Lots of swearing in this one.

!-

Mustang swore to himself as Ed took off after their suspect. No matter how many times he'd said, "Don't chase the bad guys alone", the kid ignored him.

He could hear his team shouting locations at each other in an attempt to cut the suspect off. He'd have to leave them to it, Ed was already around the alley corner and out of his sight. Dammit. FullMetal without his brother or some kind of backup always made him nervous and he'd never been able to figure out why.

A gunshot went off just as he rounded the corner causing Mustang to skid to a halt. He took in the scene, Ed was halfway down the smaller second alley that ran behind the shops. The suspect was almost at the end and cornered. It looked like Ed had sealed all escape routes and the only way out was through both of them. Perfect. Almost. Minus the gun the suspect was holding. Though Ed seemed fine from this angle, the bullet must have been a warning shot.

"Ed back away from him, I can handle this."

Ed practically snarled a response over his shoulder, "Mustang get your useless shit out of here! You don't know what you're doing!"

Mustang didn't have time for Ed's ego. "FullMetal that's an order!"

He raised his hand, he was ready to light the guy up if necessary but he was hoping there might still be a chance for a peaceful resolution.

Suddenly the suspect threw the gun to the side and opened his coat. Roy felt the blood drain from his face, explosives. Shit.

Ed reacted faster than he did, stepping in front of him, clapping, and dropping to the ground. "Get down idiot!"

Mustang didn't think he could move that quickly but suddenly the ground beneath him shifted and he fell. He saw Ed's wall go partially up seconds before the explosion and from his new location on the ground he focused his energy into trying to funnel the flames straight up. He didn't notice that Ed's wall, and Ed, had been thrown right at him by the force of the blast.

It turned out alright though. Well, as 'alright' as any afternoon spent with Ed ever turned out. Because he'd been in front of Mustang he'd landed almost directly on him and the wall had caught on the upturned ground and broken against the building behind them in such a way that they were trapped in the debris but still able to move around under the low, angled ceiling the wall created.

Roy took a minute to catch his breath after the dust settled. The kid had knocked the wind out of him before rolling to the side and he needed a moment.

"Good job on the landing FullMetal, i think you even left me with a working lung." He waved some of the dust away from his face as he sat up.

…

"FullMetal?"

Dammit. Mustang crawled over to the blond and rolled him into his back. It was hard to see with the fallen wall obstructing his light but it looked like a trail of blood had worked its way down Ed's face.

"Fuck. You are worse than a toddler. Can you try not getting into trouble for one damn day?"

So what if he was chastising an unconscious body, the venting would make him feel better. He inspected the cut on the right side of Ed's forehead, very shallow, though the amount of blood was slightly concerning. Head wounds were always such a mess. The amount of times he'd had to do first aid on the kid was going to start giving him grey hairs. He removed his coat and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows. Wait. "Ed. Why is the blood running straight down your face instead of sideways onto the ground?"

No answer.

"Are you trying to tell me you got shot in the fucking head and you still wouldn't back up when i gave you a direct order?! You are the worst employee in the history of employees i swear to-"

Mustang stopped. He'd been looking around trying to find something to wrap Ed's head with as his eyes adjusted to the minimal light, but it turned out Ed was already wearing bandages across his chest.

"Are you serious? You're already broken and you're chasing people into alleys? I'm having you arrested for reckless endangerment of government property since i'm pretty sure we paid for that leg last time you broke it." He grumbled the last part.

Mustang knew he needed to see if the old wound on Ed's chest had reopened so he started pulling the bandage off carefully in sections, unraveling it from around his waist, maybe he could rip it in half and use it for both injuries. Halfway up Ed's chest and Mustang started to feel nervous, that same nervousness that bothered him when Ed was chasing bad guys without backup. He continued slowly pulling the wrap out from under the shirt, the last of the cloth came away clean. There was no injury.

Mustang stared.

Sure he wasn't looking directly at naked boobs, but he knew what breasts looked like without a bra and Ed's chest was currently falling into that category.

Fuck.

Which meant Ed was a woman. Fuck. A full grown fucking woman that had been fucking lying to him for fucking years. He was a bit angry.

"Sir?!"

Roy jumped slightly, almost smacking his head on the solid wall just above his head. Damn Hawkeye.

"Under here. I've got Ed."

The relief in her voice calmed him down. At least he could trust someone. "We're looking for a way to get you out of there but the wall looks heavy and unstable. Is Ed ok? Is he not able to transmute it?"

"sHe's unconscious right now." Shit. He hadn't meant to screw that up.

He could hear Riza hesitating. He might have to retract his previous thoughts about trustworthy people, "Lieutenant?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Did you know about this?"

"I have to go sir. There are others injured."

Mustang felt his anger returning. Did everyone fucking know?! He looked back at Ed and swore for a different reason; she was still bleeding and he scrambled to lift her head and wrap the cloth around it. Then wiped away what blood he could to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Way to almost kill your own employee you negligent idiot!

