The station was more crowded than usual. It seemed that, with the winter holidays drawing near, all of the husbands were returning home to celebrate with their families. Roy glanced over at the younger Elric brother and, judging by the brightness in his eyes, it was apparent that he adored the holiday season.
"You know," Armstrong started saying to the rejuvenated Edward, "Christmas cooking is another family tradition in my family's past time. We make wonderful feasts with turkey and duck and great stuffings and-"
"So did my mom," Edward interrupted, holding out his arms. "We had salads, casseroles, fruit, meat, desserts, anything that she could put together. We would have big Christmas dinners with about half of the village. I'm happy to say that her cooking abilities have been passed down to me."
Armstrong was impressed, laughing strongly from his chest. Roy just smiled warmly, looking down at the ground as they waited in the line to get train tickets. It was rather cold out, to the point that both he and the Major had their warm black coats on. He wouldn't be surprised if it started to snow by nightfall.
Roy loved snow. He would often find himself going outside and picking the white flakes off the ground to admire their beauty. He remembered last year when Edward had just been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and they were standing outside the Central Headquarters. The Fullmetal Alchemist looked so perfect in the snow, even though, much to Roy's displeasure, he constantly constructed almost perfect snowballs and used them. He had been wearing his white gloves and a black scarf that waved in the slight breeze.
It was a perfect image to think about when he was lonely.
"Train leaving for Central! Last call for Central!" came the shout from the impatient conductor, looking at his watch as if it were only a few seconds until the world would end.
Roy growled and pushed past a few people in line, going to the front and pushing forward some money. "Military business. Give me four tickets for Central."
The woman in the booth shivered, from the chilly air and took the money before handing over the tickets. "H-here you are, sir. Have a safe trip." His dark eyes widened as he snatched his tickets and left without a word of thanks, dragging the short, blonde, uniformed man onto the train with the other two following.
The woman in the booth shivered, from
"Hey!" Edward said sternly once on the train. He pulled his hand away and pushed one of his stray hairs behind his ear. Roy looked into his unnatural golden eyes and saw the frown on his face. Roy started to dread what the younger man was thinking and what he was about to say. Did it have anything to do with what happened earlier that day? Was Edward really awake for it? Oh, how he was going to get it. His conscience whimpered in the back of his head.
"Stop dragging me around, Colonel. I'm not your dog."
Roy's eyebrow rose in confusion, not expecting that reply. Of course, Roy was always expecting the worst, a terrible habit on his behalf. However, he couldn't help it. If he took things lightly then he did not deserve his rank as Colonel.
"Bah," Roy groaned, taking a seat nearest to the window. "I need a promotion."
Ed rolled his eyes and took a seat next to him while Armstrong and his younger brother took the seats across from them. Roy saw the Lt. Colonel shift in his seat, trying to get comfortable. Edward was stunning. The Colonel often wondered if he knew just how handsome he was. He had never seen such a nicely tanned face before, and those soft blonde strands of hair looked as if an angel had touched them. But above all those; Roy had never seen such beautiful golden eyes in his life. He was going to be happy to have Edward working under him in East City Headquarters.
"What's that?" Alphonse's voice broke through Roy's thoughts, as the younger brother lifted his arm and pointed curiously at Edward's neck. Colonel Mustang turned to see what Al was pointing at, and abruptly turned away as a light blush painted his cheeks.
A hickey.
Roy looked out the window, trying not to seem obvious as he went over what happened that morning. Edward had been lying in bed; Roy had kissed his cheek, smelt his wonderfully scented hair, and then kissed his neck. Roy's eyes widened in realization that there was no way that he could have given Edward this hickey since he didn't do anything that would have resulted in getting that bruised skin color.
He slowly turned his head to Armstrong, his eyes narrowing as he saw the color on the muscular man's face as well. Roy could feel his jaw dropping bit by bit. So, he wasn't the only one who fondled the innocently latent Edward. He had been wondering what Armstrong wanted from upstairs. It was obvious now that what he wanted was Edward.
Edward's gloved hand reached up and covered the area, confused by what his younger sibling was talking about. He ran his slender fingers over the sensitive spot and blinked. "I must have bruised myself somehow earlier." He shrugged casually and leaned on the arm of his seat. "So, Al, are you ready for your test?"
