Wow… this took awhile to get out… Well, I moved (still in Japan, just a tiny, tiny city in Iwate) and have been working on my original writing as well as a little FMA one shot. So I've been pretty busy. XD I've also been keeping up with the manga. I won't spoil anyone, but I have to say, I both liked and was disappointed in the ending. And not for no RoyEd, rofl. Never actually expected that in the canon. XD

Also, thank you everyone for your lovely reviews and favorites (not to mention story alerts)! I wish I had more time online to reply to them! I do wanna say that I'm not going to just have Ed suddenly turn up pregnant. It's a slow-moving plot that is only at its very beginning. (It'll get faster soon I think though.) If he does get pregnant, which it looks like he will or at least have a very near miss, then it will be part of the plot and not something so glaringly there that it seems unreal or that the entire story is written around it. I will strive to be subtle.

The next chapter should be up soon! It is shorter and so can be typed up in a shorter amount of time. It will also have something extra intriguing at its end. *grins evilly*

Thank you again to Amethyst-Eyed Koneko, Shotou-chan, Thunder Arrow Alchemist, , Sisyphean Effort, Echo54*7, Persefone88, and NemesisNo1! I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 6

Ed led the way back to their hotel, barely stopping even for cars or bikes along the way. A few times he was nearly hit by a passing bicyclist and once by a car, but thankfully Mustang was fast enough to pull him back out of harm's way before he could be hurt. Though, aside from a very distant awareness of what was happening, Ed didn't notice a bit of it. His mind was too busy circling around and around what the mayor had said and how he had said it to notice anything else. There was something there, Ed knew, if he could simply figure out what it was. He did know he didn't like his suspicions.

Suddenly, that large warm hand that had pulled him back out of harm's way countless times already darted out and spun Ed around without warning. Ed stumbled forward, falling face first into Mustang's hard chest. Ed reached up to bury his hands into Mustang's soft cotton vest at the same time as Mustang's arms wrapped around him to stop Ed from falling. They only stayed wrapped around Ed for a moment, however, before moving to the more appropriate position of grasping his upper arms.

The memory of the husbands' testimony shot to the forefront of Ed's mind. His head snapped back and he stared up into Mustang's face.

For a moment, a look of astonishment and concern was there before Mustang buried it back under his usual mask. It was enough to make Ed's eyes widen, though, and he felt a red flush sweep over his face before he could stop it.

"What?" Ed stumbled back from Mustang, looking quickly around to see if anyone had noticed. A man he recognized vaguely as one of the husbands from the interviews gave Ed a sad smile from across the street that made Ed blush a little deeper before turning back to scowl at Mustang.

"So, you've decided to grace the rest of the world with your attention again?"

Mustang's smile was entirely too smug for Ed's liking.

"I was thinking! Some of us do that," Ed snarled at him. "What you'd do that for? You nearly knocked me over!"

"My apologies, dearest," Mustang told him, amusement beginning to color his words. "You were lost in your thoughts and I was worried I wouldn't be able to stop you from being hit by the next car you nearly walked into." Anger started to cloud Mustang's face, but he forced it back under his smiling mask of the doting husband. Ed was so fascinated by the sight that he nearly missed it as Mustang continued, "Would you care to eat here tonight? Perhaps some food will help keep your attention a little more on your surroundings."

Frowning, Ed looked beside them to see the town's only restaurant outside the hotel and pub, Legume. It screamed of high class, or at least higher than Ed was used to, and it made him uncomfortable. Just the thought that there might be extra utensils to figure out made Ed want to run and hide.

It was a smart idea though. They'd been having all their meals in the hotel pub's restaurant. If they were being dosed as they suspected, then switching up where they ate might help. It couldn't hurt them anyway.

"Your treat?" Ed was already turning to go inside even before he finished asking.

"Of course," Mustang replied, following close behind. "Just try not to eat us out of our budget."

Ed tossed a mischievous grin back at him before turning it on the young host that suddenly appeared out of nowhere it seemed. The young man, a creamy-skinned blond about Edward's age, seemed familiar, even if Ed couldn't place why. He also seemed inordinately pleased to see them, which only strengthened Ed's belief that he must have met him before.

Then again, this was a small town. In Resembool, newcomers were always the star attraction for at least a month after they moved in.

"Hello, sirs," the host greeted them in an overly perky voice. "You're the new couple, aren't you? It's nice to meet you. Come right this way. We have a nice table right by the window."

He turned around and grabbed a pair of menus as he led the way into the comfortable atmosphere of the dimly lit dining room. It had been clearly set up to hold a romantic atmosphere once the sun had set.

