Phoenix: Ed is just awesome like that. Ad how could Roy stay angry with him? He's adorable.

Angyl: Yes, that's exactly it. And I am sure a llama would do wonders to keep your horse company. Or a goat... I like goats.

Mary: Thanks, I'm glad you got some of the emotion. I try hard for that.

Paon: Aww did you have a good birthday? It's belated now... but happy birthday! I think I need to arrange for a cake for you as well.

Addict: How irritatedly curious? On a scale of 1 to 10 -evil laugh-.

Emaleya: You know, I've never tried... I know where to find llamas though. I'm sure I could steal one for the experiment. Bathe it, then eat it covered in chocolate sauce.

GreedxEd: Hmm... the puppy eyes do work on me. Perhaps if you give me a hug... then I might be persuaded to let myself think of an idea.

roy-rules: Hiya shirley! ...-flees- And thank you for the lovely flowers.

Embers: I think you just jellied their brains.

B.D.: You shall see, but I am rather pleased of how I designed for it to come out.

ferret: Oh I hope you get to go back then, I'm sure being sick was not part of your plans. I've always wanted to go... if I do I'll probably spam up my profile with the picture links.

Shikon: Not too much longer to wait for that... even though it will feel like a long time I'm sure.

secret25: I hope you love reading this then.

anmb: PIE! Oh sweet Gate PIE! -runs with the pie- I'm glad you like the moment of tension back there. It was definitely needed. Their lives are not cakes and roses.

Lost: It was some needed types of interaction. They needed the bit of a rollercoaster I think.

mrawgirl: You save me for last? I think I should squish you in a hug... should I? Hmm... Roy get beaten up... by Ed... now there's an idea!

E: How about Roy shirtless during that walk/chase and then a game of tackle tag? -grins-


Sort of able to be back to daily updates... but who knows, this weekend just might slaughter my plans. I still don't have my laptop back though, darn it to pieces. But oh well, I shall live.

Did I ever tell you all about my adventure getting my VIN number onto all my cars windows and the police doing it? For some reason I'm thinking about it again...

And now I need some lunch, I'm famished. I hope you all enjoy! Thank you to all my readers, you all are fantastic as usual. ...I'm in a fluffy mood. I best exit stage left.


Chapter Twelve

Edward was up early again the next morning, despite having gone to bed close to one in the morning. He had stayed up late last night thinking about what he had left to do, what he needed to say. And when those trains of thought finally were exhausted, he'd stayed up last night thinking about what Al had originally called to talk to him about. It made him smile as he reflected back on it.

He suspected that today he'd be privy to a lot of visitors that he'd need to actually let in through the gates at their will. So he'd risen early to go outside to unlock them. He didn't exactly want visitors as he had plenty enough to do today considering they'd lost a whole morning yesterday due to the press conference… and then their silent fight yesterday afternoon. But he could at least hope that Nitro would insight many of them not to stay in case something went amiss with their car if they were gone for too long.

As he walked down his driveway, Nitro by his side and mud-free, Edward had shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he gazed up at the clear blue sky. The rain was gone, for now. He was sure it would soon be back. But until then, he was going to enjoy seeing the blue sky again. It was chilly out, and his breath came in puffs of fog, but unlike the chill he got from the rain, this one made him feel oddly alive and renewed. It was why he refused himself a jacket.

At the gates Edward drew the large key from his pocket and stuck it into the wet padlock. Clicking the lock open he put the key away and unwrapped the chain from the gates and tossed it onto the grass off the side of the driveway. The padlock soon followed.

"Make sure you keep a good watch out today." Edward said to Nitro as he stared past the gates and out towards the road. "I don't want anyone thinking they can hide somewhere." He said, and opened one of the gates far enough so that he could slip past them in order to check his mail. He pulled out a large stack of envelopes and flyers, and began to flip through them as he walked back through his gates, only pausing his flipping to shut the one gate he'd partially opened.

Nitro skipped after his human, head bowed around Edward's side curiously as he tried to plead his case to eat one of the paper items. His human never let him, and he was determined to keep trying.

