A/N: to ThePockyDemon, on her birthday. For you, who's been my best friend for years, and with that, have been able to support me through all of my rambling, fan-girling, and over-all irrationality. I love you; you are my voice of reason (frighteningly). You asked for a lemon, but i didn't want just a PWP. As a result, this will be the first of many chapters. So, from my Lemonade stand, here's my first FMA fic.

-I only created the plot. i didn't create the characters; Hiromu Arakawa had something to do with that.

The setting sun was shining off of his auto-mail arm as Ed let out a yawn that was accompanied by a long stretch. He and Al were returning to the Central-city headquarters a day early than planned, much to the dismay of the young blond. He and Al were trying to follow a lead about the possible location of a philosopher's stone. They had found nothing as of yet, however that fact did nothing to deter his irritation at being called back in like a misbehaving dog

Sighing, he turned around to look at his brother. Alphonse was sitting under a tree, not really paying much mind to anything. If a suit of armor could look content, then Alphonse would be the poster-child for it. Ed smiled at his brother's sense of calm that seemed to be ever-present, but his smile was shot lived as he felt the weight of his promise once more.

It was his fault that Al was like that, his fault that his brother's soul was bound to a simple suit of armor. If he could take back what he did, he would. But time obeys nobody, not even an alchemist. So, finding the stone was the first step to making things right.

Because of that, he would follow any leads he may find, regardless of how scarce the chance of it providing actual answers. Even if it meant disobeying orders from head-quarters, which was exactly what he had done in leaving without telling anybody where he and his brother were going. And on that thought, he sighed once more.

It wasn't as if he had went very far from the city, and he and Al were going to be back by nightfall. But, despite that, he knew that he was going to get an earful from Roy. The dark-haired colonel always seemed to find a reason to bicker with him. But it wasn't out of hatred, or even out of spite; Ed and the colonel had a seemingly mutual agreement to simply agree to disagree. None the less, their "mutual agreement" didn't make Roy any easier to be around.

It was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Tap, tap, tap, and then a pause. Tap, tap, tap.

At the repetitive sound, Black-Hayate growled, irritated at being awaken from his evening nap. Noticing the dog's frustration, the source abruptly stopped. Content that his point was well made, Black-Hayate curled back to sleep.

Roy sighed. Not only were the Elric brothers late, as usual, but Riza had decided that while she was away, Black-Hayate was the responsibility of the Colonel. Roy could not attend to his "business meetings" due to the unknown time of arrival of the brothers, and now, with that dag, he could not even drum his fingers against his own desk without enticing a growl from the beast. Of his two current issues, he was less frustrated by Black-Hayate's presence than the was by the lack of the presence of the brothers.

Absent-mindedly, he reached down to scratch the canine behind the eats, before he contented himself with crossing his arms behind his head, propping his feet on his desk, and relaxing.

I can't leave... and I'm certainly not going to do my paperwork... I might as well relax, just for a moment...

And with that last though, and Black-Hayate at his side, the colonel propped his feet upon his desk and drifted to sleep.

Bam! Ed's gloved hands slammed down upon Roy's desk, scattering paperwork everywhere. Echoed enough by the emptiness of his office in late evening, the sound was also amplified farther than the norm due to Edward's auto-mail arm.

Roy awoke with a start, taken unawares by the sudden presence of Ed, causing what few documents that remained on his desk to be scattered. This did not frustrate him as much as the way that the blond Elric had barged into his office and woke him up.

"Full metal, what the hell is your problem?" he exclaimed.

"My problem is that I receive a call telling me to get back a day early due to "Important Business" that you just had to attend to. So, like the dog I am, I started on my way back here, only to find you taking a nice, leisurely nap. That, colonel, is my damned problem."

"Well, as soon as you're quite finished with your little tantrum, maybe I can -" Roy was cut off by Ed's explosive temper flaring once more.

"LITTLE? Who the fuck are you calling little, you over-pompous jerk!" he bellowed.

"Control yourself, Fullmetal! You're not a child, and the sooner you understand that, the better! If you wish to continue access to the military's resources, as I know you do, then you best hold your tongue." Roy replied, with a coldness in his voice that was not previously there.

Swallowing his sharp retort, the young alchemist crossed his arms, muttering under his breath. "Yeah, fine. Whatever. What was so very urgent that I had to come back to you early, Colonel Mustang?" he asked, the last words dripping bitterness.

"We've located Envy," Roy began. "He's been hiding out near Briggs, and Führer Bradley thought you the best to take him down."

Ed tensed as his anger at the colonel was soon replaced with a rigid frustration towards the homunculi. The sneer of indifference he had worn towards the colonel dropped into a taut frown. This information was information that he had been waiting for.

Roy knew that this was a task that Ed would not need to be coaxed into. Ed had been trying to bring down Envy for several months, now. The last time the two had encountered, Ed was unsuccessful in his attempt to cut envy down to size, and in the process of the battle, was unable to save the life of a young girl. These last months had the blond on edge with both guilt and fury, and had also placed the colonel on frustrating terms in dealing with Ed.

"...is that alright Colonel?" Ed asked.

Roy was pulled from his thoughts by Edward's voice. "My apologies, Fullmetal. Please say that again?" he asked.

"I asked, would it be alright for Al to come with me on this mission?" Ed repeated. "I don't want to leave him here, not this time."

Roy shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Führer Bradley's orders were for you to undertake this alone," he replied. Roy looked around and blinked in confusion before continuing, "Speaking of Alphonse ... Where exactly is he?"

"Oh, you hadn't noticed? Imagine that. Al went outside with Black-Hayate around the same time you started barking at me," Ed said. "But hey, when am I supposed to leave exactly? he asked.

"Well, I wasn't told a specific date, but I would assume you're to leave immediately, unless you want to arrive in Briggs to find that Envy has already holed up somewhere else."

"Then what are you holding me up for?" Ed exclaimed, the urgency of time now dawning on him.

"Fullmetal, you're the one asking me questions," came Roy's curt reply, and the colonel crossed his arms smugly.

Sighing in exasperation at the older man, Ed stormed off, muttering under his breath. He intentionally slammed the door in his wake, only for Al to stick his head in, murmur an apology for Ed's behavior, and allow Black-Hayate back into Roy's office.

The Colonel sat down and sighed. That kid... I hope he can handle this...