A/N: 'Morning, 'morning! Back into business with another chapter. A filler between fillers, but I hope you'll enjoy it. No special mentions, besides that the characters are awfully bipolar. I don't know, people usually get irrational when they overthink things, so yeah, let's say it works :)
The previous narration will continue from the next chapter, so don't forget to continue checking it (that is, when I'll post the next chapter). Thank you so much for taking your time and read this, and don't forget to leave a review, follow and favourite!
Now then, on with the flow...
Chapter 16 – Under the table
The loud ringing at the door woke Roy with a startle. He fell off the bed and smacked his face on the chilly carpet. It felt like he passed through the very floor, his body heavy and tired. Perhaps he should have listened to Edward when he said that maybe they should postpone the third or fourth time they had sex the night before, but, well... he just didn't feel like doing so. He threw the cover back on Ed who was peacefully snorting with his mouth half-opened and gathered the first clothes he had at grasp.
He hobbled down the hall, struggling with pulling up his pants, and managed to get a shirt on before he opened the door. With all his being, he hoped it wasn't Alphonse again. "Yes?"
Riza Hawkeye looked like she wanted to murder someone. She woke up two hours earlier than she was supposed to and couldn't go back to sleep after that. Just for this simple reason, her day was deemed from the beginning to be very bad. "Good morning, Sir, why aren't you in your uniform? Did you forget it's the middle of the week?" she said with a mild scold.
"Huh? No, no... but it's...damn" he looked at the clock on the wall, which proudly pointed the hour eight twenty-three. "Please come in, I'll be down in a few moments!" he shouted and ran up the stairs to his bedroom.
Riza accepted the offer and closed the door behind her. It wasn't the first time she had to wait for her commanding officer; he sometimes had moments when he wouldn't wake up even if a train passed right next to his head. She took a seat on the couch and patiently waited, scanning the room. It looked surprisingly clean, knowing how messy Roy could get when he didn't have any spare time.
Her frown deepened when she heard him thumping upstairs, clearly knocking down everything around him with his carelessness and hurry. She wondered what kept him up for so long, but decided she didn't want another image scarring her retinas. She had enough piled up in her head.
Eight minutes later, she noticed very pleased (that was a record time for dressing), Roy came downstairs with a big grin on his face. "Ah! Thank you for the wait, I hope you helped yourself with something"
"No problem, Sir" she said elusively, not very eager to find the reason why he was in such a good mood. That man was frightening when he wanted to be, and his lack of a sour face in the morning wasn't very relaxing. He led her to the door and showed her out, following her after closing the door. "Pardon me for my lateness, your dear Grandpa kept me up all night long" he explained when she started the engine.
"Is that so?" He hummed in approval. "It seems I'll be paying quite some visits for the next few days, so please make it look like I'm extremely busy and can't leave my office even with my feet forward"
"Understood" she dutifully nodded. "Do I get that we will be seeing Edward around?"
"Who knows? As long as Al doesn't kill me, I will also be able to see him, too"
Riza turned her eyes from the windshield and crooked an eyebrow. Roy's personal life, as she forever deemed it a few months ago, was not a thing she wanted to hear about. She once wondered how it would be if he started rambling about his relationship like some other officers did, like Havoc when he was getting a girlfriend after crying his eyes out from a break up. Yeah, Jean... She suddenly blushed. 'No such thoughts during working hours' she reminded herself and turned her eyes on the road.
Roy basically floated to his office, avoiding being seen by any personnel. No one needed to know he was late, and if people believed he had been there for the whole time, let them believe! Fortunately, he didn't run into anyone, as everybody was too busy doing their duties and presenting their reports as fast as they could. Show off, if he could call it that, or more like justifying one's salary after a month of slacking off and doing nothing.
A little later, after a kind looking lieutenant disturbed his silence with demanding his attention on signing some forms, another loud knock that could easily break down the door disrupted what was left of his day-dreaming. What was he saying about everybody remembering it was the end of the month? "Yes?"
"My reverences, Your Majesty, may I intrude into your kingdom? Some coffee, a cup of our finest tea?" Edward entered, kicking the entrance with his metallic foot, his hands in his pockets. He whistled appreciatively "Whoa, sure looks like the dead woke up after four long weeks" he noticed as he looked at the folders on the desk.
Roy cracked a smirk. "My, my, what an honour having you here, Fullmetal. Decided to show up too? What a shame, the day was just getting better. Unfortunately, the coffee finished, now that you came"
"Ha-ha, fuck you too, General" Ed replied with a straight face, failing to keep it as he almost burst into loud laughter seeing the poor low-ranked officer who was searching through a report eyeing him eerily, a bit scared that someone dared to talk like that to a General. It was common knowledge Edward wasn't in the slightest the most polite person when it came to Mustang, but it must have been the first time he's seen their little show. 'Must be a rookie in the office' he decided after taking a better look at the man's face. "Good morning, Second Lieutenant" he saluted after counting the decorations on his epaulets.
