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lynx212Title: Underneath It All
Chapter 15: Skipping a Beat: Part Two
Genres: Angst/Romance
Rating: T
Pairing: Roy/Ed, Jean/Ed
Total Word Count: 11,911
Warnings: Some language and sexual references
Spoilers: Possible movie spoilers
A/N: Here's part Two of Two of Chapter 15. Part one found HERE
Once they got Taylor home and as unpacked as they could get her in the small shared space she had they were walking through the orphanage headed for Mrs. Drogan's office when the sound of a baby crying split the air. Sure there were lots of kids there but the youngest was around six. Last time Ed and Roy checked there were no babies at the city orphanage. Following the sound of the noise they encountered an odd sight.
Mrs. Drogan was holding the crying infant in one arm as she read instructions off a sheet to Mrs. Haley who was trying and failing at putting a crib together. Both women looked haggard as they had the baby crying as well as several smaller children under foot. Ed and Roy looked at each other for a moment before Ed took the baby from Mrs. Drogan as Roy worked to calm the other kids. He convinced them to go outside by offering to show them some fire alchemy if they would go rake the leaves for their care takers. All of the kids rushed outside and peace took over the room.
"I know you two aren't believers," Mrs. Drogan began, "but from where I stand you two were heaven sent."
Ed just smiled at the older lady as he bounced the infant in his arms. He had no real experience with babies but he'd watched enough women to know babies seemed to like gentle bouncing as long as they hadn’t just eaten.
"Where did this little guy come from?" Ed asked. "Was he here this morning when I came by?"
"Yes, she was here," Mrs. Haley corrected. "She was thankfully sleeping when you picked up Taylor."
"She arrived last night," Mrs. Drogan said. “Most of the kids were not even aware she was here until her cries took over the quiet morning. It was some adventure last night trying to find supplies for her at that hour but we made due."
"Let me and Ed have a crack at that crib," Roy offered.
"Gladly," Mrs. Drogan replied as she handed over the instruction sheet and reached for the infant. She was a lot of things but a carpenter wasn't one of them.
Once the crib was together and the infant settled inside in a nest of blankets the four adults retreated to the office. Once they were behind closed doors both women were very much looking their age, those ages being in their late fifties and early sixties.
"I'm too old for this," Mrs. Haley said. "Six and ten year olds are tiring enough but a baby," she said as she shook her head.
"Especially one this young," Mrs. Drogan said as she took her graying brown hair out of the sloppy bun it was in. "She's only a few weeks old at most."
"Wow," Roy said as he looked at both women with wide eyes. "Who dropped her off?"
"No clue," replied the completely gray haired Mrs. Haley. She was a short rotund woman that was nearly as wide as she was tall. "She was literally left on the door step with nothing more than an empty bottle and two blankets. No name was left with her. She didn't even have clothes on, poor thing."
"As it is she's wearing one of the smallest shirts we could find but it still swallows her."
"There wasn't much money in the budget to begin with and now this. The crib alone nearly broke us."
"If you ladies would give me a list I'll get you everything on it," Ed said without hesitation.
"I didn't say that for that reason Edward. You and your brother give us an insanely generous amount of money as it is. It's the City that needs to cough up more funding."
"Well until that time give me a list," Ed said sternly. "Kids going hungry and naked waiting on those pompous assholes to do what needs to be done is unacceptable."
"EDWARD!" Mrs. Haley shouted but Mrs. Drogan merely laughed.
The truth is the truth, Fran," Mrs. Drogan said. "I've written numerous proposals, appeals and I've spoken down at city hall during the meetings many times. They purposefully turn a blind eye to the situation here."
"Well maybe someone a little more firm needs to speak with them," Ed mumbled.
"What was that, Edo?"
"Nothing," Ed said as he pushed the ladies to get moving on the list. No sooner than they picked up a pencil did cries ring out from across the hall just as children started knocking on the door.
"You take the baby and I'll go entertain the others,” Roy suggested."Deal?"
"Deal," Ed agreed. The ladies told him where the diapers and milk were and he was on his way.
Back inside the bedroom Ed could see the blanket in the crib moving about but he couldn't see the baby. One look over the rail told him what the issue was. Her tiny feet were tangled in one of the blankets and she was livid about that turn of events. Ed freed the impossibly small feet from their entanglement and tiny toes came into view as their owner tried to calm her frantic cries.
"Hey there little lady. I would call you by your name but no one knows what that is. Are you ok down there now?”
The baby was looking up at Ed with a tear stained face and she opened her mouth as if to answer but the only thing that came out was a small hiccup. She blinked a few times seemingly stunned at what had just happened to her body. Another hiccup hit and she quickly decided she wasn’t a fan of hiccups. Letting out a wail that could wake the dead Ed moved to pick up the pissed off child.
This seemed to calm her some but each time another hiccup hit she grew upset all over again. After several minutes of this Ed decided it was time to take action and headed for the kitchen. He was in the kitchen with the upset infant when two of the smaller children came in to see what Ed was doing.
“Ed why is the baby crying?” The young girl asked.
“Because it’s hungry,” the boy answered matter-of-factly. “Everyone knows that’s why babies cry.”
“Quit being a know it all, Ben.”
“I don’t have to, Greta. I know that…”
“Guys, guys settle down don’t you think she’s making enough noise?”
Both kids fell silent with guilty looks on their faces but they never quit watching Ed. In fact he could hardly move for them.
“I thought you guys were outside watching Roy?”
“We were and he made the coolest fire bird in the sky, it was great!”
“It was but he said he couldn’t let it go on for long because it was hard to control.”
“Let that be a lesson guys,” Ed said as he continued pulling things out of the cabinets. “Alchemy and the power it puts forth has to be respected or people could get hurt. It may all look like fun and games to you guys but it can be really dangerous if you are not careful.”
Roy had come in as Ed’s back was turned and the sight he saw brought a smile to his face. Watching Ed move around cradling a cranky infant in one arm as he rifled through cabinets was inspiring enough but once you added the other two kids underfoot as he gave a life lesson the entire scene was beyond charming. Seeing that Ed needed to cook something Roy spoke up.
“Would you like me to hold her so you could use both hands?”
Ed let out a sigh of relief and handed over the still hiccupping infant. She took one look at Roy, gave him a toothless smile and cooed at the General. Ed laughed and said, “I guess it knows no age range.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Your legendary charm, I guess all ladies do adore you,” Ed joked.
Roy let out a laugh even though he wasn’t truly feeling amused. He’d trade the admiration of every woman in Amestris to have the affections of the man in front of him. Roy sat down at the table and called the other two children over to look at the baby, an action that gave Ed some room to work. As he spoke to the kids Roy looked at the ingredients on the counter: caraway, fennel, ginger, mint and honey but he couldn’t figure out what Ed was making.
“What are you cooking over there, Edo?”
“Happy Juice.”
“What?”
“Happy Juice. It was something mom use to make for Al when he was little because he often had stomach trouble and would become cranky or cry. The first time I paid attention to her making it I asked a dozen questions at least and it was then that she told me that she’d been making this since I was a baby and it always worked.”
“You remember the recipe from all that time ago?”
“All part of having my super brain I guess, but I’ve made it a few times since then.”
