Chapter Text
Chapter 10
*
Al came back into the house from his gardening work all covered in dirt, his bag of tools slung over his shoulder, to find Winry lying on his couch, on her back, arm over her eyes.
“Hey,” he offered, quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she didn’t want to be disturbed, but not wanting to leave her alone, either.
“Hey,” she said, after a moment, though she didn't move at all.
“So… how did your talk go?” Al asked, taking off first one muddy shoe, then the other, and setting his gardening tools down next to them.
“It... well, I think Ed’s gone off to General Mustang’s place to apologize, to try and get back together with him again.”
Al had the confusing experience of feeling both relief and acute sympathetic pain at the same time.
He might not have understood everything she was going through, but he did understand how it felt to be in love with someone who didn’t love him back.
“I see. Are you okay with that?” he asked, walking over to the couch and sitting down on the armrest, next to her feet.
“As okay as I can be, I guess,” she said, her forearm still obscuring her eyes from view. “I don’t get the whole thing. I really don’t. I want Edward to be happy, I just wish he didn’t feel like he needed to get beat up in order to feel that way. I wish he wanted to be with me. I wish even more that if he didn’t want to be with me, he also didn’t want to be with that man. Does that make me a bad person?”
“Not at all,” Al said, without having to think about it. “You’re a very good person. Most people wouldn’t have been able to listen past their own fear when confronted with something as strange and seemingly disturbing as what brother and General Mustang are doing. It’s a pretty scary thing. But you listened until you understood what they were saying, even if you didn’t understand why they were doing all of this. Most people can’t do that, or don’t. Not everybody would have been able to let brother do what would make him happy, regardless of what it meant for them. Not everybody can love that unselfishly.”
“But I want to be selfish!” she burst out, like it pained her. “I don’t want to let him go off so Mustang can beat on him. I really want to just tell him no, you can’t do that, screw Mustang and everything, let me make you happy.” She paused, pulled her arm off of her face and let it lie by her side. She still didn’t look at Al. “I wish I could. I thought about doing it. I really am horrible.”
“Everybody thinks those sorts of things sometimes. You didn’t act on them, though, and that's important. It’s not what you think that matters, it’s what you actually do. Your conscience wouldn’t let you do something like that. I know it.”
She pulled herself into a sitting position and gave him a faint smile.
“Thanks. I’m glad you have such faith in me.”
“It’s not that,” Al replied, with a smile. “You keep proving me right, again and again. That’s not faith, it’s fact.”
“Really, thanks.”
Al, disarmed by a sudden thought, got to his feet.
“Let’s go out somewhere,” he said, brightly, propelled by this new idea. “I’ve heard that there’s some kind of spring carnival happening on the southern outskirts of the city. It sounds really fun! I think nothing would do you more good than a day outside, enjoying the sun, enjoying the people.”
“I actually think it might rain. It looked like there was a storm coming in, earlier.”
“Well, then we’ll hide out under one of the tents and eat ‘till the rain passes. Or we can just wear the kind of clothes it’s okay to get wet in. It’s warm outside, it might be a good time to go enjoy getting wet!”
“Thanks, Al. I’m not feeling very energetic at the moment, though. I might not be very good company.”
“You’re always good company,” Al said, with conviction. “And I wouldn’t mind, anyway. You just look like you could use a change of scenery, you know?” He stepped over to stand by her, and extended a hand.
“Yeah, I guess I could,” she said. She took his hand in her own, and stood.
*
When Roy arrived home that evening he was soaking wet, as it had begun to pour halfway through his walk home from the office, and Edward Elric was sitting on his front stoop, equally drenched. The younger man leaned back against the brick wall, eyes closed, so still that he could have been asleep.
He bit back his surprise, kept himself collected despite the rain.
“Hey,” Edward said, as Roy drew closer. He lifted his head to look at the older man, and smiled.
“What are you doing on my porch?” Roy asked. Ed frowned and Roy backtracked. “I mean, I thought you would have transmuted the door open and gone inside. It’s raining,” he added, feeling stupid the moment it came out of his mouth.
“No shit, Mustang,” Ed said, with a laugh. “Well spotted. But, I just thought I’d try out some of that social-convention shit you’re always going on about.”
Roy smiled.
“Really. Well then, may I invite you inside?” he asked over the sound of the rain, his voice lighter than it had been since Ed left.
“You had damn well better,” said Edward, standing up. He was beautiful, drenched to the bone, with his braid draped over his shoulder onto his chest, plastered there by the water.
Roy wondered if he should move to touch the other man. He wanted to. He made an instant decision and bridged the gap between them, mouth moving to cover Ed’s, hands roving, touching, needing, reassuring him of the other’s physical presence.
He savored the look of surprise on the other man’s face, and savored even more the way Ed froze, then kissed him back with equal force, clutching at the front of Roy’s jacket like he might die if he let go.
They stood wrapped together, one creature, in the pouring rain, and made up for lost time.
When they finally pulled apart, each man out of breath and shivering at the loss of the other’s heat, Ed grinned at him.
“Missed me that much, huh?” the blonde said. Roy stepped forward to his door and unlocked it.
“Get inside,” he said, with some amusement.
Ed did as asked without comment. He turned around in the entryway, dripping a small lake onto Roy’s wooden floors.
“I really am amused that you would sit on my stoop in the rain rather than come inside,” Roy commented, taking his jacket off and hanging it up on the rack by the door.
“Eh, well, considering everything that’s happened recently, I figured I’d better not push my luck, you know?” the blonde replied, looking a bit awkward. Roy couldn’t help staring at the way Edward’s drenched clothing clung to him. That bulky jacket ruined the clean lines of the man's body, but Roy would soon have it off.
“You know you’re always welcome in my house, Edward,” he said, lighthearted. “Now, what brings you here? May I take your jacket?”
