So, I got this idea watching FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood. When Mustang tells Hawkeye that there's fire in Edward's eyes? Yeah, that's what inspired this. I kinda mixed Brotherhood and the other one together, so don't get confused.

I'm considering giving this two-shot a partner called 'Ice in his Eyes', which would be the same thing but from Ed's POV. Tell me if you like that idea.

1

"Roy? What's wrong?" Maes asked from behind me. His voice was disgustingly cheerful, as usual. I could practically hear the smile that was sure to be plastered across his face. "You're still coming to dinner with me and Gracia tonight, right?"

Turning from my desk with a sigh, I nodded. "I wouldn't miss Gracia's cooking for the world," I assured him with a false smile. "And without Fullmetal around, I might actually get to eat some this time."

"Yeah, Ed sure has a healthy appetite," he chuckled. With a wave, Hughes ambled out of my office. It was one of those days when I couldn't figure out if Maes truly hadn't a care in the world, or was just that good at hiding it.

With another sigh, I glanced back at the paperwork on my desk. There wasn't that much. I could afford to leave until tomorrow. Maes would be disappointed anyway if I showed up for dinner still in uniform.

But home wasn't a place I wanted to go either. If I were to go home, the first thing I would do would be to grab a drink. Getting drunk wasn't a good idea before going over to the Hughes's house. If I wanted to be honest with myself, there was only one place I had any desire to be.

"Sir?" Hawkeye's voice floated from the door. My efficient lieutenant stood in the open doorway, holding her hat under one arm. "The car is ready."

"What car?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. Hawkeye had a horrible habit of being a nanny to me. I admit, I need it sometimes.

"The one that is going to take you home and wait while you shower and change, then deliver you to the Hughes residence," she replied. The steel in her eyes told me that 'no' was not an option.

"Very well," I sighed, pushing away from my desk. I've been doing a lot of sighing lately.

The walk to the car was silent. Twilight was descending upon the city, painting wonderful blends of orange, red, blue and purple across the sky. Once, this was one of my favorite times of day. The colors mass-produced as crayons and paint could never do justice to the originals of nature. But I noticed that preference of colors had been switching to yellow against my will.

Hawkeye opened the car door for me, and I slid in with a nod to her as thanks. After closing my door and climbing into the driver's seat, the engine was started. Pulling smoothly out of the lot, we began the journey to my humble abode. Hawkeye was a woman of many talents, driving not being the least among them.

I turned to stare blankly across the passing scenery, not really seeing anything. My mind had put a pair of golden eyes between me and the rest of the world. Golden eyes that blazed with a fire of their own, a determination I had never seen before and will most likely never see in any other.

The first time I had seen them was many years ago, when their owner was just a child. I had picked him up by the front of his shirt in a rage, furious to find the remains of human alchemy. I had expected anything, anyone but what I was presented with. The prodigy I had been told to find was a 12-year-old boy. His eyes stared up at me, completely empty.

Even then I had been struck by the color of his eyes. Golden was the only way to describe them. Flat at the time, without any spark behind them, and they were still beautiful. The poor lad was in shock. Whether from the blood loss or at the knowledge of what he had done, I still don't know.

I sat them down at the table and read them the riot act, then offered the boy a position as a State Alchemist. The old woman had been furious. I think that she had expected them to never want to use alchemy again. Obviously the woman had no knowledge of the science. If she had, she would have known that once a person embraces it, there's no escape. It consumes your entire life, changes you, making you great and powerful. It also has mysteries and practically a will of its own, cutting you down to size at the most inopportune moment.

I watched as his eyes flickered to life. Something I had said caught his attention. There was a plan forming in his head, I could practically see it. A spark had caught, and he focused all of his attention on it. The boy probably stopped listening to everything I said from that point on. Whatever he was thinking, it caused that spark to catch into a flame. By the time I went to walk out of the house, a furnace was roaring behind those golden orbs.

There have been so many times that I have seen those eyes aflame that you'd think I can't remember them all. You'd be wrong.

When I told him his alchemist name was Fullmetal. Covertly watching him study in the library, focused on whatever arcane text he had dug up. Reading a report that hinted at the location of a Philosopher Stone. Fighting an enemy, arm transformed into a blade. Clapping his hands together, face alight with the joy of alchemy.

The flame isn't always work related. I've seen it when he's playing with Elysia. While Al is cuddling a kitten. Hughes retelling some dramatic story. Watching Hawkeye clean her guns. Even, though I doubt he meant for me to notice, observing me as I filled out the ever dreaded paperwork.

