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It was weird.
Not the whole, “Roy Mustang is my soulmate and we’re trying it out” thing, but the fact that he could just slide the man into his life, and they worked together. In less than six months, they had established a routine. They had figured out a schedule that worked for them and they were sticking to it. Roy could call him and make sure everything was okay; Ed had a key to his house.
If Ed came to visit the office and was allowed to do so, Roy would greet him happily.
After years of searching for the answers, hunting down every scrap of information, it felt too easy. Even with seven years of waiting to be older enough that Roy wouldn’t panic about how young he was, it still felt too easy. Roy would pick him up for dinner, they would go out somewhere, they would discuss a lot of things, and then Ed would go back to either his hotel room or Roy’s house. Nothing heavy, no pressure from either side, they hadn’t had sex yet – just to sleep. Just to hold and be held.
Life had tried beating both of them down.
They’d gone over a range of topics in their discussions – Ed’s recovery after everything on the Promised Day. Al’s recovery. How Winry and Granny were doing. How the hell Ed had learned to control alchemy as seamlessly as he’d done, Roy was still getting used to being able to just clap and have it work. Ed would bounce theories off of him, watching the same spark in Roy’s eyes light up that had fueled him for years. They worked together when Roy was frustrated with something new, something untried and untested, and Ed would help steady him when he just wanted to toss it to the side with annoyance.
He'd almost cried when Al had said Ed reminded him of their mom at that moment. The way she’d always been so patient with them when teaching them something.
Al was right, of course, Ed hadn’t learned patience while teaching from their teacher. Izumi Curtis was a great deal many things, but she was not a source of patience and calm. He knew his temper was more like hers, knew he was hair-trigger angry at times, but he found some semblance of peace in knowing that a part of his mom was with him at times. That it was tied to Roy Mustang, bastard, alchemist, soulmate…
Well.
That was a little bit of the weird part.
Sitting on a park bench, a book spread across his hands as the breeze picked up around him, Ed sighed. They’d cut their ties to home as an idea, they’d run from it together, run into the future to find what it held for them. Roy being a part of his life, his soulmate, his Name, an outlet for his patience, and a major source of his calm – it felt like home. Six months in, they were making it work.
Six months in and Ed knew what he wanted for his life.
Rubbing the heel of his palm into his eye, he sighed. With another sigh, Ed closed his book and tucked it into the bag at his side, leaning against the back of the bench and letting his eyes slip shut. Somewhere, he knew, the people he’d met were probably laughing at him. If he believed in an afterlife, or maybe just a heavenly paradise, the ones he’d lost were probably laughing too.
His mom probably would have laughed for a bit before she dragged Roy off to make sure he was a good match for Ed. She probably would have approved, even with the age difference. Hell, it wasn’t like she would have had room to complain. Her soulmate had been an entire civilization older than her. Trisha Elric would have taken one look at Roy Mustang and seen everything he was hiding, Ed knew. She’d always known when he and Al hid anything. She’d always been able to tell something was off, even if she didn’t know what it was at first.
His dad—
With a soft groan, Ed tilted his head back.
It had been seven years. He could see the potential in forgiving a few of the man’s faults. For all his failures and fuckups, he’d been doing what he’d thought was right.
Didn’t make the loss hurt any less, but it helped soften the blow.
“Edward?” a voice called out.
Jolting a little, Ed sat up, looking around quickly.
There.
At the edge of the park was a black car, the engine running but the doors shut. A familiar woman stood at the driver’s side, brown eyes smiling even when she kept a professional expression. “Lieutenant Hawkeye,” Ed called back. “End of the day already?”
“It is, yes,” she nodded when he moved to stand, gesturing him over. “I was driving him home. I informed him of the stop, but I don’t believe he has taken notice, just yet,” Hawkeye glanced through the window. When Ed moved closer, Roy was studying papers, eyes narrowed as he read. “I thought perhaps you might appreciate a ride to his house this evening.” She moved around the car, opening the back door to allow Ed to slide inside.
“Yeah,” he nodded, following along. “Thanks,” Ed gave a partial salute, grinning as he sat down.
Hawkeye closed the door, moving back around to the driver’s seat. When she got in and buckled, she glanced in the mirror. “Sir?”
“Mm?” Roy didn’t even look up, still stuck in a world of paperwork. “Yes, Lieutenant? As you have reminded me, this paperwork is important—”
“Perhaps an eye on your surroundings, sir,” Hawkeye shifted the car into drive, letting the conversation die. She stayed silent as Roy finally looked up, noticing Ed sitting in the car for the first time. Ed got to watch, firsthand, how the tension seeped out of Roy’s shoulders. His knuckles loosened up; his grip no longer deadly on the papers he held. His jaw relaxed as well, almost clicking from the sudden slack.
“Ed,” he murmured.
“Hey,” Ed slid across the seat to him, buckling in next to him. “So, I guess I don’t need to ask how your day went.” He paused, considered, then shrugged. “I’m going to, anyway, just because I think you need it. I may wait on that until you’re somewhere you can make food and rant, however, because that always seems to help,” Ed reached for Roy’s hand, sliding their fingers together. “And I’ll make bread to go along with breakfast tomorrow.”
