The More I Learn to Care For You - Roy's POV
Changing the Pattern
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only one since there was only one… haha):
*grins* I’m
glad you enjoyed the first chapter. This
project has actually been pretty fun. I
really get a kick out of writing my part, then reading what she wrote for
Ed. I get all, “Oooooh,
so that’s what he was thinking when he did that…” haha.
sure if they were learned in that, or if they grew up with it, it wouldn’t’ be
(kind of like us with the internet)
More I learn to Care for You - Roy's POV
Chapter Two
Changing the Pattern
“What
kind of stuff do they got here?”
going as well as he’d hoped they would.
Well, at least there hadn’t been any more problems with the car...
“That’s what the menu is for...” he murmured in answer to the teen’s
question.
He
scowled at his menu as he heard Ed mutter something under his breath.
sure to be something rude.
“I’m sure
you’ll find something, Ed. It’s not like
you’re that picky,” he said flatly. He
hadn’t found anything yet that Ed wouldn’t eat.
“Hmm...
Having
grown up in a rural part of the East(1),
share of sheep and he could compare several of their habits with Ed’s.
down. Sheep never walk in a straight
line since they’re always watching their back.
Ed too always seemed to be looking out for danger, though he had a right
to. Sheep have excellent senses.
pain. Yet another annoying similarity of
Ed’s... That made
wonder again what had happened to the teen’s hand.
Clearing
his throat,
said, “I think I’m going to get the steak...”
He glanced at Ed who was staring at his menu, then looked around for the
waiter.
“The
chicken also looks good,” Ed mumbled, taping the menu and tilting his
head.
small, feisty chicken might even be a better comparison than the lamb.
the teen’s loose, blond hair fell over his shoulder.
thought it looked rather good like that, but his lover reached back behind his
neck and pulled the hair back with the rest of it.
“Are you ready?”
asked. As much as he enjoyed watching
Ed, he also wanted to get something to drink.
“I
suppose so,” Ed said.
At that,
eye contact with their waiter and casually lifted a finger to show that they
were ready. The waiter, an average
looking man wearing black slacks and a red, long-sleeved, button-up shirt, made
his way over to them and asked politely, “How are the two of you tonight?”
“Fine
thank you,”
said automatically.
The
waiter glanced briefly at Ed, who simply looked up but said nothing, then
smiled before saying, “Are the two of you ready to order, or would you like me
to get you something to drink while you continue to look over the menu?”
Not
wanting to be accused of treating the teen like a child by speaking for him,
him the opportunity to say something.
Ed
returned his gaze with an uncomfortable look before saying, “
Internally
shrugging,
glanced back at the waiter. Well at
least he’d tried. “We’d like to order
before-dinner drinks, but we’re also ready to order our dinner.”
The
waiter nodded and looked at
expectantly.
“For
dinner, I’ll take the tenderloin, with the rosemary potatoes.”
The
waiter nodded. “And to
drink with that?”
“Wine.
answered. He’d leave the exact type up
to the waiter. He wasn’t too fond of red
wines, but it wasn’t too bad when paired with dark meat, which was the point,
he supposed...
“Of
course,” the waiter murmured.
“Negrone.
On the rocks.
Tell your bartender not to top it off with soda either,”
that and it had been a little irritating.
With a
nod, the waiter gave him a bland look, and
request more politely.
Squirming
a little, Ed said, “Er...I guess I’ll have...”
menu. “…the lamb.”
The
waiter nodded in a business-like fashion and said, “To drink with that?”
Ed
faltered for a moment, then looked at
“Wine...?”
thought. His first reaction was ‘hell
no’, but their evening was not going to well... Perhaps a little alcohol on
Ed’s part would liven it up a little.
wine. Shrugging, he looked at the waiter
and said, “White.” He figured Ed would
probably like white wine more than red.
The
waiter looked a little hesitant, though whether it was because of Ed’s age, or
because red wine traditionally went with lamb,
“Ah...just
some water, please,” Ed said and handed his menu to the waiter.
before walking away.
Ed
grinned and said, “Cool. I thought you
were going to shoot me down for trying to get the wine.”
don’t see why you need more,
piss Ed off since the teen seemed so happy.
