Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, none of the characters (cept for the ones I make up and just conveniently place them in here), places nada. I also make no $ what so ever from writing this, it's just for my own fun and amusement.

Ed wondered what to do about Ophelia; she was far too big now to be put in a sling. It was either leave her at home with Al, or put her into a carrier. Ed supposed if she did that it could be strapped down. She thought about this as she sat on her motorcycle. It was many of the unseen –until it had been unloaded; it was in crate- items in the storage unit. Ed had gotten it when they had gone to the states to visit Roselle's family. Once Ed saw the 27JD; V-twin motor Harley-Davidson she had to get it. It was and most likely still is a top of the line bike when she got it. Mostly everything on it was heavily customized –to Ed's taste- and had a rack over the back wheel to hold the saddlebags; even those had been tamped with; they had the, a Flamel had been embroidered onto the bags. It had been painted black and red with the maker's logo still on the gas tank. The woman leaned forward, settling her forehead on the handlebars; still debating what to do with her feline companion. At least she had already told Phoenix she was going to be a bit busy today. Maybe I'll leave her at home, I'd prefer to bring her with me but I don't think Roy would appreciate being tackled by her again. He seemed rather irritated the last time… And a least she won't be by herself.

Roy waited impatiently for Ed to arrive at his home. During their dinner after the first lesson, they had discussed when they should have another. The two decided on days the brunette didn't have to work; which were usually Sundays. Just thinking about that day made him conjure the vision of Ed in the park where he had found her with a monarch butterfly in her hair, with out a care in the world; it had made his underpants a bit confining… then and now. She had looked like some kind of angel. An angel…? Roy tsked softly at himself. If Edward was an angel; she would be an angel of mass destruction. The day before the older man had purchased all the ingredients Ed would need –hopefully- for whatever she decided to teach him today. He started to pace around his living room, he heard the sound of a motor. Rushing over to the window, upon looking out he saw the blonde straddling her vehicle. As he watched the blonde moved a little–to get the stand down- Roy's mouth salivated. He found the site captivating; Ed in her usual attire and gracefully moving her leg over to join the other on left side of the motorcycle. If he thought that it was restrictive earlier; now they were down right tight. Roy could feel his erection straining against underwear; thankfully he was wearing loose trousers. As calmly as possible he went to open the front door.

Mustang waited; leaning against the door jam when he had opened it fully. He continued to watch Ed steadying her bike, and reaching to grasp the saddlebags. Roy let out a sigh of relief that Ophelia wasn't with her. It wasn't that he didn't like the animal… it just seemed to him that it liked him a bit too much. "Where is your cat Edward? And do you have a license to drive that?" Braided gold swirled as she turned.

"I left her at home with Al." A fire lit up in her eyes that never failed to make Mustang warm under the collar; as she took in the second question. "Not that it's any of your business but yes, I have the proper papers that allow me to drive, asshole." Ed speedily waltzed up to and through the door. The brunette held back the urge to sweep her up into his arms.

"So what is on the menu tonight, Edward?" A large and bright smile was given.
"Don't know. Let me see what you've got and we'll decide from there."

What they ended up making was Cordon Bleu, potato salad –Ed called it kartoffelsalat; which Mustang learned meant the same thing- and some vegetables and the only thing that the man didn't make –to which he was curious about- sauerkraut. Roy of course did all the cooking; Ed supervised and told him what to do when he asked. Neither of them noticed what a big chunk of time it took; since they were have a good time. Both of them thankful for no… kitchen disasters on Mustang's part. Sometime –when there was time- Roy glanced at the ungloved hands. He took in the look of the automail specifically. To his eyes it did resemble the work Winry had done in the past, but… it also looked more…real. At one point he could have sworn he saw grooves in the metal that looked like fingernails. When everything was done, Ed took a little into her mouth. "Very good, even better than last time. For an old man you catch on quickly." Roy has started to grin at the praise, but his lips twisted into a scowl once the words 'old man' reached his ears. He was thirty-five; that wasn't exactly old. After warning her with a growl, he took in a breath.

