Now the woman who'll kiss on the very first date, is probably a hussy. And the woman who'll kiss on the second time out is anything but fussy. But a woman who'll kiss on the third time around, head in the clouds, feet on the ground. She's the one he's glad he's found. He's his shipoopi. (For clarification, I was a drama kid in high school who preformed this song in a dress with a giant sun hat on long before Seth Macfarlane ruined it with Family Guy.) Also chapter 10 is written but uh...yeah I wrote it last night while drunk so I'm fixing it first. Damn my alcohol addled brain. hopefully it will be up in a few days.

Chapter 9

Ed wanted to melt into the floor and transmute into a plant. She didn't know why but the idea of the carbon in her body metamorphosing into a nice bush sounded like a fabulous idea. Bushes were inconspicuous and ignored and did not go on dates with their ex-commanding officer.

All day she had been freaking out, pacing around the apartment, and tearing into her wardrobe. She looked down at her outfit. She had on a nice pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a red jacket. Ed had horrifyingly considered the blue summer dress for a nanosecond before jamming on her boots and throwing her hair into a pony tail. This might be a date but she had standards damn it! Maybe she should reconsider calling Gracia? Her fingers had been itching every time she'd seen the phone, but she had resolutely decided she did not want any intervention. If she was going to do this, she needed to be herself and not some dolled up version. Maybe then they would both snap to their senses and end this affair before they regretted it.

Ed took another deep breath and fiddled with the locket Al and Winry had given her. She'd fallen to stroking it with her forefinger whenever she was anxious or preoccupied. It was soothing, like a balm on her flaring cheeks. She tapped her foot and checked her watch again. Two minutes to go. She could do this. It was just dinner right. Not a big deal. She could do this. Right?

She jumped as a knock came from the front door, and she hastily moved to open it. Roy smiled down at her. He was wearing a white button up and dark green vest with black slacks. "You look like a waiter," Ed said, spitting out the first thing she thought.

"And you look like a boy," Roy retorted as he stepped in. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Ed said as she snagged her purse. As much as she hated to admit it, Riza and Gracia had been right about the whole pockets thing. Women needed to carry a lot more things to function and women's pants just didn't have the space.

"Oh these are nice," Roy complimented the neat line of vases along one of the shelves. "You make thses?"

"Yeah. I went out and got some sand from the backyard and have been puttering." Alchemy had been the only thing keeping her sane through the day. "Did you know there's trace amounts of cobalt in the soil around here. It kept giving the glass a blue tint, not that I minded the color, but it took a while to figure out what was going on before I could filter it and do some plain glass vases. And then I got researching other minerals I could add to give color and it turns out rust can make it green," she told him.

"You did a good job," Roy said. "It seems like you're having fun with it." He followed Ed out the door and she locked up behind them.

"Yeah and I was like rust huh?" Ed continued. "I thought I could just get some iron and oxidize it myself because no one really sells rust, but then I was thinking that maybe I could get it for free and…" Ed continued on as they walked down the street, telling Roy about the chemical compositions she had been playing with. It was nice to chat without having to explain everything, and Ed was already losing herself as her and Roy theorized different transmutation circles that could pressurize a lump of carbon into a diamond efficiently.

Roy led them expertly to the little restaurant he'd chosen for the evening. It was a casual pasta joint knowing Ed would have felt flustered to go anywhere fancier. "What do you think?" Roy asked as they sat down and checked out the menu.

"Nice…are you paying?" Ed wondered. "I brought money but…"

"Ed I asked you on a date. Yes I am paying," Roy confirmed.

Ed mentally jumped as the word 'date' came up. She had been so caught up in the alchemy talk she'd forgotten to be nervous and now all the previous worries were rising to the surface. She tried to smirk and joke, "You're going to regret that," before hiding behind her menu as she calmed down again.

Roy noticed the sudden shift in her mood. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just picking the most expensive thing for you to buy me," Ed said and peeked over her menu. The waiter came by and they gave their drink orders quickly, a white wine for Roy and a chocolate shake for Ed.

Roy folded his menu on the table and reached over to pull Ed's down enough so he could look at her. "The most expensive thing is the steak on campanelle pasta. So would you put the menu down and look at me?"