Whether it's accompanied by a crazed grin, absolute terror, or even tears, the fire in his eyes burns on. I've often pondered what the flame is that I see. Passion? Determination? Stubbornness? The conclusion I came to was simple: it's pure Edward. It's what makes him who and what he is. The fire is Edward, condensed and shone brightly for the world to see and respect.

"Sir, we're here," Hawkeye stated, interrupting my musing by opening my door.

As I got out, I nodded once more. "You're welcome to come inside while you wait," I offered. If Hawkeye was inside, I would be less likely to drink myself into a stupor and pass out in the linen closet again.

From the amused smirk that flickered across her face, she had thought the same thing.

-
Hawkeye sat on my sofa downstairs in my living room while I showered. The hot water felt divine on my sore back after being hunched over at my desk all day. Maes wasn't expecting me until half past seven, and it was only six. I figured I could let myself relax a bit, take my time before getting there.

Closing my eyes, I leaned against the shower wall. So tired… NO! Falling asleep in the shower is so stupid and cliché. If I drowned in my own bathroom I would never forgive myself. Fullmetal would probably see it as poetic. The Flame Alchemist, drowning in his own stupidity. Ed would like that very much.

Wrapping a towel tightly around my waist, I stepped out into my bedroom. The clothes I planned to wear were already set out on a chair near my small desk, right down to the shoes and socks. Flipping back the blue coverlet, I slid into bed and closed my eyes. Maybe I could have Hawkeye call Maes and tell him to make a rain-check… The sudden rumble of my stomach dispelled that idea immediately.

Letting my mind wander, I soon fell asleep.

Dream Sequence (Because SuperShanny loves them )

Mustang sat on a boulder on a beach, utterly relaxed. The warm breeze teased his black hair and tugged gently at the white shirt he wore. The orange glow from the slow setting summer sun illuminated the water. A perfect moment.

"Here you are, bastard," Ed chuckled, running up from who knows where. "I've been looking for you."
Roy raised an eyebrow. "And why is that, Fullmetal?" he asked. The blond never came looking for the Colonel unless he had destroyed something.

Ignoring the question, Ed hopped up onto the boulder as well. His beautiful gold eyes were faceted to the water, watching the light flicker across its surface. "Why do you call me Fullmetal?" he asked instead.

Roy snorted. "Because that's your name." Really, if the boy couldn't figure that one out he would be hopeless in the political swamp of the military.

But the boy shook his head. "My name is Edward," he countered, not looking away from the surf.

A tight feeling curled up in Mustang's chest, right under his heart. "Fullmetal-"

"Is it so hard to call me Edward?" the boy interrupted, snapping his golden gaze from the water up to meet Roy's own black eyes. "Or Ed? Everyone else does. Hughes, Hawkeye, even the Furor calls me Elric. Only you call me consistently by the name given to me by the state."

The fire of Fullmetal's gaze was completely focus on Mustang alone, and it was a bit overwhelming. "Because you're my subordinate," he replied automatically. "And I can't have you thinking otherwise."

"Why would I?" the young alchemist asked, cocking his head to the side.

Because I want you to, Roy thought. There were so many things Roy wanted to be to the Elric boys. Friend, guardian, father figure, teacher… For Ed the list included one more: lover. Above all though, Roy wanted to be Edward's friend. Ed was smart and funny and unpredictable, and so like Roy himself had been when he was younger. But sadly, his position as a higher-ranking officer came first.

"You're powerful, Fullmetal," Mustang chuckled instead. "If I let my guard down around you, you might just usurp me."

Ed pulled a face and looked back out at the water. "Why the hell would I want your job?"

The colonel remained silent. He knew that Ed didn't want his job. Everyone knew that the Fullmetal Alchemist had no political ambition. That was a good thing, considering the boy's temper. But if Fullmetal knew just how badly Mustang wanted to be a part of his life, he might just turn it against him. Devious little bastard.

"Do you know what I think?" Ed asked, turning back to Roy with a smile. A genuine, happy smile. It was too infrequent an expression, Roy thought. Ed should smile like that much more often.

"What's that, Fullmetal?" Mustang sighed, sounding completely un-interested.

"I think that you should try calling me Ed," the boy replied. "Just to see what happens."

Roy looked out at the rolling waves and sighed. A slow feeling was rising up from the edges of his consciousness. "This is a dream, isn't it?" the man asked, turning to the speck of gold next to him. "Why couldn't I have a cricket for a subconscious? Why do I have you?" he growled.

Ed smiled sweetly. "I get your attention better than a cricket. You're going to be late for dinner."