Roy watched as Ed made his little concoction that he only allowed to boil for a minute before turning the heat way down. He spooned out a couple of teaspoons of the liquid into a bowl as the rest of it was allowed to simmer. Finding her bottle in the fridge he poured the contents in a clean cup before washing the bottle and putting about a quarter cup of cold water in it then adding his hot concoction to it. He shook it up and tested it on his left wrist and it must have still been too warm for his liking because he added a splash more cold water.
With that done he handed it to Roy just as she was hit with another hiccup and was getting ready to wail. The instant the bottle touched her lips she was sucking away. As she drank Ed packaged up the rest of the happy juice after adding more water to it and put it in the fridge. The small amount of fluid was gone in no time and so were the hiccups apparently because she was nearly sleep again by the time they got up the steps.
Roy went to place her back in the crib but Ed shook his head no. He fussed around with blankets for a while and once he was happy with the arrangement he told Roy to lay her down. Once out in the hall Roy asked what that was all about.
“She was throwing a fit earlier because her feet were tangled. I figured she would sleep better if those little toes of hers stayed free.”
Both ladies were standing at the end of the hall looking at them in awe.
“For two men that have no children of your own you sure handled that like pros.”
“All in a day’s work,” Ed replied as he gave the ladies a mock salute. “Do you have that list ready?”
When the women handed him two pieces of paper Ed folded the papers and stuffed them in his back pocket without looking at them. After talking to the women for a bit longer, Roy and Ed left the orphanage with a lot on their minds. Once in the cabin of Roy’s car Roy said, “They have their hands full.”
“They do, too full to be honest. They are getting on in years. They need help. Lena and Ashley can only do so much. They have jobs too.”
“You’re going to stir the pot aren’t you?”
“The less you know the better,” Ed replied with a smirk. “But do you mind taking me home so I can grab the car and start shopping?”
“I could go with you if you don’t mind company.”
“I’d love it to be honest. I haven’t looked at the lists but I’m sure I’ll need help deciphering it.”
The shopping took longer than they thought. By the time they were done with that and delivering everything to the ladies at the orphanage the nearly full moon was high in the sky. When Roy went to drop Ed off at home Ed invited him in and Roy accepted. He might as well finish the day off right. It wasn’t as if he was ever ready to leave Ed’s presence anyway.
After making quick work of four sandwiches and a couple of glasses of juice two tired men flopped down in the Elric living room and damn near sighed in unison. They sat there talking about the day’s events for a bit before Roy asked where Al was. The smile that split Ed’s face was wicked indeed.
“Probably somewhere being happily molested by Lena.”
“So are they an official item now?”
"I don't think they know what they're doing yet, but they seem to be enjoying the process of figuring it out so I won't say a thing."
“Well at least they are on speaking terms now. It was rough going for a while.”
“It was. Remember that night I had to pull them from the show?”
Roy did remember. He probably would never forget it.
The band was at Fidel's, the house was packed and Al and Lena were sounding like shit. He was out of tune and slow to start his solos. She was either coming in early, late or singing over the other back up vocalists. In other words it was a disaster. Three songs in Ed had, had enough and announced an early intermission for the band.
When everyone followed him backstage Ed looked at his brother and Lena and asked them if they wanted to sit out tonight. When both of them refused Zack said, "I think you two might want to reconsider that."
"If I said I'm fine to play, I'm fine," Al grumbled.
"I think I have to disagree with you on that Al. I think you two need to sit this one out. In fact I insist."
"Since when did this become your band?" Al shouted and for the first time in a long time everyone got a glimpse at that infamous temper Ed kept a lid on most days.
"Since you started playing like a drunken sailor on shore leave," Ed replied sternly.
"Sorry I'm not perfect all the time, Brother."
"Don't get pissy with me Al. I'm not the one you've got the damn problem with," Ed hissed as he looked over at Lena. "I'm not usually one to interfere in someone else's personal life but when it bleeds over into my world and starts causing me problems I can't keep quiet. Go fix what's bothering you. Your place isn't on stage tonight."
"Look I said I'm fine now let's just …"
"Apparently you didn't understand me Al, I said go."
"But…"
"No buts, if either of you set foot back in that building before fixing this mess you've made between you I swear I'll transmute you both bald."
"Ed," Lena said. "I think we can…"
"Lena I love you dearly but right now I don't give a shit what either of you think. I know for a fact you were making the band, and not to mention Fidel, look like two bit amateurs tonight. He sold tickets to tonight's show. People have paid to see us do our thing and we are going to give them their money's worth. If that means we have to do it without you two then so be it."
When Al and Lena fell silent Ed asked everyone else if they were ready to go back in. When they nodded, everyone minus the troubled singer and guitarist filed back inside. The band played the 'sick Al" lineup of songs and the show went on at a much more reasonable tempo.
Yeah that was an interesting night to say the least.
After their stroll down memory lane Ed went into the kitchen to refill his drink only to have another memory hit him. He shook his head as he pulled the juice pitcher out of fridge but memories were still flooding his mind faster than he could filter through them. Taking a deep breath he sat the juice and his glass down and tried to reign in his emotions. When he realized it wasn't working he slipped out of the side door and onto the porch to get some much needed air.
In the next room Roy heard the kitchen door creak shut and just assumed Ed was taking out the trash or something like that. When several minutes passed and Ed didn’t return Roy went looking for him. When Roy found him Ed was looking out over the railing of the porch into the yard in a daze. Roy would have been more than content to just let him stare off into space if he hadn't noticed how his eyes were glassing over. At first he thought it was a trick of the moonlight but when Ed looked away from him and sniffed he realized there was a problem.
"Are you okay over there Edo?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Ed replied but the hitch in his voice was not convincing.
"Want to talk about it?"
Ed bit his lip for a second before he said, "The first time I made Happy Juice was three nights after mom died."
Roy was stunned silent. What could a person say to that?
"Al had cried himself into a mess, he hadn't been eating and his stomach was in knots. Pinako had convinced him to eat some watermelon and even that light snack had his stomach protesting. I made it then and I remember crying the whole time I was cooking it. Not the loud sobbing crying but tears were streaming down my face the entire time."
"That must have been hard. I can't even imagine losing my only parent then having a little brother to take care of."
"It was a little heavy that's for damn sure. But I made the juice, it worked and for the first time in three days I felt like it was going to be okay. That even without mom or dad, Al and I would survive."
"You two amaze me."
Ed merely shrugged at Roy's comment before tilting his head skyward. He spent several moments blinking back tears then sighed, "That poor baby girl will have no memory of her parents."
"It is something I would wish on no one."
"I'm already wondering what will happen to her."
"Me too, Edo me too."
It was a somber thought to end the night on but that's what they did. Life couldn't always be rainbows and roses and today reminded them of this less than cheerful fact. They couldn't save the world but part of them wanted to try anyway.
+++
Before anyone knew it, fall was in full swing and it was time for Ed and Elysia’s birthday. Unlike his brother, Ed preferred something much more low-key so he always celebrated privately or via a joint gathering with Elysia, much to Al’s dismay. The younger Elric thought Ed was missing out on the true joy of his birthday by not having a big party.
