So this being a new story, and hopefully I may get new readers I haven't met before, means I should probably explain how the review replies and my AN's usually work. Review replies are first, they're under this message. So if you want to read yours, find your name and read away. After the line break sectioning off the review replies I have my AN's. Sometimes they're long, sometimes not so much. It's your choice whether or not you read them.

So now to the review replies:

Tana: Soonish? I'll see what I can do...

Chaos Valkyrie: Can't spell dead without Ed XD. And yes, they both will actually. Daphne is becoming more permanent as an OC.

Gaara: Phew. I always worry about my starts, so I'm glad it was good. And it is a fun little concept isn't it XD. Gives me torture time for Ed and Roy.

moonstone: Al would try and kill Roy with a cleaver while ranting he was possessed by a demon. ...-writes that-

iTorchic: Thank you. I'm glad you like it so far. Even if you aren't a Roy/Ed person. Just that you checked it out because it sounded interesting makes me very happy. I hope you continue to like it. And Mustang oh Mustang... he's always insane on some level.

GreedxEd: He protests the adorable claim.

Koorii: Keep all grim reapers away from him please. Thank you XD.

Disasterifik: Thank you. I'm rather fond of the idea myself. I hope I pull it off well.

laptop: Thank you, and yes, it will be continued. Hopefully this week, weather and time allowing.

Twisted Vixen: Roy does have his work cut out for him trying to make people not think he's insane. And Edward needs a hug... except he can't have one. But he definitely needs to hide some of Roy's things.

Sailor Silver Rose: As long as you try XD.

Koneko: Shame, shame... -flee-. But awwah you need a hug! I seem to play with your poor emotions far too often. I just need to give you hugs everyday.

crackedmind: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying so far.

psychopath: Thank you, I love it when someone thinks I have a good idea going. I hope you keep enjoying it.

kazuko: He actually is. And I'd forgotten that Circa was where you lost your Roy/Ed virginity. I hope this one satisfies the ghost Ed one XD. No, Ed wouldn't have automail. He's very much... well, he's not flesh. But he doesn't have automail, let's put it that way. Al will be explored later and FOOD! -runs off with food-

haganeno: What do you mean, it actually won? -huggles- And thank you, thank you. And yes, Ed is awesome. Awesome and cute.

ChibiChaser: Thank you very much! I shall get more out.

Toraus: Thanks! I'm so happy you liked it. I worry like a crazy person over first chapters.

Cheru-chan: Ed? Get into trouble? What makes you think he'd... oh... right.

realityfling: Thank you! I'm so pleased you love it so far.

mutantpenguins: And the intricasies only get to be more as I go on. And yeah, I'd say it qualifies as long distance.

E: Yes... the Al scene... Gate help me XD.

Eli: You voted for... practically all of them. And don't worry, Roy's already lost it. Riza knows this.

So, guess who lost her power last night and couldn't update? Well I got a nice monsoon storm to watch out of it, so I really can't complain.

And nor can I complain about how relieved I am that the first chapter of this story was so well liked. I hope I can keep it up. I am sure there will be some more questions after this chapter. Just know that I can't always answer because it deals with an upcoming part of the plot. Even if it seems like a simple thing and nothing quite so deep as 'why is Edward still growing?' Which yes, keep asking yourself that XD.

So enjoy!

Chapter Two

Some hours later Roy had finally moved up from the floor and used the towels properly. Which was as covers for the desk chair and a portion of the desk itself. He was staring at the black phone as it rang shrilly, staring at it warily and every ring edging back a bit.

Edward was watching him, laughing softly. He wasn't sure he should inform the man that the phone actually had been replaced. The previous occupant had spilt a soda on it the day they were leaving and ruined the contraption. So a new one had been put in. "Aren't you going to get that?" He asked deviously.

Roy looked up at him; the ghost was perched in the air where he'd first initially spotted him. "Absolutely not." He said firmly.

