Eli: Why did I somehow know that you'd enjoy the image of Roy on fire? I think I'm rubbing off on you more than I thought.

Mistress Sayu: That's a very good guess, and of course my hands are tied in saying whether it's right or wrong. But I am loving the guesses that keep popping up about how the story will end.

Cheru-chan: I live to make your day XD. And you better believe I paid attention in chemistry, way before I got where I am now I studied to be a vet... chem was a part of all that. But yes, make out scenes are temporarily on hold... darn it all.

fluffymuffin: You want to see Ed with a gun or rifle? ...my, my... Roy looks so worried now.

moonstone glows: Yes, I couldn't leave out the janitors, and they'll appear some more. Sometimes janitors are quite helpful to a storyline.

Sailor Silver Rose: So I'm gathering you did/do a lot of drama in school?

GreedxEd: I think we've all wanted to throw a book at Roy at one time or another.

kazuko: Yes, Roy needs to solve some things with Ed and then he'll have all Maes ever wanted for him. But I know what you mean about the parents thing, I really do. Love them while they're around, because one day on your birthday you find out they aren't anymore, and that's really a party killer.

gali-o-: Well, I believe most of those stories have been updated in the last month, but I'll post chapter numbers in the author note further on. And never fear, the janitors will be back!

B.D.: People in power rarely give individuals like janitors the proper credit, they see more than you first think. And oh yes... Roy's night out... good luck to him there XD.

sugarspoon: Yeah, I wouldn't want Al to die of a heart attack at seeing Ed again. That would just totally ruin my daydreaming plans of his own future love story.

Barachi: See? You say I update faithfully and then I'm forced to be gone for over a month. The irony makes me laugh at the same time I feel embarrassed. But don't worry, the romance will continue along nice and fine... and eventually we'll get to the stuff that ends up having to be posted on my LJ so I don't blind my youngest readers.

luna moon girl: Maes would like to inform you that he is always cute.

Soaha: Hah, it really is on where Ed's concerned.

amlf: Guess what? ...I'm back too! haha..ha... yeah, bad joke I know.

camiimary: Yes, the bike will bring about plenty of memorable moments for the both of them. Oh I do love the smell of impending hilarity at 11pm...

MandaxPanda: Never fear! You shall get bike riding lessons courtesy of Ed soon enough.

accident prone: Don't you tempt me to write a parody of my own story now XD. And yes, Daphne will show up in this fic.

Lamia: You've got to figure in that Ed hasn't grown up the same, so books may not have the exact same rules of treatment now.

Kari Kurofai: Well Scar and Al certainly aren't complaining that you're paying them more attention... and Ed won't, because his baby brother is happy. Or will be.

blackrose5130: Basket of candy canes? Oooo... -goes around hanging them from her characters ears-

Riku-Rocks: I'm so glad you like my janitors! Which is doubly good since they'll reoccur a few more times. But yes, even I can't wait for the bike riding. Ed deserves to know how to ride a bike.

Aya-Chan: Thank you very much, and yes, Al will appear in the story. He's far too important in a situation like this to leave out, but as for when he'll show up, my hands are tied at saying.

emodragon: Thank you! And Hazel is a very manly pet, he has a fluffy tail and whiskers. Everything a real man would want. And I'd like to have a squirrel too, but unfortunately I've no room for one. That and Archimedes, my cockatiel, would probably hate me for getting one.

Okay... I'm back!

I really do apologize for being mostly gone for over a month, but with the holidays and such I had virtually no time to write on my main stories. I'm still not completely done with holiday stuff, but I felt I was at a point today where I could at least start getting back to my normal routine for fics. So sorry again for the unnaturally long wait, and in a way it makes me feel even more bad because no one asked me if I'd taken a hiatus or some other ungodly thing, which to me says you all trust, and rightly so, that I won't leave a story unfinished. And you all just kept waiting... but wait no longer!

Since I can't remember right off if any of my LJ stories were updated shortly after chapter seventeen of this story, I'll just put up their current statuses and let you all go from there: November - chapter twelve, Fallen - chapter nineteen, Ransom - chapter eighteen. I have not updated Absolution of Sin yet, but plan to. I did however write some birthday fic smut of a oneshot for Roy/Wrath, for those of you who enjoy watching me try to write the pairing. Also, for the Greed/Ed lovers who have followed the 'Once Upon a Headache' verse into its smutty continuation on LJ, I finally have their wedding up.

