Eyes: Chapter One - Making Mudpies
The next day found Roy Mustang trudging along the sidewalk bound for the home of Edward Elric, for the second day in a row. He'd bought a few extra things at the grocery story and he was starting to regret the decision to walk. It had been a nice day out, the snow had finally melted, but now he was starting to sweat packing a box of bottled water, potting soil, and a bag of dinner materials with him. Maybe he really was out of shape.
He huffed at that thought. He was not fat.
The grumbling continued until Ed's house came into veiw and a relieved smile lit up his face. The gate to the back yard was open and he slipped through it. He only had a few minutes until he was considered 'late' by the other alchemist and he didn't want to mess this up.
He found Ed sitting out nf the grass, the dark glasses from yesterday were off and he looked like he was sleeping in a patch of sunshine. Roy chuckled to himself. He looked like an over sized cat that way.
After setting the goods down he pulled off his winter coat and went to sit with Ed. It was unusually warm for January, all the snow had melted the day before and all that was left was barren trees and some dead grass. At least Ed had shown some sense and wore a coat anyway.
"You made it on time I see." Ed said as he sat up, Mustang's steps were louder than anyone else's he'd ever heard. The racket he made when he got close to the house was enough to rouse Ed out of the lazy nap he'd taken.
Roy jumped, not expecting the other to be awake. "I did. I brought what you asked and some extra stuff. I thought we could have dinner."
Ed turned to him and opened his eyes. They were still the golden color they had been before his accident and he cocked his head to the side. "Really."
"Mmhmm."
The younger man shrugged and started toward the deck. "Pick that stuff up and lets go inside."
"The dirt too?"
"The dirt too."
He did as he was told and followed Ed into the house, pausing to toe off his shoes like his host had done and then chased after him into the kitchen. Ed had sat down on a stool and rested his head on his hands. "Toss anything that needs refridgerated in there," he pointed in the gerneral direction of the appliance in question, "and then get a bowl from the bottom cupboard on the left. Open a bottle of water, pour it into the bowl and take out a handful of dirt. Mix it in until it's thick."
Roy hurriedly did as he was told and then waited for Ed's next instructions.
"You know that I can do alchemy without a circle because of the gate. I'm hoping that perhaps this will work for you without having to see the gate. You know what a basic array looks like and I'm sure you know the symbols for the matter changes of basic things. If you don't well...the military really is lacking." Ed grinned at the man before him and continued on. "I picture an array, change it to what I need, and use an image in my mind to make it work. We'll see if you can do the same, or even get a reaction out of anything, with this method."
Roy nodded then metally smacked himself for it. Ed couldn't see him and he needed to remember that. "Got it."
"Good, now take some of that mud and draw out the basic array you need on your far right at the top of the island. Doesn't need to be perfect just the basic jist to put it in your mind from a visual and interal eye."
He dipped his fingers into the mud and did just that, wincing as he splattered mud onto Ed's nearly pristine counter. But, if the man said it was okay...it must be.
Once he was done he looked up to see Ed turned toward his array as if he were watching the other's movements.
"Done? Good. Okay now the hard part. Clapping works for me as a center for the circle. It might work the same for you so I suggest you just try a few things; clapping, your snapping perhaps with both hands then laying them flat, whatever just give yourself a center and turn that pile of mud into a brick."
Roy frowned and looked at his hands.
"Oh, just remember to add in the right symbols to solidify the material. I don't want you blowing up my house."
He could hear the smile in the other voice and it calmed him a little to know that Ed wasn't hating this as much as he'd originally thought. Going to the young man had been hard enough to begin with. Hell, mustering the courage to face him, with such a lame excuse, after two years had almost done Roy in, but Ed had bought it and seemed comfortable enough.
He let his mind clear and pictured the array he'd just drawn in his mind, making it his sole focus to curve the symbols the way he wanted them. When he was sure of the array he clapped his hands gently and put them to the mud. There was a small pop and Roy jerked open his eyes.
"Mustang..." Ed's growl was enough to make him look up and then bite down on his lip to stifle the laughter that threatened to overflow.
Ed's face and hair were covered in mud. It looked like his theory had worked...the reaction has just been a little...off.
Taking a better look around he noted that he too was splattered with mud as well and it looked like most of the floor and ceiling had gotten a good dose of the stuff as well.
He heard shuffling and looked to see Ed wiping at his face with a towel. A towel that found it's way to his face as well when Ed threw it at him. "Well, something happened. You're not completely hopeless at least. Though I could do without you blowing things up." Ed wiped at his eyes with his flesh hand and patted around the table for another towel with the automail one.
Roy couldn't help it, he just looked so young in that moment that the laughter he'd been holding in bubbled out.
"What." Ed snapped.
"You just...you look so," another fit of giggles consumed him and he heard Ed stand up.
"You bastard, you blow up mud in my house then sit there and laugh. Clean this up." Ed's tone was harsh but Roy couldn't stop laughing. The man was now standing in front of him, hands of his hips, gold eyes staring straigh ahead.
"Fine, jerk." Roy's world wobbled for a second then he toppled over into a heap on the floor. He looked up to see blode hair draping over him.