"But it might be important." Edward wheedled with a grin. No, he was definitely not informing Roy that the phone was new and untouched.

"It can wait." Roy decided, for his own health.

"Use one of the towels to grab it?" Edward suggested in as weary a tone as he could emulate.

There was a sudden flurry of movement punctuated by muttered swears, and Roy yanked the phone up on the last ring. He held it with a towel, but held it a good inch away from his ear. "Mustang."

Edward was laughing again, and leaned his arms forward onto bent legs to angle himself a bit closer.

Roy's eyes darted up to the ghost, and then he turned the chair so he was looking out the windows. "No, sir. I've experienced no problems. I just scheduled for a routine cleaning and have already ordered the things I'll be needing."

Edward stopped laughing at that, curiosity winning him over. Who was Roy talking to? And about what?

"Thank you, sir. I'll not forget to be sure they turn theirs in as well." And with that, Roy hung up the phone. He let it plop back onto the catches with a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth before he looked up at Edward. "You're a little terror, I hear."

"Terror?" Edward scoffed, and straightened where he was. "I'm a ghost, we're terrors by definition."

Roy laughed, it was hard to argue with that. Most people would define ghosts as scary things. But this ghost? Edward was nice, but clearly he had a bit of a naughty streak. "That was one of the generals I report to. General Basque Grand, do you know anything about him?"

Edward's face immediately twisted into some sort of grim disdainful look. "Stay away from him as much as you can. He's… evil. The last time I saw him he was going on and on about how the last person that tried to challenge him got a one way ticket to the laboratory where they send convicts. The one where they use them in experiments to try and recreate a real philosopher's stone."

Roy's eyes immediately narrowed. "Do you know where this lab is, Ed? Has he ever mentioned?"

"No." Edward gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry." And he floated down to the floor. "So stay away from him?"

Impossible. Roy couldn't ignore what Edward had said. Even beyond the fact that such a thing was illegal in all the meanings of the word, if he caught General Grand mixed up in such a thing, it was his own one way ticket. A one way ticket to another promotion. And after that… it was a short ride to Fuhrer. Yet the look on Edward's face… the ghost was concerned. "I understand you want to keep me safe. So you must trust that I will be careful with what you've told me."

Edward's gaze was suspicious, but he nodded. "Just be careful."

"You just might be able to get me another promotion with that. Giving me a lead to chase down for it." Roy smiled faintly, it was difficult to be too happy when Edward had clear reason to be worried. He was sure the ghost didn't want to be left alone again anytime soon. There was no way to know that Edward would ever encounter another person who could see him. "I want to be Fuhrer one day, you know. And I'll do whatever I can to get there."

"Just don't become evil." Edward warned him and made as if he was walking across the floor to the man. "Or I'll be forced to start sabotaging you. I'm a good ghost. I won't be associated with a bad man."

Roy did actually smile then. "Don't worry. I may be ambitious, but I won't do anything bad to get there. I have my reasons for wanting to be Fuhrer… and I promise you that my reasons would be meaningless if I became like them." He linked his fingers together, and leaned back in his chair as he considered Edward with a bit of gleam in his eyes. "Interesting, though, that you bring the sabotaging thing up… the general was just asking if I'd experienced any problems with things vanishing, turning up in odd places. My chair collapsing."

Edward tried not to grin, but was mostly failing.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He teased.

"Of course not." Edward replied, giving up the battle not to grin wickedly. "I never touched anything of the last persons. Their things were far too unsanitary even for a ghost to touch. I have principles, you know."

"And of those before?" Roy prompted, very much amused by how pleased with himself the ghost looked. He couldn't really fault Edward for doing such things. After all, there was only so much a ghost could possibly do cloistered to one office for seven years.

"I may have arranged for a few games of hide-and-seek…" Edward revealed with more than a little pride. "And the person whose chair I messed with… they were just asking for it. Trust me."

Roy chuckled softly. "You little terror."

"Don't call me little." Edward scowled at him. "I'll hide your wallet, and watch you come back to me groveling for it because you want to eat."

