Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. That belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. If the rights to FMA (or Colonel Mustang) ever appear on eBay, let me know!

A/N: There will eventually be 50 drabbles posted in this, but I figured I'd upload them in sets of 10 for easy reading. ^_^ I hope you enjoy!

Fire and Metal: RoyEd Drabbles

Part 1/5

01 - Air

The Colonel's alchemy is fairly simple to understand. The man simply snaps his fingers and manipulates the spark produced to create a gigantic explosion, using the oxygen and hydrogen in the air to create larger blasts. The fire alchemy isn't just a tool of destruction either; the Colonel can also make small, calculated bursts of flame to intimidate or distract an opponent. His alchemy can be used for anything from lighting a cigarette to leveling a city.

The first time Ed sees it, he blames the alchemy and not the man for the sudden lack of air in his lungs. It is only later on, once he is safely inside his room, that he can admit to himself that perhaps it was the Colonel that took his breath away.

02 - Apples

"I'm not a little kid," Ed complained, glaring daggers at the knife Roy was gently sliding beneath the red apple's peel. "If I wanted fruit, I'd get it and peel it myself."

Roy nodded absently and then smiled in satisfaction as he completed the last go-around the flesh of the fruit and dropped the peel into the waste basket placed there for that purpose. He turned the apple in his hand and began to cut it into even slices, careful not to nick himself with the sharp blade.

"Apples are in short supply this time of year," Roy said casually, fighting the urge to smirk when he heard Ed's sharp, angered intake of breath that always came before one of his rants. "I wouldn't want you to cut this one into pieces too small to eat-"

"Who are you calling so small he couldn't see over the top of an apple even if he had a ladder?!"

03 - Beginning

After Fullmetal's eighteenth birthday, when he was legally an adult in the eyes of the Amestris government, Roy had finally allowed himself to act on the desires that had been simmering inside of his body for years. To his surprise, he had received a rather sloppy kiss for his subtle flirting and then the blonde had followed him home. That one night of passion became two, then three, and then what Roy and Ed had turned into a fling. Neither man had known then that their first night was the beginning of the longest and most satisfying relationship either had ever had.

04 - Bugs

Ed buried his face in Roy's shirt, wrapping his arms around the older man's waist. The Colonel's arms automatically moved around the blonde's shoulders, holding him close.

"I fucking hate the military," Ed said bitterly. His hands fisted in the back of Roy's shirt. "What the hell does it matter if we're sleeping together?"

Roy gave a tense shrug in answer, eyes distant and mouth twisted into a dark scowl.

"I pissed off one too many of the higher-ups," he said, voice flat. "I should have known one of them would eventually try to get something on me by putting bugs in my office."

Silence fell for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

Roy looked down at the small form in his arms, stunned out of his anger for the moment. Ed rarely apologized, though Roy knew he should have expected it. Ed was quick to blame himself, even when it was just as much Roy's fault as Ed's.

"This is my fault. I'm the one that should be getting court-martialed, not you."

Roy moved his hands to Ed's shoulders and pushed the blonde away from him just far enough so that he could kneel in front of his lover. Ed's eyebrows were drawn tightly together, but he met Roy's gaze without flinching away. Roy could tell that the young man was uncomfortable, but Roy could also see traces of the stubborn strength that had attracted him in the first place in the depths of Ed's eyes.

"I've made more enemies than you have," Roy said, letting each of his words ring with sincerity. "If I were anyone else, we never would have been discovered."

Ed didn't seem convinced. Roy sighed and pressed his lips to Edward's. The blonde hesitated, then gave in. They broke apart moments later, letting the kiss remain chaste.

"With any luck, the court will throw out the case. We'll get past this," Roy said.

Ed smiled weakly, the expression not reaching his eyes.

"Yeah," the blonde agreed quietly. "We will."

05 - Coffee

"Here's your coffee, sir," Riza said softly, setting the mug next to Mustang's elbow on his desk. Roy glanced towards the drink, watching the steam rise from the dark liquid with his one remaining eye.

"Thank you, Hawkeye," he said dully, setting down the documents he had been reading and picking up the hot mug. Roy took a slow sip, inwardly wincing at the taste. "Dismissed."

Riza nodded and turned away from Mustang's desk, silently heading out into the main section of the office. She shut the door behind herself, leaving Mustang along with the silence and his cup of coffee.

