There are many things that Ed refuses to ever admit. One such thing is that although they get fur all over his clothes and somehow in his automail, he actually likes Al's furball army. Another is that even though he bitches about constantly, Ed absolutely loves being the little spoon. There's just something being encompassed by Roy that Ed adores. Of course, he can never say this because that would involve admitting he was little and that is something Ed will never, ever do. Thankfully, it doesn't matter how much he whines and complains, Roy always ends the day wrapping his arms around Ed and pulling their bodies close together.

Until one day, he doesn't.

Roy's just finished in the bathroom but instead of sliding under the duvet and enveloping Ed in his octopus limbs, he turns on his side so that he's facing away from Ed. Since Roy made the rule to never go to bed mad (something Ed used to counter by escaping to Al's) he knows that Roy can't be angry with him but then that leaves the question, what's wrong?

Ed waits a bit, to see if Roy will realise his grievous mistake, but when his back remains cold and bare he's forced to speak up.

"Hey Roy, you feeling okay?" He asks, turning over and Roy follows suit.

"I'm fine Ed, why do you ask?"

Ed narrows his eyes. To the casual observer, Roy's face might look only mildly curious but Ed knows better. He can tell when the conniving bastard's up to something.

"This is the first time I've not been suffocated in your death grip. You decide your finally too old to use me as your teddy bear?"

Roy's lips quirk. "Well, I decided that it has been selfish of me to, as you so nicely put it, suffocate you during the night so I thought I would respect your wishes and stop."

Ed raises an eyebrow. "After nearly a year." He says blandly and Roy shrugs. There that slightest tremor to them that Ed knows means he's holding back laughter.

"At first I thought you secretly enjoyed but considering the length of time you've vocalised your distaste I've finally decided that can't be the case, can it?"

There's that challenging glint. He wants Ed to admit it. Admit that he enjoys being the…little spoon. Well tough shit, Ed's not going to be manipulated that easily.

"Nope," he replies, popping the p and Roy's mouth twists into a wry smile.

"If that's all, I have an early morning so I ought to get to sleep. Goodnight."

"Night," Ed says and with that, he's left staring at the back of Roy's head. He glares at it. Fine then, two can play at this game.

Ed settles on his own side, alone, and shuts his eyes. By the time he hears the soft snores Roy insists he doesn't make, Ed is convinced he's never going to sleep again. Roy has ruined him. He manages to sleep perfectly fine when he's away on business (well, mostly fine), but apparently having Roy in such close proximity means his brain refuses to shut down and relax. Ed's used to pulling all-nighters but he absolutely refuses to see the smug face Roy will have when he spots the dark circles under his eyes.

This calls for drastic measures.

Stealth isn't exactly one of Ed's strong suits however he decides he better learn it quickly since he's going to need it in order to get Roy Mustang's damn arms around him without waking the crafty bastard up. Roy will just assume he ended up cuddling Ed in his sleep, he'll remember that he can't live without it, and all with be right in the world.

Slowly, Ed inches towards Roy, crossing the short distance between them. First, he needs to roll Roy over without rousing him. Sounds simple enough.

With a hand he made to warm up (because he's thought this plan through), he carefully hovers it over Roy's shoulder. At the beginning of their relationship where Ed wasn't used to contact and they were both suffering from constant nightmares, it wasn't rare for them to have unpleasant awakenings. Now, however, Ed hopes that Roy will feel safe enough that Ed won't be about to receive an attempted strangling.

Bracing himself just in case, Ed drops his hand and though he feels a brief twitch, Roy carries on snoring. Ed lets out the breath of air he'd been holding. So far, so good. Next, Ed needs to rotate him. This should be interesting.

Softly, Ed begins to push down and when Roy barely stirs (Ed is so pissed he won't be able to tease Roy about this without his cunning plan), he pushes a bit harder, and harder again until suddenly, of his own accord, Roy flips over. He settles with a quiet huff that has Ed grinning.

Step 1 complete.

Step 2 is getting Roy's muscle memory to kick in so that his arms automatically wrap around him. He pauses, however, to get a look at Roy. Since their usual position involves Ed facing away from Roy, rarely does he get the opportunity to see the man asleep and he has to concede, it's a sickeningly endearing sight. Roy's forehead, normally creased due to stress, is wrinkle free, making him look years older (not that he even looks that old to begin with). His mouth is curved in a gentle, relaxed smile that makes Ed want to kiss him however since that would ruin the whole plan, he refrains. Happily, he notices that one of Roy's arms is already outstretched invitingly towards Ed. Perfect.

Twisting himself so that his body is facing the same direction as Roy's but his neck is stretched over his shoulder, he delicately picks up Roy's free arm and cautiously places it over his waist. Much to his surprise, within seconds Roy's subconscious gets the hint and the arm tightens and Roy's body lines up close to his own. The sensation of Roy's soft puffs of air against his neck is a welcome one and Ed sighs contentedly. Sure, he might have to do this a few more times the following nights but now that's he's proven it can be done he-

"You know Edward," Roy whispers in his ear, making Ed freeze; "You could have just said something. There's no shame in admitting you like being the…little spoon."

Ed will later insist he was perfectly justified in shoving his foot into the bastard's groin.