A smirk playing on his lips, Roy believed that he had better start keeping his wallet in a more secure location. Lest he discover how good the ghost was at pick pocketing. Because he doubted he could ever not refer to Edward as little. It was far too fun to be scowled at for it. "Is calling you short around the same as reaching through you?"

"I'm not short!" Edward protested, and would have whacked the man upside the head if he could have. As it was, all he could do was glower and remind himself that he didn't want to at least whack the desk until it was a sanitary one.

"So it's the same."

"Only one will get your wallet stolen."

Roy chuckled and looked back towards the window. He could still see Edward in the pane, however it was more difficult. The ghost, after all, was just near-translucent silvery defined light. It was difficult to make out in a reflection from glass. "Just as long as I only have to beg on my knees for it back, and not play one of your hide-and-seek games."

"I'd prefer to see you on your knees, I think. Proud man like you." Edward smirked and looked towards the windows as well. He frowned. They were always completely blank to him. He knew what they were, but what might be beyond them was little more than an empty white world to him. "What's out there?"

Roy looked back over at him curiously. All thoughts of a response to Edward's initial comments leaving him. "You can't see?"

Edward met his eyes. "No. It's just white… nothing." And he moved forward to the window to raise a hand up to but not quite touching the pane of glass. "Like a never-ending snowstorm." His hand moved nearer, and he was met with something entirely solid that he could not push through. "Even though I'm trying to pass through and not touch the glass, I can't. It's like this with all the boundaries of this office. I'm trapped." And he turned his eyes on Roy again. "So what's out there? Is it anything beautiful? I can barely remember what the sky looks like."

Roy couldn't imagine… being confined here for seven years. Not even being able to see out a window and view the sky, or the people and places beyond. Little by little, he was beginning to have an idea of just how purely Edward spoke when he had said he was lonely. "The windows look over the courtyard, and the main gates of Headquarters. Lots of concrete, and grass. A few trees. And beyond the gates are other buildings, and old lamp posts."

"Any people?" Edward asked, still staring into the whiteness. Almost as if he believed that if he stared hard enough to picture what Roy was describing, he could see it at last for himself.

"Very few." Roy said as he stood and walked the bare half a step to join Edward at the window. And he gazed out through them, as if seeing it all for the first time. "This area lacks the feel of a welcoming place. One you'd want to be walking around in. But the weather is turning bleak… which might account for the lack of people walking around beyond the walls."

Edward's hand against the glass curled into a fist that rested against the pane. "A storm?"

Roy looked up at the gray clouds. Some were shadowed in white, some in black. Some bore purplish hues on their bellies. Others roiled, some remained steady. But they were all beginning to cloak the sky overhead with their myriad of appearances. "It just may. It was clear this morning, but weather can change abruptly."

"It was stormy…" Edward said quietly, still staring out the glass as if he could see beyond it. But what he saw was not the white world, but flashes of the memory of that night. "The night I died. I could hear the thunder… the light of the lightning kept flashing across the room. That was the last sky I ever saw."

"Do you remember the sun?" Roy asked after a moment.

"Yes." Edward said after a moment, his gaze turning to Roy. "The sun… I think I remember the sun."

Roy met those silver eyes, and then looked away. The way Edward looked at him sometimes, like he was seeing straight through to his soul… it flustered him. And really, he didn't want anyone to see the dark marks he bore. Especially not Edward. Even if he hadn't known the ghost more than a few hours, it didn't change the fact that he and Edward had a bond. A bond he couldn't for the life of him understand why it existed. But it existed. "To attempt what you did, it was no bit of simple alchemy. To get so far that it actually worked enough to cost you what it did… I knew your father once, a long time ago, so it shouldn't surprise me that you did get so far."

"You're not going to try and go off on me again, are you?" Edward asked flatly.

Roy pinned him with a reproachful look. "I know your father was a great alchemist. But how good are you, I wonder."

