Edward paced outside on the brick again, feet landing in the exact prints he had made only seconds before. Each time his foot lifted, fresh snow drifted leisurely into the pockets, creating a new crunch when he nervously treaded over it once again.

The weather was worsening, and was not about to let up anytime soon, Ed knew that. God, why did he come here in the first place? Getting back was going to be annoying, if not impossible, and the streets seemed to already be shutting down for the night. No sane person would be out at this time, with the clouds as dark as they were and the air as frighteningly cold as it was.

Even the drunks were stumbling in for the night, clinging to each other's arms as they climbed the stairs with heavy legs, coughing out laughs that sent plumes of hot air into the sky above their heads. A woman wrapped her arms around her taller lover's neck, pulling him down for a passionate kiss, blissfully unaware to the narrowed eyes watching them from afar. They separated and entered their dark home, leaving Ed now utterly alone.

Huffing out, Ed finally set his eyes on the wooden door towering in front of him, the one he had been avoiding for the past ten minutes. Raising his hand slightly, he knocked against it, the movement painful for his near-frozen fingers.

After a small wait, the door creaked open, a wash of warm air flooding out as light spilled onto the ground.

"Fullmetal, you managed to make it," Roy's voice reached Ed's tingling ears, a smile on his face. "I was starting to worry that you walked into a snow pile and died."

The grin on Roy's face was close to a sneer, expecting the irritated remark that would soon be thrown at him in response. He looked thoroughly pleased, as if he had been watching Ed pace outside this entire time from the comfort of his toasty brownstone.

"And whose fault is that? Calling me out here when the weather is like this, you'd be to blame if I froze to death somewhere," Ed made no move to enter, but a freezing gust of wind pushed him closer and closer to the soft heat emanating from inside. Damn, a cup of coffee would be great now.

"I Invited you here, didn't I? It wasn't an order," Roy enjoyed watching Ed squirm lightly, brows coming together in silent anger. "Well, come inside then. I have enough on my shoulders as it is, your death isn't something I'd like to add to my resume right now."

Stepping out of the way, Roy opened the door fully, entryway bathed in low-light from inside. Ed paused, irritation bunching his shoulders beneath the flakes that piled on them, before he surrendered to the sheer invitingness of the protection from the cold.

Shaking the sheen of wetness from his coat, Ed heard the door close behind him, the whirring of the wind now muffled behind the seemingly impenetrable door.

"Here, let me get your coat," Roy's voice spoke from behind Ed, catching the blonde off-guard.

"What…?" He looked over his shoulder, at Roy standing above him, the same, aggravating smile across the man's face.

"Your coat, I'll hang it up," Roy held his hand out, waiting for Ed to comply.

"Oh, uh… sure. Thanks," Ed pulled the damp fabric off his arms, not meeting Roy's gaze as he handed it over. Through the entryway, Ed could see the sitting room, lit with candles around pieces of dark furniture. It was surprisingly clean, and fashionable, given that the Colonel was a bachelor, and Ed found himself mystified, not hearing Roy approach him from behind again.

"Go ahead and sit down, the fireplace is on so your boots will dry fast," The man entered the inviting scene, disappearing to the right as Ed found himself increasingly uncomfortable.

Wasn't this… weird? Hanging his coat up, inviting him into such a welcoming home, all the while with an ever-softening smile…

Ed shook his head, chalking it up to the pitiful state of his body, still frozen mind muddled and begging to sink further into the warmth. There was nothing wrong with a man being hospitable to a guest, even if it was the Colonel, and Ed was more than happy to seat himself directly in front of the fire as he had suggested.

Removing his gloves, Ed began to warm his hands, face already burning form the closeness of the small fire, but still pleasurable as the cold melted from his body. The fire jumped and spit embers as it burned on, gradually helping Ed ease into a less rigid state, feeling himself sink into the wooden floor as his body thawed.

