Ed exhaled loudly and stared up at the ceiling. This was the best part, lying in bed naked beside Roy. The part where everything became blissfully clear, and he was still incredibly sated. He could lay there forever, Roy asleep beside him, thinking about his life. Was it really only a month ago where he told himself that he hated thinking? That he stared up at the stars and his thoughts went in circles, thinking about what he could do with his feelings for Roy Mustang... He sighed contentedly.

Life was good, and he was well aware of that. A month ago, he'd been stuck in a rut, in a boring military routine, waiting for the day his contract ended or he was court martialed or honorably discharged. It seemed unreal that it was only a month ago. How could he have been so bored with his life? His contract was going to end soon. Almost too soon. A month ago he'd felt like he'd always be in the military, stuck obeying Roy's stupid orders. How could he have said that when the deadline was so near?

Every time he thought about leaving, his heart pounded in his chest and he couldn't breathe. He was finally breaking away, in just a few days' time. In only three days, he'd be free. No stupid regulations, no sneaking covert glances at Roy in the office between verbal jabs, no going away for weeks at a time to deal with assholes... Most importantly, no more lying or sneaking around. Finally, he and Roy could just be together. No more showing up late at night and leaving without being seen.

He turned his head and found Roy sleeping peacefully, loosely grasping Ed's automail hand. His dark hair fell just below his eyebrows, unkempt from their late romp. Ed's mind wandered from Roy's pale, unblemished skin and hard muscle, and onto their relationship. After the initial shock, and getting used to being in each others' space, he and Roy got along like bread and butter. Yes, Roy was an ass sometimes, and yes, Ed was prone to getting angry about stupid things, and they argued left and right, but somehow, it worked. They were used to arguing. To them, it wasn't such a devastating thing. It was almost routine. Almost therapeutic.

He couldn't help but smirk as he thought about the more inappropriate things they did well together. Ed was flexible and fairly creative, and Roy had experience and practice under his utility belt. Sex was amazing. He'd never really been insecure about his automail, but he couldn't have helped but wonder what Roy thought about his artificial limbs. Apparently, he didn't think one way or the other about them - they simply existed.

Slowly, he felt the clarity and satisfaction wearing away. He needed to call Al sometime the next morning. He had to go home before midnight so he could actually get some sleep and get to work at a reasonable hour. All these requirements weighed him down. He didn't want to move. Not when Roy was so warm next to him, and everything was so right, and so peaceful. Still, necessity brought him to sit up, take his hand away, and slip off the bed.

"Ed." Roy's soft, sleepy voice rang through the bedroom.

"Roy," Ed replied, not romantic, but a sarcastic joke. He pulled on his boxers, and rummaged around Roy's room for his pants in the dark. A sharp snap later, and the fireplace was ablaze, lighting the room softly - enough that Ed could see better. He found what he was looking for and shoved his legs into his pants.

"Ed, we need to talk," Roy said softly. Ed scowled at the phrase and turned to face the bed to see Roy sitting up, blanket pooled around his hips. Ed wasn't an expert on relationships. This was his first, probably only, romantic one. Despite his ineptness, he knew that no one liked the phrase Roy just uttered, and there was probably a good reason for it. If Roy wanted to say something cheesy and romantic - which they both generally avoided - he would have just gone and said it. For some reason, Roy really wanted Ed to listen to what he had to say.

"Okay," Ed finally responded, snatching his shirt from the foot of the bed. "About?"

"Your contract," Roy inadequately explained.

Ed gave Roy a suspicious look. "I don't like where this is going."

"It's not the end of the world or our relationship. I promise," Roy assured Ed, smiling a bit. He watched Ed's shoulders drop as his apprehension disappeared. Confusion replaced suspicion, and the blond walked around the bed, shirt in his hands. He sat down cross legged at the foot of the bed, all of his attention on Roy.

Roy took a deep breath and said, "I want you to think about something for a moment. For multiple reasons, I told everyone in the office that I had a partner, but kept your identity a secret. Let's say your contract ends, and we just tell everyone that you're my secret partner. Sure, you wouldn't be my subordinate when everyone found out, but everyone would know you and I still had a relationship when you were my subordinate." Her met Ed's fierce golden gaze as the blond put two and two together.

Ed concluded quietly, "You could still get in trouble."

