Disclaimer: I still don't own HagaRen. Get over it, and please don't sue me? Thankies.

Hello again, all. I now bring to you the third theme among 45. This one's technically too long to be a "drabble", at 805 words, but I figure a few lengthy ones aren't that bad. D Read, enjoy, and review, please!

45 Roy/Edward Themes

Theme 03. "One Year".

Staring at the bland ceiling above him one evening, Edward got to thinking. How long had it been since he'd met the Colonel? Ages, at least. But how long had it been since he'd really met the Colonel? He closed his eyes.

Edward remembered it had been snowing. He had been on his way to the office to give the Colonel the report from his most recent assignment when he ran across the man.

It had caught Edward off-guard. What was more, the Colonel had then invited him out, to discuss "business matters", as he has worded it. What kind of man took a minor out to a bar to discuss "business matters", anyway? Edward rolled his eyes at the thought.

The evening had been surprisingly enjoyable, actually. For a while, Edward refused to admit that. Roy had always been a charmer, and apparently Edward Elric, the famous FullMetal Alchemist, wasn't immune to his charm either.

They had talked business for a while, then conversation dissolved into nothing more than normal chat. Of the other members of the military, Alphonse, each other's plans for the future, etc.

Edward hadn't put much thought into it until he'd gone back to the hotel, and realized he had enjoyed a night out with the Colonel. The thought had mildly disturbed him.

Then the Colonel had invited him out again. Seeing little to no harm in it, Edward obliged. Again, he found he'd enjoyed himself out and just talking with the Colonel. He'd spoken to Alphonse about it, and his brother had said not to worry about it. There was nothing wrong with going out after work with a colleague.

"This is Colonel Shit Head we're talking about here, Al." Edward explained. "I shouldn't be enjoying time spent with him."

The conversation had ended that way, Alphonse grinning behind his emotionless mask of metal.

Just for kicks, the Colonel offered Edward some of his drink one evening. Edward shrugged and took it from him. He was fifteen now, and with his lifestyle, who was to know if he'd live long enough to legally drink it, anyway?

It may have been the alcohol, but Edward had had more fun that evening, laughing at pointless things with the Colonel than he could remember.

That was the closest thing to a first date that Edward could think of between the two. Opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling again, he tried to think of when, precisely, that had been.

After a while of mulling, and coming up with nothing, Edward decided it really didn't matter, and wandered out into the main area of the Colonel's apartment. The living space was cluttered, but not messy. Alphonse made sure things stayed in fairly good order most of the time.

A piece of yellow paper caught his eye, laying in the middle of an otherwise spotless dinner table. Edward's eyebrows drew together in confusion. Alphonse had gone out earlier in the day, probably to go search for stray cats to feed. It was Sunday, so Roy had gone to the store to pick up a few things on his day off.

Walking over to the table, he plucked the paper from the table, and quirked an eyebrow. There, written in Mustang's trademark messy scrawl, were the words "One Year", and the date.

Puzzled, Edward had stuffed the paper into his pocket and wandered back into the bedroom he shared with the Colonel to ponder.

Half an hour later, he was woken up by the sound of the door opening. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep. Making his way into the main area of the house again, he paused to watch Roy set two bags of groceries down on the counter. Apparently the Flame Alchemist had yet to notice him.

Curious about the note left on the table, Edward advanced into the kitchen to lean on the counter, arms folded across his chest. Roy paused, raising his eyebrows at him.

"Yes?" he said carefully, putting the groceries in their proper places.

"…So what's this mean?" Edward extracted the piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the Colonel.

Roy grinned.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find this," he said, laughing softly as Edward cringed when he pulled a half gallon of milk from one of the paper bags. He then shut the door to the refridgerator, and placed a hand on the counter on either side of Edward's shoulders. Edward started, looking up at him with a vague sense of fright. What the hell was he doing?

With a grin to rival Edward's own, Roy leaned forward and left a light brush of a kiss upon the younger boy's forehead before returning to the groceries.

Edward squinted.

"What the hell?" He voiced his confusion.

"Happy Anniversary, Edward."

Author's Notes: I'm not really sure about the title for this one. I've misplaced my kanji sheet with the original titles of all these themes, so I'm reduced to relying on other people's translated lists. I've seen this one as "One Year", "One Year Later" "With One Year's Eyes"... I thought "One Year" fit best as it was written. D Again, please review! Many thanks,

-Hitsuji