Underneath it All 05: Beautiful Distortion Part One

[lynx212]

Title: Underneath It All
Chapter 05: Beautiful Distortion_Part One
Genres: Angst/Romance
Rating: PG13/Teen
Pairing: Ed/Havoc eventual Ed/Roy
Warnings: Some language
Length: 3,109 words
Spoilers: None, that I see as of now, maybe some in later chapters

 

Hello to all and I apologize now for the extremely long wait for the update on this. I also had to split this into two parts because of it's size. I received the dreaded "Post to large" error so... Thanks for being patient and I hope you enjoy! ^_^

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Sunday morning rolled around and Ed woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. As he sat up and stretched, a long yawn worked its way past his lips. When he swung his feet out of bed and they came in contact with coolness of his bedroom floor he marveled at the duel sensation. Even though it’s been years since he had regained his left leg the awe still had yet to wear thin with him. In the recesses of his mind he often wondered if it ever would.

 

The eight years he spent without the limb had definitely left its mark.

 

The thought of the recovered limb brought his mind around to the conversation he had with Mustang the day before. The fact that he had shared so much with the man caused a wave of awkwardness to wash over the blond alchemist. He ended up rolling his eyes at the memory of his own actions and words, as he made his way to the bathroom. He couldn’t help but wonder what made him dump the woes of his world onto Mustang of all people.

 

With a shrug of his shoulders he pushed the thought out of his mind and proceeded to brush his teeth. He could think on this later… breakfast was waiting and so was Al.

 

When Ed entered the kitchen Al greeted him with a smile and motioned for him to have a seat. Before Ed could sit down good, Al had a plate piled full of eggs, pancakes and bacon in front of him; and no sooner than the thank you passed his lips did Ed start digging in.

 

Al moved away from the table and laughed quietly as he opened the fridge. When he pulled out the milk and started filling a glass Ed’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and his defenses went on high alert.

 

“Relax Brother it’s for me. I have absolutely no desire to start the last day of my weekend off by fighting with you over your crappy diet.”

 

Somewhat taken aback by his Brother’s words–and tone–Ed just sat there in silence with his mouth agape. When Alphonse turned around but refused to meet his eyes Ed knew something was wrong, he just didn’t know what that something was. When he parted his lips to ask, Al simply put up his free hand and said, “And no, I don’t want to talk to you about it.”

 

“You don’t want to talk at all or just not to me?” Ed asked already suspecting the answer.

 

Al took the last swig of his milk like he was kicking back a shot of scotch. Once it was drained he sat the now empty glass down–none to softly–on the counter and turned to stare out the kitchen window. Ed flinched at the harsh sound and just stared at his usually mild mannered brother in disbelief. It was not often that Al got bent out of shape about something and when he did it could be rather frightening.

 

Ed’s breakfast had lost its appeal but he began to poke at the cooling food anyway. He was trying to find a way to break the silence that had enveloped the room when Alphonse did it for him. “I sorry for snapping at you Brother, I didn’t mean to take my frustration out on you.” It was obvious to Ed by the way Al was drumming his fingers on the counter that his brother had more to say but was trying to find the right words.

 

“Al I don’t mean to pry but you know you can talk to me about anything right?”

“Yes and no …that’s only true to a point Brother.”

 

Ed’s face morphed through a series of expressions before it settled on mixture between hurt and angry. “And exactly what do you mean by that?” he asked as he pushed away from the table, his food forgotten, and folded his arms across his chest.

 

Al sighed loudly. “Despite all you do know Brother, and the vast things you’ve experienced even you have to admit there is still some subjects you know next to nothing about.”

“Like what? And when you answer that please tell me what the hell it has to do with this conversation. I’m lost over here!” Ed replied at a volume a bit louder than necessary.

 

Al whirled around to face his brother and pointed an accusing finger at him. “Fine, do you really want to know what’s bothering me? I’ll tell you. I’m frustrated Brother, sexually frustrated, I haven’t had sex since Kara and I broke up four months ago and it’s starting to grate on my nerves!”

 

It took a few seconds before Ed’s brain could processes what Al had shouted, and when it did his cheeks turned an impressive shade of crimson and he looked away.

 

“Thank you for proving my point Brother.” Al said before he started to leave the kitchen. As he stormed past his brother Ed grabbed onto his sleeve effectively halting his march. “Hey, just because I don’t have a lot of experience with something doesn’t mean I can’t listen.”

 

Al’s shoulders slumped when he heard this but he stood his ground. “I know you mean well Brother but I’ve known you all my life and this is a subject you have always avoided like the plague.”

“I do not!” Ed shouted.

“You do too!!” Al yelled in returned, and after he did he took a good look at Ed, assessed the tension in his own body and came to a decision “Look this is a stupid thing to fight over, so why don’t we just drop it ok?”

“Fine by me,” Ed whispered as he put his anger in check, “but can I ask you one more question?”