"G-good morning, Sir" he replied shakily and started to sit up from the couch. Ed waved his hand with a smile for him to resume what he was doing previously, and turned his face to Roy, who was watching amused. "Obviously you forgot you had your assessment"
"It's your fault you forgot to remind me"
"Indeed, I only told you six times, I should have said it for seven"
Ed frowned. "Smart. Anyway, they were only the papers of registration, and I gave them to Armstrong as you requested. I'll be submitting the rest at the end of the week. Yeah, I've heard when you said that, shut it. By the way, the Lieutenant has been calling me like a frenzy to come at the office, I thought it was burning. And here I was thinking to myself that I should make sure you didn't hurt yourself making coffee. So, what happened?"
At that, Roy's brows lowered apologetically. He won't get to the end of this, as he once again forgot to make coffee in the morning when it was his turn. "You should personally talk to the Lieu- no need for that" he said and nodded to his assistant who glared at him for taking a break from signing reports. He lowered his head into the pile of papers, looking as innocent as a sheep.
"Yes, I've been looking for you, please read this file and act accordingly to it, thank you" she dismissed Ed with the said folder. He took it and left the room before Riza started shooting him for keeping Roy away from his duty. She looked like being in a foul mood, and not afraid to show how bad it was.
The other soldier in the room ducked behind his papers, a shiver creeping up his spine. Poor guy, he didn't know what to make of the dynamics around the office. He was very confused who did what, but one thing he could understand – Riza Hawkeye was not the kind of person you wanted to confront unless necessary. The rumours about her being the bear in the team were more than truthful.
XXXXX
Edward returned to Roy's office after a few long hours to find him grasping at a paper like it was his life line. He looked at him, wondering what it meant, but didn't comment on it. "Are you done with your stuff? I've just finished mine. And... thank you for sending Hawkeye with that sandwich"
"No problem" he smiled. "Yes, it seems I'm finished here too" he replied and put the rest of the papers back into the cabinet. "You should go before me, I'll see you later, yes?"
"O-kay" Ed nodded and left the room. They usually didn't leave at the same time to avoid suspicion; it wouldn't do to be found out. The old team might know about them, but no one was as tight-lipped as them.
They met about an hour later at home. Edward was already boiling some water for their afternoon tea, a habit he picked up after he noticed Roy wasn't just forgetting to eat, but to drink anything but coffee, that when he remembered to drink it at all. He wondered how he survived before being with him, with that bad routine.
After pouring some milk in Roy's tea, he offered him the cup, accepted with a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you, sunshine"
"I'm going to choke you with your sunshine if you keep on calling me that"
"Whatever. How was your day?" the brunette lamely asked, as if they didn't see each other at work. However, Ed answered good-naturedly "I had to rummage through old documents, as usual. Hawkeye gets a sadistic pleasure on seeing me playing in the dust"
"Sounds like her" he hummed into the tea.
"How about you?"
"Same old. I've informed the Fuhrer about the accord we pulled off last night, he seemed very pleased indeed"
"Obviously, we're just that good"
Silence crept between them, though not as heavy as it was supposed to be. They enjoyed just being in each other's company, no words having to be said to acknowledge their presence. Sometimes, nothing could spoil their little silent perfection.
But nothing stays like that, some things have to destroy the balance at worst times. "I forgot to tell you... I took a three or something minutes break today and phoned my brother. Don't worry, I did it from an outer line. I invited him over Saturday; he and Winry are staying in the city until next week. I thought it might be a good idea, what do you say?"
Roy choked on his tea. He was the one who agreed to the invitation, but didn't really consider setting it into action. With a grimace, he said half-strangled "Great idea, dear" he coughed to clear his throat.
"Perfect. We should think of what we could do, I mean, we never have any guests. We always go out"
"Then why not going out?" Roy said hopeful. He hated having anyone over, Ed was a very fortunate exception.
"Because we should show them there isn't anything suspicious going on here! Come on, no one's gonna kill you, it'll be fine. All you need to do is listen to me, and everything will be just fine"
"Very assuring"
"Yup. Very, I know, right?"
Roy took another sip of his sweet tea. He most likely won't survive the week with Al next to him, if things went as well as he saw them in his head.
XXXXX
The days passed eventless for Roy and Edward. Both of them had a lot of work to do, and it looked a lot like the routine they set for themselves for the end of a trimester, but something unsettling filled the void in the usually peaceful and very much empty by day Mustang household. Not especially for Ed, who didn't look like he gave any second thoughts to their incoming visit, but for Roy. He felt like it was the national state alchemist exam all over again, his mind racing in every direction at once. He knew Al for so many years, but there was an elephant still jumping inside his head.
