The Gift
15
The Date
December 2nd – Saturday
"Where the hell is my fucking tie?" Ed yelled, digging through his drawer in frustration. He'd found a note taped to his door when he'd come home that said to be dressed formally tonight, which probably meant they were going to do something incredibly dull, like go to a play or the such. Just as long as Roy didn't drag him to another Opera he'd try not to complain too much.
"Brother," Al said from behind him.
Not looking up from his drawer, Ed growled, "Not now, Al. I'm trying to find my tie."
Formal wear also meant they were going to that dumb fancy restaurant that the colonel liked so much. Why couldn't they just go out for burgers and fries like normal people?
"Brother..." Al said in a slightly more agitated voice.
Ed only waved a hand, but didn't say anything. Mustang could have given him more notice... Damn the man. Where the hell was his...
"Brother!"
Finally, Ed turned around and said, "WHA..." but trailed off when he saw his black tie hanging off of Al's shiny metal arm. The teen looked at it stupidly for a moment before it was tossed unceremoniously over to him. "Thanks…" he mumbled as he slipped it under the collar of his white button-up shirt.
Al shook his head and muttered, "Whatever... You're so stupid sometimes..."
"Gee, thanks..." Ed mumbled and moped into the bathroom. Not only was he worried about why Roy wasn't spending much time with him, but he was also confused why his brother was so moody lately.
He looked at himself in the mirror as he finished tying the tie, then buttoned up the last button on his shirt and grabbed his brush from the counter.
Up or down?
Roy liked his hair down, but it just felt too strange not having it pulled away from his face in public. Besides that, people stared at him more when it was down...
Shaking his head, Ed put the brush down, and slipped into his black suit jacket. He buttoned it up and looked at himself in the mirror. He supposed he'd look okay with it down, but...
Ed grabbed his hair and held it up in a mock ponytail before turning his head one way then another. He nodded when he decided to wear it in a ponytail, and was about to grab the brush again when he heard a knock on the front door.
He stood still, quietly waiting for his brother to answer the door.
"Good evening, colonel," he heard Al say.
"Good evening, Al. You know you can just call me Roy."
"Yes, sir, I know, but I'd rather not..." this brother said stiffly.
Ed heard the door shut and the colonel said, "Where's Ed?"
"Doing his hair," came the reply. "For like, the last ten minutes."
Roy laughed and said, "And he says I take a long time."
At that, Ed growled and yelled, "I have NOT been in here for ten minutes!"
"Okay, twenty!" Al yelled back.
Making a sound of exasperation, Ed picked up the brush and quickly did his hair before grabbing his coat, a nice evening one, not the red one he usually wore, and stalking out of the bathroom. "Now you listen here, I was only in that bathroom for three or four minutes!" he said, shaking a finger at his brother.
Before Al could reply, Roy said, "You look nice."
"Thanks..." he muttered grudgingly, then said, "You too..."
They were both wearing black suits with black ties. This was, of course, because Roy had bought both the suits. Ed would have chosen something a lot cooler, but... oh well. That's what he got for letting some old guy pick out his clothes.
"Shall we go?" his date for the night asked smoothly, holding out his elbow for Ed to take.
Making a face, Ed muttered, "Yeah right," and started toward the door. When he saw that Roy was still in the same spot, still with his arm out, he sighed in exasperation, walked back, and took hold of the man's arm.
"Have fun..." Al said moodily as they started toward the door, and Ed glanced back at his brother who was walking away from them.
Really...what was his problem...?
Ed frowned at Roy as the man grinned at him over his glass of champagne. "What? You're not drunk already are you?"
"How insulting, Ed," Roy muttered. "I've only had half a glass."
"Then why the goofy smile?" Ed asked.
"Oh...I don't know. Perhaps it's the fact that we're sitting here in the afterglow of a delicious dinner spending some time together..." This was said as Roy gazed into his eyes.
Ed's eye twitched and he said in embarrassment, "Are you trying to be romantic or something, because it's just coming off as lame and corny." When Mustang only continued to stare at him, Ed felt his cheeks go warm and he took a sip of his 'flavored seltzer water' in an attempt to hide his embarrassment and winced at the drink.
What was wrong with this place, anyway? Was it too much to ask for actual soda? Too damn good for the real stuff?
"You know you like it," Roy murmured into his glass before taking another sip.
They sat that way for a moment until the 'dining room attendant' returned with their receipt. At the thought of 'dining room attendant', Ed snickered quietly. If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't want to embarrass Roy, Ed would take every chance he could to call the man their waiter.
The colonel rolled his eyes, probably knowing what Ed was thinking, then said, "Let's go dancing."
This stopped Ed's snickering and he said, "What?"
"Dancing. I feel like dancing."
Ed scowled and said, "No way. I don't want to go dancing. I don't like being the 'girl'."
"Well, do you want to be the 'boy'? That would be rather awkward, wouldn't it?"
Unhappy about the implied slight on his height, Ed opened his mouth to begin giving Mustang a piece of his mind, but the colonel leaned over and put a finger to his lips to stop the rant before it could come out.
"Outside," Roy whispered with a grin.
Ed nodded and they headed toward the door where they were bid a good evening by the maitre d' after helping them into their coats.
When the cold air of the snowy winter evening hit Ed, he shivered and pulled his coat tighter around himself. The door closed behind them and they walked away from the restaurant. They walked three blocks to where Central's main church was lit up brightly with colored lights before Ed turned and shouted, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT THEY CAN'T DANCE LIKE A GUY!"
Roy laughed and shook his head before saying, "Let's dance."
"You're ignoring me..." Ed muttered.
Again, instead of answering Roy turned and grabbed one of Ed's hands and put his other on the teen's waist and began swinging him around.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ed shouted in surprise.
"Dancing, what do you think?" Roy answered with a grin.
Blood rushed to Ed's face and he said loudly, "This is embarrassing!"
Roy leaned in close and slipped his hand behind Ed's back before whispering, "There's no one watching..."
Ed glanced about. It was true. There were a few people rushing on their way, but they weren't paying any attention. It was a cold night and it was snowing. It seemed that people wanted to get home as soon as they could.
He glanced back up at Roy who was smiling softly down at him. Ed let his eyes rake over the man's face. Snowflakes fell gently and stuck to Roy's black hair. It all just seemed so...peaceful. Ed returned Roy's smile before the colonel leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Let's go home," Roy said and pulled back a little.
"You mean go back to your place," Ed corrected automatically.
"You could call it home if you wanted," the colonel said.
Ed shook his head. "Home is where you live and where your family is."
"Well, what if we were a family?" Roy asked quietly.
The teen shrugged, "But we're not, so what does it matter? I don't like hypothetical questions, you know that."
For a moment, Ed thought Roy looked a little hurt, but the moment passed and the colonel's smile returned, even wider than before. "Well, then why don't we go somewhere warm and private? I'm sure you'd love to get out of that stuffy suit."
Next postdates are: 7th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 22nd,23rd, 24th 25th
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