Koorii: It does! There won't be any... things, getting in the way for one of them. It's a bit more pure of a love.
moonstone: Yes, Hazel will be. Just because he's beyond cute and a little tyrant when he deems it appropriate. And no, Maes will never let him live it down. As for the flickering... I love doom! XD
Twisted Vixen: Well I hope it was my own brand of humor and the late hour. I love reading things when I'm tired... I'm a goof then. I'm glad you loved those parts, I had so much fun writing them. And they shall return again.
Sailor Silver Rose: I don't plan to kill Maes. I may change my mind, but so far that's not in the plan.
GreedxEd: I just need to make that FMA cookbook thing. And I need to put that hot chocolate recipe up on my LJ.
loser in the gutter: Subtle flirting is the best I think.
blackrose5130: Don't worry, Kang will be back for that sequel. And brownies! Oh you're wonderful and know my weakness.
Mary: XDD I need to start sending food with the chapters.
amlf: I always feel bad for Maes. I can't help but picture him dying and it is just too sad.
haganeno: Oh just wait, the animal choices get even more varied. Shall I send you some food? Since I tend to make people hungry with food chapters?
secret25: Roy is a terrible guesser with Ed. Bless him. And I try not to leave out any humor. I can only hope I succeed.
Rei-chan: Maybe Maes can tie Roy down for Ed. I'm sure Ed could find something to do to him that wouldn't require him actually touching Roy.
DarkSapphire: I think chess would be a good game to get to know someone over. Especially for them, they both like to win. Competition, getting along, getting to know each other. And I love the friendship between Roy and Maes too, that's the real thing right there.
E: Your gerbils would do wonderfully in a story. You actually know someone who did that with a vacuum cleaner?! Good lord woman, you are more fascinating every day.
Cheru-chan: Yes... those vacuum cleaners... oh the stories I am sure they could tell.
Chaos Valkyrie: Hah, a squirrel isn't as far out with an animal as one of my stories goes. Can't wait until that one goes up, should be amusing to see the reactions.
crackedmind:You've fostered squirrels? Oh, you're about to get suffocated in hugs. I love the devils. Unfortunately I don't see them anymore.
Toraus: Thank you.
anmb: I'm a sucker for them having light flirting moments. I think they're cuter than the more obvious flirting moments. And oooo a sunset. I love those. Very pretty. And in Hawaii no less.
Tana: It took you the whole day? Darn, you must have been busy.
musicaltastic: Hi! I'm so happy, I get to meet a new reader. Hopefully you won't lurk. And yeah... please don't eat Roy's brains XD. Have a cookie to eat instead.
Vermilion: Thank you, and I will.
kazuko: Hahaha, we need to get you a t-shirt with the 'trip-and-fall' logo silkscreened onto it. What kind of dog do you want? And cakes! I love cakes.
mutantpenguins: Squirrels are awesome. And yes, my brother is feeling better, thanks. He hasn't had any problems since, and the scabs finally went away from the cuts he got on his face.
Eli: Roy is a romantic without even knowing it. But yes, Ed has him wrapped so tightly around his finger that Roy hasn't a chance. Not that he'll want one.
vampirerule: Yes, that is the question... don't worry about that though, I've got it all planned out. You just have to trust I know what I'm doing.
Okay, so final exam week is done. I survived it. Thank you everyone for your patience in waiting for me, I greatly appreciate it. Oh, and the good luck wishes sent to me. Thank you muchly for those. I am now back to updating, at least today. I'm going to try and update all the stories I can today, so we'll see what happens. I'm leaving for San Diego tomorrow morning at 3am until Tuesday. So I won't be able to update until I get back. My apologies in advance, but I need a vacation badly. Ransom My Heart is already updated to chapter 13, in case anyone is reading that over on my LJ.
Oh, I also put up a video of me embarrassing myself trying to say a few German words one of my friends asked me to try out because I was intimidated. I crashed and burned spectacularly, slaughtered the language. And so if anyone wants to see that, and then me getting attacked by Archimedes, feel free to go have a laugh at my expense.
And now I am off to keep writing, and eat my lunch. Yummy lunch. Sizzling garlic shrimp with parmesan pasta.
Enjoy!
