A/N: wopps XD I know, it's been ages since I updated. I've been in no mood for writing, with all the final exams eating up my energy and all. I sat down today and thought that hey I've only got one damned exam left and then it's like nothing left so what the heck XD so yeah, here's another chapter. I don't wanna think about how many readers that've left this story due to my slow updating...-sighs- damn. again, I'm sorry.

enough of that, let's get going! ;)

Prove Yourself

Chapter 7: Almost giving in

Roy poked lightly at his bandaged wound with an expression of absolute boredom. It had gone about half a minute since Edward departure, and he'd spent about fifteen of those seconds complaining about the boy's denseness before he realized it wouldn't get him anywhere. The time after that he'd been trying to figure out how to cool down. Images of Armstrong had passed through his mind on impulse, but it disgusted him too much be ever be repeated again. Unless it was an emergency. Now he was trying to see if the pain would lessen his appetite for more stimulation. He poked again, this time harder, and winced. Yup, it seemed to work. The painkillers only did as much as to lessen the pain in his unmoving state; they didn't really help if you provoked the pain. Which he was glad for. Poking again, he bit his tongue and sighed.

Damn this was boring. What he wouldn't give to rewind and re-do his slight mistake. No matter what the consequences (a pissed Ed and a weakened defense against temptation) it was worth it.

"No Mustang," he growled under his breath. "It was NOT worth it. Focus, focus…"

He massaged his temples as he tried to change his attitude against the whole situation. Maybe if he could get some sleep it would be easier to think this through. Perhaps the memory of the young Alchemist against him wouldn't be as burning fresh and exciting as it was now.

He poked at the wound yet again, annoyed that his mind seemed to wander off when he had already decided to try and fall asleep. All he needed to do was close his eyes and try his hardest to muffle the voice of his thoughts. Imagining clouds often helped. So he did. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly; seeing in his mind the bright blue sky he'd gazed at so many times through the window of his office.

The room was pleasantly silent, and the atmosphere relaxed. But the problem with silent rooms is the benefit for thinking well and clear. And if you're trying your hardest to not think; relaxing isn't an option. You can't concentrate on preventing something if you're relaxing.

I wonder if he's asleep yet, Roy thought absently as he turned in the bed. I hope he suffers the irritable brat. Damn him and his unborn chicken.

It took him a few seconds before he realized his mind had gone back to the object he was trying to keep out from his thoughts. He clenched his fists, grabbing the sheets, and tried to push out the images flashing before his closed eyes.

"Somehow, this isn't working," Roy growled as he opened his eyes to glare at the ceiling. He needed to try something else.

Counting sheep wouldn't help, that's for sure. He would only get bored and find something else to think about. And it wasn't hard to figure out what that something would be. Roy sighed and decided that he had no other choice but lay here and let his mind do what it wanted to do until it was satisfied. He would just have to wait for sleep, like any other person. What a bother.

Roy glanced up to the clock, realizing it's only gone a minute or two. Sometimes time doesn't go by as fast as you'd expect. He sighed and turned to lie on his side, closing his eyes once again. His mind went straight to the problem at hand. Not much surprise there.

Roy wasn't a fool. He had somehow known that Edward would try and prove himself instead of backing down, but he'd taken the chance anyway. He had been forced to, since there hadn't been anymore options. His subordinate had kissed him, in the office at work, so of course he had been forced to refuse him. But, he mused, perhaps I should've been less considerate about his feelings. Because if he had rejected him with harsh word, a sneer of disgust, and perhaps even a punishment, then perhaps he wouldn't have been encouraged to fight for it. He himself had kissed back though; there was no point in denying that. And today, only a few minutes ago, Roy had been the one to make the first move. Had he pretended to be disgusted and angry, then it would've only looked stupid and obvious.

What a mess. How was he going to get out of this one? What moral did the Military have anyway? Edward might be inexperienced in anything concerning romance, like a child, but why couldn't he be the one to teach him that? Wasn't it safer, if he was to be the boy's first relationship when he knew he cared for the youngster and wouldn't do anything to hurt him? Questions and more questions. All of them could only be answered by actually doing something else than just thinking, which was bad. It didn't take him any closer to a solution. Perhaps he should just give up and…

"I DON'T NEED EXTRA FOOD TO HELP ME GROW, I'M ALREADY TALL!"

Roy blinked. Eh? Was that Edward?

"AND I AM NOT SMALLER THAN A THIRD OF A SHRIMP'S LEG!"

Defiantly him, Roy thought as his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. They should make the walls more soundproof around here if they were going to keep Edward Elric from disturbing others who were actually trying to solve problems instead of causing them.

"WOULD YOU KEEP QUIET YOU LITTLE RUNT, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Roy yelled, the frustration taking over. He breathed hard and was a bit surprised at how much better he felt. He grinned, but froze in a grimace when the reply came.

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!"

