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batsutousaiTitle: Reverti Ad Praeteritum
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood/manga
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, post-Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Warnings: Spoilers like whoa, Ed's potty mouth, canon-typical violence, pile 'o OCs, mute!Ed, original character death, angst, fluff, past dub-con, past adultery, Ed has all the guilt
Summary: Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.
Key: "Speech" | 'Mouthing words'
'Writing'
:Sign Language:
"In another language" | 'In another language'
A/N: I'll just be sitting her, smiling, waiting for the screaming to start. Enjoy.
Sorry about the lack of responses to questions. It turned into a bit of a rough couple days, and I haven't had the energy to go through and pick out those who asked things. I'll try to do that either today or tomorrow.
That said, I've absolutely been seeing your reviews, and you people are always and forever awesome and way more than I deserve, so thank you for that. ♥♥
Chapter Twenty
-0-
The drive back into the city went quick, and Ed was – if he was being honest – only a little surprised when Roy parked outside the narrow little townhouse Ed had settled on as his favourite of the options. He shot the bastard a flat look as he shut off the car.
Roy returned a smile that was a little crooked. "Come on," he offered, before stepping out of the car.
Ed huffed a bit and got out himself, looking up at the place as he did. It actually looked pretty okay, in person, though it was hard to really judge in the dark. A couple of lights were on on the ground floor, and Ed tensed when he saw movement in one of the windows, seeking forward for the qi of the person, and coming back with three strangers.
When Roy stepped toward the stoop, Ed grabbed his arm, signing, :Guests?: one-handed when he glanced back with a frown.
Roy let out a quiet cough, his qi a mix of nerves and resignation. "Friends," he promised quietly.
Ed let go and let Roy continue forward, following a little behind and trying to tell himself he didn't need to pull out any weapons. (Was he paranoid if they really were out to get him? Or, well, they would be eventually?)
Almost as soon as Roy had the door open, a female voice called, "Roy?"
"Hello, Helen," Roy called back, holding the door open for Ed.
As Ed let it fall closed behind him, a dark-skinned woman stepped into the foyer, a fond smile on her face. Her and the other two guests' qi were all bright with pleasure, very clearly all caring about Roy, and Ed found himself relaxing; Roy was right, these were friends.
The woman stepped forward, still smiling. "Look at you. Colonel Roy," she said, before pinching his cheek.
Roy let out a resigned sigh, which was a bit lost under Ed's amused cough.
"Oh?" the woman said, letting go of the bastard and peering around him, her smile gentling when she caught sight of Ed. "Hello there, dear."
Roy cleared his throat. "Helen, this is Edward. Is the madam here?"
Oh. Ed got it, understood Roy's nerves, now: This was a 'meet the family' situation, sort of. Well, Ed was getting the chance to meet Roy's aunt, at least, but whether she would understand the importance of meeting Ed or not was entirely up to what Roy told her about him.
Suddenly, Ed was feeling a bit nervous, himself.
"I am!" a voice called from a bit further inside the house. "You're late!"
"Here we go," Roy murmured in Cretan, motioning for Ed to follow him and ignoring Helen's concerned frown.
There were two other women in what appeared to be the living room, a single couch in the middle of the room serving as the only furniture (unless you counted the bare fireplace). The woman sitting on the couch was rather heavyset and had an unlit cigarette between her lips, while the other woman, who was leaning against the other doorway of the room and holding a thin folder in one hand, was thin and pretty, done up like she was expecting to go on a fancy date.
Roy snapped his gloved fingers without being asked, and the cigarette lit with a spark. The heavyset woman caught it between her fingers and pulled it from between her lips, shooting him a sharp smile. "It looks like you haven't lost your touch, Roy-boy."
Ed raised an eyebrow at that, but really couldn't pretend surprise at the proof that Roy'd had a childhood nickname. And, as hers was the voice that had responded to Roy's inquiry about the presence of his aunt, this was likely her. (Not least because both Helen and the other woman looked far too young to be Roy's former guardian, both closer to Roy's physical and Ed's mental ages.)
Roy sighed. "Hello, Madam," he said with that sort of helpless fondness that Ed had observed more than a few times in people over the age of twenty, when they spoke to their parents. "Lucy," Roy called to the other woman, who replied with a smile that was clearly meant to tempt anyone it was aimed at to fall into bed with her.
Either Roy was just too nervous, or he honestly didn't have any interest in Lucy, because Ed couldn't sense any sign of it in his qi. Which was probably cheating and a little rude, but there was that saying about all being fair in love and war. Not that this was either.
(Still a liar.)
Madam Christmas turned to look at Ed, her gaze assessing. "Hello, boy," she offered with a sort of caution that Ed could fully appreciate; she was probably used to working in the shadows and – if she was anything like Roy – hated being surprised by something. Which, well, the bastard bringing home a teenager would definitely be cause for surprise, whether she knew who he was or not; Ed knew Roy didn't trust easily, and there was very little reason for him to trust Ed, so far as most people would be able to tell.
Ed stepped out fully from behind Roy and gave a polite bow in greeting.
Roy cleared his throat. "This is Edward Elric, the Silent Alchemist."
All three women's qi spiked with surprise, mixing with some uncertainty or concern – hard to tell which, with all three and Roy feeling similar emotions – and Madam Christmas' eyes narrowed. "So," she said, her tone bordering on rude, "you're the mute prodigy the military's so proud of."