Chapter Five
Edward had stayed up reading the night away. And had finished the last book just recently. Now he was sprawled on one of the black leather couches, staring up at the ceiling. If he stared long enough, he could make out designs in the paint strokes left by a brush, instead of the roller he would have assumed would be used for the ceiling. One would have thought that by now he'd seen all that could be imagined from a ceiling. But he could never see the same thing from day to day.
So without a new book to read, and no Roy for another two hours– last he'd checked the clock on the wall– he resorted to staring at the ceiling. For he really dared not try and lost touch again with his fractured reality and happen across that nightmare.
He knew that based on previous experience, he wouldn't have that nightmare of the gate again for at least a year… but like all the times before, he couldn't close his eyes for days afterwards.
At the peripheral of his vision he saw the door to the office open. By now he expected Hawkeye to come in before Roy in order to drop of the work for the day. So he didn't bat an eye at the movement. Only when he realized it wasn't Hawkeye that passed by him on the way to Roy's desk, did he jerk up to sit on the couch while peering around.
It was Roy's best friends… Hughes, Maes Hughes, if he remembered correctly.
His curiosity was engaged when he saw the man lay a brown paper wrapped package on Roy's desk. It was only about an inch thick, and approximately twenty-four inches wide by about twelve long.
"I'm never letting him live this down." Maes was gloating to himself. "He called me good with a camera and commissioned one. I'm holding this over the head until the day he dies." He rubbed his hands together and made his way back to the office door so he could leave.
Edward didn't watch him go. He heard the door click shut, but otherwise he had swung his legs over the edge of the couch so he could stand and walk over to the package. He knew he shouldn't open Roy's things, but the twine ties seemed to beckon him like a siren call. His hands hesitated at first in reaching for it, fingertips brushing the packaging before he lowered them back to take the object into his hands.
Walking through the desk he sat in Roy's desk chair and laid the package on his lap. His fingers plucked at the twine knots, causing them to loosen and then fall open. He let the twine pool onto Roy's desk, and them carefully pulled back the brown paper. It crackled in the silence of the office, and when shed revealed the back matting and frame.
His metaphorical heart was somewhere in his throat as he gripped the edges. Surely it couldn't be… could it? And he flipped it over.
From beneath the shiny glass, a morning sunrise shone up at him. The bottom of it broken by the dark shapes of buildings. Leading him to believe that this was the skyline of the city he was in. The city he'd never seen. But the sunrise… it was beautiful. Pinks, golds, reds and oranges. The sky nearest the top edges was a darker blue that gradually faded into a blue so light it was almost white by the time it reached the skyline of the city. And while the skyline itself was dark, it almost looked as if there was a glittery fog weaving between the shapes of what must be separate buildings.
Despite the fact he couldn't technically breathe, Edward's breath was lodged somewhere in his throat. And he drew ghostly fingers over the surface of the glass, touching the colors, lingering on the gold. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is…" he whispered in a forlorn voice.
And he floated back over to the couch to be with his photograph of the sunrise. He turned so his back was against the arm of the couch, and his feet up on the cushion to angle his knees. And he laid it there against his thighs, holding the frame in one hand while the fingers of his other ghosted over the beautiful colors.
It was like that, that Roy found him.
Roy shut the door quietly upon seeing what Edward was doing. The ghost was by all appearances, totally engrossed in the picture on his lap. And he smiled, silently thanking Maes. He'd never seen such an expression on Edward's face before, and it made him feel both happiness and sadness all at once. He set the new stack of books he'd brought for Edward down on the floor, and unnoticed by all accounts, he crossed the room to kneel beside Edward. And he met the ghost's startled gaze with a kindly one of his own. "Will it do?"
Edward was frozen for several moments, before he nodded quickly. "It's beautiful. I'd forgotten just how beautiful."
Roy looked around at the picture now, and began to believe that Maes might just have a second job option. It was perfect. "It is." He agreed, and looked back at Edward.
"You had him do this for me…" Edward stated softly, it was not a question in his mind. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Roy replied as he continued to kneel there beside the ghost. "Now when you're ready we should get that up on the wall. And I brought more books for you."
Edward's eyes tracked over to where the books were piled on the floor, and a happy smile lit his face. Not unlike the smile that had appeared when he'd first laid eyes on his photograph of the sunrise. "Today is going to be great." He said with conviction.