Roy nodded. "If we don't want this a secret any longer, we need to convince everyone we started seeing each other after your contract terminates." Ed exhaled loudly, blowing the hair out of his face. He hadn't put it back up yet, but he didn't know where his hairtie went... He didn't know why the thought popped into his head, except that he really didn't want to think about this new conundrum. "I was thinking," Roy said slowly, "that during this time, between now and when we supposedly start seeing each other, we shouldn't... you know. See each other."

Ed's fist clenched around his shirt. "How long might that be?"

Roy shook his head. "I don't know. A week, at least. A month at most."

Ed glared at him. "Two weeks at most."

Roy chuckled despite himself. "Alright, two weeks. Until I come on to you, though, you have to pretend like we never had something together. Act like you would before we went through this." Ed grimaced. He didn't like the idea of spending so much time without Roy when he'd imagined just the opposite for just about a month. But he really couldn't complain, since his job was pretty easy. Roy smirked. "Oh, and don't worry about me. My girlfriend for the past month just left me, and I'm heartbroken. I've just sworn off of dating women for the rest of my life and after you leave tonight I have to make a hysterical, drunken call to Hughes."

Ed couldn't help the amusement that rose as he imagined a girl dumping Roy after dating him for a month. How humiliated Roy would be. Then a thought passed by and he scowled. "Your girlfriend left you, so you hit on your ex subordinate a week or two later? I'm your rebound?"

Roy shrugged. "What works, works."

Ed scoffed, and slid off the bed again. "Whatever, bastard. I'm going home and you're going to pay for making me your stupid rebound."

Ed walked into work the next morning in relatively low spirits. He hadn't been able to spend the entire night with Mustang and had, essentially, broken up with the man, albeit temporarily. He had to be to work early, too, for the staff meeting, so even after he'd gone home, he hadn't been able to sleep as much as he'd wanted to. He would have just played hookie, but something drew him in. Curiosity, plain and simple.

He sat down at the table with the team, everyone assembled sleepily, except for Mustang. Hawkeye was standing at the head of the table, shuffling some papers around. It was frustrating that Mustang wasn't there. After all, he was who Ed was curious about... The inner office door opened to reveal the object of Ed's brooding, eyes bloodshot and his hair ruffled. Ed had to hand it to him. Mustang really did look like he'd been crying all night. The Brigadier General shuffled toward the table and sat down, chin raised high.

Havoc's eyebrows shot up. "You alright, sir?"

Breda agreed, "You don't look so hot."

Roy put on a very forced-looking smile. "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern. Now let's-"

"Did something happen?" Fuery asked innocently, eyes wide with concern.

Roy stared at the well intentioned man. He opened his mouth to answer, but stopped short, and looked away. He shook himself and cleared his throat. "Nothing I can't handle." He rifled through some papers and pulled them out. "Alright, let's get this meeting over." There was a general murmur of consent, albeit hesitant because everyone was preoccupied with Roy's wellbeing. But the door to the hallway burst open, and everyone turned to see Maes Hughes, smiling widely and brimming with cheerfulness.

"Oh, Roy," he said, gathering the General into a hug and squeezing him. "I'm so sorry about your loss!"

Roy scowled and grumbled, "You don't look sorry..."

"Because I have a solution!" Maes exclaimed, jumping backward and beaming.

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know why I tell you these things..."

Maes laughed. "All you have to do is chase her! Girls love being chased!" He crouched so he was eye level with Roy, who was seated, and pressed their cheeks together, pointing off into the distance. Roy's gaze followed the pointing arm, expression unemphatic. "The stars tell me she was the one for you! You're going to catch her and run off with her into the sunset, and get married and have adorable children who won't be half as adorable as my own daughter!" He stood up and grabbed Roy's hand. "I support your marriage; I knew you two were good for each other. You were so happy before! Don't let it go! Seize this opportunity, prove your love to her!"

Ed raised both eyebrows, trying not to laugh. Roy gave Maes a flat look. "Do you think I haven't done anything and everything possible to keep her around?" He looked away, working his jaw impatiently. "Get out, Maes. We're having a staff meeting." Maes laughed heartily and shoved pictures of Elicia in Roy's face.

"Then let these cute pictures of my daughter soothe your aching soul!"

