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Hope you all enjoy! Reviews are really appreciated, hehe.
Chapter Three: Finding A Solution
Pick up the paper. Read through its contents. Sign at the bottom of the page.
Repeat.
It was an easy job, but also an extremely tedious one, and Roy hated it with a passion. 'I'm going to be here for the entire night, seeing as how the Lieutenant threatened to shoot me if I don't finish them all.'
He sighed, wishing that he was anywhere but here, and then glanced up at the clock. The insensitive hands stated plainly that the hour was late, and he longed for the ability to fast-forward time so that he could get out of his office quicker. Paperwork was the worst part of his job, he thought, staring down at his desk distastefully.
'Hm,' he rested his face on his hands and thoughts of the papers in front of him slipped away, slowly being forgotten as they were replaced with much more interesting musings. 'I wonder if Fullmetal is at the bar again...'
Catching onto that train of thought, his mind drifted.
'It's been three days since I saw him there,' Roy remembered, counting the days mentally. 'And I still don't know why he was dressed like a female.' He had tried to stop himself from drawing to his own conclusions, but it was hard not to when he had so little information and when it felt like his focus just kept going back to the boy lately. None of the reasons he'd thought up seemed plausible, and that only added fuel to his rampaging contemplation.
'I haven't seen him since he gave me his report,' he closed his eyes, reliving those moments.
Roy had felt the uneasiness that had practically radiated from the Elric, and so had considerately not brought up the subject that he knew was the reason why the Fullmetal Alchemist was feeling so anxious. But later, instead of relief or gratitude, he had seen the slight hurt and obvious shock in his burning gaze when the Colonel had not mentioned their late night encounter. 'Should I have said something? I thought that it would be easier for him if I didn't; he seemed so nervous, and I didn't want to pressure him into talking to me. But then, when I didn't, he looked so upset.'
Mustang ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. 'I hate not knowing anything! I want to know why he was doing what he was doing, why he was feeling what he was feeling when I didn't say anything, everything.' Startled by the sudden clenching in his chest and by the direction of his thoughts, he paused, needing to seriously rethink what had just crossed his mind.
'Since when did I feel this way...?'
It must just be that after all of these years of knowing the boy – no, he wasn't a boy anymore – and having to look out for him because of his rash behaviour, he had grown to really care about him and his well-being. Much like Hughes had felt, though he'd cared for them in an almost fatherly way, the Elric brothers had become much more than just people he and the rest of his soldiers saw on a regular basis; they'd become important people in their lives. Roy knew he'd always sought to protect the two from as much of the harsh things going on in Amestris as he could, but he also knew that they – Ed especially – could handle themselves, and wouldn't like to be so openly coddled. So he kept his concern carefully hidden.
If he has always felt this way since meeting him, then why wouldn't the feelings have grown into what they are now? He was still protective of them, and the reasons why he wanted to know what was going on in Ed's life was because of this. It had to be. There was no other explanation for why he would be feeling this way, so worried and engrossed in the happenings in the younger Alchemist's life.
Then he jumped as someone cleared their throat.
His eyes snapped open, revealing a frowning woman clad in the standard military uniform. She observed him with her stern brown orbs as she spoke, "Sir, with all due respect, if you're not going to do your paperwork, you might as well go home and daydream there."
He looked back at her for an instance before turning his head to check the time for the nth time that evening almost wistfully. Because of the action, he missed Lieutenant Hawkeye's softened glance. Having known the man for a large part of her life, she could tell that there was something weighing on his mind, troubling him.
"Sir, are you alright? You've been more distracted than usual as of late." Her tone didn't lose it's serious edge, but it did turn more concerning. He wasn't just a superior officer to her, he was a dear friend and comrade, someone who had changed her life so drastically when they were younger, and it was her job to always protect him when the, often times, cocky man needed it.
He didn't reply verbally, only shook his head, leaving her without a true answer to whether he was or was not alright. Knowing that she was dismissed – and not liking that fact one bit – she scrutinized Roy a moment longer. Then she snapped a salute, precise and perfect as always, and turned to leave the room.
