Chapter 3
Relationships
Roy could see Edward sitting on the park bench not even a yard ahead. His hair was undone, falling in waves around him, very much unlike his usual braid that was always perfect without a hair out of place. For the first time in his life since Edward had joined the military, Roy didn't see a pawn, a lower ranking officer, the Fullmetal Alchemist. No, right now as he stared at Edward, he saw a very beautiful person, not a woman or a man, but a beautiful person.
Steeling himself for another assault like earlier, Roy approached Edward, doing his best not to disturb him. Edward knew who it was that was approaching but he didn't do anything, he just stared down at the dirt beneath his feet. He was surprise though when Roy sat down next to him, but he still didn't say anything or move.
They just sat there for the longest time, neither of them moving or speaking. Finally, Roy dug in his pocket and pulled out four very small pieces of papers that were all covered with doodles of hearts with a name repeated in each heart. He stared at them for a minute before offering them to Edward.
"How long have you had a crush on me?" Roy finally asked. Edward was silent. Roy sighed.
"Pinako Rockbell, she lectured me for a long time today." This caught Edward's attention. He turned to glare at Roy.
"Why'd you call her?" he demanded. Roy then remembered Pinako's words earlier about Al and how she was assuming that he hadn't even told Edward that they had been arriving that day. Roy rubbed his eyes.
"Looks like she was right. It looks like Alphonse didn't tell you that they were coming today. Mrs. Rockbell and her granddaughter arrived with Al just minutes after you left the office earlier. She stitched me up, in fact. While she did so, she lectured me." Roy leaned back, his dark eyes watching Edward as Edward watched him. "She told me about your condition."
Edward froze before quickly looking away. She had told him about him being a chimera? But she hadn't ever told anyone before! How could she-
"She told me about how you're both male and female." Roy finished. Edward relaxed a little before tensing again. She had told him about that?!
"What? I'm female now so now I'm fuckable?" Edward demanded, making Roy wince. He knew that he had a womanizer reputation, but he very rarely ever took a woman home with him; much less have intercourse with them. He did on rare occasions, but it only happened once every couple months, not every night like most people seemed to assume.
"No, but if we decide to try a relationship, it would be easier." Roy explained, leaning forwards so his elbows rested on his knees. "In the military, same sex relationships are heavily frowned upon, and for a commanding officer to share a relationship with one of his subordinates who's of the same sex, its career suicide. There's paperwork that you have to fill out when you're going to have a relationship with someone else in the military, if you don't then there is suspension, and possible dismissal from the military. Its how they make sure that sexual favors aren't being given and received for things such as leeway, promotions, and raises in wages, that sort of thing."
"Oh," Edward said, blinking rapidly. He hadn't known any of this. Roy glanced at him and smiled.
"Yeah." He turned back to stare at nothing, thinking about what to say next.
"Despite my reputation as a womanizer, I do like men as well. Occasionally I'll go on a date with a man outside of the military, but those dates are usually low key since they're few and far between. I have a lot of plans for my future and I don't want to have any doors shut on me just because of the person I want to go to bed with, so I created the womanizer image so any rumors of my being with a man would instantly be disregarded as a myth." Roy turned towards Edward, and unable to help himself, he ran his fingers through Edward's hair, causing the boy to relax and give a blissful smile. "If we decide to pursue a relationship with one another, I would fill out the paperwork with you as a girl. It's unlikely, but it might leak out about your condition. Would you be alright with that?"
Edward was quiet for a minute. He stared back down at his boots again, his thoughts tumbling about his head in a very unorganized manner, which was unusual for him. Normally his thoughts were nice, neat and very organized, and he normally had every possibility and option planned out, but he had never thought that he would have a chance to pursue a relationship with Mustang.
Edward stood up and rubbed his face. He winced as he stretched and turned to look at Mustang.
"Can we go somewhere more private to continue this?" he asked. Roy stood up and walked towards him.
"Why? Where would you like to go?"