A gleeful glimmer of something entered Roy’s eyes, turning the darkness of them into something closer to happiness instead of a void of frustration. “And maybe the—”
“Okay, fine,” Ed rolled his eyes. “I’ll make the damn pastries,” he shook his head, laughing. He’d introduced Roy to a recipe his mom had made when he was a kid, the pastries she’d baked on weekends, and the man had turned into a fiend for them. Despite his groaning and his tone, Ed liked making them for Roy. He loved the way they came together under his hands, loved the fact that he could still create in some way, and he loved that he felt connected to his mom that way, too.
And he loved making Roy happy.
Shit, he really did just love the man, didn’t he?
“Bastard,” Ed muttered with a smile, leaning over to steal a quick kiss. Hawkeye wouldn’t mind, he knew, but she was too good with a gun for him to want to risk sullying her car and encountering her fury.
Roy kissed back, his thumb moving in a slow motion across the back of Ed’s hand. “Your bastard, in fact.”
The rest of the ride was in silence, Ed’s head resting on Roy’s shoulder. Their hands stayed tangled together, a lifeline in whatever storm was in Roy’s head. If his soulmate needed an anchor, he could provide it. If Roy needed to talk it out, Ed would listen. Give and take, a back and forth – Roy would do the same and Ed knew it. He could reach his hand out in the dark, woken up by a nightmare of his past, and Roy would take it. Roy had spent a lot of nights with him, quiet and listening, as Ed fought his way through a panic attack.
He'd listened when Ed had worried about Al and the fact of who Al’s soulmate was.
Arriving at Roy’s house, Ed slid his hand free and scooped up the paperwork he’d been reading through, shuffling it into some semblance of order. Both of them said a quiet goodbye to Hawkeye, who only drove off once they were inside the house.
Setting the papers down on the entryway table, Ed leaned back against the door.
“Ed?”
“Come here,” Ed held up his arms. “We can start dinner in a bit.”
Toeing off his boots, Roy didn’t even argue. Whatever he was thinking about, it was worrying him. He was stressed out and Ed hated seeing it. Roy came to him willingly, arms wrapped around Ed like he wasn’t sure what would happen if he let go. Breathing in the scent of him, Ed put a hand into his hair, ruffling until it was chaotic and disordered. Once that was done, he rubbed at Roy’s scalp until the man groaned in relief.
Fuck it, Ed decided.
If they were laughing at him in whatever afterlife they’d found, let them. He hoped they would approve of him finding someone to be happy with.
X
He had the day off.
Really, that was a good thing. The best thing, actually. When days off were increasingly rare and time alone with his soulmate was hard to find, Roy was learning to take advantage of every single one of them. Riza had done him a favor, the night before, when she had seen Ed in the park and driven them both to Roy’s house. His partner was in town, visiting, as they tried to figure out what a life between them looked like. They were making it work, strung between their homes, dragged across the country with every visit and return.
His partner, his soulmate, his Name – Everything but his lover.
He could and would wait.
Turning his head, Roy blinked at the encroaching sun, glaring at the slit in the curtains that allowed it to hit his eyes. Ed was still asleep next to him, dead to the world, his arms shoved under the pillow his head rested on. From what he’d been told by Alphonse, Ed no longer slept like he was about to leap up at any moment. That had been what the older Elric brother had done for years, according to the younger, and it had been a startling development to realize it had changed at some point. With their journey done, and their quest for their bodies over, Edward had been able to settle into some different habits.
Roy was happy about that.
He no longer went around throwing himself into every fight like he was immortal. That had always terrified Roy, that the boy under his watch would die – without even factoring in that the one in question was his Name, that had invoked a sort of drowning fear. His soulmate seemed to be settling down as he grew older.
With a soft hum, Roy traced the back of his finger across Ed’s cheek, brushing hair out of his face, before he pressed a soft kiss to the warm skin there.
The day could wait a little longer.
He settled back in, adjusting the blankets around them and making sure they covered Ed’s shoulders. There were no more automail ports there to worry about getting cold, but he knew Ed still didn’t like being cold. Carefully, once that was done, Roy shuffled closer and put the edge of his pillow against Ed’s, put his hand on his back, and then froze when Ed’s eyes opened. “Good morning,” he muttered, caught out.
“Lazy,” Ed smiled, all gold and sun-bright in the light from the window. “Going back to sleep?”
“You seemed comfortable, still,” Roy shrugged one shoulder. “Figured we might as well.” He chuckled when Ed nodded and shifted, then dragged him closer. He ended up under Ed, a resting place as his partner curled into him. Ed’s hand was over his heart, as if he were counting the beats and making sure every single one of them came when they were supposed to. “Got any plans for today?”
“Other than sitting here, with you, until we get hungry enough to leave the bed?” Ed looked up at him. “I had a few plans for this evening.”