 

Al was leery of this but he nodded anyway, he figured he brought all of this on himself by having an attitude first thing in the morning. A few moments passed and Ed was still silent. Al arched an eyebrow at his brother and finally Ed spoke. “What makes you think that …why did you say I avoid that subject?”

 

Al threw his arms up in the air in frustration. He couldn’t believe this. “Because you can’t even say the word Brother, and don’t try to deny it!” Al said as he turned on his heels and headed for the side door that led out to the porch.

 

“Are you trying to say I’m a prude?” Ed said as he jumped to his feet and followed his brother.

“Yes, I am! Most of the time you’ve got a stick wedged so far up your behind I’m surprised you don’t walk funny!” Al bellowed as he flung open the door and stepped onto the porch, “and until yesterday I was pretty sure you were actually going to die a virgin!”

 

Ed had a scathing reply to that on the tip of his tongue but it died there when he looked out into the driveway and into the face of Roy Mustang.

 

When his brother stopped cold and went silent Al knew something had gone awry. Ed never lets him get the last word in. All he had to do was follow his brother’s line of sight and the reason for Ed’s silence stood in the middle of the driveway clutching a bag from the local pastry shop.

 

*           *           *

 

Roy Mustang had left his house early enough to stop at Mama Sandy’s pastry shop and still get to the Elrics well before nine-thirty. He knew both of them had quite the sweet tooth and would probably enjoy just about anything he could find there. Not having any clue as to what they would like specifically he picked up a variety and was on his way.

 

When he arrived at the Elric residence he barely pulled into the driveway and parked the car. He didn’t know what Alphonse had planned for the day and if the younger Elric needed to leave before he and Ed were on their way he had plenty of room to pull around him.

 

As he stepped out of the car he could hear the muffled sound of conversation from inside. When he rounded the corner of the house the voices got a bit louder and he smiled as he figured the two young prodigies where probably engaged in a debate over some little known alchemical theory. As he passed under an open window he heard, “Are you trying to say I’m a prude?” and a response of, “Yes I am. Most of the time you’ve got a stick wedged so far up your behind I’m surprised you don’t walk funny!” confused Roy stopped his approach and contemplated what he had just heard. He didn’t get much time to do so because mere seconds later the side door swung open and an angry looking Alphonse marched out and said, “And until yesterday I was pretty sure you were actually going to die a virgin!” an equally pissed looking Ed was hot on his heals and it looked like he was about to shout something when he caught sight of Roy standing there. Al soon followed Ed’s eyes to the man in the driveway.

 

As both Elric brothers stood there staring at him Roy felt the need to say something, but what does one say when they accidentally end up privy to a conversation like this one? 

 

“Uh… I brought doughnuts.” Roy said humbly as he held up the bag of glazed treats.

 

Al lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with the fingers on his left hand. When he looked up at his brother there was definite regret on Al’s face. Ed probably would have gotten an apology if he had stayed around long enough for Al to give it voice; but the blond alchemist glared at his brother and walked back into the house as soon as Al lifted his head. The resounding slam of the door was enough to make the other two men cringe.

 

When the thud of angry footsteps faded away Al kicked the side of the house in frustration and cursed loudly. Roy’s eyebrows shot up at this because in all the years he had known the Elric brothers he had never heard the younger one use any sort profanity. Roy felt no need to ask what the problem was; an idiot could figure that out. The issue now was getting past the awkwardness of the situation.

 

“Is this a bad time?” Roy asked despite the obviousness of the answer to that question.

 

Al’s face screwed up and he looked at Roy like he was crazy for asking. Al’s features soon returned to normal and he waved the General up on the porch. Roy flashed the young man what he hoped was a comforting smile as he walked up the steps.

 

“Just how much of that conversation did you hear?”

“I came in around the point in time which someone was asking about being a prude.” Roy replied with a lighthearted tone that didn’t seem to make the younger Elric anymore at ease. In fact his brow furrowed even deeper. Roy put a reassuring hand on Al’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it Alphonse it’s really not that big a deal.”

 

“Yeah I know that, it’s Brother that I’m concerned about.” Al replied as he shot a worried glance at the door that led to the kitchen.

 

Roy was at a loss. He had no idea how to deal with a pissed off angry Ed…he wasn’t even sure he wanted to try; but one look at the remorseful face of Alphonse made copping out not an option. With an inward sigh Roy started devising a plan.

 

“Has Ed eaten yet?” Roy asked.

“He started to but then I snapped at him…that’s how this whole convoluted mess kicked off.” Al explained while looking more down trodden every second. “This is all my fault. He got up in a perfectly good mood for once and I let my crankiness ruin it, and if that wasn’t bad enough I storm outside shouting about his private life only to find his commanding officer standing in our driveway.”

“It’ll be fine Al; Ed can never stay mad at you for long.”

“I’m not so sure this time, I know if our positions were reversed I would be livid.” The young professor said as he slowly made his way toward the door, ready to face the music. “You don’t understand General, Brother is a very private person.”