"You mean how good was I." Edward corrected, and then shrugged. "It was easy. Anyone could have gotten the array correct. And the ingredients."

"But to activate it is another thing entirely." Roy pointed out. "Some alchemists I've known can barely fix a broken pencil."

Edward snorted at that, "then they're not very good alchemists." And he turned away to pace along the wall, making all the proper motions of a purposeful walk, head bowed in thought. "I could do alchemy as soon as I could walk. I was learning alchemy from my dad's books, which is also where I learned to read. I can still remember it all. I think, had I lived, I would have been a great alchemist. Ghosts are incapable of alchemy." And he did an about-face towards Roy who still stood at the window. "And what of yourself? I've heard nothing of you, Roy Mustang. Are you a good alchemist?"

Roy smiled with characteristic smugness whenever anyone remarked towards his alchemy skills. "How about the Flame Alchemist, does that ring any bells?"

For a few seconds, Edward just stared. And then slowly, very slowly, he drifted towards Roy. "You're the one so many people are afraid of and call an egomaniacal bastard? You don't seem very scary to me. Though your hair does look a bit more well kept than the other men I've seen."

Yes… that was him. Sad to say, Roy was rather used to the labels he'd had slapped on him over the years. But the ghost had said nothing regarding his… frivolities. It struck him as strange, but if Edward hadn't heard, than he hadn't heard. However, "I am not egomaniacal. I just have very high confidence with myself and my looks."

"Oh yes," Edward rolled his eyes. "I never would have guessed. The way you've conducted yourself so grandly since arriving here. Everyone else spent their first day fretting."

Roy smirked at that little tidbit of knowledge. "I'm not easily thrown by anything. The only thing that put me out of sorts for a while today was discovering that there is a ghost only I can see locked in my office. But the part of me being a bastard and people being afraid of me, yes, that's all true."

"Are they that dim? Sure, you've made me want to whack you a few times, calling me… short." Edward ground out much to Roy's amusement. "But I wouldn't quite go so far as bastard or scary."

Roy hummed quietly as he watched the few trees he could see lose leaves and bend in the wind. The air gain a beige tint. "You're different. I have no want, nor reason, for you to be afraid of me. And neither do I want you to think me a bastard. Else our mutual desire to get to know each other isn't so mutual."

"So I'm special." Edward summarized cheekily as he finally drifted up beside Roy again.

"In more ways than one, ghost." Roy smiled over at him. "And it's not hard to see why."

There was a knock on the door, and both of them turned at the sound.

"Enter!" Roy called out, and gave Edward one lingering last look before moving back to his desk.

The door swung open, infusing the room with an aura of overwhelming cheer as it did so. And in walked the person bringing this cheer with him. "Mustang!" The dark haired and spectacled man greeted cheerfully and sauntered in, the door remaining open behind him.

"Hughes!" Roy called back with just as much cheer, however it was sarcastically forced. And they both knew it.

Hughes laughed, "relax. I don't have any new pictures." He reassured his best friend. "But-"

Roy groaned.

"-I'm getting a new camera! Now that we're back in Central I can get the latest model!"

"Fantastic." Roy said as he flopped down into the inadequate chair. "How did the girls take the move?" And when Hughes made to sit on the floral fabric chair, stained and torn, he reached out a frantic hand as if to yank him to a stop. "Nah-nuh-uh!"

Edward gave the man an amused look, so much for Roy being decently intelligent. He floated over to circle around this man Hughes, studying him quite closely without being seen.

"What's wrong?" Hughes frowned at him, stopping.

"Don't sit there, trust me. There's a reason there are towels on my chair. You don't want to be touching anything in here until tomorrow. And when I get my new furniture." Roy told him, and tried not to smile as Edward bobbed up and down through the air inspecting his best friend. "Do you think it's drafty in here, Maes?"

Edward glared at him. "I'm not creating a draft. He can't feel me at all. Watch." And to prove his point, he threw himself forward. Straight through Hughes's side. He came out on the other end, and Hughes hadn't even twitched.