Roy set down the mug, his eyes still focused on the slowly-rising steam. The beans were always bought in bulk and were fairly cheap. While the coffee had never tasted great, it had at least tasted good last year.

Last year... before Fullmetal had restored his brother and subsequently disappeared.

Roy smiled thinly at the thought. It wasn't surprising that his coffee was so much more bitter now than it had been when Fullmetal was a somewhat regular sight in his office.

Ever since the blonde had disappeared, everything seemed to take on a bitter edge.

06 - Dark

The Colonel's eyes had always been dark, but they had never been this dark.

Ed swallowed heavily, face heating and warmth pooling in his stomach as he stared down at Roy's surprised face. The Colonel had been getting a book from the top shelf down for Ed (despite Ed's protests that he could reach it perfectly fine by himself) and just as Roy had grabbed the slim volume, Ed had accidentally knocked him over. The momentary confusion had result in their current position; Ed seated rather low on the Colonel's torso and the blonde's hands on the older man's chest. Ed's face was perhaps three inches away from Roy's.

For a moment, Ed's eyes flicked towards Roy's lips, but then the blonde shook himself and retreated as if burned by the fire the Colonel was so famous for. Ed sat up abruptly and pushed a little harder than was necessary against Roy's chest.

"I told you I could have gotten it myself," Ed muttered, stomping away. "Bastard."

07 - Despair

Despair was not a look Edward wore well. Mustang noted the slumped shoulders and hooded eyes, briefly berating himself when he realized that he was staring at Fullmetal and not reading Fullmetal's report. He sighed inwardly, putting the paper down as if it was something heavy and brittle. Another false lead and another dead end, meaning the Elric brothers were no closer to their goal today than they were three months ago when Roy had first given them the tip.

His dark eyes studied the blonde intently. Edward wasn't looking at him, but rather stared blankly at the report now resting on the Colonel's desk.

Roy fought the urge to stand and walk over to the blonde, knowing that comfort wasn't something he's allowed to provide a subordinate. Not the kind he had in mind anyway, though he doubted a kiss would do much to cheer up the young man who stood silently before him. He doubted a kiss would even be welcomed, much as he'd like to try it.

Roy forced himself to smirk, falling back on the only method he had of breaking through to Ed.

"Your report is a little light on details. It's much too short. In fact, it's practically pocket-sized." He carefully emphasized the words 'little', 'short', and 'pocket-sized' and pushed the report back towards the blonde. Edward glared at him. "Expand it and return it to me tomorrow."

He waited for the expected explosion, fighting to keep the smirk on his face when all Ed did was glare.

After a minute, Ed looked away and snatched the report from Roy's desk.

"Fine, Colonel Bastard," he said, turning towards the door of the office. Roy stared after him in alarm.

"You haven't been dismissed yet!" he called after the retreating blonde. Ed ignored him and yanked open the office door, stomping out. The door slammed shut behind Ed, leaving only a ringing silence.

Roy stared at the door for several seconds, half-hoping Fullmetal would reappear. When a minute had passed and the door remained shut, he leaned back in his chair and put a hand to his head.

Four years of searching for a legendary item would wear anyone down. Roy knew that. In fact, it was almost surprising that Edward hadn't become discouraged before now. Roy knew that too.

He just wished there was some way for him to ease the burden and offer Ed more than just whispered rumors of an object that might not even exist.

08 - Doors

Ed took a deep breath, staring evenly at the doors of the Gate. Said doors were slightly ajar, the blackness inside writhing as though anxious to take what was left of him to the other side.

The white figure that acted as the Gate's spokesperson, only visible because of it's ever-smiling mouth, sat comfortably in front of that darkness. Ed could feel its invisible eyes watching him.

'You're here for your brother's body.'

Ed jerked his head to indicate 'yes'. Al was having more and more episodes where his soul nearly detached from the armor and they were no closer to finding the Stone than they had been when they started.

The Gate's spokesperson grinned wider.

'You think you have enough to pay?'

Ed glared.

"I'm all I have. If it's not enough..." He bit his lip, anger dissipating. He looked down at his automail arm and leg and clenched his hand into a fist. Better to live as a cripple than a suit of armor. "Then take one or two of Al's limbs. That should pay for it, since all I need is his body."

The array he had drawn on the floor of the warehouse had been activated and would run its course whether or not he died. Al's soul would be moved into his body whether or not Edward was there to see it happen. He hadn't counted on making it back.

