Riiiceballe: I update every day unless something is going on in my day that prevents me from getting to the computer. I always write ahead on all my fics.
kim carol: Well, I'm glad you found it! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. It's kind of true in a way that if you can fight like they do and still like each other at the end of the day that it only makes the relationship stronger. Because you know that you both have a strong enough bond to work through it.
QuitexSoul: Just hug your mother, make her wonder about your sanity.
Bar Ohki: Selective would be quite accurate, very very selective.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mustang had the chair repaired in a matter of seconds and sat back down again. He was sure his side was going to be bruised from that tumble, and now he had mashed potatoes smeared across one cheek. Grabbing his napkin Roy removed the mess and grabbed his fork again.
"So that was the Fullmetal Alchemist." One General mused aloud, General Treniol, if Roy recalled correctly.
Another one grinned, "yeah. He's definitely not changed much, bit taller though at least."
"And he's a looker now, very handsome."
Roy's hand threatened to snap some fingers at that remark. Okay, so they probably didn't mean it in that way, but still! This was his Edward, his. As far as Roy was concerned, as conceited as it was, only he should be allowed to comment on Ed's looks.
"I can't believe you still want him on your list of subordinates to manage." Another General said, turning to Roy now.
Roy couldn't help but think that he could create an entire report full of reasons and qualities that he wanted Edward… in one manner of speech or another. Apparently even after being humiliated by the blonde he was still willing to think naughty thoughts. He had an incurable case of perversion. "He's always been mine to manage, it seems rather late in the game this many years down the road to send him under someone else's supervision."
"I don't know how you do it, the guys a bit violent."
"I've had time to practice. Fullmetal is not as tough as he thinks he is." Roy replied and finished his meal quickly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to a meeting."
Quickly Mustang rose and strode off out of the mess hall. He had some important things to discuss with two very different blondes who should be waiting up in his office by now. One of them was probably waiting patiently, the other was probably loosening the screws in his spinning office chair.
Back up in the office Edward was waiting patiently on the black couch as Armstrong attempted to get the screws back into the office chair. He'd removed his red jacket, and it was draped over the back of the couch. Edward himself was stretched out languidly on his back, hands behind his head and ankles crossed as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Major Elric, you really shouldn't have done this. Or what you did back there. General Mustang is going to be very angry with you. You shouldn't want that so soon upon returning." Major Armstrong said as he huffed and puffed with his project.
"I have several years of not messing with the bastard to make up for." Edward replied with a smile. That and he found he rather enjoyed what happened when Roy got frustrated with him. Besides, he wasn't about to completely change his outlook on tormenting Mustang just because they'd become so close. Tormenting Mustang was part of who he was, and Roy liked who he was. So why change? There was no reason. He was not about to become submissive all of a sudden, there was a reason he fought with such determination not to let Roy become the dominant one in their relationship.
Ed knew that Mustang had always been the dominant one before, the women he'd tumbled had probably enjoyed it. So it was no wonder that with his arrogance and reputation to uphold that Roy was trying to establish himself as the dominant one when it came to Ed. Yet Ed was no girl, he was a man by all aspects now, and he was not about to let Roy have things his way entirely. If he did, it would affect them at work too… and Edward was not willing to all of a sudden give Mustang free rein to dominate everything. All Edward wanted was to stand beside the man he cared for, not behind, not before, but beside. No matter where they were, what they were doing, Ed wanted to be beside Roy.
"Are you listening to me?"
Ed blinked, "huh?"
Armstrong sighed as he stood up to inspect his work, "never mind."
"Ed?" Hawkeye's voice sounded as she poked her head inside the door. "Are you asleep?"
"Not yet, but if Mustang takes any longer getting his ass up here I just might be." Edward replied as he closed his eyes experimentally.
"You've a phone call on line two. It's your brother."
"Al?" Ed asked, sitting up quickly.
"Yeah." Riza confirmed.
"Thanks Lieutenant." Edward said and hurried to the phone on Roy's desk as Riza pulled her head out of the room and shut the door. Ed grabbed the handset up and held it to his ear. "Hey Al!"