He reminded himself it wasn't the moment to worry about any acceptance from Edward's family, he mainly didn't care about it, but he wanted it to go smoothly for his lover, who would most likely burry him alive if he didn't make a good impression. Again, there was no impression to be made, but his completely irrational mind couldn't comprehend that. He started to understand how Hughes felt when he first met Gracia's parents and himself, the ever-bastard, joked at his expense. 'Seems like the curses are getting to me, old friend' he thought.
The damned day finally arrived, and Roy woke up like he has been running, not sleeping. He didn't remember if he actually fell asleep or he just stood limp in the bed, but he could easily acknowledge he was downright nervous. He was more than certain everything was going to go wrong, and he made it the point of the day to prove his theory.
Edward woke up that morning completely drained. The previous night, he stood up until who knew what hour to finish his stupid assessment for the national alchemist certificate, his pride not allowing him to accept Roy's proposal to complete that year's assignment with his help. Hell, he could have been sleeping with the Fuhrer and he wouldn't have accepted to pass the examination through anyone else's help. Picturing the said image of Grumman in his head made his stomach turn a little, and had to cover the idea with a lot of other images, most of them of horses running on a field. It was the most innocent image he could muster when his imagination formed the idea of having an old geezer... 'Fuck, I'm seeing it again' he mentally cursed and spitted the toothpaste on the mirror in indignation. He frowned and wiped the mirror clean.
He found Roy in the kitchen, folding napkins. They arranged the food the previous night, mostly Roy did as Ed wrote his documentation, but that didn't settle the brunette in the slightest.
"If you keep folding that, you'll get a ball, not a triangle" Ed patted his lover on the back. Roy put down the destroyed napkin and smiled. "Sorry, the rest are alright, hm?"
"Yeah, they are. What's with you? You seem off"
"Neah, just sleepy. I could use some sleep from time to time"
Ed gasped, making a face. "And I keep telling you that!"
"Why would I listen? You never listen to me"
"And you still wonder why"
They settled for a long breakfast, none too eager to eat for various reasons. They chatted about work, making plans for the next week, when Ling was supposed to authorise the first shipment. Things looked good with their strategy, and the operation was going to commence soon.
They tidied around the house for the rest of the morning, and made sure it looked decent. Nothing could incriminate them in any way, not like there was something that shady, that after they locked Roy's pretty extensive collection of fire weapons, knives, radio transmission jamming devices and blackmail material. Besides those, there wasn't anything to worry about.
After the tedious work, they both settled on the couch, Ed's head resting on Roy's knees. The former started bouncing his feet, earning himself a good punch in the stomach. "Stop that, or do you want me throwing up everything I've eaten?"
"Hm... at least for making you miserable, I'd do it" That cost him another punch, this time in the leg. "Ouch, don't break my feet now!"
"Suits you better. I'd really enjoy having you in a wheelchair and throwing you on the stairs. It'd be fun" Ed joked and kissed the spot where he hit. "Better?"
"Aw, thank you for your kindness, my little fairy" Roy teased and contracted his muscles to prepare for another blow.
"You're so lucky you have to be in one piece today, otherwise, you'd be missing some limbs by now" Ed cussed and rubbed his temples.
They frowned at each other for some good minutes, making it a stare contest. That, until the doorbell rang, and they rose up at the same time, bumping their heads, adding to Ed's heel connecting with Roy's chin when he stood up too fast. They cursed each other until they reached the door, and then arranged their messy appearance before opening the front.
XXXXX
A few hours ago
"Come on, Al, you act like you're forced into getting married with the rapist that got you knocked up, not like you're visiting your brother! Man up!" Winry shouted from the little living room, snorting at her husband's nervousness. Al, very much like Roy, wondered how bad that evening could go. He was still mad on Ed for hiding so much from him, but couldn't blame him, really. He didn't know how he would have reacted if he knew the truth, but that didn't really absolve the fault. He felt left-out and like arguing with someone. If it could be Mustang, he would go for it.
Winry, on the other hand, watched him with amusement. She wanted to congratulate her childhood friend for messing so much with her husband's head, it was simply entertaining. Without too much fuss, she went to the bathroom to change, and then stepped into the bedroom to startle Al with her sudden appearance. "ALPHONSE!"
The blond jumped in his chair and turned to look at her. "Damn, stop shouting, you've scared me!"
"Great" she grinned and rested her hands on his shoulders. "So, what are you waiting for? Get your ass up and let's go out"
"This early?"
"Yup, let's go for a walk, you look like you'd either kill that glass, or cry. One or the other, it's the same to me. Up, now!" she patted him on the back and tip-toed to the door to pull up her boots. Al sighed and followed her, not too eager to see his brother, especially not with Roy.
They got on the street, and stopped on their way to buy a bottle of wine. Winry insisted on it, and Al made the wise decision to let her do what she wanted. There was no point in opposing the storm.
