Hello again. I would like to point out that my story so far is a little weird. Have you noticed? The narrative is just whipping back and forth. This is weird because, well, I didn't write it that way. There were little stars and dashes in between narratives so you tell when they switch. I'll see if I can figure out how to fix that little problem (Not too good with this sort of thing lol :3)

Sorry, and again, please enjoy.

-Roy-

Colonel Roy Mustang walked down the length of street outside the Fullmetal Alchemist's home, then back up again. And back down….up….and down again. He'd been doing exactly this for the past ten minutes. He couldn't help it though; he couldn't decide whether to leave the younger man well enough alone, or go back inside and comfort him. And he seemed to change his mind conveniently at every street corner and turn 180 degrees once more.

Guilt weighed heavily on Roy's mind. He was the older person in this situation: He should know what to do for fuck's sake! And yet, he was totally helpless. He'd never been in a situation like this before, except, perhaps, that one time at the party. But in his defence, Roy had been incredibly drunk, and the guy had looked incredibly feminine.

"Argh!" He cried loudly, and threw his arms up in the air. He was standing directly in front of Ed's house, determined to stare the door down. Thoughts drifted in and out of his head, but they were always interrupted by the returning memories from the night before. Edward's face, for instance, when he told Roy how much he'd looked up to him all these years…

The brisk morning air swirled around him, and cherry blossoms from the nearby trees caught in Roy's hair and clothing. Even though sunlight poured down like liquid gold, and flowers were blooming, Roy felt cold and dead. A physical ache had coiled low in his belly and wouldn't go away. He knew it wasn't just a stomach-ache though.

He would wait. That was all he could do really. Otherwise, he would go insane with worry, he wouldn't get anything down, Hawkeye and the others would worry…it just wasn't worth the trouble. So Roy Mustang sat down on the hard pavement outside of Edward Elric's home, and he waited.

-Edward-

Ed was, for lack of a better term, shell-shocked. The events of the day – and night – caused his brain to cease its usual storming, and his body went into automatic mode. He set about the house, mindlessly going through his normal morning routine. He threw in some laundry, tidied his study, and made some coffee. Steaming mug in hand, he went into his room to set his bed and dress properly. However, the moment he saw the thrice-accursed bed, he halted in his tracks.

There, poking out from beneath his bed, was the letter he'd left on Roy's desk the night before. He picked it up, sat on his mattress, and looked it over. All in all, there wasn't anything overly embarrassing or strange, he thought. The only oddity he could find was the underlined sentence towards the end.

"These feelings of mine aren't really important I suppose, or at least, maybe not to you, but they have been worrying me for a while."

Ed stared at the line, dumbfounded. What did it mean? Why would Roy have found that part significant? Maybe…maybe Roy…no. No, surely, it couldn't be… But what if…?

What if Roy had feelings about him too? Why else would they have done what they did if there hadn't been some amount of mutual attraction?

Ed stopped dead. Wait. So, did Ed have feelings for Roy? Feelings beyond that of respect and admiration? It was true, Ed had been worried about what he'd been feeling, but…love?

-Roy-

After an important event in anybody's life, there is always that point of inner turmoil and reflection. That point where the person keeps replaying the events in their head, trying to make sense of it, and come to a conclusion, or better yet, a solution.

This is exactly what a certain colonel was doing at this very moment. An unwelcome and disturbing thought had interfered with his concluding and reflecting though. Edward, though a man of the military, was still pretty young. And young guys, especially the ones who were quite honestly, married to their work, might not have done what other guys couldn't get their minds off of, i.e. sex. So it was entirely possible that Ed had been completely and wholly been, well, new to the whole thing.

And what if he was, thought the colonel before his thoughts could go haywire. So what if Ed had been a virgin? Even if he wasn't gay, at least it had been with a good-looking guy, right –

"You were the only older-male figure I had after…"

"These feelings…have been worrying me for a while."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why…I don't even remember…I…I…"

Roy frowned. That darn kid…why did he have to be so fucking adorable? So what if he was a guy? When Roy so much as looked at those golden eyes, he just wanted to hold him. He wished he could make the other alchemist happy again, make all the pain he'd hidden away disappear. And if that meant having a relationship with a man, well then, he would have a relationship with a man.

Ah, but what if Fullmetal didn't want to do that? What if he simply wished it had never happened. What if Roy so much as proposing the idea of dating only caused more pain for him? Oh, but then, what if Roy just took off, and Edward still had feelings for him that were now made even more confusing? Either way, this whole situation was going to be difficult. Did Ed hate him? Like him?

Love him?

Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there?

-Edward-

The elder Elric brother, the famed Fullmetal Alchemist, was having boy troubles. And not just any boy troubles, either. These were more like man troubles. Colonel troubles, to be exact. See, Ed was now twice as shocked as before, because a bit of his memory had slipped back to him oh-so-helpfully right after he'd re-read his note.