Roy stood up suddenly and knocked Maes's hand away. The photos went flying, and fluttered gracefully to the floor, while Roy glared at his best friend and Maes just stared back in surprise. Roy's jaw clenched and unclenched while he tried to control his (pretend) fury. His breath was quick, and he tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but it didn't work. Tears stung at his eyes. "Don't rub it in. I was supposed to have seven beautiful daughters!" He turned around and stomped out of the room. Maes ran after him.

Hawkeye cleared her throat and stood up. "The Brigadier General is having some emotional trouble and unfortunately can't join us for our staff meeting." The team exchanged glances, but Ed just stared at the ceiling, trying not to smile or laugh. Really, wasn't that a little bit overboard? Seven beautiful daughters? He'd taken Roy for a man who'd want sons... Ed amused himself throughout the staff meeting by reviewing and repeating that interaction over and over...

The rest of that day, and the next, were some of the hardest of Ed's adult life. He was antsy, ready to leave the military, ready to be out and about. He couldn't see Roy outside of work anymore, not even in secret. They really needed to be apart for this to work, and his bed in his apartment (which had gone mostly unused this past month) was very cold and empty. He slept well, but he hated getting into bed and jerking off without Mustang... Never mind that every waking second at work, everyone was talking about Mustang and his breakup. So annoying.

Finally, however, on the third day, on Friday, his very last day of work, he came into the office and found no one was sitting around whispering about Roy. Instead, a chorus of, "Surprise!" and bright colored balloons assaulted him. He was jerked suddenly into the crowd of coworkers and friends who had gathered to say farewell to him. There were a lot of people trying to get out of work that he didn't even know, but it was nice to see how many people would miss him.

Nothing of note really happened during the party, since Ed knew he'd still be seeing the team regularly (through his research and through Mustang), and there were no awkward goodbyes necessary. Hawkeye had made them promise that they'd do work during the party as well, so it was mostly just doing work with more chatting and some cake and balloons. Mustang, Ed discovered, had taken the day off. Hawkeye had explained, "That's two people he's going to miss for the rest of his life, leaving in just one week."

Ed had snorted and replied, "Yeah right; he doesn't care that much about me," but deep down he was frustrated. Roy wasn't losing anyone; why was he taking the day off? This day, of all days. Ed went home that evening, irritated and brooding over the situation. The second he closed his front door behind him, the phone rang. He sighed irritably and growled into the phone, "What the hell do you want?"

"Wow, brother, something happen? The breakup going poorly?"

He plopped onto the couch, running a hand through his hair. "He wasn't at work today. My last day! What the hell was he thinking?" Al replied with some reassuring words that rang hollow in Ed's ears, but that was when it really sunk into Ed's brain. He was done, out of the military. Now was the start of his new life, his new career... He hadn't really thought about what he would do for work now, but he didn't think he'd have much trouble. "Damn. Maybe I should do some job hunting."

"You haven't already?" Al responded with exasperation.

Ed scowled. "I didn't think about it."

Al sighed. "I'll see if I can help you out. I have a friend in Central."

Ed's shoulders dropped, a sudden wave of affection and appreciation and gratefulness washing over him. Al had always been there, always had his back, gave sound advice. "Thanks," he finally choked out, strangled by his emotion. He wasn't about to cry or anything, but he was breathless at how sudden the emotions had come. "Really. Thanks."

Al sensed the sincerity, and paused before he responded. "You're welcome."

Ed cleared his throat. "Anything new with you?"

"No, not really. You sound rushed. Do you have to go?"

Ed looked down at his hands. He could use some time to himself, but... The phone beeped in his ear. "Yeah, someone's on the other line. I'll call you tomorrow." Al said his farewells and hung up and Ed answered the other call he'd gotten. "Hello?"

"Heya, chief," Havoc's voice greeted him, "The team's out tailing Mustang. Apparently Maes set him up on a date. Wanna come watch?" Ed froze, letting the words sink in. A date... Maes had set it up, but Roy didn't bother telling Ed. Maybe he hadn't had the chance to...? But he would go on a date and not to Ed's last day of work? "Ed?" Havoc asked. Ed cleared his throat. There had to be circumstances he wasn't aware of. Right now he wanted to be alone, particularly after this frustrating day, and this disturbing news.

