As little as Edward wanted to leave their little hot springs hideaway, he couldn't pretend he wasn't excited for what Roy had planned next: a two day river cruise. Not the uber-fancy kind, just a couple nights sleeping on a boat and heading out to explore Xing during the day. Perfect.

They had to leave early in the morning, much to Ed's annoyance. He was still half asleep when he stumbled into the taxi Roy had called up, slumping against his husband's shoulder drowsily once he was buckled in. Roy chuckled, rubbing Edward's arm gently. "Try to stay awake for just a little longer, okay? You can sleep on the boat."

"Yeah, yeah," Ed grumbled, a yawn sneaking into the end of his words. "You know, I wouldn't be so tired if you didn't keep me up so late…"

"You asked for it," Roy reminded him, a smirk coloring his tone. "'Oh please, Roy, more!'" he quoted, whispering quietly into Edward's ear.

That almost woke Ed up, it was so embarrassing. Flushed a dark red, Edward slapped his husband on the arm, hissing, "Quit it!"

Roy laughed, ruffling Edward's hair. "If you insist. Just don't go complaining about how I'm keeping you awake when it's your own damn fault."

"You came on to me first!" Ed insisted.

"Because you're too adorable to resist, and whose fault is that, hmm?"

It struck Edward as vaguely ridiculous that they were debating over who had initiated fucking instead of sleeping in the back of a cab. He shook his head, giggling at the realization. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."

"Ed," Roy stated seriously, "this is by far not the weirdest discussion we've had."

That was true—too true. Afraid that any further agreement would bring back some of the more "interesting" topics, Edward bit his lip against any response and merely nodded. Roy chuckled again, resuming the stroking of Ed's arm as they drove along. Still tired, he was perfectly content to snuggle into his husband's side and just sit quietly, enjoying the car ride…until it stretched to a thirty minute jaunt. Then forty five minutes. Then an hour.

"How much longer until we get there?" Edward asked, glancing outside the window. In this foreign country, it was hard to tell that they had moved at all—this city they were driving through had to be different, but to his unlearned eye, it looked the same.

"Probably only ten minutes, now," Roy guessed.

"Why didn't you tell me it was going to be a long trip?"

Roy rolled his eyes, looking down at Ed. "Because I remember vividly how well you dealt with the car rides on that road trip we took together and thought it best to not warn you ahead of time."

Sticking out his tongue, Edward still couldn't be irritated enough to stop the fond smile that spread across his face. "You're not really complaining about that, are you? We got together on that trip, remember?"

"What, you think I'm just going to forget? That was when I finally got my hands on you," Roy teased. "I'd been waiting for a chance forever and all of a sudden you just end up curled up next to me. That was perfect."

"Yeah, I guess for once my nightmares did something good for me."

At this point, Roy was in full reminiscing mode. "Me, too. Remember on that beach? You just suddenly blurted out that you were gay—kind of awkward, but it was exactly what I'd been hoping for, so I can't complain."

"Yeah, and I remember you wanting to get it on right in front of everyone, too," Ed reminded him, raising his eyebrow.

"And you stopped me," his husband continued thoughtfully. "Though I did get to fuck you in that hot air balloon, which was better…"

Roy said those words too loudly, and Edward glanced up to the front of the cab, only to have his worst fears confirmed in the form of shocked eyes darting away from the rearview mirror. He sighed—oh, well. What was dignity, anyway? "As much as I agree, this probably isn't the place to be talking about it," Ed remarked quietly, jerking his head towards the front.

A quiet laugh escaped Roy's lips, and he murmured, "Whoops," in the most unapologetic tone Edward had ever heard. He had half a mind to tell the man off, when the cab stopped suddenly. They clambered out, Ed rather faster than normal to avoid any potential comments from the driver.

They were now by the riverside, at the end of a pier leading out to the cruise boat. Edward headed forward, curious as to how many other people could possibly fit on the craft. It was big, sure, but he didn't think any more than maybe fifty individuals, tops, could comfortably stay on the boat, and there was the crew to consider…not that it mattered. Ed would be just as set with it being just them and the crew, or if the boat was packed to bursting.

Together he and Roy walked down the pier to meet a scruffy man standing at the end. "You boarding?" he asked in a no nonsense tone, holding out a hand for them to shake.

"Yes," Roy answered, grasping the offered hand firmly. "I'm Roy, and this is Ed."

The man nodded, shaking Edward's hand as well. "Captain Chang. You can head up, Li will direct you to your room."

"Thanks."

Edward stepped onto the wooden boarding dock, walking up to the deck of the boat. Curious, he looked around—the deck was fairly small, with a set of stairs on one side leading down to the rooms and the wheel enclosed on the opposite end of the ship. The design was vaguely rustic, simple and oriented against anything that felt too much like modern society. It was…nice.

Snapping out of his reverie, Ed caught Roy's hand as his husband, guided by who he presumed to be Li, led him down the stairs. They walked down a long hallway until Li stopped, gesturing towards a door, and Roy nodded his head in thanks. Edward bent around the man to see the room as Roy opened the door.

There was a window looking out at the river on the far side of the room, below which sat a fluffy white bed and a carved wooden nightstand. Tucked away just by the entrance was a small bathroom. It was all very minimalistic, but cozy all the same. Ed did what was only natural, and plopped onto the bed, sighing in bliss as he sunk into the cushy mattress. Roy, who had been inspecting the bathroom, glanced over and laughed good naturedly. "You aren't going back to bed, are you?"

"Hmm…" Edward mused. "Depends. How long do you think it'll be before they drop us off somewhere?"

Roy sighed, leaning against the wall. "Probably a couple hours…"

"Yep. Bed." Kicking off his shoes, Ed dragged a blanket over himself and hummed in content. "C'mon, nap with me."

"You're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Edward mumbled into a pillow. "Get your ass over here."

Shaking his head, Roy obeyed nevertheless, pulling a book out of his suitcase before climbing into bed, sitting beside Ed with his back to the wall. "I'm waking you up in an hour."

"Yeah, yeah…" And without further ado, Edward threw an arm across Roy's lap, curling into the man' side as he dozed off.