-
"COLONEL!" a woman's voice shouted in my ear. "Wake UP!" I had never noticed how shrill Hawkeye's voice could be.

Groggily, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Yes Hawkeye, I am aware that we are running late," I grumbled. I thought that I had stopped having dreams after Ishbal… damn Fullmetal.

Glancing up, I noticed that Hawkeye's face had a light dusting of pink. "I'll, uh, wait in the car," she muttered. Hawkeye turned briskly on her heel and strode out.

After a moment of being startled, I began laughing. I had seen Hawkeye glare down mass murderers, rogue alchemists, her co-workers, and even the Elric brothers without flinching. My bare chest on the other hand, seemed to completely throw her for a loop.

My clothes were just as I left them, so after throwing them on and running a tired hand through my probably hideously bed head hair, I jogged down to the car.

Seeing as Hawkeye was already in the driver's seat, I opened my own door. "Thank you, Hawkeye," I said politely as we pulled off. I don't say that enough to her. It's amazing how much more human I am out of uniform.

I received a nod in return. "Sir, you seem distracted," she pointed out respectfully. "What have the boys done now?"

Even she automatically assumed that my mood had to do with the Elrics. "Nothing like that, Hawkeye," I chuckled. Turning to stare out the window, I asked, "Do you remember what I told you the day we met Fullmetal?" The hope that she would say yes competed with the need for her to say no.

"Of course," she replied promptly. Internally, I sighed again. "It was perhaps the most insightful thing you have ever said. I had remarked that Edward seemed lost. You disagreed, saying that there was a fire in his eyes."

Obviously, I needed to say insightful things more often if this was at the top of the list. "What on earth makes that insightful?" I demanded in exasperation. I don't even know where I was going with the conversation. "It's true, and very apparent."

"I hadn't noticed it," Hawkeye admitted, eyes still focused on the road. "But then I realized that you must have seen it because you have the same fire in yours. And the next time I saw Ed, I knew what I would find in his eyes. Determination. Passion. Absolute and un-wavering stubbornness. You're very lucky to have a protégé who is so very like you."

I snorted. "Hawkeye, Fullmetal is not my protégé. That implies that I have things to teach him, or things he can learn from me. And we're nothing alike."

A ghost of a smile dashed across my lieutenant's face. "If you say so, sir," she replied dutifully. "Here we are. Will you need to be taken home?"

"No Hawkeye. Hughes will take care of it," I assured her as I scrambled out of the car. My right leg had fallen asleep.

The front door was open, as usual. Maes had too much faith in the goodness of people. In the dark hallway, I tripped over something small and human shaped. "Oooww!" it squealed. "HEY!"

Stumbling forward, I managed to flip on the light switch before my cursed pins-and-needles leg gave out. Down to the floor I fell, right next to Maes's daughter Elysia.

"You're not big brother Ed!" she declared, pointing a finger at me accusingly. "You ruined my surprise!"

"Elysia!" Maes called, his head popping out into the hall from the dining room. He chuckled when he saw me on the floor, sprawled out in the most undignified way possible. "Oh, Roy. What with all the noise, I thought it was Ed."

"So I heard," I drawled sarcastically. The little girl had clambered to her feet and was glaring down at me. "Yes?"

"You made me hurt myself!" she exclaimed, showing me her bruised elbow. It was a tiny mark, but to a little girl I suppose it meant a great deal.

Hanging my head to hide a smile, I apologized. "You're right. I'm sorry. Here," I pulled a piece of chalk out of my pocket. Onto Maes's nice wood floor I drew a transmutation circle. All alchemists begin with the basics. Just because I prefer fire doesn't mean that I can't do basic alchemy.

Placing my hands on the circle, it began to glow. As the light faded, a little doll sat in the middle on the circle. "She so pretty!" Elysia cooed. Scooping up the doll, the little girl skipped off into the dining room.

"How did you know what would calm her down?" Maes asked, his eyes obscured by that damn light reflecting off of his glasses.

I shrugged and got to my feet. At least my leg wasn't asleep anymore. "She's a little girl. Alchemy is sparkly and fun looking, plus she got a toy out of it. Why wouldn't it distract her?"

"You know, that's what Edward always does for her."

"No, I didn't," I replied quietly. Why was my entire day revolving around that blonde hair gold-eyed boy? "Hey Maes? You see it, right? That weird fire in Fullmetal's eyes?"

"Yeah, it's kinda like the one in yours," he replied, glancing back distractedly at the dining room. "Come on, dinner is on the table."

With a smile, I followed my friend. Let them think what they wanted. The fire is only in Ed's eyes.