Disclaimer: I own nothing. You don't either, XP. LOL!

I want to say thanks to KageNoNeko, Fabi Washu, LilDemonWarrior, ssadropout, StarCatcher1858, Toushirou-chan, Hina Kita and Cantata Blue for your great reviews! And also for your support regarding my boss' attempt at killing me, you're the best!

I also want to say a big thank you to my wonderful beta-reader, ssadropout!

Chapter 10 – Old Friends Meet

November 21st, 1917

When Roy opened his eyes, it was still dark in the bedroom. He pulled his covers closer to his face, wondering about the time. At the factory he used to wake up at five o`clock in the morning, but he knew Riza didn't get up until six. An extra hour to sleep was most welcomed. He looked up at the bed by his side. Riza wanted him to take the bed so he wouldn't be cold during the night, but there was no way he was going to let her sleep on the floor and take her bed for himself. And sharing a single bed was out of the question.

The alarm clock went off a few minutes later, so they both got up.

"Didn't you feel cold during the night?" Riza asked Roy, as he walked around the bedroom in his boxers and T-shirt, collecting his blankets and pillow from the floor.

"No, don't worry," he said, putting everything on the bed and looking for his clothes.

"Are you sure?" she still insisted, as he got dressed.

"I am. Thanks for your concern," Roy said, finally leaving the bedroom so Riza could get changed.

They met in the kitchen, and as soon as they sat down to have breakfast, Harold sat by Roy`s side with a mischievous smile on his face. Roy and Riza could both anticipate some dirty joke.

"So, you finally had an entire night for yourselves," Harold said.

"Yup," Roy answered with a smile.

"That's good, because you should have kids while you're still young," Hope joined their conversation.

Hope sat down across from them, and then Nancy also came. With Roy staying in the house, both soldiers knew their fake marriage would be the topic of the conversation for days.

"You want kids, right?" Hope inquired them.

After a moment of silence, Roy decided to invent something just to end the conversation. He shrugged and said in a tone of fake disappointment, "We just haven't been lucky, yet."

"That's because you don't have enough sex, you dummy," Harold complained loudly, making Roy regret having bothered to say something. "You know what? The doctor said either me or Hope, maybe both of us, can't have children. But we tried all kinds of things, so I'll give you a few tips later, Roy," Harold offered happily, slapping his hand on the table and laughing.

They finished breakfast, and Roy said he would go back to the factory just to get the suitcase he had left there. Riza followed him to the door, but Roy turned around to talk to her before he left.

"When I come back, please, don't even dream of leaving me alone with Harold," he pleaded.

"I'll see what I can do," Riza replied with a sigh, "but our disguise will be compromised if we keep acting so awkward."

"I know. We'll figure it out," Roy said.

She closed the door after him and went back to the kitchen. The others were still there, looking at her with curiosity.

"Do you think Roy forgot what day is today?" Hope asked Riza, when she joined them.

"He probably forgot it."

Riza wouldn't be surprised. Roy was very forgetful and terrible with dates. At least she hadn't forgotten it.

"What did you get for him?" Nancy asked, drinking the rest of her coffee.

"A flat cap."

"That's nice. We got him a little something as well," Hope said, speaking for the three of them. "Perhaps you could take a look at it, I don't know if it won't be too big for him."

Hope went to her bedroom and came back with a wool sweater they had bought from a store nearby. Riza took a look at it and concluded it should fit him perfectly. She actually knew the size of his clothes, just like she knew lots of other things about him. He probably knew more about her than she would expect too, she thought.

The moment Roy came back from the factory, Harold met him in the hall and barely gave him enough time to take his suitcase to the bedroom. The Brigadier General gulped, thinking that Harold would have some weird advice about sex and having kids, but the gardener dragged Roy back to the kitchen instead.

"Don't you remember what day is today?" Harold asked Roy and laughed at the younger man's puzzled expression when they finally joined the women.

"It's… wait a minute…" Roy started to say as it finally dawned on him, "it's my birthday, isn't it?" he asked surprised, before coughing a little.

