Chapter Text
The walk from the bar to Ed and Al's place was fairly short, and quiet, which was fine by Roy. It was good to take a few minutes to let his excited, sentimental thoughts settle so he could focus on the moment, be present for time alone with Ed. He concentrated on the sensation of Ed's warm, slightly calloused hand in his, the sound of Ed's boots on the sidewalk beside his own. It wasn't until they reached Ed's front door that Ed spoke.
"Gimme my hand back." Ed made no move to pull away, just loosened his hand and looked at Roy expectantly.
Roy didn't immediately let go. "What, do you worry the cats seeing you so close to another human will make them lose the respect you've worked so hard to gain?"
Ed huffed a laugh. "No, weirdo, my keys are in my right jacket pocket and I need my right hand to get 'em out."
"Ah, well, I suppose I can make that sacrifice for a moment, then." Roy lifted Ed's hand to his lips and brushed a kiss against the knuckles before releasing it.
Ed just blinked at him for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh, and reaching into his pocket. "Charming, Mustang." He pulled out a ring of keys, unlocked the deadbolt and knob, then pushed the door open and entered, flicking on the lights. "I'd be all polite too and hold the door for you but lemme go first, in case there's chaos."
"Of course."
Roy followed Ed into the apartment. After reflexively shutting the door and sliding the deadbolt closed, even though it wasn't his home, he followed Ed's lead and hung his jacket in the entryway, then slipped off his shoes.
When Roy turned to face the open kitchen and living room area, Ed was already moving deeper into the apartment, looking around, presumably surveying for damage. The place didn't look to Roy like cats had caused chaos—though there were a bunch of papers on the living room table, they were weighed down by a stack of books in what was probably Ed's manner of "cat-proofing". Pens and pencils were bundled together rather than scattered (Roy knew the latter was how Ed stored them when left to his own devices). The only thing that could be considered remotely messy were a few unwashed dishes in the sink, which, as a fellow bachelor, Roy could empathize with. The apartment looked comfortable and lived in, with a few small pillows on the couch and armchair that surrounded the living room table.
"Oi, Fluffy! Midnight!"
Ed looked like he was talking to an empty corner behind the couch until Roy came closer and saw two cats curled up next to each other on a giant pillow blinking owlishly at Ed, as though he'd woken them.
"Fluffy and Midnight?" Roy asked, keeping the incredulity he felt out of his voice.
Ed looked at Roy sheepishly. "We never had our own pets as kids. Al went with what he called "classics". I would've named 'em after historical alchemists or something. But, whatever makes Al happy, y'know?"
Roy's heart warmed at Ed's fond expression when talking about Al. The devotion between the brothers that had been so obvious when they were younger hadn't faded over the years, even though they were now much more comfortable spending time apart than they had been before the Promised Day.
"Anyway." Ed returned his focus to the cats. "Were you girls actually behaved while I was gone today? For once?"
The small calico with medium length fur (Fluffy, Roy guessed) answered—or didn't answer, rather—by standing, stretching, and giving a wide mouthed meowing yawn. She trotted past Ed and wended herself between Roy's legs, offering a friendly headbutt to his shin. Roy crouched to scratch her behind the ears, and she began purring almost immediately.
Ed chuckled. "Somebody likes you…"
Roy smiled up at Ed and gave a small shrug while continuing to pet his new friend, who, to Al's credit, did have quite fluffy, soft fur.
The larger black cat stood and approached more cautiously, fur shining like liquid ink as she moved. She sniffed Roy's other hand when he offered it, before nosing against it and allowing him to pet her.
"... I feel like there's some joke to be made here about you and pussy, but I wouldn't make my girls a part of that, they deserve better."
Roy looked past the sex joke possibilities to the more unexpected thing Ed had let slip. "Your girls? Why, Edward, you referred to these sweet creatures as Al's not long ago."
"Fine, you caught me." Ed crouched and gave each cat a bit of petting.
Roy didn't stop his own petting, so his and Ed's hands bumped a few times against silky and fluffy fur.
Ed didn't comment on that, just continued, "Technically they're ours. Al's an' mine. And they're ungrateful furbeasts for not greeting me first. I'm the one feeding them." There was no heat in his tone despite the words. He stood and walked over to the kitchen, opened a cabinet above the counter, withdrew a bag, and poured dry kibble from it into a large metal bowl on the floor.
The cats took their leave of Roy in a hurry, and he stood, turning to watch them. Fluffy immediately stuck her face in the bowl and began to eat noisily, while Midnight first lapped up water from the adjacent dish before settling across from Fluffy and beginning to eat more quietly.
Even though he considered himself a bit more of a dog person, Roy liked cats well enough. He could see and understand Ed's care for these two (Al would like pretty much any animal that let him care for it). "Things look rather orderly… did they not cause mayhem? Or is the tidiness their doing?"
"Ha, ha. The one time I bring someone home, they've been well behaved. Supposedly. Keep an eye out for hairballs when walking around." Apparently satisfied his girls had their needs met, Ed walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it, then looked at Roy expectantly.
"Noted." Roy glanced at the hairball-free floor and moved to join Ed, sitting beside and facing him. "So," he said, repeating Ed's first word to him after the cherry stem incident.
"So," Ed echoed, and worried his bottom lip between his teeth.
Was Ed nervous? Well, that made two of them.