"No, I'm job hunting. Maybe next time."

"Okay. Maes says he has dates set up for Roy every day up until next week. Tell us when you wanna come tail him."

Ed frowned. "Will do. Bye."

"Bye!"

He lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. There was nothing to worry about...

And he seriously believed it.

That was, until seven days later. He'd spent the past week looking around for jobs, doing his own research that he'd been dying to work on. His research was at a standstill that day and he'd just booked an interview with Al's friend. He was feeling pretty good, had eaten and taken a run then lifted some weights because he had nothing else to do, and was wondering what he could possibly do to break through his alchemist's block. His phone rang, supplying a sufficient distraction.

He picked up quickly. "Hello?"

"Heya, Chief! Thought we'd invite you one more time to stalk Mustang on his date."

Ed hummed and leaned back in his chair, comfortable now with the idea of Mustang dating. After all, there were probably circumstances surrounding the date that he didn't know about. It wasn't like Roy was actually cheating on him. "Is this the last one?"

"Well, the last girl, but this is the second time he's gone out with her."

Ed frowned. "Maes set them up twice?"

"Roy asked her on a second date. He'll probably ask her on another."

Yeah, totally not cheating... "Sure, I'll come. Where are you meeting up?"

Ed peered through the bush, narrowing his eyes. Havoc and Breda were to his right, and Hughes to his left, taking pictures, grinning. They couldn't hear the conversation between Roy and his date, but Ed was growing increasingly frustrated. He had to stand outside in the cold, watching Roy all dressed up with a girl with big breasts clinging to his arm. And he couldn't tell if it was serious or not between them! Judging by the whispers on either side of him, it was serious, but they also didn't know the entire circumstances...

"So what's this girl like?" Ed hissed.

Maes whispered back, "She's a single mom who plays the violin. She's a librarian."

Ed almost gagged. "He's dating a librarian? Jeez, like dating Scheska..."

"What's wrong with dating Scheska?" Breda asked defensively.

"Nothing," Ed snapped, and added quickly, "for someone who isn't Roy Mustang."

Maes defended the date quickly, "She's a wonderful, intelligent woman."

"Scheska or this girl?"

"Both."

"So what's the difference?"

"This girl has boobs," Havoc supplied.

"She's much less timid," Maes added.

Ed scowled. "Why do boobs matter so much...?" he muttered.

"Because they're related to the human production system," Breda answered mechanically, easily giving the scientific explanation. "Big breasts for lots of milk to feed your babies. Hips are like that, too. Wide hips make it easier for childbirth." Ed scowled and grumbled incoherently and grumpily under his breath. He didn't want to be here. He'd needed to get out, he had to admit, but he didn't want to see this when he didn't know how it happened or why Roy was going through with this... How long would the man wait before contacting Ed, before telling him that they could sleep together again or that they were breaking up? Was this that bastard's way of breaking up with him? No confrontation, just lies and moving on?

"I can't stand this anymore," Ed growled.

Havoc raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Chief? Jealous?" he added slyly.

Ed remembered he had to act like he wasn't being cheated on, and turned his head away. "No. I just can't stand watching this gooey romantic stuff."

"So you are jealous of Mustang."

He huffed and stood up. "I'm leaving. Bye, guys." They whispered back their farewells, and he left, his thoughts swirling. Maybe he could call Mustang and ask... but their charade... there might be circumstances he didn't know about... He punched a telephone pole. It wasn't like him not to confront a problem, and he hated. "That's it," he growled, "I'm staying home and working."

"Ivan Rechoric. Nice to meet you." He held out a slender, pale hand. Ed shook it, looking Ivan up and down. Dressed semi formally in earth tones, tallish and lanky, with a wide smile and too bright eyes. His accent was annoying, too. Maybe Ed's view was marred by his anger from the night before, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with this stuff. "This interview is just to keep up pretenses. You're pretty much already hired. Do you have any questions for me?"

"What kind of research do you do?" Straight to the point so he could go home sooner.

Ivan plucked a book from his bookshelves lining his office wall. "Here's a good summary. I'm not very good with words." Ed took it, read the title and the author, and recalled already reading this book. He hummed and handed it back. Interesting... Why would Al have connections with a guy like this?

"How do you know Al?"

"We met in a trip to Xing."