The two brothers started into a conversation, but Roy was too furious to really get anything out of it. Armstrong and Roy seemed to be having a silent argument with their eyes. The Major's blue eyes sparked with a sign of teasing, as the Colonel's widened. The two were too busy glaring at one another that either of them noticed that the train was already started and was on its way to Central.
Edward yawned after almost an hour of being on the train. He was so bored and was becoming rather tired again. Roy started to get worried. Just how much sleep had Edward lacked that made him so exhausted even after a long nap? He frowned and watched in interest as the Fullmetal Alchemist's eyes shut gradually, falling asleep almost instantly.
Al cleared his throat, getting the two State Alchemist's attention. "Poor thing, Ed doesn't sleep well sitting up on a train. He's been so busy with research that he hasn't slept in days and this train ride won't help him any." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "He usually lies down on trains whenever we go anywhere, but since the Colonel is taking up the other seat he can't lie down…" He gave a reassuring smile to the Colonel, however, as the man's eyes filled with guilt. "Here, let me trade places with you."
Roy seemed a little confused at first but did as the younger Elric told him to do. Once situated in their new spots, Al took Edward's shoulders and slowly turned him and gradually helped him down onto his lap. Roy saw the Lt. Colonel's eyes open just a bit to look up at Al but they closed again as he let his long legs hang over the side of the train seat.
"What time is it, Colonel Mustang?" Al asked softly, trying to keep his voice down so he wouldn't wake the slumbering Edward.
"Beats me. It'll probably be around dark when we get there, since it gets dark so early now." Roy answered, leaning on the arm of his seat, taking a quick glance at Armstrong who was staring at the sleeping alchemist.
Al nodded in understanding and set his head onto the cold window to the right of him, his hair moistening already. "I think I'm going to take a nap as well. Wake us up when we get there." And with that, Roy watched as the youngest alchemist there let his eyes shut silently.
Once Roy was sure that the two were fast asleep and unable to hear anything going on around them, he figured now would be a better time than any. He still couldn't believe that Armstrong, of all people, would do such a thing to Edward. His Edward! He was cynical as his dark eyes glared up at Armstrong, who was now staring more hungrily at the Fullmetal Alchemist. How dare he— no, no, don't show that you know, he told himself quickly before looking away and at a woman in the seat next to him. He needed a way to preoccupy himself.
As he looked at the woman he saw right away the strands of her multi-colored hair semi spiked out in all different directions. She had teal and gray eyes that were busily reading a book. She had the same style pants as he did but they were brown and also tucked slightly under her black boots. Roy couldn't see what shirt she was wearing since she was wearing a black jacket and a maroon scarf.
He tilted his head a bit to see the title of the book that she had her nose buried into, and his eyes widened. Alchemy? He cleared his throat and croaked, "Excuse me?"
The woman looked up from her book at the colonel and smiled. "Yes?"
"You're reading a book on alchemy and heading to Central?"
"Indeed! I'm planning on trying out for the State Alchemist exam next week! I'm very excited, I hope I do well!" The woman expressed gleefully, setting a hand on her chest. "And by the uniforms that you're wearing, I'd guess that you're State Alchemists?
Roy nodded and smiled back at the woman. "Yes. I am Colonel Roy Mustang, this is Major Armstrong, and the one lying down is Lt. Colonel Edward Elric."
"The Fullmetal Alchemist?" She said in awe, looking at the handsome sleeping form. "Oh, my manners! I am Fate Vienna!" She held out her hand in which Roy immediately took. "I hope to see both you and Mr. Elric at my test."
"I look forward to watching you," Roy replied honestly as he released her hand. He had no intention of talking to the Major on the rest of their ride to Central, and since he had a few hours to burn he decided to continue talking to Fate. She really did seem like a very interesting person, her eyes looked like they were filled with stories of her past and her smile seemed so understanding. "So, where are you from?"
Fate folded a page in her book and closed it, setting it down on her lap. She crossed her legs politely and looked back towards Roy. "I grew up in Lior, but then I moved to Rush Town to get automail since I lost my leg as a child," she paused to bang on her right leg, grinning as it made a metal clank, "and then I traveled by foot to Fresh Town, a small town near Rizenbul that isn't on the map since the railroad doesn't pass through it. So, I walked up to Rizenbul to get on the train and here I am!"
