"How's the wound holding up?"

Ed turned his head to meet those dark eyes, and smiled, kissing Roy gently on the lips. "It's a lot better." He murmured, unable to hide a smile when he felt a warm arm press him into a bare chest.

"Good. How long's it been since that happened again?"

"About a week?" Ed estimated, kissing the bare chest of his former superior. He pressed his face in further, and let out a sigh through his nose, smiling wider. "Can we just say in bed today?" Ed questioned quietly, his words muffled through Roy's chest.

Roy raised an eyebrow at the muffled request, and chuckled, grinning as the young man shivered from the vibration. "I would prefer that." Roy admitted, letting out a sigh. "But we both know that's impossible."

Ed let out a small whine and pushed even further up against Roy, grunting. "Well then how about we just lie here for a little while longer?" Ed asked, moving his hand to graze over Roy's abdomen. He was delighted when Roy shivered against Ed's cold hand, and couldn't help but laugh, grinning. He took his head away from Roy's chest, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, hoping he would agree to more time.

Roy let out a small gasp when he felt the cold hand run up his abdomen, and shuddered quietly, smirking down at Ed. "More time? Is that what you want? Alright. I suppose a few minutes can't hurt anything."

~~

"We need to make a plan." Roy murmured to Ed, who was sitting across the small coffee table in the office.

"I know. Have you noticed they've been, how do I say it..they're.."

"Evolving? Yes. I've noticed. Remember the way that one soldier grabbed you and dragged you into the alley all while keeping you completely silent?" Roy recalled, his hands folded over one another like he always did.

Ed nodded, his hand grazing over the recent wound as Roy talked. "Yeah. So what? This plan, is it going to wipe them all out, or something?"

"Well, first we need to figure out where they're centrally located. They've got to have a hive, or a base of some sort." Roy deduced, his eyebrows furrowing as he began to think. "If we can locate that spot, then we'll be able to attack and wipe them out. Maybe then we'll be able to have a chance at living life normally for a while." Roy explained, his dark eyes meeting with Ed's golden irises.

"Sounds good to me. But it'll take forever to figure out where they're located. You know how big Central is." Ed objected, frowning.

"But remember, Fullmetal. We've been spotting them mostly on one particular street." Roy interrupted, a small smirk forming. "I've got a hunch their base isn't too far from there. That removes the majority of Central off of our searching list."

"True." Ed agreed, nodding. "So what, we just start searching buildings for a nest?" Ed asked, frowning. "Sounds kind of dangerous."

"Can you think of any better ideas?" Roy asked, a small frown replacing the smirk he once wore.

Ed was silent for a moment, before he sighed, letting his head hang slightly. "No."

"Besides, it's a small sacrifice for a lot of freedom." Roy reminded Ed, a smile forming now. "Which means maybe we'll be able to enjoy ourselves more."

Ed felt a blush run over his face and he nodded, flustered. "R-right. Okay."

Roy gave a light laugh at the deep blush on Ed's face, a smug grin replacing the smile. "What's the matter Fullmetal? Do you have a problem with our relationship?" Roy taunted, watching Ed grow even more flustered.

"No, I don't! It's just the way you worded it, that's all!" He objected, pointing a finger at Roy as he tried to keep his embarrassment in.

"Pointing at me isn't going to solve anything, Ed." Roy stated smugly, grinning wider when the younger alchemist's face turned as red as a tomato.

"Whatever! Let's just think of this stupid plan already!"

~~

Ed climbed down the ruined building, grabbing onto the nearby vines that were hanging off of the walls. He hopped down onto the road, and glanced up to see Roy following him, jumping down beside him.

"That's not it either." Ed muttered, looking frustrated. "That's the tenth building we've checked, Mustang, and still nothing!" He exclaimed, sighing loudly.
"I know, Ed, but we've got to keep looking." Roy told his former subordinate, furrowing his eyebrows. "The next building on our list is this one." Roy murmured, pointing to a rather large warehouse. "Seems like a plausible hideout." Roy murmured, his feet beginning to move towards the white building, black boots scuffing against the pavement. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Ed muttered, running to catch up with Roy. He fell in line, and gave the warehouse a once over, sighing. "Alright, let's get this over with. I'm sick of walking into these buildings. We're as blind as a bat in this darkness." Ed sighed, following Roy's motions as he crouched down, entering through one of the holes in the side of the building. Once they were in, both were completely silent. This was a routine they had to practice, or else any nearby soldiers would come running. Ed went to the left; Roy to the right.

From what Roy could tell, this was all one large room, used for storing war vehicles, or perhaps it was strictly for goods. No matter the reason, that made searching for the soldiers harder, and easier. He advanced to the right, keeping a sharp ear out for any sudden noises, his eyes useless for now as they adjusted to the dim light.