In all honesty Ed had too much on his plate and on his mind to be concerned about a big party. There was the growing issue with the lack of funds at the orphanage and the baby girl they finally named Noraleen. Ed crinkled his nose at the name and consistently shortened it to Nora. There was his growing relationship with the lieutenant, and the fact that he had come to the happy conclusion that he was very much in love with Jean Havoc. There was the band and the fact that every time they looked up someone was trying to make them turn their hobby into career. There was that nasty issue the military discovered brewing on the outskirts of West City. It hadn't been said flat out but Ed knew something was on the verge of happening because the Führer already had him and Maes working on a plan and putting together a team. The stress of that alone was heavy enough and he couldn’t share the burden either. Only five people knew what was potentially brewing in the sparsely populated area between West City and Creta. At least he could talk to Maes when they were alone. If not for that some days Ed thought he would go nuts.
In other words life was busy.
When it came time to relax and have fun for the party Ed was all for it being small and low-key. This year, since the occasion fell on a Saturday, Gracia had decided they would have the party with Elysia and her friends during the day at their house then have the second gathering out at their lakeside cabin. She thought it would be a nice change of pace from their usual backyard cookout.
When that evening came around Elysia was so excited she couldn’t hold still. Ed wasn’t bouncing around like she was but everyone could tell he was excited as well. The day had gone by swimmingly and everyone was having a great time. Roy was watching the Elric brothers chase Elysia around when a voice behind him startled him out of his reverie.
“You alright there, Chief?”
“I’m fine, Jean.”
“You sure? You looked like you were in a daze.”
“Just thinking.”
“Really? I didn’t realize your thoughts were gold and blue,” Jean said before walking toward the grill where Breda was.
Roy was confused for a moment before Ed, Elysia and Al zipping by once more caught his attention. It was then that Jean’s odd comment made sense. Ed had his hair down, per the birthday girl’s request, and he was wearing a striking royal blue shirt that made that golden mane of his seem to glow. When Roy looked in Jean’s direction he noticed that the man was already looking at him. Roy knew the beginning of an issue when he saw one so he opted not rise to the obvious bait, ignored Jean’s comment as he pretended like nothing had transpired between them at all.
Taking a deep breath Roy shouted over to Breda and asked him if he needed anything. Thankfully the man answered yes then followed that by a list of items giving Roy the perfect excuse to go inside. Once in the kitchen Roy immediately started gathering the things Breda asked for. However, his tense movements were all too obvious to Maes the moment the man entered the room.
“Easy there Roy Boy, what’s wrong?”
Roy’s eyes scanned the room.
“We’re alone, no worries so spill it.”
“Apparently my Ed watching hasn’t escaped Jean’s notice. I hadn’t realized I was so obvious.”
“You’re not.”
“Apparently I am because… “
“No,” Maes cut in, “He watches you two like a hawk when you’re together. He has done so since the night you showed up at Fidel’s.”
“The night Ed and I… danced together?” Roy asked, it was so hard to call that incident a mere dance and he knew Maes loved pointing that out.
“No, I’m referring to the very first time you joined us all there. That vertical make out session set to music simply made it worse”
Roy rolled his eyes at Maes’ commentary and asked, “But why?” as he sat the last item on the counter.
Green eyes scanned the room before looking through the doorway and into the thankfully empty living room. When he deemed it safe Maes lowered his voice and replied, “You two are friends but you also have history. Bad history and that’s left Jean with issues where you are concerned. He’s so jealous of you at times he can’t see straight and your close-knit friendship with his boyfriend is unnerving him but his pride won’t let him admit it to you or to Edward.”
“What should I do?”
“I’ve noticed he has had you under more intense scrutiny for a few weeks now. I’d steer clear of him, give Ed some space and don’t do anything to set him off.”
“Easier said than done since I’m on his shit list.”
“Did something happen to inspire his latest bout of Roy-hating? I haven’t seen him this bad since the Susan incident.”
Roy cringed at the mere mention of that. That incident damn near tore the group apart. War, homunculus, corrupt government, and it was a waitress at some all night diner by the docks that was damn near their undoing… the whole situation was insane.
“Well he was upset enough with Ed when we came back from that road trip we took a while back to express it even if it was with thinly veiled sarcasm.”
Hughes rubbed his chin and narrowed those keen eyes at Roy before asking, “What are you not telling me?”
Roy sighed because he really didn’t want to go into it. It was a hard memory to think on or rehash. It was one of those moments that made him love the man just out of his reach that much more. Steeling his nerves Roy told Maes about everything that lead up to his Ed-less weekend and how it ended up being any and everything but. He told Maes how through a weird twist of fate they ended up spending the whole day together, not talking and just enjoying each other’s presence when Jean had found them on his porch watching the sun set.
“No wonder he’s got you on his radar.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen Maes I was honestly trying to avoid him.”
“And you don’t think it’s odd that even when that’s your goal to avoid him fate manages to throw the two of you together anyway? I know you don’t believe in a higher power but even you have to think it’s more than coincidental. ”
“I… I just don’t know what to do or think anymore. Jean is ready to skin me alive and this time I don’t blame him.”
“Hey if I had my way I’d let you two fight it out gladiator style and to the winner goes the, Ed.”
“Can it Maes and help me carry this stuff outside. I’m going to grab some beer as a peace offering.”
Roy did just that and when they approached the grill, the supplies and beer were met with broad smiles all around and the four men stood by the grill drinking and laughing until Elysia announced it was time to play a game. Being used to the little girl’s homemade games everyone followed her lead.
Elysia and Ed were sitting in two chairs in front of everyone as Gracia and Al handed out sheets of paper and pencils. It was a list of questions, not just any questions but questions asking favorites from colors to food to songs for both her and Ed. The birthday girl said that she and Ed had already written down their answers and placed them in the Kitchen. The deal was that the two people that got the most answers right got the two mystery gifts. One Ed had made and one she had made. As the two people closest to the birthday duo Al and Gracia were barred from the game and relegated to tallying up the answers.
With the rules established Ed and Elysia basically sat in front of everyone and sang that maddening never ending song for three minutes. When time was up they gave a loud annoying sound that resembled a buzzer indicating that pencils had to go down. Everyone passed their papers to Al. Once he had them all him and Gracia headed for the kitchen with the answers to determine the winners.
Everyone was milling around and snacking on food as they awaited the big reveal. Everyone knew Maes would be the winner on Elysia’s side and figured it would be Jean on Ed’s. Imagine everyone’s surprise when Gracia announced Maes and Roy as the winners. Everyone cheered… well almost everyone cheered. Jean was giving Roy a look so heated it could have boiled water as Roy stepped beside Maes behind the two mystery gifts.
Ed’s brain was spinning at hundred miles an hour. He had been certain with Al taken out of the equation Jean was a shoe in as the other winner. He didn’t know how to feel about Roy winning the game on his side. It wasn’t that he really cared it just left him with an odd feeling. When he looked at Jean the man looked pissed but Ed merely shrugged his shoulders and winked at him. When Jean winked back Ed smiled before turning his attention to where everyone else was looking and that was at Maes and Roy.
As Roy and Maes started opening the boxes Roy’s heart was thudding in his chest and Maes snickering the way he was, wasn’t helping matters. He could feel the look Jean was giving him and more than anything he wished he’d given his actions over the last five minutes more thought. However, he hadn’t and had simply written down what came to mind given what he knew of Ed and Elysia.
This was not helping his situation with Jean at all.
Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it so he might as well open the box. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter anyway. Roy lifted the lid off the box and froze. He didn’t know what he was expecting but the crystal griffin reared up on its hind legs with its wings spread wide wasn’t it. The statue was nearly a foot tall and the hooves, wingtips, talons and beak were painted gold. It was mounted to a stained and polished slab of wood and Roy’s mind went blank. All he could do was stare at it.
Ed hadn’t made this with alchemy he’d done it with his own two hands. Roy had seen him with paperbacks on the craft as well as various mythology art books over the past several weeks. He couldn’t even imagine how much effort Ed had put into what he was seeing. Roy was grateful when Gracia shouted for them to holdup their prizes so she could take pictures. He needed the distraction. When Maes firmly suggested they take their prizes inside to keep them safe Roy followed.
Once inside and up the stairs Maes asked, “That’s your idea of not setting him off?”
“I wasn’t thinking, Maes. I swear I wasn’t.”
“I know, I know it just makes things more difficult and Ed’s gift being as elaborate as it is doesn’t help.”
“You think I should give it to him?”
“If you were Jean would you want it after the fact?”
“Good point I suppose I… oh shit.”
“Now what?” Maes asked as he placed the two delicate gifts on the dresser.
“I need to get my gift to Ed out of the pile.”
“Why?”
“It’s going to make things worse.”
“How?”
“It’s kind of extravagant.”
“Kind of as in, oh that’s a bit much but Ed’s a good friend or is it more along the lines of, I’m eating hot dogs for the next month?”
“Kind of as in, I really didn’t think how something like this would be perceived by everyone, it cost as much as a used automobile but I really wanted him to have it and you should have seen his face when we saw it and how much he enjoyed it and... and… just fuck me running.”
“You might end up running once Jean sees it,” Maes joked but one good look at his best friend had him sighing. Putting a comforting hand on one of Roy’s slumped shoulders he said, “Anything to do with Ed robs you of your sense of reason doesn’t it? You’re really that deeply in love with him aren’t you?”
When Roy looked down at his feet and nodded Maes patted him on the shoulder. He was in the midst of telling him he’d try and devise a plan to relocate his gift when the sound of rushed footsteps reached their ears moments before Kain appeared in the doorway.
"Come guys you're holding up the cake cutting!" Fuery shouted as he appeared in the doorway.
"Ok we'll be down in a few minutes."
"Better hurry there's an impatient birthday girl outside."
"We will," Maes answered cheerfully and once Fuery was gone he said, "Ok I'll see what I can do Roy but I can make no promises. Elysia will want to dive into those gifts as soon as the cake hits her plate.”
“It’s ok Maes this is my own fault so don’t worry about it, I’ll just deal with it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck no I’m not sure. Jean looked ready to skin me alive for winning that game.”
“So I saw. You two need to find a way to dissolve the tension between you before it explodes. It’s been building for a while now.”
“I’m hoping no one really knows what this thing is so its cost won’t register in their minds.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you Roy Boy.”
“Thanks Maes. Let’s go so they can cut the cake.”
When the duo reappeared outside both Ed and Elysia had cake cutters in hand and were ready to go. It was hard to decide which cake looked more delectable, Elysia’s Chocolate cake with caramel coconut icing or Ed’s red velvet cake with butter cream icing. Gracia had outdone herself this year and from bite one everyone was certain that there wasn’t going to be a slice of leftover cake from either one.
Jean was still giving Roy nasty looks but Roy was giving him a wide breadth so things were going as well as they could be. Maes was watching the two closely and he was ready to intervene at a moment’s notice if the situation called for it. Thankfully all was going well as Elysia began opening her gifts and by the time she was done and it was Ed’s turn things were fairly normal.
Ed was racking up and when he opened one of the gifts from Jean it was a new camera and two lenses to go with it. All could see Ed was more than a little pleased with that gift and the second one from Jean was an ornate set of calligraphy pens and that put a mile wide grin on Ed’s face that had Jean feeling rather smug. Unfortunately for Jean, that feeling was short lived. Kain and Breda brought over the last gift in Ed’s pile and when they sat it in front of him the size, shape and heft had Ed confused.
That feeling vanished the instant Ed opened the package in front of him. He gasped as golden eyes went impossibly wide right before his jaw dropped. He looked down in the box, up at Roy, back down in the box then up at Roy again, speechless.
“What is it Brother?” Al asked from his position at the end of the table.
Ed didn’t answer; he was still shaking his head in disbelief as he reached in the box with both hands and pulled out the gift that had him so awestruck. Once the item came into sight it grabbed everyone’s attention. Soon nearly all the guests were gathered around Ed and the odd looking device he’d received from Roy.
“I… I can’t believe you did this,” Ed finally stuttered out as he looked over at Roy. The dark haired man said nothing and merely smiled at him in response.
“What’s this thing do, Ed?” Elysia asked as she walked up beside him. “It looks like a squished piano.”
Ed chuckled and answered, “If kind of is.”
“Does it function like a piano?” Riza asked as she peered down at the odd looking device.
“It does that and much more,” Ed said as his eyes drifted over to Roy for a split second before asking Kain to help him carry it over to the nearest power supply.
Ed sat there and thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. After a bit of tweaking and key pressing Ed had the keyboard tuned do it sounded like a trumpet. With that done he played a familiar riff from a popular jazz song. The melody had everyone in awe over how much it sounded like the intended instrument instead of the piano it seemed to be.
It wasn’t long before Ed’s fooling around drew in most of the band members. It didn’t take long for everyone to pick up their instruments and start making music. Once they started no one wanted to stop. Ed kept playing around with the sounds coming out of his gift and it had everyone singing and dancing. The lanterns were lit and the cake was gone before they all finally settled down around the small bonfire Maes and Breda had made.
The birthday girl was the first one to fall asleep but it was hours before any of the adults were ready to join her. The night ended on a high note despite the fact two men were doing a dangerous dance around each other. He’d never voice it but Maes knew there was no recovery from this for Roy and Jean and he hated it. Watching Ed float blissfully unaware between the two was only making it harder. The temptation to pull the young man aside and clue him was hard to deny. But Ed would ask a thousand questions that Maes couldn’t answer without either overstepping his boundaries, betraying someone’s trust or just plain sticking his nose in were it didn’t belong.
Interfering wasn't an option for Maes, despite him knowing that the situation was as volatile as a stick of dynamite and tonight's events had lit the fuse.
Chapter 15: Skipping a Beat: Part Two
Genres: Angst/Romance
Rating: T
Pairing: Roy/Ed, Jean/Ed
Total Word Count: 11,911
Warnings: Some language and sexual references
Spoilers: Possible movie spoilers
A/N: Here's part Two of Two of Chapter 15. Part one found HERE
Once they got Taylor home and as unpacked as they could get her in the small shared space she had they were walking through the orphanage headed for Mrs. Drogan's office when the sound of a baby crying split the air. Sure there were lots of kids there but the youngest was around six. Last time Ed and Roy checked there were no babies at the city orphanage. Following the sound of the noise they encountered an odd sight.
