Random Equilibrium
Created out of a desire to fill the livejournal Greed/Ed community with stuff, and inspired by Jaelle's Wedding Belles on fanfiction.net, as well as pinstripesuit's fanart on the sincest community.( http://community.livejournal.com/sincest/3537.html#cutid1 )
All in all, I consider this an enjoyable experiment; it was an interesting trial in actually writing Greed/Ed, and I enjoy how it sorta ended up coming in small spurts and didn't completely dominate the entire thing, which I consider mostly general, and full of references I'd like to expand on in future fic.... (It should be noted that at the time of this story's completion, I have not seen past episode 43 on CN's adultswim.)
Random Equilibrium
Disclaimer: I have no legal claim on Fullmetal Alchemist.
"WINRY, WHY AM I DOING THIS AGAIN--"
"I JUST NEED YOU TO DO THIS FOR FITTINGS AND VISUALIZATION--"
"YOU SHOULD BE DOING YOUR OWN DAMN FITTINGS! OR HAVE SCIESZKA--"
"SHE'S STILL IN CENTRAL, AND SHE'S NOT THE SAME SIZE AS ME, NOT LIKE YOU ARE--"
"RIGHT, OF COURSE! SHE'S MUCH SKINNIER--OW! YOU SLAPPED ME!"
"HELL YES!"
"YOU SLAPPED ME WHEN I PUT ON THIS RIDUCULOUS GET-UP FOR YOU--"
"THIS ISN'T A RIDUCULOUS GET-UP--"
"She's right Ed; the wedding dress rather suits you."
Greed had followed the duo in, curious about the whole affair, in which Ed would model the lead dress for Winry and Al's wedding; as had been screamed earlier, Mr. Shrimp Alchemist perfectly matched Winry's size, while Bookworm did not, and was unavailable anyway, planning to arrive in Resembool the day of the wedding, and the other girls in the village were out of the question, since they all generally taunted the Bride for her oil stains and lingering scent of metal. (It had been fun letting Ed rope him into scaring those gaggle of snobs with his Ultimate Shield in its complete form.)
"...Your tux looks nice Greed." The kid had a funny look in his feline eyes as he made that comment in that equally funny tone. But no matter, the Homunculus was just relieved that Ed didn't go into some jealous fit over how he got the easy job...which he did. Nothing simpler than a man trying on a tuxedo. (Although the bow tie had been unbearbly stubborn for a little while.)
"So...." Mr. Shrimp Alchemist began, his voice and his eyes still funny, and now Winry was looking far too observant. "You--uh, you really--uh, um--"
(The Sin's violet eyes were not used to tracing a male's figure, but he made due, and really, it didn't take much of a leap to pretend that the figure in the flowing pearly white fabrics and with golden hair pouring down wildly was actually a female--breast padding helped a bunch in the long run too.)
"Yes, I do think the dress suits you; lying's not really part of my policy, remember?" The Homunculus replied with a chuckle, knowing the boy's question and saving him the trouble; Greed expected some sort of sarcastic reply from Ed in regards to his typical 'no-lying policy', to start up the verbal judo they both walked into so many times, but the kid just remained silent, actually blushing heavily, looking everywhere but at the Homunculus, and gave Winry no more trouble as she fussed over him.
&&&&&&
Ed feigned aloofness at the table, and yet he couldn't keep his eyes off Greed and Hawkeye waltzing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He had no idea how Mustang could stand it, Riza was his, not Greed's...and yet the young man could see in the measure of their closeness that this was just a dance between friends, something to pass the time during the wedding reception, something to have fun with.
But it was close enough to drive Ed completely up the wall.
As expected, his older brother's unease did not escape him, and Al soon plopped down at the same table, Winry draped over his shoulder, both of their holy matrimony uniforms crinkled from all the dancing and kissing and the impatient groping.
"Brother, are you o.k.?" Alphonse thought he'd go in subtle.
"You really have it bad for Greed, huh?" Winry went in blunt.
