Seeing Double
Title: Song of the Broken Hearted - Part 8
Fandom: FMA
Pairing: RoyxEd, Alter!RoyxEd
Author: inugrlrayn
Rating: NC-17 eventually (pretty close in this chapter actually)
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or it's characters and all that jazz.
Summary: Post movie. Ed has resigned himself to being stuck on our side of the Gate. Roy tries to find a way to bring him and Al home and the ensuing accident results in both a moral and emotional dilemma.
All Chapters Here
Edit: I embedded this because the Mp3 file I had wasn't working. Hopefully I'll have it fixed for next time.
Winter bled away, ebbing into spring, and slowly, Ed was adjusting to everything. This Roy was painfully easy to get along with, and never less than sweet to him. At first, it had been charming, when his body was still so shocked at having any physical contact at all that it forgot that there was more than holding hands and whispers of lips on his cheek. Now, though, it was sort of infuriating, as Ed began to remember that this world’s moral compass did not always point the same direction as his own, and really, he didn’t understand this obsessive belief in not being intimate with someone you loved…cared about.
Ed wasn’t even sure it was the moral issue that was causing problems. It more seemed that Roy had been so caught up in catching Ed, that he just hadn’t considered what to do with him once he managed it. Three months of that, and Ed decided as he walked through the pouring rain, that enough was enough.
Roy’s house was darker than usual, and, come to think of it, the whole block had been dark. He climbed the steps onto the covered porch, tugging off his coat to try and wring out some of the water. At least it would be that much less to drip all over the floor.
“You’re soaked,” Roy grinned at Ed, opening the screen to let him inside.
“Congratulations, Mr. Obvious. Just in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s raining.”
“I was doing very well at ignoring that, actually,” Roy responded wryly, tossing Ed a towel and a bathrobe, “right up until the power went out.”
Ed didn’t answer, caught up in staring at the soft fabric in his arms.
“It doesn’t bite. I promise.” Roy plucked Ed’s coat from his other hand, hanging it on the coat rack to hopefully dry sometime in the next century.
“Thanks,” Ed murmured, allowing himself to be guided down a dark hallway, difficult to see, even though it was only early evening. Roy pushed open the door to his room.
“I’ll be out in the living room.” With that, he was gone.
This Roy’s bedroom was rather different from the other Roy’s. Even in gray light, it seemed brighter, still blue and calm, and a little bit achingly familiar, but not the same in any case.
Ed tugged off his clothes down to his boxers, which were still dry at least, and dressed in the robe Roy had given him. It was warm and soft, and smelled like him, a realization that soothed Ed’s heart and turned his stomach in knots. Then again, they always seemed at odds over this. It wasn’t as acute as it had been. He was having an easier time separating this Roy from the other Roy, and not confusing his love for the General with his affection for the man whose robe he was wearing.
It was a futile thought, though, and Ed shook his head to clear it. Thunder boomed outside, angry and threatening, sending flashes of light skittering across the clouds. There was something cathartic about storms, and Ed gave up his mind to it, staring at the rain as it crashed against the window pane.
“Are you alright?” Ed didn’t realize how much time had gone by until he was drawn from the downpour by knuckles rapping against wood, and the creak of the bedroom door as it swung open.
“Fine. I was just… watching the rain.” He settled again, watching sheets of water careen against the streets. Roy stood behind him, arms moving forward, faltering once, twice, and then settling around Ed, linked hands resting at the top of his rib cage. He was so close, Ed could feel the stutter of his breath, nerves… or barely contained want. That, at least, he was no stranger to, and it reminded him of why he’d been irritated before.
Finally, he lost what patience he’d had. He thought to turn around and show Roy what he was missing out on, but his companion had shifted, releasing him long enough to pull the tie from Ed’s hair. There was something entirely pleasurable about someone else playing with his hair, even more so as fingers combed through it, before delicately pushing the still sloppy strands away, baring his neck, and part of his shoulder.
Roy was close again, palms resting against his upper arms, lips tantalizingly close to the side of his neck. Shuddering breaths hiccupped against his skin, and Ed was fairly certain that he had reached the limits of his self control.
He did twist then, breaking Roy’s grip, and tugging his head down. He captured Roy’s lips against his own, brief and as chaste as he could manage under the circumstances. He pulled away, trying as best he could in the near dark to gauge Roy’s response, and determine if an apology was in order or not.
