"The Fuhrer has organized a celebration for Christmas. A huge hall with tables of food and dancing" Roy snorted gently under his breath and brushed some dirt off the top of the gray slab. Some of the rain from the day before still hung in droplets in the cracks in the stone, and shone across the obsidian marble that printed the name Maes Hughes.

"Another ridiculous attempt at ensuring Military peace I'm sure, remember what happened last year at thanksgiving?" Roy winced "I was almost sure that Havoc would be court marshaled for that little…display of his" he chuckled and sighed, running his fingers through his dark locks. There was silence for a moment, and just as Roy prepared to leave he heard –

"Mustang?"

For a few insane split seconds Roy was almost sure that it was Hughes from beyond the grave, but shaking that idiocy from his head he realized the voice didn't belonged to his deceased friend, the voice belonged to a certain blonde subordinate.

Standing, he turned – a mask of indifference placed on his face – and saw Edward standing a few feet away. Ed had a mixed expression on his face, sort of like a mix between annoyance and discomfort.

"Fullmetal, shouldn't you be at HQ?" Roy asked, walking away from the grave and past the boy, heading away across the grass.

"Shouldn't you?" Ed asked in return, following him "Last I heard you were meant to be in a meeting with General Hakuro! Are you skipping out on even him now?" He grinned "Or did you two have a fight and break up?"
Roy scowled and fixed the collar on his black jacket. "Hardly Fullmetal, he confessed his everlasting love for you and ran out of the room"

Edward rolled his eyes "Seriously though, Lieutenant Hawkeye is going to-"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye will be too busy wondering where you've wandered off to" They dropped off the grass hill onto the street that led to HQ.

"I dropped off some of your crap at the library! So you should be thanking me!" Edward yelled, and glared at the dark haired mans back "Bloody hell! You'd think to clean up your own shit for once!"

Roy muttered something under his breath but Edward didn't catch it. They headed in silence through the iron gates of HQ and just as they were striding up the concrete steps there was a thunderous crash from above, and the rain began to fall again. Edward's cheeks were puffed up and he released the heavy and released breath they contained, pausing at the door under the small shelter that hung over it. He glanced over his shoulder as the rain fell in thicker sheets over the roof and shelter, splashing over the concrete steps.

There was a sharp tap at his shoulder, and he turned again. Roy stood just before him inside the HQ lobby.

"I advise you to close the door, unless you want the whole place to be flooded"

Scowling, Ed stepped through the door and slammed it behind him, earning a disapproving grimace from his superior. Roy went to go through the door that led to his office and motioned for Edward to follow him.

Once inside, Roy sat back in his chair behind his desk and Edward flung himself onto one of the leather couches in his usual lazy reclined position. He could see the obsidian-eyed man looking at his neat desk with a curious and calculating expression for a moment, before returning his gaze to the blonde on the couch.

"The Fuhrer has decided on a banquet of sorts," he said after some time. He watched with small amusement as Edward winced visibly. Knowing the blonde's more favored activities (Spending hours on end in the library in comfortable solitude with his books), a banquet seemed like a foreign and unpleasant thing for him. Roy's smirk slowly spread as he realized that it wouldn't be so boring after all, if the Fullmetal Alchemist was there to make things…interesting.

"A banquet" Edward repeated slowly, and then made a scoffing sound. "Fuck that, I'm not going"

"Unfortunately for you, you have been especially invited by the Fuhrer"

At that Edward's eyes widened, and then he growled, a low rumble in his throat that grew into an aggravated whine.

"I don't wanna go" He sunk lower into his seat, and crossed his arms. It was much alike to a child throwing a silent tantrum, and Roy was thankful that he wasn't throwing an un-silent tantrum. He had replaced his office door more times than he could remember and he couldn't afford another expensive object of furniture flying through it. Edward proceeded to mumble curses under his breath and fidget for a moment.

Glancing up, the Colonel was about to continue speaking when he noticed something. Edwards booted feet were propped up on the small table between the two leather lounges. His red coat rippled over the edge of the seat in waves, red blending with shining black, and he seemed to be pondering something, golden eyes focused on the shining buckles on his boots. His lips were formed into a sort of half pout, and a rosy blush caused by suppressed annoyance was on his face.

Roy raised an eyebrow delicately.

"You wouldn't happen to be formulating a plan to get out of this banquet, would you Edward?"

Edward's head snapped around, an annoyed look on his face "What's it to you? You going to dob on me?"

"Hardly, I'd like to know your ideas" Roy released a sigh and leant back against the comfort of his armchair, tapping his pen thoughtfully against the mahogany wood.

"I'm not too keen on the idea of a banquet myself, really"

A surprised expression flitted across Ed's face "What? You want to skip a banquet especially planned by the Fuhrer?"

"Any celebration by the Fuhrer that I attend always seem to be capable of boring me to death. I do attend for a few minutes to greet him and put in a few good words, but I always have an escape plan handy"

"Why doesn't this surprise me," Edward allowed the amused grin to slip onto his face "What did you have in mind?"

Roy glanced up. The tone of Edward's voice was sly and thoughtful. If Edward was as interested in avoiding the banquet as he was, perhaps they would be able to work together to create a plan.