Ed grunted. "Okay. Will I have a partner or anything?"

"Only for the first couple weeks until you're assimilated. You'll like her. Al did."

"So when am I starting?"

"Monday?"

"Great."

They shook hands, said brief farewells, and Ed left, feeling like he'd accomplished something. He had a job now, his own income, and he could research something fairly interesting. Fuck Roy and his potentially cheating ass. He was going to get on with his life, whether or not Roy was in it. It was up to Mustang whether or not they spoke; Ed wasn't going to put any more effort into it. He was sick of wondering.

Ed was reading upside down on his couch when his phone rang the next evening. He reached out without looking and put it to his ear, not saying a word. It was a social experiment to see what the caller would do. "Heya, Chief?" He bit his lip, wondering if he wanted to talk to Havoc. Hopefully he wasn't asking him to stalk Roy again... "Chief? Hellooooo? Is anyone there? Hello? What's going on? Can you hear me? Hello? Hello? Hello!"

"Will you stop repeating yourself?"

"Oh, Ed, I couldn't hear you."

"But I've been yelling into the phone."

"Strange..."

"Yeah, I think it's broken. So what's up?"

"Roy decided to drop it with that librarian mom. We're going out drinking tonight. Wanna-?"

Ed didn't need to think about it. He could use a good drink. "Sure."

Roy sat at the bar next to Havoc, knocking back his first shot of the night. Ever since Maes had been setting him up on these dates, he'd been under constant supervision. Maes wanted to make sure he was eating right, Breda wanted to make sure he wasn't cutting or anything incredibly stupid like that. Therefore, he hadn't been able to contact Ed. And he was certain Ed knew about the dates, as he'd seen the blond leaving his party of stalkers one night. That could be a problem, if he was jumping to conclusions, but hopefully Ed was smarter than that.

In any case, he needed to clear things up with Ed ASAP and tonight was the night to do it if Ed showed up like Havoc had promised. This "hooking up with Ed" thing was happening a little earlier than he'd planned, but he couldn't risk his relationship with the blond for a slightly more convincing act. As it was, he was pretty sure Hawkeye had seen past the charade. The "seven beautiful daughters" must have tipped her off...

He tried his hardest not to look too quickly when Havoc exclaimed, "Ed! You came!" Ed sat down next to Havoc, and the cigarette smoking man ordered a round of shots for the newcomers. Ed had entered with Maes and Breda, and they crowded the smoky bar. Shots after shots were rammed down Ed's throat before he could open his mouth to argue.

Everything was fuzzy and time passed by quickly, with drunken songs and many long winded stories from Havoc. Breda was quite funny if one could hear past his drunken slur, and Ed was caught up in this whirlwind of activity and talking. By the time he threw up outside in the snow and couldn't control his tongue when he spoke, Roy was desperate to have a word with him. It seemed pointless with Ed so shitfaced, but he just wanted to talk to the blond... The entire time he'd sat at the bar, drinking slowly and solemnly like a man who'd just had his heart ripped out, unable to get Ed alone.

So he jumped at his chance when Breda clapped Ed on the back and said, "Maybe you should go home. You drank a lot."

Ed burped, looking miserable. "Yeah, I don't feel good."

Roy sighed, as if he was taking on a responsibility he didn't want to. "I'll bring you home Ed."

Ed blinked and hiccupped. "You - hic! - sure? This's your party..." He hiccuped again.

"It's getting late anyway and I just want to be alone," he assured Ed, and took the blond's arm. Everyone waved and shouted goodbyes as the two of them left the bar. They were silent for several long minutes outside in the cold, Ed leaning heavily on Roy and stumbling often. Roy was buzzed himself, but he was glad he wasn't half as shitfaced as Ed. "You know those dates didn't mean anything, right? I couldn't get out of them, and I was being watched constantly, so I couldn't call you."

Ed hiccupped. "And the girl - hic! - you asked out yourself? Hic!"

Roy sighed. "I had to make it seem like I was looking for a significant other for this to be convincing."

Ed leaned into him, relaxing more. "You're warm. Let's go back to your place."

Roy grinned. "Sure."

