Roy strutted through Headquarters like he owned the place.

His uniform was ironed to perfection, and he looked every part of the General he was. He felt it too. Like this, he was untouchable.

Next to him, Ed sauntered much more casually, hands in his pockets and looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

People stared at them as they walked through the hallways together, their intention on Fuhrer Grumman's office. He paid them no heed, though he was aware that it was more stares than he usually received.

He held the manila folder containing his report under his arm, the receptionist taking one look at it and ushering them in to Grumman's office.

Fuhrer Grumman was sitting at his desk, his gaze on a paper in his hand. Upon their entrance, his gaze lifted, and he smiled. Roy saluted.

"I was hoping to hear from you two today! Have a seat."

They each took a seat in the chairs, and Roy slipped the manila folder onto the desk. "The report you requested, sir. Fullmetal and I have not yet broken the bond; however, we have made some interesting observations."

Twirling his moustache between his fingers, Grumman regarded them. "Can't wait to read all about them." He opened the folder up, slipping the report out and reading in silence.

Once he was done, he raised his eyebrows. "Interesting indeed. I would like to know more about the potential bonding of multiple souls using this array; it sounds possible and dangerous." He placed the report on his desk, and leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. "In regards to the woman you mentioned, we have a lead; a woman matching your description was located in a small town in the East. My people are looking to make an arrest soon."

This was brilliant news. Having the woman in custody was going to be a major help. They could ask her more questions and hopefully finally get pointed in the right direction as to how to break the bond. Even though she'd told them she couldn't undo it herself, she was sure to know of something to help them. And if she knew she couldn't escape them, she may be more forthcoming than in their last interaction.

When they left Grumman's office, Roy was feeling optimistic for the first time.

They began walking to Roy's office. Since becoming a General, and one of Grumman's closest men, he had been given an office on the same floor. It wasn't weird for them to be here, and yet people glanced at them as they passed, and turned their heads to look at them. Roy tried to remember if it had always been like that or if walking next to Ed was causing people to gossip.

Was he just being paranoid?

"Why the fuck is everyone staring at us?" he heard Ed grumble, his voice betraying the anger he felt.

So it wasn't just Roy, then. If Ed, Mr Oblivious, had noticed they were being stared at, then it must be bad. Or maybe since Roy pointed it out at the grocery store he had paid more attention.

"Ignore them," Roy mumbled back, swiftly opening the grand wooden doors to his outer office.

His team looked up at their entrance. They seemed pleased to see them, if not a bit surprised.

Hawkeye saluted, allowing a small smile on her face. "Sir, glad to see you back in the office."

Roy nodded to her, smiling back. "Just thought I'd check in. Anything needing my attention?"

Riza's eyes strayed to the three - yes, three - large stacks of paperwork left on the spare desk next to hers, and Roy could've sworn his heart stopped. "Those are for you, sir, but from what I've gathered they don't appear too urgent."

Technically, she wasn't allowed to look through a General's paperwork, but they all knew Roy couldn't care less. Riza more than qualified for his job anyway.

Roy nodded numbly as he looked at the stacks of paperwork in despair. He needed to return to the office as soon as possible; if this was a week's backlog, he didn't want to know how far behind he'd end up if he ended up taking a month off. It was not an option.

"Can someone tell me why people are fucking staring at us? It's annoying as fuck."

Ed's voice had all eyes turn to him. He was scowling, and Roy realised he could feel his unease through the bond. He'd finally noticed the stares for himself and it was unsettling him.

Hawkeye frowned. "People are staring at you?"

Roy pursed his lips, regarding each of his officers. "Yes, people are undoubtedly creating rumours and gossip about my and Fullmetal's situation. No-one knows about the bond and it must remain that way. Keep your ears open and see what people are saying. Report back to me."

They all nodded. Havoc leaned back in his chair, giving them a lazy stare. "I mean, you do give off a weird vibe."

Roy frowned. "What does that mean?"

Havoc and Breda exchanged a look and nodded to each other. Breda said, "Yeah, it's like a weird energy. We're looking at two people, but it feels like you're one. Feels kinda trippy."

The bond's energy. How could he have forgotten about that? The teenagers and two women who'd been bonded had a specific energy about them. Roy recalled how he'd known they'd been soul bonded just by feeling the energy around them. It had felt like they'd become one person.

It must be the soul energy that had changed. During his reading he'd learned that everyone had a soul energy, and it was unique for everyone. People subconsciously felt each other's soul energy. He supposed that, since he and Ed had bonded, their soul energy had changed - perhaps merged? - so it could be that people were subconsciously picking up on the change. It was tripping people up.

"Soul energy," Ed muttered, dismayed. "Ours is probably fucked."