Hand-in-hand, they walked to their destination. To Al, it sounded like he was being taken to his own funeral, and the urge to hit Roy in the face only grew. After all the mess he brought into his life, now he had to ruin his ties with his brother? Preposterous.
Before ringing the bell, Winry slapped him and told him to behave. He opened his mouth to argue, but she was already pressing the button.
From inside, some loud thumps could be heard. The blonde mechanic smirked, wondering what their very tender hosts were doing that she managed to get them so startled. The door was opened fast, and they were welcomed by Edward clutching on Roy's shirt, almost falling after walking on a small rubber ball.
"FU-" he started, but Roy swiftly shoved him to his side, making sure none of them fell on their faces. "Welcome, please come in" he said, letting go of his partner.
Ed regained his balance and looked sheepishly at his brother, who was staring at him wide-eyed. Seeing Winry holding in her laughter, he frowned.
They entered the hall and gave their coats to Roy, who politely put them on hangers. Behind him, Ed was whispering curses "Why the fuck was Hayate's toy in front of the door?!"
"Wasn't me inviting Hawkeye with her dog" Roy answered and shoved the two of them in the living room. So much for making a good impression.
He remembered how to play the good host, after all these years of helping his aunt with her guests and customers. He opened a small bottle of a pre-digestive drink and poured the liquor in four glasses, from time to time glancing at Ed, making sure he didn't do anything stupid. He inwardly smiled, thinking that he was the older of them, and he looked like he was a parent drinking with his kids. He frowned. Now, he has just made himself a great pervert.
"You have such a lovely house, Roy" Winry started in an attempt to lighten the mood. Roy smiled "Thank you, I'm glad you like it. We didn't have too much time to arrange the things, the week has been quite erratic"
"Yeah, it's the famous end of a trimester. I know Ed used to be very vocal about this time of the year. I guess you had some papers to do, being a commander" Winry answered, glaring at the two brothers who were awkwardly glaring at each other.
"Indeed, there were some boxes of them" Roy agreed.
"Seems to be a perk of the job"
Ed and Al didn't listen to any of the small talk. They were too busy with conquering the world inside their head. It seemed that Roy and Winry were enjoying their conversation, very attentive to each other's words. Little by little, the two brothers joined the conversation, that after some amount of drinking. They were still awkward, but things seemed to look up. Winry seemed very interested in Roy's knowledge of chemistry, a discipline the latter had to master in order to be able to play with fire, and he told her all the details he could take in on metal processing and engineering. He did it so diplomatically and diligent, sucking all the information the girl could offer, it took some insane concentration to notice how his eyes were lighting up on the data. He could already see a new idea of using his alchemy.
"I've been wondering, how did you two got together? I remember you used to hate each other" Winry abruptly changed the subject. Trying hard not to slap himself, Roy cast a glance at Ed and narrowed his eyes when he answered faster than him "It just happened"
"Just happened? As in jumping on ea-"
"As in working for a project" Roy corrected her before saying anything stupid. Not like she wasn't right, their first 'interaction', as he liked to put it, was after being too drunk to think clearly, but nonetheless, he didn't want to hear it. Though he might consider doing it that again, it was rather interesting, angry, vengeful sex... he made a new mental note.
"A project" Al stated more than asked, implying he wanted to hear more about it. Ed frowned and cut bitterly "Very secret"
Roy kicked his foot under the coffee table, making the older of the brothers jump a little. "Yes, we had a very big and important collaboration, you might have heard about it. It earned our previous promotion"
"Oh, that" Al made. He read about his brother's contribution to the alchemy and he could say he was impressed by the way of things. It was most interesting how they managed to combine two completely different skills to compile a new law of transmutation. But that was not the point. He still didn't like Roy for taking advantage of Ed's momentary stupidity, as he unfairly deemed it. "It was very interesting, I didn't get to congratulate you, Roy. Brother showed me some notes"
"Thank you, we worked quite some time for them" Roy said and glanced at Winry, inviting her to say something, anything at all.
"It's really nice seeing the city doing so well. I never thought it would recover so fast after the Promised Day" she said, nodding to Roy. He smiled thankful. "It was quite a rocky road, we've been working like mad since then. The Fuhrer helped a lot, we wouldn't have done so much without him"
Al shifted in his place and cupped the glass harder. "The Fuhrer seems very active"
Ed moved his eyes from his brother to his lover, who was seated in front of the other on opposite couches. Next to Al, Winry looked at Roy with big eyes, almost kind, and listened to his words with great understanding. And him, on an armchair, felt like throwing himself out of the window. Why did he agree to the invitation, come again?
The conversation continued without being heard by Ed, whose ears suddenly went deaf, and eyed Winry rather strangely when she asked him something. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention"
"Ah, you lovesick. We were taking about what a kid you were a little time ago"
"I wasn't! I'm older than you anyway" he pouted, but not as bubbly as he used to. Winry grinned, winking. "By now, you would've strangled me. You've grown, Ed, don't you say, Roy?"