"No." Hughes frowned. "I'm not feeling one. Maybe it's because you're by the windows. Could be that one isn't closed or sealed properly."

Roy was choking down the urge to laugh. He hadn't expected Edward to do that at all, and shock and amusement from it cancelled out any unnerved feelings he may have had. "Perhaps you're right. I'll have that checked as well then."

Maes shrugged. "Anyway…" he thought back to what they'd been talking about, and then snapped his fingers. "Yes, the girls. They took it very well. I think Gracia is glad to be back. And Elysia is so cute! She's already made friends with the neighbors children. I'll bring you pictures!"

"Fabulous." Roy forced a smile. "I can't wait… to burn them."

"Now Roy," Maes scoffed at him, "have a heart."

"Burn your camera then?" Roy suggested sweetly.

"Not quite a bastard… but showing the colors." Edward remarked from where he was still standing next to Hughes.

"Do that, and I won't buy you a drink tonight as a celebration for you finally getting yourself and us transferred here." Maes pointed out, knowing that he easily had Roy there. "What do you say?"

"Am I a bastard, Maes?" Roy asked instead, laying his arms loosely over his stomach as he leaned back in the chair.

"Yes, Roy. The only thing missing from you to qualify you as a dragon is the inability to breathe fire." Maes informed him in an almost weary sounding tone. As if he'd had to assure Roy of his bastardly qualities more than once.

"But I can snap and create fire."

"It's not the same. Breathing fire is more… well, it's just more."

"He has a point." Edward observed.

"I didn't ask your opinion." Roy informed the ghost, who merely smirked back at him.

Maes rolled his eyes. "You got it anyway, didn't you. Now I'm off to go scope out the turf. Anyone or anyplace special you want me to drop in on and have a poke around?"

"Having you drop in on and poke around someone may not thrill your wife." Roy grinned at his friend, and continued over the background of both Maes's and Edward's laughter. "But since you're offering, I would like you to make your way around to Grand's area. Get a feel for things over on his end. I don't trust him at all."

"I'll do that." Hughes agreed, and cut out of the office with a sloppy salute and wave combination. The door closed behind him.

Roy on the other hand turned to Edward who was now hovering on his side, head propped on a hand and looking for all the world as if he was lounged in some grassy field. "Maes Hughes." He explained with a smile. "My best friend since I was about your age."

"And what is your age now?" Edward inquired of him.

Roy grimaced just a bit. It was a common and wrong assumption that only women disliked being asked their age. However, at least in his case, this could not be farther from the truth. "Why don't you tell me what you think of him instead?"

Edward was not so easily led astray. However, he saw no reason not to answer the question as well. "He's a pure man, a good man. I sense a strength to him… nothing so strong as I sense with you. But it's there. I've had many years to study people."

"You and I both." Roy muttered, and glanced away from the ghost. "I'm pleased you like him. He's one of the few people I'll ever trust. I don't have many friends."

"How old are you?" Edward asked, instead of trying to figure out where he stood in the spectrum of Roy's acquaintances. Because in all truth, he wasn't sure that he fit into any category. He was entirely separate, being that he was a ghost.

Roy gave Edward a pointed look, clearly trying to get him to drop it without actually saying it. "I consider very few people outside my team my friends." And he paused, "did you have any friends?"

"One." Edward informed him, still not at all deterred. "Come on Roy, tell me how old you are! Please? How am I supposed to get to know you if I don't even know something common like that?"

"I don't see how my age has any bearing on me as a person." Roy hedged, and turned his chair around so he was looking out the window instead. Towards where the sky had lost that beige tint, and instead gained one of a purple and red glow. Yes, it definitely looked like a storm was coming in. He was used to them, but he had never really given them much muse until Edward had shared what was foremost on his mind in regards to stormy weather.