They all laughed at him, but Roy just smiled a bit sheepishly. He had totally forgotten about his own birthday, so busy he had been. And now as he opened the two gifts he had gotten, he thought of how such an unimportant thing could become a memory to cherish. He unwrapped the flat cap, turned it on his hands to examine it, and placed it on his head.

"How do I look?" he asked Riza.

"Handsome," she had to admit.

Roy stood up and went to the hall to look at himself on the mirror. The flat cap did make him look more stylish, and Riza thought that he looked handsome. That was enough for him to love the gift.

"That's a cool hat," Aidan said, walking into the hall with a still sleepy face.

"What if I turn it like this?" Roy joked, turning the cap on his head to the side and making the boy laugh.

"Don't be silly," Riza said, walking towards him and straightening the hat again.

She brushed his hair away from his face and looked at him. Roy smiled quietly at her. Not long ago he had realized that the fake marriage arrangement had managed to bring back feelings he had believed to be under control. And he had actually thought he could easily pretend to be her husband.

"Well, it's time to eat! Nancy baked a cake for us!" Hope announced, and they went back to the kitchen, Aidan feeling very happy to join them.

They didn't have much time though, as they still had to clean the house. Roy decided to do his laundry, since he would now finally have the time, but was chased out of the laundry room by Hope and Riza. They both thought that he shouldn't be working with water as he was sick. Roy didn't exactly agree, but decided not to argue. He could help with the cleaning or maybe help Harold in the yard. Riza went to sweep the house as usual, but Hope soon came to take the broom from her.

"It's your husband's birthday," Hope said in a low voice. "Go spend some time with him."

"I'll just finish here."

"Riza, you two make a lovely couple, but you have to give him more attention."

"I give him all the attention he needs," Riza complained.

"You know what kind of attention I'm talking about. Seriously, I'm worried about you two. Is there something wrong with your marriage?"

"No, nothing is wrong."

Hope dragged her back to the kitchen when Roy came into the hall. The woman really wasn't willing to give up yet.

"When was the last time you had sex?" she asked, determined to solve the matter at any cost.

Riza felt that she was being too intrusive already, but thought that this kind of conversation probably wasn't out of the ordinary for married women. She had heard a few friends who were married talking about these things like they didn't mind it and thought it would be better to just pretend she didn't mind it either.

"Yesterday, like Roy said," the Lieutenant lied.

"Really?" Hope asked doubtfully.

"Really, it was great," she added, to sound more convincing.

Riza finally managed to escape from her concerned friend and went back to the hall, looking for Roy. She found him talking to Harold, or actually, trying to end a conversation he didn't seem to be comfortable with. Harold stopped talking when he saw Riza coming and walked past them to go outside, winking at Roy.

"Harold is driving me crazy," Roy complained to Riza with a worried tone of voice.

"Why does it bother you so much?" Riza asked.

"Easy for you to say. He doesn`t talk about that crazy stuff when you're around," Roy said. "But that's not the problem. He's getting suspicious of us. Yesterday… he asked me if we're really married."

"Did he?" Riza asked worriedly. "And what did you say?"

"That we are married, we just like being discreet and all. But we have to be careful. If they find out we're lying, they'll start wondering why we're doing so."

Riza sighed and told Roy about Hope's insisting inquiries. Their disguise didn't seem to be very good after all.

"We need to get our stories straight. Anything you tell her, you have to tell me so I tell Harold the same thing," Roy said.

"If he asks anything about sex, we had sex yesterday," Riza said, hoping to sound indifferent.

"Right," Roy said, suppressing any thoughts about the topic with all his strength. "Well, I think I'll help Harold in the yard."

Riza agreed and decided that she, too, would go back to work, whether Hope complained about it or not. There was just too much to be done around the house.

"Oh, damn. Hope is watching us from the kitchen," Roy whispered. "Let's try to be a little more convincing in our acting."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Riza asked, now cursing the fake marriage.

Their professional relationship was being tested all the time. It would be easier to be just married for real. Roy shot her a hesitating glance, and the Lieutenant could see he wasn't enjoying the situation either.

"Just don't look spooked, okay?" he whispered.