"Hm?" he raised his brows. "Oh, yes, definitely. He's quite manageable"
"See?" she elbowed Al in the stomach. "Told ya they're not that bad" Ed blushed slightly. "Winry!"
"Stop it, Ed, you're not fooling anyone. Actually, I've been extremely curious about something... how does it go between you two? I mean, you're both guys. I mean, I know how it goes, but how is it for you?"
Ed's flushness only grew, causing him to choke on his drink. He burnt everywhere, especially in the cheeks. Why that of all the questions?! "Err...?"
"I don't mean to budge in, you know, but I was curious..."
"Winry, I don't think there's any need to ask such things" Al said with a small voice. He was equally embarrassed. The only one who was perfectly fine with the development of the conversation was Roy, who seemed immune to everything after all the mental churning he experienced the entire week. "We formed a very confortable routine, mainly based on our work collaboration"
"That's lame, sheesh, you sure are an old man, Roy" Winry chuckled. "Don't you do anything in your spare time?" she playfully pushed his leg with her knee.
"I should start drinking" Ed mumbled under his breath, barely inaudible. He was so red, he could easily be confused with his coat. Unfortunately, his friend heard him. "Why? He's not good at it? Roy, are you impotent?" she said wide-eyed. Roy nearly spitted in his glass, bursting into a coughing fit. That girl sure knew how to leave a grown man wordless.
Edward and Alphonse watched the duo look at each other with teary eyes. They were trying to hide their amusement, but the brothers were completely fazed. They were so not talking about that.
"Guess not, huh?" Winry said after steadying her breath. She burst into laughter once again. "Good God, that image in my head! Damn..." she said and gestured for her stomach, subtly mimicking a bulge and then pointing to Ed. Without realising, she hit a sore spot, but Roy laughed nonetheless, not flinching one bit. The image in his head was rather amusing, despite everything.
Ed swore he was going to turn purple if they kept on going with that. That was when Roy deemed it appropriated to suggest going to arrange what they've prepared for serving, and subtly reached for Winry to follow him. The mechanic followed him to the kitchen.
"Wow, you sure are impressive! How did you manage to make them sit down and not kill each other? And actually, to not get yourself killed? I hid all the knives back at the hotel" she inquired, munching on a muffin she found on the table top.
He smiled and took out some plates. "You forgot I've been putting both of them down for years"
"I guess" she hummed. "Sorry for earlier, you looked like you would fall asleep if I didn't say anything. Still, some things really need to be asked, ya know"
"Yeah, that was really something else. Did I lift off your fears?"
"Completely" she cracked and patted his shoulder. "You know, I don't think you're that bad, Roy. Though I had no idea Ed had anything for you, he was very vocal about you. And I mean really vocal"
"Don't worry, he's as vocal as always, if not worse" Winry quirked an eyebrow and her lips curved mischievously, determining Roy to immediately add "I was talking about cursing me, don't think about anything else, please"
Winry made an awed face, like everything suddenly made sense. "Ow... yeah, seems so. But still, he seems pretty passionate, he spoke really highly about you a few days ago"
"Aham" he made. So his mental gamble was right, they did talk about their relationship before Winry assaulted him in his office. He stirred once more the salad and then placed it on a tray next to the other platters and cutlery. He took out the stuffed roast from the oven and uncovered the steaming vegetables. He hummed in approval after he put the sauce in a small glass bowl.
"Shouldn't I be helping you with anything?" Winry asked, peeking over his shoulder. "Of, you're unnecessarily tall" she said and pushed his shoulder lower.
"No, just lay back and keep me company, don't worry about anything. I'm about ready here; I hope those two didn't do anything too rash, I never thought they could get that bad"
Back in the living room, Edward and Alphonse sat together in a nauseating silence. Ed raised his eyes to his brother, and said hopeful. "It was a joke, that" he rubbed his head. "Winry is just as always"
"Yeah, I guess. She and Roy seem pretty familiar"
"He's familiar with everyone, I wouldn't wonder. You should've seen him at my birthday; we went to his aunt's bar because we didn't have time for anything else. He didn't know most of the customers, but in half an hour he was friend with everyone. Damn, we had some fun, I wish you two were there. You would've had a great time, though I don't know how much you would've remembered of it"
Al tried his best to understand what was so funny in getting wasted and befriending strangers, but, after all, he was the one who used to be in a suit of armour. "You were that drunk?"
"Sure thing. I woke up in the morning with little memory of what happened and a major headache. It was very funny to go to work, all day I rested my head on his shoulder, he propped his body on mine, and we'd signed documents while drinking some good cups of strong coffee. Hawkeye found it very amusing, and she deliberately let things fall on the floor. She said it was accidental, but I bet she did it on purpose"
"She didn't come with you?"