Roy hummed in agreement, matching Ed's dismay. He hadn't wanted people to be able to tell something was off. What if a fellow alchemist recognised the soul energy and figured out they'd been soul bonded?

His team would find out anything that was being said in Headquarters. Perhaps he could have Madame Christmas do a bit of digging too, ask a few questions to learn what the general public were saying.

They soon left the office, Roy telling Hawkeye to bring over any urgent paperwork to his house. He might not be able to work full-time at the moment, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least attempt to catch up.

In the library, they received a lot less staring. People were engrossed in their books, and barely anyone looked up at their entrance. He could tell why Ed liked this place. Roy still preferred his house.

Ed grabbed a few books on alkahestry and Roy decided to grab one about human transmutation. Central library was the only place one could have access to books on illegal topics like this; he thought maybe there would be something on soul alchemy. Since, in theory, for a human transmutation to be successful one had to also bond the soul to the created body.

Ed saw the book he was holding and his expression darkened. "We don't need that one."

"There might be something on soul alchemy-"

"There isn't."

Roy pursed his lips at Ed's abrupt tone. Of course he'd read the book, but it seemed odd to Roy that there would be nothing about souls in there. He put it back anyway; he didn't want to waste his time, and if Ed said it wasn't needed, then it wasn't needed.

As they exited the library, Ed's stomach made a loud growling sound. Roy looked at him with a raised brow.

"Can we go eat?" Ed asked sheepishly, rubbing at his stomach.

They'd already been seen together enough for today. And now that Roy knew people could feel the change in their soul energy he was hesitant to be outside more than necessary. They had food at home, even though the thought of a cafe sounded lovely right now.

"We can eat at home."

Ed groaned in annoyance. "I'm sick of your fucking Xingese and sandwiches, I want some decent food!"

Roy glared at him, acutely aware they were stood by the entrance of Central library and people were glancing at them. "Xingese is decent food."

"Not when you've had it for a week straight!"

Roy pursed his lips, walking away from the library doors and to a quieter section, Ed predictably following. Ed's loud presence was causing people to eye them as they passed and it was making Roy paranoid. Ed had no filter, and him complaining about their current diet could be interpreted a whole bunch of interesting ways.

"Would you like me to wine and dine you, Fullmetal?" he said in dismay, his eyes scanning the crowds.

Ed snorted next to him. Roy was leading them home, but right now he wished he'd called for a driver. Perhaps he should've had Havoc drive them home, that way no one would know he and Ed currently lived together. "I'm not a fucking girl, Mustang."

No, he really wasn't. Roy was acutely aware of that fact.

He didn't bother replying as they reached his front door. Ed was carrying all the books they'd picked out, and when he entered the house, he promptly dumped them on the coffee table.

"Can we at least get some groceries so I can cook something? I don't think my body can take anymore greasy takeout."

Roy had been taking off his uniform jacket when he paused at Ed's words. "You cook?" He had always been under the impression that Ed's diet was even worse than his, what with all the shitty snacks and cereal he'd been consuming the past week.

A faint blush rose on Ed's cheeks. "Barely, but I remember some stuff mum taught me. Basics."

Ed mentioning his mother had a weird effect on Roy. Perhaps he'd assumed she'd be a taboo topic, considering what happened.

"Right." Roy must've been sick of takeout himself, because the thought of a homemade meal, made by Ed, seemed actually appetising.

Then, an idea struck him. He fastened his uniform jacket back up, and nodded to Ed. "Yes, let's go to the shop, I want to test something."

Ed rolled his eyes, but followed.

When they reached the store, Roy paused outside. Ed turned back to look at him, confusion on his face. "You go in, I'll wait here. Time to start training the bond."

Ed blinked, his eyes going to the thread on his right wrist. "Right, okay."

Roy leaned against the wall by the door, his mind preoccupied. He hoped the store was small enough for Ed to get everything he needed without them going too far. This was going to hurt, he knew that, but he hoped they wouldn't reach the double-over-in-pain stage. Or the passing out stage.

A palm in front of his face had him blinking out of his thoughts. He looked at Ed's expectant stare, and scowled.

"Are you serious right now?"

Ed raised his eyebrows, his expectant stare not faltering.

Roy cursed, reaching into his pocket for some money. He aggressively thrust the coins into Ed's palm. "Spend more than that and you'll have to pay for the rest yourself."

Ed counted the money with a scowl. "Stingy bastard."

Roy glared at him. "You're costing me an arm and a leg, Fullmetal."

"Very bad analogy."

"You deserve it."

Ed growled at him, and Roy could feel the annoyance through the bond as though it was his own emotion. Maybe it was.

"You earn double than me!" Ed yelled, indignant. He pocketed the money, his eyes glaring at him the entire time.

Roy was unfazed. "You're the one who turned down the promotion to Lieutenant Colonel."

