Roy stood in front of Maria Ross. She hadn't seen him yet, she was running towards him, looking behind her as she frantically tried to escape her chasers.
The moment she caught sight of him she froze, her eyes blowing wide in fear. Her prison tag clinked around her wrist, reminding Roy of just what he had come here to do.
"I didn't do it!" she pleaded. She stared at him with such fear, and Roy stared back blankly.
He knew. He knew she didn't kill him.
Roy pulled the dummy corpse out of the dumpster, and with a snap of his fingers the fire surged between them, making her lift her arms to protect herself.
"We don't have much time." Alchemic energy sparking from his fingertips; a habit of his he didn't think he would ever fully outgrow. He came to stand right in front of her, burning off her prison tag and holding onto it.
Ross was hesitating, eyes wide, but a noise behind her had her looking up at Roy pleadingly. It was either certain death or potential death. She chose wisely.
He helped her into the dumpster. Havoc was waiting right where he told him to. He knew what he had to do.
Standing alone in that same alleyway, the dummy corpse burnt to a crisp, he waited. The metal tag glinted in the moonlight, the only part of her that would be identifiable.
He listened to the footsteps coming closer. The MPs would arrive, and he would tell them he had taken justice into his own hands and burned this woman to death. The woman who killed his best friend.
The footsteps were close, finally—
A long, blond braid caught his eye, and he pursed his lips.
Fullmetal.
Once he spotted Roy, he stared at the blackened corpse in absolute shock.
Goddammit. Fullmetal hadn't been part of his plan.
But Roy knew what he had to do. He stuffed his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. "She got what she deserved."
"She didn't do it!" Edward growled at him in anger and rushed forward, grabbing Roy by his collar and momentarily catching him off guard. "She didn't fucking do it!"
He hadn't been planning on punching him, but Edward fell to the floor and glared at him, his cheek red—it would bruise. The MPs were closer now, and Roy had to play the part. He wouldn't let Fullmetal ruin the plan. "Assaulting a commanding officer? How dare you."
"You bastard," he seethed, staring at the supposed corpse of Maria Ross, his golden eyes glinting with tears. He rushed forward, and Roy couldn't move, even though Edward was most definitely going to punch him—
But just as he had been bracing for the impact, Alphonse grabbed hold of him and held him back. "Brother, you can't!"
"He killed Ross, Al! How could you, you bastard!" he yelled at Roy, as Alphonse gasped at the blackened corpse.
Forgive me. The words rang out in his mind. But the Elrics couldn't hear them.
Roy watched those expressive golden eyes glare at him. In hate. Disappointment.
He was used to people hating by now. What was one more person?
A wave of awareness crept up on him, and he realised it was Ed, now, who was looking at him. His Ed. Not sixteen year old Fullmetal. It was Ed.
Ed seemed to realise it at the same time, because the hateful expression left, and he blinked, momentarily surprised to be here.
It didn't matter. Whether sixteen or nineteen, Roy expected Ed to hate him.
Roy blinked, slightly disoriented. A sharp pain in his neck had him wincing, and he shifted position, realising he wasn't lying in his bed, but had his face resting in his arms.
He straightened, grimacing at the pain in his back and neck.
He was in the kitchen, sitting at the table. He'd fallen asleep at the kitchen table.
For fuck's sake.
Ed was in front of him, sitting in the chair opposite him. He blinked bleary eyes at him, then rubbed them with his hands. He stifled a yawn and straightened. "Ah, fuck, we fell asleep," he grumbled, stretching in his seat.
Roy's head was still slightly foggy, the dream's effect having not worn off just yet. He recalled it clearly, and knew for a fact Ed did too.
After their conversation in the morning, Ed had seemed much more comfortable around him. Roy had been slightly apprehensive at first, but Ed acting normal put him at ease. He wondered if Ed knew, if he was doing it on purpose.
Roy had wanted a full update on Ed's research on the bond, and thus the next few hours had been spent with Ed explaining his sketches, his theories, his limitations and frustrations. When they had fallen asleep, Roy couldn't pinpoint. He just recalled a sudden wave of tiredness taking over that made putting his head in his hands and closing his eyes seem like paradise.
He glanced at the clock; it was almost 5PM.