Instead, he smiled and said, trying to keep Ed in a good mood, “Well, I
don’t see why not. I mean, I think
you’re old enough to handle it.”
“Well,”
Ed said, looking a little smug. “I
am. I’m almost seventeen and a half.”
“And a
half, huh,”
said without thinking.
Ed
quirked an eyebrow and said, “What? What
are you smirking for?”
thought. He hadn’t realized he was
smirking. Shaking his head,
if the waiter was coming with his drink, as well as to avoid looking at
Ed. “Nothing...” he murmured,
Ed
blinked. “It’s not so great either...
this tie is going to cut off my air supply,” he said, tugging on his tie and
loosening it.
He was about to say something else when the waiter stepped up to their
table. Setting a tall water glass in front of Ed and a small, highball glass in
front of Roy, the waiter silently slipped away as if he’d never been there.
Ed looked
over at
drink, a clearish-red liquid with ice, and
pointed. “What’s that?
Not
seeing any harm in that,
shrugged and handed the glass over.
“It’s a ‘Negrone’,” he explained, even though
no explanation had been asked for. “Has
gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.”
Taking
the glass and putting it under his nose, Ed sniffed then said, “Can I taste
it?”
“I think
it’s too much for you,” he said hesitantly.
Thinking that line might bring about an argument, he added, “Best you
just stick with the wine...”
“Oh come
on,” Ed pleaded, taking on the ‘I’m so cute, please give in’ look.
scrubbed at his hair. He didn’t think Ed
would like it, but telling the teen that would only make him want
it more. Well...if it was just a sip...
Trying to make it sound more like a bargain then him giving in,
your tie...”
Grinning,
Ed sipped carefully at the glass then made a face that said
back. “That’s foul.”
Wanting
to make a quip about the blond being too young to appreciate a good drink, Roy
refrained and simply chuckled as he relieved Ed of the glass, then motioned for
the teen to do up his tie before taking a sip.
Once the
liquor was out of his hands, Ed reached for his water and took a few
gulps. Wondering if Ed was ignoring him,
throat with a frown.
“Did it
burn your throat too?” Ed asked in concern.
Not
buying it, and now sure that the teen was trying to get out of his end of their
deal,
“No...I’d like you to do up your tie...”
“Ah,
right,” Ed said, and moved the tie up a tiny bit.
Resisting
the urge to lean over the table and tighten it up for him,
Smirking,
Ed moved the tie up more.
from nagging at Ed again,
took a deep drink from the glass, then returned the
teen’s smirk. “Of course, you know I’d
love to see that tie undone after dinner,” he said, trying to defuse the
situation and get Ed to give up whatever ‘plans’ he had at the same time.
“We
can’t, remember? We got another
destination after this,” Ed said, sipping at his water.
Grinning,
taking a sip of his own drink, “Oh? So
it’s your place instead of mine?”
“Neither,”
he answered as he fiddled with his silverware.
Enjoying
the challenge of getting Ed to do what he wanted,
walked toward their table with their meals.
After
setting the food down, the waiter asked, “Does everything look alright?”
“Sure,
looks great,” Ed said.
saying, “It looks fine, thank you.” He
wasn’t too happy about having his game interrupted.
away from the waiter and rolling his eyes.
Very tacky, Ed...
After the
waiter left, Ed grabbed his fork and knife, primate-style and, like a starving
animal, began digging in.
Normally,
the teen’s eating habits, but really...there was a time and a place for
everything. “Edward!”
“What?”
Ed asked.
anyone had noticed the teen feeding like a barbarian, then looked at Ed who was
glancing around as well now. “We’re at a nice
place. Perhaps you could try
Frowning,
Ed said, “Wasn’t that what I was doing?”
Making an
exasperated sound,
took a proper-sized bite of his food, and chewed it slowly while staring at
Ed. After he swallowed,
twice before swallowing...?” He couldn’t
believe he had to give a demonstration on it.
Inhaling
slowly, Ed tilted his head and looked at
from the corner of his eye. “We’ve been
together for a while right?”
“Yes...”
any moment.
Turning
his head to look him full in the face, Ed said, “You could say you know me
pretty well by now, right?” Not feeling
to need to grace that with a comment,
simply nodded and waited for Ed to finish what he wanted to say.
going to like it.
