Hotoke: Be prepared for some Full Metal Alchemist drabble/song/one shot fictions, everyone. This series is addicting! XD And, don't worry, I still love Naruto, but… I may be on a FMA kick for a long while.

Anyway, these stories may or may not interconnect, (I doubt it), and are just for fun. I don't own Full Metal Alchemist, sadly. (Plus, I don't know as much about the series as I'd like, so just bear with me. XD) And, yes, Hughes will be living most of the time. I cried when he -- well, expect spoilers, those who haven't read any of the manga/ seen the series yet. XD

Warnings: Light EdRoy, End of series spoilers.

Roy Mustang didn't usually socialize unless it was absolutely a must. Womanizer reputation aside, he was still a loner. Edward had been kind enough to point this out to him.

Then Ed had interrupted Roy in the middle of his retort. 'Manipulating people doesn't count as social interaction, Mustang,' he told him.

Edward thought it would be good for the both of them if they got out a bit more. But both agreed that they should only be in good company, also known as Roy's coup. Edward didn't exactly feel like dealing with a drunk Colonel in public, needless to say.

So, they were off to the staff costume party.

And, yes, Hughes had arranged the entire thing.

Currently, Roy was sitting on the bed, watching jadedly as the short youth tossed clothes over his shoulder in an attempt to find something befitting of a costume party, and that didn't make him look like a circus freak.

Roy had been alright with a staff party. He had been alright with the pink rabbit suit Maes had bought for him as a gag gift. (Not that he planned on wearing it in the least; it was too singed for anything useful now.) He had even been alright with the fact that he was wasting an otherwise work-free night.

He was not okay with the fact that he was required to find a costume.

Lazily pulling off a dress shirt that had latched itself on his face, Roy drawled, motioning to the patch on his left eye. "Hey, maybe I can go as a pirate. An undercover pirate in a dress shirt and slacks."

Ed unearthed himself from the closet, giving Roy a look that was bordering on frightened, but every bit serious. "Don't joke about that."

Shrugging flippantly, Roy adopted a semi-intense look of his own. "It's nothing for me to be ashamed of, Edward."

The younger crossed his arms and gave the windowsill to his right his undivided attention. "Shouldn't it mean that you were weak enough to get hurt that bad, old man?" Roy knew this was how Ed showed concern, in his own weird way. Insult the person until they felt better.

Then again, this only worked on Roy.

"Perhaps. Some view it as a battle wound worthy of admiration." Cue the automatic haughty smirk that vainly hoped Edward would just stop worrying… "Especially the women."

Ed's head snapped around to meet Roy's gaze with a heavy glare. "Bastard," he breathed.

For a moment, Roy thought he had silently convinced the young man to drop the subject. One eye was better than none at all, even if he had to relearn every angle of their home. Depth perception was one thing he never even knew he was taking for granted before.

"You're just damned lucky you didn't die, you know that?" Ed's scowl twitched somewhat. "I would have kicked your stupid ass into next week."

Roy's mouth set into a grim line. Lines like, 'how would you plan on kicking me into next week if I were dead?' or 'even so, I doubt you'd be able to with your short legs' ran through his head. Nothing really seemed proper, they would only dig this conversational pit deeper than it already was.

Ed padded over to settle onto the bed, most of his bitterness ebbing away, but a touch of spite still lingered in his golden eyes. "It's… curious, though, isn't it? How he had the eye patch… and now…" The blond shook his head and looked away once more.

Grasping at the train of thought by it's coattails, Roy replied thoughtfully, "I suppose so. Maybe, when I die, another person will suffer the same way?"

Ed started, eyes widening as he glanced at Roy. His expression hardened. "Quit talking like someone's going to kill you, bastard."

Very softly, carefully, Roy replied, "Do you really believe that I'm going to die peacefully in my sleep? I've not exactly set up my life for that ending."

Ed paused. "No, but… I just… don't like to think about you… dying." The younger moved closer, clutching at Roy's shirt, head lowered so his face was unseen behind that curtain of gold.

Roy knew this subject bothered Edward. He himself wasn't too terribly scared of his own death. Since he'd dealt with so much in his life, passing on was a trivial manner. But Ed… he was a different story. He didn't like seeing his friends die, death was still a thing to fear for him. Death was…

Suddenly, Roy found himself twisted quite uncomfortably underneath Edward's knees. Blinking up at the younger, confused at the abrupt change of behavior, he raised an ever dignified eyebrow in query.

A wicked grin had found it's way onto Ed's face, his eyes glinted with a promise of something undeniably degrading. "Well, I guess we'll just have to live every day to it's fullest, right, sir?"

Dammit. Ed was getting good at that. Of course, he had learned from the best. Within minutes, a few new articles of clothing joined their kin on the floor.

They never did make it to the party.