alchemyfreak | IC CONTACT;

[Neither one of Ed's parents seemed particularly stubborn, at least not in the face of the stubbornness their children possessed, so Ed didn't comment on that except to offer a bit of a nod.]

I guess being from Risembool might have something to do with it, my best friend growing up is the most stubborn person I know.

[Someone show him a mirror.]

You can bake whenever you want, we don't live in the kitchen anymore.

[That part's said with a bit of a grin, remembering the huge deal Jason had made about the layout until he saw that it was a loft.]

I meant- talking about it. If we're only sharing because 'that's what guys do', why bother?

[It seemed like Jason needed the clarification there, but maybe it was Ed that was missing his meaning. He wasn't concerned about whatever rumors Jay started about himself and honestly, the idea that people couldn't read him one way or the other suited him just fine too. He'd already lifted one of the cold slices of pizza to his mouth when Jason finished speaking, pausing mid-bite to look over it at him curiously before quirking a brow.]

You do know I don't know a thing about how this works, right? What, exactly, do you want to know?

[Why is this happening. Why are you like this, Jason.]

I'd say I'd trade Risembool for Gotham, but nah. I couldn't survive in the country. I could but I don't want to. Gotham's in my veins.

[ Even villains had commented on it before, even as Robin, Jason ozzed Gotham. He breathed it's smog walked in its darkness and basked in its filth. It was deeply part of who he was. Half of why he became a crime boss was to protect his city from the freaks that wanted to take her from him. ]

Fucking finally, so are you guys in the same room or... ya know separate after the fight?

[ He may have been drunk as a skunk that night, but he remembered the conversation.]

Becuase what else are we going to do? Watch Golden Girls and play cards?

[ He shrugged taking a drink of his red bull before he blinked some.]

Really? Never? Ugh Ed. Fine, let daddy teach you how it's done. So, let me tell you about Rose Wilson. The daughter of the worlds greatest ASsassin, by the by. We didn't last long but, fuck we burned like a wildfire. That woman had a way with knives. She knew how to make a man come undone before the clothes ever came off.

[ He couldn't help the dorky smile, and yet, he was clearly still trying to speak respectfully of her, because he would never forget Gloria. Or what happened to her.]

I grew up there and I'm not sure I could survive in the country anymore.

[It was a little odd to think of it that way, Risembool was always home but at the same time it hadn't been home in so long. Even without factoring in the whole multiverse concept, just being on the road for years made rural pretty boring. At the question Ed glanced away, shrugging a shoulder.]

Everyone has their own room, that was always the plan. Whether or not they use it is on them. We haven't been sharing though, that's why we've been back on Floor Six, kind of stopped needing the big bed.

[Jason, if Ed's eyebrows quirked any higher he'd lose them completely.]

We could play cards, but what's Golden Girls?

[He'd mop the floor with you in cards, Jay. Sorry. As Jason continued Ed turned his focus back to his pizza, completely oblivious to the weird bias people had about pineapple.]

Yeah, sorry. Where I was before here we didn't really talk about any of that, for obvious reasons.

[Obvious to him anyway, everyone was sleeping with everyone for the most part, talking about it created jealousy. Just look at Jason's situation and how fucked up that got, there was a reason Attollo was more or less "don't ask, don't tell."]

Pretty sure everyone in Purgatorium was more focused on staying alive and sane to worry about-

[A faint blush before he shrugged.]

I didn't have any experience back then, anyway. And don't-

[This part was said with a point, finger jabbing at Jason as if that made the words that much more of an impact. What the fuck is wrong with you, Todd.]

Ever call yourself 'daddy' in my presence again.

[Still, he listened. Waiting for how this was relevant, because so far nothing Jason said was anything more than insinuation, and Ed still didn't see the point of all this. Even if that alone was enough to be awkward in his book.]

I try to not be in Gotham much anymore, but it always calls me back. Much as I cant stand B, I always come when he calls, but Gotham is poison to me as much as it's part of me.

