Sounds of the Night

Did he know that he snored? She supposed not, seeing as his ears were always too exhausted to hear. It was not extremely loud, nor was it a disturbance. It was merely a very quiet thrumming, not unlike the purring of a cat, which welded itself in quite nicely with the other sounds of the night. But even without the thundering snorts that can awaken, it still had her up nearly every night.

Riza turned over in bed, looking to him instead of to the wall. Silver moonlight glinted softly across the metal and muscle of his bare chest, while the gentle breeze of an open window toyed with stray strands of gold that pointed with his countenance towards the ceiling. To her the sight was beautiful, as the glow of the moon and the peace of sleep always made him appear a misplaced god. Others would take one look at the muscular arms placed messily above his head, the flaxen tangles framing his face, and the thin line of drool sparkling on the left side of his gaping mouth and assume the exact opposite of her glorifying vision.

This familiar sight of disheveled beauty always brought one word bubbling to the top of her half-awake consciousness:

Cute.

True, it was not a phrase she used very frequently, and upon using it out-loud would probably be questioned thoroughly, but it seemed the only word befitting what his quiet snoring showed her: The hero of the people, the Fullmetal Alchemist, drooling onto his pillow while scratching idly at his stomach. Though she'd never use that word in conversation with him, for it couldn't accurately describe the allure of his open eyes or the inescapable artistry of his muscles when in use. Plus, just mentioning that might have him assuming it mean the same as a word he despised.

So she was content in smiling at his charm, keeping it a secret from him and any other inquirer.

But happy as she was to merely watch and listen, she would always eventually find herself grinning at curious thoughts of interference. Just how heavily could he sleep?

Stifling a quiet chuckle, Riza slid her arm from beneath the covers, holding her thumb and index finger in position beside each of his nostrils. With another quiet smile, she pressed the thin flesh tightly against the center of his nose.

Edward snorted, attempting a breath through the clogged passage. When that proved unsuccessful, his left arm subconsciously swatted at the culprit, but by that time Riza had already moved her hand swiftly away from his sluggish attack. Now content in breathing, his arm thudded back onto the mattress below.

As always, Riza thought to herself. I swear he'd sleep thorough cannon fire.

Yes, as always her first attempt at meddling had failed, but that meant it was time for her second strategy; a method that she enjoyed to execute much more than a pinch to his nose.

Riza lifted herself to her arms with a near-silent sigh, holding the top-half of herself above him as she had done with her fingers-her legs were still, and her movement groggy and slow. It was never until she placed herself in this position that she truly noticed the smoothness of his skin, or the silky glow his lips gained when bathed in moonlight.

With each breath she eased closer, until their breathing matched in pace and mingled briefly in the shrinking space between their lips-quiet sighs dancing with low, adorable, purring. She might've said she hated to hear his shoring silenced, had it not been paused that she might kiss the tender lips it came from.

There was a gentle air to her kiss as she closed his mouth with her lips. Their brushing skin gave off a separate warmth, and, though one wasn't conscious to assume it more than a dream, they both could feel it heat up every inch of their almost-touching bodies. After feeling that warmth for what felt like an eternity beneath the moonlight, it began to send waves of calm rushing over her already sleepy form, and she found it very hard to keep her eyelids raised enough to see the glimmering visage the lips she was tasting belonged to.

As Riza pulled away she noticed the shine from his escaping saliva, and she promptly cleaned his cheek with another well-placed kiss.

She found her way back into the position she'd began in, save for her yawning mouth was turned towards him. It didn't take long for her eyes to close, and it took an even shorter time for the rest of her muscles to relax. The last thing she heard before she allowed sleep to completely take her over was the sound of his gentle snoring as it began anew.

Edward opened one eye after allowing some time to pass, stopping the normally natural snoring he'd forced after a pinch to the nose. He wasn't sure why she kissed him at night so often, but he didn't see the need for questions and saw no reason to complain.

Huh, Edward thought, turning with a smile to look at her, she's so…cute when she's asleep.

Still smiling, he kept up his watch, taking in the serene beauty possessed only by those in a dream. He allowed the silence for a while, content to simply listen to her quiet breathing as it brushed against him. But there soon came to the silence a foreign sound; closely resembling the light sighing of the wind as it moves through the leaves of a forest.

"Hmm," he breathed into the night, grinning as he inched closer to her, "I wonder if she knows that she snores…"