I think I covered everything there...

So, with all that out of the way, I shall leave you to your reading! And I meanwhile will try to sort my life back out of this holiday mess.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen

By the time the lunch hour came around, Roy had successfully finished over half of his workload for the day, and Edward had gotten through nearly an entire book. Which boded well, at least on Roy's end, for the rest of the day. Even despite Maes coming to harass him, he'd finish in plenty of time for a session of chess games with his ghostly companion. A fortunate circumstance, for Edward was on his last book.

It was about the time that Edward turned to the last chapter that a knock sounded on the office door.

Roy looked over at Edward quickly to check that the ghost had dropped the book to the couch and it was no longer floating in midair, before calling for whomever it was to enter.

And Breda did so, shutting the door behind him before walking promptly up to his commanding officer's desk. "Sir, we were going to have lunch out in twenty minutes, and were wondering if you'd be joining us again?"

"Go with them." Edward replied promptly, already knowing that Roy would be waiting for his opinion without needing Roy to mimic the act of thinking about it.

Roy withheld the smile that wanted to slip through at Edward's immediate response. "I'll be joining you." And this time he didn't ask where they planned to go, as Edward didn't seem concerned about it. Which meant that the ghost was truly beginning to recover from the culture shock of being exposed to a larger world. And that was something to celebrate.

Breda seemed pleased by the response, and he nodded quickly with a broad smile that nearly left the size of his waist to shame. "I'll let the others know."

But Edward was not the only one who instantly became suspicious of that grin Breda was sporting, and before the man could even do an about-face, Roy was speaking again. "One moment, why do you look so happy about this?"

Breda gave him a scandalized look, "sir, I am merely glad you'll be joining us again. I have no ulterior motives."

"Yeah." Roy rolled his eyes, "you don't, but Hughes does. So what'd he put you all up to? Sodium pentathol administered by an accidental bump into me and hope I don't feel the needle?"

If Breda had looked scandalized before, now it was warring with apprehension. "I wouldn't say he went to that extreme, sir…" he said slowly.

"Good!" Roy announced grandly, "because I built up a resistance to it a long time ago and I'd have to charbroil everyone involved for testing otherwise."

Breda blanched.

Roy smirked devilishly as he linked the very tips of his fingers together and stared piercingly over them at Breda. "So… what did Hughes say?"

"Only asked that we might have a waitress spike your drink with Everclear…" Breda trailed off, before adding quickly, "not that we were going to! Hawkeye nearly shot him between the eyes!"

"You needn't look so worried." Roy began to laugh. "Even if you did, it wouldn't have worked. I've drunk so much alcohol in my life that if Hughes thinks even a spike of Everclear will get me, he's sorely mistaken. But I admire his ingenuity. Everclear is colorless… tasteless… but I assure you that all the stuff will do to me is make me very happy, but not at all loose of tongue for his nefarious motivations."

Breda breathed a sigh of relief. "I was just glad you were going because then maybe he'd believe we had and stop pestering us to try getting you to talk. You're the interrogation specialist though!"

Roy chuckled and nodded briefly before lowering his hands. "If he questions you about it, just say that you have. I'll deal with him myself so he stops trying to harass everyone else into doing what he cannot."

"Yes, sir." Breda smiled, but more naturally this time. "Thank you, sir."

Roy gave a slight wave of one hand. "You sound like an obedience manual, go away before you make my head hurt."

And Breda did so looking cheerfully amused, shutting the door behind him gently.

"You were supposed to say 'dismissed'." Edward reminded helpfully from where he still sprawled on the couch.

Roy gave the ghost a withering look, but smiled. "You're dismissed too. Go on, shoo, spirit."

Said spirit smirked and didn't budge. "You'd miss me too much, I think I'll stay here." And then he looked down at his silvery hands with a twinge of bittersweet amusement. "Else I'd miss you."

Unsure of whether or not he was supposed to have heard that last part, Roy slowly smiled. "Best stay with me then. It's what I want most anyway."