Riza neither agreed nor disagreed. She just searched Roy's face for any sign of what the hell he didn't want her to be spooked about. All he did, though, was stare at her like he desperately needed an answer. Hope walked out of the kitchen again and short of an answer, Roy smiled at Riza, placing both hands on his hips theatrically.

"Well, I guess working in the yard and getting some fresh air would do me good," he said now in a normal tone, loud enough for the chubby woman to hear.

Riza thought that he would go outside and that would be it. She only understood what Roy wanted to do when he came closer and placed a quick kiss on her lips. It was as quick as a kiss could be. He turned around and went to the yard, and Riza had to focus on not looking surprised. Hope had watched the scene, but such a quick display of affection wouldn't convince her that everything was all right.

Roy went after Harold, feeling upset. He didn't want things to be like that. He had tasted her lips for only a second, and now he could barely think about anything else. She was sure mad at him, since that entire marriage thing had been his idea. How could he have thought that pretending to be married and keeping their professionalism would be easy?

Inside the house, Riza had recovered the broom and was sweeping the dining room, but not paying much attention to what she was doing. She had already swept the same spot three times and hadn't even noticed. Why did things have to be that way? Roy was everything to her, and that kiss was only good to remind her of what she couldn't have. She wanted to stay by his side and help him achieve his goals, but her personal feelings were definitely getting on the way. If she had known Roy's idea would cause her this much trouble, she would never have agreed to it. She would have to talk to Roy. They obviously needed a plan to protect their disguise, a real one. Not just fake displays of affection out of the blue.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ... … … … …

November 24th, 1917

The streets in Kratovy were very confusing, but luckily, Edward was already used to finding his way in places he didn't know. He had always traveled a lot to all kinds of places. His new boss, an Aerugon farmer, had been most delighted to know he didn't mind spending hours in a train. Alphonse and Winry, knowing that Edward couldn't get back to their home country, had fled Amestris and found him in Creta. From there they had run to seek protection in Aerugo, where both Ed and Al wouldn't be chased by the military police.

In his new job Edward would often go to the city to close deals with the local sellers. Today he had to do some research and find out which company was willing to pay the best price for his boss' wheat. He really didn't expect to meet anyone he knew there, but once he finished his task and was just looking for a pub to get a cup of coffee, he saw someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

The man was wearing shabby clothes and a flat cap, but it was definitely him.

"Mustang!" Edward yelled, waving at him.

Roy jumped and looked around to see who had called him. When he spotted the blond man, he started gesturing frantically for him to be quiet. Edward gulped, thinking that he had been really reckless to call the Brigadier General in the middle of the street like that. After all, if Mustang was there in Aerugo, he had to be hiding just like him.

"Fullmetal, don't call me that here!" Roy hissed.

"Don't call me Fullmetal, idiot!" Edward hissed back.

They both stared angrily at each other, before they started again.

"What are you doing here, Edward?"

"I'm on business for my boss. What about you… How should I call you?"

"Roy is fine. I'm just buying some things for Riza's boss."

Roy turned to the side and coughed loudly. The cold wind blew at them, and they both decided that they should go some place warm to talk. The alchemists entered a pub and sat at a table in the corner. Edward asked the waitress for a cup of coffee, but Roy didn't ask for anything. He had spent most of his money on the damn antibiotics he had to take.

"Where are you working?" Roy asked, crossing his arms in an attempt to protect himself from the cold wind blowing through an open window near them.

"Alphonse, Winry and I are working in a farm," Edward explained, taking a sip of hot coffee and standing up to close the window. His jacket wasn't very warm, and the cold weather was bothering him too.

"Is it far from here?"

"It's a few hours away from here by train. It's not a bad job. So, Hawkeye is with you?" Ed asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"Yes, she works in a house near here. I work at the steel mill," Roy said, coughing again. He could feel a more violent burst of coughing coming at any minute.

Edward exhaled noisily, now thinking about Hawkeye's situation.

"I'm sorry, can I call her Hawkeye, or has she changed her name too?"

"No, she's using her name."

"And you? You use only your first name?"

"I'm using her surname," Roy admitted.

"Hers?" Edward asked, curious and confused at the same time.

