AN: Wow. I have a lot more free time than usual. It's nice though, so I'm not complaining, but the English work is so utterly dull. We're studying Snow Falling on Cedars and it's dull. Really dull. Nothing can compare with that dullness. It would be a better book if it was shorter. Why? Because finding specific quotations in a 500 page book is not fun.

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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U L T R A M A R I N E

-4-

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Roy stared down at his plate, his expression a mixture of disgust and disbelief. Now, the prince had no idea what was on his plate – Blooperfish Rolls? – but he definitely wouldn't refer to it as food of any kind. They were long strips of a white, blue-spotted, blubbery substance that had been rolled into, well, rolls. Now, there was a bunch of leafy salad thrown about for decoration, so Roy had eaten that instead – steering clear of the funky colored rolls. This was the last time he ordered the same thing as Edward.

He tentatively prodded at one of the roll and earned a face full some opaque black liquid – ink? Since when did your food spit back at you? Edward had promptly laughed himself into hysterics when he saw Roy's blackened face, eye wide with surprise. But of course, the ink was soon washed away by the current. Roy actually found it quite miraculous that his food managed to stay rooted to the plate – his salad had tried to float away, but no piece of salad floats away from Prince Roy Mustang unless he so explicitly wishes it.

"You're not eating," Edward stated simply after he had recovered from his laughing fit. The blonde's own plate had been completely cleaned off. It seemed as if there hadn't ever been food on the shiny white surface.

"Ah. I'm…" Roy trailed off. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't hungry. His stomach was still pestering him for more nourishment. He shifted around uneasily in his seat and looked about the small café Edward had taken him too. It was a comfortable place and had a pleasant air about it, but the food was something that Roy would probably never agree with.

"Well? I'm waiting?" Edward said, reminding Roy that he had been in the middle of a sentence.

"I'm actually allergic to anything blue," he quickly said and mentally slapped himself afterwards. Allergic to the color blue? Nice one, Mustang. Nice one. Edward raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure about Roy's explanation. "It's… ah… complicated. There's a chemical in blue things that I'm allergic too." The prince couldn't help but notice that his excuse was getting lamer and lamer.

"Right," Edward said, clearly not exactly believing Roy's statement. "But didn't you know that the spots would be blue?" he asked, pressing the subject further.

"Ah. They're red in my hometown," Roy replied quickly, scratching his cheek nervously before looking away again.

"That's bullshit," Envy said, suddenly slithering out from underneath the table, amethyst eyes fixed on Roy. Actually, the sea snake had been so quiet that Roy had completely forgotten about him until now. "He's just afraid to eat them." Roy winced; the snake sure knew how to hit the nail straight on the head. Plus those purple eyes gave him the creeps.

"You've never had this before?" Edward asked, surprised. Apparently this was a pretty popular dish. Roy gave a weak nod, earning another laugh from the blonde. "That explains it. Seriously, they taste good. Try some."

Roy looked down at his plate again, feeling a little uneasy about this. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of having that in his stomach, but he knew that Ed probably wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't and the raven-haired prince wanted to wipe the smirk off Envy's face – sacrifices must be made.

"He's not going to do it," Envy said, smirk growing wider. "Pansy." Roy glared at the snake and cut off a small piece of the white and blue roll and ate it.

Now, it would be a lie to say that Roy hadn't been expecting a god awful taste that would make him retch and collapse to the floor. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It was a mixture of sweet and sour that had a little dash of spicy thrown in. He quickly cut himself another piece. Maybe he'd get used to this food after all.

"Good, right?" Edward asked. Roy nodded, mouth too full to say much of anything. However, the older male noticed with great pride that the serpent had successfully been rid of his smirk.

Prince Roy finished his meal in a matter of minutes and not a scrap was left over. His plate was left just as clean as Edward's.

"That was good," he said, letting out a content sigh.

"Told you so," Edward replied, smiling. "Well, we should probably head back now before my dad throws a fit. He's paranoid and overprotective." He let out a sigh and pushed himself out of his seat and Roy did the same. Envy just let out a yawn and murmured something that sounded like 'Finally' before swimming away.

The two mermen and the sea serpent then swam back out into the streets, after paying for their meal of course. The streets were still as crowded as ever, but Roy didn't receive as many stares. Apparently word of his existence had reached everyone already. Suddenly, for the second time that day, a voice pierced the tranquil air.