"I want to unwrap my fucking chest. You have no idea how god damned uncomfortable it is. I just want to go somewhere where no one'll see that I got boobs." Edward complained. Roy blushed at his words but couldn't help but understand. He was sure that it was uncomfortable to have your chest wrapped, but he also couldn't help but want to see actual proof that Edward was indeed part female.
"We can go to my house, if you want." He suggested, watching Edward's face for a reaction. After a moment's hesitation, Edward nodded and they set off towards Roy's house, neither of them speaking along the way.
The thoughts going through Edward's head was like a whirlwind if not a tornado. Every pro and con of getting together with Roy rushed through his head. His memories of his mother wasting away, the fact that chimeras mate for life, the fact that Roy didn't know that he was a chimera and thus mated for life all flashed through his head. They were all daunting and very real, but the fact was, was that Edward loved Roy very much and he didn't want a chance to be with the man he loved pass him by.
Before he knew it, they were at Roy's house. Roy pulled a key from underneath of his doormat, winking at Edward as he did so, and unlocked the door to his house. As they walked in, Roy pulled out his gloves, put them on and snapped six times. After each snap, a candle was lit until the room was illuminated by the six candles.
Edward couldn't help but smile at this. The candle light was a lot easier on his eyes than artificial light, it was just so much like Mustang to light his house using his favorite form of alchemy. He grinned up at the older man, who was taking off his gloves as he looked back at him.
"Show off." He said.
"Cheaper than electricity." Roy informed him. Edward then turned back to the room to examine it.
The walls were s light beige color with thick, heavy curtains covering the window that were a red brown color. The couches and chairs were made of leather, matching the color of the drapes, while the in-tables and the coffee table were made of a dark brown wood. The floors were a cherry red color, accentuating the rest of the room so it blended it, especially since beige colored pillows rested on the couches.
"Have someone else decorate for you?" Edward asked lightly, striding into the room and plopping onto Roy's couch. He instant sank into the soft leather couch, surprisingly, and instantly he never wanted to get back up again. Despite the early hour for him, he was ready to go to sleep then and there.
"Maes and Gracia decided that they wanted to decorate my house as a welcome home present." Roy replied stiffly, trying to ignore Edward's snickers. He followed across the room and sat next to Edward who was doing his best to cuddle into the couch so he would never have to get up again.
"Figures. You have no taste."
"How do you figure?" demanded Roy, staring at the blonde boy next to him. Edward pulled a beige pillow towards him and cuddled it into his chest.
"Because you're wearing black socks with a blue and white uniform."
Edward's reply stunned Roy. How did the little blonde boy know that he was wearing black socks?
"Se-cr-et!" Edward chimed, imitating Elysia from the previous night, having guessed Roy's next question. Unconsciously, Edward began to paw at the pillow that he was cuddling like a cat did when content. Roy noticed this though and found it really quite adorable. He always saw the similarities between Ed and the kittens that Al seemed to adore.
"You're so cute." Roy whispered, running his fingers through Ed's hair. Ed began to purr in contention, causing Roy to smile again. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Ed's lips, pulling away after a moment and smiling at the Fullmetal Alchemist who had allowed his eyes to fall shut during the kiss.
"Roy," Edward whispered. Roy's eyes narrowed happily and he dove back in, capturing Edward's lips in a sensual kiss.
Ed slowly transferred his hands from the pillow to Roy's shoulders, enjoying the smell and feel of Roy against him, around him, kissing him. Roy's hand fell from Edward hair to his sides, finding their way underneath of the tight black t-shirt. Roy began to lap at Edward's lips much like a kitten would milk as his fingers began to caress little circles on his sides, making him gasp and allowing Roy the entrance that he desperately wanted. Roy began to expertly explore Edward's warm mouth, enjoying it when Edward would give him a few tentative licks in return. He groaned and hauled Edward into his laps, coxing Ed to put his tongue in his mouth, which Edward complied with. It was Edward's turn to groan as Roy began to suck enthusiastically on his tongue, enjoying the sensations that were being sent to his brain.
Finally, they both withdrew from each other, breathing in the air that they so desperately needed. Roy chuckled when he saw Edward's flushed face, loving how innocent he looked and probably was. Edward, on the other hand, got angry when he heard Roy's chuckle.
