"Jean, I'd really love to know where we're going," Roy called up from the backseat.

"You know, Roy, if you weren't so busy making moony eyes at young boys—" Breda sniggered "—then maybe you would have heard me tell everyone the first time."

Ed looked up to see the man roll his eyes. "It won't kill you to repeat yourself. Actually, it might help with that speech impediment…"

Havoc glared back through the rearview mirror, causing Edward to bust out laughing. "Fine," he sighed. "That guide gave us a little tip that there was an old castle not far from here. It's not in business or anything, so tourists don't usually see it, but it's supposed to be haunted."

"And that always makes for a good time," Falman concluded.

"Fine by me," Roy decided. "I can go for some horror. Ed?"

"Pfft, nothing scares me," Edward boasted. But judging by the snorts up front, and that little glint in Roy's eyes—plus Al's downright giggling—no one believed him.

When they got out of the suburban—Roy helping Ed out, as had been his habit recently—Edward had to admit, he was awed by the castle. Though not boasting any caretakers, it wasn't in ruins by any means. The fortress had a certain dusty—and yes, eerie—beauty to it, with four unevenly spaced towers and countless windows, only a few of which were missing glass.

Of course, there were vines crawling up the sides of the stone walls, and it was that deserted air, along with the odd, utterly technology free quiet that was a little unnerving.

Nothing Ed couldn't handle.

"Whoa," Al breathed softly. "It's amazing."

Fuery nodded, gazing up at the towers. "I wonder if there's a dungeon…"

The thought had Havoc grinning. "I just had the best idea."

There was silence for a moment. "You feel like sharing?" Breda prompted.

"We should make it a contest," Havoc announced. "It's supposed to be haunted, so we can split into teams, and the last team to stay inside—and not be scared enough to come back out here—wins."

"I'm game," Roy declared, holding Edward to his side. "I'll go with Ed."

"No surprise there," Havoc muttered. "Who else?"

"I'll go with Fuery," Al said.

"Then me, Heymans, and Vato can be the last team," Havoc finished. "Ready?"

They all nodded, and walked inside.

The entryway was large, with a massive staircase heading upwards. They walked around, as one large group, to the back, revealing a smaller staircase leading to the basement.

"Dungeons…" Breda joked in a sing song voice. "So three floors, three groups. Who else thinks we should punish the lovebirds?"

Edward fervently shook his head, but the team agreed. "You guys go to the basement."

Ed felt Roy's hand tighten on his shoulder. Ugh, he couldn't be such a wuss—ghosts weren't real, he'd be fine.

Havoc handed Roy a flashlight, and together they descended the stairs.

The basement was wet.

"This is gross," Ed complained, spying some moist looking mold in a corner.

"Aw, c'mon, Ed," Roy teased. "You're not scared, are you?"

"No!" Edward insisted. "But no one likes rotting corners, right?"

"So you're sure you're not afraid?"

"Positive."

Roy was silent for a moment, fanning the flashlight across the room. It looked like the main room of the servant's quarters. Suddenly, the light went out, careening them into darkness.

Edward abandoned all pretense of bravery rather involuntarily. "Roy!" he squealed, grabbing tight to the man.

Then the light came back on, revealing Roy's laughing face.

Ed punched him in the arm, pulling himself away. "The fuck was that for!?"

"I just had to," Roy answered. "I couldn't help myself. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Grumbling, Edward allowed himself to be drawn back into the man's embrace.

They walked onward, entering a sort of storage area filled with old mops and brooms and buckets. "See?" Roy said. "Nothing scary here."

"Shut up."

As soon as the words left Edward's mouth, a brick fell—no, was pushed out of the wall directly in front of them.

Ed couldn't help it; he squeaked again, backing up. This was no joke of Roy's though—a quick glance at the man's face told Edward he was just as shocked as him.

"What was that?" Ed whispered, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Not sure…" Roy murmured.

"Different room? Please?"

Roy nodded, and they backed out. The man never let the beam of his flashlight waver from the wall with the now-missing brick.

Once they were in another corridor, he started to reason. "It was probably just the old architecture."

"Roy, that thing practically jumped out of the wall. That wasn't just age." As much as he wanted to seem able to handle the situation, Ed was shivering. Roy rubbed his arm soothingly as they continued walking.

A soft singing filled the hall. There were no words, just a gentle melody, like a lullaby.

"Where's it coming from?" Edward wailed, spinning around in circles. "There's no one here." Just like that, the singing changed, morphing into a high pitched, gurgling scream that cut off rather abruptly. Ed cried out along with the voice, pressing himself hard up against Roy.