"Prince Edward!" a female voice said excitedly. Not too long afterwards a blonde mermaid swam out from the crowd towards them, a small shopping basket on one arm. Her long hair flew into her face for a moment, obscuring her bright azure eyes, but she quickly pushed the locks away. Her mouth was set in what seemed like a permanent smile and her fin's orange scales shone brightly, but not as brightly as Edward's. Roy had noticed that. She wore a strip of black cloth that could barely be called a shirt over her chest. All in all, Roy figured that she was class-A Prince Edward fangirl material.

"Hi, Winry," Edward said cheerfully, smile growing bigger. "Roy, this is Winry Rockbell. She's a friend of mine and runs the tool shop in town with Auntie Pinako."

"Pleased to meet you," Roy said, smiling as well, his charm switch flipping on automatically. Winry giggled, blushing slightly. Ah. Seems he was wrong. Winry Rockbell was class-A all-around fangirl material.

"Same," she said shyly. Edward noticed this and raised his eyebrows, but he remained silent. "So, you're the one everyone's talking about." She let out another giggle. Roy mentally winced – he decided that her giggle could wake the dead or at least make them roll over in their graves.

"Oh really? What are they saying?" Roy asked, his mask still in place.

"Oh. Just that you're incredibly handsome and were accompanying Prince Edward earlier today," she replied, her eyes sparkling when she mentioned Ed. "But there have also been rumors that you're the prince's lover."

If Roy or Ed had been drinking something then they would've choked on it or at least have it come out of their noses. Roy coughed, cheeks tinted a pale pink, but Edward on the other hand had turned as red as a tomato and couldn't get any coherent phrases out thanks to his spluttering. Well, he eventually made his opinion know.

"What?!" he screeched, absolutely mortified. Winry giggled yet again.

"I know, but you have to admit that you two seem very friendly with each other," Winry said, her tone clearly implying something.

Roy snorted and rolled his eyes. Sure, Edward was good-looking, he wouldn't deny that, but he didn't love the boy. Roy liked women and women only. No matter how much Edward looked like a woman, he wasn't, so the love relationship between the two princes would never happen. Ever.

"Winry!" Edward said, turning even redder.

"I'm kidding, Ed. It's just a harmless joke," she said, grinning. It seemed that she was quite pleased with herself for upsetting the merboy so much. Edward really was a very sensitive boy, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"It wasn't funny," Edward grumbled.

"Get over it," Envy grumbled, not exactly pleased that they had stopped for a chit-chat with Winry. The snake glanced at the blonde mermaid for a moment, but said nothing to her.

"Hello, Envy," Winry said cheerfully, receiving only a grumpy grunt in reply. "Tch! Moody as always." She sighed and turned back to Ed. "Well, I better head back to the shop before Gran starts to worry." The blonde girl shifted the weight of the basket around a bit. It had gotten rather uncomfortable. "Bye Edward. Bye Roy." She paused. "Bye Envy." Another grunt. She stuck her tongue out at the snake, waved at the other two, and swam off.

"She seems… nice," Roy said after she was out of earshot. Edward nodded.

"Winry can be a bit difficult at times, but she's one of my best friends," Edward replied. He felt something push against his fin. Scowling, he looked down to see an unhappy Envy pushing against him.

"Can we please go now?" the snake hissed. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Fine. Jeeze. Be patient," Edward replied. Envy then swam ahead, which was a clear signal that Roy and Edward better hurry up and follow. "Stupid snake," he grumbled before swimming off with Roy.

The raven-haired prince looked up at the surface and noticed that the light had gotten considerably dimmer. There was also a pinkish orange hint to the light. The sun was setting. This event caught Roy off-guard. Had he really been down here that long already?

He was snapped out of his thought by Edward, who was tugging at his arm, pulling him towards the surface.

"I want to show you something," he said softly.

"But Envy-"

"Doesn't matter," Edward interrupted, effectively silencing Roy.

The two males quickly broke the surface, just in time to see the last sliver of the sun descend beneath the horizon, the rainbow sky slowly beginning to darken.

"I love watching the sunset," Edward said suddenly, smiling. "It makes everything just seem so calm, especially out here."

Roy nodded, his gaze drifting off to look around. His heart caught in his throat. Armestris was nowhere in sight. How far out had he drifted? Would he ever get back? Which way was back anyways?

Edward noticed the young man's distress quickly. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Roy said shakily, his voice cracking slightly. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure," Roy said firmly. Edward eyed him warily, but said nothing more and the two floated there in silence.

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AN: Now, this chapter is a lot shorter than the others, but cut me some slack. Alrighty. Don't forget to review please.