Fullmetal twitched, then turned irritably away, dropping his aloof mask. The Alchemist wasn't sure when it had started or how, but during some point in their alliance against the Homunculi 3 years ago, sometime on the road, Ed had turned irrationally protective of the Sin. And to the extreme, he had unwillingly developed some form of hero worship toward the Homunculus...while to a more reasonable level, he had a strong--and again, irrational--confidence in Greed's power; he wasn't called Ultimate Shield for nothing, and Ed took that to heart....
But that was it, just the protectiveness and the stubborn belief in Greed's unending strength.
"So, have you danced at all Pipsqueak?" Asked the Homunculus playfully as he settled at Ed's table, Hawkeye having picked up a much more intimate and fervent dance with the Flame Alchemist; merely smiling at Winry's conspicuous jab to the ribs, Al and she left, Greed nodding to them as they went, a sly grin on his face. Meanwhile, Fullmetal's eyes lingered on the Homunculus all formalized, too busy with the task to normally freak out over being teased over his still woefully short height. It was insane, but Greed looked good in everything, and that was no exaggeration--Ed remembered voicing his amazement in an overly screechy voice about how the Homunculus could get away with wearing a clearly feminine kimono with a clearly feminine bracelet of beads. (However, he did not care to recall how Greed had gotten into such an outfit in the first place....)
...Alright, so perhaps there was some lust too, but that was it.
"What, too drunk to be a tight-ass about your shortness?" The Sin teased, tapping Ed's empty glass and unknowingly bringing the State Alchemist back down to Earth. He frowned, a deep growl vibrating in his throat; the Homunculus typically laughed him off, moving for the nearby wine bottle and pouring more of the silky grape distillation into Fullmetal's glass, but before giving it to him, took a quick gulp for himself. As Ed took the drink, careful not to brush Greed's fingers in the process, he pondered the glass before tipping it to his lips with reckless abandon, thinking of indirect kisses....
&&&&&&
Fullmetal hadn't left the Homunculus alone at the table for very long, carrying back a fresh bottle of wine, but he arrived just in time to catch an unguarded Greed, staring at nothing in the distance, past the noise of merriment and the clinking glasses and the lilting music; he stared straight into a world only he had eyes for...it eerily reminded Ed of Mom.
(No, he did not want to think of her, didn't want to think of how badly he tarnished her memory, how efficiently he had slain her in a fiery fit of rage, how she had invaded Greed and left him crumpled and chained and so entirely broken, and yet so accustomed to the whole thing....)
"Thinking of them again?" The Homunculus twitched, shaken out of it and turned toward the Alchemist, staring at him with a curious tilt of his head. Ed decided to wave it off, and quickly poured out the wine to distract the man; clearly, Greed's ears had just registered the sound of his voice, but none of the words, and that was fine with Fullmetal, he didn't have the energy to talk of Roah, Dorchette, Martel....
The Sin had never lost loved ones before. That had been clear to Ed; not only through a quiet observation of the pained confusion radiating from his body, but also since Greed had actually voiced said confusion to him....
("I don't know--"
"What?!" Fullmetal had snapped then, disturbed by the Sin's need and drive to bury the Chimeras, Pride having done too good a job with them.
"Don't know what I should do." He said that quickly, and Ed had felt crushing guilt.
"What do you mean?" The boy replied, deathly quiet.
"How should I feel?... I mean...I'm sad--and that's not really a good description, but it's all I have, and I--I mean, I mean.... I've buried them." A beat of silence, and Fullmetal felt his throat tighten.
"I've buried them...but what now? What else can I do? To show what they meant to me, how sorry I am, how sad, how angry...I mean, that's what people do when this Hell happens? They--they--they--they--they--"
The Shield had flashed across his hands in an erratic pattern, fingers growing hard then soft, then back again, over and over and over....
"...They cry." Then the Shield was gone, and the hands were still, so soft and pale, and he had looked so small then.
