This starts out as a flashback. I didn't want anyone getting confused.
"Well, we'll just have to wait for his return. He's sent word. He's on his way." Roy said carelessly. He lounged in his chair overlooking the grounds of Central Base.
"Sir." Riza barked as she looked out with him.
"Yes?" Roy didn't take his eyes off the window as he sipped a flask of whiskey.
"If I may. Your manner would suggest that you are becoming attached." Riza looked to her superior. She knew what was going on. She had seen the drunken episodes, the rants, the endless time wasted staring at his letters.
"You're too bold, Officer." Roy turned towards his desk as he motioned for Riza to sit on one of his couches.
"Am I? Once feared and now taunted. Is that the way a commanding officer should display himself?" She sighed and sat down, placing one knee over the other.
"I assure you, Hawkeye, my duty and loyalty lies with the mission. I am merely playing my best pawn. If he doesn't feel properly entertained, he'll go rogue and I'll be back at square one." His calm demeanor did nothing for her suspicions. She wasn't one to be toyed with. His facade was impeccable, but when you were with someone for years, you knew when they were lying.
"General Mustang, I hardly doubt he'd go rogue after all this time... I knew it." She stated as she mockingly smirked at him. His cheeks flushed as he cleared his throat.
"What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying. I'm certain that you… love him." Riza took hold of a glass of wine and lifted it to her awaiting lips.
"Preposterous. You've lost your mind." He rolled his eyes and looked to his stack of signed documents.
"Have I? Roy… you've lost yours. You could get discharged if anyone found out..." She trailed off as she took a sip of her spirits.
"I don't have a relationship with that… that child! And the fact that you come to me with accusations of such bullshit... Do you hear yourself?" Roy asked as he finished off his drink and slammed it down on his desk.
"He is not a child any longer, Mustang. He has been through war and survived. FullMetal's time is almost up. In just a few short weeks, he'll be a free man. What are you 'playing' at this point? He's going to get away from Amestris as fast he can." Riza looked away sadly. She felt the sting of rejection many times from the man sitting right in front of her. He didn't love her. She had moved on long ago, but she still wanted to see him happy.
"I know he will. But Riza… he's not interested." Roy sighed and propped his head on his fist.
"How do you know if you've never asked?" She stated standing. She had never taken Roy Mustang for a coward.
"How do you know that birds love flying?" Roy escalated his voice to match her tone.
"He's not a bird!" She growled back. The two of them startled back to reality as they heard a small knock on the door. They both straightened themselves and Riza sat back down.
"Come in." The General said powerfully.
"If this is a bad time, I can come back later." Edward appeared in the door. His coat slung over his shoulder as he inquired on their argument.
"No, no. It's fine. Come in." Roy fidgeted in his seat, rearranging some books on his desk.
"I was just leaving. It's good to see you again, FullMetal." Riza smiled to him as she turned back to Roy.
"Good to see you, too." Ed perched himself across from her and slung his arms above his head.
"General. I'll be at my post." Riza wandered away, closing the door behind her.
"What was that all about?" Edward asked looking confused. He had never heard Riza and Roy argue so passionately.
"Nothing. On with your report. I hope you've actually put some effort into it this time." Roy stated looking down to his young comrade.
"Yeah, yeah. It's all there." Edward let down his hair and began to rebraid it.
"What are you doing?" Roy asked as he eyed the young man.
"What? Me?" Edward looked behind him and then back to Roy confused. He played with the ends of his hair.
"Yes, you. Are you braiding your hair?" Roy asked sheepishly. He suddenly smelt the alcohol on his own breath.
"Are you drunk?" Edward asked cautiously.
"No… uh FullMetal… Why don't you just return to your quarters? I'll meet with you tomorrow. You've been traveling a lot today." Roy was trying his damndest to get Edward away before he slipped up and spilled his guts. He wanted to tell Edward everything. He had such little time before Edward's contract was over and he felt the minutes ticking away. But right now wasn't the time.
"Whatever. See you tomorrow, Mustang." Edward leapt from his seat, eager to leave.
