It had been a harder day than most, and Roy was showing it, at least to Ed’s eyes. When they got back to his office he went to lean his head against the window and didn’t move.
He didn’t often show this kind of stress even to Ed, and Ed was worried.
“We’re done for the day, Edward-kun. You should go home.” The flat tone of Roy’s voice didn’t make Ed any less worried, and he made a snap decision. He’d thought it over for long enough. He was sure of himself. He knew he would have to speak some time. For both of their sakes, let it be now.
“No.”
After a pause Roy lifted his head and turned to look at Ed with an expression somewhere between bemused and displeased. “Excuse me?”
“I said, no.” Before Roy’s expression could decide which way to go Ed gathered his courage and crossed the room to lay his hands on Roy’s shoulders.
“I’m getting tired of watching this, Shousho. Watching you do this to yourself and hold everyone at arm’s length, except Hughes, and pay with a little more of your self every damn day.” Roy’s eyes darkened, and Ed tightened his grip as if that could make Roy listen to him. “Let me help.”
“Edward-kun,” Roy began, only to break off as Ed lifted his left hand to touch Roy’s face. At that his eyes widened slightly.
“Did you really think I could watch you do this, see what it costs you, and not—not start to care?” Ed lowered his hand to Roy’s shoulder again and rested his forehead on the back of it. “If you say anything like ‘It’s only a crush’,” he added, “I am going to hurt you.”
Roy’s shoulders twitched as if with a stifled snort of laughter.
“I’ve considered the possibility that it’s just a crush, except that I’ve had crushes and they weren’t like this. I’ve considered that it might just be hormones, but I’m not looking at anyone else this way. I’ve thought whether it could just be admiration for my teacher, except that you’ve already said I know just about all you can teach me.” Ed took a deep breath. “And I’ve certainly considered the fact that you’re fourteen years older than me, and my sponsor and commander here, and I don’t care.”
Roy’s hands came up to settle lightly on his back. “Edward, do you know what you’re offering?”
That induced Ed to look up with a glare. “Oh, tea and cookies, of course, what else could I possibly mean?” he snapped.
A laugh fought its way past Roy’s exhaustion and tension. “Ah, I’m relieved to see that it really is you after all. I’d thought for a moment that I must have a changeling in my office.”
Ed made a grumpy sound and ignored Roy as much as he could without letting go.
“Are you sure?” Roy asked.
Ed turned back to him. There was the pain he’d gotten better at seeing in the dark eyes, and something that might be hope if Roy let it.
“I’m sure.”
Roy’s arms closed tight around him, pulling him hard against Roy, and the heat of his body, of his breath against Ed’s ear was a shock.
“Are you sure, Ed?” Roy asked again, very softly.
Ed had to try twice before he managed to reply. “Yes…”
Roy lowered his head to rest against Ed’s. Brief shudders had started to run through him, and his arms tightened further around Ed. It took Ed a moment to gather his wits sufficiently to wind his own arms around Roy and hold him. It took longer for the shudders to stop, while Ed hesitantly smoothed Roy’s hair.
“I will never doubt Maas’ judgment in personal matters again,” Roy said at last, a bit muffled.
Ed opened and closed his mouth a few times. “He told you?” he rasped.
Roy raised his head and looked down at Ed with a faint smile. “Some time ago.”
“That… that… snake!” Ed’s indignant sputtering was preempted when Roy ran a finger down his jaw, set it under his chin and lifted Ed’s head the inch necessary for Roy to kiss him.
Roy’s lips on his were soft and slow, the brush of his tongue electric. Ed opened his mouth under Roy’s, catching his breath at the sinuous heat as Roy wound the fingers of one hand into Ed’s hair and deepened the kiss.
Ed had no idea how long it was before Roy drew back, sucking lightly on Ed’s lower lip before letting him go. “Roy,” he breathed, and opened his eyes.
Roy stroked Ed’s hair back. “Will Alphonse and Winry worry if you aren’t home this evening?” he asked.
“No. It’s happened often enough. If I’m not back for lunch tomorrow Al will start asking at the libraries for me.”
Roy smiled. “That’s my scholar. That being the case… will you come home with me tonight?”
Ed shivered at the heat in Roy’s eyes. “Yes.”