"Will you be staying for supper?" Gold burned into midnight blue; curious about his motives. Soon her flesh hand came up and ruffled her bangs.

"I suppose so; you go set the table… I'll go get us something to drink." The man nodded and started to plate the meal. It took Ed awhile to come back but she did; a bottle of non-alcoholic cider was with her. Roy had to raise a brow at her choice; he would have thought she'd pick some type of wine. She seemed to catch what he was thinking. "I don't have alcohol, if I plan to drive." The older man smirked.

"Is Eddie scared to have a drink?" he teased. Ed's left eye twitched as they somehow widen at the same time. Has someone called her Eddie before? He pondered.

"I'm fine with alcohol; it's just better for me not to drink if I plan to drive. I made that mistake once when I was nineteen, almost drove into a tree and a ditch. So I slept in the car for a while until I felt sober enough to drive." Roy held his breath as Ed told him that. Thankful that Edward wasn't hurt then. He promised himself that he wouldn't ever tease the blonde again about the subject. Inaudibly he leaned over and kissed her forehead; to silently apologize. Her cheeks now colored in a soft pink; huffed.
"Let's eat before the food gets cold."

"Alright Edward." Roy said as he took the bottle from Ed and as he began to fill the glasses the golden female quietly said.
"Bon appétit."

Ed arrived home and slumped against the handle bars a little. Shaking her head, she got the stand down and made sure the bike didn't move as she got off. Before opening one of her saddles bags she looked around; all day she had felt that someone was watching her. After dismissing the thought she pulled out Mustang's shirt, she had taken back the other one –since his scent had started to fade, - and had taken this one in its place; because it didn't have the smell of cologne in the collar, just the man's natural aroma. Her eyelids closing halfway, as the shirt in her hand was raised covering the lower part of her face. The blonde had been a bit surprised that Mustang had called her 'Eddie' while teasing. A soft smile curved her lips; Roselle always called her that when she teased. The blonde chuckled at how much alike those two could be, when they weren't even trying. She was also inwardly glad that Mustang hadn't minded the taste of the pickled cabbage; in fact he seemed to actually like it. Ed jumped slightly as she felt Ophelia rubbing up against her leg; successfully getting her out of her daze.

Ed stuffed the shirt back where she had pulled it from; then looked down at the little brat. "Al must have let you out just now." Glancing up she didn't see Alphonse waiting for her at the door, in fact the door was closed. Shrugging she walked her motorcycle to park it in its proper place and gathered her saddlebags placing them over her right shoulder. She didn't bother being quiet since Al was obviously still up; and most likely engrossed by a book. Ed hoped he wouldn't see the shirt in her bags. Before she went inside though the blonde checked on Li-Lóng juǎn fēng; -who now was called 'Li' for short- who was hitched to a nearby tree. She gently petted the beast –who nuzzled its head against her-; glad that she was teaching her brother how to care for him… no matter how messy it was. Back on the other side Ed had to trim and shoe Royce herself a couple of times; she recalled that Royce's owner did it as well. Ophelia dutifully followed not putting up a fuss.

"Maybe Al will find someone in Resembool to shoe you, since it would be hard to teach him myself with out the proper time and tools. Ed started to snicker about the breed of the horse. It always comes back to the bastard doesn't it? The blonde sighed as she gave one last pat to the colt and went inside, Ophelia darting inside just before her as she opened the door. Al was indeed reading and didn't look up as his sister walked in.

"Welcome home sister. Did it go well?"

"Yes actually… and surprisingly…" She answered as she walked past him. Those slightly darker amber eyes looked up for just a moment, but they did indeed see the shirt -peeking out from inside the bag- that Ed had procured from the good Lt. General. He didn't say a word as his lips quirked up in a humored smile.

Ed was at the train station the next morning, seeing off her little brother and Li. The mustang was loaded up with most other animals in one of the boxcars further back; and with nothing a lot smaller than him of course. Before he had been put on the train, Ed had gently caressed the horse's neck and softly talked to the black beast. She was happy that she was able to give her brother the basics –of caring and riding- before hand. The Elric siblings hugged each other, smiling. "I'll come to visit soon as I can, Al."