"Hey! So I hear I have to collect money from Winry. How is it going with the General?"
Ed blushed faintly at the cheeks but shoved the heat from his face as he took a seat on top of Mustang's desk, facing the window behind it as his legs dangled off the sides, his back to the door. "No complaints." Ed said vaguely considering Armstrong was present.
"Are you happy?"
Edward didn't even have to think about that answer. "I am. I'm very happy actually, a lot happier than I've been in a long time. How about you?"
"Yeah, I am. Things are going well here. I'm glad you found what you were looking for, brother. I'd hoped you would."
"Thanks, Al." Ed smiled into the phone.
As a black haired, broad shouldered man suddenly passed in front of his eyes Edward did not spare the man a glance as he listened attentively to his brother telling him about the plans he had for the weekend. Determinedly Ed carried on the conversation despite the black eyes he could feel boring holes into his body. He hadn't spoken to his brother in days… and so that was partly his own fault, but still!
Roy knew it was Al that the blonde man taking up space on his desk was talking to. It was the thing that prevented him from at first doing nothing but merely staring down the other man. He knew how important Al was to Ed, and that made him sensitive to the need Edward felt to talk to Alphonse. Yet even he, with the patience he'd drudged up purely for Ed, could not sit by idly for more than a few minutes. "Fullmetal, you're the one wasting meeting time now. Get off my damn desk, and off my phone."
Edward spared him a withering look before turning back to his call. "Sorry Al, I have to go now. I'll talk to you later though, all right?" A pause… a laugh and a cryptic look tossed Mustang's direction. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Ed said and finally hung up the black handset and slipped off of Mustang's desk.
Crossing the floor Edward made his way back over to the couch he was long familiar with, and flopped back down onto it since Armstrong was making no inclination to sit.
"If you fall asleep I'll never allow you anywhere near that couch again." Roy threatened.
"Keep your pants on, Mustang." Ed sighed luxuriously as he stretched and settled himself into the stiff cushions. "I'm not about to fall asleep here. The atmosphere of your ego is much too oppressive to a decent sleep, I'd be having nightmares."
Unfortunately for Roy, he had no choice but to keep his pants on. Major Armstrong was probably the only person in existence who could shed clothing and cause no riot because of it. Now if he, Roy Mustang, suddenly burst out of his clothes just because a certain hothead had fallen asleep on his prized couch, he'd never hear the end of it. Roy decided the best option here was to ignore Ed's entire statement, "Both of you know that Monday we'll be shipping out to put down a minor uprising in one of the southeastern slum areas. Now Fullmetal, remember, this is your assessment. So don't screw it up."
"I'm not about to screw anything up." Edward retorted irritably as he closed his eyes again.
"I have no doubts about either of your abilities, that's not why we're here. I am not expecting the greatest amount of danger to come from those rioters. Several of the alchemists on the list were once under Archer's command. I'm sure you both can understand the reason for caution here."
"You think that they may try something, sir?" Armstrong asked.
"Perhaps against me, perhaps against Edward. You've always managed to maintain a semblance of a distance from any allegiance, Armstrong." Mustang said.
Armstrong knew that to be the truth. He had always never truly shown if he had a preference to any commanding officers. It had made him the perfect undercover informant and spy for Mustang over the years. The others may not know where his heart lay on the situation, but both General Mustang and he knew that he'd always be on Mustang's side. Both because he highly respected the man, but also because he respected Edward. "I'll be ready no matter what happens."
Mustang nodded, "I have no doubt that you will. I just wanted you to be forewarned."
"Does that mean everyone sees me as your loyal alchemist?" Edward asked from where he still lay, closed eyed on the couch.
"Yes." Roy agreed and as Ed opened one golden eye to peer at him he smirked, "aren't you?"