It wasn’t a long walk to Roy’s house. They both made it with their hands tucked into their pockets, though they walked close enough that their shoulders brushed. Once inside, coats and gloves shed, Roy offered Ed his hand to lead him upstairs.
Ed felt a bit shy as they undressed each other, and concentrated on his hands. When they finally stood together with nothing between them Roy took Ed’s face in his hands and coaxed him to look up.
“Have you ever done this before?” he asked gently.
“No,” Ed smiled a bit. “I always had too many other things to be doing.”
Roy’s thumb stroked his cheekbone. “I am honored,” he said, voice low.
His sincerity affected Ed more severely than his kiss had earlier. They were only a hand span apart, and it was too far. Ed reached out and spread his hands against Roy’s chest. Roy breathed in quickly before running his own hands down Ed’s back, drawing him closer. Roy tugged loose Ed’s hair tie and his fingers combed Ed’s hair down. Shivers rippled over Ed, simple sensation rapidly becoming overwhelming.
“Roy,” Ed whispered
He was glad when Roy responded to his unspoken request and caught him close, because he didn’t think he could be any more coherent just now and he really needed something to lean on. He was more pleased when Roy drew him down to the bed; with a solid surface under him and Roy leaning over him he felt far more secure.
Secure enough to tug Roy down for a kiss.
Things became disjointed from that point.
Roy’s mouth seemed to be the only thing holding him down to the bed, as he arched up seeking the heat of Roy’s body above him. The touch of Roy’s hands lingered on his skin until he wasn’t entirely sure where Roy was touching him at any one moment.
At least until Roy’s hand moved between his legs.
Every sense he had narrowed down to Roy’s mouth against his, Roy’s tongue curling against his, beckoning, Roy’s fingers stroking him, circling, Roy’s palm closing around him.
And then Roy’s mouth left his and Roy’s hand slid further back, and heat surrounded Ed. He strained up, into that heat, sliding against him like fire made liquid, and it flooded him completely.
Ed lay, after, panting for breath as Roy stretched out beside him. He turned and buried his head against Roy’s chest, and Roy held him, rocking him just a bit. Ed was glad that Roy seemed to have expected him to be overwhelmed and non-verbal for a while.
After he’d collected himself somewhat he raised his head to look inquiringly at Roy.
“Roy? Are you…” his vocabulary failed him, but Roy seemed to catch his meaning.
“Just fine,” he assured Ed.
“You’re… sure?” Ed was trying very hard not to blush.
A glint of mischief entered Roy’s eye as he took one of Ed’s hands and guided it down.
“Ah.” Ed was sure he was blushing now. Roy had, however, unmistakably taken his pleasure from the evening too.
On reflection, Ed wasn’t really surprised he hadn’t noticed. He wasn’t sure he’d have noticed a brass band on the back of a waltzing hippo for most of the time Roy had been touching him. He settled back down on Roy’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Ed,” Roy murmured in his ear.
“Mmm,” Ed said without moving. “…you too.”
Roy’s fingers carded through his hair, and Ed wasn’t sure when he drifted off to sleep.
End
*sparkle at you* Me like! And I so picture Sakki’s version of Ed here. And how he physically interacts with Roy in those pics, too. Very very sweet. *more sparkles*
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! [dies of happiness] [fangirls from beyond the grave] SQUEE!
Wonderful and beautiful. I really like the way this fic turned out. It had a lot of promise and I’m glad that it held up to it.
By the way, do you use AIM at all?
Glad you liked!
Erm, no… what is it?
AIM, you know, AOL Instant Messenger? Like Yahoo Messenger or IRC?
Ah! No, actually, I’ve stayed away from those ever since some bad experiences in the very early days of chat and IRC. They moderately terrify me. I’m really very timid, all appearances to the contrary aside. And those… tend to go too fast; when I can’t see the other person I like to think about my responses. (Unless, of course, I’ve gone completely postal, in which case I don’t think at all and it’s a bad thing.)
*_* Lovely. I’m terribly jealous, though. May I print up a copy and write “Angela” across all those “Roy”s?
*snerk* Oh, sure you can. Isn’t that what we’re all doing in our heads, anyway, one way or another, with stories like this?
0_o
*brain broke from pretty fic*
Glad you liked it!
You write good.
O___O It’s so SHINY and SPARKLY and ANGSTY and PRETTY….. *incoherent*
You = a deity.
