a bit of a random thing i conjured up since i have absolutely no way to make these into oneshots or fluidly transition them into bigger stories.
i just need to get these off of my chest and this is all i got!!! maybe i’ll delete this and try to make it prettier…. we’ll see.
it’s not a fanfic meaning there’s no story. it’s more of a character development since i’m trying to see how ed feels and does during a relationship with us (that can probably help me make stories idk)
okay ENJOY
random ed writing
(new title soon)
a bit of a self indulgent fic and a sprinkle of self traits inflicted on the reader
note: i hope this is good. if not then YOLO!!!!! enjoy this and maybe i’ll work up the courage to write more about this guy.
1. his loving ways.
You know he loves you. At least, through his own unique ways.
The way he talks to you—it’s rough, a bit of boredom sets the tone of his conversation but only you can hear the carefulness in his voice. How his eyes focuses on those he talks to but can’t for the life of him stare at you for more than 2 seconds. How he shuffles slightly towards you when you do soft and gentle gestures directly at him such as fixing his hair or adjusting his jacket sleeve. He can’t stand people at times, he needs answers and reasoning quick. But with you, he holds his temper and restraint for you. He tries to be patient.
You’re not much a romantic yourself. You enjoy your own time, your own space, all things that keep you labeled as an independent individual. You have your own ways of showing affection; small kisses, sharing food, showing interests, double bodying for training purposes, etc. Others wonder how you two decided to seal the deal and became a couple. It’s a mystery to them, but you two didn’t care if they knew or not. It was a relationship only you two carried and shared.
Between the two of you, you were the only to lead the romantic gestures. Ed only followed along… 1% of the time. You would kiss his cheek before departing (when it was just the two of you or if everyone’s attention was to something else). You would squeeze his hand or forearm to let him know you would be right back. Firm hugs on the couch after a long day or even soft compliments in his ear in bed, all of them came from you. Only a small huff or nod at you to assure that he got the love you were giving him.
It was the small things from you. But, when you don’t initiate these actions or simply are running out the door because of the lack of time, he feels the need to fill in that awkward space (that only he feels).
You were running around your apartment. Slinging your bag over your shoulders and hurriedly shoving your feet into your shoes. Ed sits on your couch, lingering away in your apartment space after a winded fight he had this morning. You had forgotten that Luke is holding an event at the Bucklers Boot Camp that you had to attend to. Ed’s eyes remain close but he shuffled slightly once his ears pick up how close you are to the front door. He waits for you to turn to him.
It only took your hand to unlock the door that he realized you weren’t going to bid him a goodbye. Ed steadily sits up and looks at your direction. You mutter to yourself in frustration to the sock that clings unevenly at the bottom of your heel, too unaware that Ed was staring at you. The door creaks and the wind whispers into the apartment.
Ed rushes to you. His bruised covered hands grab onto your wrists, pulling you away from the opening door and facing you at his direction. You feel a warmth yet firm sensation pressing against the nook of your neck. The boxer planted a small kiss against you before he reeled back and planted another one at your cheekbone. A quick murmur of a goodbye from him was heard before he pushed you out the door in anticipation of you questioning his intentions.
It was no doubt that you tried to replicate that event. But he can tell when you’re truly in a rush or simply putting on a show. By the time you had gotten over it, it happened again. It was a rare occurrence but it was nice to know that he still viewed you as an equal partner.
Instead of verbally assuring you that he still sees you as a lover, he acts them out. — “You know what sounds good right now?” You blurt out in the background. You hold your breath until you heard a grunt of recognition. “A can of [insert favorite drink here].” Nothing comes from his end but you know in your heart that he rolled his eyes at the ridiculous remark. The next week, you find yourself groggy and a bit down in your emotions. To cheer yourself up, you remembered that you had some left overs of takeout from last night. Opening the fridge, you see that there’s a brand new pack of your favorite drink. You didn’t buy that, but you did noticed that there were two beer bottles standing next to them.
