Thoughtful Fangirling

Ed's teeth ground together, his one hand clenched around his desire to snap at his boss. He missed the jab Hawkeye gave Roy with her elbow entirely, which spoke further to Roy's skill, as it didn't cause him to spill. Al did notice however, and his eyes rounded in further amazement as the design took shape.

"A bird!" He cried, leaping up and clapping his hands together once. Roy had put the finished latte on the counter, and the customer leaned over to snap a picture, murmuring words of admiration as she did so.

At this conclusion, Al's face turned to look at Ed, so Roy too turned his face to the kid, making sure to keep his pleasingly accomplished smile on his face and not smirking. The kid's whole demeanor screamed indignant. He could almost see the effort Ed was making not to go into a fit.

"I'll learn it Al. Roy will teach me just like he does anyone else, and I'll sort out any adaptations I need. Myself." The boy's blue eyes rose to meet Roy's gaze, and they were blazing. Roy just grinned back at him, making sure it looked as earnest as possible.

"That's the spirit! Hey Hawkeye, why don't you make me an espresso. It's been a while since I've practiced my more elaborate designs." Roy knew Hawkeye heard him even though he didn't take his eyes off of Ed. "And after all, we should make Ed's brother feel right at home don't you think?" He heard Hawkeye's sigh, but she didn't say anything, so he knew she was making the espresso.

"You're going to do another one?" Al asked eagerly, looking up at Roy. Roy had to hold back a laugh. The contrast between the two boys was remarkable. There didn't seem to be anything particularly angry about this young boy who'd been stuck in the system. But Ed was constantly burning with it. Always assuming and ready for a fight. If only the boy could learn to lighten up, realize that the more he fought, the more he opened himself up to attack.

"Don't you take your espressos black?" Ed managed to get out without sounding too vicious, though there was enough in his voice to make Al look at him. The boy started to reach out a hand to Ed, but the older boy flinched ever so slightly. Al's hand dropped.

Ed cursed himself for concerning Al. Roy always knew how to hit all his buttons. He was acting all generous and benevolent showing off to Al, but he was only doing it annoy Ed. Oh that'd sound great explaining to Al. 'Yeah I was mad. The dude was only being nice to you because he knew it would piss me off.' He could just picture it, Al tilting his head in confusion, asking, 'Why would it piss you off for him to be nice to me?' Prick.

Hawkeye slid the espresso onto the counter in front of Roy, who immediately got to work on his next project. Ed was both relieved and exasperated by how quickly Al's mood went from confused dejection to absorbed in the stupid task.

"I'm going to go check on my bars." Ed said abruptly, heading to go by the oven while this played out. Maybe Roy would tire of it.

Al watched him go for a moment, wondering once again what he had done wrong. It had been a while since he'd seen his brother. Was he mad at him? He hadn't sent as many letters as he used to, but he hadn't gotten the new address until recently!

A sound of delight made him turn back to see what was happening in the espresso cup. The girl who had let this man put a bird in her latte was still at the counter, watching, and she'd made the noise as the swirling designs had become a wreath in the cup. But he wasn't done there. He made little loops to connect them, and Al was amazed by his skill to make such tight and clear lines with milk. It was starting to look like some sort of badge, but Al couldn't sort out what kind. He tilted his head to try and make it out, and then the artists was turning the mug so Al could see it as the artist had seen it. Al had been seeing it upside down, but now that it was right side up, he saw, "It's a lion! Whoa! That's really amazing!" He said without really thinking about it. He gave a laugh and said, "I wish I could have coffee!"

"You could have a hot chocolate." The man with such dark hair and eyes said. There was something about his look, something unreadable even as he smiled pleasantly at Al. Maybe that's why Ed didn't like him. Ed didn't like it when he couldn't figure something out, and he certainly didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be artsy and love animals!

"Well yeah, but I don't really have any money on me." He blushed as he said it, suddenly realizing how this sounded. He wouldn't have been able to have a coffee even if he could. He'd just meant it to express how much he liked the art, a way to let the man know it was so good he'd want it himself if he could. He didn't know how to explain that though, especially given how embarrassed he suddenly was about it.

The man laughed pleasantly. "I was offering, not trying to make a commission. What do you think, Hawkeye, can we afford to get the kid a hot chocolate on the house?"

"My name's Al." Al piped up before another blush spread on his cheeks. It shouldn't matter if this guy knew his name, but he was always 'one of the kids' back home. Only Al to his peers, never to the adults.

"Right, of course. Hello Al. I'm Roy, co-owner of this café here and therefore allowed to treat an employee's brother."

"You're Ed's boss?" Al's eyes widened again.

"One of them." The large blonde woman behind the bar said as she set down another drink. Al hadn't yet accepted a hot chocolate, and she hadn't even acknowledged Roy's request, and yet he was pretty sure this newest drink on the counter was exactly that. Al didn't like handouts, but somehow, this didn't feel like that. He eyed the woman. She seemed kind of scary to him, and yet he got a feeling she had a kind soul. Before he could say anything though, she had moved on, keeping busy behind the bar.

"Do you like bunnies Al?" Roy asked as he seemed to be preparing his utensils for some more art.

In a quiet, amazed voice, Al whispered, "They're my favorite."

--

"I got Disney Plus for the month" Ed cut into Al's chattering about the bunny Roy had made him and how good the hot chocolate was and how nice his bosses are. He simply couldn't take any more of it. Al hadn't said a word about the apartment, and Ed was afraid he couldn't think of anything nice to say about it and so felt like he had to go on about the things he did like. The boy had said a few nice things about the meal and had genuinely seemed to enjoy it. Ed had been torn between making Al something really neat and special to show him that Ed too had talents, but he had decided on their mother's Mac and Cheese recipe. He could tell that it had made Al a little emotional, so the boy hadn't said that much about it, but Ed could at least take comfort in knowing that he had enjoyed it, that it had meant something to him.

But here he was, talking about fucking Roy again, and he simply couldn't guarantee he wasn't going to snap soon if it went on. "I figured you might enjoy picking out something to watch."

Al's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. Now if only Ed had a decent TV. His current one was just a 32'' monitor pretty much. The curbside pick up couch was pushed most of the way into the small living room just to be somewhat close both for better viewing, and so that Ed didn't have to turn up the volume very high. Hawkeye got persnickety about TV noises carrying to her apartment.

"Here, let me get it up for you, and you can go through the catalogue." Ed said, grabbing the remote.

"Are you going to watch with me?" Al asked, eyes shining.

"Yeah buddy. But I will need to be in and out with my baking, and I have some studying to do too, so don't mind if I'm moving around or on the computer." Ed said, handing the remote over to Al now that he was in the kids section of Disney's movie collections.

Al flopped onto the couch and nuzzled his way in. Ed tossed him a throw blanket which Al pulled around him despite the apartment being more than warm enough. "Thanks Ed." Al said, a content smile on his face.

"Any time Al." Ed replied, sitting back down at the two person dining table he'd squeezed between the kitchen and living room. It was a tight fit, but it was easier to study at a table.