OK! Writers' Block Defeated! Thanks to a little alchemy and re-reading of manga! So I hope this chapter will be better than the last one.
Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter even though I really didn't think it was up to par: Maris (You really had something to say, and made me remember stuff I'd forgotten from the anime. thanks!) loser in the gutter (I'm so glad you like this FF! You're so encouraging!) Snowing Petals ( I wanted that scene to be in there 'cause I thought it would be really cute to have Ed sew. Thanks for reading!) Sand Dancer(Ah! I see your point. Ed probably does fix his clothes with Alchemy, but I wanted that sewing scene to be in there. I'll remember from here on out though. That was kind of a blooper) HitomiNagaisa( No Ed wasn't going to jump out the window naked!! He was wearing hospital pants! Ha ha ha. I should've made that clearer. Thanks for reading!)
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The next day Roy headed home after work as usual, and was surprised to find Ed and Al doing something on the floor near the fireplace. They both looked nervous and surprised when he came in. Roy noted that something had been hastily shoved under the couch.
"FullMetal, shouldn't you be in the hospital? You didn't make an escape, now did you?" Ed shook his head.
"They did a vision test and asked me to walk on a line to check my balance and then they let me go. I...I didn't really know where to go so..." Ed glanced nervously up at Roy. It was cute, Roy thought as he patted Ed on the head. He couldn't help but be amused when Ed didn't know how to react and just sat there with a funny look on his face.
"So, what's under the couch?"
"Nothing." Ed told him obnoxiously. Roy grinned as he casually slipped his gloves and jacket off and hung them by the door. Turning back suddenly, he dove in between Ed and the couch to see what was hidden under it. Al watched with much alarm as Ed rolled Roy away from the couch and Roy crawled over Ed to get back. Ed wrapped both arms around Roy's chest to haul him back just as Roy's finger caught on the edge of the wooden board and pulled it out.
"Hey!" Ed cried as Roy looked at it curiously. It was a chess board whose pieces had been knocked off. Ed tried to get up, but Roy wrapped an arm around his arms and chest, pulling him into his lap. Ed blushed terribly and looked away from Roy.
"Alright. Now tell me why you hid it under the couch." Roy told Ed's braid. Ed just growled something incomprehensible in reply. Roy switched arms, freeing one to pull Ed's jaw to face him. Ed made little sounds of protest as Roy forced his head a round, struggling against it.
"Edward! Colonel!" Al cried in protest. "Come on you two." he scolded hopelessly. Roy smirked, getting close to an evil grin. "But we're having so much fun. Aren't we Ed?" Roy looked at him and realized the boy he was gripping really did look upset. He let go with a sigh. "Ed, why are you getting so upset? I'm not trying to hurt you." Ed gave him an angry, embarrassed glare. Roy started rocking back and forth against the couch. "Come on now. Why'd you hide the chess set?" Ed glared at him before answering "Because I'm really bad at it." Roy laughed, releasing Ed's shoulders. Ed crawled off and sat on the floor again to look at Roy.
"Do you want me to teach you?" Roy asked. His almost invisible smile was gentle. Gentle and delicate, not pushing or teasing Ed in any way. Wanting to keep him happy.
Ed shook his head.
"He wants to beat you Colonel. That's why he hid it." Al laughed, knowing full well what Ed was going to do to him. "Allllll!" Bang, TACKLE CLONK!
"Hey boys. Cut that out! No! Not that lamp!" CRASH-SMASH-SHATTER.
Ed and Al, tangled up around eachother looked at the shattered stain-glass lamp they'd knocked off the side table next to the couch. Ed sheepishly crawled out from under Alphonse to restore the lamp with alchemy and set it back on the table. He and Al both looked up at Roy sheepishly, with slightly apprehension.
Roy made an irritated tsking noise and went upstairs.
Ed and Al followed silently. Mustang turned around at the top of the staircase and looked down at them.
"Why exactly are you two following me?" he asked. To his amazement and immediate disturbance, they fled like rabbits. Both of them! Ed jumped over the stair railing and shot into the kitchen while Al flew back down the stairs and towards the laundry room, back past the kitchen.
'HUH?...' Roy(1) had no idea what to make of it. Both of them... He went back to his original activity, which had been to change into some jeans, before going downstairs and looking around.
It was too quiet.
After a moment, he heard a tiny scuffling noise and peeked over the island counter top in the kitchen. Ed was on the other side, sitting up against it. He looked up at Roy, grinning like an idiot. Roy was disturbed. Ed jumped up and ran up the stairs. Alphonse came flying out of the laundry room, scaring the crap out of Roy, and tackled Ed on the stairs. Roy heard both of them crack against the staircase and started to run up the stairs, but at his approach they both ran frantically away from him, Ed grinning like a mental patient. Al flew into one of the guest rooms and Ed went for the bathroom. Roy followed him, but he was no longer in the bathroom. Roy thought.
Ed came flying down off a shelf above Roy's head and shot back out the door. As Roy gaped (1) at the shelf and then the empty doorway, he heard Ed running down the stairs.
Ed crashed into the couch when he dodged Al's tackle, sending it into the wall with a loud thud. Roy gasped as the side table and stain-glass lamp went shooting into the kitchen with a bang. Ed and Al were both laughing now and chasing eachother around. When they went for the laundry room again, Roy thought he'd be able to reach his gloves hanging by the front door, but that was before Ed came chasing Al out of the laundry room holding Roy's washing machine over his head. Roy retreated quickly to the guest room with the phone.
"Hello? Riza here."
"Lieutenant Hawkeye? I need help."
"Colonel? What's going on?"
