Wild! Chapter 28

[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: 1,018  (37,036 overall)
Summary: Ed decides he wants to find love, something wild, something vibrant and above all something passionate.

Ed felt the shaking all the way down to his bones, and he was crying out, crying out, don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me! I’m fragile, and then suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his neck and he was staring at the hotel ceiling and panting, his brain was fried and his body trembled. What is this? How do they work? And he was scared and tired and, and, Roy was there looking down at with…with pity, no, not pity, sadness, the knowledge of what nightmares could do to you and Ed, Ed just broke. He felt the first bit of hotness, wetness on his cheek and he raised a clumsy hand to brush at it – he was crying, and now that he knew he was crying he couldn’t stop.

The floodgates had opened and now there was no stopping them.

He could feel Roy’s tentative touches and now more than anything he simply wanted to be held, to be loved.

He looked up at Roy and whispered, “Will you hold me?”

And it was as if Roy couldn’t get his arms around him fast enough because Roy was there, he was everywhere. He was surrounded by warmth and strength. By love.

He pressed himself close to the man and he felt Roy pull the covers up over both of them, and as they lay together he could feel Roy’s warm breaths against his forehead as he breathed. Long legs tangled with his and pressed their bodies close and Ed wanted to be even closer, but this was nice, this was nice for now.

Ed let his eyes close and slowly over the course of an hour his hiccups and sobs fell off until there were only a few tears and then nothing else. He felt a kiss pressed his forehead and then he nuzzled into Roy’s shoulder where he finally fell into a peaceful sleep.  

Roy watched the young man sleep, he seemed to have gone through more than he cared to admit. Edward’s tears had twisted Roy up in funny ways, ways he never knew he could be twisted. He let his own head rest on the pillow above Edward’s and he too soon fell into a deep sleep.

Morning light was splaying across the bed and Ed grunted as he sat up, Roy’s arm falling into his lap with a thump. Roy cracked an eye and looked up at Ed with something akin to irritation. His mouth curled up into a small smile after a few minutes and his hand slid across Ed’s thigh. It didn’t get very far before Ed grabbed it and squeezed tightly.

“We’ve got work to do, serious work if we ever want to get out of this place in the next few years.”

Roy laughed. “We were so busy these past few hours, why not just rest for a while, there’s nothing pressing…”

“You’re still a Brigadier-General. You still have work to do back there. And I need to get you back sooner rather than later.”

Mustang frowned and rolled his shoulders before flopping onto his back and folding his arms beneath his head. “Alright then, why don’t you map out where we have to go tonight? And then we’ll leave as soon as the moon rises.”

Ed swung his legs out of bed and murmured “Thanks,” to the opposite wall before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door. He clicked the lock and pressed a palm against the door as he struggled to breathe. It seemed to catch in his throat every other breath and it made him nauseous, and dizzy.

Dizzy, Ed thought, made him sound like a girl, but he was that, wasn’t he? He’d done the girly thing and fallen in love with the bastard and he actually liked the fact he was in love with Roy. He loved the idea that Roy might like him back. He’d agreed they’d take things slow, see where this relationship was headed, but now, after last night, he knew where he wanted this relationship to head. He knew in the pit of his stomach, in the recesses of his mind and in his heart, he knew, more than he knew anything else, if Roy asked him for all of him, he’d give up himself for Roy. He’d give Roy whatever he desired to make him happy. He’d do anything for Roy, like he’d do anything for Al.

Al had always talked about falling in love, what it was like, how the heart raced and the feelings came, and Ed had always seen it so scientifically and now Ed realized how wrong he was. There was no way to take this scientifically. Love was splendid and wild, passionate and caring, and Ed loved it. He felt a small smile creep across his face and he tried to wipe it off with his hand, but then, as he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t. He didn’t want to. He had found a happiness he’d been looking for for a long time. His hands touched his reflection’s hands and Ed felt like he was a completely different person.

Abigail, oh Abigail, he thought. You were right on so many accounts. But without you, without you we would have never gotten beyond that one night. That one night would have been it. We would have gone about our lives and pretended that it had never happened. Even if we had wanted to talk about it, which we did, we would have said – I know I would have – that it wouldn’t work, that there was no way that we would have been able to live in close quarters. We are too different, too stubborn, too prideful, we feel as if we are greater than anybody else. Our futures would have undoubtedly been entangled with each other. We would have worked together, attempting to achieve what others could not…we will be good together.

Ed’s hands flew off the grass and he flung the bathroom door open and panted in a quick burst, his face flushed a deep crimson, “I love you!”