“Oh, uh, sure,” the younger man said. He clapped his hands together, presumably to transmute the water out of his clothing, but before he could put his hands to his chest, Roy said:
“Wait, don’t.” Ed looked up, frowning. “I rather like the look of you wet,” Roy said, voice low and full of meaning.
Ed’s look of confusion resolved back into a grin.
“Yeah?” he asked, then took off his jacket and hung it on the wall rack himself.
“Yes,” Roy said. “You never did answer my question, though.” He turned back around to face the other man, anticipation throbbing in his gut. “What brings you to my humble abode this evening? May I assume from your behavior that you’ve come to your senses?”
“Well, I guess that depends on what you mean by ‘senses.’ I’m probably a little bit crazy, but we knew that already,” the younger man said, and laughed. “But whatever. I came here to apologize.” In a second, he drew in on himself, became smaller. “I, uh – I talked to Winry. She says that you two talked, too?” Edward asked. His expression was deep, many-layered, and Roy saw something in it that made him hurt.
“We did,” Roy said, and Ed’s look became one of – pity?
“I’m glad,” said Edward, not sounding glad at all. “No, really,” he said, in response to Roy’s obvious disbelief. “I am. I know it must have been really hard for you. For both of you.” A pause. “Thanks for doing that for me.”
“It’s not a problem,” Roy replied. “I wanted to.”
“Still, couldn’t’ve been easy. So thanks. You would have been well within your rights to just call all this off and never speak to me again. I was a total dick for not telling you what was going on. I was just afraid that you’d convince me not to leave.”
A loud laugh took Roy by surprise, and he found it was his own.
“Me, convince you of anything? Edward, I’ve been trying to do that for years, to no effect. Of all the stubborn, bull-headed people I’ve ever met, you are the worst.”
The smile Ed flashed at him was toothy, dangerous.
“And don’t you fucking forget it,” he said, then strode over to flop down on Roy’s couch and get that sopping wet instead of his floor.
“Believe me, I haven’t,” Roy murmured, and walked over to his fireplace to take logs from the small stack beside it and pile them neatly in the metal grate.
“But seriously,” said Edward from behind him, “I didn’t want you to make me change my mind. Well, no. I guess I wanted you to, and that was the problem.” The last log laid, Roy took his glove out of his pants pocket and put it on. One snap, and the wood began to blaze. He turned back around. “I’m way easier to convince when I want to be convinced.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s true for everyone,” Roy said.
Ed nodded. Roy moved over to the armchair and took it, crossing his legs and folding his hands over his knee.
“So, I’m sure you must have guessed that Winry more or less gave us her blessing,” Edward told him, making a show of nonchalance. “Or at least her acceptance, I guess. That girl’s really incredible.”
“Yes, she seems that way.”
“Yeah. But when she and I talked, I almost got the sense that she had already made up her mind, or something. I mean, she still didn’t really want me to come back here, but she had already kind of decided that she was going to let me anyway. What did you say to her to make her change her mind? She’s almost as bad as me on the 'stubborn' front.”
Roy thought back.
“Well, I suppose I managed to convince her that what I feel for you is more than just lust. Though I must say,” Roy said, leaning back and putting on his practiced smirk as he allowed his eyes to rove up and down Edward’s body, “lust is a major factor.”
He could make himself behave, but perhaps not for much longer – not if Edward kept looking at him with that flush on his face.
“Is that right?” Edward asked, tone turning to one of invitation, of challenge, even as he fought down his obvious nervousness.
“Yes, Fullmetal,” Roy replied, slipping into his role easily. “I think all of us understand that only I can give you what you want.”
That elicited a visible shudder from the other man. Roy pushed right on past it, letting the voice fall away again. Now was not the time for that.
“I missed you,” he said, finally. This brief attempt at honesty made Edward squirm in an entirely different way, one that Roy really found just as endearing.
“Fuckin’ sap,” Ed mumbled, shifting a bit in his seat even as he gave Roy a little smile. “Don’t go all mushy on me now or anything.”
“Alright,” Roy replied, quite agreeably. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t.” Then, more seriously: “So… you’re okay with this? Honestly? You and Ms. Rockbell tied everything up?”
Ed nodded. “Yeah. I mean… If she's okay with me being here, then there are no issues on my end. My problem with all of this was never personal. I get it. Shit happens, you know?” he said, eyes steady, and sad. “You’re a good person. She’s a good person. People make mistakes. They do shit that they’re never gonna be able to take back, and I – well, I would be a fucking hypocrite to judge you for that.”
Roy wanted to say something that would comfort the man, but didn’t know if that moment was the time, if it would be the right thing to do.
“Thank you.”
Ed's brow furrowed.
“For what?”
“For forgiving me. For knowing the worst things that I've ever done, and coming back anyway.”
The look Ed gave Roy then was so ragged that the pain of it hit Roy like a spear to his gut. The silence dragged on.
“Me forgiving you wasn't an issue. It was never you I was running away from. Okay? I’ve done bad shit too. My hands aren’t exactly clean.”
“Edward...”
“Anyway,” said Ed with forced cheer, cutting off anything Roy had been about to say, “I guess the point is that, yeah, we’ve got it worked out. She made me come back here to Central, so we could talk about it. If she hadn’t made me, I probably wouldn’t have come back, at least not for a while yet. But I’m happy I did,” he said, then paused and cocked his head to the side. “She deserves to be happy. I can’t give her that. But… you deserve to be happy too. And maybe, you know, I can do that for you.”
The blonde blushed, just a hint.
“I don't think she was terribly concerned with my happiness,” Roy said.
Ed shrugged. “Well, no. But I was.” A pause. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”
Roy laughed.
“You are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. Why in hell would I give that up so easily?” he said, because there hadn’t been enough sap in this conversation already. Ed’s flush deepened.