Edward rolled his eyes, before rolling up one of the flyers and bopping Nitro firmly on the top of his head with it. "Oh go be a guard dog, you bloody beaver." He chastised, and shook his head as Nitro veered away from him to bound back towards the gates.

The mail Edward set just inside the front door, before he walked around the side of his home, and ducked under the electrical wire that served as the fence to keep the horses on one side, but allow Nitro to pass through without trouble. He had had his doubts about the wire at first, until he realized Nitro only had to get zapped once for not ducking. The horses learned from his mistake and never came near the electrical wire fence. It had also, on more than one occasion, provided Edward with a great deal of amusement to see unsuspecting reporters fleeing from Nitro get taken out by the electric charge.

He started off across the grounds, making his way to where he could see his horses all gathered for warmth and company under one of the rowan trees. They usually stayed close to the chateau, though he had known them to be a pain and stay at the opposite end of his property by the lake.

As he walked up he was soon flooded down upon by them as they came over to greet him with affectionate whickers. He allowed himself to be swarmed for only a few amused seconds before he dispersed them with a gravely "ah-ah" noise. Sometime over the course of having them here he'd gotten accustomed to speaking like a Neanderthal in order to get his point across to the animals who knew precisely what he wanted, and knew they'd better do it.

He checked them all over in turn, paying special care to Silva who was more skin than hair. He always was concerned about him getting frostbite, though the risk was greater when it snowed. When it did snow he was forced to blindfold Silva temporarily and park his car in the driveway so he could keep the horse in the garage where he'd be safer from being frostbitten.

He checked on Camira, whose belly was swelled like a tight drum at this point. He knew she'd be ready to give birth soon. He really hoped it wasn't snowing though when she did. He supposed he should probably start parking his car on the driveway soon, so he could keep her in the garage to be under a closer watch. "Sure you don't have twins in there?" He remarked as he ran a hand along the underside of her fuzzy stomach. "Or one hell of a leggy colt. Take your pick."

She promptly sneezed.

Inside Roy had decided Edward was nowhere to be found. And neither was breakfast. He was about to go check the rooms he still had not, when he did a double take at the window. Outside he could see Edward, and the blond was just vaulting himself up onto one of many horses he could see surrounding him. With a bit of a smile, Roy turned out of the kitchen and made his way to the terrace. Once he had he soon located the herd of horses that was following Edward as the blond rode around looking very preoccupied about something.

Roy figured it was better Edward than himself, he could handle Nitro, but those horses were a lot bigger than a llama. So he hopped up to sit on the wet railing at the terrace, and watched. There was just something very sexy about watching Edward ride that horse. He was starting to feel a bit envious of the four-legged animal.

Edward was too focused on what he was doing to notice that he was being watched, or that Silva had promptly fled at the sight of another human. He instead was busy trying to encourage Jasper into a canter. Something the horse seemed to fear for some reason when someone was riding him. Edward knew it was probably due to having been abused, but he kept trying. He knew that although the gelding trusted him, he could hardly expect results quickly.

Each time Edward asked, he got a different reaction. This time around he had just enough time to close his legs in tighter and grab some flaxen mane before the horse under him went aerial. Edward hung on easily, and as soon as Jasper touched down again he sat back hard, causing Jasper to skid to a snorting halt. "You're a dork." Edward sighed, and urged him forward again.

Roy watched, oddly amused at the show. Again, better Edward than him. He was sure he would have fallen off if that horse had bucked. But as it seemed, Edward had no fear, and evidently knew what he was doing with that particular animal. Roy had a feeling this wasn't the first time the horse had acted up.

Edward tried several more times, before he decided it was time to stop before Jasper got any more worked up and strung out than he already was. Patting the golden-brown neck he wheeled the horse back towards the chateau. When he spotted Roy however out there watching him, he smirked and suddenly leaned forward just enough to send the gelding into a full out gallop across the grass.

Roy eyed Edward warily as he charged over, and had to fight not to quickly get off the railing to put it between he and the horse. The two skidded to a halt in front of him, and he tried not to notice that the horse was eyeing him with a hungry sort of curiosity. "It looks like it wants to eat me." Roy remarked uncomfortably.