"Red or white?" Roy called from the kitchen, and Ed turned, seeing him pull two wine glasses from a cabinet.

"What?" Ed rubbed his ears between his fingers, trying to spread the warmth to the still frigid skin.

"Red it is," Roy muttered under his breath, grabbing a bottle before returning to the sitting room.

Setting the glasses on the table, Roy watched the blonde shake his hair out of its braid, leaning in closer to evaporate the flakes that still sat on his head. The strands fell over his bare shoulder, parting as he ran his fingers through them languidly, almost gently.

"You know, you could have dressed better for the weather," Roy pulled his eyes away, grabbing the wine opener from the table, preparing to pull the cork from the old bottle.

"Yeah well, I didn't expect it to snow so hard," Forcing himself away from the now scalding fire, Ed stood. He approached the window, parting the sheer curtains to catch a glimpse of the now blowing storm outside. "This won't let up any time soon…"

Popping the cork free, successfully grabbing Ed's attention, Roy motioned toward the sofa, "Sit and have a glass."

"Wine? Sorry, I'm not much of a drinker," Ed walked to the table, watching the man pour two glasses of the deep red liquid.

"It's only polite," Roy twisted the bottle as he finished topping off his own glass, running the drink under his own nose with a robust sniff. Leaning back, he sat in the padded chair, swirling the large glass in his hand.

Ed observed the scene warily, aware of the loud humming of the wind behind him. The chill was creeping in through the window, making the hairs on Ed's bare skin begin to stand taut, sensitive from the once boiling heat of the fire.

Roy waited patiently, nursing the wine until Ed decided to finally back away from the frigid glass and sit. The blonde stared at the glass in front of him, watching it reflect the flare from the fire place in its dips and facets.

The glass, along with the wooden table it sat on, were carved intricately, diamond patterns and flowers winding around the legs and rim of each. Ed picked the drink up by its thin stem, twisting it to see the fire morph between the spaces in the design.

When Roy had stopped Ed, a hand on his shoulder, the alchemist had not expected to be invited to drink wine by the fire. He had simply said he needed to speak with Ed privately, and wondered if he could make it to his home later in the night.

Okay, so it was something he could not speak freely about at Central, that in itself was not unusual. What was unusual, was the warmness of the home, the lack of uniform, and the beautiful glasses, filled with wine marked from decades ago. All of this was not necessary to share information, so what the hell was going on?

"You're wondering right now why I asked you to come here, right?" By the time Ed was torn from his thoughts, Roy had finished half of his glass, letting it dangle in his hands as he leant toward the distracted boy.

Nodding, Ed set his untouched wine down, watching the man smirk. Returning the glass to his lips, Roy sipped somewhat, but mostly focused his attention on Ed, humming into the still air.

"I wanted to ask how you were doing," Crossing his legs, Roy rested himself against the back of the chair, drink hiding the grin on his face.

"… How I'm doing? What the fuck does that mean?" Ed guffawed in disbelief while Roy's shoulders shook in laughter.

"Exactly what it sounds like. How are you?" Roy twirled the glass through his fingers, the last of the liquid sloshing against the sides. "How you and Al are doing, if your automail is handling the cold all right, all of that."

"Of course it is," He did have the best mechanic after all. Ed took a handful of his hair and began to braid it over his shoulder, collecting loose ends to occupy his fingers, feeling awkwardly exposed by the unexpected questions.

"It doesn't… hurt? I've always been curious, honestly," Roy began to pour himself a new glass, peeking up through his lashes to meet Ed's eyes.

"It just feels like an arm, and a leg. It's normal," Ed was frankly taken aback by the question, but had to deal with the delay of the man finishing serving himself alcohol to understand what it all meant.

"I just wonder then, why you want your 'body' back?" The inflection of the question made Ed flinch softly, barely noticeable to someone other than himself, but he cursed the movement all the while.

"Who wouldn't want to have their real limbs back, what kind of question is that?" Naturally, Roy would never understand, but that question itself was a bit probing and senseless.