Edward harrumphed, and straightened from his sidelong floating. Roy seemed to be forgetting something. And he instantly flowed through the desk, but his hands grabbed the chair by the towels covering the back, and he spun Roy around. "Do you think I'd laugh at you? I'm dead. Even if I would be eighteen right now, my being dead makes me older than you in some perverse way."

Roy couldn't seem to look away from the silver eyes. Not this time. They were as near-translucent as ever, but they held a steel that seemed to paralyze him. Some strange power ghosts had? Or were those eyes really that difficult to look away from when they were filled with passion. "When is your birthday, Ed?"

Edward looked away only to give the wall a withering look, before he turned back to Roy. "Tell me your age, and I'll tell you when I was born. I don't have a birthday anymore. I have a deathday."

"You celebrate the day you died?!" Roy gaped at him in minor horror.

"I'm a ghost! Celebrating the day I was born seems a bit outdated." Edward frowned at him. He could see how it might seem morbid. And really, it would have been for him. Except for one thing, he didn't regret losing his life to save Al's. Such a thing was something to celebrate. Even if no one else understood it. He didn't think about it so much as he'd died, as he'd stopped his brother from dying. Yet calling it 'the-day-I-played-martyr' seemed a bit… indulgent. Deathday was much more suitable.

Roy was trying to comprehend this. He really was. Edward didn't seem the least bit upset that he was dead. Which, sure, he'd had seven years to become accustomed to it, so he really shouldn't feel so shocked. But even so… had loneliness really been the only thing weighing on Edward's mind all this time? And celebrating the day you died? "Why would you celebrate it? I mean, yes, you are a ghost. But still…"

"Because my brother lived." Edward replied simply. "I told you I didn't regret what I'd done. I was the one who put us in that mess, I don't regret that I'm the one who paid the full price for it. I have eternity… best to spend it not being depressed about matters I can't change. And maybe this is only something you understand when you die…" he mused thoughtfully. "But I am no longer alive, hence why we celebrate our birth. I am dead, so what difference is there, truly, in celebrating the day I died?"

Puzzling over him, Roy put a hand to his chin as he thought. "You've really only been lonely this whole time?"

Edward nodded mutely.

"I'm twenty seven." Roy spoke at last, and watched the smile come onto Edward's face. "Now tell me your birthday, and your deathday."

"Why?"

"Well first off, you promised at least the birthday part." Roy's smile was smug as he watched the ghost. "And second, it's about time you no longer celebrate these things alone. I may not understand your reasoning for the deathday celebration. But I promised you you'd no longer be alone. And I meant it. No more loneliness for you, especially on days of celebration."

Edward was actually taken aback by that, blinking several times in rapid succession. "But… I don't celebrate my birthday…"

Roy held up his hand to stem any more random flows of thoughts. "Then allow us to celebrate it as a day just for you. Not for anything more specific than that."

A wide smile suddenly split Edward's face, and he gave a happy sort of twirl where he still floated, merged with the desk. "Really?! A day just for me? You'd change it to that? And you're serious? You'll celebrate with me?"

Roy couldn't help smiling as well. He couldn't help himself when Edward became so happy. And he felt another glow of pride to know that he'd been the catalyst for that happiness. "I'm serious about all of it." He reassured the ghost. "You may not be able to eat, or drink, but I can bring things you can touch. Party things, stuff like that. After everyone's gone home we can celebrate all night long so no one thinks I'm crazy."

"You are crazy." Edward laughed joyfully. "But I'm glad you are." No… Roy was definitely not so bad. Just when he started thinking this man couldn't prove himself any more decent of a companion, Roy did or said something else. And Edward couldn't help but believe him.

"Tell me the dates." Roy prompted the ghost, and got up from his chair to walk over and pluck his personal black book that held his calendar and some contacts information out of the cardboard box. He grabbed up a pen as well.

Edward immediately zoomed through the air over to him to hover, literally, over his shoulder to watch. "I was born on January twelfth." He waited until Roy had marked it with 'Ed's bday', and then continued. "I died October third."