Roy grinned, and stood. "That's the spirit, spirit." He teased, earning himself a glower. And he walked over to his desk, a frown reaching his face as he spotted something missing. Something he couldn't find under Edward's abandoned wrappings from the picture. "Ed?"
Edward, who had left the framed photograph on the couch and was now rifling through the new books, looked over at him. "Yeah?" He asked back, and turned to examine a cover of one volume.
"Has Riza been in here yet?"
"No. Just Maes Hughes, that's his name, right?"
"Right…" Roy agreed distractedly. He hadn't seen Riza on his way in either. But he'd not gotten any phone calls from her saying she was running late. Or was feeling ill. So where in the name of the Gate was that woman?
Not that he was complaining about not having his paperwork or anything. He still had most of yesterday's left to finish going through. But it wasn't like Hawkeye to just not be on time without telling anyone.
Edward walked the books over to set them on Roy's desk, taking one into his hands. "Is everything okay?"
Roy sank into his chair, looking up at the ghost. "It's not like her to be late. I'm just a bit concerned. Even though I know she can take care of herself."
Edward smiled, rather happy that Roy seemed to be so concerned anyway about a member of his team. It was rare for people in the military to be concerned about anyone but themselves, as he'd come to understand. "I'm sure she's fine. She probably just lost track of time."
Roy knew Edward was probably right, but still. Even so, he smiled back at him. "Did you stay up reading last night again?"
With a nod, Edward floated backwards to sink onto the couch. "With you bringing me books and such, I really don't have any reason to go into my version of sleeping. It was always kind of a way to pass the time, more than anything. And no sleeping means I don't have bad dreams, or nightmares again."
"Bad dreams?" Roy echoed. He knew what Edward referred to when he said 'nightmares'. He'd seen the effects of that nightmare first hand, and it hadn't been pleasant to witness. But this was the first time he'd heard of just regular bad dreams.
"I only have ever had two dreams, if I dream at all." Edward said as he opened the book, and then held up two silvery fingers. "Just two. That nightmare," he bent one finger down, "and then my memory of the night my brother and I attempted the human transmutation. I always wake up from them at the same time." His last finger bent and that hand returned to help keep the book open.
Roy couldn't help but think that such a thing hardly seemed fair. Yet he refrained from putting his thoughts into words on that matter. "Do you want to talk about them at all? It may help."
Edward shrugged. "Not much to tell. Not that I haven't already alluded to. And if having the same ones over and over again hasn't helped with me getting used to them, and not having the same reaction each time, than talking won't do much good. No offense against whatever psychiatric skills you may have."
Smirking a bit at that, Roy began to twirl his pen in one hand. Just to try and give himself something tactile to do to try and keep his mind off of being concerned about his missing Lieutenant. "I assure you, they are quite amazing. But okay."
Edward gave a short laugh and flipped to the first page of this new book. "Have you ever used them on yourself?"
The pen stopped twirling as Roy tried to make sense of what it was Edward was actually trying to ask there. "Beg pardon?" Yes, he finally gave it up.
"Were you unloved as a child? Is that why you seek out so many different partners to share a bed with?" Edward asked in quite the conversational tone, as if all he was doing was remarking about the weather. Were he to actually know what the weather was like.
The pen resumed its twirling. "No." Roy leaned back in his chair, casting his gaze off to the side back towards one of the windows. "My mother loved me very much, she still does. I seek out so many people because I happen to enjoy the nightly activities. And I dare not let it last more than one night."
"So you want the physical connection to enjoy, but not an emotional one?" Edward pieced together, a slight frown beginning to appear. "Did someone break your heart?"
Roy felt as if he were staring off into nothingness, completely unaware of anything except Edward's voice floating to him through a sea of displacement. "No." He replied, a bit more thoughtfully. "Not exactly." How exactly did they manage to move from discussing Hawkeye and bad dreams to discussing his bedroom life? "I just don't believe I'm capable of being a monogamous being. One person for the rest of my life? I'd cry my eyes out."
Edward rolled his eyes at the declaration. "You're a bit of a drama queen."
"And you're a bit of a runt." Roy countered with an evil smile as he turned to see the ghost's expression.
Edward glared up from the book. "I am not! I'm a scary, tall ghost! Not anything as puny sounding as a 'runt'. And while we're on the subject, you can stop wearing stilts."
"Me and everyone else?" Roy grinned.
"Yes." Edward scowled, and dared the man to deny that such was the case.
