Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Misspoken ❯ Lunch ( Chapter 5 )

 

 

Misspoken

 

V

 

Lunch

 

 

Roy only half listened to Ed rehash the latest reports he'd turned in. Of course Roy had read them thoroughly, he always did, but he had invited Ed to lunch on pretense that he wanted Ed to give him an oral report, so there was nothing for it than to have the kid report.

 

He took a sip of the orange juice he'd ordered and tried to pretend he was soaking up every word Ed said. In reality, Roy was studying Ed's mannerisms and analyzing them. Was Ed interested in him? And, like Hawkeye had asked, if so, then what?

 

Well, he would think about that after he had more facts. What he did know was that Ed had studiously avoided him for most of the week, something that might indicate that Ed realized what he's said, and was embarrassed—whether it was true or not.

 

Then, in the library, Ed had acted put out that he had to go to lunch with him, something that would indicate that he did not want to be in Roy's presence. This could mean that Ed was nervous to be alone with him because he liked him, or it could simply mean that Ed was showing his inherent distaste for him and truly didn't want to be around him.

 

Ed had complained loudly all the way to the restaurant of having to waste his time retelling Roy what he could have read for himself and that he'd better not have to pay for this lunch. None of that was helpful in his analysis given that such behavior was pretty normal.

 

And now, Roy watched the way Ed flung his hands this way and that as he explained various pieces of his research and Roy knew from the reports that Ed was doing a horrendous job at keeping it all straight. In fact, Ed was talking a little too fast to be comfortable.

 

Maybe his suspicions were right, though, of course, it was too early to tell... He frowned and took another sip. Best not to be too hasty...

 

“And, yeah, that's it...” Ed said in a deflated and anticlimactic way. He was quiet for a moment, his face serious and his eyes studying Roy as if trying to decide something, then he grabbed the punch he'd ordered and began drinking it; obviously trying to keep his eyes averted.

 

“Well, that was a little more interesting than the actual written report,” Roy said, looking around for their waitress, but when he didn't see her, Roy returned his gaze to Ed who was stirring his punch with his straw.

 

So... What now... he wondered. He and Ed had never really talked about anything that wasn't work related or that wasn't related to the Stone. Roy tapped his fingers silently against his glass. Ed obviously wasn't going to try striking up conversation, and Roy really didn't want to sit in uncomfortable silence for the rest of the time...

 

Rolling his eyes, Roy took a drink and thought, Even if Ed does like me, there's really no chance in hell of us getting together. Not only were they the same sex—something Roy didn't really subscribe to—but they had a working relationship and, really, he was much too old for Ed. All very classic reasons, but this—having absolutely nothing to talk about—really took the cake. Nothing said incompatible on a date—not that this was a date, Roy mentally pointed out—than having nothing to talk about.

 

Setting down the glass, Roy said, “So...” The straw swirling stopped and Roy knew he had Ed's attention. “What do you usually...” He trailed off, not exactly sure what he was going to say there. `What do you usually do when you're not messing around with forbidden alchemy?' Not a great icebreaker.

 

“What do you usually do for fun?” he settled on.

 

Ed looked up at him, his face a mask of confusion and he said, “What do you mean?”

 

“You know, fun,” Roy said easily. “Things you enjoy doing that don't have to do with work.”

 

“I know what `fun' is,” Ed snapped defensively, his cheeks turning a light pink. “I meant...” He stopped then made a sound of exasperation. “Why do you want to know?”

 

“Small talk, Ed. I don't want to sit here in silence for the rest of the time.”

 

“Oh...” the teen mumbled, then taking a sip from the straw.

 

After almost a full minute of silence, Roy said, “Well?”

 

“Read. Study. Alchemy,” Ed listed, then went quiet again.

 

Again, Roy glanced around for their waitress and wondered if it was too late to get his meal to go. Looking back at Ed, he said in exasperation, “I know all of that, and that has to do with work. Something not work or alchemy related.”

 

Ed looked up at him blankly and Roy had the strongest urge to call out, `Check please!' Even if they weren't coworkers, the same gender, or so different in age, this simply wouldn't work. Sure Roy was interested in Alchemy, he loved it and could discuss it for hours if the situation was right, but he liked other things as well. People who obsessed about only one or two things were about as interesting as watching paint dry...

 

“Kickball...”(1) Ed finally mumbled mumbled.

 

“Sorry, what?” Roy said, not sure if he'd heard right.

 

“I said, `kickball',” Ed repeated a little louder. “We used to play it all the time when we lived in Rizembool.” He paused, then said, “It's called `soccer' here in Central and `football' in the East, but up north(2) we call it `kickball'...” He shrugged. “I haven't played for a long time though.”

 

“Ah,” Roy said, nodding. Well, that was at least a little interesting. He would have never pegged Ed as one who liked soccer. “What else?”

 

Ed seemed to think for a moment, then said, “I like to play cards. Al and I play all the time on the trains.”

 

Roy took a deep drink of the juice. Cards... Interesting, but it was something that he did to keep himself busy while traveling to wherever it was that he had a lead to.

 

The waitress came, and Ed dug into his food with a vigor only teenage males and the starving could portray. Whatever reserve Ed may have felt was obviously not enough to keep him from stuffing his face. Roy took a slow bite of his food as he thought about the short conversation they'd just had.

 

Ed had played soccer when he was a kid, and had probably done other kid things as well, but he hadn't since… when? Since his mother had died? Since he'd become a State Alchemist? He and his brother played cards on the train, but did they ever play when they weren't traveling?

 

Roy set down his fork and watched Ed shovel the food into his mouth. For a moment he forgot all about his own ego and how he wanted to know if Ed had some teenage crush on him, forgot about how boring it was to go on a date with someone who had such a narrow range of interests, and realized just how sad it really was.

 

Ed was sixteen. He should be going on dates and hanging out with friends, or worrying about if the girl in his class liked him. He should be going out to movies or going to school sports games or having sleepovers.

 

Roy knew that Alphonse did things. The boy helped out at local animal shelters when they weren't really busy, and other things like that, but what did Ed do during those times? He took another bite of his food, but didn't really taste it. Whatever Ed's reasons were, he was missing out on life while he cloistered himself up in whatever library was closest. Alphonse might have lost his body, but he was still living, still doing things.

 

Picking up his glass, Roy took a slow drink as he studied Ed over the top. Okay, so most likely Ed had a small crush on him... Hawkeye had said to hang out with him, and while the idea seemed slightly unappealing given that Ed had no real apparent interests besides alchemy and books, Roy also had the urge to show the teen that there was life beyond the curved edge of an array or beyond library walls. It was almost incomprehensible that someone so bright could also be so socially dim.

 

Ed scrapped his plate clean, then looked up at Roy. “You're paying right?” Ed asked. When he nodded, the teen asked, “Can I get dessert?”

 

“Sure, whatever,” Roy muttered, and watched in amusement as Ed flagged down the waitress. He supposed he could add `food' onto the list of things Ed liked, though the list was still much too short.

 

Taking another bite of his lunch, Roy decided that whether or not Ed had a crush on him didn't really matter. He had to be honest with himself in that he'd probably never act on the knowledge, even if it was true. But, that didn't mean he couldn't show Ed what he was missing by keeping his nose buried in books.

 

Right?

 

--

 

1 - I believe I remember Ed, Al, and Winry kicking around a ball in one of the credits.

2 - Yes I know that Rizembool is technically to the east, but I like to put it in the north.