[ Jason explained since it was the best he could offer in understanding. Though he nodded to the fact they weren't sharing a bed, arching a brow some. Ignoring Ed going on talking so he could finish his peace and held a hand up then.]

Pause. Edward, are you and Al still fighting? Sex, foreplay and anything else, not important now. Talk to me, man, whats going on?

You're not there anymore, now.

[Ed was never sure who wanted to stay and who wanted to leave this place. Plenty people had given him opinions on the matter, but minds changed every day. His own had been torn on it more than once, despite his insistence that he'd choose to stay here given the option.]

We're not fighting, we're just back in the communal building. Al hasn't been sleeping with us so there didn't seem to be any reason to stay at the store until we get it finished. Everyone has their own room so they'll have to make that decision when we move out officially, that's all.

[Whatever decision was made would be on them, he wouldn't kick either of them out of his bed, and he doubted Val would willingly leave any time soon even with her own room. Al seemed to have made his choice though and it was one Ed had gotten used to years ago on another world. Ironic how they weren't on the same page again here, but for different reasons.]

I hope I never go back...but my team back home will need me eventually. The Outlaws have to have Red Hood, it's how it works.

[ He explained even if, he didn't really sound like he wanted to go home. ]

Ahh, I see, how do you feel about that?

[ He asked with a curious look as he went back to eating.]

Well, you can't go back unless you're willing. That's how it works here.

[He might sound like he was still trying to get used to that idea.]

You ever think about it not mattering? If we go back exactly where we left off, no one even knows we're missing in the first place. I've been gone for years, Al still got his body back.

[Multi-verse whatever, because Ed had done the memory canister update, so he knows it's not a matter of maybe Al's a different Al.]

Honestly? I don't know. I feel like a failure, like I let him down.

[He probably wanted to talk about this less than their sex lives.]

I just want him to be happy and I can't give him the one thing he really wants. Maybe sleeping in his own room will be good for him.

Then fuck that world, it's never done anything good for me.

[ A bitter note in his voice. Sure he'd miss his team but, a new life was here.]

It is weird, but so is being dead. You kind of get used to the weird. [ Jason takes a drink of his drink and shrugs, letting it drop.]

Maybe, hell, man, I've never seen the appeal in sharing a bed. It might be why I cant keep someone more than a handful of nights, but I'd rather be alone. Maybe space will help things?

It'll be there when you get back, might as well take your time.

[That was not really an Edward Elric mentality normally but the life and people mattered here, so as long as he was certain nothing was influenced back home? What was the sense in rushing. This place was luxury compared to where he was going, and if he could have that, with the people he cared about? He would.]

I guess it's weird if you think about it, but- I've had a lot of time to adjust. What I need to go home to do already happens. That's all that matters to me.

[He seems to take a moment to consider that response before shrugging, not looking directly at Jason.]

I never really thought about it. Val and I started out of necessity, really. With no one else around it was safer to have someone there who could watch your back. It was easier to get back to sleep if you woke up screaming from nightmares.... Al couldn't sleep before he got his body back, so I've always been used to someone being around, I guess.

[The last part is muttered quietly before taking another bite of his pizza.]

Now that he's got his body back he likes to sleep with me, but- hopefully the space will help him move on.

Edited 2018-01-18 03:28 (UTC)

I'd rather it not. Shit, I wouldn't be half as worried about the kids if I didn't know what our world does to kids. Ed, Damian's like me. He was Robin, and he died to.

[ He spoke as he looked down at the pizza, he had felt guilty carrying the weight.]

I never tried to talk to him to see if he was alright, I just let it go. I ran like I always do. Shit, your one of the first people I've really opened up to about the shit in my head. But yeah, when I get home I have to take down a general trying to take over the country I died in, so, Im in no hurry. I hate going to Qurac.

[ He spoke as he ran a hand through his hair.]

Val had your six, I get that. That person will always be important.

[ It clicks then, as he looked and made a confused face.]

Did you guys break up?

Do lots of people come back from the dead where you're from, or does that have something to do with being Robin?

[Honestly Jay, this shit gets weirder the more you talk about it. Not that he's a hypocrite or anything.]

