You can thank this chapter to wine and the song "I Believe" from Basic Vacation. Seriously though, I wrote most of this while slightly drunk, but i edited it while sober so I hope that helped.

Chapter 10

Roy focused on Ed's hand as she paid the cabbie, pulled him from the car, and opened the front door. It was so small compared to his hand but it wasn't soft or fleshy like other girls. It was hard and calloused and strong. It had moved mountains, saved lives, and done the impossible. It was Ed's hand. And it was shaking against his palm.

She locked up behind them and led the way upstairs, the whole time never letting go. Not even when she toed off her boots and flicked on the light did her grip lessen.

"Ed." Roy turned her to look at him. "We don't have to do this."

"I want to," Ed said stubbornly.

"You're nervous and I can tell." He pulled from her grasp and settled his hands on her shoulders. She stiffened but didn't pull away, her head still resolutely trained on the ground. "Can you at least look at me?"

Ed met his eyes. "I just want…I want to…" But every time she tried to voice it her breath caught and her throat squeezed up. How the hell was she supposed to do this when he was looking at her like that, serious and handsome and trusting and everything. Roy wove an arm around her back and tilted her chin up. "What is it you want Edward," he asked so softly that she wouldn't have been able to hear him except he was so impossibly close. He could see it in her eyes and feel it in her heart beating wildly against his own as their chests pressed together. But Roy needed her to say it. He needed her to admit it to herself.

"I want to kiss you," she finally whispered back and he moved forward and did just that.

Ed let out a little gasp as their lips touched and she leaned into him. It was electric and her brain short circuited as everything became Roy: his lips, his hair, his body against hers, his hands tracing a path down her back. Her eyes fluttered shut as time stopped and the whole world shrank down to just them. He pressed forward a little more, unable to contain himself as the floodgates were finally opened, and Ed felt his tongue glide against her lips. She opened her mouth without thinking and let out a groan as the kiss deepened.

Roy let out a deeper moan in response as the woman against him writhed against his every touch. She was perfect. His hand traveled up to the base of her neck and yanked out the offending hair band so he could run his fingers up into the sheets of gold that spilled down. She was like fire and Roy was burning up and basking in her brilliance as he worshiped her. Her body fit against his like a puzzle piece and he felt some primal part of his masculinity wanting to mark it. Claim it. She was his. He was addicted and he was never letting her go.

He finally left her mouth to trail kisses down her throat and he felt her shiver against him.

"Roy," she panted. Wait her addled brain said. It was too much too soon. "Roy." She licked her swollen lips and managed to gasp out. "Stop."

Roy seemed to return to himself with that word. He had been half way down to her chest when he pulled back, surprised he'd taken it so far so quickly. "I'm sorry," he said straightening up.

"It's okay. Just...," Ed said, trying to catch her breath. "Holy crap."

Roy let out a laugh and Ed decided she really liked the sound. "You can say that again."

"I just need to take this slow."

"You don't have to explain a thing," Roy told her. "I can go home if you need me too."

"I invited you in. I don't want to kick you out," Ed protested. "I can sleep on the couch or something."

"Could we share the bed?" Roy wondered, seeing if he could push the envelope just slightly. "I promise I won't do anything."

Well she was already this far down the rabbit hole. "Yeah." She stepped back from him, instantly feeling the loss of his body heat. "I just need to go use the bathroom." She moved like a robot and the moment the door shut behind her she fell against it and covered her face with her hands.

That had been... she hadn't a word to describe it. She knew what it was like to feel aroused, to feel needy, but this was totally different. As a man, arousal had been a somewhat unwanted development of puberty. The only time he had been even slightly okay with it was when it had involved Winry. But that had been innocent. A few heated glances and some hugs that had them holding on far longer. He remembered what it was like to have a woman against him. He remembered the want to be protective and careful. They had been playing a tentative game then because of all the 'what ifs' he had been going through.