Edward looked back up at him sharply, his expression slowly softening as a smile pulled faintly at the corners of his lips. "I wouldn't be free otherwise." He replied quietly.

Roy didn't say anything, just continued to gaze back into the silver eyes that even at this distance, seemed to be all he could see. Yes, Edward beside him was what he wanted most out of anywhere the ghost could be. And Edward had so many more places he could be now. So to still have the ghost here with him now? It was an indescribable sort of happiness.

"So…" Edward ventured a bit hesitantly into the silence that had settled between them to broach something that was still on his mind, though not once did he break their gaze. "Do you think that they'll not try and do something to you to help Maes? Or do you want me to keep a watch on things."

Roy absently picked up a pen to begin twirling it between his fingers as he studied the ghost. "They shouldn't. If they do, I can handle it. But if you want to keep an eye about for me, I wouldn't say no. Hassles avoided are no longer hassles."

"Even if something did affect you adversely," Edward replied with growing seriousness, "I wouldn't leave you on your own. Ghost or not, I'd do whatever I could to help you."

"I know." Roy replied simply, though he was still grateful for the fact that they both seemed to have unconsciously accepted. They relied on each other and they'd both do whatever it took to stay together. "But you're not obsolete as a ghost. No one but I may be able to see or hear you, but you still can touch most things. Maybe not living things, but at least that's something."

Edward smiled faintly, a chuckle stopping halfway in his chest. "You don't realize just how much being able to touch even just inanimate objects means, when it's all you have left of what it once meant to be alive. It's not just something to me, it's everything."

Roy slowly smiled back as he twirled his pen a bit faster. "You're right. That would mean a great deal."

Edward nodded airily. "Especially if I have to rope you and drag you back home. I think that it would work."

Roy rolled his eyes at the mental image, but grinned nonetheless. "Why do I get the feeling you're eager to try it, just to drag me over all the bumps and sharp rocks possible?"

"I would never!" Edward exclaimed, affronted, but it was a reaction that was somewhat compromised by the widening grin on his face.

"Well let's just hope we don't need to explore that situation anytime soon, if ever." Roy grimaced a bit and shuddered before turning his gaze back to his paperwork, wanting to get a bit more done before lunch… something that only last week would have sounded very odd.

"Spoilsport." Edward muttered under his breath, but knew Roy had heard him judging by the slight smirk that came and went. And as Roy got back to work, he turned back to the last chapter in his book feeling more than a little amused.

Eventually the minute hand on the clock shifted to the '6', and Roy stood up while laying his pen down on the desk. He didn't even need to say anything, and Edward was marking and laying his book aside. Roy only yawned a bit and reached his hands up over his head for a languid full-body stretch that popped his left shoulder and at least three vertebrae.

Edward gave him an amusedly bewildered look, "I thought you were only twenty seven."

"Shut up." Roy growled as he lowered his hands and walked around his desk. "You try sitting at a desk doing paperwork for that long when you've got a body like I do."

"An old one?" Edward smirked, trying not to laugh just yet.

Roy swatted in the ghost's direction, though he knew it'd do no good. "My body is meant to be doing things that induce rippling muscles, that there at the desk is the exact opposite. So it affects me adversely."

Edward couldn't help but start laughing, though he tried to stop... he really did. "Rippling muscles? Please, I don't need that visual, thanks."

"You live with me." Roy reminded him pointedly.

"Ah," Edward agreed grandly, his laughter at a halt, "well, I guess I can't have everything."

Roy rolled his eyes at the ghost's silliness, and shook his head with a smile. "You're feeling a bit bratty today, aren't you." He observed as he left the ghost's side to go over to the coat rack and fetch his coat.

Edward hitched his knees up so he could fold his legs up under him while floating over to Roy. "I'm always bratty." He corrected with a prideful smile.

Roy paused, as if he were thinking about it, before he nodded side-to-side with a quirk of his lips. "That is true, even when you're being sweet you've still been a brat somewhere in the day. Or you will be."

"You know me so well." Edward laughed.

"Mmm." Roy hummed as he turned to the door now, resting a hand on the knob as he looked over his shoulder at Edward. "I know friends, and I know enemies. But knowing you is worth more to me. And very few people are in that category."

