This is the closest thing to a challenge fic I've ever done! Basically, my friend drew a picture of a box of chocolates and a note, and I decided to write a companion fic to it (at 00:40, so this is officially a sleep-deprived idea!)
Dedicated to Captain-Jana-Sparrow for introducing me to the wonderful world of FMA! And drawing the picture that inspired this!
I don't own FMA or any of the characters therein.
Roy Mustang smiled behind a gloved hand while he wrote – in neat, fluid penmanship – on a pure white card. This, unlike many of the superior smirks he often wore, was a genuine, heartfelt smile as his memories played back in his mind. With a gentleness rarely seen from him, he slipped the card into a box of chocolates.
As always, this gesture was a follow up from a date, but Roy had never had a date quite like this in his life. There had been no struggle to impress or longing lustfully for his date to come back to his apartment – they had just enjoyed being with each other.
Roy allowed himself the pleasure of recalling his date's appearance, in an unfortunately brief gap between paperwork. A silky, blonde river of hair had reached mid-way down a slim back. Soft amber eyes had gazed at him expectantly as the blonde's cheeks flushed a delicate shade of red. His date had worn a dark, long-sleeved, form fitting blouse and skirt that had hugged the slender body in a way that pleased the eye – especially Roy's.
Roy led the way, offering his date an arm, which was taken, rather gratefully. The blonde huddled into his body against the cool night air. It had been a beautiful night, as he remembered. They had looked at the twinkling stars and the frosty moon stark against the inky blackness of the night sky before entering the elegant restaurant.
A soft, golden glow lit up the restaurant, making the blonde's hair shine in an irresistible way. Roy had a near uncontrollable urge to run his fingers through those smooth, silky locks, and controlled it by entwining his fingers in his date's left hand. This summoned a deeper flush to those sensitive cheeks, and Roy give a genuine smile for the first – but not the last – time that night.
They were taken to their reserved table where the menu's received a thorough searching before the two ordered their meal. Finally, the blonde looked up from the menu to meet Roy's admiring gaze and instantly looked back down at the table, red cheeks flushing even darker.
"What is it?" he said with another sincere smile – the blonde looked so cute while blushing.
"You…look…handsome…" the blonde admitted reluctantly.
"And you are the most beautiful person I have ever met," he replied smoothly.
Those amber eyes narrowed into a glare. "Don't say it if you don't mean it."
"What makes you think I didn't mean it? The skirt suits you."
The blonde blushed again, subconsciously fingering the hem of the skirt, which reached halfway down the thighs of a tight-wearing pair of legs.
"You should wear it more often," the dark haired man suggested, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
The blonde was spared giving a reply by the arrival of their meal – duck legs and roast venison, the later being for Roy. Roy ate his slowly, savouring the rich tastes, but to his surprise, his date picked at the food unenthusiastically.
"What's wrong?" Roy asked, his voice genuinely concerned.
"I'm not hungry…and it's really stuffy in here…" the blonde replied dismissively.
"Shall we go, then? Get some fresh air?"
"But, your meal…"
"Is finished," Roy said flatly, laying down the gleaming cutlery on the plate, despite only having eaten half the meal. "I'll just pay the bill on the way out."
The blonde's amber eyes went wide – probably with shock at being treated as so important. There was obviously no arguing with Roy – he'd made up his mind. Roy stood up, offering his arm once again to his date. He received a slightly sceptical look in response, before the blonde took it, almost stumbling on a high heel.
True to his word, Roy paid the bill before they went into the cool breezy night again. Their breath came out in foggy puffs, it was so cold, and the blonde was shivering in the thin blouse that the blonde had worn. Roy held the blonde close, warming the exposed flesh. They slowly walked through a park, and stopped by a smooth-surfaced lake which appeared as if it were a mirror, reflecting the stars above.
The blonde watched the still water with interest, amber eyes darting over the star's reflections, joining them together. Roy studied that face that he loved so dearly, watching it form an uneasy confusion.
"You've brought other dates here, haven't you?" his date asked, a choked voice and darkened eyes revealing how much this worried the blonde.
"Only you," he promised sincerely, kissing the blonde's forehead. "I could never treat you like just a cheap…" here, he failed to think of a suitable word, and changed the subject. "I love you."
"What about the restaurant. Was that?.."
Now the slim blonde leant gently against Roy's shoulders in a gesture of trust.
"The first time I've been there. I heard about it from Havoc."
The blonde – content now – had rested a soft head on Roy's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his date's small body, and the two had stood there in silence until a strong wind had began to blow, rippling the pond and its imitation of stars.
The two figures slowly walked back – Roy had to escort his date back to the hotel – when they were greeted by Havoc. The blonde's grip on his hand had suddenly tightened, and Roy nodded in understanding. He hadn't particularly wanted any of his subordinates to see them on this date, either, but it wasn't as if he could control where they went when they weren't on duty.
"Hey, Sir, that's a cute girl you've got there," Havoc said, causing the 'cute girl' to flush uncontrollable – although this may have had more to do with anger than embarrassment. The 'cute girl' also edged behind Roy slightly, trying to hide.