"What? Was it that bad? Well it's not my fault that, that was my first kiss!" Edward snarled, about to get off Roy's lap, but Roy's tight hold on him stopped him. He could easily break out of his hold, but then his escape might give away his chimera secret.
"That was your first kiss?" Roy whispered, moving to nuzzle Edward's neck. Edward nodded, relaxing as he felt Roy nuzzle him. His mother had used to do that to him when they were in their chimera forms, not in a sexual manner like Roy was, but god it brought back good memories and made him relax.
"Mmm, it was a very good kiss, a very delicious kiss." Edward pressed up against him, enjoying not only his touch but his words as well.
"Roy!" yelped Edward when Roy nipped at the junction where his neck and shoulder met. Suddenly, Roy realized where this was going and drew away from the little bundle in his lap. He then chuckled at his thoughts, knowing that Edward would scream, yell and throw an all around fit if he knew that he had referred to him as 'little' even in his own thoughts.
After a couple of minutes, Edward whimpered as he pressed himself closer to Roy. All of his instincts were telling him to mate with this man, that he was a good dominate and that he would take good care of him.
"Why'd you stop?" Edward growled his voice deeper than usual. What Edward hadn't realized yet was that he had begun to change into his animal form. His fangs had begun to elongate, his hair was creeping down his spine, making a little trail, and his muscles had stiffened and become a little firmer.
"Not the first night, Ed." Roy whispered. "And I won't take your virginity. Not until you're ready, at least, and you're not ready."
Suddenly, Edward's human side started kicking in. All thoughts of mating flew to the back of his mind and he remembered his mother, that Roy didn't know he was a chimera, and most importantly, Al didn't know that he was interested in men.
"Sorry," Ed apologized, starting to move away but Roy stopped him, pulling him closer so he could snuggle with him.
"Don't be sorry. We're both a little out of the water right now." Edward snickered at this, confusing Roy. "What's so funny?"
"Thought you hated water, thought it rendered your alchemy useless." Edward teased, making Roy growl in amusement. He pinched Edward playfully, making Ed give a rather embarrassing squeak. Roy blinked at him.
"Did you just squeak?"
"I did not!" Edward replied, his face turning as red as a tomato. Roy grinned.
"You did too!"
"Did not." Roy pinched him again, making him squeak and wriggle away from the pinching fingers.
"That's so cute." Roy murmured, making Edward snarl.
"I AM NOT CUTE!"
"I beg to differ."
Ed released another squeak but for an entirely different reason. Roy had stood up with the boy in his arms, whirled around and now had Edward pinned to the couch. Roy initiated another kiss with Ed, making the famed alchemist moan. He eventually pushed Roy away, a sad look in his eyes. He tried to catch his breath but winced.
"Okay, time out." Edward demanded, forcing Roy to get off of him. "Where's your bathroom?"
"Um, down the hall. Why?" Roy asked, pointing. Edward growled and stormed down the hall, looking for the bathroom. When he found it, he went in and closed the door without turning on the light.
Roy sat on the couch for five minutes, impatient for Edward to return. All the while, thoughts ran through his head. Did he do something wrong? Had he hurt him in some way? Why did he need to go to the bathroom? Was he not alright with their relationship? Or maybe they weren't in a relationship yet and that was his problem? Was he pushing something that wasn't going to happen?
Edward finally came out of the bathroom and Roy instantly noticed the different. He chuckled to himself, remembering Edward saying something about unwrapping his chest. Edward stood in front of him, and after a moment of hesitation, sat down in Roy's lap, cuddling up to his superior officer.
"I think I like you better this way." mused Roy after a moment. Edward glared at him.
"What? Because I look more like a girl?" he demanded, growling deeply. Roy shook his head.
"No, because this is the real you and I'm one of the lucky few to have ever seen it."
Edward flushed at his words. That he had not been expecting. That had been so romantic, so smooth, it was unlike the Roy Mustang that he knew. His eyes then narrowed.
