Work Text:
Roy stared out the window of the train, sighing as he adjusted himself in his seat. He watched the sleet pelt against the windows. They were heading to West City from Resembool. He turned back to the page in his lap, scribbling out a line from his upcoming speech.
“Today marks, no, the establishment of,” Roy sneezed, pulling out a handkerchief and covering his nose and mouth.
“What are you mumbling?” Ed yawned as he finished the book in his hands. He closed the book and set it aside on the seat.
“My speech. It’s not what I want it to be.” Roy frowned, scanning the page in front of him.
“What doesn’t feel right?” Ed asked, moving to sit next to Roy.
“I don’t know. It sounds too… performative, I guess.”
“L’me see,” Ed took the pages from Roy’s hands. Ed’s eyes move across the page, skimming the speech. He frowned when he noticed what Roy was stuck on. He’d circled the repetitive words ‘accident’, ‘failure’, and ‘responsibility’. All were truthful words he’s heard Roy say before. “This wasn’t an accident, though.”
Roy leaned back and sighed. “I know, it was Father and the homunculi. The Wellesley Flour Mill exploded because the Fuhrer willed it to for bloodshed, but I can’t say that.”
“Well, what do you want to say?”
“Family members of these people are still alive today. The community still remembers the incident, and none of the military leaders has ever addressed it since then. I want to change that. I don’t want our people to take pride in a country that thrives off bloodshed.”
“Roy, you’re in your first months as Fuhrer. You can’t fix everything overnight.”
“I know, Edward, but little things like this are the least I can do.” Roy frowned, taking the page back and scratching out another line.
“Wouldn’t it be easy to move forward?”
“It’s always easier to work toward the future than face the past, Edward.” Roy set the page in his folder and set it aside. He cupped Ed’s cheek. Ed leaned into it, closing his eyes. “You and I both know that well.”
“I do,” Ed agreed as he felt Roy’s soft lips on his. He shivered, pressing against Roy.
“Cold?” Roy asked.
“A little, it’s not snowing, but the rain is cold and the train doens’t exactly block all the wind and rain.” Edward looked out the window into the dark evening. “Present your speech. I’ll listen, and we can cuddle.”
“Sure,” Roy agreed.
It's hard for Ed to break old habits, even years later. Knowing he was safe with Roy, he slept in his lap an hour later. His back faced the other side of the car, and his face blew a soft, warm breath against Roy's stomach. Ed laced their fingers before falling asleep in Roy's lap. It was a slightly uncomfortable angle, and Roy will know his arm will be sore, but he doesn't care. He brushes his fingers through Ed's loosened hair, thumb stroking his temple and lightly massaging his scalp. The speech was folded away and set aside, much better than what he had before, thanks to Ed. He stopped trying to explain the past and instead spoke to what this incident demanded of the future. Ed was good at that, looking toward the future. Well, he wasn’t once known as the Alchemist of the People for nothing. Working through it all with Ed by his side was easy. The rest wouldn’t be.
Ed slept silently, without a care for anything around him. Roy was glad that Ed trusted him to let his guard down like this. Roy could and would keep him protected no matter what. Ed always had an interesting point of view, and Roy was thankful for his partner. Ed hated the spotlight, so Roy tried to keep him out of it as much as possible, but Ed also ensured he always traveled with Roy to support him. Roy liked to joke that Ed supported the crumbling tower that Hughes had left behind. Ed hadn’t liked that much, but in Roy’s eyes it was unquestionably truthful. None of this would have been possible if Ed hadn’t been one of the pillars to help push him to the top.
"I love you," Roy leaned over to whisper into Ed's ear.
Ed's face snuggled deeper into Roy's pants and jacket. He murmured a soft response before sighing. Roy knew what he said based on the slight smile on Ed’s lips and a light squeeze of his hand. Roy let Ed sleep; he’d been awake since early this morning, ensuring everything Roy needed was ready and packed. Roy picked up the speech again. He unlaced his hand from Ed’s, the warmth leaving almost immediately. Ed’s hand settled across his hip as he wiggled in Roy's lap and settled back into sleep. Roy read over the speech once more, Ed’s sleeping face in his vision. He tilted his head, words forming in his mind. He grabbed his pen and scratched the draft at the end of the page. The words he wants Ed to know. The worry Ed has voiced more than once. Instead, it would fit his speech to the people of Wellesley. Roy didn’t unfold the speech again. He didn’t need to. The words he’d been circling for hours—accident, failure, responsibility—finally fell away, leaving something simpler behind all thanks to Edward Elric. He rested his head against the train’s window, watching the dark blur past the window, hand resting in Edward’s hair as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Roy stood at the podium with a prideful smile on his face. He glanced at Ed, who stood at the edge of the stage on the last stair. Ed waved before sending a flirty wink his way.
“And that is why I plan to continue to support our country with these new policies, so no one ever again has to wonder whether coming to work means not coming home.”