Ed growled loudly in aggravation and promptly entered the shop, leaving Roy by the wall.

The tug was felt immediately. The stab of pain followed soon after, and Roy grit his teeth. It was pathetic how they couldn't even be in different rooms without feeling pain.

He started counting as a way to occupy his mind. Focusing on his breathing, he absently watched people walk down the street or entering the shop. When he felt the pain spread from his chest to the rest of his body, he grew slightly worried.

Was Ed okay?

He bit his bottom lip as he looked into the store, trying to catch a glimpse of Ed. He couldn't see him. A glance at his pocket watch told him it had been fifteen minutes since Ed had entered the shop. The pain was making him want to sit down, but he couldn't, not without attracting attention. He hoped Ed could pretend he didn't feel like his body was about to implode.

He had to trust that Ed knew when to stop and move closer to him. He hoped his stubbornness didn't cost them; he hoped he had the common sense not to push too far and make them faint.

Roy didn't trust him at all. He knew how stubborn Ed was, he would surely think they could take a bit more pain until they passed out. Roy was itching to enter the store and find him before it was too late.

The pain flaring up his wrist made him hiss, his right hand clutching and massaging his left wrist. His vision was going blurry at the edges.

No, he didn't trust Ed at all.

He entered the store and immediately looked around. It was busier than he'd liked; at least last time they'd gone at a later time, but now it was the middle of the day.

Roy decided to let the bond lead the way. He could barely see the soft golden string between them in the harsh artificial lighting of the store, but he could feel a pull he assumed was towards Ed. He followed it, the tug in his chest growing almost desperate. The urgency concerned him.

What if something had happened? He had to find Ed.

With every stride the pain was easing, slowly but surely, until he entered the meat isle and paused.

And there he was, holding some sort of fresh meat, already staring at Roy as though he knew he had been approaching.

Roy swallowed, realising his mouth had gone dry. Ed frowned in what Roy identified as mild concern and walked the remaining steps between them. The tug was gone.

"Are you all right?"

Roy took a deep breath, and looked at Ed's basket, filled with vegetables and tins of tomatoes. "You went too far."

Ed winced. "Yeah, sorry, some stuff I needed was in the isle furthest away from the entrance."

Roy pursed his lips. He straightened, absently brushing his uniform and trying to compose himself. "I said to start training the bond, not to push its limits again."

Ed shrugged, but he looked apologetic. "I thought we could handle it. I'm done now anyway so let's go pay."

As they waited in line, Roy eyed the basket again. "What are you planning on making anyway?"

Ed looked at him, flashing a smile so broad Roy's heart stuttered. Ed had never smiled at him like that before.

"Mum's legendary soup."

Roy observed Ed making soup. It was a peculiar scene he never thought he'd witness. It seemed so…domestic.

He watched as Ed chopped vegetables, cutting himself with the knife multiple times, and moved about the kitchen in the most disorganised way possible. Roy was supposed to be reading, but he just kept getting distracted.

Ed was currently opening all the drawers in the kitchen, obviously looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

Ed winced, turning to him sheepishly. "Spatula? Me and Al usually make this together, it's quite chaotic cooking by yourself."

Roy huffed in mild amusement. "I wouldn't know, I don't cook."

Ed ended up grabbing a spoon just as Roy had been about to tell him he didn't own a spatula. He threw the tomatoes in the pot on the stove and turned back to him. "Ever?"

"Pretty much."

Ed shook his head with a huff of disbelief, and went back to silently stirring the soup. Using the spoon, he took a quick sip and seemed satisfied with himself.

He quickly served it up in two bowls, and handed one to Roy, followed by some bread. "You're not going to poison me, are you?"

Ed rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply as he sat down and immediately started eating.

Roy took a spoonful and raised his eyebrows. "It's actually edible." It was actually more than edible, but he wasn't about to inflate Ed's ego that much. He hadn't had a homemade meal in a while, and this was a much needed break in his eating out streak.

"Not as good as mum's, but it'll do."

They ate in comfortable silence, and once they were done Roy automatically went to do the dishes. Then, they sat and read until 10PM.

As Roy was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, he realised they'd fallen into a bit of a nighttime routine too.

Before bed, Roy would usually start washing the dishes of the day while Ed finished up his notes. Then, they'd wordlessly take turns in the bathroom, before they each retreated to their bed.

They'd dragged Ed's mattress out of the spare bedroom once again, since Roy knew he'd been right about the bond interfering with their sleeping patterns. He hadn't outwardly admitted that Ed was right, but he was.

He supposed they'd have to deal with the dream sharing. For a bit longer, Roy told himself. There hadn't been a dream last night, so hopefully there would be none tonight either. They'd break the bond soon enough and this would all feel like a bad dream.