Soldier Blues

XII

Edward rolled onto his back and stared blearily out the window at the rays of sunlight that had woken him. He could hear Roy moving about in the kitchen and estimated it was only about nine o’clock. Groaning, the elder Elric tried to go back to sleep, only to have his plains foiled by the smell of bacon. They had taken up residence in an abandoned shack deep in the woods close to Southern Command and close to a village at the foot of a hill that provided both the high ground in Ed and Roy’s favour and a vantage point for observation. It also meant Roy could easily venture down for food and try to sell the little carvings Edward made when he was bored. And Edward got bored very easily.

He’d read every book that was in the cabin and every new one Roy brought back. He did household chores and only went outside after dark. It was monotonous. And Ed hated it. But he knew it was practical and for his safety as well as the safety of those he loved. But he’d turned sixteen a week ago and he was getting restless. Roy provoked him into countless fights to be sure (little bean was always one that earned a physical response instead of verbal), and those tired out Ed enough he could sleep and leave Roy in peace.

But he was anxious for news on Alphonse and Resembool and the outcome of the war, if Envy had even gotten off his ass to do something about ending it. So Edward was full of nervous energy and most of that energy was put into making Roy’s life miserable. Still, Edward was mindful enough to understand Roy’s warning signs and became complacent until Roy had gotten comfortable enough in the silence. It was a vicious cycle, but perhaps Roy knew the beauty of it and so he let Edward play out his game so the boy didn’t wander off.

Stretching, Edward rolled out of bed and haphazardly made his way to the small dining room where breakfast sat waiting on the table. Roy was nowhere to be seen. Grumbling, Edward made himself a cup of coffee and sat down to breakfast, ignoring the world around him until he’d gotten a decent amount of eggs, bacon, and toast in his stomach, eyed the milk with distrust and sipped on his coffee.

“You didn’t drink your milk.” Roy’s voice deadpanned from behind the blonde.

“I hate milk,” Ed snapped, sulking where he sat and hoped it passed for slouching. Roy muttered something pithy.

“I bet it’s calcium deficiency that’s keeping you so short,” Roy said smugly. He wanted a reaction, and a reaction he got.

“Who the hell are you calling a diminutive bean sprout so tiny even ants can’t see him?!”

Roy grinned wider as Edward came at him. He caught the younger man’s wrists in a tight grip and hauled him so close that their bodies were touching. “I never said that.”

Ed kicked out at him and tore away, and their scuffle was on in full. Roy wondered if Ed was fighting because of the short comment or because he somehow had an inkling of Roy’s ulterior motives. Whatever the reason, Roy had picked this time on purpose to strike. A just-fed Ed wouldn’t be much of a challenge, especially when angry. They exchanged punches and kicks and parries, Ed seriously trying to harm Roy and Roy just trying to tire out Ed. The fight must have gone on for hours before Roy managed to finally get a hold on Ed and keep it. He slammed Ed against the bedroom wall to stun him and gazed into those defiant gold eyes.

This fascination wasn’t sudden. It had been gradual, with many wrong turns. Roy had spent near to four months with Edward Elric, getting to know the boy well enough he could set him off on a word or shut him up with a gesture. He knew Ed’s many facets, just like Ed knew his. In such a short time, the two had become friends and Roy was certain that he, at least, wanted more. They stared at each other, Edward with his hands pinned to the wall by Roy, panting and bruised and bleeding. Then Roy licked his lips to wet them and leaned in closer, listening to Edward’s breathing as it skipped and hitched. Roy leaned closer and couldn’t decide if it was the beginnings of lust or panic in the elder Elric’s gold eyes. Then, Roy gently pressed his lips to Ed’s and lingered, savouring the boy’s own taste mingled with their blood. It was short lived, the kiss, as Ed got his wits about him far faster than Roy had anticipated. His knee found a home in Roy’s gut (small favours for being short, no pun intended) and the black-haired Lieutenant was forced to relinquish his hold on Edward. The blonde was gone a moment later, flushed a deep red in the cheeks. Roy indulged in a few groans as he got to his feet and braced himself against the wall, laughing softly.

Ed would be back, Roy knew, because despite the look of horror in those gold eyes, there had been an underlying sense of pleasure. Roy decided he’d have to be straightforward and just take what he wanted. Because he knew for a fact that Ed wanted it too. He just hadn’t realized it yet.


Ed stopped running only when the cabin was out of sight. Then he crumpled to his knees and laughed until he cried. He carried on in this manner for a while until he’d finally tired himself laughing and sat back against a tree trunk, closing his eyes. Roy had kissed him. Granted, it was more chaste than he had imagined a kiss from Roy would be, but Ed wasn’t going to be picky.

He dropped his hands in his hands and sighed. “Shit.”