Roy chuckled under the scowl. Yes, his ghostly companion most definitely had concerns about his lack of height. "I'd show you my legs, but I won't."
"Please don't." Edward replied, scowl beginning to waver into something much like an amused smile. "It's far too early in the morning for me to be seeing a bunch of hairy legs on stilts."
Roy grinned at him. "You know, Ed, if you were still alive we could get you stilts."
"I don't need them!" Edward denied vehemently. "I'm not short, and I'm dead."
Silently, Roy was glad that Edward was so accepting of being dead. For otherwise he could really do some damage. But as it was, Edward didn't mind talking about it.
"Now let me read, you finish that work you left overnight, and then we can play chess again." Edward said, flipping a page in his book. "Otherwise Riza is going to bring more in here, see that all of that is still not done, and who knows if I'll get even one game of chess then."
Roy groaned, but it was difficult to try and find it in himself to launch a protest against the ghost. Against anyone else, sure. But Edward held a certain sway over him already because of the circumstances of their acquaintance. It hadn't even been a week, and Edward could get him to listen better than Hawkeye could. He was glad they'd never meet. So he turned his attention to the stack of paperwork, and put his pen to the task.
It was the moment that Roy touched pen to paper that the office door swung open. The pen remained firmly gripped as Roy let his gaze drift upward nonchalantly. The book Edward was reading slipped down through his legs as the ghost stopped trying to touch inanimate objects. However that subsequently meant he fell through the couch to the floor with a shriek. Roy wasn't sure how he managed to keep from laughing.
Hawkeye strode in, a stack of papers and folders in her arms. But something was amiss with the stack. Something… added. And that added item could very well be the reason her face looked less than apologetic about being late. "Get them done today." She said, letting them thump to the desk.
Roy scrambled to keep them from falling and thus flying all over the floor. "Easy, Lieutenant!"
Riza snatched up the bouquet that Roy had chosen against trying to rescue, before the flowers fell to the floor. Not that it wasn't a better place than Roy would probably put them. "These are for you." She said, thrusting them at him.
Edward had gotten to his feet and padded over to look on. His eyes narrowed as they landed on the flowers.
Roy took them with a frown. "You got me flowers? That's why you're late?"
Hawkeye itched to pull her gun. However, as things were, she didn't have it. But as soon as she was done here, she'd go get it back from whoever had it and shoot them in the foot. She'd been ambushed by the rest of the team, who upon seeing her face when she walked in, immediately had declared she needed hugs. And when that was over, she'd found the room suddenly empty, and her gun missing. "They're not from me. Read the card." She waved a hand at it.
Roy noticed the white card sticking out of the middle and pulled it free. Letting the flowers fall to the desk he opened it. "It must be from that girl a few nights ago. She wants to see me again." He rolled his eyes. "I think I'll pass. Strict policy."
Riza rolled her eyes, now accustomed to her superior's strange habits regarding those he slept with. But whatever she was about to say in response to it fell silent as her eyes landed on the other stack of paperwork. And now, more than before, she wished for her gun. "Sir," she gritted out, "are those from yesterday?"
Roy looked down at them, then back up at her, and nodded. "They are, how astute of you, Lieutenant."
Riza gaped at him. "Don't get smart with me! You need to get that done! This is Central, what we've all been waiting for. Don't screw it up."
"I've already just been told to get it done." Roy frowned at her, "I'm getting it done. Now go on, shoo. I can handle this. I know sometimes you think I can't, but I'm not where I am for nothing."
"Was Maes in here and got on your case about it for me?" Riza folded her arms across her chest.
Roy snorted, "it's just as bad as having my mother here."
"Hey!" Edward protested.
Riza rolled her eyes, "maybe she should be. You'd get it done faster."
"You call her, and I'm court marshaling you." Roy warned her severely.
Normally she might call it an empty threat, but… when it came down to Roy and his mother, Riza was more willing to believe such a threat. "Just get it done. And tell the people you screw from now on not to stop me on my way to work and force their flowers for you onto me." With that, she turned and left.
The office door closed sharply behind her.
"She's in a bad mood." Edward mumbled quietly as he stared after her retreat.
Roy chuckled softly and looked over at him. "Just a bit. But this isn't the first time something like this has happened to her. She's actually a lot more tame than she was the first time."