But with Roy it was totally different. A whole host of new wants had risen to the surface. She wanted…dear god she wanted him to touch her there. A desire had risen to be taken versus previous desires to take. She wasn't hard but she was wet and her stomach burned with need.

"Not yet," she said out loud. She needed time to cope first. Her body might be ready, but her mind certainly was not.

She stood up slowly and went to the mirror to look at herself. Her hair was disheveled and falling around her shoulders, even slipping into her cleavage which was almost popping out her shirt. Her lips were puffy and pink and her eyes slightly glazed over. She didn't have to be a genius to know she looked rather alluring in her current state. If they were going to keep things relatively chase, she had to straighten up.

After fixing her appearance to something less seductive, Ed exited the bathroom to find Roy sitting on the couch. He had turned on her radio and was watching the traffic on the street below. Did he feel the same protective need she remembered feeling. She felt protective of him but it was different. Her whole world had been turned upside down only six months ago and now here was Roy Mustang turning it upside down yet again.

He noticed her staring and turned to look at her. "What's up?"

"Just reminding myself that you're still a Colonel Bastard," Ed said as she came over and sat down next to him.

Roy smirked. "Well I'm glad that hasn't changed," he said. "I'd be worried otherwise." He scooted over so he could put his arm over her shoulder. "Ya know that's really not an insult to me. I am one."

"You're what?" Ed asked confused.

"I'm a bastard. My mother wasn't married when she got pregnant," Roy explained. "In fact I'm the reason my parents got married, but they both passed away when I was three. I was raised by my aunt here in central. I'll take you to meet her sometime."

Ed was surprised by Roy's explanation. "Why'd you tell me?" she asked.

"Well I thinking, Ed, that I know a whole lot about you. But you don't know anything about me." He reached over and turned her cheek to look at him fully. "And…" he gave her a chase kiss. Then another. And one more for good measure. "If we're going to be doing this, I want to be able to do things like take you to meet Aunt Chris. Also I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that anymore."

"You'll be Colonel Bastard until the day you die," Ed said and stuck her tongue out at him.

"And you'll be a shrimp," Roy retorted, smiling even wider when Ed started her usual 'I'm not tiny' rant. He kissed her again to shut her up which resulted in him getting a half-hearted punch on the shoulder.

"Fine. Anything else I should know?" Ed asked when he released her.

"Let's see. I'm a Gemini, my favorite color is yellow, and I would like this night to continue into many more. You?"

"I think zodiac signs are a load of shit, my favorite color is red, and I also don't mind continuing this although I am by no means your girlfriend," Ed returned.

"And why can't you be my girlfriend?" Roy asked and proceeded to kiss her again. Now that the initial heat had subsided to embers, he took his time tracing the contours of Ed's lips and tongue with his own. He savored every little movement and sound she made for him. They were like that for a long time, just lazily kissing each other on the couch, not able or wanting to stop until the clock on the wall finally chimed that it was almost ten.

Roy finally backed off from where he had crept over Ed, almost pushing her down to lay on the couch as he kissed her. "We should go to bed," he said. Ed nodded, allowing him to pull her to the bedroom. They put their backs to each other and stripped in silence both trying to calm down some from the eventful evening. Ed slipped under the covers in just a tank top and underwear. She heard the light click off and a moment later she felt his body next to her. He pulled her back to cradle against him and she could tell he had taken off his shirt although the darkness hid the rest. His arms wrapped around her and Ed felt herself nestling back. It was exhilarating but at the same time it was nice just to be held.

"We're not doing anything," Ed reaffirmed feeling as though sleep was the farthest thing from her mind.

"I know," Roy said and kissed her neck. "I'm okay with this."

"Good night then."

"Good night."

The morning light filtered in and cast a dim glow on the covers. Roy groaned and turned his face away from the light. What time was it? What day was it? He was usually expected in the office at nine at the latest. He blinked and for a moment didn't recognize his surroundings. Where was he?

