Author's note: Okay guys! Here it is! Chapter 8! I hope you enjoy it! It took a little longer to post than I originally planned, but I hope you guys didn't mind too much! Chapter 9 is not yet in progress, as I am currently unsure of what it will be about for sure.

Enjoy! And as always, thanks for reading!

Warning: Sexual desires.

"Of course I would run into Mustang!" Ed thought; annoyed with his current situation.

Now he for sure wasn't going to remove the obnoxiously handsome man from his thoughts; even if it was only temporary removal at times. A semi-permanent scowl wore itself on Ed's face as he trudged his way along the grassy path, slightly ahead of Roy and his subordinate. The afternoon sun rise high in the sky, and it brought along a fair amount of heat; enough that it caused Ed to remove his bright red coat. He draped it over his automail shoulder, in an attempt to keep it as cool as possible from the sun's vicious rays. Peering into the bright blue sky, and glancing at the scenery, Ed noted that it was a beautiful day; the kind of day where everyone assumed nothing bad could happen, but they were wrong. Ed knew just how deceiving appearances could be, and he took nothing for granted. In the time spent admiring the lively world around him, Edward felt a sharp pang in his chest; he missed Alphonse. Al should be here with him right now; enjoying this day, because these were the type of days that Al loved and lived for. At times, his brother appreciated nature even more than Ed did himself.

Ed chuckled at the memory of Al taking in that stray cat. At the time, he was still in the armor, and he had tried to keep it a secret from Ed. Al had simply placed the cat inside his hollow body, and had hoped Edward wouldn't notice the random "meows" that occasionally echoed from inside him. But of course Ed had noticed, and regrettably had to tell his little brother that they simply couldn't keep it. Alphonse was distraught, but listened to Ed regardless. Remembering the memory, his joy quickly shifted to sadness; tightening his fists, he once again reminded himself of his promise to himself, and in turn to his younger brother: he would find him and bring him home safely for good.

Hearing his own name, Ed quickly was snapped back to reality.

"Did you not hear me Fullmetal?" Mustang's deep voice asked again.

"I already told you, I'm flipping fine Mustang. Look at me. I'm not hurt or anything. I'm good. I don't see why you don't believe me. So why don't you just leave me alone?" the blonde snapped back in response.

"You know that's not what I meant when I asked if you were fine..." the older man said quietly.

Ed didn't respond to the comment, and relished the silence that ensued.

Not long after Roy's comment, he heard the lieutenant pipe up an start a conversation with Roy, "Sir, do you know how many days we've been gone?"

"Four I believe." Ed heard him answer.

"And do you know what that means for you?"

Ed heard the pause, probably considering all the possible things Hawkeye could be referring to; but it didn't take long for the colonel to finally answer her.

"It means more paperwork for me." he chuckled grimly.

Hearing that, the blonde could only imagine the priceless expression that had made its way onto Mustang's normally morbid face. That thought alone interested Ed enough to put his own two cents into the conversation.

Scoffing before he spoke, he said, "Mustang? Actually doing his paperwork? Don't make me laugh lieutenant!" he sneered jokingly at Roy; craning his neck over his shoulder.

Keeping his eyes locked on Mustang, he waited for the comeback words; hoping they were good, because the man actually appeared to be slightly offended by his comment.

"Say it all you want Fullmetal, but unlike you, I actually complete all of my paperwork." he smirked triumphantly.

"I fill out what's necessary! Like you guys need to be bothered with every single detail of my assignments! I tell you all the important stuff; you're lucky you even get that!"

"Actually Edward, we do need to be informed; especially if you got injured."

Rolling his eyes, Ed answered, and ignored, the suspiciously caring sentence just said, "It's not even a big deal if I know I can manage my injuries alone. Besides, I hate hospitals. They serve you milk." he finished with distaste.

"No one really likes hospitals Edward. Can you promise me something?" he asked him expectantly.

"Promise you something?"

"Promise that if you ever need to, you'll go the hospital. Have Alphonse take you; Havoc, Hughes, Armstrong, Hawkeye; me. Anyone." he requested of Ed almost pleadingly.

"Why do you care about my health all of a sudden Mustang? You getting a little soft flame alchemist?" Ed asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Fullmetal. You know I've always cared. We all care about your health and well-being. Remember that. And if I didn't care, why would Riza and I come all this way trying to find you?" he asked slightly baffled by Ed's disbelief.

Ed went silent. He stared at the ground, knowing that Mustang would be looking at him for some sort of response. But he didn't know how to respond, so he let the question sit in the air like smoke; still noticeable, but ignored.

Thankful for the silence once again, Ed sifted through the flurry of thoughts his mind kept dwelling on; specifically the ones involving Mustang. Now that the colonel was here, the proximity of being this close to him was verging on unbearable. Ed could almost taste his musky scent mixed with a hint if spice. The smell drove Ed's sense wild with desire; and a burning sensation filled the pit of his stomach, telling him what his body craved most.

He fought against the urge to inch closer and simply press his hands against Roy's desirably warm body. He wanted to caress his strong jaw, and lace soft tender kisses across his neck. He wanted to kiss him until they both were breathless with urgent desire. He wanted to hold him close; to press their bodies together tightly as possible. He simply wanted to take Roy to bed. These fantasies continued to consume Ed's entire being as he now walked side by side with the colonel himself. Ed could feel the familiar and uncomfortable heat begin to radiate between his legs as they continued their journey. Face burning, he sped up a little, worried one of them would notice how obviously turned on he was. His body and face were heating up by the second, and Ed's anger only amplified the problem. He hung his head low, and now removed his coat from his shoulder, and tied it around his waist in an attempt to hide the ever noticeable bulge in his pants.

