals in his first real crush, really didn't help.

Somehow managing to prevent himself from bursting into what Al often referred to as a 'shorty rant', Ed swallowed and took a deep breath before speaking, his voice still in that deadly tone, warning him not to push him right now. "You know what, fuck it." He said between gritted teeth. "I don't know why I cared about you in the first place. You'll always be a bastard." And with that, he walked steadily back to Al, not caring that his face was still red from his break down, or that he had very obviously been crying. Right then, all he wanted to do was leave.

Alphonse looked down at his brother who had just emerged from the bathroom. He didn't look happy.

A wave of guilt flooded the young boy's mind, knowing full well that whatever had happened was all his fault. He was the one that decided to come here, and for his own selfish reason to get his mind off something that may have been "a little embarrassing". Now, Ed was upset and Al was to blame.

"Brother..." He started, without quite knowing how to finish.

'I'm sorry.'

'What happened in there?'

'Do really have a crush on Mustang?'

'Are you ok?'

'Do you hate me now?'

--- End Part 3 ---