Edward laughed, and nudged the horse forward more, and then turned so he was next to Roy. "Jasper won't eat you, he just wants to see if you have treats for him."

"Well I don't." Roy told the horse firmly, before looking around at the rest of the herd that was coming to surround them. "Why do they have to be so big." He muttered darkly under his breath.

Edward grinned at him, and raised his right hand towards the rest of the horses in a shooing motion. "Off with you." He called out.

Roy blinked in impressed shock as all the horses but the one Edward still sat astride on, began to move away. "Are you some sort of animal whisperer?"

"Don't be absurd." Edward laughed, "they just know what I want." He said and extended his near hand out to Roy. "Come on, it's okay."

Roy eyed the hand, and then the horse, and then Edward like he was mad. "I'm good here, thanks."

"You seriously can't be scared of all horses."

Roy nodded quite quickly. "They're too big."

Edward smirked, "I should buy a miniature one then. But not today." His hand remained outstretched. "Come on, Roy. Trust me."

That was rather unfair, of course Roy trusted Ed. But Roy did not trust the large animal. "I just have to pet it?" He asked warily.

Edward grinned wickedly, and nudged Jasper over closer, putting Roy at the perfect place. "No, jump on behind me. Don't worry, it's not that far a drop and if you hold on you won't fall off."

Roy was sure he paled several shades at that. He was white enough as it was, at this rate he was going to look positively ghost-like. "W-what?" Roy stuttered, sure that he'd misheard.

"Jump on behind me." Edward insisted, his hand still outstretched, grin still firmly in place. "Take my hand in your left, and jump on."

Roy swore something colorful under his breath, and gulped, hard. He swore he was going to kill Edward for this. Why did he love this man again? But… the lure of being so close to Edward was a tempting proposition. Perhaps that would distract him enough to keep him from being too nervous. "Okay." He said in a nervous voice, and took Edward's hand. Fighting not to close his eyes, he managed to jump down.

Edward laughed as Roy swore again. "Your legs might be a bit sore later." He said over his shoulder, and held Jasper steady as Roy shifted into place. "Now wrap your arms around me. This will be fun, you'll see."

Roy was hard pressed to see how, but after a moment of hardly daring believe he was doing this, he wrapped his arms around Edward's middle. It pressed them close together, and Roy had to fight to keep himself under control. It would not due to have a certain southern problem right about now. There were plenty of things he could do to Edward in this position, and he desperately tried not to envision them.

Edward was having his own internal battle as well. One he felt he might lose unless he got them moving, so his attention would be on other things besides the fact Roy was pressed up against him from behind. Placing the older man in a good position to do some very wicked things. He hadn't thought of this when he'd asked Roy to come with him…

…oh dear.

In a valiant clearing of his throat to make it sound normal, he turned his head a bit back towards Roy. "Just stay sat and hold on." Edward instructed.

"You don't even have reins."

"No." Edward smiled and faced forward again. "Okay, here we go, and if you scream I'll kick your ass."

Roy barely had time to mutter something sarcastically under his breath before the horse suddenly began moving. He swore, causing Edward to laugh. "It's not funny!"

"It is so, we're only walking." Edward smirked and steered the plodding horse away from the chateau.

"Fuck." Roy mumbled, and tried to relax in more ways than one.

Edward couldn't help but silently agree with that idea. Which he decided was not a helpful idea at all for him to be having. "Remember to breathe." He said, "and hold on."

Roy grew wary of the tone Edward had used. "Don't you dare go fa-!" Roy nearly shrieked uncharacteristically as suddenly the horse bolted forward.

Edward dissolved into laughter as he felt Roy's arms tighten around him instinctively. But as Roy was still clinging on nicely, he didn't slow the brisk gallop that Jasper was bolting across the grass at. Grinning he only urged the horse to keep going at that pace.

It took Roy nearly a minute of swearing and forcing himself not to close his eyes, to begin to relax again. He was starting to find that it wasn't so hard to stay on. Sure, he was holding on for dear life to Edward, but he was beginning to discover he had balance of his own. He could feel the rhythm, and could feel himself move with it to keep him from being bounced around. As he relaxed, he began to look around as Edward took the horse farther and farther from the chateau.

