scriveyner: (Musebox - OTP: Kenshin & Edward)
[personal profile] scriveyner
Title: Close Your Eyes
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin
AU: Muse'verse
Characters/Pairing: Kenshin/Ed, Roy/Ed
Rating: T
Length: 2213
Summary:

It was cute seeing Kenshin and Edward together. Roy Mustang observed them as stealthily as possible, from behind the local newspaper that had been left on the kitchen table. He tried to make a habit of reading the newspaper, even if the local politicians absolutely bewildered him and he had no idea what was so enthralling about the large sports section. All the same, it was not unusual to see him behind the open pages and as such, his presence was not as conspicuous as some.

This other Edward was a curious variation on his own. They both came from a nearly identical background - the difference being that this Edward had given up everything for the sake of his little brother, while his own Edward had not been given the chance to make the same sacrifice. Roy was intensely grateful, in a way - the hardships and trauma and sacrifices that they themselves had been through together had shaped him into a better person for it; and he could not imagine the heartbreak his other self must have gone through to lose Edward Elric forever.

Kenshin was making pancakes - mostly successfully, although with Edward hovering around him like he was it was making the process marginally more difficult then it would be otherwise. Edward was not quite underfoot, but his help was less than necessary, Kenshin kept scrunching his nose and trying to look down it severely at Edward, and Edward would blink at him innocently and then fetch a half-cooked pancake from the griddle with his automail. The pancake fell apart between his fingers, bits of the gooey uncooked part sliding through the joints and the more cooked bits falling to the floor, where they were quickly vacuumed up by a ready and eager Hermes. Kenshin sighed in aggravation and Edward grinned and flicked pancake batter at Kenshin, who smiled despite himself.

Edward looked so at ease with Kenshin. He looked almost like a different person - he still wore his hair in a fat braid, but the open, honest smiles lit up his face and he didn’t look quite so guarded as he did when he interacted with any of the different versions of Roy that inhabited the boarding house. It was remarkable, and made Roy feel a bit light himself, buoyed by the exuberant happiness that permeated the kitchen.

He looked up again to see Kenshin looking fondly at Edward, who had been punished by stirring more pancake batter with a whisk. Kenshin’s eyes flicked up to meet Roy’s, and Roy, startled, glanced back down at the newspaper almost guiltily. He stared at the words and kept his face composed, although he wasn’t quite sure why he felt guilty. The kitchen was a common area, and if they were having intimate moments in public that was their problem, not his. 

Was he this affectionate with his own Edward? His Edward, the earthborne archangel, who wore his angel name instead of his own here in this home. There were so many different Edwards now that it hardly made a difference, but he had not stopped, perhaps he felt more comfortable with the name now than he liked to let on. Roy liked to think that he showed the same level of affection with him - but the honest truth was that he didn’t know. Edward, his Edward, had been deeply scarred by their past. He had gotten remarkably better, because he knew that when Roy was possessed that it wasn’t ROY in there; but that still did not change his occasional flinch, or the way that he would turn from Roy in his sleep, huddled alone at the edge of the bed.

Roy sighed, and picked up his coffee. It hurt, deeply, when Edward did that - and what was intensely worse was that occasionally Roy felt like he deserved the pain. If he ha done more to protect himself, if he had done more to protect Edward - maybe Samael wouldn’t have happened. Maybe Edward wouldn’t look at him with such pain. 

If Samael had happened though, would Edward have stayed? An archangel did not age - they were immortal, guardians of an eternal war against darkness. Edward would have a different pain then … but who was he to dictate that? The dark thoughts crept along the border of his conscious mind, and Roy had to make an effort to banish them again. Samael was dead. His legacy buried. Supposedly even his angelic name had been struck from the books - Roy was Saminiel, in the Book of Life - but everyone knew his patron. 

The sound of a plate on the table made Roy look up. Kenshin was standing beside him, with a plate stacked high of pancakes. Edward was at his elbow, half of a cooked pancake hanging out of his mouth. (Roy was willing to bet the other half was hanging out of the dog’s mouth.) 

“We made extra,” Kenshin said with a warm smile. “Thought you’d like to share some with Sariel.”

“Can’t promise there isn’t dog fur in them,” Edward chimed in, having consumed the entire pancake hanging from his mouth without touching it with his hands. “Hermes has been helping.”

“Thank you,” Roy said genuinely. 

Kenshin threaded his arm around Edward’s waist, casting a knowing glance back at Roy as the two of them went off, carrying a tray full of pancakes and syrup and hot tea, Hermes at their ankles. 

Roy didn’t know Kenshin as well as he’d like - he knew that Kenshin had a lifetime of his own trauma put well behind him. He and Roy shared a lot of common ground, using their talents to kill for their respective governments … the biggest difference between them was that Kenshin had the courage to renounce that same government and part ways, atoning for his sins in his own way. 

But here, like Edward, it seemed that he had found some small measure of peace. 

