The Right Thing

It was inevitable, healthy even, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Roy poked, rather disinterestedly, at the pile of coagulating mass of egg on his plate. He had made breakfast out of habit, and found himself wanting nothing more than a pot or three of coffee.

“Pass the….ah.” Roy aborted his requested and reached for the sugar, remembering he liked his coffee black only as he took a sip of the newly sweetened beverage.

“Get your act together, Mustang.” He stood, reached behind himself and poured the undrinkable coffee into the sink. “Wonderful. Now you are talking to yourself.”

He would have traded his reputation for the phone to ring, hell, his rank if someone would knock on the door. It was too damn quiet. Unfortunately Maes wasn’t likely to call, and Ed was most likely more inclined to punch him in the teeth with an automail fist than come knocking first thing in the morning.

“You had to go and open your big mouth.” Roy snarled, making his way to the bathroom. Subjecting his reflection to the same scathing, slightly mocking, glare that had quelled military personnel and rebel alike for years without fail he attempted to tame his mussed hair.

Amazing what a night of rolling about and abusing a pillow that had done nothing to merit the attack would do to ones hair.

‘You…bastard.’

It was ironic, but he almost wished Ed had shouted at him. Even a little. He didn’t know what to do with a venomously quiet Ed…didn’t know what to do with that….repulsed….

Ah. His stomach reminded him, rather forcefully, that filling it with cold egg and coffee when it was already more than troubled enough with acid was a rather poor idea.

He should have listened to Riza. He really should have listened…

Taking the fact his stomach had just ejected breakfast with interest to mean that man was not meant to ingest food in the morning and staunchly deciding never to make the mistake of eating before noon again Roy stood, taking a bit of pride from the fact his legs didn’t wobble. At least not very badly.

And the phone rang.

“Great timing.” Roy hissed, despising the taste in his mouth. He lurched his way to the phone, snagged it in a white knuckled fist. “Mustang.”

“Sir.”

Not the voice he had been waiting for, dreading. “Lieutenant.”

“Sir, just reminding you that you have a meeting in less than an hour.”

Muttering something that was most likely anatomically impossible and most definitely not how one should refer to their superior officers, Roy expressed not only his displeasure with the situation, but that he had not only forgotten but was utterly unprepared.

“It’s a shame about the flat on the car. I will let them know you are on your way and will be there as soon as you can.”

It took him a few minutes, but as soon as he was done brushing his teeth for about the fourth time, a slow sort of smile cracked across his face. The entire world wasn’t against him after all.

Merely his stomach and his lover.

The meeting proved to be just as tedious as Roy had assumed it would, allowing time for his stomach to cease its cranky burbling and grumbling. Hell he had almost recovered the last few fragments of his smug, self assured smile when he walked out of the office and directly into Ed.

“Ah. Edward…”

“Sir.” The honorific was so terribly out of place on Ed’s lips, which was probably Ed’s intention. He met Roy’s eyes aggressively, allowing Roy to take in not only their glaring vehemence, but the obvious bruising and reddening most likely due to lack of sleep.

Or at least that is what the little demon in the back of Roy’s mind was hoping.

“Fullmetal.” Roy countered, letting just enough disdain to seep into his words, just a hint of a sneer.

That got a reaction, though in hindsight, Roy probably should have avoided antagonizing the already irate alchemist. Ed fair bristled, his face contorting into a study of hatred as he glared up at Roy. “Was there anything you needed, sir?”

Roy thought for a moment about saying no, about letting Ed stalk off in a huff…and as attractive as watching that would be, what with the very non-regulation tight pants Ed was fond of wearing, but it wouldn’t help solve anything in the long run. He had managed to start this little spat of theirs, and he might as well make some sort of attempt at smoothing it over.

“Would you like to get some lunch?”

Ed twitched, obviously not expecting a polite invitation in response to his baiting. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s lunch time. I thought you might be hungry. My treat, of course.”

Ed glared at him, obviously suspicious, most likely more so of the beaming smile on Roy’s face than the words themselves.

“No.” he finally replied.

“No?” Roy raised an eyebrow.

“No. I don’t want to get lunch. I’m not hungry.” A rather pathetic sort of gurgle sputtered ominously from Ed’s midsection.

Roy’s own stomach attempted a sort of sympathetic burble, but was foiled by the fact Roy had ingested enough of Maes’ old hangover cure to solve a regiment of stomach aches earlier that morning.

“Not feeling well?” Roy murmured solicitously.

“Shut up.” Ed growled.

“I might have something…”

“No.”

“Are you sure? I…”

“I said no.” Ed snarled. “I can fucking take care of myself. When will you get that through your damn head?”

And back to the very root of their problem.

Roy didn’t try to justify his words, didn’t try to defend himself, as it would only set Ed off more. After some impressive glaring Ed turned on heel and stalked off. Roy sagged as soon as Ed’s eyes turned away, watched as the blond left, a helpless sort of look on his face. “But I…” it was irrational, it was more than a little demeaning…but damn did he want to chase off everything in the world that had hurt, would hurt, Edward Elric. He wasn’t the romantic heroic type, sure as hell wasn’t used to wanting to be someone’s damn white knight…Was it such a terrible thing, to want to take of ones lover, to make sure they were protected? He hadn’t meant to come off as intruding, as overprotective…It was a dangerous assignment, and he had never meant for Ed to find out it had been reassigned to someone else…

It was all Ed’s fault. If he wasn’t so irresitably…so addictively….addictive…

And so infuriatingly touchy…

Roy’s stomach gurgled thoughtfully, wondering if maybe it could get something to eat. Roy wondered if he would be missed at the office if he took the afternoon off, as he was sorely tempted to see if the answer to his problem might actually be in the bottom of a bottle of brandy…