Roy looked altogether astonished, and if he hadn’t felt so desperate, Ed might have laughed. As it was, it only made him feel self conscious, and he was just about to give and apologize, and try to forget the whole thing, but there were lips on his, wordlessly begging for this much.
The back of Ed’s mind breathed a sigh of relief as they kissed. There was no self assured confidence in them, no honed skill of a person who’d done this countless times. It was nothing like before, and one less thing that reminded him of the other Roy. For that, he was truly grateful.
Ed flicked his tongue against Roy’s lips, smiling against his mouth as they parted, offering a kind of give he’d never been used to. Roy seemed to simply acquiesce to the fact that Ed had more of an idea about what they were doing, following his lead except for fingers tangled in damp, golden tresses, and knuckles sliding down his spine until he arched against Roy, drawing a sharp gasp from his companion’s lips.
Four years was a long time to go without even this, and Ed wasn’t entirely sure his knees would hold him, and so he maneuvered them backwards, sliding his hands down Roy’s sides to rest at his hips, nudging him towards the mattress.
They fell in a breathless, stunned heap, and it was Roy who broke the nervous silence between them, laughing as he fought to catch his breath, face buried against Ed’s throat. Ed moaned at the sensation, tilting his head as laughter became murmurs of lips against his neck, bolder, open mouthed kisses at his shoulder. The robe had fallen down, coming to a rest partway down his arm, and Ed couldn’t really be bothered to care because all considered, this was downright perfect.
Ed was on his hands and knees, limbs perched just beyond Roy’s body on the mattress as they fell into a fragile, broken rhythm, kisses like they’d never do this again. A hand slid down his spine, and he couldn’t help but press down, nearly collapsing on top of Roy. More breathless laughter, and Ed pressed kisses to the corner of Roy’s mouth, along his jaw, nipping playfully at his throat.
He wondered if they ought to stop, where the boundaries lay between them still, but he couldn’t bring himself to pause long enough to ask. After all, he’d be told if it was too much, he was sure. Even this Roy did not seem the sort to just lie back and accept something he did not want. He paused anyway, reluctantly tearing his lips away long enough to clear their heads. He sat up, perched delicately on Roy’s hips, fingers passing over the fabric of his shirt, pausing at the first button in silent request.
Roy’s eyes flickered with…something, but he said nothing, fingers tightening where they’d come to rest on Ed’s hips. It was only then that it occurred to Ed to be self conscious, cheeks flushing even as he flicked the first button open on the shirt beneath his fingers, because he felt like he was the one being undressed and Roy was staring at him.
Ed wondered if Roy had even an inkling of how perfect he looked like this, with kiss swollen lips, and pleading eyes. He was helpless but to give, pressing kisses less sure and more tender than before as skin was bared, button by button. He worried at Roy’s throat with tongue and teeth, reveling in the way the body beneath his shuddered and sighed, fingers tugging at the tie of his robe for a moment.
Then, there were warm palms skimming Ed’s sides, his back, and Roy’s head tilted back baring his throat a little more, dark hair mussed with pleasure, feathered across the pillows.
Ed hadn’t really meant to even push this far, but he couldn’t stop, not when there was warm, pale skin beneath his lips, familiar and not. He could not stop when Roy was shivering under his fingers, scrabbling for purchase as if Ed was a lifeline in the storm that raged outside the window still.
Instead, Ed shifted, nudging aside fabric to map Roy’s chest and belly with kisses and nibbles, all the things he could remember someone else liking. The realization screamed at the back of his mind, twisted his nerves in knots, but he forced himself to ignore the way limbs trembled beneath him in exactly the ways he could still recount despite the years.
He refused to turn away, refused to think because remembering was a wicked beast that sent him spiraling away from progress, and he would not entertain it any longer.
Fingers combed through his hair with something akin to nervousness, but Ed ignored even that, refusing to be haunted any longer.
Ed was merciless in his desperation to forget himself, dragging Roy along with him in the lull of desire and momentary pleasure. He could drown out the noise in this, he was certain.