Ed watched him go for a moment, trying to place him again, before a large hand splayed itself across the small of his back. Gently, it pushed him forward, guiding him to follow the host. With a half-hearted scowl up at Mustang, Ed forced himself to allow himself to be led to their table. As soon as they had reached it, however, Ed shook the hand off and sat down, never taking his eyes off their host.

"Your server will be right with you," the host said with a smile as he handed them their menus.

Ed smiled in return, not bothering to nod since Mustang was already answering.

"Thank you," Mustang said, his tone cold and full of obvious dismissal. Had he also noticed something off about the host?

With a nod, the young man moved swiftly away, his thin hips swaying almost as though to some secret beat only he could hear.

Ed watched him go for a moment before looking over at Mustang. The man was frowning at him, annoyance not only clear on his face but practically screaming from his every pore.

"What?"

Mustang's eyes met his own in a hard, furious stare for a long moment, and then he looked away with a shake of his head.

"Don't ignore me," Ed growled in a low, dangerous voice. "What's your problem?"

Mustang shook his head again. "You just seemed rather interested in that host…"

Ed frowned. What was Mustang getting at?

"He seems familiar. Doesn't he to you?"

Mustang shrugged and looked down at his menu. After a moment, he turned the page, the frown steadily growing darker as Ed watched.

"Fine! Be that way," Ed told him, and then did the same.

The evening didn't get much better after that, though Ed had to admit that the food was possibly the best he'd ever had. His steak was cooked to perfection, not too well done or too rare and just the right amount of juiciness and spices. His vegetables were likewise cooked to just the right amount of softness and marinated only long enough in the steak's own juices to acquire a complimentary flavor, but not so long as to overtake the natural flavor of the vegetables themselves. Ed found himself hoping that they could eat here more often—only with his dinner companion in a better mood.

As it was, Mustang was making Ed angry. Nearly angry enough to spoil his perfect meal even.

The moment the door had closed behind them in their room later that night, Ed rounded on Mustang, not bothering to hide how angry he was as he finally gave into the urge to attack.

"What was that all about?"

Mustang barely glanced at Ed as he passed him, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it over the back of the sofa. His face stayed as carefully neutral as his voice as he sat gracefully down on the sofa.

"What was what all about?"

"At the restaurant! You were cold, like you were accusing me of something, and you barely said two words to me the entire time if I didn't ask you something directly!"

"Keep your voice down," Mustang snapped back with his coldest glare yet. "Don't endanger everything more than you already have."

Gritting his teeth against a snarl, Ed forced himself to sit down next to Mustang on the sofa. He turned himself so that he could be sitting normally on the sofa, but not have to look directly at the other man. If Ed did, he might actually give in to the temptation to simply belt him.

"How have I endangered the mission? I wasn't the one acting as if he were disgusted to be anywhere near me!"

"Maybe I was," Mustang retorted, his voice a growl as his usual cool composure seemed to crack. Ed found it more unnerving than he'd ever thought he would. "It would be understandable, however, with how you were drooling after that host while I, your supposed husband, sat right across from you!"

Ed sat back and turned to blink in disbelief at Roy's furious face. His dark blue eyes nearly sparked with suppressed rage even at this angle. Suddenly, almost abruptly enough to be violent, the pieces all clicked into place for Ed, unbelievable as they were.

"You were jealous?"

"No!" A red flush made all the brighter by his pale skin climbed over Roy's cheeks, however, as he barked the word. He lurched to his feet and began to pace in front of Ed. "I was furious! We might already be in the process of being dosed by a madman and you're putting everything in jeopardy by—by lusting after our waiter!"

"I wasn't doing anything! I told you he looked familiar," Ed growled, standing as well and turning to face Mustang. He snarled up into the man's face. "That's all it was! Didn't you think he did?"

Mustang's face twisted in fury and disbelief for a moment before he schooled it into his normal cool mask once again.

"No, he didn't. I've never seen him before. When do you think you saw him?"

"I don't know! That's what I was trying to figure out! Somewhere in town, I think… I'd remember if you helped and stopped being a JEALOUS BASTARD!"

The last words were nearly screamed and rang out with all the frustration that Ed currently felt. He even shocked himself with its intensity, and he stared wide-eyed at a seemingly equally shocked Mustang. They stared at each other like that for another minute or two before Mustang finally sat back down on the sofa again.

"All right then," he said in a weary voice. "You saw him in town. We haven't been to many places so far. Did you see him on the street?"