"Unfortunately, she's a bit shy, so unless you have something urgent, it can wait until tomorrow, Havoc" Roy pointed out, striding forwards, away from Havoc.
Roy enjoyed his few seconds of silence with a smirk, as they walked away, expecting a retort.
The blonde waited until they were out of earshot of Havoc before hissing, "I'm not shy! I just didn't want him to see me like…like this!"
"Well, he didn't seem to recognise you, at any rate," Roy pointed out. "Even I wouldn't have recognised you if I hadn't already known…"
"I'm glad I look so different," the blonde had said sarcastically, with a slight roll of those amber eyes.
Roy knew not to take it too seriously, as his date was still close to him, and their hands were still entwined. Caught up in the moment, he wasn't completely sure of what was happening in the outside world. He wasn't sure when he first realised it was raining, but his hair had already become a damp mess.
He silently offered his jacket to his date, with the suggestion, "Why don't we dry off at my house? It's closer than your hotel."
The blonde had accepted both the jacket and going to Roy's, so five minutes later, two damp figures graced his apartment, creating a dripping trail of rainwater behind them.
Roy started a fire with a click of his fingers and fished some blankets out of a cupboard. The blonde made some steaming cups of coffee – it wasn't the first time this particular date had been brought back to the house, so the blonde knew where everything was.
"It's funny," Roy mused, more to himself and the fire than to anyone else. "This is one of the only times I've brought someone back for coffee and actually meant coffee…"
Eventually, the two ended up in front of the fire together, buried deep in a thick blanket. Roy ran his hand through those smooth, blonde locks of hair before he could stop himself, and received a chaste kiss.
Roy was never one to keep kisses light and innocent for long, and deepened the kiss, loving the sweet warmth of his date against him. He slipped a hand under the blouse, feeling the smooth skin beneath. The blonde moaned slightly at the touch, driving him to go further. His hand slinked down towards a slim pair of hips… The blonde flinched at the touch, as if realising where this would end up.
"I'm sorry, but…not tonight."
Roy noticed the troubled look in those beautiful amber eyes, and didn't ask why.
"As long as that's what you want," he said, kissing his date on the forehead.
"…I'd better get back to the hotel."
"Do you want me to walk you back?"
"I'll be fine on my own."
At this, the blonde got out of the blanket, and started towards the door.
"Wait," Roy said, getting out of the blanket himself and enveloping the blonde in a hug. "Do you want to go out tomorrow?"
The blonde smiled. "Sure. But tomorrow…why don't you wear the skirt?" the blonde joked.
At least, Roy hoped the blonde was joking…
And so, quite abruptly, the night had ended. Roy smiled at the memories as he posted the parcel – it would arrive later that day, with any luck.
Meanwhile, in a certain hotel in Central, Alphonse was all alone in the room – Edward having gone out to get something to eat. A knock at the door startled him – Edward wouldn't be back yet (besides, he wouldn't have knocked; he had the key), and he wasn't expecting anyone.
Still, he opened the door to find a well-dressed courier with a parcel. The courier looked surprised too – he wasn't expecting a suit of armour to open the door.
"It says here that this is for a 'Mr. Elric'?"
Alphonse slowly nodded.
"Can you sign for it – it's a parcel from 'Roy Mustang'."
Al scrambled for a pen in the small room, and signed the right places on the courier's clipboard. He got given the parcel and the courier was gone.
Al was brimming with curiosity – why would the Colonel send them a parcel? Maybe it was something top secret – maybe it was about the Philosopher's Stone! Al knew his brother wouldn't mind him opening the package, not when it could be so important…
However, he got a shock when he saw it's contents.
"Chocolates? Why would the Colonel send chocolates?" Al wondered at he saw the contents of the box.
There was a note inside the box, so he slowly read it, his mind reeling at the message contained. At that moment, Edward came in to the room.
"Brother?" Al asked, completely horrified.
"What?" he said slowly and uncertainly – why was Al looking at him like this?
"You…wore a skirt?"
Edward completely froze – how did Al know?.. He hadn't told anyone... The note in Al's hand – what was on the note?
A furious struggle to get the note ensued, practically destroying the hotel room in the process until Edward wrenched it out of his brother's grip and read it swiftly.
Love you forever, Fullmetal.
P.S. You look good in a mini-skirt.
This was followed by Roy Mustang's elegant signature.
"Al…"
"You've got a lot to explain, brother," Al said, standing resolutely in front of the door.
Edward sighed – this was going to be difficult…
Fianlly, this is finished! Technically my first FMA fanfic, too…
Just a word of advice: never try to keep a character's gender a secret – it makes it a real pig to write! Notice I never once said his/her or he/she in regards to Ed while they were on the date…it's a lot more difficult than it sounds! It was probably pointless, as everyone could probably guess who it was really early on, anyway. And I'm still not happy about how it's turned out...
Anyway, hope you liked the ending and leave me a review, regardless! (Anyone flaming me because this isn't Roy/Riza or because it's yaoi will be ignored or fed to Black Hayate…)