No complaints were forthcoming as he tugged at Roy’s pants, pulling them unceremoniously to his thighs. A glance upward only presented Edward with a ragged, wanting, impossibly young expression, and that deviation from what he remembered steadied him.
Ed refused to allow his own doubts a chance to talk him out of this, swallowing Roy whole, not daring to acknowledge the way it did strike him as new or different from something he’d done long ago.
Roy murmured between panting breaths, noticeably fighting the urge to rock his hips against Ed’s mouth, and Ed very nearly smiled at that. All the unfamiliar parts made it alright, even this, as he pressed his automail hand against Roy’s hip to keep him still.
He drew his tongue along the underside of Roy’s length and released him for a moment to brush the hair from his face. His actions were met with plaintive whimpers, almost begging, and Ed smiled in spite of himself before he dipped his head down once more.
Lips found Roy’s cock in a slow slide, teeth slipping, just barely there, and Ed began to forget that anything had come before this. Right now he was listening to soft, pleasured moans, drinking in the feel of hands clutching at his scalp and his shoulder, and muscles quivering helplessly as his nose hit dark, wiry curls.
Ed soothed and teased with his tongue, curling it along Roy’s length, dipping into the slit just for the sounds. Fingers curled and uncurled in his hair in rhythm with the bobbing of his head, and Roy murmured something indecipherable.
Roy pulsed and shuddered in his mouth, and Ed sucked harder, noting with satisfaction the way hips shifted in spasms, the body beneath strung tight.
“Edward,” the word was whispered, and brought the world down around Ed’s ears, because, four years later, a world away, and another set of lips, it sounded just the same.
It was more than Ed could handle, and even as he was forcing himself to swallow, to offer a watery smile and a ghost of a kiss, his mind was closing in on itself, bitterly taunting him with memories. Too, too much and his stomach roiled in agitation. He needed air, needed to breathe, had to get away, and he only barely succeeded in stumbling down the dark hallway and into the bathroom before he was emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet.
Ed sank to his knees against the tile floor, waiting for the darkness to stop spinning. Footsteps approaching the bathroom did not register, and he hardly noticed Roy’s presence until hands were soothingly stroking his head and cheek, offering a silent sort of solace. He thought to say that he just needed breathing space, but he had no energy to even complain as he was helped to his feet and offered a glass of water.
“Are you alright?”
Ed nodded weakly, “Just a little under the weather.”
Roy gave him a sharp look, and Ed was sure he knew there was more to it than that, but thankfully, nothing was said. Roy only offered an understanding nod, fingers swiping comfortingly over his cheek and along his neck.
Ed felt himself guided back to the bed, settled between sheets and blankets, too soft and too comfortable, but he was so weary, too much to complain. The mattress dipped beside him as Roy climbed into bed, pulling Ed into his arms.
He was held against Roy’s chest, cradled like something cherished and loved, like nothing he felt he ought to be. Fingers carded through his hair, and lips pressed to his forehead, and Ed couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so lost or so cared for.
Thunder and rain sang a melody against the windowpane, and Ed let it lull him to sleep.
X
It was dark outside when he woke, gently prodded into wakefulness by the soft light of a bedside lamp, and fingers threading through his hair.
“Power’s back on,” Ed muttered, blinking at the light.
Roy hmmed in response, long, languid strokes brushing along Ed’s side.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked finally, concern evident in his gaze.
“I’m fine,” and to Ed’s relief, it was an honest answer. The guilt that had threatened to drown him before was all but gone, not even a fraction of it contaminating the warmth of Roy’s hands on him.
“What happened?” The question was whispered between kisses to his temple, punctuated by fingertips sliding comfortingly up and down bare arms. The fact that he’d lost his robe somewhere along the way didn’t particularly alarm him, and he sank against Roy’s hands.
“I just… remembered too much,” Ed replied as honestly as he dared, and for what it was worth, Roy seemed as if he understood at least from an academic standpoint.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? None of this is your fault,” Ed pointed out.
“I’m sorry I can’t be him.”
“Oh… no, Roy. I’m glad you’re not. Then you wouldn’t be you, and I really do like you. It’s just that some days are harder than others I guess. I’m sorry it’s not just as easy as deciding to move on.”
He might have said more, but he was being hushed with delicate, chaste kisses.
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” Whispered, reassuring words caressed his ears, and finally, Ed could believe that things were going to be alright.
