Chapter 3

Roy sighed. He was confused. Why hadn't Hughes come into his office yet? He knew for a fact that the man had arrived at work almost 15 minutes ago! So why wasn't he in Roy's office and shoving questions down the fuhrer's throat!?

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Roy said. Here it came. Hughes was finally here.

"Hey there, Mr. Mustang Sir!" a cheery voice floated in. That definitely wasn't Hughes. Into his office walked Winry Rockbell.

"Well uh.. Hello. And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Roy asked, slipping into his suave facade.

"Oh.. I just thought I'd drop in to see my favorite fuhrer," Winry replied, setting her bag down and waltzing up to Roy's desk. She was so obviously lying. Roy raised an eyebrow at her as she leaned on his desk, and she finally caved.

"Oh alright. I saw you talking to that Russell guy and then to grandma and.. Well I was wondering if you knew who Ed liked. Cause grandma's always on about Ed being in love and Russell seemed awfully close to Ed... I don't know, maybe I'm just jealous but... do you know anything? Anything at all? Ed's always around you. You must know something!" she ranted, getting more excited as she went.

"Nope. Afraid I don't know anything about it," Roy half lied. He didn't know who Ed liked, but he sure knew what Russell liked.

"What?! Are you serious? Aw, come on, Roy! You can trust me. Gimme a clue or something," Winry pleaded, almost wiggling out of her skin.

"I told you, I don't know anything about who Ed has an interest in. I asked your grandmother yesterday about the same thing. We're on the same page. No one knows who the pipsqueak likes. Guess he can keep something secret after all," Roy drawled on, pretending to read a document from his desk.

There was a clang as something fell down the hall. This was followed by a few people's loud voices and what seemed to be lots of rushing about... not that they could see any of it.

"Anyway, is there anything else you wanted?" Roy asked, ignoring the noises as they calmed down. Winry frowned.

"I guess not...," she admitted sourly. Roy could see the disappointment on her face, the same disappointment he felt when Pinako failed to tell him anything. "I'll be going then... But I'll call you or Ed sometime soon."

"I look forward to it," Roy replied with a smile, setting down the document. He had no idea what was written in it. He didn't even care.

Winry was halfway to the door when it opened. In walked a man wearing a blue military uniform, down to the boots and last button. He had blonde hair just past his shoulders and bright golden eyes. Roy nearly fell out of his seat and Winry squeaked in shock at the sight of the man.

"E-Edward!? Wh-what happened to you?" she asked.

Ed froze in surprise, eyes wide. He obviously hadn't been expecting to see Winry. Perhaps Ed was the cause of the commotion down the hall. It was a reliable reason. Ed in a military outfit wasn't a common site. Still... Roy was stumped. He couldn't find his voice. He just kept staring. Ed looked older when he wore the uniform, and his hair laying down added a boyish charm to growing up.

"Winry?" Ed asked. His face dropped into one of annoyance. "What are you bothering the fuhrer for? Go home!" he ordered. Apparently he was trying to make it seem as though he wore these clothes all the time.

Winry glanced at Roy, who did his best to seem unfazed, and then back at Ed. She bit her lip and nodded.

"You... Wow, Ed. You look so much older when you wear that," she said, complimenting him in a still unsure manner. Ed rolled his eyes. He'd probably been told that a few hundred times on his way over.

"Yeah yeah. Just get out of here. You're in the way of work," he said, shooing her off. Winry left quickly, and Roy had to admit that Ed had been rather rude... not that he wasn't like that all the time.

Once she was gone, Ed locked the door and turned to Roy. He'd tried to hide the locking, but Roy saw it plain as day. So Ed wanted to be alone. Understandable. He tried to make eye contact with Ed, but the blonde kept looking away.

"Well," Roy began, trying to think of what to say.

"Well how do I look?" Ed asked, looking to the ground at his left. Awww, he was blushing. "Hughes told me I should start dressing like I work here... and said I should show you first since you're fuhrer and all..."