Ed sighed and folded the menu as well. She'd already picked out what she wanted anyway. "Sorry," she said truly meaning it. "I guess I'm just…"

"Nervous?" Roy guessed. "Me too." He let out a breath he'd been holding as the waiter returned with their drinks and took their orders. Once he was gone Roy reached around his wine glass to take Ed's hand in his. He began rubbing his thumb into the center of her palm again, all his focus on the feel of skin against skin. Ed was watching fascinated as if she wasn't quite sure it was really happening. It felt electric, like the nerves in her palms were dancing to his touch. She glanced up and found him staring at her and her breath caught. His gaze was dark and piercing, and her lower stomach heated and twisted in a not so uncomfortable way. Ed forced her gaze back down to look at her hand. It was almost like he was rubbing little transmutation circles round and round her skin, using his fire to burn her from the inside out.

"That's my right arm," Ed said after a moment pulling her arm away. Roy looked up to see the expression on her face as unreadable. "A year ago it wouldn't have even been there for you to hold. You wouldn't want to hold my hand either."

"You never know," he answered, his gaze holding hers until she looked away and blushed. He withdrew his hand as their plates were set before them.

The rest of the dinner was quiet as they worked their way through their meals. After paying, they left and Ed looked at Roy expectantly. "So are we going home?" she asked.

"Not yet," Roy answered and started down the block in the direction of downtown. Ed jogged to catch up to him and after some hesitation reached down and took his hand. Roy didn't grasp back at first, too shocked by Ed's boldness, until he finally squeezed back. He led them down to the theatre. It was a newer building with a popcorn stand out front and a small line to get in.

"A picture?" Ed questioned as she looked up at the sign.

"Yeah…well they call them movies in the city. This one's in color," Roy explained. "I thought it would be interesting. You haven't been to a movie before right?"

"No. We don't have them in Risembol and it always seemed like a waste of money," Ed said as they entered the theatre and sat down. She jumped when the music started blaring.

"That's loud," she complained as the music swelled down and the credits flitted across the screen. Roy glanced at her as she shifted forward and rested her arms on the seat in front of her. Her back curved at this angle and Roy followed the line of her spine down to her…

"Woah!" Ed ducked automatically as the woman ran at the camera and disappeared off screen. "That was cool," she said out loud starting to get engrossed in the picture. The monster came tearing after the woman a moment later. She snorted. "Oh please. I've seen homunculus more terrifying than that."

"Shh!" Roy commanded and settled back to watch the story unfold. It was a horror but Ed didn't seem the least bit scared. In fact, she kept laughing as people were dragged off to be eaten. "Moron," she'd mutter before rolling her eyes at Roy. The story concluded with the two survivors kissing, the monster dead at their feet.

The lights lifted and Roy stretched. "So…good?" he asked as the other movie goers began filing out.

"Meh. I mean I think the whole moving picture thing is cool. I'm curious to see one of the machines. I wonder if they use alchemy at all in the process?" she wondered. "But the story was kind of silly. The idea of chemical warfare polluting a swamp and mutating into a monster is ridiculous. It would take thousands of years under the right conditions for any species to change so dramatically in nature."

"So…good?" Roy reiterated.

"Yeah it was fun," Ed admitted. "Maybe I'll take Al when he comes to town. He'll be terrified." She stood up and Roy followed her out of the theatre.

It had gotten quite late and Roy walked Ed back to her apartment. "Thank you," she said once they'd reached the door. "This was nice."

"You're welcome," Roy told her. "Could we do it again sometime?"

"Yeah," Ed said. "Maybe this time I can take you out? After all it wouldn't be equivalent exchange if you were the only one paying and taking me places."

"Does it have to be equivalent exchange?" Roy asked. "Can't I just take you out because I want to?"

"Yeah. And can't I just take you out because I want to?" Ed returned as she disconnected from him. She unlocked her door and stood awkwardly. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow at 5?" she asked.

"I'd rather not have you walk to my house," Roy said, leaning against the door jab. Ed felt him looming over her but it wasn't intimidating. It was intriguing.

"Then I'll take a taxi."

"Well…" Roy tried to protest but Ed gave him a determined look.

I'll take a taxi," she repeated forcefully. "See you then." Ed bid good night and slipped inside. Her impetuousness caused him to smirk as he too heading home.