:Are we talking about the same military here?: Ed signed, rolling his eyes and looking over at Roy. :Because I'm pretty sure most of the brass hates me because of my association with Hughes.:
Roy let out a cough, a flicker of amusement darting through his nervous qi. "I'm fairly certain Brigadier General Clemin's personal opinion of you and Maes is not indicative of the opinion of the military as a whole. There was, indeed, some interest at your and Alphonse's admittance, not least because you were admitted together, and so young."
Ed snorted at that. :That was nine months ago; don't pretend the novelty hasn't worn off.:
"Oh, I'm fairly certain a mute member of the military will continue to be a novelty for quite some time."
Madam Christmas cleared her throat and gave Roy a pointed look.
Roy sighed. "I assume we're clean?"
"What do you take me for?" Madam Christmas demanded, looking insulted as she relaxed back into the couch and took a drag of her cigarette. Her qi was giving her away, a bit, though, as it hunched and shifted like a distrustful cat, unwilling to lose sight of Ed for even a moment.
Roy nodded, glanced around, then sighed again and knelt smoothly on the floor a bit in front of the couch. "I trust Edward, for reasons that should shortly become clear," he said, his voice not quite that confident soldier one that he used with his team, but far more formal than the sometimes-fond-sometimes-strained voice he usually used when they were discussing the coming threat at the Hugheses'. "I told you to keep watch on the brass, and look into the Bradley family?"
Ed frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground like he was considering sitting, rather than worried about the idea of anyone snooping into the Bradleys.
Madam Christmas let out a non-committal hum. "You did."
Roy glanced up at Ed – his qi far less controlled than Ed was used to, almost seeming to puddle around him, reeking of uncertainty and something that might have been an apology – then looked at his aunt. "Edward is the one who warned me there was something amiss."
Madam Christmas shot Ed a sharp look, and he narrowed his eyes in response. "We discovered some interesting facts," she allowed, looking towards Lucy.
"Neither Selim nor King Bradley are human," Roy deadpanned.
A flutter of papers hit the floor, while shock arced through the qi of all three women.
Ed clucked his tongue and, when Roy looked up at him, signed, :Bradley was born human, an orphan, I suspect. The Dwarf in the Flask had them train a number of children to be the perfect Führer, then injected a Philosopher's Stone into their blood. It either killed them, or turned them into a homunculus.:
Roy swallowed, disgust tainting the puddle of his qi. "You forgot to mention that part," he said, trying for a flat tone and just sounding kind of strained.
Ed grimaced. :Sorry. It wasn't really important. He's a homunculus, now, and utterly uninterested in being human again.:
Roy nodded and turned back to Madam Christmas, while Helen and Lucy finished collecting the scattered papers. "Correction, King was born human, but no longer is."
"As much as I don't want to believe that's possible..." Madam Christmas murmured, holding out a hand for the papers that Lucy brought over (looking far less pretty and more scared than she had when they'd first come in, Ed couldn't help but notice). She opened the folder she was handed and pulled out a handful of photos, which she held out to Roy. "Check the dates."
Ed stepped up behind Roy and leant down slightly, resting one hand on his shoulder, for balance, while Roy sat up and tilted his head so Ed could easily see around him. The top was a picture of a group of brass, unfamiliar to Ed, with Selim standing next to one of them. Roy turned it over, revealing the date on the back: 1885. Almost thirty years ago.
Under that was a picture of another military family, again with Selim, marked 1875 on the back. Under it was one from 1873, one from 1864, another from 1852, another from 1845, and the last from 1839, the first year cameras were available for purchase (according to one of Hughes' 'photography lessons', which Ed had been forced to sit through way too many of). All of the photos were in black and white or sepia, and all of them had signs of wear, which went from as minor as worn edges on the 1885 one, to signs of both water and fire damage on the two oldest ones. And every single one of them had Selim, looking almost exactly like he did now.
"Damn," Roy breathed, shuffling through the photos again. "These are all powerful members of the military. Ranking generals, previous Führers..."
"That's not all," Madam Christmas said grimly, pulling out some typed sheets of paper. "I sent some of the girls to ask around in the town King Bradley's supposedly from, and while the paperwork is in order, no one living remembers him or his family, and the house he supposedly grew up in is a military property that's been empty since it was built about fifty years ago."
Roy stared down at the paperwork, clearly reading over the specifics and shaking his head. "Edward says he was likely an orphan. Part of a program intended to create the perfect Führer."
"If they're not human, what are they?" Helen asked quietly, wringing her hands in front of herself.
"Homunculi," Roy said, handing the papers back up to his aunt, which she slipped away automatically. "Artificially created humans. Or, in King's case, artificially augmented, I assume?" He glanced up at Ed, who shrugged and nodded in response. "They're two of seven, and the one who created them is looking to turn this country into a mass sacrifice."
Lucy started cursing, and Ed raised an eyebrow, impressed by her inventiveness, for some of them.
"How long have you known about this, Roy?" Madam Christmas demanded, steel in her voice, while fear rolled through her qi. Rolled through all three of their qi; Ed didn't blame them.
"About nine months," Roy returned evenly, "when Edward and his brother came to me with everything."
Madam Christmas turned a hard gaze on Ed. "And you? How long have you known?"