Once again Ed heard the familiar deep and smooth sigh of Mustang's voice; "Okay Fullmetal, seriously, what is up with you? Why don't you just let us in? We're obviously here for you."

"I'm fine," he managed, "I'm obviously just worried about Al Mustang. Or did you already forget that he's missing?" he questioned the older man bitterly.

Hearing a frustrated growl come from behind him, Edward worried that maybe his temper had got the best of him, and maybe he had taken it just a little too far. But then he remembered that Mustang, just like he himself, had the capability of behind a hot head too. Regardless, Ed anticipated the now inevitable lecture about respect and such that he was about to receive.

"Ed, we know you're upset, how could you not be? I promise you we'll find Alphonse. But at the moment, I'm referring to your hunched and distant posture. Are you feeling okay?" he asked Ed with genuine concern in his voice.

Getting tired of putting on an angry front, Ed gave up, slumped his shoulders in defeat, and finally gave in to Mustang's constant questioning; "Fine Mustang. You win. You wanna know how I'm doing? Not good. I'm starving. I'm tired. I'm beyond worried about Al. I'm confused. I'm frustrated. I'm lost. Too many things are going on inside my head right now, and I don't know how to deal with it all at once. Is that what you wanna hear? Are you happy now colonel?" Ed finished somberly.

He waited for Mustang to gloat, to tell him that it wasn't so bad to tell others about how you really felt inside; but it didn't come. Instead, he was stopped by a hand on his left shoulder. Ed turned around to see Hawkeye's brown eyes looking directly into his own. She kept his gaze for a moment, before pulling him towards herself and giving him a quick tight hug.

"What was that for lieutenant? That isn't like you to do something like that..."

"You needed it."

"Thank you..."

She nodded, taking a quick step back, and looked from Ed to Roy. Ed glanced at Roy, trying to figure out what their silent communication could mean. Before he could decipher the meaning, Mustang had placed one strong gloved hand upon Ed's exposed flesh shoulder.

"It's all going to be all right Edward. Well find your brother, and everything will go back to normal. I swear it to you."

"T-thanks..." he replied, eyes downcast to his boots.

It was Roy's turn to nod in response to the blonde's thanks as he removed his hand from Ed's shoulder. Ed bit back the urge to reach out and pull Mustang's hand back; he knew during a moment like that between the three of them, that craving the dark-haired man should be the last thing on his mind, but that touch nearly sent Ed over the edge. His body was already begging Ed to satisfy its desires, and with Mustang so close, and placing his hands on him, it was hard for Ed to keep his mind out of the gutter.

Managing to glance back up at the pair, Ed asked, "so are we gonna keep moving or not? We're wasting daylight. And the sooner we get to Central, the better."

"You're right, let's keep moving. And we should pick up the pace a bit. You both can do that right?" Mustang inquired.

"Of course sir." Hawkeye replied to her commanding officer.

"I'm no kid Mustang, I can keep up with an old man like you!" Ed joked.

"Old huh?" he smirked.

"Yup!" Ed chuckled as he turned around, stretched his arms before placing them comfortably behind his head, and continued to walk down the path in front of them.

Roy looked longingly at Ed's smaller frame. He wanted to reach out and console the younger man, to show him how much he truly meant the words he had said. Saying them wasn't enough; it just wasn't in Roy's mind, even if Edward had believed him.

On top of wanting to comfort the blonde, Roy couldn't stop thinking of Ed in more intimate scenarios. He felt disgusting for even thinking of Edward like that at a time like this, but his body and mind didn't seem to care about his own protesting.

Thoughts of Ed close, warm, and in his arms, flooded Roy's body with hot fiery passion. Warmth between his legs told him this, and try as he might, the dark-haired man couldn't keep his thoughts under control. Knowing that the fight was now useless, he let his thoughts have a little slack, letting them wander just a little further than he initially intentioned.

He pictured looking into Ed's bright golden gaze, and leaning in to kiss his temptingly parted mouth. He wanted to then tell Ed how beautiful he was and kiss him everywhere. Place soft kisses on his neck, face, chest, lips. Anywhere. Everywhere. He wanted to feel the blonde's warm skin beneath his un-gloved fingertips, and feel his weight on top of his own. Roy wanted to know what Ed tasted like; he wanted to know if he could even handle the seemingly untamable being that he knew Ed was.

Cheeks flushing red, Mustang halted his ongoing thought process, scolding himself for letting them get that far. With the man of his interests right a few feet in front of himself, Roy knew it better to stop himself now before his body took control and he ended up simply kissing Ed right here and now. He couldn't let that happen at any moment in time though; considering the younger man probably disliked him anyway, and besides the fact that Hawkeye was also here. He shuddered, knowing that she had probably noticed his odd behavior towards Ed already. And thinking of that, he hoped that Ed hadn't noticed either.

Grimacing, he tried to compose himself for the audience of two that he wasn't sure was even paying attention to him. Regardless, Roy blocked images of a breathless beautiful Ed sprawled across his bed, and continued to walk; looking down at his dusty boots as he went.

The sun still shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sky, and Roy wiped sweat from his brow. The military uniform wasn't exactly the coolest outfit to wear on warm days like this, and he wished that he had brought a cooler outfit. But doing the best with what he was given, Roy removed the heavy jacket and folded it in half; draping it over his left arm. A small breeze blew in the trio's direction, and Roy was thankful for it.

"Lieutenant?" Roy began.

"Sir?"

"So you think we should arrive in Central by nightfall?"

"I believe so. After all, that town has to lead to the city. Am I wrong to assume that?"

"No, I don't think you are. Thank you."

"Of course."

Turning his head and looking back to Ed, who was still ahead of them, he smiled. Happy that they would finally be arriving to Central decently soon, and hoping that Hughes had uncovered more information about the case of Edward's missing brother.