"Quit using your smooth talking on me, Mustang. I'm on to you." Roy barked out in laughter at this, surprised that Edward had said such a thing.
"I'm not trying to smooth talk you. I'm telling the truth. You're beautiful, Edward Elric, whether you believe it or not."
Edward looked away, not wanting or willing to believe Roy's words. He instantly wished that Roy hadn't ever muttered them. He wasn't beautiful, he wasn't normal. He was a freak that was a chimera masquerading as a human. How could something like he be beautiful?
"Edward," Roy began, seeing the rejection in his eyes, but then Edward smiled convincingly at him, making him swallow what he was about to say. His eyes flickered over to the clock and noticed that it was 2:13 am.
"Edward," he began again. "It's late. Do you want to go back to your dorm or do you want to stay here with me?"
Edward bit his lower lip, weighing the consequences of going back to the dorm where Al was most likely waiting to chew him out or stay the night with Roy and the possibility of mating. Roy sensed his indecision and ran his fingers soothingly through Edward's hair. He didn't want Ed to leave.
"If you spend the night, nothing will happen. Not until you're ready." Roy promised. Edward then whispered something that Roy didn't quite hear. "What was that Ed?"
Edward swallowed and then repeated the sentence that he had only said once to one person ever before. "I don't want what killed my mom to kill me."
Roy's brow furrowed at his words. Edward's mother died from a strange disease that was unknown and had quickly taken her life. Why would Edward think that he was going to happen to him?
"What are you talking about?"
"Mom didn't die of a disease. It was a lie that we told Al and everyone else. Mom died because he left, she died because he wasn't there to love her. I don't want to love you and have you leave me like he did her. I don't want to die because you're not there to love me." confessed the Fullmetal Alchemist. Roy felt his heart breaking at his words and cuddled Edward closer to him.
"We'll take everything slow, I promise. I won't leave you unless you want me to." promised Roy, which made Edward a little angry.
"Don't make promises that you don't know that you can keep!"
"I'm not. Until you tell me to go to hell, I'll love you in whatever manner you want me to love you as. I'll love you as a lover, I'll love you as a friend, I'll even love you as your superior officer. I won't leave you, Ed. I promise."
Right then, Roy made up Ed's mind for him. He was going to stay the night with him. What Ed didn't know was that Roy's words made more of an impact on him than he knew.
The next morning at the office, the entire mood was tense. No one was able to concentrate enough on work, but for the sake of appearance's sake, they all pretended to be working while Al sat in a chair next to Breda's desk, Winry sat next to Hawkey's desk, quietly working on an automail arm that she had brought especially for Ed since it was more durable than the one he had now. In the corner next to Havoc's desk sat Pinako, quietly puffing away on her pipe, staring out the window.
The few people who came into the office to deliver or pick up papers could feel the tension and would leave as quickly as they could to get away from it. Rumors quickly spread throughout Central headquarters that something was going on up there and that if anyone knew what was good for them, they'd stay out of it.
After 11:00, Hawkeye began to get a little twitchy. Mustang was three and a half hours late for work. Occasionally he was a little late for work, and there had been times when he was an hour late, but at those times he would call in and give them forewarning. Today though, there had been no call.
Everyone else also notice that Mustang was late. They had all also noticed that Edward had failed to show up as well. No one had seen him since the incident yesterday. No one at the library could recall seeing him, no one at restaurants could remember seeing him, no one in the cafeteria could remember seeing him, no one in the food market could remember seeing, and no one from the town's law enforcement could even remember seeing him. And that was worrying.
"Miss Hawkeye," Alphonse spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "Do you think you could call the police station one more time? Maybe there was a mistake earlier and they really do have brother in a holding cell."
"Alphonse, I've called them three separate times already, Havoc's called them twice, and Falman even went to check their cells at nine. Edward's not there." Hawkeye said sternly, a sad glint in her eye.
"Sorry." Alphonse murmured.
"GIMME BACK MY DONUT!" a shrill scream broke their silence.
"It's my donut now, Fullmetal!" another yell broke the silence.
"YOU BASTARD!"