If you didn't start talking about it until you got here it makes sense that you weren't ready to talk to him about it back home. That can change now, though... If you both want it to. I'd be fine not going back either, but considering Al's already lived my future and the canister confirmed it I guess I go back eventually, willing or otherwise.

[He couldn't imagine willingly going back, but he also couldn't imagine willingly abandoning Alphonse and he had the memory of doing just that from the memory update. The story was true, he was face to face with his brother again for the first time in years and he left to take care of things, instead.]

Val and I watched the population of that place dwindle to nothing, until there was no one left but the two of us. We fought constantly about leaving, I held her back.

[He sounds more pained about that than anything else, finishing off his pizza before responding to the question asked.]

We had that fight last month... It was never going to work out.

No one knows why I came back... with Damian it was a family affair. We all have to travel off world becuase his body was stolen alone with Talia's, it's hard to explain but we fought to get Little D back.

[ And he says he doesn't care, but he can't even really look at Ed as he says it, remembering vividly how Damian and Bruce embraced, and it hurt deep down into his soul. The thing Bruce had done to him just prior nearly made him deny Alfred, but...he could never say no to Alfred. ]

And Damian.... he was killed by a clone of himself. It's hard to explain but thats how I learned how crazy Talia really was.But yeah, most of us Robins have died. Outside of Grayson, that bitch faked his death. I almost really killed him for it.

[ He shook his head and pushed up to go sit by the window and push it open so he could pull a cigarette out.]

Kid hates me, always has, always will. He only likes Grayson, the rest of us are trash in his eyes.

[ As Jason lit up, he undid his tie tossing it and started to unbutton the suit shirt, he had a black v-neck on under it at least. Looking up to show he was listening. Then spoke through the cigarette. ]

You gotta ask yourself, does your partner mean more than your brother or lover? It's a hard question but you have to figure that out. I can't help with that, but i'll always be here if you need to talk.

You got him back though, and he's alive now.

[Honestly, he can see that there's more to it than that but he doesn't want to pry, not if Jason doesn't want to talk about it and if there's one thing he's learned about Jay, when he wanted to talk about it he would.]

A clone-?

[Yup, this shit continued to get weirder with every conversation. The mention of Dick faking his own death didn't sit right with Ed, but it wasn't his affair to deal with and he wasn't here as far as Edward was aware.]

So, what she made a clone of him? Why? And why does he think the rest of you are trash?

[Was any of this his business? He wasn't even sure what he was hoping to accomplish by asking.]

My partner-? What are you talking about?

[Golden eyes narrow slightly at that, part confusion, part Ed's guard going up - there's a definite flicker of emotion there that might be anger at this point as he scowls at Jason's words.]

What's that supposed to mean? I don't even have a lover, Todd.

Technically, B got him back, I just helped.

[ He sold himself short on it becuase he didn't know how else to handle it, but nursing the cigarette helped.]

Why did she take me in? Why did she take care of me? Nothing about Talia makes sense Ed. And it wasn't just one clone, it was a lot of them. I don't have answers for why the Al Ghuls are all insane besides the Pit. And we are all trash because he is B's blood son, and the rest of us are strays. He spent most of his life with Talia and Ra's he's a bit fucked in the head to.

[ He felt the need to defend Damian despite the way he had spoke, taking a second to take another drag, this time puffing up circles into the air to kill a second as he actually thought over his words. Did he mind that Ed was clearly irked, nah. Ed's temper was like his and he's already tired his rage out.]

Val, she'd have been your partner back then. Someone guarding your back, or as I said, having your six, that's a partner, someone you can depend on. Which means no matter what, they will be important. Life and death situations do that. As for lover, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to call Al your brother or lover in that situation. I used the term loosely as it's just you and me.

[That shit just sounded even more complicated. None of it makes any sense.]

So, you don't matter because you're not related by blood... but you mattered to her.

[He seemed to calm down some with the explanation but the scowl remained.]

Al's my brother, and that fact isn't going to change. It has nothing to do with Val, why would that make her mean more than him?