“Yeah, well, whatever,” he said. “I’m back now.” He stood up, crossed his arms, and relaxed.
“Anyway, I’m fuckin’ starved, haven’t had nothin’ but train food for three days. You got anything? I’m gonna die if I don’t get something in my stomach in the next five minutes.”
And because it would have been improper to grab Edward right at that moment and fuck him over the back of the couch, Roy smiled and said: “We can’t have that, can we? But can you wait for thirty? I make a delicious stir fry.”
“Thirty minutes?” He thought for a moment. “Sure, I can handle that. But it had better be good.”
*
They managed to keep their hands off of each other all through the cooking and eating of dinner with some difficulty, at least on Ed’s part, though he would guess from Roy’s occasional sidelong glances that the older man’s thoughts had been drifting in more or less the same direction as his own.
“Yeah, that was pretty damn good,” he said, looking at his empty bowl with some regret. “I’m impressed. I’ll have to get you to cook for me more often.”
“You flatter me. I know from your expense reports that you’ve tasted gourmet food from all across Amestris, so I’m glad to know mine passes muster.”
Ed made a face.
“You still remember that shit?”
“Of course, Edward. I had many an argument with the people higher up on the chain of command than I about whether that was an appropriate use of our funds. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment. I think the next order of business should probably be a shower,” Roy said, with – to his credit – only a hint of amusement.
“Oh. Yeah. Right,” Ed replied, trying not to think about how he must look, with days of travel grime on him that the rain hadn’t entirely washed off. “Can I use yours?”
“Of course. On one condition, though: that I’m allowed to share it with you.”
Ed frowned.
“Sorry, what?”
“One shower, two people, no clothing. It’s very simple.”
“But I’m all dirty and shit.”
Roy laughed.
“Thus, the shower. If I didn’t think you’d want one, we would be going straight to my bedroom.” A pause: Roy’s face straightened. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”
“What? No! I mean, yeah, right – shower,” he said, and pretended all of that had come out smooth and competent, like he had meant for it to. Roy just smirked at him from across the table – or maybe it wasn’t a smirk at all, because he stood, slowly, walked to the younger man, closed his hand on the front of Ed’s shirt, and guided him to his feet just in time to press their lips together, slowly, like he meant it.
They didn’t ever stop touching each other, kissing with fury as they began to move in the direction of the stairs. Shirt buttons came undone between overeager, clumsy fingers; clothes were left in sodden heaps on the floor, on the stairs, in the hall.
When they finally made it to the bathroom, neither wore anything more than just their boxers. Ed moaned as the older man slid a hand over his clothed erection, his eyes fluttering shut as he pressed his head to Roy's shoulder. The pressure became firmer, more insistent, and Ed began to move his hips in small circles, seeking, grinding – his breathing became more ragged –
"Don't you dare," Roy said, pulling back suddenly, just before Ed hit the edge. The younger man whined at the terrible loss of contact and gave his lover a pleading look. It resulted in no pity from the other man, just a faint amusement. "I have many things planned for tonight, and no intention whatsoever of letting you finish so soon."
"Have a fucking heart, you bastard," Edward said, without any real vitriol. Roy laughed.
That was when Ed noticed the other man's state of undress: stripped to his boxers, miles of toned muscle on display. He felt his face heat, his heartbeat pounding, because he had known that sex was on the table, that it was probably going to happen tonight, but still it somehow hasn't occurred to him that he was going to get to see all of that.
And Roy called him beautiful. Ed didn't know how he could even be measured on the same scale as Roy Mustang.
The man had turned around and bent over a bit to mess about with the shower knobs, giving Ed, for once, the perfect view. Once the shower was fixed to his liking, he turned back around and then, without warning, his boxers were on the floor and he was there, naked and pale and gloriously erect. Then he smiled, and for whatever reason that made Ed’s pulse quicken. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears.
Edward stood there, frozen, staring, as the steam began to billow out of the shower to fill the room with its wet heat.
"Well?" Roy prompted, mouth quirking. "Are you going to undress, or am I going to have to be naked alone?"
"I've never seen you without your clothes on before," Ed said, by way of explanation. He had been naked in front of Mustang before, sure: but that had been a different situation, and somehow it had been much easier when it had been an order. He hadn't had to make the decision, to wonder if he was doing it right, if he was up to par. “And it’s weird gettin’ naked in front of you.”
It was just strange to be here, together. That was all. He wasn't at all intimidated by the other man's flawless chest; his well-sculpted neck; his face, almost beyond “handsome” into the realm of “pretty.” Ed wasn't at all self-conscious about the mass of scars all across his body, the way they grew and melded into each other to make his skin thick as armor at the edges of his automail ports.
Roy got a look then, a tightening to the corner of his eyes, that Ed didn't like. He closed the distance between them.
"Oh, Edward," he said, and then knelt down, fingers on the band of Ed's boxers. He kissed the skin right above them, lips tracing up to Ed's navel and then down again, to the hollow by his right hipbone, then the other one. "Trust me when I say you’re gorgeous, and that there is nothing in the world I want more right now than to get you out of these clothes."
Ed snorted. "What if you could be Fuhrer right this instant?"
"That can wait. I'll be Fuhrer after I have slowly and thoroughly debauched you."
Ed shivered, and Roy just looked smug. His tongue returned to its former activities, making the skin of Ed's stomach spark and catch fire until all awkwardness evaporated into a haze of desire. He fisted a hand in Roy's hair, groaned, and said:
"Well, go on then. Debauch me."
Ed could feel Roy's smirk against his skin, and he hadn’t thought he could be more turned on until that moment.
"If you insist," he said, and Ed couldn't even manage to feel shame as the man slid his boxers down his legs – just an intense relief, coupled with anticipation.