Ed hadn’t meant to kick Roy, so he hoped he hadn’t hit the man in anything terribly vital. The last thing he needed was to return to a cabin where there was an irate soldier who’d just been kicked in the balls. The blonde scrubbed his face.

“He couldn’t just be juvenile, could he?” Edward asked the silent trees. “He couldn’t just treat me like a kid?”

Or, perhaps he doesn’t think of you as one.

The thought was a little sobering. Edward hadn’t been a kid since his and Alphonse’s mother had died. Oh, Granny and Winry still treated him like he was a kid, but they were family. Family didn’t count. He should apologize to Roy. Yeah, that’s it. Ed grinned a little. He would go apologize to Roy. He would go apologize and kiss Roy back. See what he did in retaliation.

Feeling a little bit better, Edward began to wander his way back to the cabin. It was quiet inside, as if Roy had stepped out. But Ed knew differently. He tiptoed into the house and sought out the Lieutenant Colonel and found him where he’d left him – in the bedroom. He was sprawled out on the bed that Edward usually occupied with an arm casually thrown over his eyes. He didn’t indicate if he knew the blonde was there or not. Swallowing, Edward moved forward until he was close enough to smell Roy’s aftershave and pressed a timid – he cursed himself for it – kiss on the black haired man’s lips.

“What sort of pansy kiss was that?” Roy said mockingly. Ed glared hate into those depthless black eyes.

“See if I kiss you again!” the blonde retorted hotly.

Ed didn’t get a chance to pull away; Roy grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed, wrestling him into a position where he was pinned beneath the older man. Ed snarled and struggled and cursed Roy out until the Lieutenant Colonel silenced him. This kiss was hot and soulful and Roy even used his tongue. Ed felt it in his own mouth and recoiled for a moment. It felt strange to have someone else’s tongue in your mouth – you were so used to your own just lying there against your teeth that when another invaded your mouth it felt strange. The blonde let out a hiss when Roy nipped his lower lip and returned the bite in kind, albeit a little harder.

Roy snarled at him. “Bite me again and you’ll regret it.”

“You bit me!” Ed protested.

“I’m older. Deal with it.” And Roy descended on Edward with a single-minded purpose. He trailed kisses from the boy’s mouth to his neck and up to his ear, eliciting squirms and noises Roy hadn’t believed possible. Still, in order to hear more Roy kept treating Ed to butterfly kisses as he worked the boy’s clothes off. Maybe it was because the two of them were so focused on each other that they didn’t hear the front door creak. Maybe it was because their own noises were so loud that they didn’t hear the floorboards creak. Whatever the reason, neither of the lovers noticed their company until they were upon them.

Roy fought viciously despite the fact he was outnumbered and the rebels had guns pointed at him. Edward fought equally vicious, using everything available as a weapon. The same thought was going through their mind. How had the insurgents found them?

A gun fired and Roy instinctively ducked toward Edward, grabbing hold of him to try and get him to go out the bedroom window. But hammers in a dozen guns clicked and Roy froze.

“It took us a long time to find you,” a nasally voice intoned. “Don’t make me give the order to shoot.”

Edward snarled. “If you shoot, you’ll die, too.”

“Depends on whom I shoot, doesn’t it?”

The line of rebels parted for their leader, a smallish man with a sort of hunch to his shoulders. He looked like a rat, balding with a long moustache. He grinned at Edward, leered at Roy and chortled. “Imagine, I, Yoki, returning to headquarters with a hostage as well as the weapon!”

Roy’s hand tightened on Ed’s shoulder, warning him to keep quiet. “My superiors are going to look for me when I don’t report in.”

Yoki waved his hand in dismissal. “The Amestrian military won’t be caring where you’re at. Now that we have the weapon, your precious government won’t exist.”

Roy tightened his hold again on Ed’s shoulder, trying to keep the vibrating youth – and himself – under control. “Why?” he asked. “Why do you want to destroy your own government so much?”

“They invaded our lands!” yelled one soldier. “They took our crops, our water, our homes! This government you love so much!”

“So you decided to wage war on innocent people?!” Roy roared. “To take boys like him from their homes and make them fight?”

The insurgent soldiers looked to Yoki for support. “It doesn’t matter,” Yoki quipped. “We have Hohenheim’s weapon now and not Central. We win.”

Yoki waved his hand and Roy made a desperate bid for the door. He and Edward almost made it. He almost made it free. But Edward was suddenly ripped form his grasp and Roy whirled to see one gleeful soldier struggling with the elder Elric. Roy didn’t mistake the look in Ed’s eyes. It told him to run.

Run, run run and never look back.

Roy cursed and ran for all he was worth, knowing who exactly to go to. The rebels wanted a war. Roy gave a grim smile as he ran.

Envy was going to give him hell.