This fic = a piece of art, and a fandom milestone.
Yes.
@____@ Shiiiinyyy….. *paws at fic*
*blushing*
*small voice* Thank you!
I’m totally speechless really.
I love your writing and about a million other things. I can totally see Ed with the ability to be as manipulative as Roy but still soft enough to be all ;_______; about it.
And Gracia, Ed, and the hair combing scene… That was just absolutely gorgeous. Definately one of my favorite scenes overall.
And have I mentioned how much I love your Roy? Yes, ahem. I do. I really, really do. Like copious amounts. *O*
I love Gracia, I really do. One of these days she’ll elbow her way to the front of the fic-line. In the meantime, she does cool scenes in other characters’ stories.
Thanks!
That… was absolutely lovely. What a wonderful thing to have when home sick. <3 You have by far made this whole stuffy, dizzy experience much more enjoyable.
And you’ve got to be the first author to let Ed grow that much. *chuckle* And his outfit! A white coat – what cut is it? The same as his old one? *brainstorming*
My favorite chapter had to be seven. Kudos to you for being one of the wittiest writers I’ve ever enjoyed. *rolls* And the execution… as tense as that was, it took my breath away.
And I could *see* Roy resting his forehead against Ed’s…
*melts into puddle of goo before sneezing and remembering she’s sick and needs to go back to bed.*
*sends healthy thoughts* Yes, staying in bed is good. Good that I could help a little, too!
Got to admit, I had fun writing seven; I miss that kind of thing…
Coat… unbelted trench-coat sort of thing, no tailoring, drapes nicely.
beautiful. hit all of what I love about the roy/ed pairing- the understanding, the tensions, their own needs to make the choices that affect them, even the bad choices, and how very similar they are. despite the student/teacher relationship through much of this, a strong sense of equals came though, which is just how i like it.
*sparkles* Thank you! That was just what I was going for, when I wrote this; it’s great to hear that it worked.
Amazing. Just great characterization. You really grasped what Roy thinks like, and how Ed would react to that.
*pleased* Thank you! This was my first long fma fic that went into depth on their characterization; it’s really great to hear it still rings true.
*roy* “do you know what your offering?”
*ed* “oh, tea and cookies, of course, what else could I possibly mean?!”
sounds just like ed
*grins* Thank you! I did have a lot of fun with Ed in this one.
I love this one. It’s quite unlike any other I’ve read. Good job! Yay!
Thank you, it’s great to hear you enjoyed it!
Normally I don’t write comments ’cause I’m a lazy, lazy fangirl, but I just had to say something here instead of just quick commenting.
This was actually the first of your fanfiction I ever read, gosh, a few years ago. I adored this story, the characterization was so very on spot for me, I just fell in love and had to read more of what you wrote. I adore your writing, and have read most of your fics, but I always come back to this one and find I enjoy it just as much as the first time. Thank you for writing such wonderful things, it’s been a great pleasure to read and I look forward to whatever else you write next.
*blushing* Thank you so much! It’s really wonderful to hear something like that, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying my stories!
you know that brain-explodie feeling you get when you read something that just works unbelievably well? Yeah. Plot, characterization, the seriousness, the humor, everything just Fits. Ed and Roy are so incredibly real the way you write them; it’s so lovely to read that when it stops, your brain just kinda goes “asdfghjklmoar.” Thank you for restoring my faith in fanfiction authors. I’m gonna go re-read this and watch my brain melt again. 😀
*just glows* Thank you very much!
*laughing* I think my own brain did a little of that, because I couldn’t resist writing more that picks up, like, the next morning.
It’s over?! Holy shit, i thought there would be another chapter but it did leave off at a really fluffy part~ I enjoyed seeing Edward mature into what he is now, from the hot-tempered teen to a dangerous, tempered young man.
*laughing* Well, sort of over. The next story in the arc picks up the next morning! And turns even fluffier.
It’s lovely to hear you enjoyed it!
This is lovely. I didn’t even realize that this was going to be Roy/Ed when I started reading it, but the lead up and their gradually shifting relationship was fantastic. I also love Hughes, Al, and Winry in this – your characterization is just perfect.
Thank you! This was a fun one to write, twining the politics together with the romance; it’s lovely to hear it works out so well for you!
God, why do they always have to end?!?! Keep writing! Love Eds tea and cookies line.