"So," Rian said, standing in the doorway to Colonel Elric's office, his hands on his waist. "Are we going to talk about why you won't have sex with me, or are we just going to dance around the issue again?"

"Uh," Lieutenant Havoc said, looking from Rian in the doorway to Colonel Elric, who was still calmly signing the reports that Havoc had brought in. "I, I guess I'll be going then-"

The colonel made no indication that he had heard Havoc, finished up his signature and placed his pen back in its inkwell. "I trust that's all for the day?" he said, handing the sheaf of papers back to the other man.

"Uh, yes sir." It was difficult for Havoc to salute with his hands full but somehow he managed it. He then proceeded to escape past Rian and mindfully shut the door behind him.

Rian huffed at the door, hands still on his waist, and then turned his ire onto the colonel.

Their relationship was still so new, so untested. It had barely begun, and the colonel's hands on him were reluctant, no matter how fevered the kisses that they had shared. They had had sex - several times now, in fact – backbreaking, almost violent, where Rian had seen an entirely different side to his commanding officer ("What is my name?" "Ed, Ed ohgodEd-") but lately he was keeping his distance, almost forcefully so.

Colonel Elric hadn't looked up at Rian, already shuffling through a new stack of papers – arrest reports, Rian recognized, from the ring of alchemists counterfeiting gold that Rian had broken up two weeks prior. "I thought we agreed," the man's voice was low and tinged with something Rian couldn't quite pin down. "That we weren't going to bring this relationship into the office."

"What relationship?" Rian asked, standing in front of the desk, hands still on his hips. "We can't even have a relationship if every third day you send me to the furthest corners of the country on fucking courier missions." Rian slammed the envelope on the desk and finally the colonel looked up at him, his amber eyes dangerous. Rian startled a little at the look in the man's eyes, but held his ground.

"You are a State Alchemist, first and foremost," Colonel Elric said sharply. "And that means you go where I send you."

Rian put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, staring his commanding officer dead-on in the eye. "Why are you afraid of me, colonel?"

The words seemed to spark something in Colonel Elric's eyes. He matched Rian's sour look for a long moment, and then sat back in his desk chair and sighed, elbow propped on the armrest and fingers holding up his head. "I'm not afraid of you," he said, sounding tired.

"Bullshit," Rian said. "If you aren't, then why the fuck am I the only one who shows interest in this, whatever this is." He waved his hands to illustrate. "If I want to get fucked I have to come begging to you and even then it takes some coercing-" He pointed at the man behind the desk darkly. "And I swear to whatever deity is out there that if you start the next sentence with 'it isn't you, it's me' I'm going to send you out that window."

The colonel sighed, and rubbed the side of his head. "It's not that I don't like you, Rian," he said finally. "But our relationship is... inappropriate, and-"

"Inappropriate," Rian repeated. "Our relationship is inappropriate."

"Rian-"

"No," Rian said. "No, I get it. It's an inconvenience to you. That's all I am-"

The metal fist on the wood of the desk made Rian jump. Colonel Elric's eyes were flashing now. "Do not put words in my mouth," he spat. "I was going to say that I didn't want you to feel pressured into anything."

"Well, here's a hint," Rian said. "When I come to you begging to be fucked that means I want you to fuck me."

The colonel propped both of his elbows on the edge of the desk and buried his face in his hands. "If I was even half as infuriating as you are being right now I am impressed Al didn't drop-kick me to the moon."

"I'm being infuriating?" Rian said. "I'm not the one who refuses to touch my boyfriend without being begged to."

The colonel looked up. "Was Hawkeye in the outer office?"

Rian blinked, confused by the sudden shift in topic. "No. There wasn't anyone out there – I guess Havoc is now, but I don't know where everyone else is-"

The colonel got to his feet and marched to the door. Rian watched him, completely baffled. He cracked open the door and said something too low for Rian to hear. Then he closed the door very purposefully, and locked it.

Suddenly, Rian got a funny feeling in his stomach. Still facing the door, Colonel Elric peeled off the ink-splattered white gloves he had been wearing, then sent Rian a look over his shoulder that shot straight through his body.

"What," Rian said. "Here? I thought there was a 'keep this out of the office' rule-"

"Do you know," the colonel said thoughtfully, "I think about fucking you in this office every day." He took a measured step forward. "Against the wall." Another step. "On the couch." And another. "Spread out on my desk, practically begging me to let you come." He stood in front of Rian, and Rian stared up at him, jaw set defiantly. "The reason I don't pursue you is because I'm trying to be the better man, here." His automail on Rian's face, cool, as he framed Rian's jaw with it. "If I had my way I'd never let you out of my bed."

Just like that, with those murmured words he was hard. Sometimes it just wasn't fair being a teenager. He squirmed, his face still in Edward's tight grip, and Edward leaned his face in close, bangs tickling his skin. "So," Edward breathed, his face so close to Rian's own that Rian could feel the heat coming off of it, "Where do you want it? The wall, the couch... or on my desk?"

Rian gave up pretenses and threw his arm around Edward's neck, kissing him deeply. Edward released his face and gripped Rian's ass with both his hands. "I have to pick one?" Rian said when they parted

Havoc was standing out in the hallway when Hawkeye returned from the shooting range. She had her military jacket folded over one arm – it had gotten unseasonably warm lately, and Havoc admired her figure before realizing that she was looking directly at him.

"Smoking in the hall is forbidden," Hawkeye reminded him icily, shrugging her military jacket back on and fastening it securely.

"It's not lit," Havoc complained, the cigarette clamped in his teeth. "Ah, you don't want to go in there yet."

Hawkeye paused, her hand on the door handle. "Why not?"

"Rian's back," Havoc said succinctly. Hawkeye made an exasperated sound, and Havoc shrugged. "At least it's a Friday," he said. "Care to join me in the canteen for a cup of coffee?"

The wall that the hallway shared with the office shook a little as something thudded against it. "I suppose I shall," Hawkeye said. "They're not going to be done for a while."

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!