Still cursing himself, he tied it off and looked around for a more comfortable place to sit. Judging by Riza's attitude they would probably be in here until Ed woke up and removed the wall herself. There. A section of broken wall that was tilted slightly for him to lean on. He picked Ed up and crouched/shuffled his way over, dragging his coat over with him to mak a comfortable seat before leaning back on the rock. Then he sat Ed in his lap, her back to his chest and her head against his right shoulder. He needed to keep her head elevated yet relaxed and this seemed like the most beneficial position for both of them, so he wrapped his right arm around her middle, resting his hand on her left hip. The urge to make a short joke flitted into his mind as he realised how large his arm was and how small her waist was but he didn't voice it, it seemed oddly out of place. Maybe because now she was supposed to be short? Did he like her shortness after learning that he was a she? There was a lot to think about.

Mustang used his left arm to make small adjustments to Ed's position and when he was sure she was stable he settled his own head back against the rock and closed his eyes. The events of the afternoon and Ed's gender change were going to take some time to process. Maybe if he started backward it'd be easier.

He had about twenty minutes to himself before he felt Ed's body tense up, he knew she didn't like letting people get too close to her but despite that fact he gave something a try that he'd spent the last few moments wondering about.

"Sshhh. It's just me."

He hadn't really thought it would work, especially since his voice was right beside her ear, but it did. She relaxed immediately. Interesting.

"My head is killing me, how long was i out?"

"You got shot."

"Yeah, I was there for that. Last thing i remember is getting taken out by my own damn wall."

He ignored her attempt to shift the conversation forward. "You got shot and you still decided to face off with a suspect."

Ed fell silent. Probably a good choice. He was annoyed.

"And why exactly did you step in front of me before you made the wall?"

"Don't think too hard about it Mustang, it just happened." Ed turned her head away and he used his free hand to take her chin and turn her head back toward him. Was she blushing? It was hard to tell in the dim light with the dust.

His hand slid from her chin up to her cheek, "You stepped in front of me Ed, you transmuted the stones beneath my feet to make me fall and you stepped in front of me."

She finally grumbled at him, "Because you're slow and i knew you wouldn't be able to block in time."

"Did you already know he had explosives?"

…

"Ed i fucking swear to god, did you chase after someone you knew had explosives?"

"Look Mustang, I had to, I'm the only one that can contain that kind of attack. You would have been caught in the explosion if I'd let you get too close or if I'd let you use your alchemy. It's safer for everyone if i go first."

"Safer for everyone except you?" It wasn't really a question and he didn't expect her to answer it. He was touching on a topic she clearly didn't want to talk about and he was pretty sure he knew what she wouldn't say. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save him. The thought made him uneasy despite having an entire team that was ready to do just that. He suddenly realised why Ed without backup made him nervous. Mustang hesitated for a moment, he had already figured out Ed liked him, possibly even more than that. But he hadn't considered his own feelings on the matter. He mentally shook the thought out of his head, right now he was going to focus on Ed, he could analyse himself later.

He was pulled out of this thoughts as Ed tried to remove his arm from across her stomach, it seemed like she'd become irritated at her position during his silent self-refection.

He held tight, "I'm not done." His default with Ed was reserved-annoyance but now that he knew who she was he might have to change that. He smiled evilly to himself as a plan formed in his mind.

He moved his hand from her hip up to the top of her waist, holding her side. Her side that was now not covered in bandages. If she hadn't been aware of her situation before he made sure she was now. He heard her breath catch and he secured his grip around her, making sure she could feel the muscles in his arm across her bare stomach, "Explain Ed, start at the beginning, with your real name." He began drawing small circles on the side of her ribs with his thumb.

His eyes lit up as she opened her mouth to start talking, this was so easy.

"Roy..." It was barely a whisper.

Shit. That was going to be trouble. Mustang swallowed his reaction to his name on her lips and eased up on his finger movements so she could pull herself together, a little.

It took a moment but soon Ed started talking, giving him what he thought was probably the abridged version of her life. Close enough, he could find out the tiny details later.

"22 hmm?"

She had her confidence back after her quick speech, "Somehow i knew you'd pick up on that part you pervert."

Mustang smirked to himself, "I think you mean you hoped I'd pick up on that." Then once again flexed his arm around her waist, moving his hand up and under her shirt until his thumb nail just barely scraped the edge of her breast.

Ed reacted almost as expected, her feet jammed into the ground and her back arched off of him and into his hand, searching for more of his touch. Her head tilted back exposing her neck.

Mustang didn't give her a chance to recover, with his free hand he lifted her chin slightly on an angle then he turned his head toward her neck and kissed the side of her throat. Both her arms were free to push him away but his calculated attack was an experienced one and he was prepared when one of her hands gripped his forearm for support and the second one went back and into his hair, holding his head in place.