Edward couldn't help but smile, and though he wasn't sure what was good enough to say to that, he still knew one thing that couldn't be incorrect, "thank you."

Roy gave him a swift smile before turning to open the door and let them out.

It was in that moment that the very thing to come next to Edward's mind, was quickly said. "You're the only person I know."

Despite where he was, Roy turned sharply to look back at the ghost who was still floating there in the office behind him.

Edward smiled almost apologetically, "sure, I know people, I observe them… but you're the only person I actually know. Without you, I'm alone again. So you're the only person in that category." He said, toying a bit at the last with what Roy had just said.

Roy knew he couldn't say anything here, as much as he might want to, but as something inside him softened in an almost sad way for the ghost, he smiled. He knew it would have to suffice as an answer, and by the look in the silver eyes, it sufficed.

"Sir?"

Roy turned now, seeing Edward shoot by his head before he shut the door. "I'm coming. Thought I saw something."

"Say that you thought you saw a ghost." Edward prompted eagerly.

Roy nearly burst out laughing right then and there, and was only saved by Havoc leaning to one side to peer at the door. "A shocking lack of paperwork, perhaps? You've been doing a lot of it lately, sir."

Roy didn't dignify that with an answer. "Are we ready?"

"Yes." The answer came from Hawkeye who snapped the chamber of her standard military issue handgun shut. And she holstered it with a slight smirk as she ignored the paled complexions of every single man in the room.

Falman however was older, and thus seemed to feel he had less to lose in life as he eyed her warily. "Did I miss a memo? Are we going into battle against the school children?"

She chuckled mirthlessly as she righted her uniform so it partially concealed the weapon once more. "Just as a deflective measure for a certain missing member of the Colonel's team."

Roy gulped, for both he and his missing best friend as he edged towards the door a bit cautiously. "He must have really irritated you all. But try not to kill him, he'll be all normal again come Monday."

"It was more the new pictures of Elysia, sir," Hawkeye corrected quite calmly, "than anything to do with you. I couldn't care less what you're doing this weekend."

Roy was still trying to figure out whether or not that could have been an insult as he headed the group out of the office and down the hallway. He wasn't too sure where Edward was, and couldn't exactly look around for the ghost, but he trusted that he was somewhere behind him… or above. One could never tell when it came to those who weren't bound by the laws of gravity.

Meanwhile Edward lagged behind the group, though he still went along with them. Each step closer to the stairs was one more towards Grand's office, and he was having to restrain himself from floating on over to see how things were going. And such restraint made him force himself to go slower.

There was less chance of getting carried away.

When the group finally passed through the foyer of Headquarters and out into the open towards the main gate, Edward floated up and over to be on Roy's right hand side which was open and free of the others. And the only inclination towards recognizing Edward's presence that Roy gave, was a slight upturn of his lips before his mask was once more back in place.

"So where is it you all have planned to go this time?" Roy asked as they passed through the main gate and onto the public sidewalk that wrapped around the towering gray brick walls.

"There's a sandwich shop about two blocks from here that I tried last night," Havoc said as he more or less led the way. "Good food… cute waitresses," he mentally ticked the pluses off before giving his commanding officer a grudging look, "cute waiters for those of us who've had too many women recently."

"Oh, good!" The cheerfulness of Roy's tone only served to further make Havoc glower at him, but he didn't notice, he was too busy trying not to smile at Edward's muttered "you're hopeless" than anything else.

Perhaps many did view it as being hopeless… but as for his own opinion? He viewed it as if it were the most normal thing on this world. The spectrum of normalcy not including the ghost at his side, just for the sake of this one time.

When they reached the sandwich shop of cute staff and good food, which was self-seating, they found a table near one of the many windows and sat down while grabbing menus from the center stand. And once again, there were not enough chairs for Edward.

But knowing that he wasn't in a position to truly complain, as only Roy could see him, he settled for hovering at the man's side, grateful that at least he'd had the foresight to take a chair on an end.

Roy meanwhile was perusing the menu when a silvery, and mostly transparent finger jabbed at the menu to indicate one of the sandwiches. He chanced a glance over to where Edward floated at eye level with him and gave him an amused, but questioning look before quickly turning back to the menu.