The Colonel couldn't help but be slightly fascinated by her story of traveling from one place to another, but since he'd heard so many more appealing stories from Edward he couldn't be anything more than a bit impressed with Fate's story.
"Ever since I was a child when I first lost my leg," Fate started quietly, looking down at the book on her lap, "I have been an extreme fan of Edward Elric. He was just like me, I had told myself over and over again. And he helped so many people at each place he went to, I was so envious." Her eyes started to well up with tears as she looked up at Roy. "It's because of him that I started to study alchemy! And now, here I am, sitting just a few feet from him and I can't even thank him."
"I would wake him up for you," Roy offered, smiling warmly, "but the Lt. Colonel has been working so hard lately that he really needs his rest. I hope you understand." At Fate's nod he added hastily, "Don't worry though, he'll be awake before we get to Central I'm sure. He had a long nap this morning."
The woman's eyes brightened up greatly and she leaned forward, hugging Roy. "Thank you, Colonel Roy Mustang."
And indeed, about an hour later of chattering about different things, Edward started to wake up, giving a big yawn and gradually sitting up. Roy was about to open his mouth to introduce Fate, but the blonde got up rapidly and walked to the back of the train car and exited. The three watched him with confusion and Armstrong, speaking for the first time in that hour, asked where he was going.
"Beats me," Roy mumbled, standing up, about to follow him but gulped as the door reopened and there stood Edward, holding a brown paper bag full of donuts and rolls. Roy could feel his jaw dropping and his eye twitching.
"You have no idea how hungry I am!" Ed exclaimed loudly, taking a seat back next to Al who was slowly waking up. "Hey Al, I got some food," he said, holding a donut in front of his brother's groggy face.
Al's eyes narrowed at the food and he ripped it out of the Fullmetal Alchemist's hands, shoving it into his mouth. "Thank you, brother," he managed through his full mouth.
Roy cleared his throat and gestured to Fate as Ed busily dug for another donut out of the bag for himself. His golden eyes glanced at the woman and he smiled, setting the bag down at his feet. "Hello, I'm Edward Elric," he held out his open right hand while the other one was proficiently holding his delicious looking donut to his perfect mouth.
Fate hesitated. And stared at the hand. It was covered with flesh, much different from the automail he was said to have. However, she smiled back at him and took his warm hand in a strong shake. "Fate Vienna."
Roy leaned forward and helped himself to a roll from the bag. Armstrong did the same, but looked out the window in silence instead of joining in on the conversation. Roy sighed with relief and turned back to Fate, who was gazing at the stunning Lt. Colonel. His eyes widened a bit and he frowned. So, how many more people would be falling for the attractive state alchemist? He ignored it though, since he knew Fate would never have a chance since Edward was so busy as it was. His eyes saddened a bit at the thought. That would mean that Fullmetal wouldn't have time for him, either.
A speaker went throughout the car announcing their arrival to Central. Ed finished off his donut and turned to Fate with curiosity. "Do you have a place to stay here?"
Fate colored and she shook her head. "N-no…I am supposed to stay with my legal guardian for the test, but I don't have one yet."
"Splendid, you can stay in my place with Alphonse. It's only a two-bedroom apartment though so it'll just be you two. At night I'll go over to Roy's apartment across the hall to sleep, is that okay with you, Roy?" Ed said, stretching a bit.
Roy would have replied quickly with a definite 'yes', but that would be a lie. He had already promised Riza that she could have the extra room in his apartment temporarily since hers was being remodeled. "Sorry, Ed, but Riza is staying with me this week."
"We all live in the same apartment building," Major Armstrong spoke up, standing up to get their things out of the overhead storage. "Edward, you're welcome to stay with me for the week. I have an extra bedroom open."
"Thank you, Major Armstrong!" Ed exclaimed, letting the larger man carry his things while he took the bag of donuts out with him.
He got the feeling that something bad was going to happen and tried to think of something, anything, that he could say to keep Ed away from Major Armstrong. He came up with nothing however, and glanced back at Armstrong, not feeling comfortable with the situation. Little did he know that maybe he should have spoken up.