[Definitely still defensive. One doesn't just imply anyone is more important than Alphonse to Edward Elric. This had nothing to do with Val, and everything to do with the two of them. Besides, if anyone was the one to consider coming between them it was Taiga, and she wasn't even here for that.]

[ Welcome to the Bat-Family.]

Dude, Ed, even figuring that out is weird. Like, I barley knew her before I died, but she was there for me like no one else afterwards. Then we slept together and it got more complicated. Sometimes I think she was just using me as a stab at Bruce.

[ He spoke with a wave of his hand, the cigarette leaving a some trail as he did.]

Remember my thought on brother's is different from yours. So, if I dont get what you mean you gotta bare with me on it. And Roy was more important to me when he was my partner, than my family. So as I said, I can only use my own experiences here.

[No.]

Of course it got complicated, that always makes things complicated.

[And you thought he was a virgin.]

It's possible, sounds like she had a complicated enough relationship with him without getting you involved.

[A beat, before Ed just stares at Jay with that response.]

Thoughts aside, Todd. We're siblings, we can't ever have a regular relationship because we're related by blood. You get that nothing between us could be normal, right? Everyone that sees us can tell that we're brothers just by looking, we can't exactly be out in the open like that.

[How many times can Ed call him Todd in one conversation? They might be about to find out.]

Look, forget all that. Roy was more important to you than anyone else back home, Roy, your partner. If he wanted a relationship with you would your brothers have any influence on your decision there? What the two of you do is between the two of you, right? Val's got nothing to do with why I can't be with Al.

[Clearly she was becoming an easy scapegoat, if Jason was considering her influence on the situation and Al had been so stubbornly stuck on sharing a bed with her as the reason for all of this falling apart. Nevermind that Ed had his doubts - and expressed them - from day one, months before Val even arrived in Quarantine.]

[ You don't want a handsome hot mess husband? He cooks, cleans and has violent night terrors! ]

Point, when your...however fucking old I was, your not thinking with the right head. But your right, everything with her and B was complicated, even before Damian.

[ Taking another deep drag of the cigarette this time he leaned out the window to blow the smoke out. ]

Fuck them, I do what I want. If I wanted to be with Roy I would be. Which would not and will never happen. I fired him, and kicked his ass.

[ He spoke with a hint of defence feeling he had to add that he fired Roy. ]

I get it though, Val's not part of it.

[ He says before flicking the cigarette out the window.]

Edward, I want you to stop for a second. Think about what you said, and try to think about how Al would feel. I know it's fucked up, shit, everything we talk about is, but if he is willing to risk that taboo, shouldn't you be as well? If not, than you should tell him. You don't ever have to feel pressured into loving someone more than you do Ed. Thats how resentment grows.

[Tempting. Those night terrors sure sweeten the deal.]

Wouldn't know.

[Sorry, Jay. Can't relate. When he was however old he was only worried about staying alive and sane.]

You kicked his ass?

[You named your car after him, Jay. Ed's not buying that there's nothing going on there.]

Val would understand, she's been my friend for a long time. If anyone's not a problem, it'd be her. Look, I was willing to try but- you have to be careful about that stuff. More careful than he was being, the way he-

[He clears his throat, shifting before speaking again.]

You were there at the arcade, when he thought it was a date, you can't tell me you didn't see him slip up. It's too risky, I want him to be happy but I want him to be safe too. We can't ever have that here. The sooner he moves on the sooner he can find that with someone else, that's all there is to it.

Edited 2018-01-18 17:52 (UTC)

[ Don't they just? ]

That's right because apparently you don't have desires or hormones.

[ Maybe it was a little mean, but Jason felt the need to say it. It seemed backwards that he, who missed his teens, got the joy of being a hormonal teenager while being trained in the art of warfare, while Ed lived in some form and ... didn't seem to. Maybe Ed just wasn't a sexual creature... or maybe no one had really made Ed get off right yet?

Jason shook the thought away, Ed was not someone he wanted to drag to bed. So, scientific thought could fuck right off.]

