This was getting ridiculous. Roy had that little hope that when he did get promoted he would be able to shift the mass amount of paperwork onto some poor newly promoted colonel. But instead his load increased tenfold with the also newly promoted Major Hawkeye delivering stacks by the barrow. There were going to be stern words with the new Führer, he was beginning to think the Grumman had done this on purpose. The man clearly never finished his own paperwork before the ending of the previous Führer were put in motion, when he was a General. It had been 6 months since then and central had finally returned back to normality after the brutal reign of the homunculus Wrath. New laws put in place, obviously with mixed responses. Military presence still remained the same but less strict, once again had mixed opinions. Roy knew that change was needed in order for the public to regain confidence in its military again, but there were still some strong Bradley supporters so resistance was going to always be present. He didn't need to worry about it though, each command post had the factions under strong surveillance, undercover of course, and reporting back if there was any cause for concern. Sure a few scuffles have broken out between both sides, but nothing on a serious scale.

"Major, can you please stop bringing more in when I've not even gone through the first pile." After watching yet another stack of paperwork being placed on the floor. "How the hell can you expect me to get this done on time?"

"Comes with the job sir, whether you like it or not you're the only general in the entire military." Before finding some free floor space to dump the files

"What if I can get someone to help me?"

"Forget it Roy, I'm not doing your work, I'm not qualified, sufficient rank and defiantly not paid enough to do something like that."

"I'm not the only General in the military anyway."

"Fine, highest ranking general, but I very much doubt you'll get the others to help you."

She had a point, there was no way on God's earth that Olivier Armstrong will come back from the northern border to have a cup of tea and to help out an old friend with some paperwork, she'll probably castrate him, and Roy needed his manhood intact.
There was one other person he could ask, but would likely know the response of 'Get lost Bastard' or somewhere along those lines. He hadn't even seen him in the past six months, but like him he was promoted four ranks to Major General. The hero of the people, now also the hero of Amestris.

"Is Edward in central?"

Riza sighed knowing exactly what she had to do "Came back just this morning.." before walking out the door.

Roy sat back in his seat with a smile, hoping that for some miraculous chance that Ed would agree to help him with the seemingly never ending task of signing pieces of paper. The Fullmetal Alchemist has been keeping an incredibly low profile since that day, immediatly heading back to Resembool with his brother, successfully back in his own body again. He missed having the little guy around in a way, remembering him when he joined the military through the years they had some differences, but they made a great team. Yet with his goal completed as to getting his brother's body back he remained under his command. He gave the young blonde the chance to leave, all he had to do was sign the release form and he was free from the clutches of the military. Yet he refused, instead asking for a break from active duty. During that time no contact was made between the Elrics and the Flame Alchemist, he had to admit he was looking forward to find out what the blonde had done in his time away. He did feel guilty in a way after all Ed had only just returned to his post, and now Roy was hoping that he'd spend most of the day and probably night in the confines of his office reading and signing paperwork.
A knock at the door snapped him from his little reminisce

"Yes?"

"You asked for me.." There was only one person who would talk to him so informally as that..

"Yes, come in Fullmetal."

Roy requested that he'd keep his military name, their enemies didn't need to know that the blonde could no longer use Alchemy. Plus just calling him 'Elric' like he called the rest of his team by their surname just didn't seem right.
The door creaked open and a figure stepped through before the wooden panel shut behind him. Roy stared in disbelief at the young man walking to his desk. This was not the Edward Elric that left central six months ago. His height has increased significantly, no longer the little shrimp who went crazy every time shortness was mentioned in a sentence. Now standing in front of him was a young man brimming with confidence and a strong posture. Out from the sleeveless shirt his right arm, that was once just aluminium, carbon fibre, wires and screws, had finally caught up with his left in terms of muscle and build. His blonde hair in an plain ponytail stretching down his back, bangs framing his face perfectly.

"You know Mustang it is rude to stare.."

He snapped out of his trance as the young blonde man took his seat on the other side of the desk, arms folded in front of him awaiting what his superior officer summoned him for.

"It seems you finally started puberty Fullmetal." Ed glared at him.

'Way to go Roy, first day back you want to ask for his help and you begin to insult him.'

"This better not be you immediatly sending me out somewhere, I may not be able to use alchemy any more but that doesn't mean you throw me into a crappy assignment.." He looked at the pile of paper to the side of his desk before taking the top sheet and reading the contents.

"Major General Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist..."

Said person immediatly raised his hand up to stop him from proceeding any further. The only time Roy Mustang ever used Ed's complete title was when he wanted something that wasn't in the young blonde's job description. Ed was a genius, but even he didn't require his brain power to know what the general wanted from him. The evidence was all around him, and from the times he was just a plain young state alchemist he knew Roy had a problem whenever it came to paperwork.

"No."

The older man was taken back "I haven't even asked you..." He couldn't even finish his sentence before he was interrupted

"You don't need to, I can see." Replacing the paper to it's corresponding file

"...Please Ed."

The golden orbs widened with shock "Is the great General Roy Mustang pleading!?"

Roy broke eye contact and looked to the only clear part on his desk, following the wooden pattern with the tip of his finger, muttering something that would be inaudible to anyone else but Edward.

