The rest of Ed's assessment to put you all out of your misery : )

Enjoy : D

"I didn't think you'd go this far to make a fool out of me" Roy dodged the blonde's fist tiredly, narrowly avoiding another bruise. His reactions were beginning to slow, and he was sure Ed had already picked up on this. His subordinate appeared to be as lively as ever, smirking as the Colonel nursed a stitch in his side.

"I assure you Colonel, the only person making a fool out of you is yourself"

The battle had long surpassed an hour. Ed could still remember the last time he'd set foot on the same pitch, and to that day he still wondered why he had been stupid enough to challenge Roy Mustang, off all people. He definitely came to the conclusion he'd had way to much confidence as a kid, and many times he'd paid the price for it. Edward was determined to win fairly this time, without having to rely on a distracted Colonel for victory. There was no way he was winning by accident. Not this time.

Roy narrowly avoided another punch as a metal fist skimmed his cheek. He was running out on energy, and options. He could either surrender and let the feisty teenager win victoriously, or summon his remaining strength and hope it's enough to make some kind of impact on the blonde.

Ed frowned as his mellow streaks of gold began to cling to his face and neck. He'd given up on taming his hair a long time ago; it always seemed to have a life of its own. He smiled as Roy began to slow. As time went on, the man's movement became more and more sluggish. Unluckily for the Colonel, Ed wasn't tired. He was just getting started.

"You've improved" Roy puffed, stepping backwards to avoid a kick in the shin.

"If only I could say the same to you, Colonel" the blonde grinned, "You shouldn't always rely on alchemy, there'll come a time when-" a ball of flames skimmed his cheek. The teen growled as his gaze cast on a familiar pair of looking gloves. "What do you think you're doing?"

"This has gone on long enough. It's about time we finished don't you think?"

"FINISH? I'm just getting warmed up!"

"That's the problem..." Roy cursed quietly, clicking his fingers productively.

The heat was beginning to irritate Edward, and his automail wasn't helping. Heat made his ports ache, and wonderfully improved his mood... A dull throb clawed at his shoulder as another flame clipped his right arm. The blonde bit down hard on his lip as the sensitive area began to twinge; he clasped a hand over the join between metal and skin, ignoring the sting in his flesh hand from the heat.

"There's something you're not telling me" Roy paced in a circle around Ed, talking casually, "You haven't clapped your hands once since you got back"

"What's it to you!"

"It's not like you. There was a time went you couldn't stop transmuting things. Your head was always buried in an alchemy book"

"People change. I got Al's body back. I don't need to rely on alchemy anymore..." his grip tightened, ports aching from the strain. "I should have stopped using it a long time ago. Unfortunately I was too blind to realise. It took another trip to the gate for it to finally sink in"

"Are you going to tell me why? Or will I have to force it out of you?" Roy stopped dead in his tracks, stopping behind the teen who was nursing a minor burn.

"It doesn't matter why. You'd think I was being stupid if I told you, it's not worth the embarrassment."

"Try me." The blond replied with a long silence. "Look Edward, I know we don't exactly see eye to eye, but I'm always here if you want to talk"

"I think you're getting soft in your old age" Ed laughed, ignoring the glares coming from his superior. "If you insist, but I did warn you..." "The first time I went to the other side, he tried to tell me, but I wasn't really listening, too busy panicking..."

"He?"

"Dad..." he muttered. The word rolled off his tongue uncomfortably. It was a term he rarely used. Edward would never get used to calling Hohenheim his father. He didn't think the man was worthy of that title.

"When things started to happen... it began to sink in... the tragedies in the other world fuel transmutations here." As the blonde expected, Roy was lost for words. The Colonel thought hard as he processed the information.

"Do the tragedies here fuel the other side?"

"There is no alchemy on the other side. I haven't clapped my hands for two years... The last time was when I brought back Al" the teen dropped his flesh hand to his side, clenching his metal fist tightly. "I vowed I'd never use it again unless I had to.... I'd never forgive myself!" Ed turned to Roy. "Every clap, every circle, someone I knew could be... it's... its better this way..."