"Of course she came with us, but she didn't drink as much as we did. That reminds me, I think it was the first time I've ever seen Roy that drunk, maybe only when we confused the tranquiliser with the sodium IV. Knox found it very funny. And maybe when we went in the North last time, and that was really something. I still get nauseous"
"Huh, you sound like you had your share of fun" Al still didn't understand what was so fun, but he sported a little smile for the sake of his brother, who looked like he enjoyed his stories.
"You bet we did. Maybe we'll go out drinking one of these days, you should see the man in action. He thinks he makes me jealous, but he's burning with it when I talk to anyone, be it a dog"
Al chuckled. That was something he could relate to, knowing how Roy was always on top of everyone. Now, the brunette didn't sound like such a bad character, maybe he overreacted. "No way!"
"Yes way! He's the most jealous person I've ever seen! I mean, he looks at the others like he'd murder them. And, knowing him, he might" His face lost a bit of its light.
"About that, brother... I don't want to intrude, but what really happened last winter? Was it that bad? You don't need to tell me, but I'm still worried" he shyly said.
"Well, it-" Roy and Winry returned laughing loudly about who knew what. They returned with two trays and they placed them on the hardwood table at the end of the living room. With a sorry look, Ed joined them, helping Winry with the setting of the table. Roy opened another bottle of wine and set it into the designated glasses.
They've eaten slowly, talking mainly about nothings. From time to time, Al glanced at Roy with hidden sorrow, in a way sad for what he presumed he had to experience. Roy smiled every time, and then turned to Ed, nearly engulfing him with his long looks. Ed felt neurotic in his place next to Roy, shivering when they accidentally touched.
Roy gently patted his shoulder, but Ed clenched his muscles too hard and he threw his fork in Winry's plate. She chuckled and retrieved his fork. "Wow, Ed, don't stab me yet! Not at the first date" she laughed.
"Huh?" he made confused.
"Silly, you didn't realise? I guess not, you men are too up your asses. No offence, Roy"
"None taken" Rey replied all-knowingly and took a sip of his red wine. "You were saying?"
"Ah, so you got it! Thanks God, I'm not mad, though with such oblivious lots, I don't know where I'm getting. Didn't you notice we, at this table, are all in couples, kind of? I think? Ya see?"
Roy snorted at the remark. "The finest observer of them all, you are. If you are so observant, may I burrow you to get the dessert? That is, if anyone hasn't got any objections"
"No, they don't. Anything for dessert! What did you prepare?" Winry said and jumped off her chair.
"Actually, we prepared. Edward mainly licked the cream off the bowls, but still..."
"Oh, shut it, I was supervising you not to burn anything" Ed pouted and set his head on the table with big innocent eyes.
"Sure thing, right, Al? You remember when you and Ed almost burnt Granny's kitchen when we were little?"
Al shrugged, not really into the joyful mood the two in-laws set... he shivered. It was such a strange thing, thinking of Roy like that. He looked at Ed, who threw Roy a deep look as he tried to deny the facts. Roy's eyes suddenly lit up, smiling fully in their darkness. It was the first time Al saw them like that, that pureness in them, without that unreadable exterior. He turned his eyes back to Winry, and the black orbs hardened back into their shallow falseness, one that would make any woman blush in ecstasy and any superior feel kissed up the ass and important. The eyes that so easily lied to everyone, his hidden weapon. Those few sparse seconds, Roy looked incredibly sincere and, he'd dare say, beautiful, though that was not a good word. He kind of understood what Edward saw in the man.
"Well, Winry, you really have to tell me, I need more blackmail material" Roy said and bumped her forearm. She chuckled. "My pleasure, I have so many good stories, he'll hate me" she laughed and grabbed his arm and they went to the kitchen to take the rest of the food.
"They are really getting well together, I wouldn't have guessed" Al breathed in. "Let's gather the plates, brother"
"Oh, yes" he answered absently. Edward took the plates and pilled them on the tray. "You know, I'm happy you came here with Winry. Roy actually put a lot of soul and determination into dusting and cooking last night, we came back home very late yesterday from work"
"Yeah, it was delicious; I will tell him after dessert. I can't praise him yet if it isn't as good as the rest, right?"
"Right you are" Edward ruffled his hair with fondness in his eyes. Alphonse was still a little taller than him, and he supposed that's how it would always be. He gave up the hope of growing a long time ago, and in a way he preferred it like that, not that he would vocally admit it. He enjoyed it when Roy pulled him up and carried him through the house like he was some frail porcelain doll, or when he had to stand on his toes to reach for his face to kiss him. They were perfect how they were, and at the moment, his face said it all.
"I haven't seen you smiling like that in such a long time, brother" Al noted. "What are you thinking of?"
"Me? Nothing!"
"I bet you're thinking how good this is going to be!" Roy commented from the door, Winry peeking behind him with a watering mouth. He came with a new tray in his arms and placed it on the table.