"But, its stronger than an arm, isn't it? And you said it causes you no trouble. No one looks down on you for it either, so why chase after your original self so badly anyway?"

"It's not about me!" Ed shot up in anger, leg slamming the table and causing his drink to teeter precariously. The fire, still burning strong, filled the silence with a hissing heat, strengthening the tension between the two.

"Oh, I see… It's about your brother then."

"Yeah, no shit. Jesus, what the hell is your problem?" Ed barely held his tongue, and though the Colonel no longer smiled, he had half the heart to land a punch square in his jaw. Fancy wine, beautiful home, sparkling glasses that cost more than a family's meals for a week, it was all sick, disgusting. He sat on a velvet chair with a silk tie and somehow had the gall to question Ed's morals, his personal feelings?

"When I was in Ishvall, a soldier got caught up in one of my fires. He lost all his limbs, legs, arms, there was nothing left. Just his upper body and his head," Roy's words forced Ed to focus on him once again, rage falling into an empty pit in his stomach. "I couldn't stop thinking about it, I had watched them carry him out, half dead, skin curled and burnt beyond recognition."

"I went to see him when he woke up. Josh, that was his name. I couldn't even greet him properly, nor could he salute me how he should have. The stump on his shoulder moved, before the sweeping realization hit him again, and his whole body fell. Dead weight, barely able to meet my eyes."

Roy paused to down half of his wine, catching Ed curl his fingers into fists before letting them sit flat again.

"If he had his arms, I think he would have hit me instead. I would have hit me, if I were him."

'Because it was all my fault.'

Neither man spoke, and Roy merely continued to drink, wine darkening his lips with its color.

Roy could not know, there was no way he could have known. He had not been there, he never knew it was Ed's fault. But, at the same time, he knew precisely how he felt. How the never-ending guilt ate you until you could only live just to fix what was wrong.

"There had to have been tens, maybe hundreds of them. Soldiers that died in my fires, I mean. It can take so long for official orders to reach people on the field, and of course in war, nothing goes as planned."

"But, there was nothing I could do about it. Their bodies weren't retrievable, just ash mixed with the dust."

Roy finished off his wine, steel eyes devoid of warmth as the fire jumped in their reflections. Ed fell back onto the sofa, reaching for his own glass, and downing it all in one, large gulp.

The liquid was sour, and his face scrunched as it burnt down his throat. Roy somehow managed to laugh at the sight, but Ed could not find it in himself to feel any sort of emotion.

The pair were silent for a while, Roy refilling Ed's glass every time the boy managed to force it all down. Time passed until Ed could barely remember the time, storm outside slowing to a buoyant snowfall, settling on the rooftops as all the chimneys on the street sent up their last streams of smoke.

When the bottle was more than halfway done, Roy pushed himself to a stand, rolling up his sleeves as he crossed the room. Ed's eyes followed him, hazy mind unable to focus on anything other than his movements.

"This turned out to be no fun at all," Roy sighed, setting the needle down on his record player. He turned to smile at Ed, not a smirk, but a small grin that shined with a ruddy tint. "Care to dance?"

Ed scoffed, finishing the rest of his drink before cutting himself off, sliding the glass across the table, "I don't dance."

"Sure you do, it's easy. I'll lead, all you have to do is follow along," The music began, a serene jazz that fit the buzzing fire and pleasant heat filtering through the room.

Was it the wine that made Ed compliant? Or was it simply the newly shared connection he found he had with the man, one he never expected to feel? They found something they could agree on, something that related them deeper, on a level other than by association or name. State Alchemists, Amestrians, what did it matter? That meant close to nothing in the face of what the reality of it all was, and the glaring truth was never more apparent than it was now.

So Ed stood, approaching skeptically as Roy held his hand out for him to take. He set his hand on top, sputtering forward as Roy pulled him in, strong arms readily wrapping around his waist and forcing him close. Their fingers interlocked, and a deep blush began to form on Ed's chest, traveling up his face when he felt Roy look down at him. Of course, Ed was not going to meet his eyes, instead staring at their feet as they began to move.