The Gate seemed to consider his offer. After a moment, the white figure disappeared abruptly and the doors of the Gate flew open. Ed forced himself to hold his ground as hundreds of thin, whip-like arms with tiny hands emerged from the darkness and streaked towards him.

They struck him and he shut his eyes, not resisting as they wrapped around him and began to pull him towards the Gate. He didn't allow himself to think about what he was doing or what he was giving up, but only thought about what his brother was gaining.

Al would have his body back. His own body, not a metal suit of armor.

Ed was pulled into the Gate and the doors slammed shut behind him, sealing him inside in payment for the service he had demanded. His last thought as the doors closed was not of Al, but rather of dark hair and dark eyes set in a pale, handsome face.

Ed sighed wistfully. Maybe if things had been different...

'I'm sorry, Roy.'

Edward Elric's body dissolved into nothing.

09 - Drink

Edward has a drink in hand when Alphonse asks him:

"Brother..." Al's voice is hesitant and Edward pauses before he takes a sip of his water. "You don't like... women much, do you?"

Ed's hand grips the canteen tighter and he groans inwardly, looking away from the seven foot tall suit of armor following him around. Ed scans the environment, looking for anything that might distract Al from this line of questioning.

This really isn't the time or place to discuss anything like that.

"Brother..." But Al won't just drop it.

With a sigh, Ed shakes his head.

"Do you like... men, then?"

After a hesitation, Ed nods.

"I thought so." Ed looks back at Al, confused. Was that... triumph in his little brother's voice? He opens his mouth to ask, but then thinks the better of it. He turns away from Al and lifts the full canteen to his lips to drink. He has just taken a big swig of water when Al continues.

"I mean, I've seen the way you look at Colonel Mustang, brother."

Ed nearly chokes on the water and he spits out what he didn't accidentally inhale. He stops abruptly and turns to face his younger brother. Al nearly crashes into him, not expecting the sudden halt. Al stares down at his older brother, noticing that the shorter blonde is wordless with rage and embarrassment.

"Wh- how- what the..." Ed splutters. "I-I do not like that bastard! He's a complete asshole!"

Though the armor can't form expressions, Ed can almost see the infuriatingly easy and knowing grin Al would be making if he was in his real body.

"If you say so."

10 - Duty (1)

"Brother! Brother!"

Roy watched the screaming youth, seeing Alphonse's desperate look as the blonde reached for the brother he had just been reunited with a short time ago.

And now Alphonse was losing Ed again, just like Roy was losing Ed.

Roy smiled wryly to himself, shaking his head. It wasn't the same, since Roy had never had Ed to begin with. He reached into his pocket and quietly drew out Ed's old pocket watch. He clenched his hand around it, staring down at the carved surface and the various nicks and dings that marred the symbol of the Amestris military. He ran a thumb over the surface, then sighed quietly.

"Alphonse," he called, not daring to look at the blonde. He sensed rather than saw the younger Elric brother turn. Roy casually tossed him the watch. "Give that to him for me."

The blonde's confusion was almost palpable.

"But... the Gate, Brother said-"

"I'll destroy it," Roy said firmly, looking up and meeting Alphonse's eyes. "Go now or else you won't make it."

Alphonse nodded, clutching the pocket watch tightly in his hand.

"Thank you, Colonel Mustang," he said, inclining his head in a brief bow of gratitude before turning and running after his brother.

Roy watched him go, itching to follow. He didn't know anything about the other side of the Gate - this 'other world' Ed had come back from - but he knew that it had Ed in it. That was almost reason enough, but he thought of Hawkeye and his men. They had pledged their lives to make him Fuhrer of this world. He couldn't just abandon them and he couldn't abandon his dream, either.

Amestris was far from perfect, but it was his home. He had vowed to make his country a better place to live, if only so that no one else would have to lose their lives in a war waged by cruel bastards.

His duty was to his country. Not to his heart.

"Goodbye, Edward," he murmured quietly. He turned away from the other ship as the piece he was on and the other part separated fully and he began to float back down to earth.

It was where he belonged, but that didn't stop the hurt as the engines from the other part of the ship fired and took Ed out of his life once more.

TBC…

A/N: Ok, so that's the first ten! This will be updated randomly whenever I get 10 more drabbles done. Hope you enjoyed…

(1) - Okay, I based this drabble of Daen's doujinshi Neue Welt as scanlated by Central Library. Idea isn't really mine. _