Instead
of continuing, Ed glanced down at his meal, took a small bite,
chewed three times, then swallowed before taking a
drink of water. “So,” he finally
continued. “If you know me so well...why
are we here where you’re trying so hard to change me?”
he looked away from Ed. He wasn’t trying
to change Ed...was he?
Picking up the glass of Negrone, he downed the
rest of it, and looked over at Ed.
Sighing, he said, “I’m not trying to change
you...” He wasn’t...
his head. He did like Ed how he was, but
there were just some things that weren’t appropriate in some situations...
off and sighed again. It wasn’t worth
arguing about, really it wasn’t.
Act how you want, Ed.”
He looked
down at his meal and began cutting his steak, then took a bite.
Having Ed eat like an animal was better then the teen
screaming his head off, which was what he was waiting for.
side of the table for a few moments, then, “Excuse me, I got to go to the
washroom.”
standing beside the table and frowned.
Shrugging his shoulders Ed wandered off and
asked a waiter something, then headed off where he was directed.
Well...that
was different. Swishing the wine in the
glass a little,
glanced down at it, trying to think. If
he didn’t do something, this evening was going to be shot to hell.
sipped on his wine,
had been acting quite calm and mature, and in a way,
Ed had
changed their ‘pattern’, and in a small way it kind of irked
away. Instead, he had subconsciously
been trying to force Ed back into the old pattern, the one where
adult, and Ed was the stubborn and reactive child.
empty wine glass. He couldn’t even
remember drinking it all... Setting it
down, he stared dully at the flickering candle in the middle of their table.
could either continue to try putting Ed back into the role
or he could try to change his own attitude and treat Ed more like the adult he
was becoming...
Which, of
course would be the harder of the two...
Glancing
the way Ed had gone, and not seeing him, Roy reached over and took a drink of
the teen’s wine, a fine light white wine, he thought, though not too light for
the lamb, then set the glass down and sat back in his seat waiting for Ed to
return.
It didn’t
take much longer for his young lover to find his way back, which was good
because Roy was beginning to wonder if the teen had pulled the ‘I’ll tell you
I’m going to the bathroom, but really I’m ditching you’ routine.
they were on a date...
“Ed...”
but this was hard... “I’m...”
told himself, but apologizing had never come easy to him.
He looked into Ed’s eyes for a moment then glanced away.
Sighing,
Ed said, “That’s alright.”
his date. “No...it
isn’t. You’re right.
this, but frankly you’ve been acting more of an adult tonight then I have.
you’ve been rather calm all evening, and...”
This was
even harder than he thought it would be... Feeling the need for a drink,
picked up his wine glass then scowled at it when he remembered it was
empty. Putting it back,
next.
“And?”
Ed asked.
Running a
hand through his hair,
smiled faintly and said, “And...it’s rather
becoming... You not only look like an
adult, you’ve been acting like one as well.
I just didn’t recognize it right away.
So...” He paused not wanting to
say what had popped into his head, but thinking that it might be best,
continue. “I hope you’ll... forgive...
me...” He stopped and looked away, trying
to convince himself that it hadn’t been that hard to say those words and
failing miserably.
Thinking
that if he continued talking along those lines he’d really need another drink,
he looked back at Ed and said, “You know, your hair looks really nice down...”
Ed
glanced down at his food and said, “Well...after the phone call...I was
thinking...it takes a lot of energy to be mad... so I thought – never mind...
thanks. I’m glad you’re recognizing the
fact that I’m growing up...” He paused,
pedophile anymore.”
Shocked,
comment. That little shit... “Fuck you,
Ed,”
just keep it around for looks?”
The teen
snickered and said, “Just for looks, get your own,” before sipping at the wine
again. “How about we get out of here and
on to our next stop... I know you’re dying to see what I have planned.”
Scowling,
“I’m only dying to know if it involves you under me, moaning and panting and
begging for more.”
“It
doesn’t,” Ed said, then frowned.
offense.”
Frowning
unhappily,
watched a smirk form on his date’s face.
It seemed that he’d lost his little game... and now it was time to pay
the piper...
--
1 – In
the manga,
refers to himself as a ‘country bumpkin’ when talking to Colonel Henry
Douglass.
--
--