"Hope you'll enjoy this, Al, we've thought of you when we did it!" Roy presented him a big piece of apple tart with home-made vanilla ice cream. Despite the simple looks of the recipe, he took great pride into his perfect taste matching. He called it family heritage, a specific trait he took from his mother. From the great tales he heard from his aunt, the Xingese were very proud of their realisations.
"Hm, it looks good, Roy!" the younger blond admitted. "But apple? How did that make you think of me?"
He smiled. It was in reminder of the promise of eating apple pie with Hughes when the two brothers would get their bodies back, the promise he heard from Gracia one long and lonely night, the promise that never came into life. It wasn't something to talk over dinner, and he knew his friend wouldn't have wanted to see him sad when he were supposed to be cheerful. The time of mourning was left behind too much time ago to unbury it.
"Let's eat before it melts!" Roy replied and 'attacked' his piece of tart. "Indeed, with all due modesty, I'm so good at this" he hummed, earning some good natured laughter from the table.
"The charmer" Winry whistled and clapped her hands mockingly. Ed smiled at Roy, and stroked his tight under the table.
"Come on, praise me on something" Roy sulked at the loss of touch.
"On what? You praise yourself enough for everyone" his lover bit back and kicked his knee as to accentuate his point.
"Guess that's the way of the military, huh?" Winry suggested expectantly.
"What can I say, if a soldier didn't bark how good he was, where'd the world go? No unfair promotions and underpaid extra hours, that'd be awful! Survival at one's fittest, as a good friend would say, though under other circumstances" the brunette winked at Ed. He snorted. "Damn that woman, I hope he chokes on her bad overpriced coffee"
"Hm? Are you talking about Major Armstrong's sister? How is the Major General?" Al asked. Edward rolled his eyes. "Same bitch as ever"
"Brother! She helped us a lot!"
"Yeah, and she never ceases to remind me" he retorted and fell back on his chair with a great sigh. "She scares me when she finds the urge to appear out of nowhere at our doorstep in the middle of the night and kick me out of my own bed so she could sort her ammunition. She's got some screws loose, no wonder you two bastards get along so well" he glares at Roy, who finds the need to explain. "She has very poor time management" As if that was the problem.
"She seemed so when we stayed up in the North, she was awake almost all night and fell asleep on her papers in the morning. She was very lucky to have the Major with her, he usually woke her up when she was in the danger of slipping on her sword when she fell asleep cleaning it" Al remembered the more shady memories of Olivier. She wasn't the type to be careless, but even great minds grew tired from time to time, even her. Or at least that was what she was promoting about her habits.
The blond alchemist snorted. "Oh, yeah, let's all thank Miles" He elbowed Roy's stomach, who wasn't too far from spitting what he was chewing from laughter. He swallowed "Always thank Miles" he corrected. "Because you were asking, she is doing great, and is currently working on an accord with Drachma. She's still married to her work, most of the time, that is" Roy added on better judgement.
"That woman's not in the slightest sane, how can she stay in that cold? I've frozen my ass off when I was held up there!" Winry shook at the reminder of coldness. "I'd be drunk to warm up all the time, despite I'm not that much of a drinker"
"Oh, definitely, right Ed? Oh, I haven't told you-"
"No, no, you bastard, don't you dare" Ed stopped his lover from telling anything too embarrassing about their last visit at Fort Briggs. He, or more likely his big mouth, challenged Olivier Armstrong to have a drinking contest with him and his lover. Miles promptly refused their game, not that he feared to lose, he was a good drinker, but because there had to be someone responsible enough not to let those three alone with booze. Actually, more for surveying Armstrong and Roy, whom he knew how much damage could do together.
Roy bit Ed's hand, which was efficiently covering his mouth. The younger alchemist snatched it and patted it with care. "Ouch, cut those damn teeth"
"Too bad, you'll tell us another time" Winry said. Roy nodded. "Aye, aye, Ma'am"
"Are you plotting against me now? Brother! Let's team up against these two"
Al lowered his gaze, unsure what to say. "Well, alright. Though I don't see what we could do"
"Protect the Elric pride, Al! Duh!"
Winry grinned, her eyes glowing with mischief. "That's a deal, guys. What do you say, Roy? Do we beat their sorry asses?"
"Beat them? That's small words" he replied and ruffled Ed's ponytail. "We destroy them!"
They were all laughing, feeling like a family at last. Not the most functional family, but they had time to work on it.
The wonders that a partially clouded mind and a full belly could do.
XXXXX
Night slowly crept at their window. Inside the house, the four of them were laughing at old stories, remembering the many things they have experienced during their long trials. Al loosened up greatly, feeling more at ease in Roy's presence, and even joked with him. Maybe he wasn't that bad, and at least he wasn't some faceless stranger. They've known each other for years, and they knew what to expect from the other. It couldn't be that bad, and perhaps he might consider fully forgiving Ed for forgetting to mention some very important aspects of his life.