The stress of the last few days must had been too much, Roy thought, as he reached the point of telling Edward about their little arrangement. Roy thought that the lad would actually compliment him for his idea or just react to it with indifference, as it didn't mean anything. It shouldn't mean anything.

"Are you out of your mind?" Edward huffed, placing his cup back on the table.

"What's the problem? She agreed."

"She might have agreed, but are you sure she doesn't mind?"

"Why would she? It's like an undercover operation, nothing we haven't done before," Roy said, although he was trying to convince himself more than convince Edward.

"This is different. And I know you, I bet you didn't miss the opportunity to flirt with her and say it's all part of the disguise," Edward said accusingly. "Has it crossed your mind that you might hurt her by doing so?"

Roy puckered his lips giving the idea some thought, but soon shook his head like he didn't agree with the lad. Edward raised an eyebrow at him and then shrugged. They were quiet for a few moments, but Roy was now staring at the sugar holder, considering the possibility. However, Edward didn't want to change the topic yet.

"Have you ever thought that she might want the real thing?" the blond man continued.

Roy raised his eyes again. It wasn't the first time he was questioned about his relationship with Lieutenant Hawkeye, and he was ready to explain it to Edward as he had explained it to others.

"You don't understand. We've known each other since we were teenagers," Roy said. After all, he was the one who was tortured by having to keep his feelings under control, not her. She was much more professional than he was. "We're like you and that childhood friend of yours, Winry, right?" Roy continued, happy that there was someone he could use as a comparison to make himself understood.

"Yeah, Winry. Of course, you are just like us," Ed replied in a slightly scornful tone. "By the way, Winry and I got married."

"What?"

"Yeah."

The cough came back, and Roy turned to the side, bending forward in great effort to control himself. Edward watched the older man almost disappear behind the wooden table.

"Are you all right?"

If Roy hadn't been so busy hacking, he would have noticed the honest concern in Ed's question. The lad opened his wallet and counted his money, while the Brigadier General continued coughing loudly. Edward sighed and called the waitress again. He wanted to get the train back home in the afternoon, but if he waited and got the evening train, which was cheaper, he should have enough money to pay for a cup of tea.

"I don't have much money here with me," Roy managed to say.

"My treat, don't worry," Edward replied in a friendly manner.

The girl placed the cup of hot tea on the table, and Roy searched his pocket for the last of his change. He put the coins on the table, but Edward pushed them towards him again.

"I said it's my treat. I owe you money anyway."

"If I recall, you would pay me back when I accomplished my goals."

"Forget it. My treat. I'm not taking your money," Edward insisted. "And damn it, Roy… You sound like an old asthmatic dog. Are you sick?"

Roy shut his eyes and slowly opened them again, before nodding in silence. He finally got the cup of the tea and drank some before the cough prevented him from keeping a decent conversation.

"What do you have?"

"A respiratory problem because of the dust in the factory," Roy explained. "It's not contagious."

"That's not what I'm worried about. Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yes, I'm taking medication."

"Good."

"You said you and Winry got married?" Roy asked.

Edward confirmed with a smile, and Roy congratulated him, pleased to hear that at least the lad was happy about his love life. They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Roy said he had to go.

"Thanks for the tea," Roy managed to say, although he still had the impression that Edward had bought it for him out of pity, and that really annoyed him.

"No problem. Say hi to Riza for me," Edward said, "and think about what I said. She's done a lot for you. You hurt her, and I'll beat the crap out of you."

"Hey, I may be coughing like an asthmatic dog, but I can still fight," Roy joked, relieved that Edward was now talking to him in the offensive way he used to talk before.

"And I still have an automail leg to kick your ass."

"Right… You should try. I'd have fun blowing it up."

They both laughed and left in different directions. Although Edward would now sit in a bench at the train station and relax while waiting for the evening train, Roy would be tormented by his own thoughts for the rest of the day. Edward might have a point. What if he had actually hurt her with all his jokes?

A/N: Hello everybody! Hooray for Edward showing up again! It feels good to bring him back into the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it. So, once again, I ask you to leave a review if you have the time! Thanks a lot for reading! I see you again next Friday!