"Fuck… you… ass… hole."

This was entertaining. Her feet were scrambling against the floor as she pressed herself back and into him for added contact. It felt wonderful, to have so much power over her with so little effort. The only thing that annoyed him now was thinking about all the wasted time over the years trying to tell Ed what to do when the answer was so simple.

"Roy, please."

Oh yes, he could definitely get used to 'please'.

Wait. Shit. No. Not here. He'd have to stop. He hadn't even realised his other hand had made its way into her pants. He removed it. And his lips.

Ed had unexpectedly captivated him. Everything about her was suddenly exhilarating. He let her catch her breath, hiding that he needed to do the same. Slowly removing his arm from across her middle so she could stand up.

"I think maybe we should continue this conversation at my place later." His voice was lower than he expected and he cleared it. Then almost choked at Ed's reply.

"My place is closer, plus i have more sex toys than you've had girlfriends."

Before he could comment she pushed away from him and stood up, staggering a step before catching her balance on the low ceiling. Alarm shot through him at her misstep and Mustang found his brain had immediately switched gears from 'sex-addict' to 'protective'. She'd already saved herself but at least now that he was focussed on her well-being he was able to stand without embarrassing himself.

Ed clapped and pressed her hands into the offending wall and Mustang watched as it rolled itself into the ground. She was just about to climb over the debris when he stopped her.

"What?" She was doing a remarkable job of keeping herself composed, or maybe she really was that nonchalant about everything that had just happened.

"You might want to do up your coat."

Ed tried to turn her head to hide her blush as she tied her jacket closed, but Mustang had seen it. Not entirely composed then.

He'd give her a couple minutes head start to get back to the team. Hawkeye probably had the medical unit waiting around the corner, which was good for Ed, but he didn't want to answer any questions about anything right now.

The End!

!-

Notes:

Plus there's gonna be a hickie on her neck in a couple minutes and he needs to get that smug self satisfied look off his face.

Also, women aren't supposed to be short. It's a generic trait but not a damn rule. Like, what is it, 1918 or something?

Should i do an epilogue?

Yeah, let's do an epilogue.

!-

Al had been packing and repacking two suitcases of books for the last hour. Procrastinating. Sure he could ship them all out in a crate but that would mean leaving his sister alone in the city and that was becoming increasingly hard to do. She kept insisting she was fine but he didn't want to just abandon her here. He and Winry were the only family she had.

Suddenly he heard Ed arrive home and he left his room to greet her. Her appearance made him hesitate, and on top of being covered in dust she seemed a bit 'off', almost jumpy.

Ed waved away his questions before he even had a chance to voice them, "I'm fine. When's your train?"

"Actually i was thinking i might go tomorrow instead."

Al frowned, did she really just hide disappointment?!

"Are you sure? Winry probably misses you."

Was she trying to get rid of him? Al looked her over more carefully, "Did you get in another fight? You've got a bruise on your neck and are you hiding a head wound from me right now?!"

Ed sighed, finally turning toward him, "I'm fine, really, it's a light scratch. It didn't even knock me out."

She finally sat down and let him look at it, not that he needed her to sit, he was almost a foot taller than her now but he knew it made her feel better about the height difference if she was sitting.

He pulled the bandage back, it wasn't a scrape like she'd said but it definitely wasn't as bad as he was expecting. He gave in, "Ok. Go wash off and I'll find a couple of those smaller sticky bandages you like."

Ed rolled her eyes at him, "I can take care of myself Al. I'm older than you remember?"

"And somehow i'm still the responsible one. Maybe because i'm bigger than you." He ducked as she threw a small book at him from the table. "Go!" He pointed at the bathroom.

He heard her grumbling at him as she headed off to clean up and he wandered back into his own room to continue packing, laughing to himself.

A half hour later and Al was pretty sure he couldn't rearrange his suitcase any more than it was. He'd heard Ed leave the bathroom ten minutes ago so when there was a knock at the door he didn't jump to go get it, Ed was out there.

He heard the door open but no talking. Weird. "Ed, who is it?"

No answer.

Al left his room to see what was happening. Ed was so cryptic sometimes.

"Oh. Hi General Mustang. What brings you by?"

"Not much Al. When's your train?"

That was a weird respon-

Al's thoughts froze as he finally took in what was happening in front of him. The General had greeted him but his eyes were locked on Ed's. He was also advancing on Ed with a slow and self-assured confidence. He watched his sister take equally slow and carefully calculated steps backward in retreat.

Al looked at the clock, if he hurried he could catch the last train out of town. He grabbed his bags from his bed, calling over his shoulder on the way out their dorm, "See you next week sis, I'll call before i come back." Then turned and alchemically sealed the doorway closed on the two love birds.

He heard his sister shriek as he took off down the hallway. Honestly it was about damn time, he just wished she'd warned him first. He didn't need to see what Roy's "I'm getting lucky" face looked like.