The sound Ed made when Roy's tongue flickered out over his newly-freed erection was very nearly embarrassing. He didn't let himself thrust forwards – he knew this was a tease, nothing more – but the effort of restraining himself was almost too much.
Roy stood again, entirely too self-satisfied, and Ed resolved to do something that would wipe that smirk off of the man's face. He would figure it out eventually.
The general extended a hand as if to help Ed into the shower. Ed huffed – he was perfectly capable of taking a shower without help, thanks – and stepped over the rim of the bathtub without taking the man’s hand. He turned around and offered his hand back to Roy, who laughed and took it, stepping onto the slick surface with care.
“You’re always so proud,” Roy said, running fingertips up the steel of Edward's neck. Then, he pressed forward, pinning Ed's body to the tiled wall with his own. He bent over, speaking directly into Ed's ear: the sensation sent shocks to his groin, pressed hard up against Roy's thigh. “I love it. When I think about how you crawled to me that night, how you called me 'sir' and hated it but did it anyway, how you loved it and hated that you loved it, I just want to fuck you wherever I can take you,” he growled, hands sliding up Ed's torso, skating over a nipple, making Ed gasp and jump and then lean in for more. “So many times I've come in my own hand with that image in mind, thinking of your body and your voice and your eyes. Every night I remember the way you looked then, and I want you so badly.”
Ed's mouth dried up, heedless of the stream of water on his body and the clouds of moisture in the air. He knew that he probably should reply, then, say something equally sexy, equally brilliant, but his mind blanked. Goddammit, what could he possibly say that would compare with that, anyway? He could tell Roy that he had taken to touching himself very nearly every time he was alone because remembering the sound of the general's voice telling him I want to come on your face made Ed rock hard whether he wanted it to or not. The memory pooled heat and shame in his gut in a way that thrilled him. He could say that the sight of Major General Roy Mustang, in his uniform or out of it, with that air of absolute control about him was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen; he never fantasized about anything but that, anymore. He could say that he would wear a collar if Roy wanted him to, and how he wished the thought didn't make him hard as hell. He didn't.
“Shit,” he said, instead, as Roy's mouth descended on his neck. He whimpered, pressed their bodies together, ground against Roy's thigh as it slipped between his legs. Judging by the heated groan the man gave in response, Ed was doing just fine, even if fancy words weren't his strong suit. He threaded fingers through black hair and held on. Even though he had done this before, again and again, it still turned off every rational thought he had.
“Your way with words is simply astonishing,” Roy said, in between kisses, as he worked his way down to the younger man's collarbone.
“Shut up,” Edward said, snaking a hand between their bodies to find Roy's cock. The angle was awkward, cramped, but the look on his lover's face as he closed his fingers around it made the discomfort more than worth it. “You knew me before we started this whole thing, so you don't get to make fun of me for it now.”
Roy groaned into his shoulder as Ed's hand found the perfect pressure, the perfect rhythm, the sound low enough as to almost be masked by the steady, warm thrum of the water around them as it coursed in curls and ribbons down entwined bodies. Ed grazed his teeth across the shell of Roy's ear, nipping, licking stripes on the edge of it.
“You had better,” Roy said, before a soft noise from his own mouth interrupted him, “stop that now, before I get too excited.”
Ed grinned, and didn't stop.
“But I want you excited.”
“I thought you... mm, wanted a shower.”
“I'm having one, aren't I?”
“I can wash your hair for you,” Roy said, without too much energy, like he wasn't sure whether he actually wanted Ed to stop or not. “You might like it.”
“If you want,” Ed replied, noncommittal. When Roy stepped back again his expression was filled with a piercing need. He leaned in to kiss the younger man on the lips, gently, chastely – but before Ed really had a chance to respond in kind, Roy had bent over for his shampoo and begun to dispense it onto his hand.
“Turn around,” he said, in that voice that made Ed shiver. He did as asked.
The touch of fingers on the back of his head almost made him jump, the cool wet of the shampoo a startling contrast to the warmth of the water. Roy started with a very light pressure, tiny circles through his hair, and once he got over the sheer weirdness of it his head began to tingle. Each successive motion of Roy's deft hands left more of that humming feeling in his scalp – warm, pleasurable, utterly soothing. Ed made a noise deep in his chest and wondered how such a simple thing could feel so blessedly amazing.
“Feels good?” Roy rumbled, and when he moved the tip of his erect cock brushed across Ed's back.
“Your hands're 'mazing.”
The older man chuckled.
“I thought you might enjoy it. Someday I'll give you a full massage; we can see how you like that.”
“Mm,” replied Ed, as Roy rinsed the lather from his hair. He barely even noticed as Roy moved from his scalp to his body, running the bar of soap across his skin, the motion followed by the slow, sensual sweep of a hand. He melted back, supported entirely by his lover's body. Then, after every inch of him had been thoroughly cleaned, he gave a stroke to Ed's cock, strong, sure – the other hand slid between his legs to toy at his entrance.
Ed couldn't even manage the effort it would take to tense up as Roy's finger traced down the cleft of his ass, up again. It was maybe a little strange to feel fingers there, though not entirely unpleasant, and he wouldn't have really minded anything at all in this state.
“But for now,” he said, pushing his body up against Ed's back, his erection entirely unaffected by its brief neglect, “I have some other things in mind.”
“Oh yeah?” Ed asked as Roy’s hand slid down his cock – a steady, brilliant pressure. “What kind of other things?”
“The kind of things that are going to make you scream my name,” he said, voice low, rough, as one finger circled around Ed’s entrance as the other hand continued to pump his cock. “You’re going to feel like you’re going to die of pleasure, and then you’re going to come harder than you’ve ever come in your life, and then I’m going to do it all over again. Are we done here?”
Ed swallowed, glad Mustang was supporting most of his weight.