BOOM
Both Mustang and Edward came rushing into the room, Roy holding a donut well above Edward's head who was desperately trying to grab it.
"You're not getting this donut as punishment for making us late for work!" Roy growled.
"I made us late?! You're the one who overslept! I should never have stayed the night at your house!" Edward snarled, leaping up for his donut and missing it by a few inches when Roy jerked away.
"If you hadn't insisted on staying up so late!" Roy growled back, stopping himself as he realized that they were in the office. "Then I would have remembered to set my alarm clock!"
"Bullshit! I had nothing to do with it! Ah-ha!" Edward cried, finally grabbing the donut. He then ran into Roy's office with it, quickly devouring his prize.
"Get back here!" Roy bellowed, running in after the blonde, slamming the door behind him.
The two of them never knew that they left an entire room full of stunned people with the exception of one. Pinako stood up and began to walk towards the door.
"I told you the boy would be just fine once he had some time to himself. Now come along Al, Winry, we have some shopping to do." Pinako ordered. Al cast a longing look towards the door, as did Winry, but both of them knew better then to disobey the elderly woman.
"Yes ma'am." They chimed. Winry packed up everything that she had been working on and Al stood up and walked towards the door.
"Miss Hawkeye, can you tell brother that I'll be back before 4:00 pm and we can all go to dinner together?" Al asked. Hawkeye gave him one swift nod, which if Al hadn't been incased in a suit of armor, he would have smiled. "Thank you."
Riza waited for fifteen minutes before she collected up a stack of paper work that Mustang needed to sign. After a quick rap on his office door, she opened it and strode in without waiting for a reply. As she walked in, her eyes strayed to the couch where one Edward Elric was fast asleep, soft snores could faintly be heard coming from him.
"Sir," Riza began softly, but stopped when Roy smiled up at her.
"He had a long night. Let him sleep." Roy then grimaced as he shifted in just the right way to get his shoulder hurting again. The painkillers that Pinako had given him the other day had worn off by morning and he could feel all the damage he had done to it by ignoring the fact that it was injured the previous night. "I should never have never taunted the boy with his greatest mistake."
Riza's eyes narrowed as she recalled something like this being mentioned the previous day. She glanced again at Edward, making sure that he was still asleep. She was still quite angry with him, after all, he had attacked and injured the man that she was sworn to protect and was his superior officer who he should respect.
"Sir, I believe you should give a proper explanation to all of your men." Riza said stiffly. Roy winced again, knowing that she was right. He shouldn't have let that happen yesterday, at least not that publically. He knew his men weren't gossips and were loyal to a fault, but what had happened yesterday would cause them to distrust not only him but Edward as well. Roy rose from behind his desk and gave Riza a quick nod. She strode from the room, letting him gather his thoughts.
Roy looked over at Ed, noticing that his golden eyes were open. He mouthed a 'good luck bastard' at him, making him scowl at the little blonde. He then pompously strode from the room, his ego instantly deflating as soon as he closed his office door, locking Edward inside. He then turned towards his men, noticing their eyes were all on him.
"Lock the door, Breda." He ordered instantly, pleased to see his man quickly hopping to. He waited until the door was locked and Breda was reseated before he began to explain.
"As all of you know, Edward and Al tried to bring their mother back to life years ago with human alchemy. They failed and it cost Al his body and Ed his arm and leg. It was because of this travesty that they came to join the military." Roy paused here, knowing that his men were impatient for the rest of the story, but he needed to figure out where the best place was to continue.
"After we had dinner with the Hughes's, a little black book of alchemy was found. After reading some, it was decided that it was Fullmetal's notebook. Maes then entrusted the book to me to return to Fullmetal." Here Roy swallowed with guilt. "I promised him that I would return the book that night. Instead, I went home and read through it, breaking my promise."
Roy didn't even look at his men. He didn't want to even know what they were thinking. And he could sense Riza's anger without even looking at her.
"In Fullmetal's book were things that I had no business reading. Notes on how to bring his mother back to life were amongst these notes. There was," he paused again, wincing. "incriminating information in that book. I then thought it would be funny to blackmail him with his own book."
