Chapter Text
Walking into a café, you cursed your boss for changing your hours again. Nowhere had even been open when you had left that morning, and your own coffee tin was empty. You inhaled the warm, comforting scent of well-roasted espresso, and relaxed some. You were in the right place.
"I'll have a coffee to start," you told the girl at the counter, then turned to find a table.
"Is that you?"
"Huh?" you mumbled, turning toward the voice, and finding a bright smile from the person sitting in one of the nearby armchairs. "Oh-!" you started, filling in the blanks, looking at their round eyes, and bristly haircut. "Oh, you're, um..."
"Cary," they supplied. "Do you want to sit down?"
You weren't sure you wanted to, but it felt like it would be pointedly rude to sit separately in the busy café, so you took the seat across from them, sinking into the comfortable chair, closing your eyes as it accepted you.
"Long day?" they asked
They were wearing a rather dull button down and trousers with suspenders today, nothing like the ostentatious clothes they had been wearing when you met outside the pub. Still, their face was rather handsome, and the newly-refreshed haircut framed it well. If you hadn't seen Alex that night, you thought you would have been rather happy to wake up with them the next morning.
Realizing you were staring, you apologized.
They laughed.
"It's fine. I asked, 'Long day?'"
"You wouldn't believe my boss," you answered, then heard your name called, and grabbed your coffee before returning.
"I'm glad they called you," they confessed, "I couldn't remember your name either, and I kind of missed the opportunity to ask when you sat down."
"Right," you said, wincing a bit at the awkward exchange, then repeated your name.
"Just- just to be clear," you added. "I'm not, uh, looking for-"
"Neither am I," Cary assured you. "In the past couple weeks I met a couple people I really like, no offense intended."
"None taken."
"Did things work out with your man? I saw that big guy follow you outside."
"You could- you could say that," you stammered, blushing.
Again, they laughed. "Just making conversation. Just tell me if I'm bothering you."
"No," you said, "no, it's fine."
It actually was, somehow. Tension was leaving your back as you talked, and Cary had a welcoming presence about them.
"Actually," you asked, "how did you meet your new... friends?"
Cary smiled somewhat wistfully.
"It's thanks to you, really."
Trying not to roll your eyes, you asked if your leaving had paved the path for the others to approach them.
"No, not really," they answered. "I didn't meet them for another week or two, and that was just the first guy I got involved with."
"So what did I do?" you asked, finding yourself more curious as the caffeine began to hit.
"You made out with me."
Cary could clearly see that you were taken aback, and continued.
"I didn't know if anyone would be attracted to me with my hair cut short and my stupid queer clothes-"
"They weren't stupid!" you protested. "Please tell me you didn't switch them for these."
"Wow, thanks," they said, but their grin showed that they weren't offended. "No, these are my work clothes-"
"Thank goodness," you interrupted, and met their smile.
"I start my shift in another hour. Just enough time for a coincidental lunchtime coffee meeting. That jacket is for nights only."
"As long as you're wearing it."
"Yeah, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Unless my girlfriend borrows it, but she knows she's got to bring it back as soon as she gets back home. Anyway, I didn't know how anyone would react, outside of my friends, and you casually agreed to make out, and even go home with me, even after it was clear you knew what was... going on with me. It doesn't matter that you bailed out- and I gotta say again, once he showed up it was very obvious you were hung up on him-"
"Hey," you protested.
"Exceedingly obvious," they assured you. "So I knew I had potential, and while I didn't see anyone else that night-" they winked at you- "I figured things out pretty quick from there."
"I felt like such an asshole that night," you told them, finishing your coffee. "Do you want another?" you asked as you stood up, and they nodded.
"Black's fine."
This time fresh coffee was already going at the counter, so you were reseated with the drinks in a moment's time.
"So, you never answered, did things work out with him? Only if you don't mind telling me, of course."
"Yeah, it was kind of intense. That's how things were- are- were- with him."
"Oh, are things official now?" Cary asked. "Or at least, continuous?"