"I know, just call next time when you plan to visit." Ed laughed.

"Don't worry, I will. The same applies to you too." The second to last call for boarding came. The two hugged one more time while saying their goodbyes and the younger slipped from her arms; getting on the train. Al waved at her as the train started to leave, the elder waved back until she couldn't see Al anymore. She felt Ophelia nuzzle her leg and stand on her hind legs. Edward absentmindedly petted her head. "Goodbye Alphonse, see you soon."

Ed's first night by her lonesome; was like if Al was still there, except she was cooking for one instead of two. As was her habit of many years; so she had made meals for two and cursed when she realized it. She knew it was gonna take some getting use to, but for the time being… having a bit of leftovers wasn't so bad. It was around eleven before she decided to curl up in bed with a book. She stripped off all of her clothing, throwing them in the direction of the hamper. She slipped on the white shirt that laid about mid-thigh. Recently she had started to go to bed with just the shirt, no under things on what so ever. The only time she did wear anything under it was when she was in the around the house –boxers- or during that time of the month or when she knew she was getting close to it. For Ed it had already passed; she finished rolling up the sleeves a bit –again- since they always liked to unroll and cover Ed's hands. Ed wandered over to her shelf of books, looking threw them to see what she felt like reading. While looking her mind mused and slightly worried if Mustang would notice grease stains from her automail on the white –which is why she normally wore dark colors- fabric. The blonde did her best with getting them out before returning them; so hopefully the elder man wouldn't notice. Her finger stopped at the title Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and slipped out from between the other books. Book in hand she flipped the top light off, and turned on the bedside lamp as she climbed in. Near the bed was a robe like clothing –it used frog buttons instead of a sash- that she knew Roselle use to wear in the mornings to cover her pajamas; Ed would wear it for the same reason when she was in a hurry to answer the door and didn't have enough time for anything else. Ed settled herself under the covers, opening her book; feeling Ophelia jump onto the bed and settling near the pillow next to Ed's body. She read until she dozed off; her head tilting off to the side and the book settled on her chest.

It was in the early morning when Ed had a hazy level of consciousness; still half asleep she felt a broad hand gently caressing her hair. She could hear voices but not what they were saying; they were familiar and comforting. Ed focused what little mind she had use of on the hand; she knew this hand, she had felt it years ago when she was just a child and thought to be sleeping at the time. Her muddled mind wasn't able to process the fact that this was impossible. Her eye lids fluttered a touch as a word softly -in a child like voice- passed her lips. "Vati…(1)" The appendage paused in its movements for but a moment before continuing the gentle touch. The owner of the hand gave a soft sound of confirmation and that was all Edward needed. She shuffled a little before settle back down comfortably. On the verge of slumber; she felt tender –fatherly- affection grace her brow.

'Sleep well Edward...I love you.' Ed smiled sweetly; in a way that usually only little children could.

1) It means 'Dad' or 'Daddy', from what I've been told it just depends on the speaker if it's dad or daddy. In this case since Ed is not quite awake its daddy. Thanks to Iriko-chan for this info.

Sorry if that last scene was a bit on the sweet side; but I just couldn't help myself; I was watching episode 20 of brotherhood and couldn't resist. Anyone who has seen it knows what I'm talking about. Can't anyone just see Ed riding a motorcycle? I could and there it is. Kukuku. Sorry I don't much else to mention so talk to my latest reviewers.
To WolesAngelz: you're welcome, I'll try to update at least once a week… hopefully.
To Kijo Kurosaki: *blushes while scratching her cheek but smiling* I'm glad you love and are enjoying my story. Sorry if I'm taking a little too long with updating.

To Yolea Irk's: Yyyeessssss. I love the office scene too *cackles* oh who is the one with the black pearl eyes? You'll see in the next chapter; and maybe even have a laugh at their expense. *waggles eyebrows*

If you have any questions, suggestions, anything you'd like to see in this story, or just anything in general e-mail me at lumina_the_mutant (At) yahoo (dot) com, PM me threw , or review any will do. Please R&R, until next time folks.