He lifted up his head and looking around the room the memories came back. Oh that was right. He'd slept over at Ed's house last night. It was a Sunday so no major rush to go anywhere which was probably why Ed hadn't shaken him awake earlier. Speaking of which, her pillow was empty. He pressed his face into it and just breathed for a moment. It smelled nice, sort of spicy with a tinge of something artificially sweet that had to be her shampoo.

He got up and padded barefoot out of the room to the tiny kitchen. The table was covered in notes and books and he saw the array he had sent to her. She'd drawn it bigger and labeled the various parts with lines in different colors. Ed had his back to him and he smirked at her outfit. She had on a pair of blue boxers that hung almost to her knees and a tank top that rode up just slightly to show a small seam of skin. He came over to hug her from behind, wrapping his arms around her stomach and pressing his head into her shoulder to breath in some more of her unique scent. He felt her freeze at his touch before she continued slapping generous amounts of butter and jam on her toast. Hmm…he could definitely get used to this.

"Morning," she greeted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright," he answered. He gave her a little kiss where her neck and shoulder joined which caused her to arch her head slightly. "I like your underwear," he whispered into her ear teasingly and felt her whole body grow warm as she flushed. She shrugged him off.

"They're comfortable," Ed said defensively. She turned to face him and found her way blocked as he put both arms on either side of her, bracing himself against the counter top. "I tried wearing panties for a little while, but I wasn't overtly fond. Is it weird?"

"No," Roy said and gave her a kiss. "It's cute."

Ed blushed harder and shoved him off. "Your breath stinks. Go brush your teeth." Roy chuckled as she grabbed the toast and brought it back over to the table where she had been working. After finding a shirtless, snoozing Mustang in her bed early this morning, Ed had fled to the kitchen and delved into the array. He was still shirtless, and despite her best efforts, she found her gaze constantly traveling south for an eye-full of taunt masculine muscle.

Roy sat down across from her and picked up some of her notes. His playful demeanor changed as he started to read it. "Ed are you sure about this?" he asked.

Ed took a bite of toast. "Positive." She pointed out the symbols on her enlarged array. The signs used for spirit and energy. "Roy the way this is drawn can only point to human transmutation. But it's worse than that. This isn't about trying to bring someone back from the dead or transform them. This is trying to create a brand new person. It's mapped out what I think is a formula for cell creation. But it's impossible to create something from nothing. Matter can only be changed…"

"…not created," Roy finished for her. It was only the oldest law of science. It was what made equivalent exchange fundamental. "What the hell are they trying to do in those labs?"

"I don't know but Roy if they were to activate something like this people could die. Every time human transmutation occurs we're talking huge costs for the alchemists involved. All the energy they're producing with this array…" She tapped the paper in front of her. "Without matter or some source of exit, it would act just like a bomb going off."

"How big do you think?" Roy asked seriously as he studied the array.

"With enough people feeding it, it could easily level a city," Ed explained.

Roy sat back in his seat and wiped his hand over his brow as he shook his head. "First they dissolve the state alchemists and now this." His mouth thinned in anger. "All the Fuhrer has spoken about is trying to keep another conflict from arising. Well this is it." He slapped his hand down on the table. "Create a weapon so detrimental, that to try and fight against it would be instantaneous genocide."

"But why have human transmutation mixed in? If the array is just a bomb they could have used a whole host of methods."

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." He stood up and went to get his shirt from the bedroom. "I need to go home and make some calls. Ed do you have a pan?"

Ed rummaged around her cupboards and pulled out a small cast iron skillet just as Roy returned, dressed and running Ed's brush through his hair. He started to pile all the notes and arrays into the skillet and, realizing what he was doing, Ed ripped several pages out of her notebook and added it to the pile. When all the incriminating papers had been piled on Roy pulled out his gloves from his pocket.

"I thought you couldn't have those anymore?" Ed said as Roy slipped on the familiar material.

"Like I'd let them take these. I'm the Flame Alchemist." He snapped and they watched the pile of papers ignite. "And with the way things are going we may need Fullmetal back too."

(Hides from all the people screaming at the author because they didn't have sex...they will...later...promise)