blah blah, no updates recently. sorry not sorry. pokemon-go is a time-vampire.

-.-.-.-.-. story -.-.-.-.-.-.-

They'd returned from a joint mission. Exhausted and bruised but otherwise no worse for wear. Ed and Mustang shared an almost empty train car, sitting opposite each other and staring off into space, reliving the events that had brought them to the far east. Ed was leaving the military, this was their last mission together and now that it was over it was the only thing on the General's mind.

A stealth mission, Mustang had huffed in amusement that anyone would want to put Fullmetal on a stealth mission. Though he couldn't think of any other alchemist he'd be able to work with. The mission: get in, free their diplomat and her family from the group that held them hostage, get out. Easy enough actually, Ed wasn't even sure why Mustang had needed to come with him. He could have done it all by himself. They'd found out that the family was being held in the basement and Ed just made a tunnel and walked right in.

It didn't take long before they'd gathered everything they needed then sealed the exit back up on the way out. Mustang had been pretty mad when Ed pointed out his only job was to provide the torch. Ed was just taunting him, without Mustang he wouldn't have known where the family was in the house and probably gone in without a plan putting everyone in danger and starting a full scale war, but he wasn't going to share that.

They reached an amicable peace on the way to the train station with the hidden family. Ed had made a tunnel and filled it behind them almost all the way there, stopping for air holes when Mustang's map had shown safe sections to poke their heads up. Mustang had been quite impressed with how much alchemy his subordinate was able to do but even at the end Ed had started to stagger in exhaustion.

The Flame Alchemist couldn't in good conscious tell Fullmetal to keep going and they were far enough away to come up out of the ground and find disguises to get back on the train home. As soon as Ed opened a hole with stairs up Mustang knew he'd hit his limit; two very obvious signs. 1. Ed had collapsed. 2. The stairs didn't have gargoyles on them.

He'd lifted Fullmetal onto his back and carried him to the train station, they were already in civilian clothes so only the diplomat and her family needed to disguise themselves. Acting as one large happy family helped find what they needed, sleeping Ed fit the part perfectly. Something bothered Mustang about Ed's body on his back but he wasn't able to pinpoint it.

He let Ed sleep for the first few hours of the trip then woke him to get some paperwork done before Ed left the military for good. When they were done they fell into a comfortable silence, staring at nothing. Not sure what to say to each other; their last day together.

The family at the other end of the train car seemed to be sleeping happily together. Mustang caught Ed watching them, a small smile on his face.

"When are you and Winry tying the knot?"
Mustang had expected a blush and a glare and the usual denial. Nope.

"We're not dating Mustang."
"Oh come on, she's always after you."
Ed sighed and turned to look him directly in the eyes. "I'm not a guy Roy. I'm a woman. Edaline. 23 years old. Military contract completed tomorrow. Winry is in love with Al and I prefer men."

She turned and watched the happy family again, listening as Mustang sputtered and choked on the seat across from her.

It was mean. She knew there were a hundred better ways to break the news to him, but this was the end. She'd be free of her contract and all obligations hereafter. The timing was right even if the delivery was way off.

Mustang found his voice and hissed at her, "You're what?!"

She calmly turned back around and took her cape off. Then removed her tunic. Her chest was wrapped sufficiently underneath, but now that there wasn't a shirt covering them her curves were plainly visible.

She watched his reactions. Denial, anger, resignation. When he finally met her eyes again she saw him try and hide the sadness.

Sad because she wouldn't tell him? Or because he didn't know her well enough after years of being her superior officer, "You weren't supposed to notice. You specifically. I think your ignorance kept me safer than anything else."

"I wouldn't have-"

"Pride was made of shadows. I bet my life he watched you sleep." She let him think about that, "What do you scream about in your nightmares? The horrors you've seen? The people you know being injured?"

He looked pained but she just smiled at him. "Exactly. It also kept you safer. They would have tortured you to find out more about me."

She watched as he conceded, putting her tunic and cape back into place. Time for a small distraction. "Thanks for carrying me here."

He thought a moment and the lightbulb flicked on. "I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with the way you felt on my back!"

"Wrong?!"

Mustang continued, unaware of his choice of words. "Yes! It didn't feel right."

"I feel wrong?!"

He hadn't noticed she'd stood up, he was excited about maybe having almost figured out her secret before she'd had to tell him. "Hah! I knew you felt smaller than I was expe-"

She punched him. Her anger not sated even by the sight of his unconscious form on the train's bench; she left the car. They were in home territory now and their charges didn't need a guard in place. Plus, Mustang had signed the release papers.

Climbing to the roof of the car she let the cool wind calm her down. She quickly scribbled out a letter for Riza about her new accommodations and her ideas for work in the city; Resembool was too small for her now. Then as a final jab she used wax charcoal crayon to write to Mustang. "Thanks for being the torch. Not as useless as usual." She made a slide from the roof as the train slowed down in station, she'd see the rest of the team later anyway.

Riza met them at the station. The diplomat pointed to the other end of the car when she asked about Mustang. She found him unconscious with telltale bruise growing on his jaw. There were two letters on the table and Ed was nowhere to be found. She sighed and pocketed the letters. Havoc and Breda were outside, they could deal with their idiot supervisor. She had to go find someone to take the slide off the side of the train.