Fandom: FMA
Pairing: RoyxEd, Alter!RoyxEd
Author: inugrlrayn
Rating: NC-17 eventually (pretty close in this chapter actually)
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or it's characters and all that jazz.
Summary: Post movie. Ed has resigned himself to being stuck on our side of the Gate. Roy tries to find a way to bring him and Al home and the ensuing accident results in both a moral and emotional dilemma.
All Chapters Here
Edit: I embedded this because the Mp3 file I had wasn't working. Hopefully I'll have it fixed for next time.
Click to viewWinter bled away, ebbing into spring, and slowly, Ed was adjusting to everything. This Roy was painfully easy to get along with, and never less than sweet to him. At first, it had been charming, when his body was still so shocked at having any physical contact at all that it forgot that there was more than holding hands and whispers of lips on his cheek. Now, though, it was sort of infuriating, as Ed began to remember that this world’s moral compass did not always point the same direction as his own, and really, he didn’t understand this obsessive belief in not being intimate with someone you loved…cared about.
Ed wasn’t even sure it was the moral issue that was causing problems. It more seemed that Roy had been so caught up in catching Ed, that he just hadn’t considered what to do with him once he managed it. Three months of that, and Ed decided as he walked through the pouring rain, that enough was enough.
Roy’s house was darker than usual, and, come to think of it, the whole block had been dark. He climbed the steps onto the covered porch, tugging off his coat to try and wring out some of the water. At least it would be that much less to drip all over the floor.
“You’re soaked,” Roy grinned at Ed, opening the screen to let him inside.
“Congratulations, Mr. Obvious. Just in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s raining.”
“I was doing very well at ignoring that, actually,” Roy responded wryly, tossing Ed a towel and a bathrobe, “right up until the power went out.”
Ed didn’t answer, caught up in staring at the soft fabric in his arms.
“It doesn’t bite. I promise.” Roy plucked Ed’s coat from his other hand, hanging it on the coat rack to hopefully dry sometime in the next century.
“Thanks,” Ed murmured, allowing himself to be guided down a dark hallway, difficult to see, even though it was only early evening. Roy pushed open the door to his room.
“I’ll be out in the living room.” With that, he was gone.
This Roy’s bedroom was rather different from the other Roy’s. Even in gray light, it seemed brighter, still blue and calm, and a little bit achingly familiar, but not the same in any case.
Ed tugged off his clothes down to his boxers, which were still dry at least, and dressed in the robe Roy had given him. It was warm and soft, and smelled like him, a realization that soothed Ed’s heart and turned his stomach in knots. Then again, they always seemed at odds over this. It wasn’t as acute as it had been. He was having an easier time separating this Roy from the other Roy, and not confusing his love for the General with his affection for the man whose robe he was wearing.
It was a futile thought, though, and Ed shook his head to clear it. Thunder boomed outside, angry and threatening, sending flashes of light skittering across the clouds. There was something cathartic about storms, and Ed gave up his mind to it, staring at the rain as it crashed against the window pane.
“Are you alright?” Ed didn’t realize how much time had gone by until he was drawn from the downpour by knuckles rapping against wood, and the creak of the bedroom door as it swung open.
“Fine. I was just… watching the rain.” He settled again, watching sheets of water careen against the streets. Roy stood behind him, arms moving forward, faltering once, twice, and then settling around Ed, linked hands resting at the top of his rib cage. He was so close, Ed could feel the stutter of his breath, nerves… or barely contained want. That, at least, he was no stranger to, and it reminded him of why he’d been irritated before.
Finally, he lost what patience he’d had. He thought to turn around and show Roy what he was missing out on, but his companion had shifted, releasing him long enough to pull the tie from Ed’s hair. There was something entirely pleasurable about someone else playing with his hair, even more so as fingers combed through it, before delicately pushing the still sloppy strands away, baring his neck, and part of his shoulder.
Roy was close again, palms resting against his upper arms, lips tantalizingly close to the side of his neck. Shuddering breaths hiccupped against his skin, and Ed was fairly certain that he had reached the limits of his self control.
He did twist then, breaking Roy’s grip, and tugging his head down. He captured Roy’s lips against his own, brief and as chaste as he could manage under the circumstances. He pulled away, trying as best he could in the near dark to gauge Roy’s response, and determine if an apology was in order or not.