Edward looked over at him curiously. "Does she have a crush on you or something?"
"No." Roy glanced towards the door she'd disappeared behind. "A lot of people have thought so over the years, but no. We're more like friends in the brotherly-sisterly way. I could never think of her that way, and she's the same about me."
Turning to the flowers, Edward picked them up to examine them critically through once more narrowed eyes. He didn't like these flowers. At all. Whoever this girl was, she clearly had no sense of what was pretty. "Why not send you something useful? Like chocolates? Since she clearly can't choose flowers to save her miserable puppy-love love life."
"I'd not eat chocolates from them even if they were sent." Roy replied, and chucked the card into the trash bin without further ado. "I'd be worried about them being poisoned somehow. Some of the people I've…" he gave a wry smirk, "well, let's just say they weren't too happy to wake up and find me gone."
Edward hummed to himself, and couldn't find fault in that. "Well I'm glad you're not going back to this one. She sent you weeds." And he offered them back to Roy.
Roy took them, only to toss them up into the air and snap his fingers. There was only a single spark of warning before the entire bouquet burst into flames. There weren't even ashes left when the fire just vanished into thin air. "And that takes care of that." And he picked up his pen again. "Time to work."
Edward's jaw was hanging, he knew it was, and he let it. "Wow."
Roy looked up, curiosity exchanging for secret delight and obvious smugness as he caught sight of Edward's face. "Not seen anything like that before?"
Edward shut his jaw as he saw the smug look Roy was fixing him with. "No. Do you do that to all the flowers that get sent to you?"
"Every single one." Roy said with conviction. "Now maybe you understand why people are afraid of me. I can incinerate a single person in less than a minute. Reduce them to ash… or nothing at all. It's not an easy alchemy to control, so that makes me unique. Valuable. And it makes me a threat, which is why my superiors can sometimes be convinced to go out of their way for me. They don't know I want to become Fuhrer though."
"Not like I'm going to tell them." Edward replied, and settled onto the edge of the desk. "But I think I understand now…"
Roy smiled at him. "Don't worry, ghost. Even if my alchemy could touch you, I'd never let it. I don't want you to ever be afraid of me."
Edward sniggered at that, "ghosts aren't scared of anything but a certain Gate." And he nodded to Roy's paperwork. "Best get started on that. You have twice as much now."
How he wished it wasn't true. But nevertheless Roy turned to the papers with a silent sigh. "And depending on how bad her mood is, she just might find more stuff for me to do. Just for spite."
Edward smiled, and slipped off Roy's desk to float back over to the couch where he'd left his book. "So about your mother?"
"Hmm?" Roy didn't bother giving form to his answer.
"Do you like her?" Edward asked, recalling how Roy hadn't seemed to want his mother to be dragged into anything. And how he'd implied it was a bad thing that he was being "mothered" into doing his work.
Roy smiled faintly, though he'd have denied he had should the question be brought up. Luckily the ghost couldn't tell anyone, and probably couldn't see thanks to the angle his head was bent at. "I love my mother very much. That's why I don't want her involved in my work here. Even if she'd gladly do so, she's always pushing me to do better. But I don't want her involved, because I care for her. And the closer I get to my goals, the better it is that until I'm Fuhrer, she remain absent from the conscious minds of my superiors."
"Oh. I'm glad…" Edward was, too. He'd want to protect his mother if he could. Not that it mattered now. "What's she like? Besides pushy?"
Roy smiled a bit more, and signed his name once again. "Very nice, but very strong-willed. She won't let people push her around because she is nice. I think, besides Maes, she's the one person who might believe me about you without believing that I've gone insane."
Edward looked up at his book. "You're planning to try telling them about me?"
"No." Roy shook his head, "I won't take the chance that I'm wrong. So you're my little secret for the rest of my life."
"Little?" Edward arched a silvery eyebrow, a finger tapping at the pages of the book.
Roy smiled up at him now. "You know how I mean it. Quit being difficult, you'll ruin the moment."
Edward was about to ask what moment, when he decided to drop it. And he turned back to reading with a smile, and Roy got back to his paperwork. If only he would be able to be with Roy for the rest of the man's life. If only he could get out of this office. Then he'd never have to be lonely again.
They passed the hours of Roy working much as they had before. Roy filling out the paperwork, occasionally asking Edward about something he believed the ghost might know about, and Edward reading from the books Roy had brought him.