"It sounds good." Edward said in response. "You should get it."

Roy grunted noncommittally, continuing to look through the other choices.

Edward huffed, and yet again wished he could touch Roy, for he'd dearly love to smack the man over the head right now. "Indulge me this once in a vicarious experience?"

Roy had to wonder if that was a form of extortion.

Edward could see that Roy was debating something about it, which meant that he had half of the battle already won. All that was left was the final push to achieve victory. "I'll name the shape of what my favorite dessert is."

Now that there sounded like a good offer, it wouldn't narrow it down much, but it would some. At least now if he knew it was square in shape, he could stop trying to guess things that were triangular, or circular.

Edward watched Roy carefully, and when he saw the slight inclination of Roy's head, he couldn't have grinned wider if he tried. "I get to have my first vicarious experience." He elated with the happiness only a ghost who'd been by all rights alone for seven years could achieve.

Roy couldn't help but smile a bit, though he covered it with the very top of his menu as he continued to look through it – now at drinks. When the ghost was happy about something, it was difficult not to be carried along for the ride. And maybe after time, and the long years they'd spend together, that would begin to fade… but he hoped not.

"Get iced tea. Stop looking at the wine list, I know you are." Edward told him as he saw the general direction of Roy's eyes. The non-alcoholic drinks were at the top right, those with on the bottom right, and the bottom right was exactly where Roy's eyes seemed to be looking. "It may be past noon, but you're still on duty."

Roy adjusted his eyes accordingly as he tried to hold back another smile. He couldn't exactly tell the ghost that he'd been looking to see if they had a specific wine, for a reason other than drinking it. But it impressed him that Edward was so observant of him… and made him realize that the ghost must be staring at him, something that he would have noticed and minded with anyone else. But strangely enough, the idea of Edward staring at him didn't unnerve him at all.

Not long later one of the proposed cute waitresses came over to take their orders, thus forcing a scowling Edward to dart back as she took his spot by Roy. "Is everyone ready to order?" She asked sweetly, casting her gaze around the group but settling it on Roy who was clearly the highest ranking officer at the table. "Sir? Will you be ordering first?"

Roy looked up at her as he set his menu back into the stand in the center of the table. "No." And he pointed at Havoc, "but he will."

Havoc's was not the only jaw to drop, or eyes to widen at this sudden turn of events. And Havoc couldn't think that perhaps Roy had been telling the truth, he'd had too many women lately. But whatever the reason, he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by, and he turned to the waitress with a smile. "Yes. I'll have the…-"

Edward was staring at Roy in surprise as he floated there behind the man, and then with a smirk he lowered his head to whisper into his ear, "Maes will never let you live that one down."

Roy knew how true it was, but he carefully hid his smile. When at last the waitress came back to him, he gave her his order… rather, Edward's vicarious order, and added on a blackberry iced tea to it. And when the waitress moved away to place their orders, Edward quickly resumed his spot beside him and didn't look inclined to move again anytime soon.

Not that he minded.

This was where he wanted Edward anyway, beside him.

Edward looked around for a bit, as he wasn't at all interested in the conversation that had begun at the table. Honestly, he'd had enough of military matters after spending seven years locked up in a military office at Headquarters. But looking around got old after a while and he sighed as he realized there were only so many times he could catch people digging up their nose, sneezing onto the pepper shaker as they shook it onto their meals, or in the case of some of the women, looking down their shirts to find a piece of lettuce that had dropped down it, before it just got old.

So he did the next best thing and nudged the leg of Roy's chair with his foot. "I'm bored."

Roy snorted before he could help it, and as more than one pair of eyes turned to him questioningly, he made as if he'd sneezed. Only once everyone was satisfied he wasn't up to anything strange did he give a small shrug of his shoulders. There wasn't much he could do about Edward being bored.

Edward sighed and took to standing on the floor. "I'm going to go amuse myself while I keep a watch on our waitress. Just in case Maes called ahead for her to sneak Everclear into your glass."

Unable to really say anything in return, Roy could only watch as Edward floated off, wondering what exactly the phrase 'amuse myself' meant in a public setting to a ghost with a tendency to pull pranks. All he knew was that he'd shortly be finding out.