“Oh?”
Ed hummed and nodded. “Should call Al – he and Scar are talking about arranging a meeting, soon, and he wants me there, so I don’t, ‘panic and cause a problem’ as he puts it.” He wrinkled his nose. “And then there were a few things I wanted to pick up for dinner, tonight. I figure lunch can be done with stuff you’ve already got in your cupboards, but there are a few things I need for dinner.”
With a smile, Roy nodded. “Did you want me to come with you for that?”
“Of course,” Ed snorted. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m still getting used to you wanting me around, let alone this close to you,” Roy tucked Ed’s hair back again. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.” He watched as Ed rolled his eyes. That was the only warning he got before Ed was shuffling sideways and dropping onto his chest. He was taller than he’d been as a teenager – apparently, his growth had been stymied by the Gate balancing it between his body and Alphonse’s body. One trapped but whole, the other damaged but free. A balancing act the Gate had forced them into. Now that he was an adult, he was closer to Roy’s height. There was only an inch of difference between them, now, and seeing him that first time after several years had wiped Roy’s mind blank for a moment.
Years apart had done exactly what Ed had wanted them to.
And he had been right.
If Roy had only met him then, he would have given it a chance with no hesitation. Their shared history had made things complicated. He had hated the time apart, not knowing if the Elric brothers were safe, but he was grateful for it at the same time.
“Look at me,” Ed’s voice was a murmur of sound, his chin perched on his hands, crossed neatly over Roy’s chest. Roy looked at him and smiled. The problem was, even with his charm and attempts at disarming Ed, it never worked. “Roy,” Ed narrowed his eyes, then sighed. “I want to be near you. I want you near me. Part of the whole thing, bullshit fate putting Names on our wrists, is that it’s a built-in trusted person. Even at our worst, I still trusted you.”
Something dropped off his shoulders at that. “Even when we got into fights?”
“Did I ever slice your hand off?” Ed was laughing, now, the sound bright and cheerful. “You never took it too far, not in a fight with me. Even when I hated your orders, I still listened.”
“Not all of them.”
“Not all of them needed to be followed, I just meant I listened to you.”
Roy adjusted a little, pulling Ed up until their foreheads touched. It still surprised him that Ed followed the motion willingly. “Just feels like I’m taking advantage of you. You’re twelve years younger than me.”
Blowing hair out of the way, Ed bumped his nose against Roy’s. “And my mom was about two thousand years younger than my dad. I don’t think it fucking matters.” He settled in, tucking his face into Roy’s neck. “Besides, my brother hasn’t kicked your ass yet, which means you’re doing fine. Granny hasn’t threatened death that much either.”
They sat there for a while, Roy running his hand up and down Ed’s spine as the sound of birds chirping drifted through the room. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Was she actually that much younger than him?”
“Yeah,” Ed shrugged. “Xerxes and Amestris. Different civilizations. His was dead and gone long before my mom was ever even a thought.” With a noise, he kissed the underside of Roy’s jaw. “We should probably get up and make breakfast.”
He slipped out of bed as Roy sat up, fixing the rumpled leg of his pajamas as he did. “Ed, seriously, were your parents actually – Edward Elric, please actually answer me.” He moved to follow him.
Stopping at the door, Ed grinned, leaning against the frame. “Yeah. My dad was ancient.”
“…This explains just…So much,” Roy rubbed his hands down his face, shaking his head. “Is that why you and Alphonse both have older soulmates? Is that even a factor?” With a quiet groan, Roy looked at Ed. “I don’t…You were always so young, Ed. If you hadn’t gone away for so long and made sure I didn’t see you until you were an adult, I’m not certain…”
“Hey,” Ed straightened up a little.
Roy stopped.
An agreement they had. Roy wasn’t allowed to think the worst of himself just because Edward Elric had turned out to be his soulmate.
Ed came back towards him, taking his hands.
“Breakfast,” Ed met his eyes. “Coffee. Pastries. Then we can overload your brain with how weird my family is and what our soulmates are like. And…” He hesitated. “Remember what tomorrow is.”
“Tomorrow…?”
“Hawkeye called before I left Risembool,” Ed shrugged, pulling him close. “It’s the anniversary. I figured we could make dinner tonight, take it with us, and visit him.” He looked away, looked down, and Roy stared at him. It took a second, but it clicked.
Maes.
He had spent the last several years at the cemetery alone. He’d let Gracia have the actual day of, let her spend her time mourning him with Elysia, before he would take the two of them out for dinner somewhere. He had always gone to Maes’ grave the day before, just to give them space. Somehow, in the flood of paperwork and the few carefully gathered moments with Ed, the anniversary had managed to creep up on him.
He had been distracted by work and happy outside of it.
It felt a little like a betrayal.
He knew Maes would not have seen it that way.
“Come on,” Ed’s voice was softer than he once would have thought possible. “Let’s get breakfast going.”
It was going to be okay, Roy knew at that moment.
Maes was probably laughing at him from somewhere beyond and it was all going to be okay.