Mrs. Drogan was holding the crying infant in one arm as she read instructions off a sheet to Mrs. Haley who was trying and failing at putting a crib together. Both women looked haggard as they had the baby crying as well as several smaller children under foot. Ed and Roy looked at each other for a moment before Ed took the baby from Mrs. Drogan as Roy worked to calm the other kids. He convinced them to go outside by offering to show them some fire alchemy if they would go rake the leaves for their care takers. All of the kids rushed outside and peace took over the room.
"I know you two aren't believers," Mrs. Drogan began, "but from where I stand you two were heaven sent."
Ed just smiled at the older lady as he bounced the infant in his arms. He had no real experience with babies but he'd watched enough women to know babies seemed to like gentle bouncing as long as they hadn’t just eaten.
"Where did this little guy come from?" Ed asked. "Was he here this morning when I came by?"
"Yes, she was here," Mrs. Haley corrected. "She was thankfully sleeping when you picked up Taylor."
"She arrived last night," Mrs. Drogan said. “Most of the kids were not even aware she was here until her cries took over the quiet morning. It was some adventure last night trying to find supplies for her at that hour but we made due."
"Let me and Ed have a crack at that crib," Roy offered.
"Gladly," Mrs. Drogan replied as she handed over the instruction sheet and reached for the infant. She was a lot of things but a carpenter wasn't one of them.
Once the crib was together and the infant settled inside in a nest of blankets the four adults retreated to the office. Once they were behind closed doors both women were very much looking their age, those ages being in their late fifties and early sixties.
"I'm too old for this," Mrs. Haley said. "Six and ten year olds are tiring enough but a baby," she said as she shook her head.
"Especially one this young," Mrs. Drogan said as she took her graying brown hair out of the sloppy bun it was in. "She's only a few weeks old at most."
"Wow," Roy said as he looked at both women with wide eyes. "Who dropped her off?"
"No clue," replied the completely gray haired Mrs. Haley. She was a short rotund woman that was nearly as wide as she was tall. "She was literally left on the door step with nothing more than an empty bottle and two blankets. No name was left with her. She didn't even have clothes on, poor thing."
"As it is she's wearing one of the smallest shirts we could find but it still swallows her."
"There wasn't much money in the budget to begin with and now this. The crib alone nearly broke us."
"If you ladies would give me a list I'll get you everything on it," Ed said without hesitation.
"I didn't say that for that reason Edward. You and your brother give us an insanely generous amount of money as it is. It's the City that needs to cough up more funding."
"Well until that time give me a list," Ed said sternly. "Kids going hungry and naked waiting on those pompous assholes to do what needs to be done is unacceptable."
"EDWARD!" Mrs. Haley shouted but Mrs. Drogan merely laughed.
The truth is the truth, Fran," Mrs. Drogan said. "I've written numerous proposals, appeals and I've spoken down at city hall during the meetings many times. They purposefully turn a blind eye to the situation here."
"Well maybe someone a little more firm needs to speak with them," Ed mumbled.
"What was that, Edo?"
"Nothing," Ed said as he pushed the ladies to get moving on the list. No sooner than they picked up a pencil did cries ring out from across the hall just as children started knocking on the door.
"You take the baby and I'll go entertain the others,” Roy suggested."Deal?"
"Deal," Ed agreed. The ladies told him where the diapers and milk were and he was on his way.
Back inside the bedroom Ed could see the blanket in the crib moving about but he couldn't see the baby. One look over the rail told him what the issue was. Her tiny feet were tangled in one of the blankets and she was livid about that turn of events. Ed freed the impossibly small feet from their entanglement and tiny toes came into view as their owner tried to calm her frantic cries.
"Hey there little lady. I would call you by your name but no one knows what that is. Are you ok down there now?”
The baby was looking up at Ed with a tear stained face and she opened her mouth as if to answer but the only thing that came out was a small hiccup. She blinked a few times seemingly stunned at what had just happened to her body. Another hiccup hit and she quickly decided she wasn’t a fan of hiccups. Letting out a wail that could wake the dead Ed moved to pick up the pissed off child.
This seemed to calm her some but each time another hiccup hit she grew upset all over again. After several minutes of this Ed decided it was time to take action and headed for the kitchen. He was in the kitchen with the upset infant when two of the smaller children came in to see what Ed was doing.
“Ed why is the baby crying?” The young girl asked.
“Because it’s hungry,” the boy answered matter-of-factly. “Everyone knows that’s why babies cry.”
“Quit being a know it all, Ben.”
“I don’t have to, Greta. I know that…”
“Guys, guys settle down don’t you think she’s making enough noise?”
Both kids fell silent with guilty looks on their faces but they never quit watching Ed. In fact he could hardly move for them.
“I thought you guys were outside watching Roy?”
“We were and he made the coolest fire bird in the sky, it was great!”
“It was but he said he couldn’t let it go on for long because it was hard to control.”
“Let that be a lesson guys,” Ed said as he continued pulling things out of the cabinets. “Alchemy and the power it puts forth has to be respected or people could get hurt. It may all look like fun and games to you guys but it can be really dangerous if you are not careful.”
Roy had come in as Ed’s back was turned and the sight he saw brought a smile to his face. Watching Ed move around cradling a cranky infant in one arm as he rifled through cabinets was inspiring enough but once you added the other two kids underfoot as he gave a life lesson the entire scene was beyond charming. Seeing that Ed needed to cook something Roy spoke up.
“Would you like me to hold her so you could use both hands?”
Ed let out a sigh of relief and handed over the still hiccupping infant. She took one look at Roy, gave him a toothless smile and cooed at the General. Ed laughed and said, “I guess it knows no age range.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Your legendary charm, I guess all ladies do adore you,” Ed joked.
Roy let out a laugh even though he wasn’t truly feeling amused. He’d trade the admiration of every woman in Amestris to have the affections of the man in front of him. Roy sat down at the table and called the other two children over to look at the baby, an action that gave Ed some room to work. As he spoke to the kids Roy looked at the ingredients on the counter: caraway, fennel, ginger, mint and honey but he couldn’t figure out what Ed was making.
“What are you cooking over there, Edo?”
“Happy Juice.”
“What?”
“Happy Juice. It was something mom use to make for Al when he was little because he often had stomach trouble and would become cranky or cry. The first time I paid attention to her making it I asked a dozen questions at least and it was then that she told me that she’d been making this since I was a baby and it always worked.”
“You remember the recipe from all that time ago?”
“All part of having my super brain I guess, but I’ve made it a few times since then.”
Roy watched as Ed made his little concoction that he only allowed to boil for a minute before turning the heat way down. He spooned out a couple of teaspoons of the liquid into a bowl as the rest of it was allowed to simmer. Finding her bottle in the fridge he poured the contents in a clean cup before washing the bottle and putting about a quarter cup of cold water in it then adding his hot concoction to it. He shook it up and tested it on his left wrist and it must have still been too warm for his liking because he added a splash more cold water.
With that done he handed it to Roy just as she was hit with another hiccup and was getting ready to wail. The instant the bottle touched her lips she was sucking away. As she drank Ed packaged up the rest of the happy juice after adding more water to it and put it in the fridge. The small amount of fluid was gone in no time and so were the hiccups apparently because she was nearly sleep again by the time they got up the steps.
Roy went to place her back in the crib but Ed shook his head no. He fussed around with blankets for a while and once he was happy with the arrangement he told Roy to lay her down. Once out in the hall Roy asked what that was all about.