He wasn't that old. Roy growled and forcefully buried his head in the pillow in case Edward would continue. When nothing more came, he relaxed and sighed. The option for giving up and give in to temptation suddenly seemed more impossible as the age difference came to mind. Roy groaned and shook his head. That was close; he'd almost decided to let Edward have his way, after all.

When Edward had left the Colonel he'd been fuming. He ripped the door to his room open and slammed it shut behind him with a satisfying BAM! before he ran over to his bed and fell down.

"BASTARD!!" he screamed into the pillow. Mustang made him so angry he could barely get one word out, and he did it so easily it pissed him off even more. The man was evil; he must get some sick pleasure out of being an asshole. Why had he gone in there dammit? Now he was left with a knot in his stomach that, somehow, he couldn't explain. It wasn't like when he was nervous (or scared, but he left that out even in his mind), it was almost…pleasant. It tightened when he thought back to the soft lips and tongue tasting him, and the hard bulge pressing against his...behind. Ed grimaced as his mind dove straight into the gutter; making his skin tingle as his cheeks turned red. He couldn't quite understand, but his mind seemed to take things into its own hands. He could almost feel the large hands on his hips, keeping him in place...how something hard and warm was pressed against him… Then, a deep kiss, those black eyes staring….

"Oh for fucks sake!" Ed shouted, burying his face further into the pillow as he slammed his fists into the bed. He breathed hard, turning his head in order to gain access to oxygen, and groaned. If it had been hard to fall asleep before, it was close to hell right now. He seemed to be left with more questions than answers. Well, at least he knew the bastard was well up and functioning enough to…do that. Edward sighed and stared blankly at the door, trying to decide how to solve this problem. He had two days of this before him, so he better think up a way to survive. Frowning, he closed his eyes and thought. And pondered, and growled, and thought some more.

"Mr Edward Elric?" a cheerful voice called, breaking the routine of problem-solving he'd been in. Annoyed, he cracked one eye open to glare at a young nurse making her way towards him. The first thing he registered was the tray of food. The second was the glass of milk standing upon it, looking as if was worthy. He didn't notice much else as he sat up, glaring at the white liquid.

"I brought a night snack; someone said you would be hungry by now and the Doctor said it wouldn't hurt with some extra nourishment. You'll need it to grow, you know, and it'll help you heal faster won't it?" she said with a smile, voice light and pleasant even if it sounded a bit strained. Either she was overly social, or she was trying hard to be nice. Edward didn't catch either of these facts, since the sight of food and then the comment about his growing distracted him. He seemed to be arguing with himself, trying to decide if he should devour the food or rant about the obvious insult to his height first. He went for a compromise, and decided doing both at the same time was a brilliant idea that saved time.

Snatching the tray from the still smiling nurse, Edward grabbed the chopsticks and went straight for the food. He did this while glaring at the poor, smiling, woman and soon swallowed the first bite.

"I DON'T NEED EXTRA FOOD TO HELP ME GROW, I'M ALREADY TALL!" he snapped, taking another bite as he paused. The nurse blinked while he swallowed. "AND I AM NOT SMALLER THAN A THIRD OF A SHRIMP'S LEG!"

"WOULD YOU KEEP QUIET YOU LITTLE RUNT, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" a voice shouted from the other room. Edward froze, recognizing the voice despite how muffled it was. The nurse opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and sighed; muttering something about listening to the warnings in the future.

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" Edward yelled back, voice cracking. He didn't notice the nurse leaving, and besides, when no reply came he felt too smug to care. Finally, peace and quiet returned to the hospital room and Edward could fully enjoy the light meal before him. If he could stop glaring at the wall before him, that is.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to yell some more, if only to enjoy the fact that he'd made Mustang shut up a bit longer. And maybe figure out why that was. It made him slightly uncomfortable, since the Colonel always got the last word unless it was something serious. Then he would shut up and make his point by staying silent and looking all grown-up and wise and grave.

So, because he couldn't see if Mustang was lying in bed looking wistful or not, then he couldn't know if he'd actually made him shut up by outwitting him (ignoring the fact that his comment wasn't very witty in the first place) or not. That's the only reason as to why he was quietly consuming his food while staring straight at the wall, seemingly trying to see through it. Right?

"If it weren't for…" Ed mumbled as he swallowed the last bite, sentence fading as he lowered his hand holding the chopsticks. He wanted to go back in there. But he couldn't. Not now anyway. Perhaps tomorrow? He could make a lame excuse about being bored, and bring a deck of cards.

He sighed and put the tray on the small table by the bed, leaving the milk untouched, and laid back down. Now back to chasing sleep. Somehow, it was harder than before.

A/N: ...and somehow I know you're disappointed XD lol. OOC and well...short and not that much action. I'll make sure to make more goodness if our Ed decides to sneak into Roy's room again. feel the pressure Ed; it's all up to you -grins-

anyway, I know I've been bad, but please review? -puppy eyes-