“So done,” he said. Roy chuckled and reached over to turn off the water.
This time, Ed did transmute them dry, so they wouldn’t have to bother with things like towels, though Roy’s slow, relentless attention to his cock made careful concentration on alchemy very difficult.
It might have zapped his alchemical skill, but it kept him fucking hard all the way from the bathroom to the bedroom. Then, he found himself laying flat on the bed, legs splayed apart, feet still on the floor, with Roy towering over him. His predatory stare made Ed’s now neglected erection throb.
“Oh, the things I want to do to you, Edward Elric,” the general said, voice a low purr. He knelt down on the floor, right in front of Ed’s cock, and licked his lips: the younger man gave a groan of anticipation –
But then, that perfect mouth went somewhere entirely unexpected. Edward tensed, froze, as he felt Mustang’s tongue on his ass, stroking, circling gently.
“Relax,” the man said between strokes, moving a hand up to pay attention to the younger man's cock again. “You’ll like it, I promise.”
Ed squirmed, entirely unsure of whether he liked the sensation or not. On the one hand, it sent sparks of pleasure up to his groin – and on the other, it was fuckin bizarre, and he really just wanted to pull away and do something normal again.
“How’m I supposed to relax when you’re doin’ something so weird?”
Roy lifted his head and gave Ed a crooked smile.
“Just trust me. I'll make it good for you, I promise,” he said, then went back down between Ed's legs again. Ed tried to relax, tried not to think about it – a task that was made much easier when Roy’s hand took up a rhythm on his cock that matched the rhythm of the man's mouth, and apparently Ed's body did like it because he found himself whimpering, writhing, under Mustang’s tongue.
“Mmmm, not so bad, is it?” Roy said, then closed his lips around the entrance and gave it a gentle suck. Ed let out a sharp noise as the hand on his cock stroked down, harder, and Roy began to speed up his pace. The pleasure in him grew, building on itself, and all Ed could do was rock back and forth between mouth and hand, not sure which one he wanted more but unable to stop moving, or moaning, or clutching at Roy’s hair.
“Oh,” he said, then couldn’t see anything anymore as he came with a wordless cry all over himself, all over the bed, his body pulsing, clenching, throbbing in the force of his release.
Roy didn’t miss a beat. When Ed regained coherent thought, he found Roy lapping at his stomach, cleaning the blonde’s come off with his amazing tongue.
If he hadn’t come such a very short time ago, the sight would have made him hard as hell. As it was, he groaned, let his eyes fall shut.
“You seemed to enjoy that,” the older man said, self-satisfaction evident in his voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Mmgh,” replied Edward, though he had meant to say something like “good” or “amazing” or “Fuck, you’re good at that.” Maybe he could manage in a minute.
“Don’t get too comfortable there, Edward. We aren’t done. You haven’t screamed my name yet,” Roy growled, and Ed could feel the hard plane of the other man’s stomach sliding up along his own, just before a wet mouth slipped over his nipple, sucked gently but just hard enough.
Edward gasped despite himself as the sensation sent shocks down into his belly. Roy's tongue circled around it, then flicked it, leaving it hard and sensitive in the wake. The only thing Ed could really do, still riding the aftershocks of his orgasm and already feeling like he was going to be hard again if this kept up for much longer, was grab the back of Roy's head and hold it to himself.
Roy's mouth slid over to his other nipple, leaving warm, wonderful sensations behind it, then moved up to his neck again. Ed groaned.
“Isn't it, nn, time that I did you?” he asked, between heavy breaths.
“No,” Roy said, rumbling against the skin of Ed's neck. “It isn't. Tonight is about you. It's your first time to actually be in bed with me, and I intend to blow your mind.”
“Feelin' pretty blown already.” Roy's mouth moved up to work at the spot right under his jaw, which they had learned made Ed whimper constantly until he moved on. After far too short a time, the man did so, and slid to press kisses to the corners of Ed's mouth. “But I don't wanna be selfish or anything.”
The older man chuckled, and moved his hand down to press at Ed's cock, which twitched in response.
“I think you severely underestimate how much it turns me on to hear you when you come with my mouth on you. Trust me, I'm doing just fine,” he said, and pressed his crotch into Edward's leg to prove just how fine that part of him was. “And I'll get mine soon,” he said, with such fervent, predatory conviction that Ed hissed in a breath and felt himself begin to harden again.
“Oh, back already?” Roy asked, as he increased the wonderful pressure on the younger man's erection. “Aren't the young resilient. You're really desperate for it, aren't you?”
“Shut up, Mustang,” he said, even as he became fully erect in Roy's hand. The man gave him a squeeze, and he whimpered. “Oh – shit, you really make it hard for me to talk.”
“Mmm,” the general agreed, smirking. “And now that I’ve gotten you all relaxed…” The low, promising tone of his voice kindled anticipation in the air. Edward’s heartbeat quickened, if that was even possible. “I have to ask. Do you want me to fuck you tonight?”
The younger man laughed, breathless, and thrust up into his lover’s hand.
“Idiot, do you seriously think I’d be here if I didn’t?”
“Well, one can never be too sure,” he said, and smiled down at Ed.
Roy reached over to the bedside table and slid the drawer open, fumbled about for something, then drew out a little metal pot. He unscrewed the top, then dipped a finger into the container: it came away with what looked like a clear gel. Ed’s brow furrowed.
“What’s that?” he asked, as Roy rubbed the stuff between his thumb and fingers. “What are you doing?”
“This is a lubricant. I’m warming it, so it’s not entirely a shock.”
“A lubricant? Why?”
Edward could see Roy trying very hard not to betray his thoughts. The younger man flushed in preemptory embarrassment.
“Are you unaware of the mechanics of sex between men?” he asked, and though his voice was carefully neutral, Ed could see traces of amusement in his face.