He merely shuffled while Roy lead the dance, boots clunking gracelessly against the wood. Roy could not help but laugh, making sure his grip on Ed remained tight as he moved them skillfully across the floor.

The very thought of you makes my heart sing

Like an April breeze on the wings of spring

Roy began to hum the words that sounded distant from the crackling record. Ed felt the vibration through his body, close enough for his face to rest. Tentatively, the blonde let his heavy head fall against the man's chest, aware of the minor pause Roy did at the unanticipated contact.

Once part of his weight was on Roy, it was hard for Ed not to place all of it on him, wanting to let himself feel weightless for once. Without any doubts, responsibilities, or any hideous memories. Just floating, across the floor and passed the heat from the fireplace, Roy's deep hums rumbling in his ears.

The two settled into a rhythm, bodies swaying with the music's easy tempo. Ed let his eyes drift shut, the last thing in his gaze the wine bottle glinting in the fire's light.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" He asked, and Roy's chest thundered with laughter, sound overwhelming Ed's ears.

And you appear in all your splendor

My one and only love.

"What if I was? Did it work?"

The blonde felt the braid he forgot to tie unraveling, along with his resolve against having feelings, against the Colonel, against letting himself be happy. The warmth that spread through his chest, was it from Roy's own, close heat, or was it from feeling wanted, wanted by this man in particular?

When Ed did not answer, Roy stopped their movements. He dropped his hand from Ed's waist and brought it to his face, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Ed…" It was the first-time Roy had ever called him by his name, and Ed felt his face change to bright red, searching the taller man's gaze to avoid the rapid beating of his heart.

Roy brought their lips together, hand guiding Ed's chin and forcing him onto his toes to properly seal the kiss. Both of Roy's arms circled around Ed's waist, somehow pulling them together tighter than they had been before.

Ed let out a soft noise in his throat accidentally, the blood in his ears causing a violent roar and making his fingertips shake. There was a tautness in Roy's muscles, as if he was holding himself back from holding the boy so tightly that he snapped.

Their lips continued to meet as the snow continued to fall outdoors, world moving on as their own stopped. The record played, and the fire dimmed, but Ed only found himself wrapping his arms around Roy's neck, feeling him smile sweetly.

It snowed all night, and the next day when Ed returned to his brother from being stranded at the library, he received barely any inquiring.

"Colonel Mustang wants to see us later today, he said he caught wind of some important information about Scar," Ed blinked, trying not to let the faint heat he felt on his face at the mention of the other man be apparent to Al.

"R-Right, okay."

"Um… they also said to tell you, he said you forgot one of your socks?" Al innocently watched his brother go rigid, tilting his own head in confusion. "Do you know what that means? Is it some sort of code?"

"H-How am I supposed to know?" Ed turned away, back facing his brother to hide the blush that covered him. "There's no way I could know what that idiot is thinking."

Dead, he was dead. The second Ed saw Roy, he was going to rip his head clean off. That man…!

Of course, with Roy dead, that meant there was no one to kiss… so Ed reconsidered. Not dead, just injured. Nothing fatal, and nothing to disfigure his handsome face, no cuts to his built chest either, that would be a shame…

Ed set about how exactly he was going to punish the man as he entered his room, closing the door and sitting on the bed.

Removing his shoes, he found one bare foot, which he had never noticed in the rush to leave the apartment earlier in the morning.

Hi, thanks for checking this fic out. It's my first FMA fic, and I'm not even finished with the Brotherhood anime but I love Roy/Ed so much I couldn't resist.

I just... love them so much! I kept thinking about them slowdancing to the song "My One and Only Love" so I knew I had to write it.

Thanks again for reading and feel free to follow my on tumblr or twitter silvakuros

Have a wonderful holiday season