 

When they opened the door they found themselves quite literally facing the music. A very high tempo concerto was coming from the back of the house. Roy wasn’t sure what this meant but he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

One look at Alphonse told him he was right; the young man looked beside himself and near tears. Roy figured there was more to this than what it appeared to be so he asked. “Is there a particular reason why Ed venting in this manner disturbs you? It actually seems like a rather calm, productive way to deal with anger.” Roy said as he eyed the young man in front of him. “It’s a lot better than all of the screaming and shouting your brother use to do.”

“I agree with that wholeheartedly; but to answer your question I’ll just say this, for one he usually only does this when he’s been pushed to the point of wanting to hurt someone or break something, which hasn’t happened in years. And two, to be perfectly honest these little sessions usually only happened after he had to report to you.”

 

That was not exactly what Roy expected to hear. This information was not comforting to the man in the least.

 

“Here,” Roy said as he shoved the bag of pastries into Al’s hands. “Go heat up whatever you and Ed were eating we’ll be out in a few minutes.” Al looked at the man like he had promised to bring him the moon. As Roy shooed Al off back toward the kitchen he started to think getting the young man the moon might be easier than calming Ed down.

 

Roy remembered the way to the music room Al had showed him on his last visit, yet he took his time getting there. His plan was sketchy at best but it was the only thing he had to work with so it was going to have to do.

 

His plan: Find a way to leave Ed no logical course of action but to suck it up and be done with the matter.

 

When he entered the room the music came to a sudden stop.

 

“Save the speech General I have no desire to hear it.”

“Ok, fine then let’s go eat the doughnuts and be on our way.”

 

Ed made a low disgusted noise in the back of his throat and started to play again. Ed was not going to make this easy, but he was not the only person that could be bullheaded when they wanted to. If Edward Elric wanted a challenge then Roy Mustang was going to give him one.

 

“Tell me what purpose it would serve for you to sit in here sulking while your little brother is out there worrying about you.”

“He’s a big boy he’ll get over it.” Ed quipped back, but Roy could tell the ‘little brother’ remark got under his skin some. “I’m sure you will both get over this in due time, but feel free to call me impatient for wanting it done in haste.”

 

Ed’s head snapped to the side and he shot Roy a look that could have melted steel. Mustang suddenly got the feeling he might have pushed the envelope a bit too far with the sarcasm. Looking for an out he decided to just be brutally honest and see where that took him. Whatever he was going to do he needed to do it quickly.

 

“Look Ed, it’s really not a big deal.”

 

A sour note rang out of the piano. “It’s so nice to hear you know how I should feel about this.”

 

The music continued on.

 

Roy hadn’t realized the blond musician would take his statement in that manner. Roy wasn’t trying to tell him how to feel, he was simply trying to remove the awkwardness. He was now completely at a loss as to what to do. When Ed stopped playing this time Roy was convinced he was doing so because he needed both hands to choke him. Mustang prepared himself for the lecture of a lifetime and a possible beating but all that came out of the eldest Elric was an exaggerated sigh.

 

When Ed looked over at him this time all of the previous anger had drained out of him and was replaced by a look of weariness. “I appreciate you trying to help Mustang but it’s really not necessary. We’re brothers, we fight at times but at the end of the day we will still be brothers.” Ed slid off the piano bench, stood and leaned against the baby grand. “I’m not as embarrassed by the whole thing as you probably think. What I’m really upset about is the fact that Al assumes things about me instead of asking me about them.”

 

A quite voice from the doorway whispered, “I kinda just realized that.”

 

When Roy and Ed looked toward the door there stood Al and guilt was draped over him like a blanket. To Roy’s surprise Ed flashed his brother a genuine smile and replied, “It’ll be fine Al and don’t take all the blame for that, I don’t exactly go out of my way to share my thoughts.”

 

Roy watched as a small smile drifted across Al’s face. After seeing this, the smile on Ed’s face got bigger and he approached his brother and slung his arm around his shoulder. “Come on let’s go find that bag from Sandy’s the General brought with him.”

 

Without further ado and just like that the two of them walked out of the music room like nothing had happened. Roy just stood there by the piano blinking in disbelief. It was not that he was unhappy with the turn of events, quite the contrary, he was thrilled. He was just in awe of how quickly their emotions shifted and things switched back to normal.

 

“Are you coming Roy?” Ed yelled from a few rooms away. Roy shrugged his shoulders and headed for the kitchen.

 

Comments

[sadler-girl.livejournal.com]

That was great , Al is just so .....well not a kid anymore.

I loved the argument and the we Ed rationalized that he was pissed , but still able to forgive Al for hurting his feelings.
Roy was sweet as always.

[lynx212.livejournal.com]

Thanks I didn't want the Elric brothers to end up stuck as kids forever. Plus i wanted to give a little insight into them as people not just ALchemists or Prodigies. Hope I did well on both accounts and I will again say sorry for having to post this in two parts...but hey sometimes...ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[sadler-girl.livejournal.com]

I loved it totally in both pats.



Off topic here but did you ever get my message?

[lynx212.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it.

??? What message are you speaking of???