Ed raised an eyebrow, debated for a moment, then signed, :Nineteen years.:
Roy let out a quiet, slightly strained laugh. "Edward ran afoul of an array that was meant to send someone back in time. By his accounting, he's known about this for nineteen years, now."
"Time travel?" Lucy demanded, sounding more than a little hysterical.
"Lu," Helen murmured, catching at her hands and pulling her into a hug.
Roy stood and stepped forward, grief solidifying his qi, saying, "Lucy. Lu, look at me." He paused as Helen stepped out of the way, then continued, "It's not a lie. Edward has already proven himself to me, many times over. Can you trust me?"
Lucy must have made some sort of response, because Roy nodded after a moment and stepped back, leaving her to Helen, who pulled her into another hug.
Roy turned back to his aunt. "Edward says we can stop them, and we've been gathering intelligence and allies with that intention. We're waiting for Edward's father to show up, then we intend to take this fight to them." He took a slow, careful breath, then offered, "We may be able to use that information you gathered, and anything else you can scrounge up between now and when we attack."
Madam Christmas narrowed her eyes and straightened, determination burning through her qi, and Ed could see the resemblance, then, in her eyes; the shape was different, but he'd seen that same inner strength in Roy's eyes, long before he'd ever learnt to read him. "Tell me everything," she ordered, glancing over at Ed to include him in that. "The more I know, the more we can find out."
:CAUTION,: Ed signed, frowning at Roy.
Roy nodded. "I doubt they're watching the channels we're working with," he pointed out, looking back towards Madam Christmas, "but let me tell you a bit about the homunculi; they're far more dangerous than you realise."
Ed finally settled on the floor next to Roy, resigned to a long conversation.
By the time Madam Christmas, Lucy, and Helen left – it turned out the pub was only about three blocks away, which was another good reason for Roy to pick this house, and meant they didn't have far to go – it was well after midnight, and Ed was dreading the drive back to the Hugheses'.
"Well," Roy said, leaning back against the door, which he'd just bolted against the night, "we have a couch that we can repurpose, unless you're desperate to go back across town?"
Ed shook his head. :No, thank you. Want me to just pull the fabric and stuffing from the couch and make us somewhere to sleep?: Because he was fairly certain it was a little too short for the bastard, though Ed himself would have probably been fine.
Roy's smiled at him. "Probably easiest," he allowed. "I should see if they brought anything for the kitchen."
:Coffee, I hope,: Ed signed, before turning to attempt alchemic surgery on the couch, while Roy let out a quiet laugh of agreement behind him.
The couch had far more stuffing and far fewer springs than Ed had expected, which meant they had a respectable amount of padding for sleeping on the floor, and it didn't take Ed long to wrap the fabric cover from the couch around the padding, so they wouldn't lose any overnight, leaving them with an extremely lumpy mattress. There was also a blanket that was a little small for two people, but would serve if they slept close together – from previous experience, not going to be a problem – and a couple throw pillows that he hadn't repurposed.
"Coffee, yes," Roy said as he walked back into the living room, "and the gas seems to be working fine for the cooker, but the faucet's not putting out any water, and I'm not certain that refrigerator will continue working for long."
Ed snorted. :Water I can handle, and I know an array to keep things in the refrigerator plenty cool.:
Roy blinked. "Are you a walking encyclopaedia of arrays?"
Ed rolled his eyes. :Possibly.:
Roy shook his head, smile turned wry. "Well, there's nothing in the refrigerator right now to worry about, but if you want to fill the percolator with water tonight, I can start it if I get up first."
Ed shrugged and nodded, making his way through the house to the kitchen, which looked...very bare. Madam Christmas and her women had left what looked to be one person's worth of clean dishes next to the sink, as well as some oatmeal, coffee, and the aforementioned percolator. They'd have to share dishes, or just get breakfast to go, which sounded slightly more appealing; Ed wasn't a fan of plain oatmeal, preferred it with fruit or as biscuits, with chocolate, but he would eat it if it was the only option.
He cracked a window so he could pull elements from outside, and fairly rapidly filled the pot, before setting it back on the hob, closing the window, and turning off the lights as he returned to the living room.
He found Roy stripped down to his skivvies and, oh, shit, there went his hyperactive hormones. Fuck him. (Or no fucking him, because sleep, foremost, but also, wasn't it...too soon? How did people even judge this shit? He and Winry hadn't had sex until they were married, mostly because she'd insisted, but he knew plenty of people – Roy and Havoc among them – who didn't seem to think marriage was necessary before you got to the fucking around. Fuck, his own parents had never legally married, which, in retrospect, had probably been a calculated attempt, on Hohenheim's part, to keep the Dwarf in the Flask from realising he was in Amestris and had built a family.)
Roy glanced over and offered him a slightly helpless smile. "From experience, getting wrinkles out of the uniform is far more trouble than it's worth, unless you happen to have another array for that?"
(Well, okay, that actually made sense, even if it did leave Ed with Mr Everything-About-Me-Is-Fucking-Perfect in pretty much nothing, and only one small blanket to share.)
:Wrinkles, no, but I know an array to clean dirty clothing?: he offered.
"That one might prove useful," Roy admitted, before shaking his head. "If you're intending to spend tomorrow at the library again, I doubt anyone will care if your trousers are a little wrinkled, especially since your sash covers most of them."
