[Pippa] Technicolor
Technicolor
PG
Fullmetal Alchemist; Roy/Ed. For beltenebra, who is sadface and whom I would very much like to see happyface again. ♥
Warnings: set in the semi-future (not AU) and I have no idea if there are spoilers for anything because I haven't seen FMA:B or read the manga. 8| I am such a bad fan
~
"Fuck this," Ed said, throwing the wrench down onto the workbench with more force than was strictly necessary. "I know it's possible, in theory, so why the hell isn't it coming together?!"
"What is it you're trying to do?" A familiar, rough voice made Ed turn to see a man in a blue towelling bathrobe leaning against the door jamb. "Aside from making a mess at four in the morning."
"Sorry," Ed said, suddenly feeling a flash of guilt. "I didn't think you'd wake up if I was down here."
"I felt you get out of bed," Roy said, shuffling over and taking a gulp of Ed's coffee. He eyed the tangle of wires and melted globules of metal with thinly-veiled intrigue. "It must have been a compelling idea."
"Projectors," Ed said, in a way that explained a lot and absolutely nothing at the same time. At the look on Roy's sleep-crumpled face he gave a wry grin and continued. "When people go to the cinema, the image they see is one that is shone onto the screen from a powerful projector at the back of the theatre, right? But I thought, well, it's too hefty. You know, the projector, the screen, the reels of film, and when someone gets in the way because the projector isn't high enough, or when someone throws popped corn up in the air and it gets in the way of the image…"
"I have never thrown popped corn anywhere other than in my mouth," Roy said, sitting down on the workbench and huddling over Ed's mug.
"Whatever," Ed said, steamrollering over Roy's interruption. "So I thought well, Al mentioned someone who was working on a means of displaying images from behind a glass panel and, well, you guys use the pantelegraph in the office anyway but, what are the three colours that create light?"
"Um," said Roy.
"So I thought maybe instead of using the clumsy black-and-white rendering, because that's rubbish, maybe it would be possible to do it in colour. Except I haven't finished making it yet, and I need a tube strong enough to withstand the pressure of creating a vacuum but it's too early to ask the . . . what?"
"Nothing," Roy said, looking at him with a softness that Ed would never admit to liking, even now after so many years of being in each others' company. "I like hearing how your mind works."
"Yeah, well." Ed turned back to the workbench and picked up a reel of insulated copper wiring, hiding his small grin in his work. "We'll just have to see, won't we."
::
Roy had been up from the basement and in the kitchen for about five minutes before he heard the shout, and he carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression as thudding on the stairs signalled Ed's dramatic entrance.
"You!" Ed said, automail finger pointing at Roy across the breakfast table. "You thief!"
"I do not feel as though your accusation is justified," he replied, voice calm.
"You stole it from me! I was in the same room!"
"I wouldn't consider it theft, really."
"Huh." Ed bristled. "You wouldn't. Selfish jerk."
"If you're going to be hurling insults at me I won't give you this fresh mug of coffee, then," Roy said, setting the mug down on the wooden table top before shaking his head and turning back to get his own drink. By the time Roy had picked up his own mug and sat down at the table the mug was grasped firmly in Ed's fingers, the tendrils of steam coiling up to his face whereupon his amber eyes fluttered shut and a sigh whispered past his lips.
Roy watched Ed for a moment, radiant and golden despite the greyness of the kitchen as the sun struggled to burn through the early-morning clouds, despite the stubble on his face from not having shaved in twenty-four hours, despite his grimace when the coffee was too hot on his tongue. Roy had stood there at the entrance to the basement for several long minutes simply watching Ed work, and even now after so many years he was pretty certain that Ed would still laugh at him and call him an old creep for it, had he known.
"Oi," Ed's voice snapped Roy out of his temporary reverie. "Oi, you old creep, what are you staring at? I'm hungry."
"Me too," Roy said, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes as his fingers curled around the warm mug. There was the scrape of a chair on tiles as Ed got to his feet and clattered about and Roy sat quietly, peacefully, knowing that there were still a few hours before he was due at Headquarters and so, for now at least, nothing else needed to matter.
The clattering stopped, and so, concerned, Roy opened his eyes to see if anything was amiss. Instead, he found Ed leaning his lower back against the edge of the kitchen work surface, eyes soft as he watched Roy. As soon as he realised Roy's eyes were open he started, but then gave a half-shrug as though to say yeah, you caught me.
"You look tired," he said, reaching out with his left hand to give Roy's shoulder a squeeze before he turned back to the frying pan, cracking eggs into it.
"It's four-thirty," Roy stated. "I didn't get in from work until late. Of course I'm tired. Aren't you?"
"Mm," came the noncommittal response as Ed prodded the eggs with a wooden spatula. "Wanted to see if it would work. I still think it might, you know. You'd probably have to manually adjust the colour levels but I could stick a dial on the front of the panel for that, as well as for wavelength reception."
Roy rubbed a hand over his face and then lifted the coffee mug to his lips. Ever since Ed's alchemy had been put aside, his technological developments had put other inventors to shame and Roy quietly wondered if there was any field Ed would not excel at, should he choose to put his mind to it. "You know you don't have to keep working until it's done," he said, turning in his chair to open the kitchen drawer behind him. He pulled out cutlery for them both, and the two men sat down together quietly at the breakfast table, munching on egg and toast and sipping coffee as the grey room slowly brightened.
"I guess I am tired," Ed finally said, using the last of the toast to mop the yolk from his plate. "The glass furnaces won't really want to see me for a few hours anyway, I expect. Wanna go back to bed for a bit? An old man like you needs all the rest he can get."
Grinning at the thinly-veiled concern, Roy stood and deposited their plates in the sink and followed Ed up the stairs.
The sun slowly broke through the clouds, and the sky outside turned to radiant gold.