"I see" Roy smirked "You help me and I help you"

"Precisely" Edward grinned and linked his fingers together in a mock imitation of Roy's. "Glad to see we're on the same page for once Colonel"

"The same page" Roy's smirk melted into a true smile for a moment, before he stood and straightened his navy jacket, brushing off invisible dirt. Edward watched him with a naive look of curiosity at the man's strange behavior, golden eyes darkened by the rain clouds that had gathered outside.

"When Is Alphonse returning from Resembool?" Roy asked him, stacking his paperwork neatly together.

"Two weeks" Ed sighed, running a hand through his thick golden fringe "I think he just needs some time to himself for a while"

Confused, but not so rude as to ask further questions on the matter, Roy nodded slightly, and then grabbed his black coat off a nearby hook and pulled it on.

"Would you care to join me for some lunch?"

Edward's eyes widened "W-What?"

"I haven't been out for lunch with a companion for a while, I thought it would be pleasant" the smirk that lingered on Roy's face was inquisitive, and Edward fought hard to keep the blush off his face.

"But it's pouring!" any person in their right mind could see that he was trying to find some sort of protest against the idea, but that didn't seem to perturb the Colonel as he approached Edward with a Cheshire grin and said –

"So you mean to say you would have lunch with me if it wasn't raining?"

The frozen silence and horrendous blush that lit up Edward's face beautifully was his only answer.

What happened next could have happened for several reasons according to Edward. First of all, it could have been some sort of advanced alchemical array working in the Colonel's favor. It could also have been some sort of Astral infinite power that controlled the weather. Or, it could have just been an unfortunate coincidence.

Whatever the case, at that precise moment, the pouring rain outside dwindled, forming into a faint sprinkle – and then the rain stopped all together.

An empty silence resounded through the office as Roy and Edward both stared out the window with equally surprised expressions, Edward's having a more horrified look to his. A slow, delicate, but nonetheless victorious smirk slowly spread across Roy's face as he turned back to the embarrassed blonde on the couch. There was a silence in which they surveyed each other (Roy's eyebrows raised with an expectant look and Edward's mouth hanging open slightly), and then Edward scowled.

"FINE!" He surged upwards, and whirled around, red coat flying behind him "But you're paying, bastard!"

Smirking like the cat that just got the rat, Roy fell into step beside Edward as they stepped out of the office, laying his hand softly on the blushing boy's shoulder for a moment.

"I would have it no other way…Edward"
Edward growled under his breath, muttering something about 'bastard' and 'showgirls', and shrugged off the Colonel's hand with embarrassment. Containing a grin, Roy led him out the doors of HQ, and onto the street outside.

--

"I'll just get a vegetable roll" Edward leant forward to accept the paper-wrapped snack from the woman behind the stall, and Roy handed over the money, already holding a large thermos of coffee and a small bag containing a seasoned wrap.

They headed away down the pathway, entering the large park. The rain left shining dew across the grass, and the trees that surrounded them were white with blossoms that filled the trees and littered the ground in dainty petals.

Spotting a park bench, they veered towards it and sat down.

Edward immediately tucked into his roll, pausing every so often to stop the lettuce from tumbling out of his hands. It was only after a minute or so that he realized Roy had been watching him with an amused smile. Golden eyes narrowed, and Ed stopped eating long enough to say –

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Shaking his head softly, Roy uncapped the thermos and took a sip of the coffee. Edward rolled his eyes and took an overly large bite out of the roll, nearly choking. Couples were walking through the park, hand in hand; and a group of children were running around with a small dog.

"Do you usually come to this park for lunch?" Edward asked, once he had gotten over his silent coughing fit. Roy shrugged.

"Sometimes, when I want to have some quiet time away from the office. Why?"

"I dunno, just curious I suppose. But you don't really think you can escape the Military here do you?"

This comment caught Roy off guard, and he blinked. Edward sat beside him, his blush had subsided and he sat almost comfortably with a serious look on his face.

"You know what, I never looked at it that way" Roy smiled thinly and tore a mouthful off his wrap, dropping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. He snorted derisively "I suppose I do"
Edward rolled his eyes. He paused for a moment as there was an uncomfortable pause of silence, and then he shuffled about. Curious, Roy watched as the blonde straightened his posture, tore a piece off his roll, and then tossed it into the air. Roy watched with mild fascination as Edward moved his head to the right and caught the piece of bread in his mouth, chewing and grinning at the same time.

"What was that?" Roy asked, an eyebrow rose.

"What do you mean, what was that?" Edward rolled his eyes "Here, you take a piece of bread, and just tilt your head back like this…" Edward placed a hand under Roy's chin and another behind his head and tipped it backwards – much to the Colonel's surprise.

"And then you toss the bread in the air and-" Edward pushed Roy's head forward slightly and the air-born bread fell neatly into the dark-haired mans open and awaiting mouth. Chewing, Roy smiled slightly. He tore another piece off his wrap and moved on the seat so they were facing each other. Bouncing his hand, he tossed the bread up in the air and caught it in his mouth, grinning smarmily at Edward.

Smirking, Edward threw one up and caught it as well, raising his eyebrows at Roy in a challenge.

Accepting the challenge, Roy tore off an extra large piece and tossed it upwards. He moved forward to catch it, but unbeknownst to him so did Edward. Next thing he knew his vision was clouded with golden hair and wide golden eyes. There was a warm pressure on his mouth, and it took a few confused moments for him to understand what was happening.

He was kissing Edward Elric.