Warnings: More introspection...I swear I'm getting to the action, really!

Spoilers: None

Feedback: Constructive feedback is very welcome

Felis Catus: Circle Eighteen

"By the Gate, it's so cold," Edward was complaining, as he stalked through the darkened streets of Third District. "Look cat, I can see my breath! It's crystallizing in mid-air! I can't believe it's supposed to be summer here and it's this cold outside!"

Har-de-har-har, Roy thought, hunching over slightly where he sat on Edward's shoulder as usual. Fullmetal was exaggerating again - much as he did when he perceived an insult to his height. It was only a balmy sixty degrees.

Edward really was too skinny; that was the problem, Roy thought critically. When he got back to normal he was going to make sure Fullmetal stopped skipping out on meals to hide in the library, even if he had to drag him out to dinner to be positive that Edward got fed.

The health and happiness of his team was paramount, after all.

"Well, you've got a fur coat on, so you can't complain," Ed muttered, stamping his feet just a bit harder than necessary as he walked by a collection of trashcans, giving them a wary look as he passed. "I hate being cold."

Warmer coat, genius. Roy rolled his eyes.

"The lining on my coat must be getting thinner...I better get Al to fix it for me," Ed frowned. "He's going to lecture me again. 'Brother, why can't you keep your clothes in better condition? Don't you think I have better things to do than to fix your clothes for you? Why can't you fix them yourself? You're an alchemist aren't you?' Nag nag nag..." Edward waved a hand about irritably as he rolled his eyes. "I tell him, mending clothes with alchemy isn't as long-lasting as doing it by hand, because you have to replace the threads somehow or the cloth just gets thinner to fill in the holes but there's no increase in material. I have better things to do than fix clothes! Besides, Al sews better than I do."

Hmm. Would it be, perchance, because Alphonse has more patience than you, Fullmetal? Roy thought sarcastically. He was scanning the side streets carefully with his enhanced night vision.

"Al's got more patience for that sort of thing anyways," Edward grinned unabashedly, his eyes likewise scanning along the streets quickly. "He got it from Mom."

Oh...so the impatience and arrogance and volatile nature must be from your father then. It would explain a lot, Roy thought.

"Mom says that I must take after Dad when he was younger, but she said that he'd mellowed out with age by the time they met so maybe that's the only way I'll learn patience...by getting old," Edward scowled, putting his hands into his pockets. "Stupid old man. I'm nothing like him." He kicked at the ground crossly, muttering softly to himself.

Denial is not a pretty thing, Edward, Roy thought a bit snootily. Ah hell, who was he to talk? He was practically drowning himself in denial. He managed to get in a few gasps of reality here and there, but it was a losing battle. Roy sighed comically. Well, denial really never got anyone anywhere. He was going to have to grab onto the metaphorical life raft eventually and start breathing through reality again. Hmmm. What a drag.

It couldn't hurt to put it off until tomorrow. Roy really wasn't quite ready to deal with his conflicting feelings towards Edward right now. Maybe not ever, if he could help it.

"I bet the Colonel would argue that I'm never going to mellow out...and make some crack about how short people have short tempers," Edward scowled blackly, kicking at an unoffending pebble, which bounced off into the street.

Hmm. Good point. Roy wished he'd thought of saying that sooner. He filed it away in his complex mind to deliver at a later date.

"Geeeeh. Why am I talking about the bastard Colonel again?" Ed griped, slouching slightly and making a wry face. "I wasn't even thinking about him and somehow he manages to get into the conversation anyways. Even when he's not here, he's still a pain in the ass."

It was so nice to be appreciated, Roy thought dourly. If you don't like me, don't talk about me then, he sniped, ignoring the little twinge in his chest cavity.

"It's so weird...when he's around, all we do is argue, but when we're not in the same room together, it's almost as if we have to go out of our way just to pick on each other! I don't get it."

Huh. Well, what do you know? Roy didn't either. Edward was the genius. He could figure it out for a change. Roy's brain hurt enough from that tangled reasoning he'd constructed earlier only to have Edward pull a loose string and have it all come apart again. It was Edward's turn to suffer, Roy thought a bit spitefully. See how he liked it!

"I thought I was hallucinating at first, you know? I thought he was just bored, or something and that was the result."