~
PG
Fullmetal Alchemist; Roy/Ed. For beltenebra, who is sadface and whom I would very much like to see happyface again. ♥
Warnings: set in the semi-future (not AU) and I have no idea if there are spoilers for anything because I haven't seen FMA:B or read the manga. 8| I am such a bad fan
~
"Fuck this," Ed said, throwing the wrench down onto the workbench with more force than was strictly necessary. "I know it's possible, in theory, so why the hell isn't it coming together?!"
"What is it you're trying to do?" A familiar, rough voice made Ed turn to see a man in a blue towelling bathrobe leaning against the door jamb. "Aside from making a mess at four in the morning."
"Sorry," Ed said, suddenly feeling a flash of guilt. "I didn't think you'd wake up if I was down here."
"I felt you get out of bed," Roy said, shuffling over and taking a gulp of Ed's coffee. He eyed the tangle of wires and melted globules of metal with thinly-veiled intrigue. "It must have been a compelling idea."
"Projectors," Ed said, in a way that explained a lot and absolutely nothing at the same time. At the look on Roy's sleep-crumpled face he gave a wry grin and continued. "When people go to the cinema, the image they see is one that is shone onto the screen from a powerful projector at the back of the theatre, right? But I thought, well, it's too hefty. You know, the projector, the screen, the reels of film, and when someone gets in the way because the projector isn't high enough, or when someone throws popped corn up in the air and it gets in the way of the image…"
"I have never thrown popped corn anywhere other than in my mouth," Roy said, sitting down on the workbench and huddling over Ed's mug.
"Whatever," Ed said, steamrollering over Roy's interruption. "So I thought well, Al mentioned someone who was working on a means of displaying images from behind a glass panel and, well, you guys use the pantelegraph in the office anyway but, what are the three colours that create light?"
"Um," said Roy.
"So I thought maybe instead of using the clumsy black-and-white rendering, because that's rubbish, maybe it would be possible to do it in colour. Except I haven't finished making it yet, and I need a tube strong enough to withstand the pressure of creating a vacuum but it's too early to ask the . . . what?"
"Nothing," Roy said, looking at him with a softness that Ed would never admit to liking, even now after so many years of being in each others' company. "I like hearing how your mind works."
"Yeah, well." Ed turned back to the workbench and picked up a reel of insulated copper wiring, hiding his small grin in his work. "We'll just have to see, won't we."
::
Roy had been up from the basement and in the kitchen for about five minutes before he heard the shout, and he carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression as thudding on the stairs signalled Ed's dramatic entrance.
"You!" Ed said, automail finger pointing at Roy across the breakfast table. "You thief!"
"I do not feel as though your accusation is justified," he replied, voice calm.
"You stole it from me! I was in the same room!"
"I wouldn't consider it theft, really."
"Huh." Ed bristled. "You wouldn't. Selfish jerk."
"If you're going to be hurling insults at me I won't give you this fresh mug of coffee, then," Roy said, setting the mug down on the wooden table top before shaking his head and turning back to get his own drink. By the time Roy had picked up his own mug and sat down at the table the mug was grasped firmly in Ed's fingers, the tendrils of steam coiling up to his face whereupon his amber eyes fluttered shut and a sigh whispered past his lips.
Roy watched Ed for a moment, radiant and golden despite the greyness of the kitchen as the sun struggled to burn through the early-morning clouds, despite the stubble on his face from not having shaved in twenty-four hours, despite his grimace when the coffee was too hot on his tongue. Roy had stood there at the entrance to the basement for several long minutes simply watching Ed work, and even now after so many years he was pretty certain that Ed would still laugh at him and call him an old creep for it, had he known.
"Oi," Ed's voice snapped Roy out of his temporary reverie. "Oi, you old creep, what are you staring at? I'm hungry."
"Me too," Roy said, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes as his fingers curled around the warm mug. There was the scrape of a chair on tiles as Ed got to his feet and clattered about and Roy sat quietly, peacefully, knowing that there were still a few hours before he was due at Headquarters and so, for now at least, nothing else needed to matter.
The clattering stopped, and so, concerned, Roy opened his eyes to see if anything was amiss. Instead, he found Ed leaning his lower back against the edge of the kitchen work surface, eyes soft as he watched Roy. As soon as he realised Roy's eyes were open he started, but then gave a half-shrug as though to say yeah, you caught me.
"You look tired," he said, reaching out with his left hand to give Roy's shoulder a squeeze before he turned back to the frying pan, cracking eggs into it.
"It's four-thirty," Roy stated. "I didn't get in from work until late. Of course I'm tired. Aren't you?"
"Mm," came the noncommittal response as Ed prodded the eggs with a wooden spatula. "Wanted to see if it would work. I still think it might, you know. You'd probably have to manually adjust the colour levels but I could stick a dial on the front of the panel for that, as well as for wavelength reception."
Roy rubbed a hand over his face and then lifted the coffee mug to his lips. Ever since Ed's alchemy had been put aside, his technological developments had put other inventors to shame and Roy quietly wondered if there was any field Ed would not excel at, should he choose to put his mind to it. "You know you don't have to keep working until it's done," he said, turning in his chair to open the kitchen drawer behind him. He pulled out cutlery for them both, and the two men sat down together quietly at the breakfast table, munching on egg and toast and sipping coffee as the grey room slowly brightened.
"I guess I am tired," Ed finally said, using the last of the toast to mop the yolk from his plate. "The glass furnaces won't really want to see me for a few hours anyway, I expect. Wanna go back to bed for a bit? An old man like you needs all the rest he can get."
Grinning at the thinly-veiled concern, Roy stood and deposited their plates in the sink and followed Ed up the stairs.
The sun slowly broke through the clouds, and the sky outside turned to radiant gold.
~