Ed thought for a moment, struggling to remember. Could he have seen him on the street? It was a very small town, so it'd be much easier to see notice and identify someone you passed on the street than in a city where there could possibly be hundreds of people that you passed each day. Still, he didn't think that was where he'd seen the host. He was usually lost in thought or arguing with Mustang when he was outside. Neither activity leant itself to identifying passing strangers.

He opened his mouth to say so, but a loud knocking, almost a banging, on the door stole the words from him. Ed glanced toward it, startled.

Mustang surprised him further by reaching up to pull him down into his lap. Ed managed a small sound of surprised protest before Mustang began hurriedly arranging him against his strong, warm chest.

When does the bastard find time to work out?

Ed had barely finished the thought when Mustang murmured a quick, "Act like a reconciling lover," in to his ear. Nodding, Ed allowed himself to sink into Mustang, hurriedly cuddling up like he'd once seen a young couple doing in the park as they watched their two year old play.

Meanwhile, Mustang called out a quick, "Come in!"

Bile rose in Ed's throat despite, or maybe because, of the comfortable position against his superior officer, and he swallowed hard to keep it from finishing the journey. He'd never thought he'd be in Mustang's lap like this and he'd really never thought he—that he wouldn't hate it this much.

The door creaked open and footsteps, hesitant and soft, sounded as someone came into the room. Ed twisted to look over his shoulder and saw the innkeeper's anxious round face staring at the two of them, his hands wringing nervously in his stained and worn apron.

"Is everything alright?"

The innkeeper looked at them both as he asked, but his bright blue eyes settled on Ed's.

"Yes. Just a little misunderstanding," Mustang told him smoothly. Ed nodded his agreement even as Mustang continued, "Isn't that right, love?"

"It was nothing. Just…a small argument," Ed said, one hand clutching at Mustang's lapel for lack of anything better to do.

The innkeeper's eyes darted between them, obviously not reassured. Ed knew that look on his face only too well. He was wondering if he should call the sheriff.

"He never lets me forget one moment of weakness when I became jealous over the attention one of his friends was giving him," Mustang added in a light, mournful tone. "Every tiny argument we have… Does your spouse ever do that?"

The innkeeper looked between them again before a small smile began tugging at his lips. "She does. For me, it's the time I forgot her birthday."

Mustang gave the innkeeper a conspiratorial smile that made Ed want to hit him again. "But what would we do without our loves?"

The innkeeper nodded with a chuckle, "I wouldn't want to find out."

He turned and opened the door again. "Have a good night then, gentlemen. Try not to be too loud making up, please."

"Good night," Mustang called after him with a grin just before the door shut with a sharp click.

Ed stayed where he was for a few more minutes, waiting for the innkeeper to get far enough away. Then he turned and looked up at Mustang.

"What did he mean? Making up isn't—"

He stopped abruptly as he realized that Mustang was smirking at him. Why was Mustang smirking at him?

Ed's eyes went wide as he finally got it. His face flared hotly as he nearly flew off of Mustang's lap. They burned even hotter when Mustang threw his head back in raucous laughter.

Scowling, Ed paced to the opposite end of the sofa, snapping, "Can't we just discuss this case like normal people for once?" He threw himself back onto the couch, sorrowfully next to Roy again. It just wasn't that long a sofa, almost more of an elongated love seat.

He suddenly wanted to simply go to bed and forget that any of this was happening, but Ed knew that wouldn't help anything. They needed to discuss those interviews from earlier and find whoever was doing this. Even if it wasn't such an immediate situation, Ed hadn't been sleeping very well or deeply with no Al there. Going to bed wouldn't do him any good. He'd be just as tired when he got up, if not more.

Besides, he'd be sleeping next to Mustang, the very person he wanted to escape from.

"You could never be normal, Edward," Mustang said quietly, sobering suddenly. He looked sad now.

Ed wondered if that could be a slight against his height. He considered it for a moment, glowering darkly at Mustang, and then shrugged it off. If it was, he could always get revenge for it later.

"Do you think you're being dosed now?"

The cool, emotionless mask slid back into place over Mustang's features, the only sign he'd heard Ed at all. Ed watched Mustang stare into the fireplace pensively for a minute. Finally, without turning to look at Ed, Mustang answered.

"Yes. Which means you won't be far behind. We've a week, perhaps two, until they start on you. Then only a few days to a week or so before…"

Mustang's lips thinned and even from this angle Ed could see the fiery fury light in his dark blue eyes. Ed didn't think he'd ever seen Mustang this angry before. He was glad it wasn't directed at him.