He was admittedly less worried about the Everclear, than he was about the upcoming state of the patrons.

"Sir?"

Roy tugged himself back to the company at the table at Fuery's questioning tone. "Yes?"

"We were wondering how long Hughes is going to continue being absent for the majority of the day." Fuery posed once more.

Roy shrugged at the question. "However long it takes for him to complete his task. Hopefully it's before either of us retire." He grumbled the last under his breath.

Hawkeye studied him with slightly narrowed eyes, though she didn't speak what was on her mind. She knew better than to mention that whatever Hughes was doing, it wasn't any sort of official work. They all knew better than to mention it, or to ask just what it was that Roy had put the man up to. After all, they'd all done work like this before for their Colonel… she did have to wonder though what it was this time, so soon after moving to Central at last.

She supposed that all she could do was wait, it was all any of them could do. Wait, and see what resulted from it.

"So what's with the change?" Havoc asked as he poked at his spoon.

Roy knew that Havoc was directing the question at him, but for the life of him he didn't know what the man was talking about. "Change?"

"Yeah." Havoc nodded with a curious yet somewhat perplexed look. "In-"

But whatever it was regarding, Havoc never said as a sudden clattering of silverware and the clanging of various other table adornments hitting the floor filled the air.

Roy barely even jumped, unlike everyone else. But like everyone else he turned to see what had happened. However he already knew approximately what he'd find.

Edward was floating above the wreckage of the table, the tablecloth floating from his hand as he observed the scene with a studious tilt of his head and pursed lips. It was clear that he still needed more practice, and he delighted in the fact that there were still plenty more tables with which he could try to remove the tablecloth without shifting anything resting atop it.

He was forced to float up from the scene though as several waiters and waitresses hurried over to clean up the mess while calling out apologies to the patrons. It was at that point that he looked over to meet Roy's eyes, knowing the man would be looking at him. And he wasn't disappointed, by that, or to see that Roy was trying not to laugh.

"I think maybe if I tug the tablecloth more sharply?" Edward posed with a devious grin.

Roy tried as best as he could to communicate with his eyes that no, that was not a good idea, and knew it must have worked for Edward only laughed.

Raising his hands in a gesture of innocence, Edward floated a circuit around the room before beginning to descend towards yet another unoccupied table. And he took the tablecloth in one hand, but did nothing as he looked over at Roy who was still watching him closely. "So you think I should find something else to do?"

Roy nodded as subtly as he could, not that it mattered much for everyone else was still either staring at the scene Edward had just caused, or mentioning it to their neighbor. And as Roy was still staring, no one was paying attention to him.

"It might be more troublesome than this." Edward warned, devious grin only widening.

Roy rolled his eyes and tore his gaze away from Edward as he stood up. "I'll be back in a moment. Don't drink my tea." He told his team firmly before making his way to the bathroom. He didn't need to look to know Edward was following him.

Only when they were safely in the bathroom and Roy had made sure that no one else was inside to overhear him "talking to himself", he faced the cheerful ghost. "You're such a brat." He accused fondly.

Edward nodded in mock rueful acceptance. "Guilty as charged." But then he smiled brightly. "I hope they don't spike your drink while we're in here."

"If Maes thinks even something like Everclear could loosen my tongue, he clearly hasn't been out drinking with me in far too long." Roy said frankly. "As for you though… you're bored?"

Edward nodded with a groan. "Maybe it isn't as bad for you because you're willingly in the military, but I was unwillingly stuck around it for seven years of my life. And while work really doesn't follow you home, hearing about it at lunch is just… if I wasn't dead already I'd say that you people could talk me to death."

Roy chuckled and walked over to the mirror to examine his hair critically while keeping an eye on Edward's reflection. "I have a proposition for you then." He barely waited for a sound of interest to come from Edward's direction before continuing. "You behave for the rest of lunch, and tomorrow we'll go out to lunch alone. I'll do what I can to shift the conversation, but I don't want you to rattle those elderly people at the corner table so much that the population ends up abruptly being decreased by four in the time it takes all of us to eat."

"I'm that good?" Edward asked interestedly, but when Roy shot him a reproachful look via the mirror he raised his hands in submission. "Right, got it. I'll behave."