If it hadn't been for the dream, he would've been grateful Saturday was passing so quickly. Less time to be spent agonising over his body's betrayal and being in close proximity to Ed, which was proving harder than he ever thought possible.
Only Sunday to go.
"You okay?" Ed asked. Roy realised he'd been absently watching him redo his ponytail in silence. Like a creep.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice gruff from sleep. He didn't take his eyes off him, however. A moment passed where they just stared at each other, and Roy felt like an awful human being.
Perhaps it was the dream's lingering effect on him, the emotions it had stirred in him negative and self-condemning, but he felt the need to apologise to Ed. For the things he'd said, the things he'd done.
For being such an awful person to be soul bonded to.
It was all fun and games teasing Ed about being the bane of his existence, about him eating all his food and spending all his money, but Roy was aware he was probably extremely mentally taxing on Ed. And he hadn't really said anything about it.
Guilt ate away at him, and he watched the moment Ed felt it through the bond. He furrowed his brow, and a gentle concern flowed through to Roy.
Alphonse had been right; Ed truly was kind.
And Roy didn't deserve that kindness. The hesitation to utter the two words reminded him of that. He wasn't sure why he was struggling to say them. Perhaps it was because a commanding officer didn't usually apologise to a subordinate, even though Roy had apologised to Ed before. For the bond, for keeping him away from his family.
But it was different apologising for a situation, and completely different apologising for the shitty person that he was. Apologising as Roy.
Perhaps it was his pride that was stopping him. He had plenty of that sin too.
He pushed the words out anyway. "I'm sorry."
Ed blinked at him, his eyebrows rising just slightly. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His eyes searched Roy's face for a hint as to what exactly he was apologising for. He let out a breath when he found nothing but a blank slate. "For…?"
Roy averted his gaze. "For everything, I suppose." When he sat and thought about it, he had a lot to apologise to Ed for—the dream had reminded him of one of many moments.
He had truly been a bastard to him, for too long, and he was paying for it now in the way the self-hatred settled in his stomach like a rock. And the worst thing about him was, he couldn't be certain that he wouldn't be a bastard to him again; if anything, it was guaranteed he would be.
Such was his nature.
A warm feeling flowed through the bond. A feeling Roy had felt before, coming from Ed, but had ignored it. A caring warmth, a fondness he'd never thought he'd be the recipient to.
His chest squeezed in response to it, his feelings battling inside him. A part of him was rejecting it, felt he didn't deserve an emotion so pure. But another part of him just wanted to melt into it, to cling to it and truly accept that Ed cared for him.
"You know, that was probably the one time I thought you weren't who I thought you were. That I'd got it wrong."
He was talking about the dream. Roy kept his eyes on his face, searching—what for, he wasn't entirely sure. "You hated me."
Ed's eyes dropped shamefully to the table. "For a second, maybe. I don't know."
Roy nodded, accepting that truth. He deserved it, anyway.
Ed glanced back up at him just as a knock on the front door echoed loudly to the kitchen.
Roy cleared his throat and stood, avoiding Ed's eyes. "I should get that." Then, he paused, looking Ed over. "Put on pants at least. Please."
He didn't wait for Ed to reply, and in a few strides he was opening the front door. He was aware his uniform was slightly wrinkled from his nap at the kitchen table, and it bothered him a bit more than it should.
The moment he fully opened the front door, he was assaulted in a hug, long brown hair hitting his face, its fragrance along with it.
It was a fragrance he knew very well.
Vanessa.
The force of her hug knocked him back a few steps, and he put his hands around her waist to stop them from toppling over.
"Roy!" She laughed, steadying herself by putting her hands on his shoulders.
He should've been expecting her, really, after his conversation with Stella, but he had forgotten. He'd had other things on his mind…
"Vanessa," he acknowledged, a hint of a smile on his face. He hadn't seen her in too long. "It's good to see you."
She grinned at him, taking him in for a strong hug again until he could barely breathe. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
Pure jealousy flowed through the bond, and Roy was looking in Ed's direction before he'd realised what he was doing. Ed stood at the bottom of the stairs positively glowering at them, his hands awkwardly in his sweatpants's pockets.