Edward closed his eye again. "Jerk." He muttered and took a deep contented breath. Before when they were going after the Philosopher's Stone he'd only stayed under Mustang's command because of the benefits it brought. The money, the time, the loose leash. When he'd loathed the man he now cared deeply for, he'd have gladly switched commanding officers. Now he had another reason to stay beside Roy, and he knew nothing would be able to make him stray. "Don't worry, I don't have any plans to die."
"Good, you're not worth the paperwork you'd cause me." Mustang said flippantly and turned back to his train of conversation as he ignored a half lidded golden molten glare from the couch area. "I just need you both to be prepared for anything. Though…" Mustang's one visible eye narrowed with a hungry gleam, "if they do try anything, I could pin it back on their commanding officers. The less people in my way, the better."
"Are you aiming to be Fuhrer again then, sir?" Armstrong asked.
"I have a reason to again." Roy answered simply. "Changes are needed here."
Armstrong smiled, "very well sir. I won't say anything. I'm behind you the whole way, you know that."
"I do, you've always been faithful."
"Fuhrer Trip-and-Fall…" were the only words that leaked out of the smirking lips of Edward Elric as he reclined.
Roy shot him a quick glare before schooling his features into the smug mask he favored. "Just be on your guard. That's all I wanted to tell you."
"Then I had best begin my preparations down at the gym." Armstrong said, flexing his muscles experimentally.
"Yes," Roy said weakly, "why don't you go do that." He shook his head as the brawny alchemist left. He then looked over at Edward whose eyes were now open and watching him. "What? Want to say a witty comeback to something?"
Edward smirked, "I'll pass, thanks anyway."
"How was Al?"
"He's doing fine, he called to make sure you haven't raped me or something." Edward drawled sarcastically.
"I doubt I'd need to go to that extent." Roy quipped.
"I doubt you could anyway. You care too much to hurt me. It's why you haven't alchemically fought me since the night we first got back." Ed reasoned, "besides, apparently it sounds like I'm more valuable to this little mission than I originally thought. You'll need me to help protect you."
"Worry about protecting yourself, Ed. I don't want you getting hurt."
"Aww, you care." Ed teased as he closed his eyes again.
"Go figure that." Roy replied with a smile and picked up a pen from his desk to start on his paperwork while Ed continued to lounge and eventually did fall asleep. Roy looked up to see the rhythmic steady breathing of the blonde and could tell he wasn't feigning sleep. Well, at least he'd stayed awake this far.
Roy pushed back his chair and stood up. Walking over to the couch he took Ed's long red jacket and laid it over the man. It wouldn't do to have him getting cold. After making sure it wouldn't easily fall off of him Roy leaned down to place a lingering kiss on the blonde's forehead before returning to his desk, and unfortunately his work.
Hawkeye only poked her head in once to see Edward fast asleep on the couch he so loved, and Mustang hard at work before withdrawing without a sound. She closed the door quietly and slunk back to her desk as silently as she could. She was smiling as she sat down and grabbed a pen to twirl between her long fingers as she stared across at the others who were all gathered around looking bored.
"What are they up to?" Breda finally asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.
"Ed's asleep and Mustang is hard at work. I've not felt that atmosphere before in there when he's working. Usually it's tense, or frustrated, or angry… but it feels peaceful in there right now."
"Jeez, Ed's like an angel if he can tame the boss just by being in there." Havoc mused as he looked towards the closed door.
"They've always worked their hardest though when they've been together." Hawkeye recalled. "It doesn't seem that odd that now that they're together together that General Mustang has mellowed down to work hard and quietly so he won't disturb Ed. A few years ago he probably would have lit the couch on fire instead."
The men all nodded agreeably.
"By the way Hawkeye," Fuery began, "how's the bet with Havoc going so far?"
"I've not had to shoot him yet." Riza offered as she stared over at Jean with a shadow of a smirk.
"I've not had a cigarette at all since then. It's been damn hard though." Havoc admitted.
"Three more days left, right?" Falman asked.
"Yeah." Both parties answered.
"Monday is going to be a very interesting day." Hawkeye said as she turned her head to look out a nearby window. She could only hope that the day only had good things in store for all of them.