Ed kind of appreciated being offered that out, even as a part of him wanted to scoff, because it wasn't like he was ashamed of his body, or whatever-the-fuck, he just had the hormones of a fifteen-year-old, and Roy was pretty much a constant temptation, no matter how much he was – or, in this case, wasn't – wearing.
But, well, they'd managed the awkward morning boner relatively well, even if Ed had taken the escape Hughes had unwittingly offered, and he couldn't imagine a second run would be any worse than trying to get comfortable in the uniform trousers. Which, well, they'd been made so they could be worn into a fight and come out not all ripped to shreds, not so you would feel comfortable enough to take a midday nap in them.
So he sighed and signed in warning, :My leg is going to be a little cold,: before starting to remove his sash.
Roy blinked. "That makes sense," he admitted.
Ed shook his head, because Roy wasn't likely to understand until he saw the arrays, and finished getting undressed.
And, okay, the spike of appreciation that appeared in Roy's qi was actually kind of awesome, and a nice bolster to his confidence, but Ed very pointedly ignored it as he tapped the array carved into the front plate of his leg, then signed, :We had to find a way for me to cross the desert, so my leg always remains a little cooler than the average human body temperature.:
Roy blinked again, then put on a smile that was edged in exhaustion. "Remind me to ask more about that when I'm more awake," he suggested, and Ed laughed as he flipped off the light and made his way over to their bed for the night.
Roy pulled him in close, once Ed laid down, flinching briefly away from his leg, before very determinedly wrapping a leg around it. (Which, actually, Winry had done that a fair few times, too, until she'd had to deal with overheated metal in the summer and designed a cloth cover for it. Not a problem, any more, but Ed might look into a cloth cover anyway, since his leg no longer warmed up to body temperature.)
Well, if nothing else, the long day meant Ed was able to mostly ignore his body's excitement about being pressed tight against a mostly-naked Roy Mustang, and he pressed a sleepy kiss to his clavicle, before settling in to sleep.
Ed woke after what felt like almost no sleep, pressed tight against Roy's warmth, his automail leg flung out from under the blanket so it could be stupidly-cold elsewhere.
He wasn't really certain what had woken him, at first, since the weak glow of street lamps coming in under the curtains that someone – Madam Christmas or one of her two ladies, Ed assumed, as an added privacy measure for their little meeting – had hung over the large, front-facing windows, suggested it was too early to be worrying about getting up for work, and Roy was clearly still sleeping peacefully. His body's stupid hormone-driven urges didn't usually drag him out of sleep – unless it was a wet dream, which evidence suggested he'd managed to avoid, thank fuck – so what–?
He stiffened as he realised what had woken him: A mass of tightly packed souls on the street outside.
Roy shifted, his mouth turning down with a displeased frown, and his arms tightening where they were wrapped a little low around Ed's back. "Edw–" he started.
Ed covered the bastard's mouth with one hand, holding a finger to his own lips when Roy's eyes flew open, apparently jumping from groggy to wide awake as quickly as Ed just had. Not surprising; some skills stayed with you long after you'd stopped sleeping on the edge of terror, expecting to wake up and find a gun pressed between your eyes, or just never wake up again.
(Like he'd privately observed a few nights ago, they had plenty of nightmare fodder in common.)
Roy loosened his grip on Ed, clearly straining his own senses to try and spot what had caught his attention.
Ed pulled back, removing his hand from Roy's mouth, and signed, :Homunculus,: before jerking his head towards the front of the house.
'How many?' Roy mouthed.
Ed held up one finger, then rolled easily out of their bed of padding and moved over to the nearer window, carefully peering out and trying not to shift the curtain too much.
He didn't see anything out of order, at first, just a quiet, pre-dawn street in a residential area. There weren't any human forms of any note, but a brief movement drew Ed's eyes to that familiar pale golden dog shape that Envy seemed to prefer. He was sitting beside Roy's car, watching the front door of the house, probably irritated at having to play watchdog.
Ed carefully pulled away from the window, frowning. Why the fuck was Envy watching them, anyway?
A warm hand touched his shoulder, and Ed looked back to find Roy watching him, just enough light coming through the window to make his worried frown visible. :Envy,: he signed in explanation, :watching the house.:
Roy's frown deepened and he withdrew his hand to sign back, :Maybe he saw the others leaving? Or saw you coming in?:
Ed immediately shook his head. :I didn't sense any homunculi when we got in. And my range is about five blocks.: Which he'd tested thoroughly, mostly because he'd had the opportunity to do so, as often as he dodged Envy, but also just so he knew how far was too far for him to know if he was being watched.
Roy considered that for a moment, then signed, :Both our jackets are in my car, and you never went back to Maes' last night.:
Both potential reasons for Envy to be watching for them. Though, the homunculi didn't make a habit of watching the Hugheses' house, so he expected it was more likely that one of them – Pride, probably, given how quickly he could move through the city – had done a random sweep after they'd gone to sleep, seen the two jackets and wondered after them, then ordered Envy to keep an eye out.
"It's too early to worry about it right now," Roy whispered. "If he's just watching, we should be able to get a couple more hours of sleep."
Ed grimaced – he doubted he could get back to sleep with Envy so close – but followed Roy back to bed without any complaint, letting himself be drawn back into the bastard's warm embrace.
It fairly quickly became apparent – to Ed, at least – that his mind was too awake, and his qi-sense too aware of the mass of souls just outside, for him to manage sleeping again. He did turn from wondering over the why, to wondering about what to do about it, at least.