"Wait." Roy said a little too excitedly. Edward turned back to him from the door.
"... Your jacket." Roy pushed his feelings down and pointed towards the leather coat hanging off his couch.
"Oh, thanks." Edward grabbed it and looked at it for a moment, but whatever he was thinking he decided against as he slowly closed the door behind him.
Roy sighed and loosened his tie. He easily could have given himself away. What was he thinking….? His inner dialogue berated him as he thought of the scenario that had just unfolded in front of him.
Edward kicked off his boots as he entered his, oh so familiar, Amestrian apartment. He had spent many, many nights here debating equations and discussing politics with Alphonse. He flipped on the lights and threw himself onto the bed.
"Finally, some peace and quiet." He reached for a stack of books at his side. With all the commotion of the war, defeating Father, and seeing Al off to their hometown, he hadn't had much time to just relax.
He dove into the literature, losing himself in a romance novel he had put off for far too long. There were sword fights and damsels in distress. There were good guys vanquishing evil in the name of love. He came to the end as main character and his love interest kissed for the very first time.
Edward realised it had been hours after he had gotten home and much to his displeasure his stomach was growling. He went to the kitchen and checked the fridge. There wasn't much to speak of. He had been away for a long time. He sighed and stepped away from the kitchen. He was about to shower himself when he heard a knock on the door.
"Who in the world?" Edward strode to the door a little irritated. Of course, someone would come to disturb him the one night he had free.
"Hello?" He spoke softly as he opened his entryway to Roy.
"Uh… Hello. I just wanted to bring you this." Roy said a little flustered as he held out a few packages to Edward. His face was hot and his throat burned. He had a lot of liquid courage coursing through him. If he hadn't, he would have never went through with this.
"Mustang? What are you doing?" Edward asked as he let his superior in. He closed the door behind him and followed Roy to his small living room. He could smell the alcohol as he trailed behind him.
"I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Roy said as he made himself at home on Edward's couch.
"My birthday? How did you…?" It dawned on Edward that it was, in fact, his brithday.
"Yeah. I brought you cake and wine and a gift." Roy said as he put all the packages on the coffee table in front of him. Edward smiled at the gifts.
"Why?" Edward looked around. For a moment he was convinced that it was all a prank.
"I just thought you would like someone to celebrate with." Roy said sheepishly as he took off his coat.
"Ok." Edward settled down on the floor and open the first package. It was a small cake with 'Happy Birthday' written across the top. He looked up to Roy puzzled.
"Thank you." Edward spoke softly as he open the next one. A bottle of red wine. And the last one he opened was a solid gold wrist watch. He took it out and held it carefully.
"Do you like it? I hope it fits." Roy said thinking back to when he bought it. He had hoped that it wouldn't fall off Edward's small wrist. He had to have some of the links removed.
"I do, but you shouldn't have. This looks really expensive." Edward examined the watch carefully. He wanted to reject the gift, but the look on Roy's face as he pushed it in Roy's direction made him change his mind. He sighed and smiled.
"Help me put it on, please." Edward didn't want to disappoint him after he had went to so much trouble. Roy gently took his hand and placed the watch on his wrist, clasping it.
"Happy Birthday, Edward." Roy laughed as he popped open the bottle of wine. Edward looked down to his watch and smiled. It had been a very long time since he had celebrated his birthday. The last time he had truly celebrated was when his mother was still alive.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Edward said taking a glass and clinking it to Roy's.
"I wanted to do something special for you. You have truly proven yourself over all these years. I don't know where we would have been without you." Roy said, carefully lifting his glass to his lips.
"How old am I?" Edward asked feeling silly. He honestly couldn't remember. So much time was devoted to his cause that he had lost count.
"I believe you're nineteen." Roy tried to do the math in his head, but it was becoming muddled among other thoughts. He was thinking of the way Edward laughed, his smile, his personality.
"Nineteen. Wow. I missed all of those birthdays." Edward sighed looking down. He realized that they had skipped over Alphonse's birthdays as well. They truly had their childhood stolen from them.