So they did, stumbling drunkenly and talking about their past week. Ed had conceded with a hiccup that Roy's week had been much worse, constantly pretending to be heartbroken and always under surveillance. They arrived at Roy's home, and went immediately to bed, initially with the thought that Ed needed to sleep off the alcohol. Ed curled up immediately in the bed, and Roy took off his shirt before laying down with a relieved sigh, closing his eyes. The bed was warm again with Ed in it...

His eyes fluttered open when an uncoordinated hand suddenly grabbed his crotch. He turned to look at Ed, who was smirking lecherously, still hiccupping. Roy wondered what he should do. Take advantage of Ed's horny, drunken state? Would Ed see it that way in the morning, or would he just be glad that they'd finally had sex after such a long week? He leaned down and kissed the blond, quickly earning a tongue that flashed into his mouth and tasted like a lot of vodka.

Ed's hand still clumsily massaged his crotch, and his rapidly hardening member. Oh, how could Ed be so sexy, even in this state? Roy grabbed Ed's slim hip, sucking hard on Ed's tongue. Ed let out a half moan and straddled his partner. Roy could feel Ed's hard on through their pants, particularly when Ed ground his hips against Roy's, desperately humping the General.

Roy broke the kiss, chuckling breathlessly, and stilled Ed's hips with a firm grip. "Hold your horses, Ed. We just got started." Ed leaned down, resting his forehead on Roy's, hot breath ghosting along Roy's cheeks.

"I haven't gotten any in a week. Fuck taking it slow."

Roy couldn't argue with that, so he reached up for Ed's belt while Ed kissed him again. He quickly discarded the belt and reached into Ed's pants. Ed broke the kiss, resting his forehead on Roy's shoulder, and squeezed his eyes shut while Roy's hand stroked him, squeezing in all the right places, so fucking hot and... Pleasure rolled up his spine in waves. "Fuck," he hissed, earning another chuckle from Roy, who took his hand back.

"Come on, Ed," he purred teasingly, "Don't just sit there."

Ed sat up and immediately went for Roy's pants, removing the offending article of clothing with vigour. Then he squirmed out of his own pants, consequently no longer straddling Roy. Roy took the opportunity to sit up, and examine Ed's body. Lithe, fit, hair a giant mess, and a tight ass... He smirked and pushed Ed onto his back. Ed let him do this, entranced with Roy's hard muscles and smooth skin. Before Roy could do much more than that, however, Ed stuck his fingers in his mouth, coating them with saliva, and shoved them downward, and up his ass. Roy blinked and watched, entranced, dick hardening with every second as he watched those tan fingers writhe inside Ed's entrance. Ed curled his fingers and gasped as blinding pleasure overrode every trace of his pain. He gasped, and his back arched, and Roy couldn't stand it anymore.

He pulled Ed's hand away, grabbed the lubrication from his nightstand, lathered himself up quickly, and knelt between Ed's spread legs. Ed met his gaze, eyes heavy lidded, breath heavy. "Fuck me," he demanded, scooting closer. Roy swallowed, and inched into that tight, lovely, hot, familiar ass. Ed hissed at the pain. Roy leaned down and kissed him, already feeling his pleasure mounting.

Ed squirmed a little, sending waves of pleasure through Roy, who sat up further. Ed rested his ankles on Roy's shoulders, and demanded again, "Fuck me! Come on, I'm dying for it." Roy inched in further, and Ed squirmed again, more rolling pleasure blinding Roy. "Come on, bastard!" So Roy inched out, and pushed back in. Ed threw his head back, in pain or pleasure Roy wasn't sure, but Ed's dick stood proud and hard.

So Roy reached down to distract Ed from the pain, and started to pump. It was easiest to do it in time with his thrusts, which brought him closer and closer to the brink. The brink happened to be right after Ed closed his eyes and moaned loudly, demanding Roy went faster. He tried to meet Ed's demands, thrusting faster each time, his grip tightening reflexively on Ed's dick. Ed cried out, back arching again, his seed spilling into Roy's hand. Ed's whole body tightened as Roy moved, and finally brought the General over the brink.

He sat there for a long moment, breath heavy, listening to Ed pant, feeling tired and sated and still buzzed. He slipped out of Ed's body and sighed. Ed curled up and fell asleep almost immediately, product of satisfaction and alcohol. Roy did his best to clean up, but soon collapsed next to Ed and let his eyes flutter closed.