I was, Roy said dryly. That's always how problems start - from boredom. Rather like a snowball at the top of a hill. So small, so innocuous...such an innocent prelude to a spectacular mess.

"Then I started finding myself doing the exact same thing. Probably for different reasons, but still..."

What?

"I didn't want to admit to it at first - I mean, c'mon! Why would I do such a weird thing? Make up excuses to see the Colonel, pick fights with him...for crying out loud, I actually left Al back in Risembol and made a trip out here because he asked me to!"

Um...maybe perhaps because I'm fun to fight with...? Roy ventured tentatively, hugely intrigued at this point.

"It's definitely not because he's fun to fight with, let me tell you," Ed huffed. "I still haven't won an argument because he somehow always gets the last word in. I could swear he's bluffing, only I can't prove it!"

Duh. Of course he was bluffing. Roy smirked inwardly.

"Then he smirks! Smirks! And I can't find another single, solitary thing to say!"

Roy tried very, very hard not to snicker. He was proud to say that it worked. Almost.

"Are you catching a cold, cat? That was a really odd sneeze."

Roy shook his head a bit guiltily.

"He should be here right now, you know," Ed mumbled. "Things don't feel right when he's not around."

Roy felt taken aback. Was his presence that important to Edward's state of mind?

"It's bad enough that Al's not here with me. But I thought it'd be okay if the Colonel was around, but he's not around either. I mean, I like everyone and all, but they're not...quite the same for some weird reason."

Not quite the same...?

"I mean, Al's my brother, you know? Having him there, I know someone's got my back. And the Colonel...? Roy may be a bastard sometimes, but he's always looked out for us, and I just...oh hell, I feel a lot safer when he's around acting smug because he knows what he's doing..." Ed rambled on. "I mean, every time I'm in a tight spot, he comes out of the blue and snaps his fingers, and bam! No more problem," Ed snickered a bit softly. "Like one of those sappy knights in shining armor or something...heh heh heh maybe he and Al should switch places..." Ed dissolved into muted cackling, which he tried to stifle as he peered into a darkened alleyway.

Roy was stunned. Knight. In. Shining. Armor? The imagery was promptly dismissed, but the tone behind it was...fascinating on so many different levels. Roy filed that away in his head to go over later.

Finding nothing amiss in the alleyway, Edward resumed his monologue as he walked. "Anyways, what the hell is he doing vacationing with some hussy at a time like this? It's not like him at all. He's a slacker but he never shirks his duties. Hell, he never takes a vacation at all! I think there's something fishy going on..." Edward muttered darkly.

There is. Roy sighed.

"I'll get to the bottom of that later. But really, he should be here with m-US," Edward was saying, a bit forcefully, correcting himself quickly but not before Roy caught the small distinction.

Huh?

"Argh...I don't know how I feel about that stupid Colonel...one minute I think he's a total manipulative bastard, and then I turn around and he's being nice to me and lending me books on interesting theories, then he's being smirky and uncooperative, then suddenly he smiles when he thinks I'm not looking and it's back to square one. I hate it! I can't figure him out at all!" Edward paused to smack his head against a wall lightly to Roy's alarm. "Stupid, complex, annoying..."

Roy tuned out the familiar litany to try and put a few more of those puzzle pieces in his mind together. The big picture was beginning to shape up quite a bit differently than he'd first expected. The border was almost done; all that was left was trying to fill in all the missing area in the middle. Right now, it was still gray.

"I don't know why I'm telling you all this, cat," Edward sighed heavily, passing under a streetlamp. "I guess I just need someone to talk to about this. It's really not something I think I can talk to Al about."

Roy was very confused. It sounded almost as if...

"I don't know why I even try to figure him out..." Edward grumbled, slouching even more. "It started out like another game, trying to figure out his weak spots, attempting to catch him unaware so I could get the last laugh - then before I knew it, it was about trying to understand his motivations, trying to find out what makes him tick, how he thinks, how to make him smile or laugh for real..."

Roy's eyes couldn't get any wider if he tried. As if...

"...Oh shit. I didn't just say that..." Edward's head dropped comically. "You didn't hear it from me, okay Spitfire? This goes no further or I'll skin your furry little butt."

As if Edward...was harboring some odd feelings for him too?

All right, the puzzle border was complete, Roy thought dazedly. Now what?

To be con't...