Or maybe that was just Ed’s imagination. He had promised not to assume that everything Roy said was an attack. Okay, Ed. What were the actual words that Mustang said? Well, he had just asked whether Ed knew about the details of sex, which was a pretty reasonable question given the circumstances. Part of him wanted to bluster that yeah, of course he did, what the fuck do you think you’re implying? But he didn’t know, and he wasn’t about to ruin this evening by being a stupid fuck.
He took a deep breath. He had promised he would be reasonable, less belligerent, more considerate. He could do this. He had promised.
“I get the gist of it,” he said, unable to hide his embarrassment even though he knew he had no reason to feel that way. There was no shame in not knowing a thing, as long as you tried to find out. “I just didn’t know there was extra... stuff involved.”
“Well, this,” Roy said, finally moving his slick hand between Ed’s legs to toy at the cleft of his ass, right at his entrance, “is to make it more pleasant for both parties. It can hurt without proper preparation,” he said, even as one of his fingers began a slow massage around the tight ring of muscle he found there. Ed tightened, shivered at the contact on skin that had so recently been a source of such pleasure. His other hand found Ed’s erection again and stroked down it, slow.
“Oh,” said Edward, more as a response to the gentle dip of that finger inside his entrance rather than to the words themselves. Another stroke to his cock, then another short penetration.
The sensation strengthened the aftershocks of his recent pleasure, warming him – nice, but also somehow uncomfortable. Another, deeper press: Ed made a face, because what else was he supposed to do when there was something going up his ass?
“Hurts?” Roy asked, withdrawing his hand again to reapply the lube.
“No, ‘sjust weird.”
“Don’t worry, it gets better very shortly.” His finger began its slow motion in Ed’s ass again, sliding a bit deeper each time. “You’re half there already,” he purred, before his mouth came down to offer lips to the head of Ed’s cock.
And then, something entirely different happened. He almost whimpered in disappointment as that mouth left him, would have done if he hadn’t immediately felt Roy's finger curl inside him: it touched something that made him spark down to his fingertips, something that made the keening wail that tore from his throat not only unembarrassed but absolutely necessary, non-negotiable. He thought hazily that if Roy hadn’t stopped with the – tongue, the mouth, then he might have just come right then.
He nearly came off the bed, arching his back, pressing himself onto that finger: it drew back and then thrust into him again, striking the same sensation in him, sharp and hot as flint on steel. His hands twisted in the sheets – sweat beaded on his neck, on his stomach – yet another stroke drew senseless noises from him, his mouth hanging open and eyes fallen shut.
“God, Edward,” Roy said, and fuck if the man didn’t sound nearly as turned on as Ed himself was. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, how much you’re testing me right now, do you?”
Ed tried to reply but found himself unable to, mouth working silently around distant words. He managed only another wanton noise as the feeling of fullness increased – another finger? Two? He couldn’t tell: the pressure intensified the sensations all over his body.
“Fuck. Fuck. Oh god, Roy –” he heard himself saying, body unable to stop moving, writhing under his lover’s touch.
“Christ, Ed,” Roy said, and when Ed forced his eyes open, what he saw there – Roy Mustang, staring at him with an intense lust, flushed down to his chest, stroking his own cock as he watched the picture Ed made – was so bewildering that he had to close his eyes again just to stay sane. “I’m sorry. I wanted to prepare you more, but it appears that I’ve found the limits of my patience.”
“Yes. Don’t wait. Fuck me,” said Edward. He heard a groan, and only noticed the disappearance of the fingers for a second before he felt the head of Roy’s cock press there, at his entrance.
“As always, I am helpless to your whims,” the man said, low and rough, then pressed in.
There was more of Roy than Ed expected there to be: he felt full, almost painfully so, and the slow inward slide left a faint burn. After too long, Roy was sheathed entirely inside him, and even through his discomfort Ed took a moment of pleasure in knowing that the sweat that drenched the other man’s skin was entirely his doing.
After a few quiet moments, when they had adjusted to each other, Ed wrapped his arms around his lover and pressed hands to his back, urging him to move, because that felt normal, right. Roy obliged without a second of hesitation: the burn where they joined intensified, almost to the point of pain, then lessened on the next thrust, then lessened again, and again. His body remembered the intense pleasure he had been feeling minutes ago, and sparked faint traces of it in him again.
He cried out as the next thrust hit that same spot inside him: the burn was gone, finally replaced by a pleasure he felt all the way through his body. He felt almost like he was skirting the edge of orgasm, only Roy wasn’t touching his cock at all, didn't have to. Ed was glad that he wasn't, because then this would have been over too soon, and he wasn't ready for that. The sensation continued to build: it felt different, deeper than the other times he had come under Roy’s hand, or his mouth, or his tongue. Roy’s pace quickened, leaving no room for rational thought. It was almost too much – he was drowning in it, couldn’t move, each shallow breath followed by a cry, then faster –
“That’s it, come for me,” a voice growled, words hot on Ed’s neck, and that was the end of it. He keened senselessly, unable to care how loud he was anymore.
“Oh god,” he said, in a small voice, as he felt the pleasure hit its peak –
Then, he was coming, coming hard all over Roy and over himself, head pressed back into the bed as his body pressed forward, up and off –
“General,” he sobbed –
And at that one word, Roy was coming inside him with a long groan of his own, cock throbbing with the force of his release. He thrust again once, twice, and then stilled.
They stayed there for a long moment, bodies sweat-soaked and trembling, clasped together as if holding each other was the only thing they remembered how to do. There was quiet, filled with the sounds of heavy breathing, and then Roy pulled away gently, pressing a kiss to Edward's lips. He laid on his side next to his lover, arm curled up under his head, and Ed turned to face him.
“Hello,” Roy said, corners of his lips curving upward, his eyes warm, fond.