If he looked behind him, the chateau looked the size of a shed. All around them was grass and trees for as far as he could see. The lawn glittered in the weak morning sunlight from the rain and morning dew, and a low fog was drifting in places, mostly at the bases of the many trees. All he could hear was the muffled thunder of the horse's hooves, and the calls of the waking birds.

Edward could feel Roy begin to relax, and he smiled. Apparently Roy wasn't so afraid of big animals after all. He didn't want Roy to be, he wanted the man to find the freedom Edward did when you could just race off nowhere in particular on the back of a horse. And Gate knew he had plenty of them for Roy to find a good match with.

Neither of them said anything as they both relaxed and soaked in the scenery flashing by. Days like this were so rare, with the sun out and not a cloud in the sky. And Edward continued to keep them moving at this pace until he knew they should turn around and head back. They still had breakfast to eat after all, and he was determined that Roy wouldn't miss a meal. So he began to slowly ease Jasper into a half circle so they could return back to the chateau.

When Edward sat back to bring Jasper to a slow halt so he wouldn't jar Roy, he looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "Now was that so bad?"

Roy swung down, stumbling a few steps to get back his balance on the ground. "Better than Hawkeye's driving." He said as he put a hand to his head. "I still feel like we're moving."

Edward smiled, and hopped down. "You will for a while. Don't worry, you'll get used to it and soon it will go away." And he sent Jasper away with a smack to his rump. "So Hawkeye's driving huh?"

Roy watched the gelding gallop back to the rest of the horses, feeling a bit grateful that it hadn't stuck around. He wasn't as afraid as he had been, but the size still made him nervous. "She could make a person seasick."

"What a pity I missed all that." Edward chuckled and reached out to steady the swaying Roy. "Come on, let's get you sitting down and I'll make us some breakfast."

"Sure I won't bring it back up?"

"If you do, I'll just force it back down."

"That's gross, Ed."

Edward merely laughed as he helped guide the slightly wobbly Roy up the terrace steps and back inside. He hovered over Roy until he'd sat the man down at the kitchen table. "I'm proud of you for coming with me." Edward said with a slight tease in his voice as he filled a pitcher with water and brought it over to the table with glasses for them both.

Roy groaned, "I'm proud of myself. But don't expect me to all of a sudden be comfortable around them."

"I don't." Edward shrugged and walked back over to his refrigerator. "But I'm still proud of you."

"So what were you doing with that horse when I first came out?" Roy asked as he poured himself some of the water.

"Therapy I guess. Trying to get him to go at a certain gait, but he freaks every time I almost get him into it. On the ground he's fine, but with a rider he balks." Edward explained as he pulled out some sliced ham. "Al's tried as well, just in case it's only with me he freaks. No luck."

"I'm sure you'll get it one day." Roy said as he watched Edward pull a skillet onto the stove. "When were you planning to go shopping?"

Edward finished messing with the skillet and looked over his shoulder at Roy. "Around lunch time. By then all the people who I expect will be stopping by, will have been by. We can get lunch while we're out. Or steal some of Al's food."

Roy rolled his eyes at the suggestion. "I wouldn't blame your brother if he left no food for you when he leaves on work trips."

"He's actually done that before."

"Doesn't surprise me." Roy smirked, feeling a flare of pride for the younger Elric. "Who is it you think will be stopping by today?"

Edward finished placing some slices of ham on the skillet to heat and fry a bit. "Thomas, Charles, a runner, possibly Scott, and I am hoping Alice doesn't show up, but she probably will just to spite me."

Roy raised an eyebrow at that. "Who's Alice? And what's this runner person?"

"The runners are what I call the little brownnosers that are sent out with summons. Charles expects I'll be getting one, and so do I." Edward explained, and flipped the ham slices. "Alice is the daughter of one of the dukes. She had a not so secret infatuation with Raymond, so don't be surprised if she shows up and wants to fawn all over you." And as his head was turned away from Roy, his scowl of disgust was not seen. It nearly made him sick to think that anyone would dare fawn over Roy.

