Title: The Big Day
Author: Kyo-chan
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (First Series)
Characters: Roy/Ed, Riza (implied Al/Riza)
Rating: R (very suggestive, yaoi)
Word Count: 1,359
Summary: A bit of appreciation and reflection on Roy's big day.
A/N: Yet another thing that's been kicking around as a plotbunny in my head for awhile. The network at my office was down, so to occupy myself, I wrote.

When Edward arrived, he found Roy standing at the window, looking out over the courtyard. Already, groups of people gathered on the cobblestones and some of the younger cadets had been stuck with the task of crowd control. Ed didn't announce himself just yet, choosing instead to watch his partner survey the people. His people now. Gloved hands were clasped behind Mustang's broad back, posture straight and still. The Fullmetal Alchemist felt a surge of pride at the sight, more than a little eager to see this man crowned Fuhrer King. Nothing pleased him more than to know that equivalent exchange would come full circle today. After all, in his own way, Roy provoked and pushed him until he reached his goal, helping him get Al's body back. In return, Ed would finally see this brilliant, cunning man achieve his dream of becoming Fuhrer.

It would take his ability to tease the old man to a whole other level, one more layer to the already complex and tightly woven existence they shared. He had been practicing for this very thing, having often tossed a smarmy, "Yes, your highness" and "whatever, your majesty"s at the Flame Alchemist just to get him used to it.

Finally, Ed stepped into the room, his braid of waist-length golden hair swishing against his back. Only the slight tip of Roy's head to the side gave any indication he was aware of the smaller man's approach. That simple acknowledgment drew out a grin in response, and Ed stopped when he reached Roy's side of the desk. Like a cat that knew he owned the place, Ed hopped up onto the smooth surface, crossing one leg over the other as he perched smugly. "Nervous, old man?" he asked flippantly.

"Not at all." Roy turned away from the window, and Ed knew right away that his lover was lying. It didn't bother him. He would have said the very same thing.

A single dark eye drifted over Ed as if trying to memorize this very moment in time, how comfortable he was on the desk and the way the military blues looked against Fullmetal's sunlit tones. Ed never got tired of how Roy's gaze would devour him, no matter how used to the sight he should have been. A smoldering glance from across the room when no one else noticed was often the cause of the younger man's distraction for an afternoon. Roy never looked away from any part of him, not from any of the scars or the automail, and Ed never flinched at the dark eye patch. In fact, it was one of his favorite places to lay a kiss when he had only a moment to remind Roy that he was treasured, to chase away the shadows that threatened to overtake his lover's normally abundant confidence. Roy unclasped his hands and leaned forward, bracing them on either side of Ed's hips, putting their faces within inches of one another.

This close, Ed felt his chest tighten and his breath catch. Even after so many years, Roy still inspired that reaction in him, a moment of breathtaking awe, a glimmer of respect and the unavoidable urge to fight. In his youth, the fight would result in disagreements that often became screaming matches between them. Only right before that final confrontation did Roy turn that fierce, relentless energy towards physical passion, both of them needing that momentary break in tension and the reassurance that had come with it. While in Munich, Ed had missed that fire about as much as he missed Alphonse, and thatrealization had driven home just how much Roy had worked his way past Ed's defenses. Oh, did he give Mustang the lecture of his life when he returned to Amestris to find the Flame all but extinguished and the man wallowing in his own self-pity. It never escaped Ed's notice that he was the one primarily responsible for Roy's return to Central to resume his ambitions, but it was the one thing he kept close to himself. His own reassurance he affected Roy as much as Roy affected him. Equivalence.

"You look good," Ed murmured, satisfaction drizzled along the words. He loved how that long jacket pulled taut at Roy's broad shoulders, and felt attracted by the glitter of metal and color decorating his chest, marking him as the ruler of Amestris. He shivered, sliding his automail hand upward over the firm expanse, steel making a soft clinking sound as he flicked at the medals appreciatively. Just underneath his palm, he knew, were the signs that marked him as the other half of Ed's passion, little bruises and teeth marks of claim. The black well of Roy's gaze felt like it darkened more at the simple action, drawing Ed in as it always did. Ed's flesh fingertips, reached higher, stroking the first signs of silver edging the slicked back hair at Roy's temple. "Sir."

Roy smirked in a way that always infuriated Ed when he was younger, and still did from time to time. Confident, self-assured…desirable. "Of course I do." He closed the distance between the two of them, brushing Ed's nose with his own for an affectionate moment before he tilted his head to seal their mouths in a kiss. Ed could taste coffee and trepidation on his tongue, felt it in the way Mustang so desperately sought to steal his breath, to have one last moment when the only control he had was over them. In a few short hours, he would control so much more, the future of Amestris. The thought of that much power in the hands of a man that was hismade Ed squirm and press back. It would have taken little convincing to give in to the demanding mouth and attempt to make Roy late for his own coronation. Ed was already feeling the flush creep into his face, desire trickling down his spine and spreading out over his skin.

"Ahem." Someone at the door softly cleared her throat, and Ed suppressed a groan when Roy pulled away from him. A half-lidded glance at his lover's face told him that he was not at all ashamed of getting caught. Ed already knew that he couldn't hide the movement of his shoulders while he panted to catch his breath.

There was only one person allowed access to this office at the moment, and Riza Hawkeye already knew full well what her commanding officer, now her King, did with the Fullmetal Alchemist. Ed suspected that he was the topic of many after-hours conversations that involved beer, but it didn't bother him much when he considered some of the things that he and Al had talked about. Together, the Elrics held a monopoly on two of the most powerful people in Amestris now, and like any good set of brothers, they spent many late nights going on about the benefits of such arrangements. He tossed a pouty grin over his shoulder at the other blonde, also not bothering to hide anything, including his disappointment at the interruption.

"Don't look at me like that, Edward. You can celebrate later."

It was time.

Ed smirked. "Whatever you say." He couldn't hide the affection in his voice as he added a teasing, "Cougar." He leaned up, delivering one of those kisses to the top of Roy's eye patch before he swung his legs around and hopped off the desk.

Riza was far too used to the title to take offense at it, hands still placed firmly on her hips, ever the stoic and proud protector. She merely offered him a tight hint of a smile, then turned her attention to Roy. "Are you ready, Sir?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Roy took a deep breath, glancing over at Ed in silent question.

Ed nodded once, assuring his lover that he would be there. Not just for the ceremony, but after. "Let's go then, your majesty." The cockiness was back in place seconds later as he gave an over dramatic bow, then swaggered past Hawkeye to go fetch his brother.

He didn't look back. After today, none of them could.