Near to the lunch hour Roy had finished with the first stack, and he stood while stretching. "Come on, I need a break. Where do you want that picture hung?"
Edward set his book aside after marking his place, and looked about the office. "I suppose I can't very well insist it be fastened to the ceiling."
Roy chuckled with a shake of his head. "That I have to say no to. Sorry."
Floating to his feet Edward began to revolve slowly in place as he took in his options. Finally he floated over to a section of wall to the right side of the door. "Here." He said, making a general sweeping motion with his hand to indicate the area. "I am usually on that couch… so if it's here I can see it easiest."
Roy nodded, and walked over to pick up the photograph from the couch and bring it over. "Up, down, or good?" He queried as he held the frame up to the wall while looking over his shoulder at Edward.
The ghost tried to ignore Roy's amused look. So he'd floated up to be at the same height as him, it wasn't that amusing! "Up a bit more." And he watched as Roy slowly crept the picture up the wall. "There."
"Right or left? Good?"
"It's fine there." Edward said, and took over holding the photograph up while Roy fetched a hammer and a nail from the world beyond the office door.
And after several ringing blows of a hammer later, the nail was secure in the wall, and the photograph was hung. They both stepped back to admire it.
"He really does shoot a good picture." Roy mused as he fiddled with the hammer.
Edward smiled in agreement, and looked over at Roy. "Thank you. And thank him for me as well… somehow."
"I'll figure something out." Roy promised him, and turned away to go return the hammer and leave Edward to stare at the picture of the sunrise he'd been missing for so long. He slipped it into the box, before deciding to ask why all the men looked so scared and Riza looked so pleased with herself. "Did something happen?" He asked, glancing over the nervous figures of Falman, Breda, Havoc, and Fuery.
Riza ran a slender finger along the barrel of her newly found gun. "Just a disciplinary exercise."
Roy decided he didn't want further explanation. "So who's getting lunch today? Or are we going out? And where is Maes?"
Falman found his tongue first. "He went to go get the food. Since he isn't in… trouble." He practically whispered the last word.
No… he really didn't want to know. "I see. Well have him bring mine in to me, not one of you. I need to speak to him."
And with that he went back inside the office.
Edward was still staring at the photograph, sitting cross-legged in the air as he gazed straight ahead at it. "The buildings… is that Central?"
Roy nodded and came over to stand beside him. "A part of it, yes. I thought you'd like to see a bit of the place you live now."
"Yes… very much." Edward agreed softly.
Roy wasn't quite sure of how long he stood there with Edward before he turned to let the ghost have some time to look on his own. And he went back to his desk to continue with the paperwork, knowing that Edward still wanted to play some chess today.
When there was a knock on the office door, and Maes poked his head in, Edward was still over by the photograph, and Roy looked up from his paperwork. "Hey, Hughes."
Hughes grinned and entered, bearing with him a plastic bag of takeout. "So, you wanted to talk?" He asked as he looked around. He spotted the picture already hanging and grinned. "I guess you liked it then."
Roy smiled. "It was perfect. But yes, I want to talk. Thank you, more than anything."
Edward, who at Maes's arrival, had turned away from his picture-gazing, now floated after the man. Quite close behind. "Does he have more pictures?" He asked in a verging on giddy voice. He hadn't seen pictures in a long time. And having that photograph had reawakened the want to view such things.
Roy believed that such a white lie as to say no to such a question might be a good thing.
Maes plopped the takeout on Roy's desk. "You're welcome. Mind if I ask though why the sudden desire to actually have one of my pictures?"
"It's complicated." Roy rolled his eyes. And knew now that there would be no tricking Edward into thinking Maes might not have more. "Let's just leave it at that and have you know that I am eternally grateful."
"Now you're eternally grateful?" Maes blinked at him. "Talk about complicated, you're acting weird lately. I mean, even not going out every night since we've been back and painting the town. I know Hazel is great and all, but are you okay? This isn't some kind of bucket list thing, is it? Give in and actually ask Maes for a picture?"
Roy snorted at the idea that his squirrel might be a better companion than a one night stand. "Hazel is a damn alarm clock is what he is. But I'm fine, perfectly healthy. I just had a bit of a wakeup call I guess…" and he glanced Edward's way, meeting those silver eyes that once again had taken on that look that made it feel as if Edward were seeing straight to his soul. "But I really would rather not talk about it."