His jacket being in Roy's car wasn't a huge deal; it had been seasonably warm yesterday, and since they'd met in the garage, the guards at the exit could well have made note that Roy didn't leave alone. That Ed had spent the night over in a mostly unfurnished flat was a bit more cause for question – or, well, odd looks, given he had a bed and wasn't a member of Roy's team – but it was unlikely Envy actually knew that Ed was there. He could easily sneak out the back and use his usual trick of taking the roof-bound route back to the library to meet up with Al. It would mean he'd either have to have oatmeal for breakfast, or find someplace–
"I can hear you worrying," Roy muttered, his arms tightening around Ed a bit.
Ed huffed. He couldn't help the way his mind just started going once it was awake. Especially when the homunculi were involved; worrying about how much attention they paid to Ed and his allies had become something of a bad habit, mostly because he always knew they were there, and no one else did, which meant worrying about them had to be his job, and was an excellent reason for why he'd rather they remained focussed on Ed, and not–
Roy's free hand moved up, fingers catching in Ed's hair and tugging until he put his head back, still a little distracted by meandering thoughts. And then Roy leant in and covered Ed's mouth with his.
Ed wasn't a huge fan of first-thing-in-the-morning kisses – morning breath was right up there next to milk-breath, on the list of things he liked his partner's mouth tasting of the least – but this one did its duty of completely derailing his thoughts, while also waking up his hormones to the fact that, yeah, still nearly naked, and still pressed up against an equally nearly naked Roy Mustang. Which, morning breath or no, his body clearly knew what it wanted, because he had no control over the way his hand reached up to clutch at Roy's shoulder from behind, and he couldn't stop his hips from jerking forward, pressing the rather undeniable sign of his arousal against the bastard.
Roy's arm that was half trapped under Ed shifted down, his fingers brushing over the waist of his boxers, before pressing against his tailbone, and Ed let out a sort of half-gasp, half-sigh into Roy's mouth.
Roy's mouth moved back, just a bit, and he murmured, "Shake your head if we're going too fast."
Ed snorted – if they were going too fast, the bastard would already have bruises; Roy clearly hadn't figured out that Ed didn't need a voice to show when he was done – and ducked his head to lick along Roy's clavicle, nipping where he was certain his button-up would cover any evidence.
Roy let out a sort of breathy laugh-moan, and his head tilted to one side, out of Ed's way, while both of his hands moved to Ed's arse – Ed was down with that – getting a firm hold, and pulling them tight together. Which made it very obvious that Ed wasn't the only one with an excitable cock – excellent sign – and also invited some (admittedly) uncoordinated rutting, a bit more mouthing at Roy's clavicle, and some kissing cleverly disguised as a way to muffle any noise.
In that nice little floaty post-orgasm headspace, after, before Ed started to get annoyed by the come in his boxers, he caught his eyes closing, curling comfortably into Roy's warm embrace.
"Finally," Roy breathed, and Ed didn't really have the mental acuity to figure out what he meant.
Ed couldn't have slept long, judging by the pale glow of sunlight peeking past the curtains. Envy was still out there – too obvious to his senses – and he was a little confused about how he'd actually managed to get any sleep with drying crud in his boxers, until he did the maths and realised he can't have got more than four hours of sleep, all told; very likely, his body had simply shut down when given the opportunity, and had stayed that way until Ed'd got the absolute least amount of sleep he could function on.
He hardly needed to be reasonably rested for a day in the library, but he did feel a little bad for Roy. At least the bastard had mastered the art of napping on the job? (Mostly. So long as Hawkeye didn't attempt to check on him.)
With that in mind, Ed slipped from Roy's hold, kissed his cheek when he made a sleepy, confused noise, and went to the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. With the percolator happily heating on the hob, Ed escaped to the toilet to relieve himself and sort his crusty boxers. (And discover that the water wasn't working in there, either; not a huge problem for him, but he plugged the sink and filled it with water for Roy. Still, it was something to look into. Or, well, for Roy to look into, probably during his lunch break.)
Roy finally showed while Ed was pouring the coffee into their single cup, and Ed took a sip before passing it over and turning to the oatmeal with a displeased look.
"We can get something out," Roy said into the coffee. (Or, well, Ed assumed that's what he said. It was a little hard to be certain.)
Ed turned to raise an eyebrow at him, trying to judge how asleep he still was, and if he'd be able to keep up with Ed's signing. Which, well, at this point in the act of caffeine consumption, Al wouldn't have been able to manage more than 'yes', 'no', and his sign-name, but Roy had actually been pretty on top of things the last few times Ed had signed right after he'd woken up...
Roy blinked at him and finally pulled away from the cup. "Getting something on the way into the office?" he asked again, raising his own eyebrow back.
Yeah, Roy clearly woke up faster than Al. There were pros and cons to that, but, for the moment... :I was actually considering sneaking out the back, maybe dropping by your office later to get my jacket back.:
Roy blinked at him, then sort of half-turned towards the front of the house. "Ah." He looked back at Ed. "I...guess that makes sense. I feel bad about making you walk back." He frowned slightly and took another sip of the coffee.
Ed shrugged and waved a careless hand at that, before signing, :Taking strolls around Central is normal, for me. Anyway, it'd be nice to find a quick route over here.:
Roy's mouth quirked. "Why do I get the impression that your idea of a 'quick route' would be impossible for anyone else?"