Roy looked altogether astonished, and if he hadn’t felt so desperate, Ed might have laughed. As it was, it only made him feel self conscious, and he was just about to give and apologize, and try to forget the whole thing, but there were lips on his, wordlessly begging for this much.
The back of Ed’s mind breathed a sigh of relief as they kissed. There was no self assured confidence in them, no honed skill of a person who’d done this countless times. It was nothing like before, and one less thing that reminded him of the other Roy. For that, he was truly grateful.
Ed flicked his tongue against Roy’s lips, smiling against his mouth as they parted, offering a kind of give he’d never been used to. Roy seemed to simply acquiesce to the fact that Ed had more of an idea about what they were doing, following his lead except for fingers tangled in damp, golden tresses, and knuckles sliding down his spine until he arched against Roy, drawing a sharp gasp from his companion’s lips.
Four years was a long time to go without even this, and Ed wasn’t entirely sure his knees would hold him, and so he maneuvered them backwards, sliding his hands down Roy’s sides to rest at his hips, nudging him towards the mattress.
They fell in a breathless, stunned heap, and it was Roy who broke the nervous silence between them, laughing as he fought to catch his breath, face buried against Ed’s throat. Ed moaned at the sensation, tilting his head as laughter became murmurs of lips against his neck, bolder, open mouthed kisses at his shoulder. The robe had fallen down, coming to a rest partway down his arm, and Ed couldn’t really be bothered to care because all considered, this was downright perfect.
Ed was on his hands and knees, limbs perched just beyond Roy’s body on the mattress as they fell into a fragile, broken rhythm, kisses like they’d never do this again. A hand slid down his spine, and he couldn’t help but press down, nearly collapsing on top of Roy. More breathless laughter, and Ed pressed kisses to the corner of Roy’s mouth, along his jaw, nipping playfully at his throat.
He wondered if they ought to stop, where the boundaries lay between them still, but he couldn’t bring himself to pause long enough to ask. After all, he’d be told if it was too much, he was sure. Even this Roy did not seem the sort to just lie back and accept something he did not want. He paused anyway, reluctantly tearing his lips away long enough to clear their heads. He sat up, perched delicately on Roy’s hips, fingers passing over the fabric of his shirt, pausing at the first button in silent request.
Roy’s eyes flickered with…something, but he said nothing, fingers tightening where they’d come to rest on Ed’s hips. It was only then that it occurred to Ed to be self conscious, cheeks flushing even as he flicked the first button open on the shirt beneath his fingers, because he felt like he was the one being undressed and Roy was staring at him.
Ed wondered if Roy had even an inkling of how perfect he looked like this, with kiss swollen lips, and pleading eyes. He was helpless but to give, pressing kisses less sure and more tender than before as skin was bared, button by button. He worried at Roy’s throat with tongue and teeth, reveling in the way the body beneath his shuddered and sighed, fingers tugging at the tie of his robe for a moment.
Then, there were warm palms skimming Ed’s sides, his back, and Roy’s head tilted back baring his throat a little more, dark hair mussed with pleasure, feathered across the pillows.
Ed hadn’t really meant to even push this far, but he couldn’t stop, not when there was warm, pale skin beneath his lips, familiar and not. He could not stop when Roy was shivering under his fingers, scrabbling for purchase as if Ed was a lifeline in the storm that raged outside the window still.
Instead, Ed shifted, nudging aside fabric to map Roy’s chest and belly with kisses and nibbles, all the things he could remember someone else liking. The realization screamed at the back of his mind, twisted his nerves in knots, but he forced himself to ignore the way limbs trembled beneath him in exactly the ways he could still recount despite the years.
He refused to turn away, refused to think because remembering was a wicked beast that sent him spiraling away from progress, and he would not entertain it any longer.
Fingers combed through his hair with something akin to nervousness, but Ed ignored even that, refusing to be haunted any longer.
Ed was merciless in his desperation to forget himself, dragging Roy along with him in the lull of desire and momentary pleasure. He could drown out the noise in this, he was certain.
No complaints were forthcoming as he tugged at Roy’s pants, pulling them unceremoniously to his thighs. A glance upward only presented Edward with a ragged, wanting, impossibly young expression, and that deviation from what he remembered steadied him.