Hughes frowned, but decided it was best not pursued just yet. Though he wasn't planning on letting Roy slip by so easily with news like that. What sort of wakeup call could someone like his best friend receive that was so quickly influencing him? "You do realize I won't drop this?"
"You're my best friend, I'd be offended if you did." Roy smiled at him, and pulled his lunch across his desk. "Just remember you may ask, and I may not tell."
Edward snorted softly. "You won't tell him. The chances that he'd admit you to a psychiatric ward may be slim, but it's enough to cause you to refrain. Because you know I don't want to lose you."
Roy let his gaze rest on the ghost, even as Maes spoke.
"I'd be offended if it were any different." Maes smirked, "well if that's all, I have a certain general to go keep watch over like you asked me to after dinner."
Roy nodded, he remembered. He'd asked Maes before leaving that night he'd been invited over for dinner to keep an eye on Basque Grand. He had told his friend that he had his suspicions about what the man was secretly up to. Yet when Hughes had asked for his source, and he'd not given it, there'd been no argument. "Thank you. And yes, that is all for now."
Hughes nodded, and departed with a half-assed salute that looked more like a wave.
Edward watched Maes go with a small smile, glad that Roy had someone like that man for a best friend. But when the door to the office clicked shut, he turned back to Roy to see the man's eyes on him yet again. "What?"
"Do you think that's the only reason I refrain?" He asked, eyes sparkling in humor as he watched the ghost.
"From telling him?"
"Yes."
Edward shrugged, "seems like a pretty good reason to me."
Roy began to open his takeout containers of food. "It is." But he wasn't sure that just yet he should admit what he was only beginning to realize himself. That he didn't want to be parted from Edward either. He enjoyed having Edward to come to work to everyday, it made it more bearable. And so far he had enjoyed the time they'd spent together.
Edward gave him an odd look, but floated back over to the couch to settle back down onto his back and pick up the book again. Finding where he'd left off, he continued his reading. Only pausing to say: "I'm glad you have Hughes keeping an eye on that snake. Happier that it's not you."
Roy looked up from collecting another bite of chow mien on his chopsticks to smile a bit. He could only see the top of Edward's head, his feet, and the ghostly arms holding the book up in the air. "I know when to use which chess pieces."
Which left Edward attempting to keep reading, but truthfully, he was trying to figure out if Roy meant that as a jab to his chess playing skills. Either way, he planned to school Roy around the board this afternoon.
The hours passed in a steady progression of papers being signed, and pages being flipped. Until at last Roy was carrying out the large stack of paperwork to hand it off to Hawkeye. He'd left Edward to set up the chess board, and was not surprised to come back and see that the ghost had positioned himself with the black pieces.
"My turn first to ask?" Edward propositioned as Roy sat across from him.
Roy moved a white pawn forward without delay. "Go ahead."
Edward did, with both a black pawn and his question. "Who is Hazel?"
Roy grinned at the question, thinking fondly of his rust-brown ball of fluff. "My pet." And knowing that such a simple answer would be wanting clarification, he made a decision. "He should be adjusted enough that if I brought him with me tomorrow it would be okay. And you could see him."
"You can bring your pets to work?" Edward asked in amazement. He'd never heard of such a thing, and certainly never seen it done before.
Roy shook his head. "Only if they're dogs, and trained for military type duties. Like guarding. So I'll have to sneak Hazel in, but none of my team will say anything. They enjoy him far too much to want to get me into trouble."
"What is Hazel, exactly?" Edward frowned.
"You'll see tomorrow. Secret, remember?" And Roy moved one of his knights forward.
"Your turn." Edward said in way of agreement, and contemplated his next maneuver.
Roy thought for a moment on what he wanted to ask. "Why haven't you asked me yet whether or not I ever found your father?"
The innocent pawn in Edward's grasp was subjected to a stranglehold and a less than nice placement back to the board. "Because I don't care about the bastard anymore. I can only hope he met a painful end for what he put us all through. Just abandoning us one day… and then mom was sick. We were left all alone when she died. And where was he?" Edward scowled. "If you did ever find him, I hope you put those flames of yours to the same use as you turned on those weeds."