Roy cringed at the thought of some frivolous female fawning over him. Now if Edward fawned all over him, he would be ecstatic. He could only hope this woman didn't make an appearance, and if so, that he had a deep enough reserve of self control to keep himself from, as Edward had put it yesterday during the press conference mingling, "incinerating ball-less twads". Which unfortunately he was physically incapable of now. "What is this summons thing you and your spineless boss are expecting?"

Edward smiled, and shook his head a bit at Roy's jab. He did like Charles, the man was a good friend, though not close. But he also knew Roy was right. Until he'd come around, Charles was less popular, and a bit less influential. "To have me report for a meeting with the queen about you. I sincerely doubt she'd just ask me around for afternoon tea." He ended with a snicker.

Roy frowned at that, "should I go with you?"

"Absolutely not." Edward said firmly. "It has nothing to do with you not being ready, which you aren't, but I am not about to put you in reach of being detained. And I would be able to do nothing about it."

"And if I am requested to go?"

"You'll still stay." Edward replied and stacked more cooked slices of ham on the platter. "I'm very good at making up excuses if you never noticed."

"Oh I did." Roy snorted and cast and amused look towards the ceiling. "How many times did you not come back on time, or not want to turn in a report?"

"Practically every single one." Edward answered immediately.

"Exactly."

Edward smiled and started on making the French toast, substituting orange juice for the milk. "And you let me, but we had our reasons I suppose. Besides both of us being stubborn as mules."

"We're still both stubborn as mules." Roy remarked with a roll of his eyes.

It didn't take long for Edward to have breakfast on the table, and both of them began to eat hungrily. The morning ride and the fact that they were nearly an hour over due for eating had done a number on their appetites. Both of them ate until they couldn't eat another bite. At which point they stored the leftovers away for later, apparently Edward snacked throughout the day.

They then started on the dishes, Roy opting to wash them to give Edward a break from the lengthy routine he had to go to in order to do so himself. After all, one of his hands was made of metal and he did wear gloves to conceal it.

"What did you mean by a miniature horse?" Roy asked as he plunged his hands into the soapy water along with a sponge and a plate.

Edward grinned. "They didn't have them in Amestris. Though horses in general were rare to come by." He mused and then shrugged a bit. "A miniature horse will come up to maybe your knee." Edward said as he glanced down at Roy's leg. "Maybe, if you weren't a giant."

"So does that make you a miniature human?" Roy teased, and glowered at Edward as the blond gave him a light kick to the shin.

"I am not miniature in anything!" Edward hissed as he nearly decapitated the towel he held in one hand.

"Anything?" Roy raised an eyebrow as he glanced Edward over, making sure he was very obvious about it.

Edward blushed and determinedly did not look away from Roy's gaze. "That's what I said."

Roy's mouth twitched in a suppressed smile. "I see." He said and turned his attention back to washing the dishes, but not before he gave Edward one last sweep of his eyes. He had to admit, Edward looked good when he was blushing. It was hard to resist giving Edward something to really blush about.

Edward meanwhile was trying to keep from either bashing Roy over the head, or pinning him against the sink and soapy water be damned. Both sounded like fun, yet he resisted.

By the time they were done cleaning the kitchen, Roy was feeling extremely pleased with himself, and Edward had finally gotten himself under control again. Roy knew he was playing with fire teasing Edward like that, but he couldn't help it when the blond left himself open to it.

"You don't have to hang around if you don't want to." Edward told Roy as they walked out of the kitchen together and down the hallway which led to the foyer. "You can go do whatever you like as long as you don't leave the property. I'll find you when I'm done dealing with people."

Roy smirked and shook his head. "No, I think I want to stick around and watch. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"Okay." Edward shrugged, and silently hoped that no one would actually show up and he was wrong. But his hunches were rarely wrong.

The two of them went up to the library, and Edward left the door open so they could hear if anyone came to the front door. To pass the time, since Roy had decided to stick around, Edward began to fill Roy in on all the current things that had happened. Starting with the last war.