As Roy was prone to wake recently, he awoke to the sound of someone stomping up the stairs in his home, and calling his name cheerfully. Sometimes it was Hughes or Breda, and this morning it sounded like Havoc. Roy opened his eyes blearily, and found Ed in his arms, unabashedly naked atop the blankets, snoring lightly, and sleeping deeply. His head ached dully and he was so thirsty...

His bedroom door flung open and Havoc flicked on the lights. "Good morning, Rooaaaaaah!" He jumped backwards at the sight of Ed and Roy naked in bed, sleeping peacefully together. Roy lifted his head and squinted at Havoc, and looked between the blond in his bed and the blond who'd interrupted his peaceful moment. He sat up and groaned pitifully. His head hurt...

Havoc's jaw hung open. "Mustang. Boss. Do you realize who you...?"

Roy glanced at Ed and groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Get out, Havoc..."

Havoc gladly turned tail and ran. Roy lay back down and closed his eyes, enjoying Ed's warmth. Oh, he'd missed sleeping next to Ed... Ed stirred under his arm and he watched the blond wake up. Golden eyes blinked at him, and the matching eyebrows furrowed. "My head..." Ed mumbled, "...doesn't hurt as bad as I'd thought it would."

"Yeah. Well, Havoc just came in and saw us. Does that make it worse?"

Ed smacked him with his metal arm. "Don't try to make it worse, you jerk!" Roy chuckled and pulled Ed closer, inhaling the scent of Ed deeply... How many times would Ed have to sleep in this bed before that pillow smelled like him, too? Ed continued to grumble, but he didn't say anything coherent, as it was apparent Roy had been teasing him and that no offense had been intended. Even more importantly, Roy was having a moment that he'd rather not interrupt.

"I'm so glad you're back," the older man murmured and kissed Ed's neck. "I missed sleeping with someone..."

"You missed fucking people."

"That, too," Roy murmured and continued to kiss Ed's beautiful skin.

Ed sat up, tearing himself away from the embarrassing display of affection. "Whatever. Go get to work."

"Come with me," Roy pleaded, grabbing Ed's hand and playing with his flesh fingers.

"Fine," Ed snapped, snatching his hand back. "Just stop acting so fuckin' romantic."

"I'm just happy," Roy replied, rolling out of bed and pulling on some clothes.

Ed sneered, "Then I'll just have to make you miserable if you're going to act like this when you're glad!" Roy chuckled, and they went about their morning getting ready for work. Ed realized, although it felt natural and practiced like they'd done it before, that this was the first time they'd been able to do that. So after eating breakfast, showering, and getting dressed, they walked to work, deep in conversation.

"We'll have to pretend like things are a little awkward," Roy said.

Ed snorted. "I'm done pretending."

"Who will believe that we're completely comfortable dating after one drunken night?"

"But we were comfortable the first time we had se-"

"After we'd had an argument."

"So we'll just say we had one!"

"But that won't-" Roy stopped abruptly and he realized that they were walking up the stairs to the building, and that Breda was only a few feet away, listening with his eyebrows raised. Roy sent him a terse smile and then turned to Ed, smile still tight. "Well, I'm going to work."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He frowned suddenly. "What time is it?"

Roy checked the clocktower. "Nine thirty."

Ed cried out in frustration. "I'm going to be late!" He turned around and sprinted down the stairs. Roy started up the stairs again and Breda joined him smoothly. They exchanged brief greetings and Breda made polite conversation until they got up to the office, where Havoc was shouting, and Fuery looked horrified and Hughes absolutely beaming and Hawkeye... impassive. Breda joined them, but Roy stood his ground and listened to Havoc's tale.

"...and I couldn't believe it! Ed and Mustang! They're, like, twenty years apart! So I left and-"

"Fourteen," Roy interjected. All eyes turned to him. Hughes was still beaming, and Hawkeye had this sharp look on her face. Fuery cowered, Breda leaned back in his chair and watched, and Havoc's face drained of color and his shoulders dropped. Roy raised both eyebrows. "Fourteen years apart. Adding six years is quite an insult. Ed would say you're calling him a child."

Hawkeye added, "And you should assume he was calling you an old man."