“She was throwing a fit earlier because her feet were tangled. I figured she would sleep better if those little toes of hers stayed free.”
Both ladies were standing at the end of the hall looking at them in awe.
“For two men that have no children of your own you sure handled that like pros.”
“All in a day’s work,” Ed replied as he gave the ladies a mock salute. “Do you have that list ready?”
When the women handed him two pieces of paper Ed folded the papers and stuffed them in his back pocket without looking at them. After talking to the women for a bit longer, Roy and Ed left the orphanage with a lot on their minds. Once in the cabin of Roy’s car Roy said, “They have their hands full.”
“They do, too full to be honest. They are getting on in years. They need help. Lena and Ashley can only do so much. They have jobs too.”
“You’re going to stir the pot aren’t you?”
“The less you know the better,” Ed replied with a smirk. “But do you mind taking me home so I can grab the car and start shopping?”
“I could go with you if you don’t mind company.”
“I’d love it to be honest. I haven’t looked at the lists but I’m sure I’ll need help deciphering it.”
The shopping took longer than they thought. By the time they were done with that and delivering everything to the ladies at the orphanage the nearly full moon was high in the sky. When Roy went to drop Ed off at home Ed invited him in and Roy accepted. He might as well finish the day off right. It wasn’t as if he was ever ready to leave Ed’s presence anyway.
After making quick work of four sandwiches and a couple of glasses of juice two tired men flopped down in the Elric living room and damn near sighed in unison. They sat there talking about the day’s events for a bit before Roy asked where Al was. The smile that split Ed’s face was wicked indeed.
“Probably somewhere being happily molested by Lena.”
“So are they an official item now?”
"I don't think they know what they're doing yet, but they seem to be enjoying the process of figuring it out so I won't say a thing."
“Well at least they are on speaking terms now. It was rough going for a while.”
“It was. Remember that night I had to pull them from the show?”
Roy did remember. He probably would never forget it.
The band was at Fidel's, the house was packed and Al and Lena were sounding like shit. He was out of tune and slow to start his solos. She was either coming in early, late or singing over the other back up vocalists. In other words it was a disaster. Three songs in Ed had, had enough and announced an early intermission for the band.
When everyone followed him backstage Ed looked at his brother and Lena and asked them if they wanted to sit out tonight. When both of them refused Zack said, "I think you two might want to reconsider that."
"If I said I'm fine to play, I'm fine," Al grumbled.
"I think I have to disagree with you on that Al. I think you two need to sit this one out. In fact I insist."
"Since when did this become your band?" Al shouted and for the first time in a long time everyone got a glimpse at that infamous temper Ed kept a lid on most days.
"Since you started playing like a drunken sailor on shore leave," Ed replied sternly.
"Sorry I'm not perfect all the time, Brother."
"Don't get pissy with me Al. I'm not the one you've got the damn problem with," Ed hissed as he looked over at Lena. "I'm not usually one to interfere in someone else's personal life but when it bleeds over into my world and starts causing me problems I can't keep quiet. Go fix what's bothering you. Your place isn't on stage tonight."
"Look I said I'm fine now let's just …"
"Apparently you didn't understand me Al, I said go."
"But…"
"No buts, if either of you set foot back in that building before fixing this mess you've made between you I swear I'll transmute you both bald."
"Ed," Lena said. "I think we can…"
"Lena I love you dearly but right now I don't give a shit what either of you think. I know for a fact you were making the band, and not to mention Fidel, look like two bit amateurs tonight. He sold tickets to tonight's show. People have paid to see us do our thing and we are going to give them their money's worth. If that means we have to do it without you two then so be it."
When Al and Lena fell silent Ed asked everyone else if they were ready to go back in. When they nodded, everyone minus the troubled singer and guitarist filed back inside. The band played the 'sick Al" lineup of songs and the show went on at a much more reasonable tempo.
Yeah that was an interesting night to say the least.
After their stroll down memory lane Ed went into the kitchen to refill his drink only to have another memory hit him. He shook his head as he pulled the juice pitcher out of fridge but memories were still flooding his mind faster than he could filter through them. Taking a deep breath he sat the juice and his glass down and tried to reign in his emotions. When he realized it wasn't working he slipped out of the side door and onto the porch to get some much needed air.
In the next room Roy heard the kitchen door creak shut and just assumed Ed was taking out the trash or something like that. When several minutes passed and Ed didn’t return Roy went looking for him. When Roy found him Ed was looking out over the railing of the porch into the yard in a daze. Roy would have been more than content to just let him stare off into space if he hadn't noticed how his eyes were glassing over. At first he thought it was a trick of the moonlight but when Ed looked away from him and sniffed he realized there was a problem.
"Are you okay over there Edo?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Ed replied but the hitch in his voice was not convincing.
"Want to talk about it?"
Ed bit his lip for a second before he said, "The first time I made Happy Juice was three nights after mom died."
Roy was stunned silent. What could a person say to that?
"Al had cried himself into a mess, he hadn't been eating and his stomach was in knots. Pinako had convinced him to eat some watermelon and even that light snack had his stomach protesting. I made it then and I remember crying the whole time I was cooking it. Not the loud sobbing crying but tears were streaming down my face the entire time."
"That must have been hard. I can't even imagine losing my only parent then having a little brother to take care of."
"It was a little heavy that's for damn sure. But I made the juice, it worked and for the first time in three days I felt like it was going to be okay. That even without mom or dad, Al and I would survive."
"You two amaze me."
Ed merely shrugged at Roy's comment before tilting his head skyward. He spent several moments blinking back tears then sighed, "That poor baby girl will have no memory of her parents."
"It is something I would wish on no one."
"I'm already wondering what will happen to her."
"Me too, Edo me too."
It was a somber thought to end the night on but that's what they did. Life couldn't always be rainbows and roses and today reminded them of this less than cheerful fact. They couldn't save the world but part of them wanted to try anyway.
+++
Before anyone knew it, fall was in full swing and it was time for Ed and Elysia’s birthday. Unlike his brother, Ed preferred something much more low-key so he always celebrated privately or via a joint gathering with Elysia, much to Al’s dismay. The younger Elric thought Ed was missing out on the true joy of his birthday by not having a big party.
In all honesty Ed had too much on his plate and on his mind to be concerned about a big party. There was the growing issue with the lack of funds at the orphanage and the baby girl they finally named Noraleen. Ed crinkled his nose at the name and consistently shortened it to Nora. There was his growing relationship with the lieutenant, and the fact that he had come to the happy conclusion that he was very much in love with Jean Havoc. There was the band and the fact that every time they looked up someone was trying to make them turn their hobby into career. There was that nasty issue the military discovered brewing on the outskirts of West City. It hadn't been said flat out but Ed knew something was on the verge of happening because the Führer already had him and Maes working on a plan and putting together a team. The stress of that alone was heavy enough and he couldn’t share the burden either. Only five people knew what was potentially brewing in the sparsely populated area between West City and Creta. At least he could talk to Maes when they were alone. If not for that some days Ed thought he would go nuts.
In other words life was busy.
When it came time to relax and have fun for the party Ed was all for it being small and low-key. This year, since the occasion fell on a Saturday, Gracia had decided they would have the party with Elysia and her friends during the day at their house then have the second gathering out at their lakeside cabin. She thought it would be a nice change of pace from their usual backyard cookout.