Ed flashed him his best 'you better fucking believe I'm awesome' smirk. (Well, to be fair, Al might be able to manage. He'd never developed quite the same level of death-defying acrobatics that Ed enjoyed – either before, or while they were in Xing together – but he was far from a slouch, and he could always use alchemy to help himself, if necessary.)
Roy let out a warm chuckle and set the cup aside, before reaching out and catching Ed's nearest wrist, using it to pull him close. Ed came with a huff, but leant up without complaint when Roy ducked his head down for a brief kiss, hands brushing along Ed's sides and curling around behind him, pulling him in close.
(Ed loved and hated this about the bastard, that he seemed so determined to keep Ed close whenever they were alone, as though trying to make up for all the times they were around others and couldn't. Or something. Whatever. Roy was warm. Which wasn't to say Ed was cold – the house was a normal, kinda warm, mid-summer sort of temperature – because he wasn't, but just...
(Whatever.)
Roy's expression was stupidly soft when he pulled back, and Ed barely resisted the urge to make a face at him. "I can get something for both of us, and you can come straight to my office?" he murmured.
Ed had originally been considering just swinging past one of his usual haunts and grabbing something on his way in, but, if he went in before meeting up with his brother, he wouldn't have to deal with Al's knowing looks when he had to make a side-trip after lunch, just when he first got in, which would be... Well, Al was going to be annoying either way – getting him back for years of tormenting him about May – but at least he could cut the amount of annoying in half. Or something.
He snorted and nodded.
Roy blinked. "Is that a good snort, or a bad snort?"
Ed rolled his eyes and pulled away to sign, :Al.:
"Ah." Roy nodded. "Good luck with him."
Ed snorted again. :If you're lucky, Hughes will only call?:
Roy's expression sort of...froze, for a moment, while a mess of horror/helplessness/resignation shot through his qi, and then he slumped. "I think I'm coming down with something," he muttered. "It's probably contagious, so I'll have to stay here. Without a phone. And no visitors."
Ed laughed.
Roy shot him a smirk. "You'll have to stay here as well, since it's contagious."
:Idiot,: Ed signed. :If I don't show up, Al will come looking, and he'll sense me even if we don't answer his knock.:
Roy coughed, his qi curling with amusement. "Forgot about that."
:Also,: Ed couldn't resist pointing out, :you need to get your things from his house eventually, and the longer you put it off, the worse he'll be.:
"Ah, but if I put it off for long enough, he'll just start pestering you."
Ed narrowed his eyes and moved to clap.
Roy caught his wrists before they could connect, his qi bright with humour, and pulled Ed in close, apparently undeterred by his best scowl. "I wouldn't," he promised.
'You wanna be soaked?' Ed mouthed irritably.
Roy blinked, and then the turn of his mouth took on a distinctly predatory edge, while something very sexual laced through his qi. "Soaked with sweat and curled up with you under the cove–"
Ed got one wrist free and lightly hit the bastard, then caught the back of his head and dragged him in for a kiss to shut him up.
Roy smiled into the kiss, freeing Ed's other wrist so he could pull him in close, hands on Ed's arse. And, oh, fuck, there went his super excitable teenage hormones again. Fucking bastard and his stupid, perfect...everything.
"Is that a yes to the crawling back into bed for the day?" Roy murmured against Ed's mouth.
Ed hit him again, hard enough to chance leaving a bruise.
Roy winced. "Ow." He pulled back and glanced over at his abused arm. "Is that any way to treat a ranking–"
Ed kissed him again, since it had so far proved an effective way of shutting him up.
"Conflicting signals," Roy murmured, even as his hands rather politely left Ed's arse and moved to rest warmly on his upper back, fingers spreading out over Ed's skin. He pulled back from the kiss, pressing their foreheads together, instead. "You really do have the most amazing eyes."
Ed felt his cheeks warm and scowled as he attempted to pull away.
"Not a line," Roy insisted, before letting him go.
Ed snorted and took a quick step back, before signing. :Bullshit. I have the same eyes as Al.:
"You have the same colour eyes," Roy returned, quiet and even, "but you don't have the same eyes."
Ed wanted to scoff, but the air got caught in his lungs, because Roy's qi... There was some sorrow in there – old and well-worn – and a well of quiet certainty that Ed didn't possess the words to combat. And, too, something...
No. He turned away, yanked his own qi in as tight as he could and tried to pretend that would protect him from the bastard's emotions. Impossible. Stupid.
"...Edward?" Roy asked, concern bubbling up to replace the certainty in his qi.
Ed forced himself to take a breath, to ignore...that, and turned to sign. :I have Xerxesian eyes.:
Roy's own eyes widened, and surprise and a twisted mix of understanding and confusion pushed away everything else.
(Ed could breathe again. Almost.)
He shook his head. :I need to head out soon if I'm going to get my jacket before going to the library.:
"Ah, right," Roy agreed, sounding a little...uncertain? Thrown?
Ed wasn't good at reading people. He'd probably just misread...that.
(Liar.)
:If you want me to clean your pants, hold them out through the door of the loo,: he signed, determined to ignore...pretty much everything that had just happened.
Roy opened his mouth, looked, for a moment, like he was going to make an innuendo, before he stopped, shook his head, then agreed, "Okay," and turned to lead the way out to the loo.