Ed refused to allow his own doubts a chance to talk him out of this, swallowing Roy whole, not daring to acknowledge the way it did strike him as new or different from something he’d done long ago.
Roy murmured between panting breaths, noticeably fighting the urge to rock his hips against Ed’s mouth, and Ed very nearly smiled at that. All the unfamiliar parts made it alright, even this, as he pressed his automail hand against Roy’s hip to keep him still.
He drew his tongue along the underside of Roy’s length and released him for a moment to brush the hair from his face. His actions were met with plaintive whimpers, almost begging, and Ed smiled in spite of himself before he dipped his head down once more.
Lips found Roy’s cock in a slow slide, teeth slipping, just barely there, and Ed began to forget that anything had come before this. Right now he was listening to soft, pleasured moans, drinking in the feel of hands clutching at his scalp and his shoulder, and muscles quivering helplessly as his nose hit dark, wiry curls.
Ed soothed and teased with his tongue, curling it along Roy’s length, dipping into the slit just for the sounds. Fingers curled and uncurled in his hair in rhythm with the bobbing of his head, and Roy murmured something indecipherable.
Roy pulsed and shuddered in his mouth, and Ed sucked harder, noting with satisfaction the way hips shifted in spasms, the body beneath strung tight.
“Edward,” the word was whispered, and brought the world down around Ed’s ears, because, four years later, a world away, and another set of lips, it sounded just the same.
It was more than Ed could handle, and even as he was forcing himself to swallow, to offer a watery smile and a ghost of a kiss, his mind was closing in on itself, bitterly taunting him with memories. Too, too much and his stomach roiled in agitation. He needed air, needed to breathe, had to get away, and he only barely succeeded in stumbling down the dark hallway and into the bathroom before he was emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet.
Ed sank to his knees against the tile floor, waiting for the darkness to stop spinning. Footsteps approaching the bathroom did not register, and he hardly noticed Roy’s presence until hands were soothingly stroking his head and cheek, offering a silent sort of solace. He thought to say that he just needed breathing space, but he had no energy to even complain as he was helped to his feet and offered a glass of water.
“Are you alright?”
Ed nodded weakly, “Just a little under the weather.”
Roy gave him a sharp look, and Ed was sure he knew there was more to it than that, but thankfully, nothing was said. Roy only offered an understanding nod, fingers swiping comfortingly over his cheek and along his neck.
Ed felt himself guided back to the bed, settled between sheets and blankets, too soft and too comfortable, but he was so weary, too much to complain. The mattress dipped beside him as Roy climbed into bed, pulling Ed into his arms.
He was held against Roy’s chest, cradled like something cherished and loved, like nothing he felt he ought to be. Fingers carded through his hair, and lips pressed to his forehead, and Ed couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so lost or so cared for.
Thunder and rain sang a melody against the windowpane, and Ed let it lull him to sleep.
X
It was dark outside when he woke, gently prodded into wakefulness by the soft light of a bedside lamp, and fingers threading through his hair.
“Power’s back on,” Ed muttered, blinking at the light.
Roy hmmed in response, long, languid strokes brushing along Ed’s side.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked finally, concern evident in his gaze.
“I’m fine,” and to Ed’s relief, it was an honest answer. The guilt that had threatened to drown him before was all but gone, not even a fraction of it contaminating the warmth of Roy’s hands on him.
“What happened?” The question was whispered between kisses to his temple, punctuated by fingertips sliding comfortingly up and down bare arms. The fact that he’d lost his robe somewhere along the way didn’t particularly alarm him, and he sank against Roy’s hands.
“I just… remembered too much,” Ed replied as honestly as he dared, and for what it was worth, Roy seemed as if he understood at least from an academic standpoint.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? None of this is your fault,” Ed pointed out.
“I’m sorry I can’t be him.”
“Oh… no, Roy. I’m glad you’re not. Then you wouldn’t be you, and I really do like you. It’s just that some days are harder than others I guess. I’m sorry it’s not just as easy as deciding to move on.”
He might have said more, but he was being hushed with delicate, chaste kisses.
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” Whispered, reassuring words caressed his ears, and finally, Ed could believe that things were going to be alright.