No, I fired him, I mean I've kicked his ass a few times but that never deterred him. When I fired him I moved the fuck out and changed my number.

[ Yes, yes he did.]

I saw it, I'm a goddamn detective, Edward, I see everything. But, look at me, like I really get normal family behaviors. I shrugged it off as your just really close. Hell he thought you and I were on a real date to.... Wait. Wait. Was Al jealous of me?

[ He asked, looking concerned from his seat on the edge of the window.]

Either way, Ed, no matter what you do, he's going to hurt. So be prepared for it.

[Ed spent four years in the body of a 16-year-old, Jason. Enjoy that irony. Four years and yeah, he was still like this.]

Fuck you, like you would know if I did.

[There was no bite to it, Jay might be cutting with his words but Ed felt no insecurity about his position so he didn't really care what Jason thought of his lack of sexual behavior. The only one it mattered to was the person he was sleeping with, and right now that was no one, so it didn't matter at all.]

What'd he do so bad you fired him and ran off?

[Sounds like you ran away, Jason.]

I don't know.

[He leaned back, dragging the fingers of his free hand through his hair before shrugging.]

His wording was more than just... Being close, but he's the one that set me up on that auction to begin with. He seemed more like he didn't- want to intrude if it was supposed to be a date. The thing is... I think the fact that it wasn't only encouraged him.

[He's not looking at Jason when he speaks next, jaw clenching slightly. Maybe Jason got so drunk he didn't remember, they had both been pretty excessive that night.]

Little late for that, we had a blow out over a month ago. That's what I've been trying to tell you, things are over. Have been since that night we went out... I don't exactly get drunk like that for no reason.

I dont know we live pretty damn close together, Ed. You notice things.

[ Jason laughed finally and clapped his hands together. Score a point for him. He found humor in Ed's reaction if nothing else.

Though it was his turn to glare at Ed, the laughter stopped as the trademark bat glare his addopted father had mastered crossed his face. ]

Fuck you, you don't know shit.

[ Touche.]

He nearly died because of a bad choice I made! I did what I had to do to protect him!

[ Oh, look Jason lit another cigarette not as he glared but listened.]

....Fuck, Ed I was so deep in the cuts I barely remember most of that night. Well, that answers my next six questions I guess.

Notice whatever you want, we're not fucking, so you're not going to see that side of me.

[He could find all the humor in it that he wanted, as far as Ed was concerned he was still wrong, so who was really on top here?]

Sounds like I know more than you think, actually.

[Because he knew all about hurting people to protect them. As if the rest of their conversation wasn't indication enough of that.]

.... What were your next six questions?

See now that's what I expect, not this timid bullshit. Be real with me. You saw me beaten to death with a crow bar. So don't beat around the bush with me. I'm not fond of it.

[ He had to. Though he looked away when Ed said it sounds like he knows more. He's silent a long moment before he blows out another breath of smoke.]

If your okay, if he's okay, if you guys are planning another outting, and then if your looking into anyone else, and lastly, why not nico is so.

Edited 2018-01-18 21:38 (UTC)

Beating around the bush, because I don't want to talk about my sex life? My experience not being your business doesn't make me timid, Jason. Where I came from... you didn't talk about it. Most of us didn't really want to think about who everyone else was with. Or what was done to us to make us do things.

[You want real? There's real. Sex wasn't exactly a choice for Ed before he came to Quarantine. He would have commented on nearly getting Al killed in case Jay forgot, or how he was pushing his brother away now for the sake of giving them both a chance at a normal life. Jason didn't press it though, so he moved on from that topic.]

He'll get over it, I'm not looking for anything right now. I don't think I could do serious right now-

[At the mention of Nico golden eyes widen in obvious surprise before narrowing as if Jay had struck a nerve.]

Nico? I think I get on his nerves more than you get on mine.

[That might have been a playful jab, but after this conversation he deserved it.]

Besides, didn't this conversation start because he's messing around with your friend? Somehow I doubt I'm his type.

IC CONTACT;

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YOU SAW NOTHING!!!

I saw everything

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