He splashed himself with water and ran the droplets through his hair. Roy checked his outfit again. He'd gone more casual after Ed's biting 'waiter' comment yesterday. He was wearing some fitting brown pants and a navy blue button up. Last night's date had been different. He'd never had a woman wear pants on a first date before nor laugh and mock an entire horror show. He'd been secretly hoping Ed would cuddle into him in terror. He'd also never had a woman offer to take him out. But then again this wasn't an ordinary woman he was courting…were they courting? Did two dates count as courting? He liked the idea. He hadn't seriously dated anybody since before he'd joined the military. But he wasn't sure if Ed felt the same way or if this was all just a social experiment to see if she could date a man. He remembered the feel of her skin as he'd held her hand the night before, and hoped she felt something.

The doorbell rang and he splashed himself in the face once more to clear his head before drying off. His apartment was a modest three rooms: a bathroom, a large bedroom, and a kitchen slash living room that was separated by a counter top peninsula that served as the kitchen table. It was sparsely decorated with the bare necessities, although he did have a few paintings on the wall of villas and wine bottles artfully drawn against a platter of grapes. He'd received those as a gift from Hawkeye whose first comment when he moved in was that it looked homely.

He checked his outfit once more before taking a deep breath and opening the door. Ed was facing away from him in her skin tight leather pants which of course drew his eyes straight down to her ass. She looked over her shoulder at him and he immediately forced his eyes upwards. "Took you long enough," Ed said. "The taxi's waiting."

"Hello to you too," Roy greeted. "So what are we doing tonight?" he asked as he locked up.

"You'll see," Ed said and led the way to the taxi. Roy climbed in and was instantly aware of how small the backseat was. He was pressed up against Ed and she blushed and looked out the window. "Sorry. It was the only cab I could get," she apologized. Roy twisted his arm to put it around Ed's shoulders. "I hope you don't mind. We're kind of cramped back here." Ed sighed and leaned in. "It can't be helped," she agreed noting at how neatly her head seemed to fit under his chin in this position. She could feel every hard plane of muscle beneath his shirt and tried desperately to ignore the way her body craved for more.

"Can I get a hint as to where we're going?" he asked.

"Tachi recommended it," Ed said. She had talked to her earlier on the phone. The xingian woman was the only one Ed felt confident in contacting for advice since she saw Ed as just another woman.

They finally arrived at an old warehouse and Ed climbed out and led the way to a dented wooden door lit by a rusted industrial light. Now Roy was really curious as to where they were going.

"Is this a club?" he asked and Ed rolled her eyes. She opened the door to reveal several long tables covered in food and cutting boards. A few other couples were milling around including…

"You made it!" Tachi said and came over and gave Ed a hug. "I worried you get lost." Havoc was trying to tie an apron around himself but was getting hopelessly entangled.

"Colonel!?" he wondered aloud at seeing Roy. "I wondered who Edna was coming with. Tachi wouldn't tell me."

"What is all this?" Roy asked coming over to look down at the stations. There were steaks, spices, broccoli, onions, and several other items sitting around on dishes.

"It's a couples cooking class," Havoc explained. "You make the food and then you get to eat it."

"Yeah. I don't know how to cook, so I figured this would be good practice," Ed explained. She frowned at the frilly pink apron that was left out for the women before grabbing the plain grey one and slipping it on. "Here this is for you," Ed said and put the pink one over Roy's head. He looked down in dismay and tried to take it off. "I'm not wearing that," he established right as a flamboyant, short little man flounced over to them.

"Ah are you Roy?" the teacher said coming over to them. "Oh sir allow me to help you." He quickly tied the apron around Roy's back and pushed him and Havoc in front of one of the tables. "There you two make a lovely couple." The colonel and his second lieutenant looked at each other in horror.

Tachi and Ed started giggling. "Oh…they look so cute," Ed teased. "C'mon Roy. It's not like you haven't been attracted to a man before." She winked at him.

"You have!?" Havoc asked in shock.

"No I have not," Roy said and took Ed by the hand and steered her over to another table. Once they were out of hearing range of Havoc and Tachi, he turned to Ed and asked, "A cooking class?"

"Yes. It's cheap because you only pay for the raw ingredients and the lesson, you get a good meal, and you learn something." She patted Roy on the shoulder. "It'll be fun," she said with confidence before picking one of the knives and checking the recipe paper in front of them. The teacher bounced over to their table and got Ed started cutting onions and Roy pounding out the steaks and rubbing them down with herbs. Roy glanced over at Ed as she started to tear up and her golden eyes got glassy.