Roy met her gaze, and then went down the line, meeting Hughes's, then Havoc's. "Well? Are you going to continue your story or get back to work? As I understand it, my personal life shouldn't interfere with your work. Even when I came into work crying none of you were this interested." None of them moved, frozen with their fear and wonder.

Maes squealed. "Ed and Roy both found true love! Now you can get married and-"

"And I can get back to work," Roy interrupted sharply, and sent Maes on his way, ignoring the happiness that rolled off of his best friend. But once Maes was gone, Roy realized just how dismal this atmosphere was. Most of his team was horrified and Hawkeye still had that sharp look on her face, like he'd done something awful. He crossed his arms. "Can I help you guys?"

"Sir," Hawkeye said sharply, "Permission to speak freely?"

"Yes."

"It's disgusting. Fourteen years apart-"

"Is none of your concern. Edward is an adult. He can make his own decisions."

"You've known him since he was a child-"

"Which would only enhance my understanding of his character, wouldn't it?"

"Doesn't it disgust you?" she asked finally, searching his eyes for remorse.

Roy smiled. "Sex with other adults never disgusts me, Hawkeye."

Breda broke in, "What about that rule? Divide your age in half and add seven?"

"Tried it," Roy answered, "He's too young, but it's also too late."

"As long as you don't plan on doing it again," Fuery said with a shudder.

Havoc added, "You were drunk last night, too, not thinking straight..."

Roy shrugged. "It was a buzz. And before Ed and I decide on whether or not we'll do it again, he and I need to talk. Can we get back to work now?"

"But the age difference..."

He clenched his fists. "Is that really your only argument? If that's the only problem you have, your arsenal is very limited and you'd better drop it because I've already told you that Ed's an adult and he can make his own decisions. None of you have yet to counter this fact." His hard, fierce gaze landed on each of them, making Fuery squirm. "He's an adult now, and I'm not a pedophile. Anything else you'd like to mention? Preferably something that doesn't mention age?"

Fuery raised a timid hand. "Wasn't he... your subordinate?"

"Not anymore," Roy replied dryly. "Any last comments?"

Breda raised his own hand. "I just wanted to say I'm the only one in this room who thinks your relationship with Ed is perfectly acceptable."

Roy paused. "Thank you. Now, get back to work." He went into his inner office and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door and looked up at the ceiling, thoughts whirling madly in his head. Breda and Hughes were the only people who thought it was acceptable... It really was disgusting, wasn't it? But was it disgusting enough to break up with Ed? Hurt the blond's feelings and get rid of the awesome sex and the warm bed...?

He snorted. That wasn't even a question. He was too happy with Ed. So he sat down at his desk and didn't come out of his office until the very end of the day. When he opened the door to leave that evening, he found himself facing his entire team, each with grave expressions, Fuery with a notepad full of notes in front of him.

"Sit down and talk with us," Hawkeye ordered him. He rolled his eyes and sat down. It was like an intervention... She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry we kept bringing up Ed's age. That isn't the real problem here." Roy raised an eyebrow. There was another problem? "It is a shocking age difference, but you were right about Edward being an adult."

"What's the problem, then?"

"Your reputation as a promiscuous gentleman."

Roy leaned back. "Ah."

Fuery spoke up. "We don't want you to just string him along."

Havoc said, "He'll only get hurt in the end."

Hawkeye finished, "Even if you really think you love him now, you'll soon cheat on him."

Roy winced. "That was harsh. I thought you'd know me better, Hawkeye."

"It sounded definite but I'm only thinking of worst case scenarios."

He stood up. "How about we forget scenarios and look at reality?" All eyes were on him, and he knew this was his only chance to prove to everyone that this wasn't a mistake. He raised his chin. "Ed and I are adults. I'm legitimately attracted to him. His age, if anything, makes me more attached to his personality, since I know him better than if I hadn't seen him grow up. I know what I'm getting into; I don't plan on hurting him, and I'll try my hardest not to. That said, every relationship has ups and downs, and I can't tell the future, but I'll do anything to not break up with him. Even if you guys tell me it's for the best. Even if my reputation and my career falls down. My career should stay intact; but it depends on you guys." He took a deep breath. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." And he left them to their own thoughts.

Oh, he was looking forward to seeing Ed and having a little fun after this giant mess of a day...

And he had no idea the kind of fun and stress relief Ed had in mind for that night.