Ed's right hand rested on the hilt of his gun, ready for any sort of sudden ambush. He froze when he heard a small clicking noise, but let his breath go when he recognized it to just be his own belt. He needed to keep quiet.

Roy's eyes were beginning to adjust – his eyes had always been able to adjust well – shapes and shadow now visible to the older alchemist. He moved forward, stepping over a piece of rubble on the ground as he advanced. His eyes narrowed when he noticed a faint outline of something, and kept his eyes trained on it, his head tilting slightly.

Ed was still in the dark, unable to see much of anything. He could, however, tell that he was coming up on a wall, and pressed his hand to it, turning to the right to begin the march down the next section of the building.

Roy's heart skipped a beat when he was close enough to realize what the outline truly was. Hundreds, no, thousands, of soldiers.

Standing.

Waiting.

Watching.

Roy snapped his head to the side, unsure of how to signal Ed. They needed to get out, and fast. Thinking of the best way to signal Ed, he turned his gaze back to the only light in the room, the entrance. He snapped his fingers and created a flame next to the door, before he instantly began to dart towards the exit, cussing to himself when he heard the scuttle of hundreds of feet all at once. It was revolting.

Ed snapped his head to the right when he heard a snap, and watched as a flame formed at the entrance of the warehouse. He frowned, realizing quickly that it was a signal to leave. Without questioning it, he began to run, hearing the hundreds of thumps in the room. It felt like an earthquake. He ran as fast as he could, the exit not approaching fast enough.

Roy was nearly at the exit, but there was still no sign of Ed in his view as he neared the white light from the outside world. At the last moment, he noticed a dark figure sprint across his vision, and he let out a sigh of relief, watching as the younger alchemist made it out before him. He quickly crouched and began to move out of the warehouse himself, but let out a strangled yell when he felt hands grab at his feet, sending his balance and body off.

Ed turned around quickly when he didn't see Roy outside, and smiled when he noticed the adult moving quickly out of the warehouse, but watched to his horror as he stopped and toppled over. He was being dragged back. "Roy!" He gasped, grabbing onto one of Roy's gloved hands as he began to pull, his teeth gritting together. "C'mon, you gotta help me!" He hissed through his teeth, watching as Roy did his best to kick at the undead.

Roy let out another yell when he felt something in his leg twist, and a scream when sharp teeth made contact with his calf. He twisted his front and used his free hand to snap a spark, engulfing the soldier who was biting him. The undead quickly released himself, the fire only grazing Roy as he was swiftly pulled out, the soldiers all hissing and moaning within the walls. The two toppled back onto the pavement from the force Ed had pulled Roy out of, both coughing and gasping.
"Roy, Roy!" Ed cried, scrambling to his former superior as he inspected his leg quickly, cringing at the bloody mess. "You moron." He hissed, quickly helping him to his feet as the undead attempted to escape the building all at once.

Roy let out a small groan, accepting Ed's help when he tried to stand. "Let's go." Roy muttered, wrapping an arm around Ed's neck so he could use the smaller alchemist as support. They needed to leave as quickly as possible, or else the situation could become a whole lot worse.

Thankfully, Ed was able to drag Roy back home, and up the stairs, to their safe office. He laid the older man down on their makeshift bed on the floor, and let out a sigh, grabbing bandages and peroxide. "I thought only I was allowed to get hurt." Ed muttered, taking a rag as he began to pour the peroxide on, gently scrubbing at the corners of the wound.

Roy let out a hissing noise through his teeth, grimacing. "I'm not invincible, you know." Roy cringed, the rag moving over a singe on his leg. "Careful. I got myself with my flames." Roy murmured, which only made Ed throw the rag at his former superior's face, the wet cloth making a "whap" when it hit his face. "You idiot." He muttered, yanking the towel back when Roy removed it from his face. He dabbed at the center of his wound gingerly, making sure to properly clean it out, before he began to wrap it, keeping the wrappings loose around his burn.

"There." He muttered once he was done, his hand running up from Roy's leg to his stomach, sighing. "Well..now we know." Ed breathed, a sad smile growing on his face.

Roy returned the smile, taking Ed's small hand into his warm, large hand. "Yes. Now we know." He repeated, gently bringing Ed up to lay with him, using his hand as a guidance. "Come and lay with me. We can decide what to do in the morning." Roy prompted Ed, who couldn't resist the warmth of his former superior.

"Don't do that again. You scared me." Ed moved in close to Roy, taking his usual position by becoming the little spoon, his back arched up against Roy's stomach.
A small chuckle rumbled through Roy. "How do you think I feel when you get hurt?" Roy murmured into Ed's hair, kissing him gently on the head.

"Yeah, yeah. I know."