Beauty and the Bastard Chapter 13

RoyXEd
Chapter Thirteen: Sharing the Past

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The moment Edward walked into the foyer, Mustang's servants went berserk. They ushered him into the sitting room, where the couch was a few feet away from a roaring fire. Maes and Jean had gone to help Gracia bring in the food, leaving Riza and Edward.

"Sit down, you must be exhausted." Ed blinked at the concern that touched the normally monotone clock's voice. Edward looked between her, the couch and the fire.

He stared into the fire and thought about the day's events, and found himself confused. This morning he'd been terrified of both fire and Mustang, but now he didn't know how to feel about them. Mustang had come for him, right when he'd needed someone. He had protected him from the wolves, and so had the fire. He could feel his cheeks turn faintly red, remembering how the beast had held him close, almost, no definitely protectively.

"-ward, are you alright?" Golden eyes blinked rapidly as he snapped out of his thoughts. He smiled down at the clock.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just thinking." Her small face frowned.

"Well sit down and think, you nearly just fell back into the fire with your swaying."

Right, the fire. It was so close to the couch, and though Ed wanted to warm himself as soon as possible, he wasn't so sure about sitting so close to the fire. So instead he moved to stand by the upholstered chair a bit further away. Maes and Jean came in on a cart with a small heap of clothes and blankets piled on top of it.

"Riza, Gracia needs some help in the kitchen with the master." The clock nodded and left the room. Then both the teapot and the candelabra turned to him.

"Well, Ed, we brought you some warm clothes courtesy of Rose." Jean waved a candle at the pile after he had jumped from the cart.

"You should change now, and we can get those into the wash soon. Gracia has a large meal ready for you two, and-" Edward soon stopped listening, focusing more on what Maes had said earlier about their master.

"What's wrong with Mustang?" Jean and Maes looked at each other, unsure expressions on their faces.

"Uh, well, you see, kid-"

"He got bit." Maes interrupted Jean and hopped forward to be directly in front of Ed. "One of the wolves got him. He should be fine, it just needed to be cleaned," he added, seeing the uneasy look on the blonde's face.

Edward nodded, faintly remembered through his pained memory haze, seeing a wolf launch itself onto Roy. He stood and quietly unbuttoned his shirt and stripped himself of all his clothes as the two living objects began to put a layer of blankets onto the couch. He pulled on soft a pair of soft wool pants and shirt and cautiously walked around the couch. Before he could sit down, he heard a low rumbling voice,

"Wait." He looked to the entrance of the room and found Mustang, looking better than he had before, dryer too, with a roll of bandages in his hand. He walked over to the back of the couch and pulled it further from the fire and closer to the chair. He then looked at Ed and nodded, moving to sit in the chair Edward had previously leaned against.  Ed allowed a small smile and an unintentional blush to form on his face, as he too sat down.

He looked over at Roy when he heard what sounded like a frustrated growl, and found the beast struggling with the bandage around his upper arm. Edward scooted over on the blankets set out for him, and to the end of the couch closest to Mustang. He took the roll from him, making Mustang look up, a bit shocked.

"Let me help, it's my fault you're hurt." As an afterthought he added, "you stupid bastard." With a soft smile and a laugh, said bastard joined in.

"Alright, if you want to." He held out his arm and Edward immediately began to wrap the injury.

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Roy was shocked at how careful Edward was when wrapping his arm. He kept his eyes locked on the blonde's face, seeing pure concentration in the tired golden eyes. He noticed that the blonde only winced when he saw the wound beneath the fur.

"It doesn't hurt too much," he tried to him; Edward looked up and stared at him. Roy was confused as to why until Edward sharply jerked the bandage tighter. He flinched and growled as pain flared through his arm.

"Doesn't hurt?" There was a faint echo of a laugh in Edward's scratchy voice as he readjusted the bandages so that they were more comfortable. Roy resumed watching the younger man, noticing how he shivered, despite the warmth of the nearby fire, and the faint flush of his cheeks.

"And how are you feeling?" Edward's hands paused on his arm he glared at his automail hand for a moment, probably thinking Roy wouldn't notice, before replying,

"I'm fine." He disproved himself when he coughed hard into his flesh hand a moment later. At the slight look of skepticism on Roy's face, Ed blushed a little.

"Fine?" Edward laughed a little as did Roy. Edward cleared his throat as he continued,

"Fine, I'm a little sick, but it's not a big deal." Roy nodded, not completely sure he believed him. Before he could start to ask him about the fire, Gracia and Riza came in on a tray which reminded him that they hadn't been alone. Roy looked over at his two friends and found both of them on the floor near the hearth, staring up in shock at the two of them.

"Edward Elric!" The man jumped at the sharp scolding tone in the female teapot's voice. "What do you think you are doing? Get yourself covered up immediately!" Ed hurriedly tucked himself in, so that his head was at the other side of the couch, facing Roy. He smiled sheepishly at both him and Gracia.

The two of them were served their large dinners, and to everyone's surprise, Ed only ate a little of his food, instead of scarfing the food down the moment it was in his lap. Roy frowned, worried. Edward was clearly feeling worse than he let on. But he couldn't smell any sickness on him, not yet anyway. Roy glanced down at the floor and caught Maes' worried glance.

"Edward?" The blonde stopped pushing the food around his plate and looked at him. "I have a few questions about today." Seeing him gulp and look down at his plate before nodding, Roy gestured for his servants to leave the room. He knew they wouldn't go far and would more than likely be listening in on their conversation.

"I'd like to start off by apologizing for being so out of control this morning." He stared at the cut on the blonde's cheek and felt fresh waves of remorse wash over him. "And for hurting you."