"Well, it doesn't have to be that way ever again." Roy didn't really know what he was saying at this point. He was coming in and out of his own mental conversation, as well as keeping up with Edward's.
"Are you excited about your contract coming up?" Roy asked pleasantly. He scooted over as Edward sat down beside him.
"Yeah, I hadn't thought about it much. I can't wait to go see Al and my aunt back in Resembool." Edward said as he crossed his legs and turned towards Roy.
"That's good." Roy bit down the ebbing feeling of loneliness. He didn't want to see Edward go.
"I know. All my old friends are probably married and have kids by now. So much has happened while we were away. I'll be glad to get back and catch up with everyone." Edward thought back to his childhood. Nostalgic memories flooded his mind. He realised Roy had gone silent.
Roy was dozing off. Edward gently leant over him taking the glass from his hands and sat it down on the table. He didn't want to be rude and ask Roy to leave, so put away the cake and wine in the fridge and settled back down on the couch to read. It wasn't long after that he fell asleep himself. The book, once splayed across his lap, gently fell to the floor.
Roy woke, not entirely sure of where he was. He looked around and yawned about to stretch when he felt someone next to him. He looked down to see Edward under his arm, leaning on his side. For a moment his heart stopped. Edward Elric was cuddled up to him, Roy Mustang.
He didn't know what to do so he just sat there silently. He leant his head back and prayed he could go back to sleep before Edward woke up. Just a little longer, he thought to himself. He would never get this chance again. Still buzzed, it wasn't too hard for him to fall back to his dreams.
Edward nuzzled into the fabric. It smelt so good and he was so warm. Half asleep, and unknowingly, he put his arm over Roy's lap, scooting closer. He didn't remember the last time he felt this. Reality started closing in on him as he heard a soft thumping noise. He realised it was a heartbeat. He opened his eyes slowly. Roy's thick blue uniform stared back at him. Gasping, Edward looked up to see the General snoring. Edward sat up slowly as Roy instinctively pulled him back in.
He placed his hand on Roy's chest, a little surprised at how strong he was. For a moment, it didn't feel wrong. It felt nice. But if Roy found him like this, he didn't know what he would do. He decided to wake him up. He recoiled his hand from Roy's chest and placed it on Roy's knee, giving it a gentle shake.
"Uh… Mustang… Roy? Wake up." He whispered softly. Roy's arm gripped tighter as his eyes cracked open. He looked around and down to Edward looking uncomfortably embarrassed.
"Oh… I'm sorry." Roy stammered, immediately letting go of his young crush. Roy blanched as he felt his cheeks blushing.
"It's fine." Edward laughed, trying to lighten the atmosphere. They sat side by side for a few minutes, mulling over where to go from here.
Both apologised as they tried to speak at once.
"You go first." Said Edward.
"Would you... like to get some breakfast?" Roy asked hesitantly. Edward's stomach answered for him.
"I'll grab my coat." Edward answered grabbing his boots.
"Are you confessing to me?" Edward didn't know what to say. His heart was beating so fast he was afraid it might explode.
"Yes." Roy stated. They locked eyes cautiously.
"Well… I was wondering when you would say something." Edward remarked smiling. Roy had been laying down some, less than subtle, hints. He sat quietly as Edward took another bite of his food.
"After I get out of the hospital, would you like to date? I mean, it would be nice." Edward grinned to himself. This was the first time he had ever been asked out. Most people had mistaken him for a kid.
"I would like that." Roy regained his composure as the pair sat in silence. There was a lot to think about. Dating aside, neither one of them knew how to approach one another without feeling awkward.
"I'm warning you, though. I'm a jealous person." Edward said seriously.
"As am I." Roy agreed.
"If we're going to date, I would really like to be the only person." Edward stated boldly.
"Already taken care of." Roy cleared his throat as he replied and smiled at Edward
"Good." Edward went back to eating. It was equivalent exchanged after all. If he put everything he had into this relationship, he wanted Roy to do the same.