"Huh? What's that? I couldn't quite hear you?" Putting his hand behind his ear. It was clear he heard it, but he just needed to hear it once more.

"Yes Ed, I'm pleading with you."

The blonde smirked as eye contact resumed, he was going to milk this moment for all it's worth. There was no way this chance would come again.

"So what's in it for me?"

"My eternal gratitude."

He shook his head. Usually that worked against everyone else.

"A pay rise?"

No again. Who doesn't want more money?

"Another holiday?"

Nope. Who could resist that?

"A bye for any state alchemist exam in the future?"

No. Roy was perplexed, what person in their right mind would turn down basically having a free ride for the rest of their military service?
There was only one more thing he could think of.

"...A...promotion?" Why he'd want another one would be anyone's guess. Both men had been immediatly boosted up rank by four. He didn't want to be a general too did he?
Ed rose from his seat, placing his hands on the small empty part on the desk and leaned into Roy, who in turn leaned closer.

"What I want Roy is.."

The building shook followed by a loud rumble causing the paperwork stacks to topple and books to fall from the large bookcases. Ed stood up properly with concern on his face, looking around the room before looking back to his superior.

"Earthquake?" Roy picked up his office telephone in an attempt to ring someone, but the line was dead. It was a strong vibration, but surely not enough to affect the switchboard.

"I'll go find out." The General watched the blonde quickly head out the door in search of answers.

It gave Roy a moment to think, what was it that Ed wanted? He refused a pay rise and a holiday, any other soldier would have accepted those terms, heck even he would of accepted those terms if it was Grumman asking him. Roy's eternal gratitude should have worked, he doesn't give that out for free. It's a rare, once in a lifetime experience if the very own Flame Alchemist would offer something like that, especially over something so simple as paperwork. Thinking of paperwork he sighed knowing that Hawkeye would not help him re organise the mess that was scattered on the floor...what colour was his carpet again?
Did Ed he want his own unit? His own personal assistant? He'd only just returned from his 6 month break so surely him just asking to do a bit of paperwork didn't make him want to nullify the contract? Ed was the best soldier he had, he didn't want to lose him.

The door suddenly burst open "Roy! East wing has completely collapsed!"

The General quickly rose from his desk "Evacuate all personnel immediatly and get them far away from this place as possible!"

The older Elric nodded and took off to evacuate the west wing whilst Roy took central.

Every office, toilet, storage cupboard and library were checked and cleared before another heavy vibration rocked the building, there was no way this was an earthquake now. Mustang's heart stopped in its tracks, he wasn't one to show his emotions but he was filled with worry and fear, Ed's search area had just been attacked. His search area was clear anyway, his legs moved as fast as they could no longer concerned for his own safety, but that of his subordinates. Before he knew it he had crashed into the very man he ran to search for.

"Shit, Ed are you alright!?" Quickly grabbing the fallen blonde's arm to pull him back to his feet.

"Apart from being bulldozed by you, yeah I'm alright. I got that side evacuated just in time and came to find you."

"Protocol says that when your area is cleared you also get out yourself!"

"Yeah well when have I ever followed protocol, I wasn't leaving you behind Roy!"

In any other situation Mustang would throw the book at him, but at this moment he was relieved that he was safe. He didn't want the long wait to find out if he was caught in the collapse or even killed in it. With East and West wing destroyed it was only a matter of time before the central part of the building would collapse. The two men headed to the staircase in a fast sprint through several joined rooms and into the library.
The exit was in sight, but instead of running forward they were falling down.

The blonde coughed himself awake, slowly opening his eyes to be greeted by complete darkness. He wiggled his fingers and toes with no problems, at least he didn't have any broken bones.

"Roy?" He called out into the darkness in a hope his commanding officer was alright, but received no reply. "Roy?...Roy!?"

A groan emulated some five feet away from him "Sorry to disappoint you Ed...but you're not getting a promotion to general just yet.."

Ed moved to the voice before his hand connected with Roy's boot. "I don't want your stinking job anyway, you can keep it."

Roy chuckled before coughing out the dust from his lungs. Ed placed his hand to where the generals back would have been but was greeted with nothing but air. Ed began to worry, he was still laying down.

"Can you sit up?"

"No, my arm is trapped."

Ed found out that he was lying on his back. Feeling his way across the general's torso to his right arm, only to be greeted by brick and metal blocking the route any further than his bicep.

"It's not broken, I can move my hand."

Ed knew that they could do nothing until help arrives, as tempting as it was to get Roy to use his flame alchemy there was a risk that a gas pipe had burst and an explosion in such a confined area would have fatal consequences, and with one hand available he couldn't even use basic alchemy to get them out of there. The blonde felt around the area to the sides and above their heads gently as to not disturb any of the debris. To the left where Roy's arm was trapped there was nothing but metal, brick and wood, but to the right and above he felt a couple of solid wood structures.

"Saved by a couple of bookcases." He shook his head in disbelief.

"We should run into libraries more often." Roy chuckled before clearing his airwaves once again, hearing Ed sit back down next to him.

"How far do you think we've fallen?"