"I can't cry." His voice emotionless, his expression completely lost.
"That's just because you're in shock." Ed hated it then, and he hated it now, how desperate he sounded.
"I don't think Homunculus can cry. It must be something that couldn't be imitated in the transmutation--"
"There is no imitation." Saying it without thinking, and that had been the last, he could think of nothing more to do for Greed, just sit with him in the stark snow, fixating on the freshly turned earth, and its trio of stone graves....)
Ed blinked. The Sin was no longer at the table, his glass almost overflowing yet forgotten. The boy stood up, looking around, wondering how he could've possibly lost track of his companion. His eyes flicked over Winry and Al talking with Sensei and Sig, flew past Armstrong going on about what types of traditional wedding gifts his family line procured, the usual military crew of Breda, Havoc, Falman, Fuery, Mustang, Hawkeye, and even little Black Hayate listening in forced attention, and finally he settled on Elysia playing some sort of game with the Homunculus in question, her mother watching from a nearby table with a bit of a smirk on her face.
"Dragons should stand still!" The 7-year-old squealed happily as she made another swing for Greed's legs, her toy sword whistling in the wind as he side-stepped easily, shooting back with a smirk, "The King of Dragons is exempt from that rule!"
"Ah, so you're their King," began Ely, looking absolutely adorable with that solemn expression on her face. "Then I must not fail in slaying you."
"Heh, getting serious are we, Lady Hughes?" And with that, a full-out scuffle broke out, in which the Dragon King received many bops on the head from the plastic weapon, and the brave Knight faced many tickle-attacks; in the end, they both ended up before an exceedingly amused Fullmetal, Greed down and flat on his stomach, Elysia on his back and her blade held tightly at his throat.
"Look Ed, I slayed the King of Dragons!"
"You sure did Ely."
"Wanna play kid?"
"Oh, good idea Greed-san! He can be the princess you kidnap, and I have to save him!"
"...What?" The Alchemist knew better than to scream at the child, but the Sin's fit of giggles from the ground did nothing to ease his temper.
"You can be Princess Elric."
"Why do I have to be a princess Ely? Couldn't I at least be a prince?..."
"But you'd make a better princess Ed! You have such beautiful, long hair, just like all the other princesses in the fairytales...."
"But Ely--"
"Please?"
Oh no, thought Ed as he inwardly cringed; not the puppy-dog eyes....
"Pretty, pretty, pretty please, with sugar and cherries on top?" The addition of the pretties and the sugar and the cherries doomed him to be the Princess, and captured by Greed no less....
But as the Dragon King slung him over his shoulder and raced away from Lady Hughes, heading toward his Holly Tree Fortress, Princess Elric reconsidered that the kidnapping had actually been a boon.
&&&&&&
Flat on his back, limbs sprayed carelessly apart, strands of grass smelling and tickling just right if he concentrated hard enough, Greed gazed up into the star-speckled sky. It was too pretty a night to bother taking in something as unecessary as sleep. So he had crept out of the Rockbell house, passing the Honeymoon parlor, and plopped himself right there by the silent riverside, not bothering to even look at the liquid; he could see it in his mind's eye.
(Pride's final breath, last gasp into collapsing melt of the stones, suspended within a drop of water that consumed the vengeful Greed, coiled him in Slothful fingers, fingers that would prod and pick at him, yet somehow gentler than Dante's invading punishments, now centuries-old, yet uncomfortably lucid, all in the mind's eye....)
The Homunculus frowned. Footsteps were heard, padding down the hill toward him. His violet eyes blinked at the Fullmetal towering above him...but not by much, and he couldn't resist telling the boy so.
