Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang came home from Central Headquarters at eight to a freshly cooked meal by his love. Rumor stood in the kitchen licking the spoon free of their desert; chocolate chip cookies.

Instinctively knowing her eyes were closed and that she was lost in the delight that the sweet dough brought on her, he snuck up quietly, Officer's jacket removed, sleeves partly rolled up, and shirt half done up (just as she preferred it) and pushed against the opposite side with his own tongue, then proceeded to lick her sweetened lips gently before kissing her playfully.

They parted, slightly out of breath, his arms remained secured around her waist, while she still held the wooden spoon with one hand, and the other had naturally taken root to his chest.

"Who needs alcohol when I have you?" She said out loud, dizzied from the affect he still held over her.

He chuckled at that, "Dinner smells wonderful honey." He tried the new endearment. She didn't object; actually, she beamed brightly, so he thought that to be an okay term to call her.

"Ready in ten minutes, sweetheart!" She sang.

His previous attempts had been: sugar, baby, cutie, babe, hon, sweetheart, cupcake, dear, and toots. She only objected to cupcake, and refused to talk to him for the following hour after he tried 'toots'. It was a clear 'HELL NO!' to that idiom. So he'd tabooed that one for good. She seemed to take a real liking to 'sweetheart' and 'honey' though.

After diner, they sat on the love seat, her legs over his lap. Apparently, that wasn't close enough for Mustang.

Some boring show was on, so instead of pretending to pay attention, he took her wrists, and in one motion, pulled her to sit on his lap squarely, her legs to each side of his. Once she was there, he looked up slightly into her surprised face; or rather, at her slightly open, unbelieving mouth. Releasing his right hand, he reached up and removed her sunglasses. Her eyes had closed as soon as she realized what he was going to do. Keeping them shut lightly, to not give away her desperate want to keep them closed, she listened as he set them on the end table.

"Let me see your eyes…" He whispered, instead, she leaned down to kiss him. Knowing where his lips would be, she didn't miss. Once she started, he loosened up and removed his left handed grip as well to explore her curves. He could never get enough of her.

Using his distraction to her advantage, she slipped her tongue between his lips and tasted him as he had so many times to her. She smiled against him as she felt that all-too familiar quivering radiate from his body's core beneath her. She moved her hands to his face, down his neck, to his chest, further down, she felt for the buttons on his shirt. Finding them, she undid them, one at a time until his whole chest was exposed for her investigating pleasure.

Another tremor rushed through him and he growled a bit in pleasure. It was such an incredible sound.

His hands rubbed her back slowly the whole time, farther and farther down they came. Finding the edge of her tank top, he paused, and then he slipped his hand underneath to the soft skin of her hips and stomach. The idea of possessing a new piece of her skin thrilled him. She didn't object, but, deciding not to push it, he slowly retreated to the okayed boundary on her thigh.

On and on, they kissed, sometimes playful, sometimes serious, but never taken for granted. Each kiss was savored as the last.

Never satisfied, but their thirst for one another quenched temporarily, they parted their lips, but remained close, discreetly, Rumor had replaced her shades before Mustang could catch her. He was still too "drunken" on her affection to remember that his original intention of all this was to see what lie beneath the tinted lens.

"It's getting late." He mumbled, looking to the old hand clock on the wall above the television.

"Yeah." Rumor agreed.

11:30 p.m.

Mustang hesitated, then smiled at her coyly, "Want to go to bed?"

She returned, knowing he meant the innocent way, "Yeah." She raised her eye brows twice, in an attempt to be suave.

Laughing, they went to the room holding hands.

She changed into her pajama's (acquired as a 'homecoming' gift from Mustang the day after she moved in) in the bathroom. When she turned to the bedroom, she walked in and he was only in his bottoms. He turned to her, his button up top held in hand and he smiled.

"What to give me a hand?" He said with her favorite left slanted smile on his face.

"Uh, sure." Walking to him, she took the night shirt and slipped it on each of his arms as he held them out and bent them in turn. Standing in front of him now, she fumbled nervously as she did the buttons up.

He laughed kindly, "I don't know why you're shaking so badly buttoning it up! You have no reservations about buttoning it down!"

Blushing redder she replied harshly, her voice cracking, "Shut up!"

He took her trembling hands in both of his and looked at her intently, his shirt left half undone. "Don't worry about it. I'm just joking. I actually prefer my shirt half undone, don't you agree?"

Nodding uselessly, he stopped her with a kiss. "Let's go to sleep."

Crawling into bed first, Rumor entered the soft comfort of the covers right after.

She huddled in a ball, still embarrassed with the covers up to her nose. Feeling uncomfortable, she tried a crack at a joke, "You know, I'm not sure why you still bother with that shirt… most nights its off before we fall asleep anyway…."

His soft chuckle did little to soothe her at the moment as he replied, "Well that's true, but perhaps I still wear it to bed because I love when you take it off me before sleep." She knew he'd have winked on the last word to finish with his playful seduction.

However, Rumor let silence stretch between them.

Though this wasn't the first time sharing the bed. They had since the day she moved in. But tonight was different; she had actually helped him dress for the night. It was a new experience, and she wasn't handling it well, though she loved it, it was still scary for her. She always feared going too far.

Sensing her discomfort, Mustang put his arm over her and pulled her back close to his front. Her body fit perfectly with his and he rested his head on the side of her neck and face, noticing her glasses still on, even in the dark, he shifted his hand from the skin of her bare shoulder and arm to gently remove her glasses and set them on her night table. She didn't mind. It was dark, and even she couldn't see anything… only feel.

Noticing her body relax more and more beside him, he whispered softly, "Sweet dreams, Rumor, my love."

Smiling she murmured drowsily as lethargy took over, "G'Night… sweet dreams… love… you…."

"I love you, too…."

…

Those were the easiest days, the ones that would stick with both of them, through the best… and the worst.