Roy was a little slower to write 'Ed's deathday' down, but he did it and shut the book with a snap. Looking over to where Edward's head was looming just over his shoulder, he had to fight back a smile. "Does it meet with your satisfaction?"

Edward drew away, circling around so he was in front of the man. "Yes. But what are all those entries I saw that you'd crossed out?"

"I won't cross you out." Roy offered the book to the ghost, but when it was declined, he set it back in the box. "They were all dates I had to cancel. Since I was transferred and all. Naturally I couldn't still go on them."

"Dates." Edward repeated flatly. "You mean you broke up with this person?"

"It was about fifty people, actually." Roy corrected, one hand going to the nape of his neck to worry the hair there.

Edward's eyes widened. "You were dating fifty people all at once? You're not that attractive! I mean look at you, you're so wide around the chest. You're like a military tank on the upper half."

Torn between outright laughing, and wanting to whack Edward upside the head, Roy chose for middle ground. A bit of laughter followed by, "I am not wide around the chest! I just have lots of muscle, I can't help it that I like to have a nice body for the many people I don't date. It's all about the one night stand afterwards for me. And I may as well have the body to keep up with the demand."

"So you're a whore?" Edward crossed his arms over his chest, giving Roy a look not unlike one a mother might give to her unruly child.

"No, I just have a healthy sexual appetite." Roy corrected, trying not to think of how odd it was to be suddenly trying to explain his sex life to someone he was sure had been a virgin upon death. "And I am attractive."

Edward snorted richly, one shadowy silver eyebrow arching just a bit. "If you say so. Just be sure you don't bring any of your whores in here. You don't want to know what I'd do to them. And you better not be screwing anybody with nasty diseases."

"Don't worry yourself." Roy shook his head amusedly. "I'm very careful about stuff like that. And I won't bring anyone here, I wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway with you around."

"Because I'd be constantly throwing things at you, telling you to get the hell out?" Edward guessed in simpering tones.

"I'd somehow not put it past you." Roy smiled at him. "But don't ever think that I will schedule someone over time I set aside to spend with you. You're more important than any clean, decent, one night stand candidate."

Edward frowned, and now he reached for the book which he flipped open to look at all the empty days that he knew Roy would end up filling with these… meaningless flings. "Two nights shouldn't be too hard for you to work around."

Roy reached over to lay a hand on the pages and stop Edward from flipping them. "If you believe that I plan to spend such a small amount of extra time with you… you're mistaken. Just because your name isn't written on the pages, doesn't mean you aren't already there."

Edward looked down at Roy's hand there on the book, not saying a word. His expression was soft and thoughtful as he settled the book in one hand, reaching over with his other to brush his fingers along Roy's hand. They passed right through as he'd expected. "I can't feel anything but the same pressure. It's always the same. Even though I know your hand added weight."

Deciding not to remark that Edward clearly saw a difference between reaching through and being reached through, Roy slowly eased the book away. "Disassociation?"

"Something like that." Edward shrugged and looked back up at the man, before floating up enough so that they were at eye-level. "It's just strange sometimes, being a ghost."

Roy set the book back away. "Have you ever met any other ghosts?"

Edward shook his head, the silvery and glowing strands of his hair flowing back and forth about his shoulders at the movement. "If there ever were a place to hold ghosts, this would be the lair. However if I am anything to judge by, if there are other ghosts… they're as trapped as I am." And a shadow of a smile seemed to grace his lips as he considered the man before him. "I'm already on the pages?"

"You're at the top of the list of those I will spend my free time with." Roy smiled at him, and turned back to walk towards the desk. "I know I have no duty to keep you company any more than I will be during the workday. But it's what I want to do."

"Just don't withdraw from the rest of the world completely, except for your ambitions." Edward said as he drifted after the man. "Else they really will admit you to a psych ward."

"It's a fine line to walk." Roy said as he sat back down with a whisper of a sigh. "But you're worth walking it. This is the first time I've ever had someone be so dependent on me for something. It's rather nice."

