FIC: Tree Decorating || The RoyEd Christmas Drabbles 8/10
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Title: Tree Decorating
Author: drummerdancer
Verse: None
Characters/Pairings: Roy/Ed
Word Count: 600 total (6x100)
Rating: T
Summary: Edward wanted to decorate the tree.
“Be careful, Ed! Those things are fragile!”
Roy knew it wasn’t technically his fault. Really, he did. Even with two flesh and blood hands, hanging ornaments on those tiny hooks was sometimes tricky.
Still, the carelessness by which Ed was trying to sling the glass bulbs onto the tree branches was unacceptable. Especially since a lot of these balls had sentimental value.
Edward scowled. “What difference does it make? If I drop one, I can fix it.”
“Or you could be more careful,” Roy reminded him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.
He huffed and grabbed another ornament. “Whatever.”
***
Edward plopped down next to him nearly an hour later, his sleeves slightly torn and covered with evergreen bristles. He smelled very nature-y, like he’d been running in a forest. Roy decided he liked it.
“There. All done,” Ed breathed, wiping at his forehead dramatically. He stretched his legs out lazily, resting them on the coffee table covered in boxes filled with unused ornaments and Christmas decorations.
Roy rolled his eyes, his attention shifting back to the unsigned paperwork in his lap. However, before he could, something caught his eye…
“Ed. You missed the top half of the tree.”
***
As it turned out, even Roy himself couldn’t reach the top third of the tree. Hanging the ornament on the last branch he could reach, Roy stepped back and turned, his expression turning sour as Ed sat there, smug, staring at him from the couch.
“See? I’m not that short.”
Roy snorted and walked over to the table. “I still reached more than you could.”
“Whatever. So what about the last part? How’re we going to reach it?”
Roy frowned, his hand on his chin in thought. Then, an idea struck him. Roy knelt down on his knees.
“Hop on.”
***
As it turned out, balancing on two legs with a heavy alchemist atop his shoulders wasn’t the easiest task in the world. Especially when said alchemist also had equally bad balance.
“Woah!” Ed yelped, his upper body falling backwards off Roy’s shoulders.
Roy stepped back quickly, compensating for Ed’s backward momentum to keep upright. “Stop flailing around, Ed, and hang the damn ornaments!”
Edward yanked on Roy’s hair to regain his balance, causing Roy to curse as his scalp screamed in pain. “This isn’t as easy as you think, Roy!”
Roy pinched his exposed toe. “Just hurry up, would you?”
***
Decorating the final third of the tree took far longer than either of the two men would’ve guessed. From Roy awkwardly bending over the coffee table to grab another ornament, to Edward holding his hands out like a tight-rope walker as he fought to stay balanced while hanging another decoration, the task was finally finished twenty minutes later.
After letting Ed off, Roy rolled his shoulders, hissing as blood rushed back into the crushed muscles. He’d be sore for a week, he grimaced.
But Edward was happy, his eyes shining as he looked affectionately at the tree.
“It’s perfect.”
***
The tree glowed like a miniature sun in their dim living room, sucking all the light to its corner as they admired it from the couch. Roy had pulled his shirt over his head, letting Ed massage the tense shoulders to pudding as they stared.
“That thing’s going be a bitch to take down later, y’know?” Roy muttered, his voice rough as Ed moved his fingers lower on his back. “Definitely not looking forward to that.”
“But was it worth it?” Ed asked, his voice light and hopeful.
Roy smiled.
“Of course. Anything you want is always worth it, Ed.”
Fake cut @ fandomwords100 & steelandsparks