"Now clean this up!"
After that, the lesson had gone smoothly. There was a lot more mud flying everywhere and one time it even turned to brow water, sucessfully soaking Roy's shirt and pants in the process but he eventually got the mound looking somewhat more solid.
Holding an array in his mind was much harder that it had first appeared. He couldn't let even the slightest part of it blend incorrectly of the reaction was either explosive or just plain wrong. A few dozen more attempts and they were out of dirt, at which point Ed finally decided he'd had enough fun torturing Mustang and it was time to make that dinner.
It was rather simple but it smelled delicious. Ed didn't try too much in depth cooking after burning his flesh hand one to many times but this time Roy was there to help.
"Alfredo is one of my favorites," Roy said trying to start up some conversation.
"Oh? Mine too, noodles in general really."
Roy had to smile at that. There were few times he could remember seeing the Fullmetal Alchemist eat anything but noodles if he had a choice in the matter.
"Today wasn't so bad, you might actually have some hope of getting it after all."
"You doubted me?"
"Yes." Ed replied with a grin.
They both shared a laugh and the blunt reply and finished their dinner in silence. After they'd finished the dishes they said their goodbyes and Roy clicked the door closed behind, his promise to not be late tomorrow having just left his mouth for the third time. Ed obviously didn't like to be kept waiting.
On the walk home he let his mind wander.
All in all, the afternoon had been great. Messy and full of mostly very little progress but great all the same. It had been nice to sit and talk to Ed as a friend and equal rather than the superior and subordinant they'd always been before. He was by no means happy that Ed had been dumped so uncerimoniously after losing his eyesight but he appeared happy at least and he'd matured a great deal. That much was very obvious.
The explosive young man was gone, hints of the temper he'd once had still remained, but it was kept in check now. Roy had respected him when he was a child but now even more so. He was teaching the older man something to help him, at no charge and without the yelling he'd initally expected to be faced with.
He could get used to this.
Ed on the other hand...
He let out a deep breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when he heard the door click shut. He'd hurriebly locked it and gone to the kitchen to pour himself a drink. Spending half the day with Roy Mustang had certainly done a number on his nerves. He'd spent the morning planning out the easiest, safest way to even attempt to teach the man how to preform alchemy with a circle. Then the rest of the time anxiously waiting for him to finally get there. That his plan had worked was almost as surprising as how much fun he'd had doing it. He felft bad for lying to Roy but it had worked out perfectly. To have some company, at least for a little while, that wasn't Al or Winry was worth the small fib. Knowing that the man was playing in dirt just because he said it was a good idea was funny though. He'd need to work on getting all the mud on Roy next time and not himself. Still, guilt nagged at him again and he brushed it away. He'd tell Roy later if the man didn't figure it out anyway. He'd been given a report on why Ed could transmute without a circle. Either he forgot or he was playing along.
However, the man was flat out tiring. Even when he wasn't around.
Ed had been surprised by how much he'd missed the older Alchemist's company these past couple years and it had hit full force at dinner just how much he used to rely on the man to be there for him. Just how lonely he really was. Finding Mustang at his door yesterday had brought up a lot of emotions he'd tried hard to supress the past two years.
He sighed and flicked on the clock in his hallway. He'd invented a few things in his relatively short life time but this had to be the most useful one. It allowed him to speak outloud and it would reply with the time, date, temperature, or even make calls for him. He'd programed Roy's phone number into it yesterday after raising the ink to sit on top of the paper. Another trick he'd picked up after going blind. He still wanted to read and write after all.
"Time."
The metalic sounding voice chirped to life. "9:43 pm."
"Bed time," he muttered to himself. Sleep sounded wonderful right about now. As if the punctuate this thought he yawned.
"Definitely time for bed."
After laying down Ed didn't fall asleep imediately. He didn't fall asleep at all. The days events poured over his mind.
It had been nice. He didn't expect that when Roy had showed up yesterday. He was fully prepared to hate spending time with the man who had made his life hell for years before. The fact that he was sitting here reflecting on how 'nice' it had been bothered Ed.
He wasn't used to company. He didn't 'need' company. His face bunched in a grimace. That was a lie and he knew it. Speaking to someone who was on the same level as he was today had been the best thing he'd done in months. The last time he'd had this much fun was when Riza had come over for dinner in September.
Sighing once again he sat up. A shower sounded nice and would be relaxing.
He simply let his mind go blank as the warm water washed over him. After scrubbing his hair he washed the suds out and turned off the water. He was tired. Ha had been before but now he felt like he could actually go to sleep. He stepped out of the tub, careful to make sure he didn't hit the edge, and toweled off.
He still stood in front of the mirror and he wasn't sure why. It must have been more of a habit than he realized.
He chuckled sofly to himself. It was ironic really. He'd been so concerned about his height that he'd never really noticed anything else about himself. Some days he'd give anything to know what he looked like now. He felt more vanity without his eyesight than he had with it. The Gate sure had a great sense of humor. With that thought in mind he left the bathroom for the comfot of his bed and a hopefully dreamless night.