Roy smiled and ran his hand through his hair again to be sure it was lying just right. "You should have just told me it was the conversation you were bored with."

"That's the easy way, and far less like something a ghost would do to express boredom." Edward sighed and floated over to sit up on the counter as Roy drew away from the mirror, and he leveled a silvery gaze at the man. "Can I still come with you tonight to the bar until you find someone else to keep you company?"

"Of course." Roy couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't want the ghost around. "And I know it'll be a temptation while you're waiting for me at home, but no riding that bike yet. I want to be there for all of it."

Edward chuckled but nodded in acceptance. "I'll wait, don't worry. If I get to spend tomorrow night with you, all of it, I want to make as much of it as I can. And that includes proving you wrong about the bike riding thing from stage one. Just make sure you have the keys to your motorcycle on hand."

Roy groaned at the thought. "Remember you still have to ask to use it after you've learned to ride a bike. And I retain the right to hide the keys from you as well as any books regarding hot wiring."

"Oh damn." Edward chuckled good naturedly.

"Bike first." Roy reminded him further as he leaned up against the counter a bit while still gazing at the ghost still sitting there, just inches away from where he was leaning. "But I have a feeling we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

Edward smirked at him, "undoubtedly."

Roy smiled faintly back, just gazing at him for a time before he drew away as the knowledge that he'd been gone a while and didn't want anyone to come looking for him finally became too irritating to further stifle. "I'm hungry, and the food is probably there by now." He said as he backed away.

Edward nodded and floated off the counter to land on the floor and walk with Roy towards the door. "At least let me throw one pickle at the waitress for encroaching on my spot."

Roy only snorted in answer as he made a beeline back for the table where as he'd predicted, the food had arrived.

And as he sat down, he tried not to laugh in between bites of eating his sandwich as Edward hovered nearby to watch and be vicarious. But his good mood brought the change in conversation Edward had been wanting, and by the time everyone's sandwiches were gone, save one pickle on Roy's plate, the ghost was looking much less bored.

So quite covertly as they began to ready themselves to leave, Roy slipped Edward the slice of pickle for their dear waitress who was bringing over the check. And as soon as a shocked Edward had taken it, he sipped on the last of his non-Everclear spiked blackberry iced tea.

"Really? I can?" Edward grinned at him, being careful to hold the slice of pickle under the table and thus out of sight.

Roy gave a slight nod to the ghost, though anyone else would have thought it meant for the waitress as she handed him the check. "Thank you." He smiled simply at her and turned his attention to everyone else."Okay, pass me your souls… I mean money."

They began to do so, with some grumbling, but for Edward's part, he didn't notice.

As soon as the waitress had turned and began to walk away, Edward zoomed after her with the slice of pickle so he could get the angle he needed to achieve his mark, and threw it at her ear.

Roy didn't even look up as he counted out the bills that had been passed to him, when from his right the waitress let out a bloodcurdling shriek. And though everyone else was instantly looking, or rushing over to ask her what had happened and be directed towards a slice of pickle lying innocently on the floor, Roy acted as if nothing had happened.

All he was paying attention to was the money, and Edward's slight chuckling while saying "my spot".

Oh the things that should have seemed childish, but when done by a ghost, were entirely normal if not expected.

When at last they all filed out of the sandwich shop, Havoc couldn't help but remark, "it wasn't so noisy in there last night."

"That was very odd." Falman added in a perplexed sounding voice.

Edward strolled along behind the group whistling a cheerful tune that only Roy could hear, and it brought a smile to the man's face though the ghost didn't see.

"Teenage ghosts." Roy murmured under his breath, smile still tugging at his lips.

When the group reached Headquarters again they quickly made their way back to their respective areas, not wanting to be spotted by General Grand in the case that he was out and about. This time even Edward went along quickly, though he kept looking over his shoulder with an almost tortured expression.

Only once he was in Roy's office with the door shut behind him did his curiosity abate enough to let him breathe. Well… in a manner of speaking.

"It's just eating at you, isn't it." Roy grinned as he resumed his seat.

Edward groaned and floated over to seat himself on top of the remaining stack of paperwork. "You've no idea."

