Three hours hadn't help lessened the excruciating awkwardness of what they were about to do. Though they were making the first leg of the trip in a small car, Ed found himself scooted as far away from the Colonel as the tiny back seat allowed.

It was just…wrong. The idea of being naked in front of all those people, in front of Mustang…wasn't there some law against that type of thing, considering he was a minor?

Edward almost laughed. Yeah, there probably was a law against what was about to happen; right next to the ones about human transmutation and allowing kids into the military.

A shiver of nervousness ran through him as Ed stared desolately out the window. No, they were on their way; he couldn't stop anything now. But the trees outside—stripped of leaves—did raise a question.

Ed coughed quietly to clear his throat. "Um, Colonel?"

"'Roy,'" the man responded. "You have to call me by my name…Edward. We can't have them knowing who we are, which means you can't refer to me by rank, and I can't refer to you by title."

"Then you'd better call me 'Ed.' No one who's casual with me actually calls me by my full name unless they're pissed." An afterthought came to him. "And won't these people recognize us anyway?"

Before he'd finished, Roy was already shaking his head. "No; they live in isolation, distanced from the rest of the world. Hell, they don't even use technology—no phones or anything. They'd recognize the Fuhrer, but not someone like me or you."

Edward nodded, though the technology comment brought him back around to his original question. He tried to speak normally, but his voice rebelled, and the words came out in a whisper of sorts. "Speaking of technology—it's October, and it's already cold outside. If they don't use phones, they won't have heating, right? And what about when we have to be outdoors? I'm literally going to freeze my ass off."

The man looked uncomfortable. "Fires, I suppose. I imagine there are fireplaces everywhere for when the temperatures drop. As for when we're outside…well, I suppose they just get used to it. I'm sure you can handle it too."

Whether it was intended or not, Ed sensed a subtle challenge to his ability to cope. Rankled, he crossed his arms, turning his gaze away from Mustang and back to the bleak landscape outside. Already, the number of buildings was dwindling, farmland taking over.

His reprieve from speech was short lived. "I suppose I should tell you," Roy murmured. "This group is religious. Their society is built on the idea that a god created them naturally, and they should stay that way—hence the lack of technology, and clothing."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Ed blurted, eyes widening for a moment before his eyebrows drew together in irritation. "As if it's not enough to ask me to walk around naked, I have to be around a bunch of religious whack jobs too!?"

"Again, it's not like I'm happy about the situation, Ed," the man reminded him, voice frosty. "I'm just as much an atheist as you. But we absolutely cannot let that show. We have to blend in, which means we have to pretend we believe it as well."

Groaning, Edward tipped his head back, running fingers through his hair…automail fingers. "I have automail," he muttered, pulling off his glove—what did that matter now, if he was about to get nude?—to examine metal fingers. "How are they going to feel about that? Considering they approve of nature and all?"

A quick glance to his left revealed that Roy was gazing at his hand, seeming lost. "You didn't even think of that, did you?"

The man coughed, adjusted his cuffs. "No. But it's something we'll just have to deal with. If they cause a fuss over it, you can pretend that it was forced on you and that's what made you decide to come and join them; you wanted to be natural, but the outside world wouldn't let you." A grin spread across Mustang's face, just briefly. "Actually, that's pretty good. You should go with that."

Ed rolled his eyes, not wanting to admit that it was a decent cover story—he could almost believe it himself. "I bet there's something else you didn't think of."

"Oh?" Any trace of amusement was gone from the man's voice.

"Yeah—at some point, we're going to need to use our alchemy. I can use mine whenever, no problem, but you…you need your gloves."

"Really? You think I'm so stupid I'd forget that?" Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He rotated it slowly, the light filtering through the windows glinting off a small design. "They'll let me keep a lighter, and that will work just as well as my gloves."

Edward hated to admit it, but he was impressed. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're on top of this."

With a certain air of superiority, Mustang put the lighter back in his pocket. "Of course, I don't need to remind you that we should hide our alchemy unless absolutely necessary. Blending in is the key."

"You're right—you don't need to tell me."

Beside him, the man sighed. "Look, Ed, I know this isn't fun—believe me, I can think of a million things I'd rather do than this. But the quicker we complete the mission, the quicker everything can go back to normal. So—just for now, let's try to get along."

Turning away from the window once more, Edward saw that Roy had extended a hand, silently asking him to shake it. "Fine," he agreed, grasping the offered hand.

"Good."

A silence fell over the car. Edward couldn't bring himself to say anything—he didn't have any more questions, he knew what he was doing. And the thought of small talk in this situation was laughable, especially considering who he was with. If it were Al, maybe things would have been different, but Mustang…he wasn't someone Ed just went around socializing with, and this mission wasn't going to be an opportunity to grow a friendship.

Edward snorted, ignoring the responding stare he felt. Was any time a good time to get all buddy-buddy with Roy?

The car slowed, and Ed's stomach gave a nasty jolt. The front he'd put on seemed to melt away as they stopped, and got out; he could no longer hide his nerves, his dread of the situation. Edward shuddered, his face unpleasantly warm.

They were in the middle of some fields, inconspicuous enough. But this was as far as the car could take them; from here, the duo would have to take the path—unmarked, Ed noted—up to the colony.

He did not want this.

Nope.

"Let's go," Mustang muttered, taking the first step onto the trail. Edward followed like a beaten puppy, not fighting, just hesitantly obedient.

It wasn't a long walk, but by the time they crested the last hill, the road they had arrived on was out of sight. Ed looked back, found nothing, and looked forward and down—redness rose up in his cheeks. Even from this distance, he could see the colony in all its…glory.

Seeming to sense his trepidation—or perhaps just noticing the absence of Edward's mismatched footsteps—Mustang turned back to look at him. Ed noted with some satisfaction that the man's cheeks weren't flush-free either.

"It's going to be alright, Ed."

Edward rolled his eyes, starting down the hill. "Whatever you say, Roy."