Cynology
Ed walked around the pet store anxiously, willing himself not to look anyone in the eye, lest they try to help him. He had a specific thing in mind, and help would be unnecessary, but he also wanted to avoid any questions he might be asked. It was unlike him to do this kind of shopping—Mustang was usually the one who procured the items for their encounters.
But today was different.
Ed walked down the aisle he needed, surveying the options before him. His golden eyes settled on one, and his gut told him it was the right choice. Ed took the item from the hook and then scanned the store for the other item he needed—arguably, the most important part of his purchase.
He spotted the display of them by the register: identification tags.
Swallowing, Ed approached the rack steadily, holding the other item in a clenched fist. Once again, as he stopped in front of the options, he took a moment to survey the various shapes and sizes. Then, towards the bottom, a particular shape caught his eye, and Ed gave the slightest of smirks to himself before he pulled it from the hook.
He turned to the kind-looking woman behind the counter, "Ma'am, where can I have this engraved?"
"Right here in the store, sir," she answered cheerfully. "There's a special machine in the corner for the tags. But you have to purchase them first."
Ed nodded, grinning, "Perfect."
o0o
Roy came home that evening slightly earlier than expected, his team making his workload easier, considering the occasion.
He was surprised to find Ed cooking away in the kitchen, however, raising his eyebrows as he stood in the doorway.
"I was expecting you later," Roy said, leaning against the frame.
Ed jolted slightly at the sound of his voice, apparently not having heard him come in, but then he recovered. "Well, I wanted to surprise you," he said, flashing a cocky grin over his shoulder.
Roy chuckled, pushing off the frame and meeting the younger man at the stove. His arms encircled him from behind, "You succeeded, then." He pressed his mouth to the nape of Ed's neck, given access by the high ponytail his golden tresses were currently gathered into.
Ed shivered.
"You can't be doing that when I'm cooking, bastard," the former alchemist said, only partially gruff. "You're gonna make me burn something."
Roy ignored him, running his open mouth up to Ed's ear before nibbling at it, "But how can I resist such a beautiful creature in my midst?" He felt his ear burn with embarrassment between his teeth. Roy grinned. Ed wouldn't admit it, but he liked Mustang's easy ability to charm.
"I mean it," he insisted, but his voice was slightly breathy. "I'm trying to do something here, something nice."
The General chuckled, "I see that." He gave another kiss to Ed's neck, just behind his ear, before resting his chin on the younger man's shoulder, "I didn't know you could cook, Ed."
"I didn't either," Ed admitted with a soft laugh. "But this recipe is pretty easy to follow, so I can manage." His elbow jabbed Roy in the ribs, "That is, if you can keep your hands off me for five more minutes until it's done. Go on, go change. It'll be done by the time you're back downstairs."
Roy relented with a parting kiss on his lover's cheek. "Five minutes," he agreed before leaving Ed to cook.
It had been over three months since he and Ed had become intimate. Neither of them had previously had any romantic or sexual interest in the other, or even the same sex in general, but nonetheless, it had happened.
FullMetal had been doing some alchemical consulting for the military in the last six months. Roy had finally been able to return to Central after Ishval was in the final stages of its restoration. It had taken a couple years and a lot of long nights to get there, but it had all been worth it.
One of the many projects he came back to in Central was deciphering some old alchemy notes from State Alchemists who had either passed away, put under arrest, or were otherwise indisposed. The notes were coded extremely well, to the point where no one—not even Roy—could hope to deconstruct them without some serious help.
And who had been the brightest alchemist Amestris had ever known, and just so happened to have moved back to Central with his brother (the second-brightest alchemist Amestris had ever known)?
Edward Elric.
Ed and Al had been the most natural choices to fill the role of "alchemical note decoders," and they took to the task with great enthusiasm. They'd deciphered the first set of notes in less than a week, to everyone's surprise, and they continued with the other sets without delay.
It was during a discussion over one of these sets of notes that brought about the change in Ed and Roy's relationship.
More of an argument, really.
They'd been seated at the kitchen table Roy had just left moments ago, piles of papers strewn across its surface and long-abandoned cups of coffee sitting off to the side. This particular set of notes had driven the team mad with confusion and frustration, and it seemed to have the same effect on the brilliant Elric brothers.
Al had gone home to rest his mind, but Ed refused, saying they were so close to figuring out the key. Roy offered to help, saying a change of scenery might offer some clarity. Ed had agreed reluctantly, his brow furrowing in thought the entire way back to Roy's place as he shuffled through the various papers on the ride there.
In the late (or early) hours of the night, they were both antsy, hopped up on caffeine and their own frustration. Their stubbornness didn't help either.