The first thing he recalled was kissing Roy in the doorway. The older man was taller than him, sure, but not by much anymore. And he'd given in so easily, that Ed remembered all too well. The feeling of a man's – Roy Mustang's – lips pressed to his, his arms wrapped around Edward's shoulders and snaking up through his hair…it wasn't bad. It didn't repulse Edward. No, instead it scared him. He was terrified of these foreign feelings. He could go up against ten million Homunculi as long as he didn't have to face this, right now. But there weren't ten million Homunculi to choose from. It was just Roy.

Ah yes, the second thing. That was a continuation of the memory he'd encountered on the bathroom floor earlier, but with pictures. Pictures of Roy's flushed face, his teeth grazing Edward's neck. Images of Edward grabbing at the colonel's hair, running his hands down the length of the hot body against him. Again, this was not something that Ed didn't like. He thought about that one for a while, wondering if those things he'd done to Roy, and let be done to him, were something that he'd wanted for a long time, or just the lonely lust brought out by the affects of numerous alcoholic beverages.

But the feelings he felt now were real, untainted by liquor. He knew that if he'd had the chance, he would have done it all again.

The last memory was the one that was bothering Ed now. Or, not bothering him really, since he smiled sadly as he replayed it again and again through his head. It was the one that mattered the most.

After most of the passion had ebbed and died, Edward and Roy had lain in the bed together, Roy's arm hooked around the other's belly. Roy had mumbled something about "spooning", whatever that meant, and giggled. Giggled – the Flame colonel! Of course, the whole incident seemed to tickle Ed's funny bone at the time, and soon both of them were laughing and snuggling into each other for warmth. At that point, Ed had decided to voice his drunken opinion.

"I'm happy, you know," he'd whispered.

Roy went silent. 'Happy, you? What in the world could make you happy?"

"You?" Edward said it like it was a question. In many ways, it was. He was surprised to find that it was true, but being there, in another man's arms, he'd felt safe and loved, and happy.

Then, Roy kissed him. It wasn't kissing back, and it wasn't a lustful mashing of faces and tongues. It was deep and meaningful, and when he pulled back, Roy was smiling.

They mumbled some weird conversation about alchemical theory before one or the other, or both, drifted off.

Remembering this now, Ed fell back against his pillows. The spot where Roy had been sleeping only a few short hours ago, he reminded himself, but he didn't give a damn. The pillows smelled like fire, like when you blow out a match, and a spicy cologne that Ed couldn't put a name to. Roy smelled like the desert, Edward thought, but he didn't know what that meant. He dug his head into the pillow and breathed in the scent, and fell asleep before he could cry again.

"Ed!"

Ed's head snapped off the pillow so fast that he was in danger of getting whip lash. Standing in the door of the room was Mustang, and he was holding something. He thrust this object towards Edward's face.

It was a rose. A glittering, iridescent, glass rose, with intricate little details like thorns and the veins of the leaves. These veins in the glass were silver. There were even dewdrops glistening on the fragile petals.

"I. I found. Some sand. It's. For you." Roy gasped. He was out of breath, and had obviously ran here from…a sandlot?

"I can't…..stand….the idea of not even being friends with you, Fullmetal," Roy said. "So if our choice is to either be lovers or enemies, I pick lovers. Wait, no, that didn't come out right…"

Ed gaped at Roy, still holding out the glass flower and muttering what might have been the right words to himself.

"It sounded way better in my head," he finally continued. "But that actually sums it up well. Soo….what do you say?" He looked at Edward expectantly, and Ed had to wonder if this had been bothering Roy as much as it had been bothering him.

"That depends…" Edward said slowly, taking the glass rose carefully, shivering as his hand brushed Mustang's. "Are you asking me this out of pity, or do you genuinely care about meeh-!"

His sentence was cut short by Roy's mouth. This kiss was as close to the afore-mentioned kiss, and as far. Ed melted into the older man, their mouths locking and arms cradling one another, though Ed was careful not to break his gift. Roy bit Ed's lower lip slightly, and their teeth clicked together for a second. Roy spoke against Edward's mouth, whispering the words.

"I care about you, Edward Elric. I may even love you."

Those words…they made the renowned Fullmetal Alchemist go weak in the knees. But it was okay, because Roy would catch him if he fell. In fact, they did fall, both of them, or rather, Roy pushed Ed gently down onto the bed. He kissed Edward again, nipping and licking until he was down to the younger man's throat. Ed made a strangled noise and drew back.

"Look, I know this might sound silly, but last night was my first time. With anyone, and I, um, am not really sure how to do this?"

Roy grinned. "You could have fooled me, Edward," he said, but his face had softened. "How about this: last night didn't count. Your first time, can be with you sober, me sober, right here, and right now."

He didn't move. He was waiting for an answer, a signal. So Edward, taking a deep breath, nodded and pulled the Flame Alchemist back to him and they started where they had left off.

Heeeey ^/^ Sorry about that. It's just that this chapter was already longer than the other two by far. By all means, if you want them to, er, 'get it on', just say so and I shall add a steamy-but-cute epilogue or something, but so far only two people have actually commented on the story.

I apologize for the long wait. I spent the past week and a half trying to get my overdue work done before spring break. Busy busy busy! Anyways, thank you for reading. I hope I don't disappoint!