Wild! Chapter 22

[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: 1,292  (25,148 overall)
Summary: Ed decides he wants to find love, something wild, something vibrant and above all something passionate.
Notes: Ok, so, first posting of the week. :)

Ed pulled back and looked up at Roy. Roy was staring off into the distance as if he were shocked by something. Ed could still hear his heart beating fast and he wondered what exactly was causing the man’s heart to beat so fast. Ever so gently he stroked up the back of the man’s neck and pulled his head down. Roy went easily and Ed leaned up to meet his mouth. They kissed slowly, gently, a simple meeting of the mouths and Ed pulled away a moment later.

Eyes open he watched as several expressions crossed Roy’s face. Roy’s hands were gentle as he tipped Ed’s head back and kissed him again and again. Ed let his eyes close as Roy’s hands dropped to his shoulders then smoothed down his arms and cupped his hips. Roy moved closer and Ed managed to get his hands against the man’s chest and push him back. When he managed to push Roy back he himself backed up to the door which he opened.

“We can’t. We’ve got things to do.”

Roy’s eyes narrowed and he prowled forward. “We have plenty of time.”

Ed could feel the beat of the pulse in his neck and he tried to get his heart to stop pounding, his body to stop responding to the look in Roy’s eyes.

He swallowed and stepped back out into the hallway. “No,” he repeated firmly, “we came here to do something and we must do it. It’s important, Mustang.”

Mustang leaned back onto his heels and stared at Edward who had kept backing up and he grimaced and sighed, letting his shoulders sag. Ed saw the defeat in his eyes.

“Sorry,” he muttered and let himself move back towards Roy, closing the awkward distance.

Roy’s hand ruffled his hair and sighed again. “All right. Let’s get Abigail and see if she can give us locations.”

Ed grinned and sauntered down the hall, more confident. He knew how to do this. There was nothing that could stop him. He was the former Fullmetal Alchemist, the youngest ever, he was also a genius alchemist, his father had been a philosopher’s stone, also of Xerxes and he was Mustang’s protégé. All these things made him one of the greatest alchemists to ever exist. He looked over his shoulder to see Mustang still striding with military precision. He knew Mustang didn’t have to walk like that, he’d seen the man walk with the grace of a cat before. But now when he was trying to calm some raging emotion he’d fallen back on a military march to help himself focus. Ed grinned. It hadn’t even taken a minute to walk to Mustang’s room and they found Abigail waiting there patiently for them.

She looked up as the entered and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is everything…good?”

Roy met her eyes. “It’ll be fine.” His voice was confident and sure, not a hint of shakiness and Ed felt his chest clench and tighten. Mustang’s unwavering faith in him made him feel a little lost. Al had had unwavering faith in him too – and he’d nearly destroyed their lives. He only hoped this was one he wouldn’t wreck. Mustang was needed – he still had a goal to reach, a goal that might never be reached if Ed interfered with his life. He met Roy’s eyes and they held a warmth Ed cherished for a moment.

One little night had completely turned his world upside down and now he would have to deal with the consequences, whatever they may be. Right now, those consequences were looking good and Ed didn’t have any intention of letting them change to something horrible.

Abigail looked skeptical and then as if Roy was aware of his feelings he spoke again, “Edward and I are fine, Abigail, as we always will be. We may fight, but that is normal for us. Stop worrying.” His eyes trailed over Ed. “You too.&rdquo

Ed lifted his eyebrows but didn’t respond to Mustang’s comment. He turned away and lifted the shades on the window to look out. The streets had emptied rather quickly due to the slight rainfall. He let the shade fall closed as he turned and leaned back against the wall.

“It’s raining now,” he said sourly.

Roy let the side of his mouth twitch up in amusement. “You don’t like getting rained on?”

Ed pushed back against the wall in irritation. “I had enough of it for a lifetime.”

He turned his head to the side and looked down at the floor, “It always seemed to be raining.” His fists clenched tightly. “It felt like it would never stop…” he didn’t say anything else, but looked up glaring when he saw Roy staring at him, “What?” he asked a bit irritated.

Roy shook his head and looked to Abigail. “Is there any way to get underground here?”

“Sure,” she shrugged. “You can go through the sewers. There are a few underground tunnels, never mapped so we don’t know where they go. We don’t even know what they were used for. Don’t know what is in them, what condition they are in either. If you want to go in them, do so at your own risk.” She narrowed her eyes. “You aren’t actually thinking of going in them are you?”

“Yeah,” Ed muttered, “we are. Do you know if the sewers or tunnels run all the way to those mountains?”

“As I said – no.”

Ed sighed. “And we can’t use that mountain path if the moon isn’t out…” He cast a glance at Roy. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Roy tapped a finger on the table he was sitting at. “Perhaps we look at the tunnels and sewers tonight. Abigail, do you have maps of terrain in this area? Especially the area around the mountains?”

She hummed for a moment as she thought. “I’ll ask around. If you are planning going into those tunnels or sewers you’ll need a guide.”

“I though you just said –” Ed began.

“Most people have never explored that area. There is one person who has. Adam Velaz. You’ll want to talk to him about going down into those sewers. He knows the way better than anybody. And he has the most comprehensive map of the tunnels. Even he hasn’t explored that much. He might like to tag along as well.” She pointed at Ed. “You’ll have to be careful, it’s easy to get lose and sometimes the water level can get high, we don’t know where it comes from. I’ll go get those maps for you if I can. How about we meet back here at say, seven o’clock tonight?”

Ed let his brow furrow. “It’s going to take that long?”

Abigail raised her eyebrows, “Do you want to go or not?”

Ed scowled. “Fine.”

Her shoes tapped against the floor as she headed to the door. “As a friendly warning there are some people who live in the mountains. They don’t take kindly to visitors – or trespassers – watch where you step.” And she left.

“Ambiguous, huh,” Ed stated. He let his eyes narrow. “Now there’s two things we need to look into, this Adam person and those mountain people. I will bet you anything that they’re up to something out there. I highly doubt you’d live in those mountains unless you had a higher purpose.”

“I see,” Roy murmured, “the mountains are far more dangerous than living in the plains – and it wouldn’t exactly be a safe place to raise a family or live on your own. I agree. Let’s talk to this Adam person first and we can explore the idea of these mountain people later.”

Ed rubbed his fingers together. “Well. Let’s go see if Adam is in.”