The black haired man watched her go and again found himself thinking of Edward. 'The Lieutenant has pretty hair, but she keeps it up all the time... That blonde is nice, but it's nothing compared to the golden colour of Ed's. Any woman would be jealous of it, it looks so soft...'
Roy's breath caught and he felt warmth travel to his face. 'W-Why did I think of him like that?' He cursed, even more embarrassed at his next thought made itself known in his mind. 'Nice going, Fullmetal, you go dress like a female and now I can't stop thinking about you as a woman!'
"Sir, go home."
He looked up to see Hawkeye yet again; the woman had been watching him from the doorway. Her lips were set in a firm line, matching her authoritative voice. Her expression and stature made it clear that she was tired of him being there but not doing any work, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. Well, he didn't want to stay there anyway, so he wouldn't ignore her.
He stood, grabbing his long, black coat, and walked past her. Nodding his thanks to being let out early – and silently promising to finish his overdue work the next day, as well as that day's work early, as a sort of repayment – Roy headed outside, deciding to follow Riza's order-like suggestion.
'First, however,' he though, sliding into his jacket as he moved. 'I have to make another stop.'
So he was going to the bar, mind set on finding Edward and figuring out the truth. He hoped that doing so would stop the odd feelings, thoughts, and daydreams. But he couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't, and only when he knew why he himself was behaving the way he was could he be at peace with his mind, and heart.
The sense that the way he was feeling wasn't merely because he cared about the boy in merely a comradely and platonic way nagged at the back of his mind too much for his liking.
'If he's not there, I'll wait until 11 and then leave. This isn't that important, not enough to skip out on sleeping more hours, and actually, I don't even care if I get my answers or not. It just gave me an excuse to not do my paperwork...' He told himself, but knew he was lying; the anticipation in his stomach told him otherwise.
'... their lips connected, pouring warmth into his body. Breaths mingled as tongues danced, their bodies pressed together and arms wrapped around each other in a way that made him feel so secure. He opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of his lover and was immediately captured in two pools of black. They seemed to look deep into his soul – with eyes as dark as a starless night – and consumed him. But all he could feel was ecstasy...'
Ed woke with a choked gasp. Clutching at the bed sheets that tangled around his body haphazardly, he struggled to catch his breath. His heart pounded in its confines beneath his ribcage, beating a sporadic rhythm that was loud in his own ears.
"W-What the fuck was that?"He asked himself, still breathing harshly, confused and frightened. 'My dream changed so drastically...'
The blonde sat up and then stood, deciding on something that had been bothering him for the last few days.
'I need to talk to him...'
Idly, he wondered – and partially hoped – that if doing so might get rid of his dreams. No way would he come out and tell Roy anything specifically, but perhaps just talking to him about what the man had witnessed three days ago would help. Ed hated to admit it, but his dreams were beginning to scare him. Not because they were intimidating or about things from his nightmares – like about the Gate, human transmutations, or losing Alphonse or any of the other people he cared about – but because they were changing, becoming more involved in his real life and the people in it than he liked.
'Usually, I'm with some random person I've never met before and can't even make out what they look like. It's usually just all sensations, but now...' He rubbed at his eyes roughly and without care that it hurt, as if doing so would erase the images he was seeing. 'It's bad enough that I'm having dreams like that in the first place. I know that biologically this is something that should be happening, but it's not like I'm sexually frustrated or whatever the fucking term is. This is ridiculous.'
Quickly, he threw on the clothes he wore earlier when it was still daylight, but was careful to not be too loud as to disturb his brother. He was probably fast asleep in the room next door, even though the reason why he'd stayed in the study was to, in fact, study for his upcoming test at school. He didn't want to wake him if his hunch was correct.
Ed headed to the front door swiftly and stealthily, his trademark red coat flowing around him as he moved. He swung the door open and almost swore profanities very loudly when his brother appeared in his view suddenly.
Apparently, Alphonse was equally surprised because he squeaked a high-pitched sound and almost dropped what he held in his arms, the silver object fumbling in his hands before settling in his grasp once again. 'Cat food...?' Ed snorted. 'Figures...'