The phone started to ring loudly in the back of the room. Roy excused himself and answered the phone. Back at the table, the three friends were talking about their happy childhood. Ed smiled brightly at the memories and turned to look at Roy, wanting to share the happiness. But Roy couldn't see him, he was frowning and biting his lips. He talked fast, his mouth shaping words in a relentless pace. As wanting to shield himself, he turned his back to the audience, ending the conversation soon after. He ripped a small piece of paper and pushed it into his pocket. He returned to the table, his face lightening forcefully, and slid back to his place.
"Ah, it's gotten so late! You must be tired, we should get going" Winry suggested, seeing how late it has gotten.
Roy shook his head. "Oh, no, don't. We have all the time, it's the end of the week after all. You know what I've been thinking? If you want, we could go to my aunt's club. She always complains how I should take more people out for a drink, and you could meet her"
Winry looked at her husband for an answer. They looked at each other and nodded. "Why not, what harm could it make?" he replied.
"Then it's settled. Leave the dishes there, we'll clean later" Ed waved his hand at the table and stood up.
At the pub, everyone recognised the most loyal client of them all, welcoming him with salutes and jokes. He swam through the crowd, followed closely by Ed and his family, and stopped at the end of the great shady room, in front of the long bar.
"Ah, the return of the wanderer son. Still remember the way, I see" the great lady said behind the smoke of her floral scented cigars.
"I would never dare to forget it, Madame" Roy replied and kissed her cheek smirking.
"Oh, Edward, great to see you again, and you must be Alphonse and Winry. Am I correct?" Chris asked as she gently waved the smoke away.
"Please meet my aunt, Madame Christmas" the nephew introduced his sibling. She crooked a smile and extended her hand to the new-comers, who warily accepted it. "Don't be so tight, I'm not going to eat you. What nonsensical things have you told them about me, Roy?"
"Nothing too harmful, rest assured. Well, dear darling, is there any remote place available for us so we won't get into your feet?"
"How remote, my Roy-boy? Don't forget I might be indulgent, but not that much" she said and crooked her index finger inviting her guests follow her in the back of the club.
"Hah, nonsense, you're imagining things" Roy caressed her shoulder fondly and subtly slipped a note into her blouse. She pointed her hand to a private stool. "There you go, I'll send Rita to take your order"
"Thank you, Chris" Edward said and received a warm smile. "Have fun, but not that much, I'm still angry for your 'interior redecoration' from last time. I don't need another one" she glared at Roy and Ed, who both raised their hands in defence. "Winry, Alphonse, it is great meeting you. I'll see you around later, have a good time" she finally said and left them be.
The air was heavy scented, but not disturbingly so. Low music was playing softly in the background, lulling the customers into a pleasant state of mind. "It's a really nice place, though I must say your aunt looks like the real deal" Winry gasped, gazing at her rich surroundings. For all its worth, the club was very tasteful.
"Yeah, she leaves that kind of impression on people. But she's not harmful"
"Not that much" Ed commented.
"Not that much" Roy agreed. "I thought she'd throw me out of the window after last time"
"I would've thrown you out of the window after last time if I could. But obviously I couldn't" Ed rolled his eyes and brushed off some invisible dust off his coat, annoyed by the reminder of their latest night out.
"Guys, you're too shady even for my taste" Winry said as she searched thought the menu. "What's with this last time? Sounds pretty wild"
Ed and Roy looked at each other. "One must not ask about the last time" The four of them burst into laughter. "You two sure don't get bored" she eyed them one more time and waved her hand to the waitress to place her order.
XXXXX
Chris Mustang sent Rita, one of the waitresses, to take their order as she promised. With a sly smile, she returned to the bar and exited through a back door leading to a hall. She thought of her adoptive son, the boy who always wanted more and took everything he could, sometimes more. She was happy with Ed; he was a smart person and a good presence, always being there to confront Roy over the most foolish of things. They completed each other well, maybe too well on certain aspects. They reminded her a lot of her brother and his wife, the two jokers. Such pity it was, that they had to leave so much behind and die such a death, protecting their child from the mad man who was supposed to love him.
All in all, she could say she was proud of her boy.
After walking the corridor, she entered the last room and closed it carefully behind herself. From her breast, she extracted the note Roy gave her and unfolded it. She carefully read it, wondering what made him so daring into giving her the news so fast.
She frowned.
"Well, damn" she said and lit her lighter letting the small piece of paper fall into the hot flames of red fire. Could problems ever stop?
Well, that's too bad, she thought and let a cloud of smoke tumble into the thin air.
Too bad.
A/N: Pow-pow. Yup, that's it for now, until the next time. I hope you liked this, and please don't forget to leave me a review, favourite and follow. It really keeps me going and I thank you for reading!
See you soon with another... chapter. This doesn't rhyme, heh :D