I'm still alive, yes. I know that I'm supposed to be working on LF, but . . . I just can't seem to get it out of my head and onto paper . . . And now, I have these little plot bunnies chewing on my ears. So . . . yeah. Here it is.

- + -

Dogs

"Roy?"

". . . Hm?"

"What is that thing?"

"Well Ed . . . you are a genius. I thought that you of all people would know what a dog looks like."

Edward Elric scowled; first up at his lover and then back down to the tawny and white bundle of hyperactivity hovering near his feet. Coffee-brown eyes stared up at him and a pink tongue lolled out the side of a smiling mouth. The blonde turned back to Roy. "I know that it's a dog, asswipe. I want to know what it's doing here. In our house?"

The elder alchemist sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders against the restraint of his heavy trench. "I just figured that we needed a dog. I mean . . . now that you and your brother have accomplished your goal and I don't have to send you off on anymore missions—" This earned a derisive snort and a roll of golden eyes from Ed. "—you're here all day by yourself while I'm at the office. So . . ." Roy trailed off deliberately.

Let Ed fill in the blanks and pauses.

As if by a will of its own, one of the blonde's brows climbed up his forehead and disappeared behind his flaxen fringe. "So you thought that I needed someone . . . or something to keep me company? So that I wouldn't get lonely?"

Roy turned his head away slightly. ". . . Basically," he answered.

The chubby little dog yipped.

"You are impossible!" Ed exclaimed, flapping his arms. This seemed to agitate their newest housemate, who spun about in a tight circle on its short legs and barked excitedly at its blonde master. Ignoring the puppy, Edward continued to holler at his lover. "I'm perfectly fine on my own!"

The older man turned back to the ex-Fullmetal, a smirk suddenly adorning his face. "Ah, so is that the reason that you practically maul me when I come home from the office every night?"

Edward's wind-milling arms stopped their spastic motion, hanging suspended in midair; his jaw went slack and he began to sputter incoherently. Roy just grinned to himself as he watched the blush spread out across his lover's nose, cheeks, and down his throat. He found it amusing how, even though they'd been seeing each other now for years, Ed still got overly embarrassed by some of the more . . . suggestive things that the elder said.

It was cute how prudish he still was.

The little dog stopped in its prancing as well, its fox-like head tilted back to look up between the two of them oddly, its huge ears perked up and mouth hanging open.

"No!" Ed shouted when his voice had finally returned to him.

And, because Roy was some sort of masochist, he only grinned wider and taunted. "Oh? So . . . it's because I'm irresistible to you? You think I'm dead sexy?"

The blonde turned into a tomato once again. "You're gonna be dead sexy if you don't shut up!" he screeched, waving his once-automail arm around menacingly.

Chuckling, Roy caught ahold of the gyrating fist and pulled the young man into a hug; Edward only resisted a bit before melting into the embrace, growling in the back of his throat.

The dog growled, too, edging up to practically stand on Roy's feet and stare up at him.

"See?" The Flame cajoled, rubbing his cheek against Edward's blonde head and running his hands up and down his back. "She likes you already. Trying to protect you from me." Even as the younger grumbled a bit, Roy felt the press of fingertips against his lower back and he smiled into a golden halo of hair. "Seriously Ed . . . I worry about you here, by yourself."

There was a pause, followed by muffled huff. "Afraid I might get into something if I'm left alone?" he replied scathingly.

Roy frowned and whispered, "You know that's not what I meant."

". . . Yeah. I know."

The dark-haired man sighed. "So, will you keep the dog?" he questioned, pulling back to look down at his lover.

The blonde closed his eyes and breathed out placidly. "I guess so. If it makes you happy," he replied in unusually quiet tones. Roy smirked.

The chubby dog at their feet mewled and scooted closer, craving some attention from its new masters.

Edward sighed and pulled away from Roy to bend over and scoop the little canine up into his arms. She wiggled and panted and attempted to lick his face off, even as he pulled away from her. Roy chuckled in amusement at the look of contorted aggravation on his lover's face.

"So . . ." Ed said, holding the wriggling ball of fur at arms length; her whole body shook as she wagged her—well, not her tail, per se—when she wagged the little stump where her tail was supposed to be. "What's her name?"

"The breeder said his daughter called her Kara," Roy said, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up by the door to the foyer.

"Kara," the blonde said slowly, rolling the name around on his tongue, as if tasting it. He finally shrugged—his sign that he approved of it. "It's okay, I guess—better than anything we could come up with, I'm sure. Besides, she already knows that name. Why change it and confuse her?" Sighing, he tucked the fat little dog under his arm and started for the kitchen. "Me and Kara are going eat now," he deadpanned.

Roy smirked and called after him. "You two will be fast friends. I just know it."

"You know," the younger alchemist said, pausing to look back over his shoulder, "the company is . . . nice and all . . . but there's really only one dog who I want to spend my time with."

The smirk slipped down to a genuine smile. "Yeah, me too." Edward winked and shifted the load under his arm, turning away once again. Roy watched him depart appreciatively, before loosening his collar and calling out, "But despite that . . . it'll be good practice for us both. Y'know . . . for when we have kids."

And poor little Kara let out a yelp of surprise as Edward dropped her.

- + -

Man, I'm tired. Good thing I don't have to go to work til 2:30 tomorrow. (yawns) This didn't turn out exactly like I wanted it to . . . but I'm happy that I at least got something out.

For those of you who care, the doggy in this fic was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, which is just the cutest breed of dog in the world. (looks at her corgi, Sooner) Yes, yous is! Yous is jus' the cutest wittle boy! (makes kissy sounds)

Also, since I'm sure some of y'all recognized the name, yes, the dog was named after Kara (NeoDiji). It's sort of a dedication to her for all of her uber-great help on LF. Thank you, Kara! huggles