"Who knows, we could be near the top of the rubble with us being on the fourth floor or we could be on the ground floor with everything piled on top of us. All we can do is wait to be rescued, could take minutes...could take hours."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Great first day back huh.." The general's voice broke the quietness.

"As first days go, at least it was interesting. Don't think many people can say they've had to evacuate a building and then survived getting crushed by rubble thanks to a library.."
The thought that had been on Roy's mind came to surface. "You could be in Resembool with your brother, retired from the military and living your life. You hated it here. Why did you decide to stay after your goal was achieved?"

Ed took a few moments before speaking "Because yours hasn't been fulfilled."

Roy was taken back, he didn't leave because he wasn't Führer?

"Like Hughes, Havoc, Breda, Falman, Hawkeye and Fuery we were all still helping you to reach that. I promised on Hughes' grave I will help you, just as you helped me get Al's body back."

For the first time in a long time Roy was speechless. The loyalty his unit have shown to their commander was second to none, and now this is the first time Ed has ever said anything like this, the once immature brat had turned into a mature and respectful young man.

"We may have not been on the same wavelength and argued a fair few times, but as the years have gone by I've really admired your dedication and we've been getting along so much better. It felt wrong to just throw it all away."

"You're a valuable asset to my squad Ed, Alchemy or not it doesn't matter."

Ed smiled, not that Roy could see it and laid down next to him "Don't get all sentimental on me Roy."

"Look who's talking. At one point today I thought you were going to quit because I asked you to help me with some paperwork."

"As if. I just wanted to see you squirm, have to say I was quite surprised when you actually said please. I wish I had something to record that with!"

Mustang cursed the blonde mentally.

"Roy I told you why I've stayed and I'm not going anywhere until it's been accomplished."

"So what was the negotiation about then, just to see me make a fool of myself?"

"Yes...and no..."

Roy could hear the hesitation and uncertainty in Fullmetal's voice. "You were going to actually propose something?"

"I might have done, but there's no point now, forget it" He turned to his side with his back to The Flame.

He sounded..disappointed? That's not something that comes out of Ed's mouth often. Frustration yes, but never disappointed. Using his free hand he placed it to what he found out was Ed's back.

"You want to talk about it?" He received no reply "If something is bothering you, you know you can always talk to me about it."

Ed took a deep breath and rolled onto his other side so he was now facing Roy. Sure he couldn't see him but he knew he was waiting and ready to listen.
"For years I've been asking myself if it was a lost cause...which is why I was going to put it forward as a proposition in that way if it was refused it could easily be laughed off as a joke."

The blonde stalled, thinking of a way to say what it was without sounding lame or cheesy but no matter what he thought of it all sounded bad. He was a genius, could tell anyone the complex theories concerning Alchemy, equivalent exchange, the components required for a transmutation, yet something as simple as this stumps him.
Not far away they could hear the soldiers calling out for any survivors Roy called out to them verifying their position, situation and how many.
Ed clenched his fist, irritated with himself for not being able to say it and there was only one option left and with time running out before they are rescued a moment like this wouldn't happen again.

"Fuck it.."

Ed sat up onto his elbow, it was now or never. His left hand skimmed the general's shoulder before finding a suitable flat surface. Now leaning over his superior he slowly brought his head down quickly running the tip of his tongue over his lower lip he proceeded until his mouth rested on top of Roy's. The feel was electric to the blonde, sending goosebumps all over his body at the realisation he was kissing The Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang, General of the Amestris military, his superior and next in line to Führer. For years he wanted this, years he craved for just this very moment, even if he was rejected he would die happy knowing he got this one chance to embrace a man he's admired since joining as a state alchemist. Hiding his feeling he disguised it with anger, but the admiration for his man never left him. He wanted it to last much longer but it was best he pulled away.

"Actions speak louder than words, right?"

Ed shielded his eyes as light poured through the hole. He was now able to look around the confined space, over to where he first woke up. He came to terms that both men had a very lucky escape with Roy being just a tad bit unlucky getting his arm trapped.

"You alright sirs?" One of the rescuers called out.

"I'm fine, but the General's arm is trapped. It's not broken but I didn't want to risk a collapse." Ed called back.

More debris was pulled aside as the afternoon light filtered through before an arm reached out to the blonde.

"Come on Ed, let's get you checked out just in case." Havoc smiled, grateful that his superiors were alright.

Ed looked down to Roy, who's eyes never seemed to have left him since the blonde's moment of bravery. He was caked in dust, the once navy blue uniform now a blueish brown, dark hair now beige. What was going through the general's head he didn't know and wouldn't know for a while as he turned grabbing Havoc's open hand to pull him out into the fresh air.

Ed surveyed the area as he was lead to an awaiting ambulance. Central headquarters was destroyed, nothing but a pile of rubble where the once grand building stood. Placing one foot in the door of the vehicle he looked back as a group of five people carefully begin to move pieces of debris to free The Flame Alchemist.

So I return with a new FMA:B story! Been a while. This was only to be a two part story but I am now combining it with my other story idea.
This is an eventual RoyEd and it will be spread out over numerous chapters.
~Hope to see you in the next chapter!~