Roy grinned despite himself, a touch of evil entertainment and anticipation blooming in his chest. Ed was jealous. And it was exciting him in ways it really shouldn't.
Ed's eyes flashed in anger at his grin and excitement, and Roy could almost hear the 'bastard' being spat out at him. Perhaps they were developing some sort of telepathy.
He looked back to Vanessa, his grin morphing into a smirk. "It truly has been too long."
She chuckled and untangled herself from him, closing the door behind her. "I've been informed of your, ah, predicament."
Roy straightened, feeling Ed's jealousy through the bond and the surge of energy he felt in response to it. He felt giddy. He felt in control. "Yes," he started, glancing at Ed. "Where I go, the leech follows."
Ed glared at him. Vanessa laughed.
He'd been pictured plenty of times with Vanessa; he went out with her most out of all his sisters. Vanessa was his only older sister, and they had been close since they were kids. Most of his other sisters he'd met later on, in his teens or early adulthood, but he and Vanessa had grown up together. Did Ed recognise her as one of his regular dates? Did he remember their conversation about Roy going out mostly with his sisters?
Did he assume Vanessa wasn't a sister of his?
Vanessa's hand on his chest had him looking back at her. "You should pass by the bar sometime. We've all missed you."
And just like that, the jealousy dimmed, in its place a mix of confusion and curiosity. Roy's lips twitched upwards at the intel he was getting from the bond. "I will, I've just been busy."
She rolled her eyes. "You're always busy, Roy." Then, she turned her attention to Ed and walked over to him. She extended a hand. "I'm Vanessa. You're Ed, right? I've heard a lot about you."
Ed stared at her extended hand for a moment as though he'd never seen a hand before. Then, he clasped it with his own. "Have you?"
She grinned. "Roy talks about you a lot."
Roy's eyes widened in horror behind her. "I do not."
Vanessa turned around, and Ed raised an eyebrow at him. "You've definitely mentioned the Fullmetal Alchemist to me before."
"It was one conversation, Vanessa."
Vanessa shrugged, turning back to Ed. "Whatever you say, Roy-Boy." She said it with that exasperated tone of hers and gave Ed a look as though he could fully sympathise with her exasperation. Roy was certain he could.
Roy pursed his lips in response. Ed was no longer jealous, probably having guessed Vanessa was some sort of family, and now he just felt an amused curiosity.
"Roy-Boy?" Ed echoed, a smirk forming on his face.
Fucking fantastic.
Vanessa laughed her high-pitched laugh, and winked at Ed. "That's what we all call him." She grinned. "I'm Sister Number One, by the way. And yes that means I'm his favourite."
Roy needed coffee.
"It just means you're the oldest." He walked into the kitchen and switched his coffeemaker on, then leaned against the threshold of the archway with his shoulder and raised a brow at her.
"I'm basically the same age as you!" she fumed, crossing her arms.
Roy smirked. "You're older than me."
Ed's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "You're the little brother?" He looked at Roy as though that fact was still processing. Ed was probably trying to picture Roy and Alphonse in some weird fusion situation.
"I'm only three months older than you!"
Roy's smirk widened. "Whatever makes you feel better, Vanessa," he drawled, and went back to his coffeemaker.
"I hate it when you do that!" he heard her say behind him. She and Ed entered the kitchen after him.
"Do what?" Roy asked innocently.
"Patronise me!" She slapped him on the arm, and then stole his coffee from the counter, giving him an evil smile.
Roy simply took a deep breath and brewed another.
"He does it to everyone," Ed grumbled next to him. Roy turned and raised an eyebrow at him. Ed rolled his eyes.
They both observed Vanessa as she went over to his fridge and got some milk for the coffee she stole. "Don't I know it!" she said to Ed, pouring the milk in the coffee.
Roy turned back to Ed, bracing his hands on the counter as he waited for his second attempt at coffee to be done. "This is what I have to deal with."
Ed smirked, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. "At least I don't steal your milk."
"Or my coffee."
Vanessa sipped her coffee and sighed in contentment. "But how could I not? You buy such fancy, delicious coffee."
Roy rolled his eyes at her and grabbed his own coffee, eager to get to the real reason for her visit. The rumours. "Why are you really here, Vanessa?"