"You okay?" he asked, grabbing a napkin and reaching over to wipe off her cheeks. Ed blushed and blinked at him. "Yeah…I'll be okay," she said and turned the full blast of her watery eyes on him. Roy staggered as his heart jolted from a direct hit. God she looked so cute.

Ed took the napkin from him and finished wiping off the tears. "Well at least we know the onions are fresh." She smiled at him. "That apron really does look good on you."

"Thanks," Roy said sarcastically before going back to pounding out the meat and his sexual frustration.

Once they had the veggies cut and the meat prepped they brought their food over to the large grill where the teacher was advising people. Roy watched Tachi feed a piece of cooked pepper to Havoc and glanced at Ed. Should he try it? He picked up a small piece of steak and held it out for her. "Want to try some?" Ed blinked at him before blushing and leaning in to take the proffered meat. She gave the tips of his fingers a little suck and licked her lips and Roy felt something carnal stir below his abdomen. "It's good," she said, completely unaware of how sinful she'd just acted. Roy was staring at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong?"

He cleared his throat. "Nothing."

Tachi came bustling at that moment and said something to Ed in xingian before pulling her aside. As the two women moved away, Havoc walked over to stand next to him. "So two dates huh?" he asked. "I thought you were more of a one night only man colonel, no offense."

"Three," Roy corrected. "I went out with her yesterday too."

Havoc let out a whistle before using the grill to light up a cigarette and take a long drag. "Damn. You're serious then?" Roy nodded and they both looked over to where the two women talked. They stood the same height, but against each other they looked like ying and yang; Tachi a dark haired exotic beauty and Ed a brilliant ray of golden sun shine. "Well you know what they say about the third date right? It's either the last or the one that starts everything," Havoc said.

Ed glanced back at Roy and Havoc.

"So have you done anything yet?" Tachi probed. "Like have you spent time at his house?"

"No. My god it's only the third time we've gone out," Ed protested.

"Well you know men expect something on the third time," Tachi insisted. "Tug them along too much and they decide you aren't interested."

"What do you mean?" Ed asked wearily. She picked up one of the unused peppers and started passing it from one hand to the other.

"Like kissing and sex," Tachi said dismissively and Ed dropped the pepper. It bounced along the ground and like a bad twist of fate landed right in front of Roy's shoe. He picked it up and went over to hand it back to her. Ed stared at the pepper and then up at Roy, lingering an unnecessary long time on his lips. Kiss…ROY!?

"Ed you dropped this," he said after a moment of her gaping at him like a deer in the headlights. She managed to grunt unintelligibly as she took it back and set it on the table. "The foods almost ready," Roy informed them, gesturing to the grill. Tachi smiled and sashayed over to Havoc where she gave him a little peck on the cheek. She winked at Ed before dragging her date back to their part of the grill to start plating the food.

"You two have a good talk?" he asked. Ed nodded and picked up the plate automatically to get her steak and vegetables off the grill.

Now that it had been said, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Roy had almost done it back at the ball. She'd remembered the panic that had gripped her but it hadn't been disgust. It was more fear of doubts and inexperience. The actually idea of kissing Roy Mustang was not as unappealing when she actually played out the scenario in her head. Could she do it? Should she do it? What if he took it as a sign to advance? She was fine with a kiss but anything else was completely out of the question. Wait…did she just think kissing was fine?

"Ed." Roy waved a hand in front of her face and she snapped out of her reverie. "Are you okay? You haven't touched your food."

"Uh…yeah I'm fine." Ed cut into her meal and paused a moment as her eyes lit up from the taste. "Woah this is delicious," she said. "I'm totally trying that recipe at home."

"It's the first food you cooked for me," Roy half-joked. "Although I don't think it would have come out this good without my help. This was fun. Different from what I'm used to."

They both smiled at each other before continuing their meal. After they had handed in their aprons and bid farewell to Tachi and Havoc, they picked up a (thankfully larger) taxi for the ride home. They stopped outside of Ed's apartment but instead of getting out Ed lingered for a moment.

"What is it?" Roy asked as Ed reached out and took his hand.

"You um…you wanna come up for a minute?" she inquired timidly.

Roy tried to search her face some reason behind this sudden request but she had it facing away from him, her chin bowed down and her bangs hiding her blush. Havoc's words played over in his head. "Well you know what they say about the third date right? It's either the last or the one that starts everything."

"Okay."