“Hi,” said Edward, in return.
“How are you?”
“Pretty damn good.”
“Is that all? I was aiming for for 'euphoric,' even 'transcendent.'”
Ed snorted.
“You're so damn full of yourself.”
“Am I? I'm pretty sure you were singing a different tune about five minutes ago. You were singing quite loudly, in fact.”
Edward felt himself start to flush, for no reason he could pin down.
“Shut up, Mustang,” he said, not really meaning it.
“Why would I want to be quiet when saying things like that makes you blush so adorably?”
“What, you like it when I blush?”
“Of course. It's impossibly endearing.”
“You're fuckin' weird, is what you are.”
“Maybe a little bit,” Roy said, and pressed his lips to Edward's again, then pulled away and just looked at Ed, expression warm as he watched, examining. He was so close he was making Edward a bit uncomfortable. “But you fascinate me, Edward Elric. Is that so wrong?”
Ed rolled violently onto his back with a huff, but couldn't help smiling at the ceiling.
“Sap,” he accused.
“Maybe.”
A quiet fell between them then. Roy's hand came up to stroke Ed's hair.
“So,” Roy began, petting, soothing, “can you promise me that you're never going to go and do something stupid like leaving me and not telling me why again?”
“Hopefully nothing like that shitstorm will ever come up again. But, yeah. For what it's worth, I promise,” Edward said, eyes roving across the ceiling. It was, unsurprisingly, not particularly remarkable.
“I'm glad to hear it. However, that was only a symptom of a greater ill in our relationship, which we need to deal with, preferably sooner rather than later. Communication is the core of a relationship, and our communication is – well, rocky at best. I know that you're not the type of man to go to others with his problems. Even Alphonse seems to have at best a guess at what's going on in your head, although to be fair it is quite a good guess. But if you and I are going to work out, we're going to need to be able to talk about things before they turn into real problems.”
Edward lay in silence. After a moment, Roy said, wryly:
“...You aren't setting a very good precedent for said communication at the moment.”
“I'm thinking.”
“About what? Telling me is a start.”
Ed made a thinking noise and shifted his position. If the movement happened to end with his side pressed up against his lover, well: he hadn't done it on purpose, and he didn't notice.
“Um. Well. I was wondering – how many people are gonna know, y'know, about us?”
“As many or as few as we care to tell.” So they were going public. Edward thought he was okay with that, but he still had to consider it.
“That not gonna be an issue for your political ambitions? Nobody's gonna say anything when they find out that you're fucking a guy, and that he's fifteen years younger than you? That you're fucking the former Fullmetal Alchemist?”
Roy frowned, and Edward didn't like it. The difference in their ages had been a non-issue up until this point.
“Does the age difference bother you?”
“What? No! I didn't –” Ed shifted his head on the pillow so that he could look at Roy, apologetic. “I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I just don't wanna get in the way of what you want to do.”
“I'm glad to hear it.” The older man paused. “And, hopefully you won't be a problem. You have consented to this relationship and are of an age that you can legally do so. I am also not married to someone else, the combination of which puts us leagues above most politicians' trysts, regardless of your age or sex.”
Edward laughed.
“I guess that's true. And we can stay pretty much on the down-low about the... other stuff, can't we?”
“My lips are sealed. It's nobody's business what goes on in our bed but ours.”
Ed nodded. He had one last question.
“Uh, 'm I gonna stay the night here?”
Roy's chuckle was warm and comforting.
“I don't know. Are you?”
Ed turned his face to the pillow and thought about it.
“Um, yes,” Edward said, after a moment. Roy wrapped an arm around him, pulled him closer.
“Oh, good,” said Roy, lips tracing warmth across Ed's forehead. “I had been hoping you'd say that.”
*
Roy was sitting on the couch with a mug of tea when Edward burst into his house behind the crackle of a transmutation circle, letting the warm air of a summer night inside before slamming the door behind him.
“Keys, Edward,” Roy said, with some amusement and only mild resignation. “You use them to unlock things. We've been over this: you'd think that a genius would be quicker on the uptake. You must not be as smart as everyone says. How did it go?” he asked, without segue.
“Lost my keys, if you were meant to keep track of those things they wouldn't make 'em so small, you have no right to insult my intelligence you shrimp-brained son of a bitch, and it went fantastic,” Edward said, flashing a grin and flopping down onto the couch beside his lover. “We've got the grant.”
Roy smiled in sympathy with Ed's delight.
“Congratulations. I'm really proud of you. And I'm so happy that you could take my work where I couldn't.”
“Thanks. I'm pretty fuckin' thrilled myself. They gave Al and me nearly a million cenz, a major lab at Central University starting in July, and as many lackey alchemists and lab techs as I could possibly terrorize.”
“Dear god, I would hate to have you as a boss,” Roy said, smiling, and set down the book he had been reading. He examined the array on the back of his glove, carefully.
“Hey, if I'm a terrible boss it's only because you set a shitty example.”
“I don't know about that. I managed to keep you in line, didn't I?” the general purred. Edward stiffened at the tone of voice; his eyes flicked down to Roy's gloved hands, then back up again. The older man was mildly surprised that it had taken Edward so long to notice that Roy had his flame gloves on. Usually it did not, although to be fair Ed had been quite distracted when he had come in that evening.
“Did you?” said Edward, cocking his head to the side, a long smirk growing on his lips. “Funny, I don't remember it that way.”
“That's interesting. Perhaps you need to be reminded.” Roy stood up, motion slow and purposeful.
“And how're you planning on doing that?”
“Get on your knees,” he growled, and Edward did.
*
Edward was sore and tired and significantly worse for wear – physically, anyway – when he came back to his house the next morning to find Al at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper and nursing a cup of coffee, although the residual pain wasn't nearly enough to bring him down from the mild euphoria that followed him for days after play.
