Wild chapter 16

[meredavey]

Title: Wild
Author: meredavey
Series: Brotherhood (although it can stand on its own)
Pairing: Roy/Ed
Rating: NC-17
Word Count for this chapter: 1,017 (18,262 overall)
Summary: Ed decides he wants to find love, something wild, something vibrant and above all something passionate.
Notes: :) More not so plotty-ness, but uh, relationship development? Maybe?

Breakfast was a quiet affair, and when they headed out of the inn no one took notice. Once out in the open Ed turned in several circles before shading his eyes and looking up at the sun. “I say that we go explore first and then talk to the locals.”

“It’s your call, Ed.” Roy told him.

Ed cast a glance back at the man. He was standing in strict military posture, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes though were taking in their surroundings completely. He was analyzing everything that he saw and then some.

Carefully he too turned in a circle eyeballing all the major pieces of landscape.  “Do you think that those mountains over there are the ones referenced in that poem?”

“Could be, it’s hard to tell though. It seems we have to follow the trail when the moon is out at its fullest.”

Roy looked back to the inn before shrugging his broad shoulders and striding to stand next to Ed. “Let’s get this surveying done so we’re back in plenty of time for moonrise.”

Ed rolled his eyes but marched forward with the sketchbook and the pencil. At certain distances he stopped and drew the surroundings as accurately as possible before they moved on. He noted pitfalls and traps, he noted where the ground rose, where there was water and where the old trails lay.

He carefully sidled around a rather large boulder and nearly lost his footing when the land came to an abrupt end. He swallowed and called back to the older man, “Hey, Mustang! Don’t come in any farther. This dead ends into a cliff.” Ed carefully knelt and peered over the edge. “Although I think I found the valley that poem mentioned.” He drew back again, resettled himself and then peered over the edge again. “Yep, this definitely is spooky.”

“Be careful not to –”

Roy hadn’t even finished his sentence when there was a yelp and a, “oh, fuck. Shit. Uh, Mustang?”

“Edward?” Mustang called back as he advanced into the small thicket of bushes that covered the edge of the cliff.

“Stop there! Or you might fall in as well!”

Mustang stopped quickly and looked down. Edward was lying on a low shelf wall that looked as if it didn’t have that much support.

“Are you okay?” Mustang asked as he leaned down.

Edward shifted and grimaced as sharp rocks dug into his palms and skin. “I think so,” he replied and twisted a bit before letting out a small hiss. “I might have a few bruises and cuts. Nothings broken as far as I can tell. I’ll simply be sore. I landed a bit hard on this rock.”

He planted his hands firmly on the shelf and rose up to his knees. He eyed the rock to decide the best way to activate –. His brain stopped. He didn’t have alchemy. He couldn’t use it anymore. He cleared his throat and was grateful he hadn’t clapped his hands and looked like a fool in front of Mustang. “Do you think you can create some stairs up for me?”

He more heard than saw Mustang back off a few feet. He then heard the sharp clap and the tang of alchemy as it fizzed its way down the rock wall changing the shape of the rock shelf.

“Thanks,” he said as he climbed up and lay panting for a few minutes on the firm ground. He could feel the older man’s eyes on him and he took one more deep breath before looking up. “I’m fine, so don’t look so worried. A fall like that won’t kill me.”

Mustang didn’t say anything, but simply offered his hand and pulled him up off the ground.

“Why don’t you brush yourself off and make yourself presentable and then we’ll go talk to the locals?”

Ed licked his lips and began to brush himself down all the while saying, “We still have more terrain left to cover…”

“Yes, but you just saw how dangerous that was! I don’t think we should take any more risks until we learn a bit more about this landscape. You get my drift?”

Ed nodded a bit reluctantly.

“Come on,” Roy told him gently, “We’ll get back out here soon enough. But it’s not worth the risk. We did a decent job of mapping the landscape ourselves. The locals can fill in the rest for us.”

He pulled Edward’s hand into his and squeezed. Ed looked at their interlocked hands and gave a gentle squeeze back.

He yawned after a moment. “That’s fine I suppose. We’ve been out here all morning and most of the afternoon anyways. I could do with some lunch and a nap.”

“Are those the only two things that you ever think of, Ed?”

Edward grinned up at him as he swung their interlocked hands.

“Nope,” he popped the ‘p’ in the word and laughed. “There’s one more thing I think about.” He paused. “Well two, but they’re kinda interconnected.” He grinned a bit wider. “I think that maybe we should eat and then perhaps, mmm….take a nap together?”

There was no mistaking Ed’s point and Roy did his best not to pick up his pace or reveal the emotions that had flashed through him all too briefly.

But it seemed as if Ed had read him very well because Ed was looking up at him with that look he always got when something was going his way. Before they reached the town border Roy twirled them around so that he could hold Ed close inside his arms. “Edward,” he murmured softly. “We will have to have a talk about this soon…but, no, don’t give me that look, we just need to discuss how we want to tell-or-not-tell people back in Central.”

Ed cocked his head. “I’m not so worried as to distract you now,” Roy continued, “But we should decide what we want to do in the future.”

Ed watched him a bit warily. “I’m hungry. We can discuss this over lunch, right?”

Roy sighed, “Over lunch then.”