"I don't know Hawkeye! Ed and Al have BOTH gone crazy and are tearing up my house and I'm afraid to go get my gloves because I think Al just picked up the dryer.
"Calm down Colonel. Are they fighting? Sparring perhaps?"
"They're laughing!"
"Is it possible they're just playing?"
"With the WASHER?"
"Alright, I'm coming over." Riza hung up. Roy hid in his bedroom until he heard the car pull up outside. He came to the top of the stairs and looked down at Ed chasing Al around the kitchen island. Al was getting so excited and clumsy he smashed into the wall, leaving a dent.
The door creaked open and Hawkeye stepped in. Ed almost ran into her as she peered around at the damage. Ed careened to the side and fell back onto the floor, Al flying over him in front of Hawkeye.
"Uhhh, hey Lieutenant." Ed looked embarrassed.
"What exactly are you two doing? The colonel called me over."
"What? We're not..." Ed looked around. Denying any kind of roughhousing whatsoever probably wouldn't be the best choice right then.
"Well Colonel, what do you want me to do now?" She asked. Roy came down the stairs and grabbed the back of Ed's neck.
"Nothing, Hawkeye. Thank you. I've got him now." he grinned. Riza blushed slightly and left. Roy watched her go. His attention was drawn back to Ed when the boy tried to pry Roy's hand off his neck.
"Do you have mental issues?" Roy asked sincerely. Ed glared at him.
"Forget about it, ok? Let me go." Ed struggled. Roy tightened his grip.
"Mustang..." Ed drew his name out in a growling whine.
"I'm still not sure what just happened. I've never seen you and Al go bananas at the same time."
"Shut up and let go!" Ed braced against Roy, pulling like a stubborn goat. Roy gave him a considering look.
"Really. What were you doing?"
"Just...playing around." he wriggled some more. Roy noticed Al putting the couch upright and carrying the washing machine back past the kitchen.
"Alphonse, were you really just playing?"
"Uh, um. I'm sorry Colonel, we just sort of forgot ourselves. We don't really play a lot. Ummm..."
"Well if that's all it was, just take it outside next time, alright?"
"OK!" Al replied happily. Ed was less enthusiastic.
"Will you let go now?" he demanded.
"Are you sorry for trashing my house, pipsqueak?"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST-"
"I'm not letting go until you apologize!" Roy teased loudly.
"After that comment? You wish!"
"Fine then." Roy proceeded to drag Ed into the laundry room so he could hook the washer and dryer back to the wall.
Ed had been completely silent for 4 hours now. Roy was reading on the couch and Al was reading in his room. Finally, Ed spoke.
"Roy?"
"Hmm?" Roy didn't look up.
"Are you still mad or..."
"Mmm..." Roy wasn't paying attention.
"Roy, let go. I'm sorry." Roy looked up. Ed was giving him an embarrassed, pleading look. Roy gave him a wry smile and dropped his arm down to Ed's side. Ed flinched, causing Roy to look up from his book again.
"Why don't you like to be touched Ed? Or is it just me you don't want to be touched by?"
"Both." Ed wriggled away to the other end of the couch. He wasn't sure what to do now. Roy had the book he'd been reading.
Roy pretended not to notice when Ed started scooting back toward him. Soon they were almost shoulder to shoulder and Ed was reading the book Roy was holding. After a few pages, he couldn't stand it anymore. He just had to grab Ed and hug him tight and yell "Gotcha!" While Ed swore in surprise. Roy laughed, pulling Ed closer and then into his lap against his will.
"Mustang! Cut it out! Lemego!!" Roy laughed harder. He wasn't sure what his obsession with making Ed angry or flustered was exactly. It was just so much fun. And after working over him for a few years, Roy knew most of Ed's buttons and just how to push them by now. But this was one he'd never pushed before.
"I said let go!" Roy pulled Ed's knees up with his other arm and lay Ed belly-up on his lap. Ed reached for Roy's throat but Mustang grabbed both the little hands and held them together. He saw Ed switch from angry and embarrassed to nervous as he struggled uselessly in Roy's grip. Roy let him fight until he wore himself out and lay still, breathing hard. After a moment he started to squirm again, but Roy pulled him in closer to his own body and shushed him quietly. Roy thought Ed responded very well to that, as he stopped squirming.
"Edward?" Roy's voice was soft as a whisper.
"Nnn?"
"When was the last time you willingly let someone hold you?" Roy knew he had Ed's number when he answered the question honestly and without protest.
"I don't know. Winry glomped me at the train station the day I left, but I don't know if it counts..." Ed sounded much more relaxed now, even if his voice was still slightly squeaky.
"Mom used to hold me a lot, even after Al was born. She was always picking me up." Roy realized Ed's voice was tight for a different reason than being nervous of Roy. He murmured in sympathy and pulled Ed upright to hold him closer. Ed pushed against him.
"You're not my mom, let go of me." he snarled.
"Well I'm supposed to b-"
"You're NOT my father either." Ed hacked the sentence out of his mouth like a poisoned ball of mud. Roy saw the hateful glint in Ed's eyes as he shoved himself backward and marched upstairs to bed.
Al came in as soon as Ed had slammed his door closed upstairs.
"Sorry Alphonse. He's angry again." Roy muttered.
"I understand."
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(1) See my blog and look for the picture I drew of Roy's expression! I wanted it to be perfect. I hope it is.
Sigh. I watched the last episode of FMA last night. I've seen it before, but it still hurts so much to watch it. It made me realize that I'd forgotten that to Ed, Al is the most important thing. The one he'd give it all for. Al often fades into the background in my story. He plays the mediator, the one who knows everything about the main character. But to the main character, he's the most important one. So the next chapter (hmm. deja vu) should be better! More Ed-for-Al stuff.