Ed doesn’t carry cards, only cash. He’s not into the whole process of using debit or credit cards. Sure, that limits his spending but he doesn’t find himself in modern society areas. Cash works fine. There’s no need to upgrade his lifestyle as he’s comfortable where he is. Which also leaves you on edge as he just tends to shove his wad of cash into his back pocket and call it a day. You gifted him a wallet and by ‘wallet’, it was a pouch you bought from the traveling countries you tend to find yourself in. It had purple and blue coloring fabric which reminded you a lot of Ed’s color palette and decided it was the perfect item.
The first time you showed it to him. He frowned. A bit displeased to see how decently bright the coloring was. “A pouch?” He exhaled. You sat up straight and playfully but firmly punched him in the bicep, “You’re welcome.” You then grabbed his wrist and flipped his palm up, allowing you to place the small pouch on top of his hand. “Do me a favor and store your money in here. I’m afraid one day that money is gonna fly away during a fight.” Ed scoffed but you noticed the corner of his lip turning. “Whatever, sure.” Before you could point out that he loved the gift, he wiped the smirk off his face. He tried to hide it at times—trying not to give you the satisfaction of being a good gift giver—but you notice that he still holds onto it when he pays for your nightly snacks or groceries runs.
It’s a bit of a rare occurrence for the both of you to be sleeping side by side. Ed is more of a nocturnal person than you are meaning that tends to his business in the late hours. If you are nearby by the end of his mission, you’ll find him knocked out on your couch. But other than that, he likely heads back to his own place. Whenever you do find yourselves underneath the sheets together, you tend to drift away. Your body moves and shuffles around during the nights yet finds themselves back to where you started by morning. You didn’t believe Ed when he annoyingly told you to stop moving so much.
Ed is a still sleeper but he does sprawl out his limbs in order to get comfortable. His eyes never fail to open immediately once he feels you bump into him. Legs over his, hands pressing against his side, or your body simply taking the thin sheet away from him entirely. It’s always horrible timing. The second he feels his body accepting the tiredness, you bump into him and restart that progress. A sigh escape his lips, his hands rubbing at his eyes before he sits up. There you were. Sleeping peacefully yet being a pain without knowing. These moments were the only times he was able to admire your features. The curve of your body, the texture of your hair, the features of your sleeping face, everything you that you were born with—he studied it all.
You care for him and he wishes he was just as decent as expressing his emotions as you are. But he knows you appreciate his honesty and roughness that was his personality. He made sure that you know that you are one of the few important people in his life.
His body unwinds more as he looks at your sleeping figure. Ed lays back down and turns on his side for a moment. Without a second thought, his arm slithered underneath your back and firmly grabbed your hip. Your body is dragged beside him and he presses his chest against your body to lock you in. His head finally sinking into the pillow once he hears your breathing clearly. The grip of his hand loosens but doesn’t lose its place. He had done this multiple times before so he knew you weren’t going to wake up this easy.
Affection isn’t natural for Ed. It’s uncomfortable, uneasy, unstable, it’s hard to achieve. Traditional affection has not made his way to him. He grew up rough, his receiving end of kindness was when he was allowed to stand up at a beating, a reward after a tough fight, and receiving boxing lessons from Balrog. And he finds himself doing the same for the other Neo-Shadaloo members. Falke helped him to understand the sense of traditional affection. It doesn’t mean that he acts upon them but rather acknowledges that it’s common for others who didn’t grow up in his condition. After meeting new people and finding himself in your life, it’s uneasy for him. It took a long time to find himself in this point of life. Years of the both of you recognizing each other as strong individuals, it was recent for Ed to allow himself to grow into these uncomfortable emotions. He values relationships in his life, that’s what keeps him going to help others like him free.
So this relationship with you was heavy on his heart in the beginning. Unsure if this was to work. Unsure if this would even last. Silently, he was grateful that you didn’t jump on the lovey dovey bandwagon. You took your own time as well which allowed him to feel comfortable with you even more. Now, he finds himself speaking to you first—a random question or a quick story of what had happened during his mission. A helping hand when you make dinner without needing to ask for his assistance. Leaning against you on the couch to feel the warmth you radiate. His teasing jokes that piss you off at no end. It was scary at first but the end results of seeing you feel appreciated and supported is worth it to him.