"You've grown up more than I expected..." Roy smirked, "What happened to the short tempered shrimp I used to know?"

"Shut it you-" before the blonde could continue, chants from the crowd stopped him in his tracks. "What crawled up their ass and died?

"I think they were expecting a little more bloodshed and less conversation" Roy raised his and hand are prepared to click. "It's about time we finished this... FullMetal"

The blonde flicked his loose hair over one shoulder and braced himself for the Colonels next move. His eyes focused on the man's hands. The impatient chattering ceased and the crowd of military dogs averted their attention back to the two well known figures standing opposite each other. Roy moved to click, but before his gloved fingers could touch, he found his arm twisted and pinned behind his back. A familiar mocking voice gloated in his ear.

"Looks like these gloves of yours are just for show, Colonel"

"C'mon Breda, hand it over!" Jean grinned triumphantly at his winnings, taking the small wad of notes from Breda before he could protest. "I owe you one chief!" he slapped the teen on the back happily and left Edward to recharge on the office couch.

Ed tugged at the towel around his neck, dropping it in the empty seat beside him. The cool leather felt heavenly against his flushed skin, and his recent victory made the teen smile even more. Oh it was good to be alive. 'Surprisingly' enough, Roy still hadn't made it back to the office, undoubtedly to avoid mockery from the blonde. He made a note to annoy the man extra when he decided to make an appearance, to make up for his long absence.

Ed craned his neck lazily to the clock. He groaned. There were many hours left before he would be free to leave. He decided to make a plan, a very rough one at that. He would simply rot on to Colonels sofa until he was discovered. When the time came, the he would worry about having to work.

He closed his eyes and listened to the soft ticking of the clock, and the purr of the air conditioning. The teen was slowly drifting to sleep when the door clicked open, colliding noisily with the wall. Ed didn't batter an eyelid. There was only person he knew that was so rude. The person in question dragged their feet lazily across the worn wooden floor boards, before collapsing into the large leather chair behind the desk.

"I had no idea my office had become a crèche" the teen chose to ignore the comment and continued to enjoy the cool leather nursing his skin. After all, he was asleep. Right?

"FullMetal?"

"EDWARD!"

"WHAT?" Ed closed his eyes tighter, hoping the man would get the message and leave him be.

"Do you plan on lying there all day?"

"Of course" the blonde answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't think so" Roy threw a biro in the teen's direction, which landed neatly in his lap. "Come here"

Ed groaned, peeling himself from the couch.

"I need you to sign here, here and here" a gloved finger pointed demandingly.

"Why?"

"Just do it Edward"

"Whatever..." Ed scrawled his name lazily, making it slightly legible. Whoever dared complain about his writing, hand obviously never tried to hold a pen with metal fingers. "Can I go now?"

"To the library? Of course"

"I meant home"

"I think your mistaken FullMetal, I'm sure you were going to research those arrays for me"

"Really? That's funny, I don't reme-"

"Well you do now. I'll send someone to check on you later" the man muttered as his eyes scanned the page and sprawled a signature at the bottom.

The blonde could feel the urge to scream rising, but decided against it. He was working late enough as it was, without irritating the Colonel further. He flung his jacket over one shoulder and closed the door quietly behind him without uttering a single comment, much to Roy's surprise.

Edward's trip to the library was far from a trek. In fact, it was only a few doors down from Colonel Sarcasm's office. Unfortunately for Ed, it made him easy to track down; especially as it was a known fact he spent most of his life with his head in a book. The blonde pulled a wad of text books from the shelf he'd visited often, brimming with alchemy books.

He set them down on the table and made himself comfortable. After all, it could be hours until he finally peeled himself from his research. Without interruptions, it was certain Edward would work away until the early hours of the morning.

Personally, I think this chapter was quite lame.

Sorry! I had exams this week.

I'll make up for it next time : )