"I never did." Roy finally said after getting over his initial shock of Edward actually showing signs of true anger. Not that brought on by calling him short, or anything else. But a true anger that he felt was deep-seated. "I looked for him though. Not just for you and your brother, but because he is a very powerful alchemist. And at that time…" a shadow passed through his black eyes, "well, the military could have used his help. Not that we didn't cause enough damage on our own."
Edward stared darkly at the chess board. "I can only hope he's just as much a part of this world as I am. Not that I'd wish entrapment such as mine on anyone, but he'd deserve it." And he captured one of Roy's bishops cleanly. "The Ishbal war was going on around that time… or had been. Right?"
"That's the one." Roy agreed in a level tone that did not betray his feelings on the matter.
"Maybe he got killed in battle. And no one ever found the body." Edward mused, the idea had its delightful merits.
Roy moved a rook across the board to knock off one of Edward's pawns that had been steadily creeping unchecked into his territory. "What do you know of the war?"
"Just what I've overheard from brief conversations." Edward shrugged, "they never talked about it much in this office. And my mother never talked about it. No one did, really. I know my friend Winry's parents were killed in it. They were doctors. But that's the way wars go. People die, good and bad."
Roy was glad for his mask, lest Edward see what effect those words had really wrought. He still hadn't made peace with his part to play in that whole fiasco. And he wasn't sure that he wanted to. Because it was the memory of those awful days that pushed him to become Fuhrer. So he need never take such orders again. "It's not a popular subject." He replied. "I think if the Fuhrer could cover it up, he would. But there's no chance of that ever happening now."
"Would you try to cover it up? If it were possible?" Edward finally asked. "I know you want to be Fuhrer."
Roy shook his head without having to think about it. "No. I despise government cover-ups."
"What do you like to do besides come to work, alchemy, and various people that let you get them on their back?" Edward asked, shooting for a more light-hearted topic.
Roy smirked at that last part. "I enjoy the theater, and good food and wine. Oh, and the one my mother would kill me for if she knew… but I have a motorcycle. I like to go on drives. You know, just lose myself for a while."
"She'd kill you for having a motorcycle, but not for bedding anything on two legs that walked and hadn't been touched yet?" Edward grinned at him.
Roy considered the question, and then nodded abruptly. "Yep. That's my mom."
"That's terrible, but I must say I agree with her. Those things are dangerous." Edward gave him a severe look. "You best be careful, else I'll be upset with you if you come back to work all banged up."
Roy smiled at him. "Don't worry. I always am careful. Have a helmet and everything. And besides that, it's all in the reflexes. I never drive faster than I can see."
Edward snickered, though he knew he probably shouldn't.
Roy grinned, and the game recommenced with vengeance. They both were keen to win, and neither was about to give the other any breathing room. And for the first time ever, one game lasted up until it was almost time for Roy to leave, and they were down to just their kings.
And they were stalking each other around the board.
"Oh come on, Roy!" Edward complained as he moved after the retreating king once again. "Show some balls, or have you used them so much over the past that they can no longer function? Kind of like a dead battery."
Roy scoffed. "I'm doing no differently than what you were. Except this time you're the one backing me into the corners."
"And doing a wonderful job of it." Edward congratulated himself.
Ten minutes later, and two minutes past the end of the workday, Edward captured the ball-less king at last. And with much glee.
"I'm getting you for that tomorrow." Roy promised as he packed the chess set away so he could leave.
Edward grinned. "I look forward to it. And don't forget to bring Hazel with you. I want to see him."
Roy smiled back in return. "Don't worry." And once the chess set was put away, he moved over to the door, sharing that last look back with Edward. "I'll see you tomorrow. You're all okay for the night?"
Edward nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You go get some sleep tonight."
Roy snorted. "Doubtful. I'm feeling rested again, and there's a bar not too far away."
Edward rolled his eyes. "You'll come in tomorrow looking terrible again."
Roy laughed and winked at him. "Then good thing I'm bringing Hazel to help keep you entertained and me awake." And he opened the door at last. "Goodnight, Ed."
"Goodnight." Edward called after him, and turned to find a book as Roy moved out the door. He was feeling rather pleased that he'd made Roy run late leaving. And rather pleased he'd won that chess game. But lost in his thoughts about it, and in grabbing a book to go float over to Roy's desk chair and curl up, he never saw that white world flicker and jump again, more violently this time, before the door snapped closed.