The array to clean clothing was fairly simple, and Ed barely had to touch them to do it. When Roy pulled his pants back into the loo and set about his business in there, Ed returned to the living room, where he cleaned everything in there, then set about getting dressed. In part because it gave him some...armour, really, in a way. But, when he checked the time on his pocket watch, it seemed he hadn't lied about needing to head out soon. Escape validated. Awesome.
When Roy finally re-joined him, Ed signed, :Is there a back-facing window upstairs?:
Roy blinked and stepped quickly into his trousers as he agreed, "Two, yes. Why?"
Ed flashed him a sharp grin and turned to make for the stairs.
Roy breathed out a quiet curse, then hurried after him. When Ed glanced back, he found the bastard shrugging into his shirt as he moved, a frown turning his mouth, while his qi was a little confused and a lot worried.
There was a back-facing window in the hallway at the top of the stairs, and Ed stepped up to it without hesitation and checked it was unlocked before shoving it open.
"Edward," Roy said, as he poked his head out and twisted to look up.
The edge of the roof was just within his grasp, if he stood on the windowsill, and there weren't any awkwardly placed decorations to act as either assists or hindrances. All told, an excellent roof route.
He pulled his head back in and offered Roy what he hoped was a reassuring smile. :Don't freak out, I know what I'm doing.:
"That is not reassuring," Roy hissed, stepping forward and lifting his hand like he was going to touch Ed, then stopping himself and pulling it in to rub over his mouth. "Tell me you're not... I don't know. Climbing to the roof?"
Ed raised an eyebrow. :You want me to lie?: he returned.
Roy closed his eyes. "I was right," he complained. "Your 'quick routes' are insane."
Ed huffed, waited until Roy opened his eyes before signing, :Stop freaking out. I'll see you at your office.:
Roy swallowed, looking very much like he wanted to argue, maybe even drag Ed away from the window, but, in the end, all he did was ask, "What does Envy look like?"
Ed frowned at him. :Why?:
Roy put on a smirk that was so obviously forced, it made Ed's chest hurt. "So I know who to aim my mutterings about your jacket being in my car towards."
Ed took a moment to debate the validity of that, decided there was no way Roy was suicidal enough to engage one of the homunculi in combat, while on his own, and replied, :He's a dog. Golden coat, looks a little underfed.:
Roy's smirk became a little less forced. "Oh? Looks like someone's daddy isn't feeding him properly."
Ed choked on a laugh and shook his head. :Please don't ever say that to him. He might show you his real form.:
Roy frowned. "His...real form?"
:Monstrous,: Ed signed in return, before glancing towards the window behind him; if they kept chatting like this–
Roy took a quick step forward, looked uncertain for a moment, then set his mouth and reached out to cup Ed's cheek. "Just...be careful. I know you think you know–"
Ed huffed and closed the distance to kiss the bastard, keeping it quick, but firm, then stepped back to sign, :Stop being stupid.:
"I'm not the one climbing out a second storey window!" Roy hissed back. But, despite his words, something about him almost seemed to have...relaxed.
Ed rolled his eyes, then cautiously climbed out of the window and stood up, balanced carefully on the windowsill and facing away from the house. He could sense Roy moving closer inside, doubtless positioned in hopes of catching him if he started to fall, and Ed barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes again.
He reached up and caught the lip of the roof, tugged on it a bit to ensure it wasn't about to crumble away in his hands, then pushed off the windowsill with his feet, curling forward and letting the momentum swing him up onto the roof. He gave himself a moment to balance on the slope of the shingles, then glanced back over the edge to smile down at where Roy was looking out the window, hands gripping the sides of the window frame. His qi was run through with a sort of impressed shock and a huge well of concern.
Ed blew him a kiss, waited for the expected helpless smile to twist the bastard's mouth, then pulled back and turned his attention to finding a route.
He ended up taking something of a longer route than he could safely have managed, mostly in an attempt to avoid attracting Envy's notice, so it took him a bit longer than he would have liked to get to Command and swing back down to ground level. He sighed and shook his head, then headed towards the tunnel up, pulling out his watch to prove who he was, since he didn't have his jacket.
He was saluted through, neither of the guards even bothering to look at his watch – he supposed he did visit Command often enough to be recognised – and quickly made his way up to Roy's new office, ignoring any odd looks he got from soldiers on the grounds.
He made it into the office without any real trouble and no signs of Envy anywhere within his radius, only to be faced with startled looks from Roy's team.
"Edward?" Hawkeye asked, once she'd managed to smooth out her expression to its usual unsurprised mask.
Ed grimaced. :Is the bastard in yet? He has my jacket.:
Havoc coughed, his qi saying very well what comment he'd like to make to that, but Ed and Hawkeye both turned unimpressed stares on him. "That is...a little freaky," he said, holding up his hands in surrender.
Breda snorted. "The boss's got your look, Lieutenant."
Ed blinked, thrown at hearing that particular title used for him. :What did you just call me?: he signed, hands moving a little too roughly in his surprise.
Breda and Havoc traded uncertain looks, then Breda offered, "Uh... Boss?"
"No good?" Fuery asked quietly.