When that evening came around Elysia was so excited she couldn’t hold still. Ed wasn’t bouncing around like she was but everyone could tell he was excited as well. The day had gone by swimmingly and everyone was having a great time. Roy was watching the Elric brothers chase Elysia around when a voice behind him startled him out of his reverie.
“You alright there, Chief?”
“I’m fine, Jean.”
“You sure? You looked like you were in a daze.”
“Just thinking.”
“Really? I didn’t realize your thoughts were gold and blue,” Jean said before walking toward the grill where Breda was.
Roy was confused for a moment before Ed, Elysia and Al zipping by once more caught his attention. It was then that Jean’s odd comment made sense. Ed had his hair down, per the birthday girl’s request, and he was wearing a striking royal blue shirt that made that golden mane of his seem to glow. When Roy looked in Jean’s direction he noticed that the man was already looking at him. Roy knew the beginning of an issue when he saw one so he opted not rise to the obvious bait, ignored Jean’s comment as he pretended like nothing had transpired between them at all.
Taking a deep breath Roy shouted over to Breda and asked him if he needed anything. Thankfully the man answered yes then followed that by a list of items giving Roy the perfect excuse to go inside. Once in the kitchen Roy immediately started gathering the things Breda asked for. However, his tense movements were all too obvious to Maes the moment the man entered the room.
“Easy there Roy Boy, what’s wrong?”
Roy’s eyes scanned the room.
“We’re alone, no worries so spill it.”
“Apparently my Ed watching hasn’t escaped Jean’s notice. I hadn’t realized I was so obvious.”
“You’re not.”
“Apparently I am because… “
“No,” Maes cut in, “He watches you two like a hawk when you’re together. He has done so since the night you showed up at Fidel’s.”
“The night Ed and I… danced together?” Roy asked, it was so hard to call that incident a mere dance and he knew Maes loved pointing that out.
“No, I’m referring to the very first time you joined us all there. That vertical make out session set to music simply made it worse”
Roy rolled his eyes at Maes’ commentary and asked, “But why?” as he sat the last item on the counter.
Green eyes scanned the room before looking through the doorway and into the thankfully empty living room. When he deemed it safe Maes lowered his voice and replied, “You two are friends but you also have history. Bad history and that’s left Jean with issues where you are concerned. He’s so jealous of you at times he can’t see straight and your close-knit friendship with his boyfriend is unnerving him but his pride won’t let him admit it to you or to Edward.”
“What should I do?”
“I’ve noticed he has had you under more intense scrutiny for a few weeks now. I’d steer clear of him, give Ed some space and don’t do anything to set him off.”
“Easier said than done since I’m on his shit list.”
“Did something happen to inspire his latest bout of Roy-hating? I haven’t seen him this bad since the Susan incident.”
Roy cringed at the mere mention of that. That incident damn near tore the group apart. War, homunculus, corrupt government, and it was a waitress at some all night diner by the docks that was damn near their undoing… the whole situation was insane.
“Well he was upset enough with Ed when we came back from that road trip we took a while back to express it even if it was with thinly veiled sarcasm.”
Hughes rubbed his chin and narrowed those keen eyes at Roy before asking, “What are you not telling me?”
Roy sighed because he really didn’t want to go into it. It was a hard memory to think on or rehash. It was one of those moments that made him love the man just out of his reach that much more. Steeling his nerves Roy told Maes about everything that lead up to his Ed-less weekend and how it ended up being any and everything but. He told Maes how through a weird twist of fate they ended up spending the whole day together, not talking and just enjoying each other’s presence when Jean had found them on his porch watching the sun set.
“No wonder he’s got you on his radar.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen Maes I was honestly trying to avoid him.”
“And you don’t think it’s odd that even when that’s your goal to avoid him fate manages to throw the two of you together anyway? I know you don’t believe in a higher power but even you have to think it’s more than coincidental. ”
“I… I just don’t know what to do or think anymore. Jean is ready to skin me alive and this time I don’t blame him.”
“Hey if I had my way I’d let you two fight it out gladiator style and to the winner goes the, Ed.”
“Can it Maes and help me carry this stuff outside. I’m going to grab some beer as a peace offering.”
Roy did just that and when they approached the grill, the supplies and beer were met with broad smiles all around and the four men stood by the grill drinking and laughing until Elysia announced it was time to play a game. Being used to the little girl’s homemade games everyone followed her lead.
Elysia and Ed were sitting in two chairs in front of everyone as Gracia and Al handed out sheets of paper and pencils. It was a list of questions, not just any questions but questions asking favorites from colors to food to songs for both her and Ed. The birthday girl said that she and Ed had already written down their answers and placed them in the Kitchen. The deal was that the two people that got the most answers right got the two mystery gifts. One Ed had made and one she had made. As the two people closest to the birthday duo Al and Gracia were barred from the game and relegated to tallying up the answers.
With the rules established Ed and Elysia basically sat in front of everyone and sang that maddening never ending song for three minutes. When time was up they gave a loud annoying sound that resembled a buzzer indicating that pencils had to go down. Everyone passed their papers to Al. Once he had them all him and Gracia headed for the kitchen with the answers to determine the winners.
Everyone was milling around and snacking on food as they awaited the big reveal. Everyone knew Maes would be the winner on Elysia’s side and figured it would be Jean on Ed’s. Imagine everyone’s surprise when Gracia announced Maes and Roy as the winners. Everyone cheered… well almost everyone cheered. Jean was giving Roy a look so heated it could have boiled water as Roy stepped beside Maes behind the two mystery gifts.
Ed’s brain was spinning at hundred miles an hour. He had been certain with Al taken out of the equation Jean was a shoe in as the other winner. He didn’t know how to feel about Roy winning the game on his side. It wasn’t that he really cared it just left him with an odd feeling. When he looked at Jean the man looked pissed but Ed merely shrugged his shoulders and winked at him. When Jean winked back Ed smiled before turning his attention to where everyone else was looking and that was at Maes and Roy.
As Roy and Maes started opening the boxes Roy’s heart was thudding in his chest and Maes snickering the way he was, wasn’t helping matters. He could feel the look Jean was giving him and more than anything he wished he’d given his actions over the last five minutes more thought. However, he hadn’t and had simply written down what came to mind given what he knew of Ed and Elysia.
This was not helping his situation with Jean at all.
Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it so he might as well open the box. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter anyway. Roy lifted the lid off the box and froze. He didn’t know what he was expecting but the crystal griffin reared up on its hind legs with its wings spread wide wasn’t it. The statue was nearly a foot tall and the hooves, wingtips, talons and beak were painted gold. It was mounted to a stained and polished slab of wood and Roy’s mind went blank. All he could do was stare at it.
Ed hadn’t made this with alchemy he’d done it with his own two hands. Roy had seen him with paperbacks on the craft as well as various mythology art books over the past several weeks. He couldn’t even imagine how much effort Ed had put into what he was seeing. Roy was grateful when Gracia shouted for them to holdup their prizes so she could take pictures. He needed the distraction. When Maes firmly suggested they take their prizes inside to keep them safe Roy followed.
Once inside and up the stairs Maes asked, “That’s your idea of not setting him off?”
“I wasn’t thinking, Maes. I swear I wasn’t.”