Edward huffed at the notion that he was any such thing. But he knew Roy was right. Without Roy, he was alone again. And he didn't want to be alone again. Not so soon. Not anytime soon. And selfishly, not ever. "I'm not some charity case."

"I know." Roy soothed. "I only meant that it's nice to be wanted, unconditionally. Just for me."

"Perhaps it works out in my favor then that you otherwise seem to have commitment issues." Edward mused to himself, and tipped backwards so he was hovering on his back a few feet off the floor, his hair falling down like silver water.

Roy chuckled softly. "I can only agree. Besides family, and friends, my ambitions… I think you're the only other thing that could qualify in my mind as commitment worthy."

Edward's head tipped sideways so he could glower at Roy. "I am not a 'thing'." He ground out with narrowed eyes. "I am a ghost. A different type of noun. The most important kind."

"Right, sorry." Roy held his hands up in a gesture of submission. "You're the only other… one?" He attempted hesitantly.

Edward mulled it over for a few seconds, and then turned his head away. "It'll do."

"Will you tell me about this friend you mentioned? You said you had one." Roy broached as he recalled the sliver of information.

"Winry Rockbell." Edward answered after a lengthy contemplation on whether or not he wanted to answer at all. He rarely thought about her. And only in times of wondering if Al was doing okay without him. And those were the few times he ever felt some sadness. But never regret. "She was a lot like a mother in her own right. But she was fun to play with when she played fair. Otherwise she got what she asked for. She taught me that girls don't play fair."

"That's for damn certain." Roy agreed, thinking fondly on Riza Hawkeye's adeptness with a gun and its uses for coercion.

"But I had a friend. For a time." Edward knew he couldn't ever have her as a friend again. It was just one of those things.

Roy smiled at him. "Well, I know it may be a stretch being first day and all." He said and stood up. "But you just may gain another friend. Now, I know you had no choice in who… but I hope I'm not too much of a letdown."

Edward straightened while shaking his head quickly. "It's not just because you can see me, and you can hear me… but you're not a letdown. You've done more for me in only hours than you could ever imagine."

Stepping over to where Edward was now floating in a seated position a few feet above the floor, he stooped down. "That's a relief." He said as he met the silvery gaze. This time, it didn't seem to penetrate him. "However I need to be going. I can't stay late with you tonight, my team and I are going out to dinner and a bar together. But I'll be back tomorrow morning with books, and all other sorts of things for you."

Edward held in a sigh. He'd known the day would eventually come to a close. But Roy was right, he would be back tomorrow. "I'll be waiting for you." He said, and straightened. And as soon as Roy had stood back up, he reached out his hands to lay them just above Roy's chest as he'd done in the first wonderful moments of their meeting. Except this time, Roy lacked the wariness of before. The wariness that he would cause harm to him. Looking up into Roy's eyes, he smiled warmly. "You can see me."

Roy smiled back at him, and on impulse reached a hand up to let it hang in the air just above one of Edward's. "Yes. I see you. Goodbye for now, ghost."

Edward chuckled, but said nothing about the term. It was accurate after all. "Goodbye."

Roy drew away from him and walked to the office door. Pulling it open he stepped through only to look back just before he closed it. Edward was watching him, the smile gone. And he tried not to feel guilty as he closed the door.

"All ready?" Hawkeye asked him with a smile as she looked up at his exit from his office.

Roy smiled at her. "Absolutely. I have date nights to fill, and dinner to eat. I'm starving."

From inside the office, Edward had floated over to curl up on the chair. It was still covered in towels, thus sanitary. And he kept his eyes on the door to not only await Roy's return, but the appearance of the cleaning crew who would be scrubbing this office top to bottom. He planned to inform Roy if they missed any spots, likely, and if so… have his own brand of fun with them before Roy, the feared Flame Alchemist he'd heard about, got within snapping distance.

So he settled in to wait, and try not to think about Roy being gone.