Catharsis

Catharsis (Prelude la Una)

((Above is my muse for this chapter. I think that listening to it while you read this chapter will aid in the mood I'm trying to set.. Please read and review!! I know this is one of my less popular storied but feedback it really appreciated!!))

It was a subtle switch to disinterest for Ed. The whisper of smoke and perfume mingling with each other as whiskey clouded his mind. Roy was a shadow as he watched the woman in front of him dance.

Dancers...

Seemed that's who lulled him. Her dance was different from Roy's though. She was jerky where Roy was smooth, rough around the edges while Roy was sanded...

Dull...

He pulled her closer for a kiss. A laugh. A hand on her waist and a tempting smile as Roy's shadow faded farther and farther from his mind. The tangents of his thoughts blurred away to one. Her. And from there he didn't stray. The man waiting at home forgotten for, instant soft flesh that she brought him.

Cold...

That's what he was... The man waiting at home was cold. Distant when she was here, Dismissive when she was attentive. Hesitant where she was willing and, fuck... She explored the avant garde in his mind like it was a buffet of exquisite foods and God, it refreshed him. She was....

Sensual...

Whereas the only thing he knew was dance. She could sing to him with her body. Roy simply sang about him, never letting him see what he created. Her creations were sacred like his but she let him see them. She was...

Beautiful...

He was straight and jagged. Lithe muscles with an untouchable type of allure to them. Like a glass statue. She was soft and supple, there for him to touch. She suited him in a way that was reachable. Roy moved like pixies in the wind. Easy to the voyeur not to the tactile. But she... She was the bourgeoisie of all the Roy's in the world. Reachable, touchable, able to love....

She said "I love you..."

Edward pauses at the words, Roy's face flickers than disappears, almost like death. He returns the words and her smile waves euphoria forward.

He doesn't know 

And he never will. Edward will continue leaving, staying late with her, coming home and creating a facade that this won't ruin them both because he doesn't even look at his face anymore.

And for some reason... He doesn't regret it.

~~~~~~~~

He knows...

He can feel it. He can feel it in the way Roy's shoulders are set as he sleeps on the couch, old fleece covering him, tear tracks sticky on his face.

He knows...

He knows in the way that Roy doesn't meet his eyes any more, the way his shoulders drop every time Edward dismisses him as he rushes out the door to meet her. He sees it in the way the hope brightens then fizzles out in his eyes every night. 

Why doesn't he say anything?

He's rushing out the door, he's late. She's meeting him at the steakhouse.

"Ed!" He hears Roy  call as he fumbles for his keys and wallet. Footsteps are pounding towards him, "Ed?" He looks up.

Roy's eyes are shining with a different light, and Ed panics, Roy's going to confront him, he's going to yell and cry and Ed doesn't know how he'll react. He swallows slowly.

"Yes...?" He responds slowly. He hasn't called Roy anything endearing in ages, he hardly even uses his name. Roy's eyes watch him carefully and Ed's shoulders set defensively. Roy slowly holds his arm out and Ed braces himself from he doesn't know what yet.

"It's cold.. Don't forget your coat..."