“I know, I know it just makes things more difficult and Ed’s gift being as elaborate as it is doesn’t help.”
“You think I should give it to him?”
“If you were Jean would you want it after the fact?”
“Good point I suppose I… oh shit.”
“Now what?” Maes asked as he placed the two delicate gifts on the dresser.
“I need to get my gift to Ed out of the pile.”
“Why?”
“It’s going to make things worse.”
“How?”
“It’s kind of extravagant.”
“Kind of as in, oh that’s a bit much but Ed’s a good friend or is it more along the lines of, I’m eating hot dogs for the next month?”
“Kind of as in, I really didn’t think how something like this would be perceived by everyone, it cost as much as a used automobile but I really wanted him to have it and you should have seen his face when we saw it and how much he enjoyed it and... and… just fuck me running.”
“You might end up running once Jean sees it,” Maes joked but one good look at his best friend had him sighing. Putting a comforting hand on one of Roy’s slumped shoulders he said, “Anything to do with Ed robs you of your sense of reason doesn’t it? You’re really that deeply in love with him aren’t you?”
When Roy looked down at his feet and nodded Maes patted him on the shoulder. He was in the midst of telling him he’d try and devise a plan to relocate his gift when the sound of rushed footsteps reached their ears moments before Kain appeared in the doorway.
"Come guys you're holding up the cake cutting!" Fuery shouted as he appeared in the doorway.
"Ok we'll be down in a few minutes."
"Better hurry there's an impatient birthday girl outside."
"We will," Maes answered cheerfully and once Fuery was gone he said, "Ok I'll see what I can do Roy but I can make no promises. Elysia will want to dive into those gifts as soon as the cake hits her plate.”
“It’s ok Maes this is my own fault so don’t worry about it, I’ll just deal with it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck no I’m not sure. Jean looked ready to skin me alive for winning that game.”
“So I saw. You two need to find a way to dissolve the tension between you before it explodes. It’s been building for a while now.”
“I’m hoping no one really knows what this thing is so its cost won’t register in their minds.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you Roy Boy.”
“Thanks Maes. Let’s go so they can cut the cake.”
When the duo reappeared outside both Ed and Elysia had cake cutters in hand and were ready to go. It was hard to decide which cake looked more delectable, Elysia’s Chocolate cake with caramel coconut icing or Ed’s red velvet cake with butter cream icing. Gracia had outdone herself this year and from bite one everyone was certain that there wasn’t going to be a slice of leftover cake from either one.
Jean was still giving Roy nasty looks but Roy was giving him a wide breadth so things were going as well as they could be. Maes was watching the two closely and he was ready to intervene at a moment’s notice if the situation called for it. Thankfully all was going well as Elysia began opening her gifts and by the time she was done and it was Ed’s turn things were fairly normal.
Ed was racking up and when he opened one of the gifts from Jean it was a new camera and two lenses to go with it. All could see Ed was more than a little pleased with that gift and the second one from Jean was an ornate set of calligraphy pens and that put a mile wide grin on Ed’s face that had Jean feeling rather smug. Unfortunately for Jean, that feeling was short lived. Kain and Breda brought over the last gift in Ed’s pile and when they sat it in front of him the size, shape and heft had Ed confused.
That feeling vanished the instant Ed opened the package in front of him. He gasped as golden eyes went impossibly wide right before his jaw dropped. He looked down in the box, up at Roy, back down in the box then up at Roy again, speechless.
“What is it Brother?” Al asked from his position at the end of the table.
Ed didn’t answer; he was still shaking his head in disbelief as he reached in the box with both hands and pulled out the gift that had him so awestruck. Once the item came into sight it grabbed everyone’s attention. Soon nearly all the guests were gathered around Ed and the odd looking device he’d received from Roy.
“I… I can’t believe you did this,” Ed finally stuttered out as he looked over at Roy. The dark haired man said nothing and merely smiled at him in response.
“What’s this thing do, Ed?” Elysia asked as she walked up beside him. “It looks like a squished piano.”
Ed chuckled and answered, “If kind of is.”
“Does it function like a piano?” Riza asked as she peered down at the odd looking device.
“It does that and much more,” Ed said as his eyes drifted over to Roy for a split second before asking Kain to help him carry it over to the nearest power supply.
Ed sat there and thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. After a bit of tweaking and key pressing Ed had the keyboard tuned do it sounded like a trumpet. With that done he played a familiar riff from a popular jazz song. The melody had everyone in awe over how much it sounded like the intended instrument instead of the piano it seemed to be.
It wasn’t long before Ed’s fooling around drew in most of the band members. It didn’t take long for everyone to pick up their instruments and start making music. Once they started no one wanted to stop. Ed kept playing around with the sounds coming out of his gift and it had everyone singing and dancing. The lanterns were lit and the cake was gone before they all finally settled down around the small bonfire Maes and Breda had made.
The birthday girl was the first one to fall asleep but it was hours before any of the adults were ready to join her. The night ended on a high note despite the fact two men were doing a dangerous dance around each other. He’d never voice it but Maes knew there was no recovery from this for Roy and Jean and he hated it. Watching Ed float blissfully unaware between the two was only making it harder. The temptation to pull the young man aside and clue him was hard to deny. But Ed would ask a thousand questions that Maes couldn’t answer without either overstepping his boundaries, betraying someone’s trust or just plain sticking his nose in were it didn’t belong.
Interfering wasn't an option for Maes, despite him knowing that the situation was as volatile as a stick of dynamite and tonight's events had lit the fuse.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-18 12:13 am (UTC)You know if Mase did this:
“Hey if I had my way I’d let you two fight it out gladiator style and to the winner goes the, Ed.”
and sold the tickets those orphans would be set.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-18 02:24 am (UTC)I'm glad you liked the party it was my... iffy scene. Wasn't sure how that one was going to read ^_^ *hugs on you for always being you*
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-18 02:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-20 12:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-20 05:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-22 03:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-23 01:05 am (UTC)So glad you deemed it worth the wait my dear. I almost feel like I should have given you guys fireworks and candy or something for the insanely long wait LOL *hugs on you*
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-23 01:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-03 03:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-18 03:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-18 06:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-18 08:37 pm (UTC)Aww thank you chic a dee ^_^ This made my weekend!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-25 12:58 pm (UTC)I can't wait for another update. I had to go back and read this all again, but so didn't mind. :)
I had actually been wondering about this fic and trying to find it again when the update popped up. What luck! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-11 10:22 am (UTC)Things are definitely heating up between Roy and Jean and it won't be long before all that tension goes Ka-Boom.
Glad you enjoyed it, especially enough to re-read it all *blushes and hugs on you*
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-13 01:02 pm (UTC)And I also can't wait to see where Ed's new form of Alchemy will come into play with the story or if it was just a diversion. So much excitement. :D
*Hugs back* Just happy to find such an interesting and well written story. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-27 09:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-11 10:25 am (UTC)Roy really needs to just put his insecurities aside and "man-up" but only time will tell what he decides to do
Thanks for reading and the comment love ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2013-08-08 03:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-08-14 12:09 am (UTC)This was actually my second fic. Yup so the rough beginning is due to the fact I'd just started writing.
This has grown to become way more than I thought it would be and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So glad you wandered into this and I look forward to hearing what you think of this as it progresses.