Since Ed was absolutely against getting a pet of any kind, Al had taken to feeding and caring for the strays that lived in their neighbourhood. There hadn't seemed to be that many, but as soon as he had started leaving food out for one, more started to appear around their house, until there were about five who relied on the young man for meals and kind treatment that consisted of being petted and played with.
"B-Brother? What are you doing up so late?"
"I could ask you the same question, Al, but I've got no time," he stepped passed his taller body and stepped down the small staircase. "I'm going to find Mustang."
There was a pause, and then a satisfied sigh came from Alphonse. The elder brother fidgeted as he walked, trying to understand why his brother's attitude screamed 'finally!' He was probably so relieved that he was talking to someone, and for some reason Ed didn't understand Al had always tried to push him to talk to the bastard Brigadier-General all the time. So he was probably happy it was him, though he'd much rather it was himself that his brother talked to. Did he want them to try to kill each other or something? Roy "caring for him" was a bullshit excuse. All they ever did was argue...
"Where is he?"
"He's..."
That question stopped him in his tracks.
'Where would that idiot be?' Ed rubbed the back of his head, unravelling more of his messy ponytail in the process, and frowned. "Nice going Ed, where were you gonna go?" He chastised himself for his stupidity.
Al chuckled, catching the words that had been muttered under his breath. "Why don't you check the bar first? Miss Hawkeye mentioned the fact that the Colonel had been going there often, especially since a week or so ago. She isn't too happy about it though, but apparently he hasn't been going for any bad reasons that she could see so..."
His cheeks tinged pink. 'Is that because of me?' Then he scowled at the ground, trying to mask his embarrassment with a more familiar emotion; anger. 'Stupid bastard should mind his own damn business.'
"Thanks, Al. I'll be home in a little while."
His younger brother nodded. "Be safe."
Arriving at the bar minutes later, Ed prowled around, ducking his head whenever he saw someone who looked familiar from when he went there for... other reasons. He seriously did not need someone to mistake him for the "girl" that usually appeared at the bar, not when he was himself that night, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He didn't want to take any chances of someone connecting the dots by use of eerily similar appearance.
He glanced around in search of the older man and was rewarded because it didn't take his eyes long to latch onto the sleeping figure of Roy Mustang. He strode over and sat down across from him in the fairly small booth of mahogany colour. Taking his coat off, he idly checked his silver pocket watch. Yellow eyes widened at what they saw. 'It's almost midnight, how long has he been here? Why is he here?'
Tired of just watching Roy sleep – though he enjoyed the unusual, peaceful and unguarded look on his face quite a bit – Ed reached over and smacked his subordinate's head insensitively in an attempt to wake him up.
With a grunt, Roy raised his head from where it lay on the table and stared dazedly at the boy.
"Ed... ward?" He questioned, voice thick from sleep. He blinked a few times and then appeared to regain his senses. Ed squirmed as he noticed that when his eyes cleared, Roy did not seem the least bit surprised to see him even though he asked the question, "What are you doing here?"
'Maybe he was waiting for me...' He felt his heart squeeze in a weird sort of hope and excitement.
"Hey, Mustang," he motioned to the bartender. "I'll buy us a couple of drinks, alright?"
Roy's eyebrows raised and he opened his mouth as if to voice his scepticism, but then he closed it and looked expectantly at him, a small smirk flitting onto his lips. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?"
"Young? I'm an adult now."
"Yeah, you are. I guess I just get confused because of your height."
He stuffed down the brief flare of anger because the statement hadn't been said with its usual condescendingly taunting tone. Instead he narrowed his eyes slightly, raising an eyebrow as he replied, "I guess you don't want a drink. Keep talking, bastard, and you won't get one."
The Brigadier-General seemed a lot more solemn than he was used to, as if he wasn't in the mood to banter with him like they normally did. The more than usual quiet coming from the man almost discouraged him, but Ed smiled warily and looked down at his hands. A serious look crossed his features, and he had to pause a moment before he was able to say something again.
"There's... something we need to talk about."