He closed his eyes with regret. This was the hardest thing he had ever done. This was even harder then when he had quit drinking after Ishbal. Knowing that he had been completely in the wrong and that he needed to apologize to his men is what kept his going on with the tale.
"There wasn't just information on how to bring back the dead in his book though. Fullmetal had also filled the book with personal thoughts and feelings that I had no business reading, that I knew that he would kill to keep secret. So when he came yesterday looking for the book, I taunted him with it, knowing all of his secrets that he would do anything to keep quiet."
"Sir," Fuery began, but Roy ignored him, continuing on.
"He didn't react the way I thought he would. Instead of doing anything to keep it quiet, he was ready to kill me to keep it quiet. I even threatened to give his book to Maes and his squad so that everyone would know of his shame. I don't know if I would have really done it or not, much to my disgust." Roy finally looked up at his men. "I was in the wrong and Fullmetal did nothing wrong. Don't be angry with him." Roy said, shooting that last part at Riza who had the decency to blush.
"I'll understand if you would want to transfer out or if you no longer trust me. Just know that Fullmetal and I have come to an understanding and I think I have been forgiven. I'll leave you to your thoughts." Roy then turned on his heel and re-entered his office, this time leaving his door open.
Roy sat behind his desk and began to read through and sign papers. After five minutes had passed, Riza came and delivered more papers and closed the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed, Edward stopped pretending that he was sleeping and went over to Roy, wrapping his arms around the man that he loved.
"I forgive you." Edward murmured. "But you still owe me."
"Mmm? And what do you want me to do to get rid of my debt?" Roy asked, turning to wrap his arms around his boyfriend.
"You have to carry my library books for the next two weeks and you have to buy me dinner every night for two weeks." Edward informed him. Roy nodded, burying his face in Ed's chest.
"I'll do all that after your family has left." Roy murmured. Edward frowned.
"I guess you're right." Edward snuggled up against Roy, nuzzling the top of his dark head. After a few more minutes like this, Edward gently pushed Roy away. "You have work to do."
"And what are you going to do?" Roy demanded. Edward went back over and plopped down on the couch, closing his eyes.
"Sleep." He replied like it was obvious.
After ten minutes had passed with him doing nothing but work, he looked over at Ed and realized that he was really asleep this time. There were no soft snores, no occasional twitching, or even the slightest movement. Edward was dead still, his breaths so even and slow that you could barely tell that his chest was moving.
"Sir?" a deep voice asked, making him look up. He hadn't even noticed that his door had opened. All of his men stood there, even Riza. He glanced back over at Edward, making sure that the blonde was still asleep. He was disappointed to notice that Edward was back to faking sleep, having turned ever so slightly so he could hear what was going on even better.
"Colonel, we would like to say that we don't really approve of what you did, but we don't really like how Edward responded either. But we still trust you and if you don't mind sir, we'd like to stay." Breda spoke for all them, who were nodding at his words. Roy nodded in understanding.
"Very well men, get back to work."
"Sir," Hawkeye said, not returning to her desk. Roy looked up at her.
"Yes Lieutenant?"
"When Edward wakes up, please inform him that Alphonse will be back at 4:00 so that they may go to dinner with Winry and Pinako." Roy nodded.
"Understood." Hawkeye nodded and turned to leave but froze when she heard what was said.
"Did you hear that, Ed?"
"Yeah, Al's gonna be back at 4:00. I'm goin' back to sleep." Hawkeye turned around and saw Edward shifting on the couch so his back faced the rest of the room. She smiled, shaking her head, returning to her desk for work.
What did you guys think? I wasn't really sure about this chapter, but like I said, this thing is kinda taking on a life of it's own. I keep going to go work on my other stories but I keep being drawn back to this and working on it. I mean, I was even drawn away from a cartoon series I was reacquainting myself with that I love dearly. Anyways, gimme some feedback since I know a lot of you aren't giving me feedback.
I mean, really, over 150 hits and I only get 8 reviews. Come on guys!