Ah. So Hughes wouldn't come see him personally, but he'd send Ed here to taunt him. Ah. Inadvertent teasing from the fuhrer's best friend. How lovely. Actually, Roy would have to make a note to thank Hughes. Ed looked damn good.

"Personally, I prefer your normal clothes," Roy replied honestly. Military outfits might make Ed look older and more professional, but Roy liked the young, rugged, spontaneous look of Ed's normal clothes. He liked that about the boy.

Ed clenched his fists and glared at Roy.

"After I get all dressed up in this stupid uniform and prance over here to show you that I'm growing up, that's all you can say?! You like my old clothes? Why? Cause I look younger and you can keep picking on me for being small and childish?" Ed argued.

Roy was shocked. He'd liked Ed since before it was legal to like Ed... He liked everything about him. He liked how he was unpredictable, he liked his temper, he liked his height, his fashion sense, the way he was able to irritate the younger. Roy liked everything about Ed... He thought himself fairly fluent in understanding Ed. However, he hadn't expected this.

"That's not what I meant," Roy replied cooly.

"Well then for once in this damn relationship, tell me what you mean straight out! I'm tired of you toying with me, Mustang," Ed growled. Roy glared.

"Roy," he grunted out like an order.

"Huh?" Ed asked, taken aback by the one word response and not sure how to respond.

"How about 'for once in this damn relationship' you call me by my name. It's Roy," the fuhrer said, still sounding like he was giving Ed an official command. Ed stared at him nervously. Roy seemed genuinely pissed.

"R-Roy," Ed stuttered out. His cheeks lit up, and Roy smiled. Saying Roy's name made Ed blush?

"Say it again," Roy commanded in a gentler tone, eyes boring into Ed.

"What for? Why don't you just answer the stupid question? This is dumb," Ed complained.

"Say it again," Roy ordered a bit rougher. Ed flinched.

"Roy," he gave in and said. His cheeks were ever redder. "What's the deal with making me say your name?"

"Trying to get you to remember it," Roy replied in a pleased tone. The way Ed's body reacted to being told what to do and when Ed said his name... the way Ed's face lit up like fire and the way Ed's voice spoke that single name. It was a shy, but tough tone. It was Ed trying to be more grown up and not show any weakness while being... embarrassed? to say Roy's name.

"Tell me, Edward. If I wore a tux to work and didn't brush my hair that morning and then asked you how I looked, what would you tell me?" Roy asked. Ed pouted, which meant he was thinking.

"I tell you to find a brush and ask what the occasion was," he replied honestly, or so it sounded.

"You walked in all dolled up like it was some militaristic formal occasion. I like you better in your normal clothes because... I'm used to you in them. I also prefer your hair up to down, because it pulls the hair out of your face and you don't look like you're hiding. It's an honest answer to your question. Anything else?" Roy asked.

He liked Ed in his normal clothes because they showed off Ed's chest and his ass. He liked the black outfit because it was functional and light, not tying Ed down and leaving something for the imagination. He liked Ed's hair pulled back because then Ed couldn't hide from him behind it. He could see Ed's emotions written on his face with no complications. Every twitch or glitch of a feeling was open for him to see and he could gauge how much his words effected Ed... especially the words that mattered, that he had yet to say.

"Roy," Ed spoke up again a few moment later. Roy responded with more attention due to the use of his first name. "Do you... really think of me as you're little brother?"

"Not in the least, Edward," Roy replied.

"Then what do you see me as? What's our relationship? I know Sergeant Hughes is your best friend, and you have plenty of girls to date and plenty of men to command... So what am I to you? What am I in your eyes?" Ed asked, voice soft and almost sad.

There it was. Those eyes were staring right into his and they were gorgeous. They was honest and nearly begging. Roy could see them. He loved those eyes. They were...

"Beautiful," Roy replied.