"You could go over there and see what he's doing, you know." Roy pointed out. "No one would see you. Unless of course you're worried that the temptation to do something to him would be too great."

"Very great." Edward agreed, and picked up Roy's pen. "But it's easier when I'm in here. Probably because as much as this office could have been labeled a prison for me, it also has this… I don't know… this stability I guess. Out there I see so much more, and can do so much more. And in here, I'm used to this already." And he glanced up to the window while fiddling with Roy's pen. "Aside from actually being able to see outside of course."

Roy smiled faintly at the expression on Edward's face. "I think I understand. All of this is still so new to you, it's only natural you'd feel curious about things. Things that wouldn't affect you like this otherwise."

Edward looked back down at him, beginning to kick his legs from where he sat with Roy's paperwork as his seat, and twirled Roy's pen absently. "Is there ever anything you're this curious about?"

"Besides yourself?" Roy asked with a gentle smile and reached up for his pen. "No."

Edward relinquished the pen more from surprise at Roy's words than anything. "Me? Why me?"

Roy leaned back in his chair so he didn't have to crane his head back so far to look up at Edward, and tilted his head thoughtfully as he considered the silvery apparition. "It's not what you'd think… the obvious. Yes, you're the only ghost I've met, and yes, only I can see you. But what intrigues me most about you, is why those things are what they are. I can't help but wonder why it's us. What is it about you, or about me, that made it turn out this way?"

Edward stared back at him, lost for words. He didn't know himself… all he knew, was that in the beginning he'd thought fate was having a last laugh at him. But not anymore. He truly liked Roy, and wanted to stay beside him even though he could go almost anywhere now.

"I bet you're glad you asked me now." Roy chuckled after a moment.

It was then that Edward smiled at last, a genuine smile. "I am."

Roy smiled back, laughter beginning to fade as he did so until he finally tore his gaze away with an abrupt clearing of his throat, trying to jerk his mind out of the relaxed state it had been in just moments ago when he'd known nothing but silver. "I should get back to work, else our chess games will be cut much shorter than I ever want them to be."

"And then what would happen to the country?" Edward joked.

"In that case it's fortunate I'm not yet Fuhrer." Roy grumbled and promptly took his chances of what Edward would do to him as he reached through the ghost's butt to pick up the next file awaiting his attention.

"Hey!" Edward glared at him as he shot into the air as if electrocuted. "A little patience!"

Roy smirked as he glanced up at the indignant ghost innocently. "You want chess, I want to be Fuhrer, and for that to happen you should know already to keep your ass off my paperwork."

Edward scowled at him, but as soon as he turned he was fighting back a smile as he floated haughtily back to the couch where he'd left the book. All the while muttering "unwanted physical contact" under his breath.

Roy tried his best not to smirk too much about it… he tried.

Yet smirking or not, the paperwork did get done at exactly an hour until the end of the workday, and Roy gathered the finished documents up into his arms so he could bring them out to Hawkeye. As he did so he saw Edward dart over to his desk, no doubt going in search of the chess set.

"Colonel," Hawkeye posed as the stacks thumped down onto her desk with a rather satisfying rustling of papers.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Roy allowed as he dusted his gloved hands off primly.

She looked up at him with a slight frown, "what is it you do now after you finish your paperwork? Because you've not had me order window cleaner since we got here, and back at East Central you went through a bottle a day."

Roy waved a hand grandly, "my obsessive compulsive activities are a thing of the past thanks to intensive therapy at Hazel's hands… err, paws rather. I thought he was beginning to show signs of allergic reactions to the residue that would get on my uniform."

"You expect me to believe that?" Hawkeye leveled him a deadpan look.

"Actually, no." Roy smiled at her and half-turned. "But if I told you that I spent the remainder of my day reviewing strategy via chess games with myself, well, let's just face it and say that doesn't sound nearly as dramatic or interesting."

Hawkeye raised a neatly manicured eyebrow at that particular confession which she did have a much easier time believing… though hard it still was to do so. "And what side of your conscience usually wins more? Black or white?"

"Right now?" Roy quickly tallied up the scores and then promptly grimaced. "Black." Figuring he really needed to change that soon, he made his way back into his office leaving behind a somewhat bemused Hawkeye and a large stack of neatly finished paperwork.