Clad in his pajamas--which consisted of nothing more than a pair of briefs, accompanied by a bathroom robe only to deal with outside forces, as well as a pair of beaten sandals--Ed muffled a shriek as he stomped on Greed...or more accurately, stomped around Greed, who kept wiggling out of the way, chuckling all the while. The Sin's laughter sealed itself up behind a tight-lipped smile as his hands snapped out and grabbed both of the boy's feet, suspending them in mid-air. Ed yelped and gasped and cursed and Greed worked quickly to secure him and make sure he did not fall, moving his grasp higher up the boy's legs, then lifting him as high as he could, which was pretty far; Fullmetal was perfectly erect in the sky, his arms waving helplessly about in a panic, his mouth wide as unintelligible sounds emitted forth.
In the end, the Homunculus returned to his former position, Ed now joining him, lying opposite of him and looking a little disappointed; they rested in comfortable silence, hypnotized by the stars. Greed was so out of touch, he didn't realize he had been playing with the boy's loose hair until after a full minute passed; upon realization, he paused, awkward, expecting Ed to snap, but he didn't seem to notice, a deliriously happy smile on his face. So he continued playing with the golden locks, curling it around his fingers, letting them fall through the gaps, making them rise and ebb away; how could he resist the game, with the the hair looking so inviting? As always, Little Ely had been right, the elder Elric's hair had a fairytale atmosphere to it....
Envy had told the first fairytale in Greed's world, back in the beginning when he was still young enough to taste the elder's lapse in 24/7 spite and cruelty; Envy had been mesmerized, and softened to a degree, by the thought that he wasn't the only Sin around anymore....
("Hey!" In reality, Palm Tree had softly kicked Greed's head, but his battered body could feel the brain slam against his skull a little.
"Hello? Are you up kid?"
"Ya-huh." Cracked a purple eye open, followed by the other, both looking worse for wear.
"She done yet?" When Dante would finish punishing/playing/experimenting with him, she'd send Envy to retrieve him, and he'd always be nice about it, much nicer than the old hag.
"Nope." Palm tree then pulled out a small waterskin from a pack he had brought, and dribbled the liquid onto the younger Sin's grateful tongue for quite some time, until the entire thing was dry and empty. Simply rolling his eyes at Greed's "thank you", Envy tossed the waterskin back in the pack, and pulled something else from it--it was a faded blue book with still fresh blood stains obscuring the title.
"Don't look at me like that!" The elder had snapped, actually slipping one finger against the bookcover, taking back a small amount of blood to lick off himself, a challenging look in his eyes.
"Sorry."
"ENOUGH WITH THE SINCERE MANNERS!"
"But--"
"Whatever." He huffed, flipped the bloody book open, and offered Greed a grand picture of a castle encased in thorns.
"Oh, cool, is that watercolor?"
"How the hell should I know?" Once again, in reality it had been a soft smack against Greed's head with the book, but it felt like a hammer just smacked him down.
"Now shut up and listen. Once upon a time....")
Staring up into golden eyes, Ed now sitting up, and the Homunculus doesn't know how his head ended up in the boy's lap, but it feels so comfortable, there's no desire at all to move away, and the fingers raking through his dark hair are so delightfully possessive, and then the Alchemist bends down and they kiss.
All in all, the kiss is very quiet; there are no fireworks, just gentle breathes coming in perfectly. Both of their lips are soft against each other, yet Ed's is more fierce, but Greed's fangs feel so good against the tongue. The Homunculus reaches for the boy's bare chest, wanting to feel the beating heart beneath his Ouroborus hand, and that signals an increase in the human's ferocity, actually biting hard on the Sin's lips, drawing blood; Greed purrs, Ed growls.
Continuing with the entire loss of time and out-of-touch atmosphere spawned by the stars, the Homunculus has no clue as to when the kiss ended, yet he was certain that nothing more occured, i.e. sex.
Sex can wait, he thought peacefully as the Alchemist still bent down over him, his forehead resting against his own, a match between warmth and cold happening between their opposing skins. This is very different, very new, he considered as Ed's fingers softly traced his face, and wiped the blood away from the bitten lips.
"So...I take it you want to try this, Greed?"
"Ed, you actually sound as if I have a choice in the matter."
He just smiled at the bemused smirk on the boy's face.