For a moment, the two simply caught their breath, adrenaline slowly dying down. Finally, Edward spoke. "Okay, I don't want to sound like a five year old girl…but if that happens again, I'm pretty sure I'm going to pee my pants."

"Don't," Roy ordered simply, his voice suddenly deadly serious. Ed glanced up at him, and saw that his face was oddly blank.

"Why…?" he asked cautiously.

The man he was hugging sighed gently before answering. "There's just a slight chance that you doing so would turn me on."

Edward smacked him on the shoulder. "Seriously?" he shouted. "Of all the times to make a pass at me, you pick when we're being haunted?"

Roy shrugged, smiling lightly. "You picked a horny, horny man, Edward."

Ed would have retorted, had the walls not started speaking. "Ew, okay, we're done!"

"That's…" Edward began.

"Alphonse," Roy affirmed. And sure enough, the wall opened up a few feet ahead of them. Al stepped out, hands over his ears, followed by the rest of the team.

"Fucking hell," Havoc complained. "We thought you two would get scared, not decide to go at it. Jeez."

"Wh—what're you—what?" Edward spluttered.

"The guide who tipped us off about this castle?" Breda explained. "Yeah, he spends a lot of time here, knows all the secret passageways, and he let us in on the secret. We thought it would be fun to scare you."

"So…the brick?"

"Me." Falman raised his hand.

"And the singing?" Ed asked, voice faint.

"My voice can get pretty high," Al admitted, grinning devilishly.

Roy only shook his head, but Edward was flushing, embarrassed to have been scared so easily—and so completely. "Why do I put up with you assholes?"

Havoc only smiled. "Why, Ed…without us, you never would have gotten with Roy. You can't have one and not the others; we're a team."

There was no response to that, because after all, he was right.

"I can't drive anymore," Havoc moaned. "I have to stop."

"Look, there's a motel a couple miles ahead," Falman said. "You can make it that far."

And Havoc did, slumping against the steering wheel as soon as he parked. "Ugh, this is so much more tiring that you would think."

"If you're so tired," Breda muttered. "Go and reserve us some rooms."

Havoc got out of his car, complaining the whole way. Edward watched him through the window, surprised when he came back almost immediately.

"We're sleeping at that rest stop a few miles back," Havoc declared.

"What, in here?" Fuery asked, disbelieving.

"That lady is creepy as fuck. I don't even want to be in the same building as her."

Roy sighed. "C'mon, Ed, looks like Jean's wimping out on us. It's up to you and me to save the night."

Edward grinned, sticking his tongue out at Havoc as they walked up to the motel entrance.

The manager sat at her desk, long red hair tucked into a neat ponytail. She seemed harmless enough, if you asked Ed.

However, that impression left as soon as she opened her mouth, hazel eyes scanning his body unabashedly. "Sweetheart, you want a room, you can bunk with me. You're a fine piece of ass, just like that man who was just in here…"

Beside him, Ed felt Roy tense up. The man strode up to the manager, slamming his palms down on her desk to remove her attention from Edward.

"Listen," he growled. "You even think about touching my boyfriend, and I'll cut your hands off with a rusty spoon."

She snorted. "I doubt that's possible."

Roy looked at her, face blank aside from his eyes, which were burning. "You really don't want to make that bet with someone like me."

He didn't wait for an answer, instead grabbing Edward and walking right back out the door.

"I didn't know you'd be so…possessive, Roy," Ed remarked on the way back to the suburban, running his fingers down the man's arm.

Roy huffed, still angry about the situation.

"I like it."

The man looked down at Edward, his scowl melting into a smile.

He opened the side door, still grinning, though his voice didn't quite match his cheery face. "We're sleeping in the car," he announced.

Something in his tone prevented everyone from arguing.

Edward waited as Roy stretched out as best as he could on the back seat. Fuery had opted to sleep on the floor between the two middle seats, so he and Roy had the back all to themselves.

Once the man settled, Ed climbed on top of him, hoping against hope that he wasn't too heavy. But he worried for nothing; Roy pulled him close, not even huffing as he rested his full weight on the man.

"Edward," he murmured.

"Hmm?"

"This isn't the most comfortable position, all scrunched up in a suburban…but I quite like having you on top of me," Roy whispered in his ear.

Up front, Breda made a gagging noise.

I swear, I seriously cannot stay away from this story. Hope you like it as much as I do~