At first it looked as though Edward was confused, then realization flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, uh," he raised a hand absentmindedly to the cut on his cheek. "That's fine, I mean it's not like I didn't provoke you. And I'm sorry for going down the west wing." He clenched at the blanket in his lap before continuing. "Equivalent exchange."

Roy was confused, what could Edward possibly mean? It wasn't equivalent that he had been hurt and scared out of his mind and nearly eaten!

"You have questions for me, and I have a few questions for you. I'll answer yours if you answer mine. Equivalent exchange."

Roy nodded in understanding. When a minute of silence passed between them, and Roy noticed that Ed was staring at him expectantly, the beast realized that he was to start first.

"How did you lose your arm and leg?" Edward winced at the question and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"I was in a car accident when I was younger; both limbs had to be amputated. Why does that rose in your room emit a glow and...Float?"

"I don't know, honestly. All that I do know is that it's...Like a timer of sorts. Why are you so afraid of fire?" Roy watched as the small blonde visibly flinched. After a moment, his eyes opened and already looked so distant that it nearly scared Roy. His head slowly turned toward the fireplace when he finally spoke, watching the flames intently.

"Mom was driving home from a day at the market, in one of those new cars. I...I don't know how, but we must've crashed or maybe the car had a faulty engine. Either way the next thing I know, there's fire everywhere, and it was spreading fast. My brother was the first out of the car, my mother was next. I...I couldn't get out." Edward's knuckled turned white as he clenched the blankets tighter, his eyes not leaving the flickering flames for a single moment. "Something was wrong with my seat belt. The latch for it was stuck and it trapped me there."

Roy stared at the man before him, the blankets seemed to make him look smaller, but the light from the flames made his golden eyes and hair glow. The young man looked so weak, and yet Roy could see his inner strength.

"Then," Roy was surprised; he had thought that was the end of his story. "Mom came back for me." Edward coughed a little as his voice broke at the end of his sentence.

"She opened the door and tried to get me out; she had to crawl in next to me to get to the buckle. I don't know how long it took for her to unlock the buckle, but the fire had spread across the entire floor of the car. By the time it had come undone, both my arm and my leg were burning. I tried to get out through the open door, but it hurt too much. I could hear mom screaming my name, she was burning too. I must've blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up on the side of the road. I couldn't move, I couldn't see my brother, but I could see Mom." Edward went silent, and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and tucking his head in.

"Who are the people in the photos in the west wing?" Roy was a bit startled when the blonde's story abruptly ended, he wanted to know more.

"They are of Riza and Jean, they are the two blondes." He was a little surprised that Edward knew about the pictures, then again, they were practically covering the walls..."The pregnant woman and the dark-haired man with glasses are Gracia and Maes."

"And you're the dark-haired man who's always standing by himself?" Stunned, Roy thought back on the pictures, the only ones he hadn't shredded of himself were the ones with everyone together as a group. And even then he had made sure to only display the ones where he could hardly be seen. He found himself nodding to the blonde's question unconsciously.

"What happened? To your brother and mother, I mean." Edward sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch.

"After the accident my brother, Alphonse, retreated into a suit of armor my father left behind when he disappeared. He rarely comes out of it, and I haven't seen his actual face since that day. And Mom," Edward chewed on his lower lip for a moment and gulped before continuing. "She died."

Roy felt this overwhelming wave of grief wash over him for the woman he had not known, but had died from his element. He didn't quite know what to say and felt horrible for asking his question.

"What exactly," Edward coughed again as his voice cracked, "is the enchantment you all are under?" Roy froze. "Like, what are the conditions? Why did this happen to you?"

"I," Roy began, looking away from the glowing amber eyes. "I can't answer that. At least not fully." He didn't want to tell the blonde that he would have to learn to love him if Roy and the others would ever have a chance to return to normal. That just wouldn't be fair to place all this on Edward's shoulders: Roy couldn't force him to love him.

"An old woman came to my house almost two years ago now, she asked for my alchemy secrets in exchange for the rose in my room. I wasn't willing to give my alchemy notes away to someone who I had never met before. She didn't like that, and so she cursed me with this appearance and the world outside of this manor has seemed to all but forget about me. My friends and servants were changed as well. She gave me a small list of things I need to do before my thirtieth birthday, or else this will be permanent. She left the rose behind as a timer or reminder of sorts." 'As though I need a reminder.' Roy thought to himself as he looked to his fur-covered hand. When he looked back up, he saw Edward was frowning.

"That isn't fair, nor is it equivalent!" His frown deepened, and he looked up at Roy and smiled a little. "I'll help you as much as I can, Bastard."

Roy could feel his heart warm at the sight, and the words touched him deeply. 'If only he knew...'

"So how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, you?" Edward countered with a soft smile. Roy felt a little guilty, eleven years older. Eleven!

"I'm...Twenty-nine." Edward didn't even blink.

"So, the enchantment will be permanent soon?

"As of May twentieth."

"February third." Edward's smile grew as he laughed a little and Roy chuckled with him. When Edward yawned suddenly, Roy looked to the non-living wall clock.

"It's late Ed, try to get some sleep."

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'Ed...He called me Ed.'   He smiled a little and nodded to Mustang and began to settle down into his blankets. He felt damn cold and his ports ached, but he wasn't about to voice these complaints. He closed his eyes and murmured,

"'Night Mustang," Edward's eyes snapped open as he realized he still didn't know his name. "Wait, uh, one more question." When he heard the beast hum a reply, he asked, "What is your name?"

The beast was silent.

"Roy Mustang."

Edward smiled as he turned over, glad that after so many weeks, he could finally know that damn bastard's name.