Ed frowned and shook his head. :It's fine. But why me? I'm not a member of your command. If anyone, it should be Al you call that.:
Breda and Havoc looked at each other again, before Havoc looked back at Ed and carefully signed, :You're the one who knows what's going on.:
Breda nodded and silently added, :Even the colonel listens to you.:
Ed wanted to argue that, but Roy did tend to listen to him, at least about the Dwarf in the Flask and the dangers they were facing. He was clearly making his own plans, and dealing in his own information network, but, last night... He wasn't doing it behind Ed's back. Which could have been attributed just as much to their...thing as to respect for Ed. Or whatever.
Ability to sense the bastard's qi and read his expressions or no, Ed still couldn't figure Roy Mustang out half the time.
As though mentioning him had summoned him, the door to the inner office snicked open and Roy drily commented, "I thought it was oddly silent out here. Come for your jacket, Edward?"
Ed rolled his eyes as he turned, and heard what might have been muffled snickers behind him.
Roy looked as immaculately tousled as ever, his uniform crisp, but his hair an absolute wreck. There were faint hints of the long night under his eyes, but his gaze was alert – Ed suspected military-grade coffee to be the culprit – and his expression was that carefully crafted bored officer mask that had so often driven Ed to rage, as a child.
:What other reason could I possibly have for dropping by here without Al?: Ed returned with a raised eyebrow.
Roy's eyes shifted to look behind Ed as he said, "Distracting my team from the unpacking, perhaps?"
There was a rush of movement behind Ed, as though everyone remembered what they were supposed to be doing.
Amusement curled through Roy's qi just before he flatly added, "I do hope you're not trying to sabotage our position with Brigadier General Clemin; not all of us like being in the doghouse."
:I suppose you've spent enough time in there to know?: Ed returned with a smirk.
This was familiar, this old give-and-take of insubordination. Calming, in its own way.
"I'll have you know," Roy returned, drawing himself up straight and frowning, "that I have never been stuck in the doghouse."
Ed turned slightly to look back towards Hawkeye, half pointed, half disbelieving. She just raised an eyebrow in response.
Havoc let out a choked noise and ducked his head to hide his expression.
"Is there a problem, Second Lieutenant?" Roy asked, as though his qi wasn't practically dancing with amusement.
"None at all, sir," Havoc managed, his voice only a little strained.
Ed caught his eyes and rolled his own, grinning a bit when Havoc immediately had to duck his head again, and Breda snorted. He turned back to Roy and signed, :My jacket?:
Roy turned away. "You're lucky I bothered to bring it in," he threw over his shoulder as he stepped into his office.
Ed snorted and followed him, not bothering to close the door behind himself.
Roy was holding out Ed's jacket from next to one of the same couches he'd always had in his office, save for yesterday; clearly, they'd been delivered along with Roy's car after Clemin's visit. He was holding the jacket a little oddly, and Ed didn't understand why until he took it and it made an unexpected crinkling sound. Frowning, he pushed the fabric out of the way, only to find what was clearly a pastry bag.
:I wasn't certain whether you'd stop to get something,: Roy offered in explanation, when Ed looked up at him.
Honestly, Ed had half intended to get something on his way to the library, and he might still stop for coffee, rather than drink the military-grade sludge, but this was... 'Thank you,' he mouthed.
Roy's smile went soft and gentle, his qi following suit. :Any time,: he signed.
And there it was again. That emotion in Roy's qi. Impossible. Wrong.
Ed forced his smile not to falter and slipped his breakfast into his sash, before shrugging into his jacket. :I should go,: he signed once his hands were free.
Roy's brow had furrowed slightly, just enough that Ed – too used to trying to read any hint of the bastard's real thoughts, before – noticed. :Right,: he signed, before saying, "If you're done leaving your personal property around, Edward?"
Ed forced a smirk and hurried from the office, only sparing Roy's team a brief wave in farewell.
He felt awkward and wrong-footed, wished he couldn't read qi, because, sometimes, there were things he didn't really want to know.
Still. At least he had breakfast?
Al raised an eyebrow at Ed when he found him back at the table they'd claimed as their own on Monday. :Have fun?: he signed.
Ed rolled his eyes. :He bought dinner and I met part of his intelligence network,: he signed in return. :It wasn't anything exciting.:
Al rolled his own eyes and mouthed what looked like, 'Not exciting,' even as he signed, :You never came home.:
Ed huffed and flopped down into his chair. :It was late when they left, so we repurposed the couch. And then Envy showed up and sat outside and I couldn't sleep.:
Al stiffened. "Envy?" he hissed.
Ed sighed and nodded. :I left my jacket in the bastard's car. Best guess is it made them curious and Envy got stuck on guard duty. I snuck out the back way, and there wasn't any sign of him near the office when I got my jacket.:
Al relaxed a little, but his qi was still rolling with worry and suspicion. (Ed understood, was pretty freaked out about Envy's spying, too.) :Okay,: Al signed, frowning. :You should probably go home with the colonel again tonight, then. Make sure Envy doesn't watch him again.:
There was something wrapped tight around Ed's chest, making it hard to breathe. :Really?: he asked. :That's your solution? Spend another night with Führer Bastard?:
Al's frown deepened. :Did something else happen?:
Something else? No. Just Ed imagining things that were impossible, and then freaking out about them. He forced a smile and shook his head, then grabbed one of the books that Al must have collected before he'd sat.
Al watched him for a long moment while Ed tried to get lost in the book, his concern all-too-obvious in his qi, before he finally picked out a book of his own. "I don't like it when you hide things from me, Brother," he murmured in Xingan.
Ed winced, but didn't bother trying to find a response.
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