"Mm!" she exclaimed mid sip. "Right! The Madame has heard some talk about you."
Those words were enough for a surge of anxiety to go through him. "I need to sit down for this," he grumbled, walking over to the couch. Vanessa followed, sitting next to him.
Ed leaned against the wall on Roy's left, arms crossed. He wasn't anxious in the slightest that there had been talk about them, but Roy hadn't expected him to be. But at least he could've had the decency to not feel the utter exasperation that was currently flowing through the bond.
"So," Vanessa started, dragging it out. Her minor hesitation to tell him made him all the more anxious. Because she knew him, and her hesitation meant she knew he wasn't going to like whatever she had to say. "People have been connecting the dots that you two are living together."
Well, fuck. This was worse than he'd anticipated.
"Big deal," Ed grumbled from his left. Roy ignored him.
He frowned, taking a gulp from his coffee. He had to understand just how bad it was, so he could determine if he needed an action plan. "Is it just gossip at the moment? Or have people managed to verify it?"
Vanessa grimaced. "Well, the Madame said a couple military people were talking about seeing you walking to work together everyday. You must pass by their route or something. It's mostly routines that are doing the damage. A one off isn't going to cause gossip."
Roy nodded, absently staring at his coffee. Vanessa was right. Him and Ed being somewhere together wasn't weird in and of itself; they were commanding officer and subordinate, and on top of that Flame and Fullmetal. If anything, never been seen together would've been equally as weird as always being together.
But their little routines were what was making it suspicious. Them walking the same route to work and back everyday. Them going to the same store for food at similar times. Them getting lunch from the same place more than once. That was what would make people talk.
Roy could feel Ed's discontent through the bond. It wasn't anger-level yet, but it was definite irritation.
He didn't know why Ed was taking this as personally as he was. It was just what Roy did; he carefully controlled his public image and had conversations with his sisters and aunt about it. If he'd been soul bonded to Havoc or something Roy would've been concerned about gossip all the same. It was other things about this situation that were exclusive to Ed, but it had nothing to do with Roy being seen with Ed as a person that was the problem.
The only thing that could make gossip worse with Ed specifically was his age. And his history with Roy…
Okay, maybe this was a bit more Ed-specific than he was willing to admit.
"It's nothing major at the moment," Vanessa said, placing her mug on the coffee table. "But I would take precautions, just in case."
"Definitely," Roy mumbled. His mind was racing, trying to come up with the best plan. Trying to refute something that was true wasn't a smart idea, so they'd have to roll with it. Roy and Ed were living together; that would now have to be fact. Roy just had to give them a very plausible reason why, that wasn't the truth, and that wouldn't take their minds to…other avenues.
If he played his cards right he could maybe even turn this to his advantage. If he found a reason robust enough that wouldn't be doubtable, he could get himself in the papers, on the front page. More exposure…
"Also, why the hell are you in uniform on a Saturday?"
Roy looked at his sister, eyebrows raised. He was definitely not explaining that.
He shrugged, completely nonchalantly. "I'm always in uniform." It was a half truth anyway.
She huffed, frowning at him. The concern was evident in her eyes, and it made him purse his lips. He didn't need her worrying about him. He was fine. "You work too much, Roy."
"No such thing." He waved a hand dismissing her comment, and took a sip of his coffee.
She let out a breath. "How are you doing, really?"
"I'm fine."
She was silent, studying him with her eyes. But she relented; she knew it was useless to push him anyway. "The Madame told me to tell you that if you don't visit in the next month she will start making Bloody Marys with your blood."
Roy shuddered. "I'll…have to make some time and come over…"
His aunt was terrifying.
"The Madame?" Ed's voice had both him and Vanessa looking over at him. He was still leaning against the wall, seemingly content to simply observe their conversation. "She sounds badass."
Vanessa laughed, loud and happy. "Madame Chris Mustang," she said, grinning at Ed. "Roy's aunt."
Roy shook his head at him. "I don't think badass is the right word."
Ed smirked, raising his eyebrows. "Anyone that has you shaking in fear like that is badass in my eyes."
Roy glared at him. Vanessa laughed again. "Oh, she would love you, Ed."
Dear God, she would.
Ed would be her favourite thing ever.
Roy tried not to shudder again.