Roy stood, and put the pancakes on a tray himself. He had left his Edward asleep on the bed, sprawled over half of it, laying open and unguarded and snoring slightly from laying on his back. He would be ravenous when he awoke, so it would be best to placate him quickly. 

As he was finishing up the tray, yet another Edward walked into the kitchen. He was taller than Roy’s Edward, but not quite as tall as Roy, and most of his hair was swept back into a frazzled ponytail that looked like he had slept in it. “Mornin’,” this Edward said, covering his yawn with the back of his left hand.

“Good morning,” Roy greeted automatically. It took a visual confirmation of automail for him to discern that this was the second-oldest of the Edwards who lived here - the one who had stayed in the military and advanced his career. Roy always felt a bit uneasy around this Edward, and that was because this Edward had absorbed some of Roy’s own character traits. For example, despite being half-asleep still his face was remarkably composed. It was unsettling to know how much the Roy from this Edward’s world had affected him - especially with his death. “I expect that Kenshin and Edward will be back around to clean up their mess eventually. I’m done with the newspaper, if you wanted to read it before anyone tears it up further.”

“Thank you.” Edward headed toward the coffeepot. “If you see Rian, point him in my direction, please? He didn’t come to bed last night, I knew letting Edward loan him books from his personal stash was a bad idea.”

Roy nodded his head, picking up the tray. “I will if I see him.”

Edward waved his automail hand in acknowledgement, already halfway through a cup of coffee composed primarily of the sludge from the bottom of the pot. Roy suppressed a shudder at Edward’s lack of taste buds, and headed upstairs.

The Kansaki Sou was an old home converted into a boarding house. It wasn’t the most efficient layout, but nearly all the residents got along in some form or fashion, so there were remarkably few blow-ups about bathroom wait times or usage of the kitchen or den. Roy didn’t pass anyone else on his way back to their room - several bedroom doors stood open to show that the residents were out and about, and a few - like Kenshin and Edward’s - were now closed.

Roy balanced the tray in one hand and opened the door to his own room, only to be greeted by a flurry of feathers. He blinked as white feathers promptly whooshed past him, quite a few settling on the pancakes and tray. Unruffled, he stepped into the room and pulled the door closed behind him, making a mental note to sweep up after he sorted this one out. “And what,” he asked, waving iridescent white feathers out of the air in front of him, “exactly do you think YOU are doing?”

“Man,” The Archangel Sariel - better known as Edward Elric (number 2) said in disgust, flattening his large white wings against his back and settling back on the bed to sulk. “You RUINED it.”

Roy looked around the room. There was a dusting of white feathers over everything, laying thick on the floor as well as on the dresser and chair and of course the bed. “What-”

Edward extended both of his white wings as he threw his arms out wide. “I was trying to figure out how to do the WHAM room thing,” he said. “You know, like when Raf pissed of Michael that one time and Michael did that huge I FILL THE ROOM WITH MY WINGS OF RAGE thing. Ooh, are those pancakes?”

Roy plucked a feather from the stack of pancakes. “I seem to recall it was you pissing off the head of the archangels,” he said mildly. “But yes, it was impressive. Why are you trying to do it?”

“Because it’s cool and intimidating.” Edward bounced to his feet in the center of the bed, his wings folded behind him. “I mean, look at me. I need to pump up the intimidation factor as much as possible, I look like a little kid.”

Roy set the tray down on the dresser, giving up on the feathers. “You look just as you’ve always looked,” he said calmly. “You’re not a child, we both know that.”

“Yeah.” Edward put his hands on his hips. “WE know that. No one else does, though.” He jabbed a finger at Roy, accentuating the gesture with his wing. “YOU don’t have that problem, you look like a fucking adult. Assfuck over the garage asked if I’d ever even had to SHAVE.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Assfuck.”

“Which-” Roy started to ask.

“Who do you think, the angel fucker Winchester.” Edward huffed dramatically. “You would think he’d be a bit more circumspect if he’s boffing an Angel of the Lord, but some people don’t know how to shut their fucking mouths.”

Roy smiled a little at that. “Do tell,” he murmured.

Edward bounded off the bed, landing flatfoot and spreading his wings, so that the pinion feathers brushed either wall. Then as much as they had filled the room, they abruptly vanished, leaving a final few shed feathers to flutter gently to the floor.

He glanced around at the carpet of feathers. “So you think anyone needs any more pillows?”

Roy tugged his Edward close, tilted his head up and kissed him gently. Edward hesitated only the barest moment before responding to him, pressing his body against Roy’s, a bundle of power and muscle in his arms. 

He lifted his head and looked down at Edward, whose eyes had slid closed, a faint blush creeping across his features. After a long moment Edward licked his lips and opened his eyes, a hint of warm gold between thick lashes. “What was that for?”

“Because I love you,” Roy murmured. 

Edward closed his eyes again, and when he opened them he opened them fully. “You brought pancakes,” he said cheerfully. “Did Kenshin make them? They’re not burnt like yours.”

Roy rolled his eyes, smiled, and stuffed a pancake into Edward’s mouth.

Their relationship may not be perfect, but it was all that he needed.
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