“Hey,” he said, not bothering to kick off his boots before beelining towards their brand-new Rockbell Instant Coffee Machine and pulling a mug from the cabinet. He filled it with the delightful black liquid without further ado.
“Hey,” Al replied, turning to his brother. “How are you?”
“Sore,” Ed groaned, rubbing a shoulder with his hand, as if that actually helped. “Goddammit, Mustang does the weirdest –”
“And that's quite enough of that story,” said Alphonse, firmly. “You wouldn't want to hear about my sex life, would you?”
“You don't have a sex life.”
Al blushed furiously.
“Well if I did, I'm sure you'd appreciate me keeping it to myself.”
“Eh, probably. How's Winry doing?” Ed asked, saturating his coffee with sugar.
Al blushed harder.
“I don't see what she has to do with this conversation.”
Ed raised an eyebrow and smirked, then sat down at the table across from his brother, his mug clanking on the wood.
“I never said she did. You were the one who assumed I meant something by it. You're acting suspicious. Should I be prying more?”
“No! There's nothing to pry into.”
“What, so you're not interested? Coulda fooled me.” The coffee, once cooled, was perfect.
“Of course not! Winry and I are just friends.”
“You're not a very good liar.”
Al had entirely forgotten about his newspaper, and was looking quite harried in addition to embarrassed. He was so cute when he was trying to hide something.
Honestly, Ed thought it couldn't be more obvious that his little brother was head over heels in love with their oldest friend. And why not? She was a lot of fun, a very sweet girl when she wasn't being a psychopath, smart, and very pretty besides. It hadn't escaped even Ed's notice that she had developed ample feminine assets.
“I don't know what you mean.”
“'Course you do, Al. Don't play stupid. Doesn't suit you.” He took a swallow of his coffee. “There's nothing wrong with you liking Winry. I think you two would be good together.”
“I don't know where you're getting these ideas,” Al said, high-pitched.
“Come on, it's obvious. You're all over her. You talk about her all the time, like she's the best fuckin' thing since the transmutation circle. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Why're you trying to hide it so hard?”
Al watched his brother for a moment, then turned his eyes to the table.
“Well,” he started, going quiet, “she's not in love with me. She's in love with you.”
Ed frowned.
“Yeah, maybe, or she was anyway, but we would be horrible together, and besides I'm unavailable. You'd make her really happy, I know you would. You're way nicer than me.”
“Yeah, but... apparently she doesn't want nice. And I don't think I'm nice enough to not be upset about being second best, the consolation prize for not getting her first choice of the Elric brothers.”
Hearing that made Ed hurt.
“Hey now, do you think so little of Winry that you really believe she would ever do anything for that kind of reason? You know she's a better person than that. I think you just haven't ever made a play for her, and up until pretty recently you were a suit of armor who sounded like a ten year old. It's hard to be physically attracted to a suit of armor, and that's a big part of being interested in somebody, isn't it? All I'm sayin' is, you should give it a try. She'll see what a mistake she made pretty quick if you do, I promise.”
Al turned those big golden eyes on him, and Ed smiled.
“You really think so?”
Ed took another long swallow of his coffee, then set his cup down again and said, seriously:
“Yeah, I really do.”
*
“Hello, Garfiel's Automail Services, this is Winry, how can I help you?” asked Winry, through the receiver of Al's telephone.
“Hey Winry, this is Al. How are you?”
“Al! This is unusual. You don't call too often. What's up?”
“Nothing much, really. I just wanted to ask if it would be okay for me to come visit you in Rush Valley pretty soon?”
“Visit? Wait, you haven't lost a limb that you need me to make automail for, have you?”
Al laughed.
“No, no. Nothing like that. I just wanted to see you.”
“Oh,” Winry said, sounding surprised. “Um, I guess, yeah, okay. I should have this coming Tuesday and Wednesday off, if you want to come then.”
“Tuesday and Wednesday? That sounds perfect.”
*
Edward looked entirely too happy when he met Roy outside of the office as he got off work that day. The evening was warm and sunny, despite the hour: one of the wonderful things about summer. One of its other advantages was that Edward could be persuaded to wear nothing more than his favorite tank top, which displayed his shoulders and collarbones to beautiful effect and bared his muscled stomach when he raised his arms.
“You look disturbingly happy, like you've been getting into trouble,” Roy said, one eyebrow cocked. “What have you been up to all day?”
“Oh, nothing bad,” said Edward, looking disturbingly pleased with himself. “I've been arranging some payback.”
“That sounds ominous,” said Roy, turning to the gate and beginning his walk there, unbuttoning his uniform jacket as he went.
“Ominous? Nah, not particularly. I've just been playing matchmaker.”
“Have you?” Roy's eyebrow went up even higher.
“Al's on a train to Rush Valley as we speak,” Edward told him, cheerily. “I've convinced him to go visit Winry. So, yeah. Payback.”
Roy's smile matched Ed's own. Roy hadn't known that Al was interested in the Rockbell girl, but it made sense, and he couldn't think of anything he approved of more. Without Al, he and Ed would have crashed and burned early on, if they had even managed to get started. Alphonse deserved to be as happy as he had made them.
“I'm glad. I'm very glad.”
Edward turned to him, and without warning pulled him down by his collar into a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, Ed growled into his ear.
“I'm horny as all hell. Let's fuck.”
“What, right here?” Roy said, trying to sound like the idea didn't turn him on.
“Not exactly. I've found a great little corner, though. An alcove, almost. Nobody could see you unless they walked right by, and nobody goes there.”
“It sounds like you've been location scouting.”
“All fucking afternoon. Now I'm all hot and bothered.”
“Well then. It would be a shame to let all that work go to waste, wouldn't it?” Roy said, and took the man's lips in his own.
***
***
fin