"What do you think of the sheriff, Tisdale?"

The question was flat and business-like and so far removed from how their conversations so far had gone that Ed was caught off-guard. Ed swallowed as his mind turned to the gruff sheriff, his thoughts from earlier coming back to him again.

"He seems too smart and too strong to make all the mistakes we've seen so far." Ed paused a moment, trying once again to make sense of what had happened between Tisdale and Cranning. "He also has more power that it appears at first glance."

Mustang nodded in agreement. "He should have a file…"

"Either he destroyed it or Cranning's hiding it. I bet it's in his desk," Ed said, remembering how Cranning had seemed determined to keep himself stationed behind the thing. Was it just the terror of a weak-willed man, or had he been hiding something? "I could sneak in and—"

"No!" Mustang's voice snapped in the air between them like his fingers in battle and loudly enough to make Ed glance worriedly at the door. "You will not go near his office without me. We will be together constantly."

A snarl flew up Ed's throat, born from the red hot fire of anger that had suddenly flared in the pit of his stomach. He leaned forward, whether to argue or kill even Ed didn't know, when Mustang turned to pin him beneath dark, hard eyes. Time seemed to stop under that hot gaze.

"Think about it, Edward," Mustang told him in a low voice that matched his eyes for hardness. "Someone sent us here knowing about your past and our activities regarding it. I'm apparently already being dosed. It's only a matter of time before they get to you. We stand a better chance of surviving and getting back if we stay together."

Frowning, Ed grit his teeth. He hated how much sense Mustang was making.

"How can we work like that? You're suggesting we be practically stuck together at the hip!"

"We'll figure something out," Mustang said, not letting up on his stare. Then, abruptly, something changed and it lightened into a smirk. "And maybe this time I won't have to deal with so much paperwork for property damage."

"Shut up! I get the job done!"

Mustang snorted. "Yeah, and become a one-man demolition team in the process."

"Can I help it if nobody builds to building code?"

Mustang gave another snort, but his eyes were serious when they found Ed's again.

"Promise me you'll always stay in my sight?" He paused a moment before adding, "Or I can always order you to do so…"

"Bastard! You wouldn't! Since when do I listen to your orders anyway?"

Mustang didn't answer. He simply continued to stare deep into Ed's eyes and Ed felt as though the other's dark blue gaze could see straight through him.

"Fine," Ed growled, tearing his eyes away to stare into the fireplace. "But you stay in mine too. Hawkeye will kill me if I don't bring you back in one piece."

The tension in the room dissipated finally as Mustang sat back with a laugh. Ed grinned as though the idea of that gun being aimed at him didn't scare him witless. Perhaps that was why Mustang looked so good like that, draped over the back of the sofa, his hair and skin glowing in the lamplight.

"That's nice. It's okay for me to get killed as long as Hawkeye is the one that does it?"

Mustang just grinned at him in answer.

Ed sat back again and pulled his legs up under him on the couch.

"So was that why you decided to switch restaurants tonight?"

"Yes. If all the previous victims were predictable, we should try to be unpredictable. Perhaps then we can avoid being dosed."

"But they were dosed at both restaurants. The killer could work at both or at one and have an accomplice at the other. Or he could simply be following his victims."

Mustang nodded, his expression one of solemn thought. "Unfortunately, we don't have a kitchen here or any other choices, so this will have to do for now."

Frowning, Ed let his mind whirl around the thought, turning the facts over and over, inside and out, as he searched for another solution. He didn't much like the risks here, and without Al, he felt even more vulnerable than usual.

"How did you like the food tonight?"

Ed blinked, startled. Where had that come from?

"What? Why do you care? It was food and we'll be eating at the other place tomorrow night."

"Because of what those men said earlier. So which restaurant had the better food?"

Then it hit Ed. They'd said the food was the best they'd ever tasted at the one restaurant, which was why they returned there so often.

Panic flooded him, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.

"The food was…the best I've ever eaten," Ed admitted reluctantly.

Mustang looked as disturbed as Ed felt. He stood suddenly and pulled on his jacket.

"Come on. I need to make a phone call," Mustang said, heading quickly for the door.

"What? So why do I need to go? It's not raining out."

"Move it, Ed. I'm not leaving you alone here," Mustang said, stopping to glare back at Ed.

"They're not going to kill me yet," Ed grumbled even as he stood to follow.

"No chances, Edward."

Mustang's voice said clearly that he would allow for no arguments and Ed didn't really care to argue just then anyway. Instead, he wondered if he could call Al while they were on the phone.