At one point, they both shot up out of their seats in anger, after Ed made a biting remark about Roy's alchemy abilities, to which Roy replied that Ed was a has-been alchemist.
"A has-been that YOU hired, bastard!" the younger man had shouted, inches from his face.
There was just something about it, in that moment. Ed was older, his features more manly and handsome than the last time Roy had seen him, that fire he'd seen in his eyes—the one that had only been a flicker of a flame when he was a kid—it was now a roaring, crackling heat storm, an untamed chaos of white-hot passion… and Ed was just so close, so tantalizingly close.
They looked at each other for a beat, breaths coming out in aggressive, angry puffs, and their narrowed eyes darting from each other's gaze to their lips and back again.
"Fuck you," Ed had told him, and at once, their mouths collided in rough, hungry kisses of tongues and teeth.
They didn't solve the notes that night.
It was a confusing moment for the both of them, but hot all the same. They kept at it in the morning, testing if it was simply a one-time thing, if they were just caught up in the heat of frustration, exhaustion, and anger. But that wasn't the case. At all.
Instead, in the course of the last three months, they'd developed something of a relationship. For the time being, it mostly revolved around sex, and they'd discovered some… interesting tastes along the way.
But tonight, with Edward cooking him dinner, Roy felt something shifting between them. Something changing.
He came back down for dinner, having changed into a simple white button-up and black slacks. Ed laid out the lovely meal he'd prepared: a stir-fry with beef, chicken, and various vegetables (roughly and unevenly chopped, admittedly, but delicious all the same). They ate in companionable silence, but Roy could feel tension and nervousness coming from the blonde.
Even as he cleared the plates and served dessert (custard pie), the tension was rolling off Ed in waves, and finally Roy couldn't take it any more.
"What is it, Ed?" he asked, setting his fork down and wiping his mouth.
He winced slightly, "I… I wanted to wait after we ate…"
The General lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? And what for?"
"Your gift," Ed told him, looking at his plate. His face was entirely red.
Roy chuckled, "It looks like you're going to come apart if you wait any longer." He leaned in, trying to get the blonde to look up at him, "Go get it."
Ed cleared his throat awkwardly, reaching down to a package beside him—Roy hadn't noticed—and laid it out before them both on the table.
Roy pushed his plate aside, regarding the slim, flat box with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "Dinner was wonderful, by the way," he told Ed, pulling the box towards him. "Thank-you."
"Yeah, well… Happy birthday," Ed said, his cheeks still pink. His golden eyes flickered from the box to Roy, seemingly unable to commit to a place to rest his gaze.
The General lifted the lid, and inside he found something that made him grin darkly.
A simple, black leather collar.
Large enough to put around his lover's neck.
Roy hummed agreeably as he held it in his hands, understanding Ed's anxiousness at once. His thumb found a tag already attached to the collar, in the shape of a military-style dog tag.
On one side of the tag, it was engraved: Edward.
On the other, it read: Owner—General Roy Mustang.
Roy's eyes met Ed's gold when he looked up from the collar, an intense desire pulsing between them.
"We'll need to make a new one when you become Fuhrer," Ed said, almost trembling in anticipation.
"Yes," Roy agreed, nodding. "But for now… come here." His voice deepened, adopting the tone that made the fearless FullMetal Alchemist tremble in his hands so many times in the last few months. That kind of power was so incredibly addicting to the older man, the knowledge someone as strong-willed as Ed could become so malleable for him.
The blonde swallowed and stood, rounding the kitchen table to stand in front of the General.
"Kneel," Roy commanded.
Ed knelt.
The General began affixing the collar on his pretty blonde lover.
"I'm glad this isn't… off-putting for you, or anything," Ed told him, his face and neck flushed with his excitement.
Roy tipped the younger man's chin up to look him in the eye, wearing that same dark, gleeful grin, "Not at all…" His free hand came down to undo his belt and pants, and the other freed Ed's blonde hair from its binding, so that he could run his fingers through it. "Don't you know?" the General asked, leaning in to slide his mouth along Ed's cheek. He yanked the blonde's silky tresses at the base of his neck—Ed shivered—and he murmured his hot breath against his lover's ear:
"I love dogs."
o0o
This is my first foray into any M/M fics. I went down the RoyEd rabbit hole and got lost in all its hotness, lol. I love this pairing so much it just about makes me question my love for EdWin and Royai.
I know it's a tease, as will any other fics in this series, but I'll write more M/M, rest assured.
I also want to do a series on the more—ahem—controversial ships in FMA, starting with possibly the most controversial ship in the fandom: Ed/Al.
But that's an eventual thing.
For now, let me know what you think of this little diddy.
Y'all stay safe, healthy, and warm,
Glacier