"Uh-" you said, breaking off. You hadn't really talked to anyone about Alex yet. You didn't really want to go public about fucking a state alchemist, and though even with Alex your communication was rather limited, you rather doubted it was safe for him to go public with seeing someone who had been seen at protests during the war.
"Hey, it's fine, I'm just making conversation."
"Would I..."
You stopped, thinking it through, then went for it.
"Can you keep a secret?" you asked.
They looked at you plainly.
"I have to keep secrets."
You blushed.
"No, of course. Would I be right in assuming you're a little... less into Amestris' imperialistic side?"
"I couldn't argue there," they answered, though their eyes darted across the room, scanning in the same way you often scanned the bars for the presence of soldiers.
"We might have adjacent friend groups... would you be willing to keep my secrets- just dating related, of course- from them? And your lovers, too."
"I'm intrigued," Cary answered, and the joking smile was gone. "Shoot."
All the things you didn't tell your own friends came spilling out, about finding halfway through the night that you were with a State Alchemist, about trying to stop thinking about it while your body ached for him- and Cary understood very well that same ache- about seeing him across the bar, though you left the specifics of how, and where you hooked up vague; they didn't need to know about you defiling each other just barely off the streets. You told them about how after two intense nights, you were somehow a couple, or whatever you could call hooking up regularly, secretly, and exclusively.
The only things you wouldn't even graze upon were Alex's similar feelings, and his request for communication with the resistance.
Cary had, throughout the conversation, gotten closer, hunched conspiratorially over the table as you hissed out all the details you could give. When you stopped, stunned by your own loose lips, they patted your shoulder.
"I'm glad you told me, I think you might have exploded if you held that in any longer."
You nodded mutely.
"I'll keep your secret. Besides, I think we're friends now."
Almost a year passed, and it was a year of secret trysts in the Armstrong Manor, the occasional rendezvous in hotels as he travelled for research and field work, even some in the tiny apartment you still inhabited, though it wasn't good for much more than oral, the way Alex could shake the walls once he really started fucking.
You met Cary regularly. They always had stories of their trysts to share, and always listened to your own tales, sexual and otherwise.
It was as you were talking to Cary, in the same coffee shop where you had accidentally reconnected, that you noticed someone else paying attention to your conversation, and though truly, you were only talking about some dirty details of your last visit with Alex, who still renamed unnamed, simply 'my partner,' in these stories, peppered with details of what foods you'd been cooking lately, and Cary's own related tales, this stranger seemed to be listening quite raptly.
You turned the conversation toward simple things, coffee, and the new bar that cropped up recently, one for your kind of clientele, and which of your friends were now dating. While you couldn't be sure Cary saw the cause of the subject change, they responded to it, and spoke more cautiously.
Pretending to gaze at the menu on the wall, you noted some details of the man who had been listening, though he was turned away from you. He wore a well-cut jacket, and had thick, raven-black hair that fell loosely down to his ears in a way that looked rather familiar.
"You're going straight to work from here, aren't you?" you said, eventually, and Cary nodded. "I think I'm going to get on my way so you can get ready."
"Are you sure?" Cary asked, and they tilted their head toward the man, just enough to indicate that they knew. "There's still time."
"Yeah," you answered. "Yeah, that leaves time to come back here if I forget something again."
It was a flimsy excuse, but still the best assurance you could give that if the eavesdropper didn't follow you out, you would be back to accompany them.
"Okay," they said. "Say hi to your brother for me, won't you? He's in construction, isn't he?"
"Just down the road," you answered, following their ploy. "He'll be walking me home. Bye now."
"See you tomorrow," Cary called after you, and you nodded.
You left the café, and though you couldn't see him, you knew you were being followed.
Before you even reached the construction site where your fake brother would have worked, someone grabbed your shoulders, driving you into an alley.
"You don't have a brother," spoke a smug, deep voice.
"Lt. Colonel Mustang, is that you?"
The hands on your shoulders relaxed their grip, and you spun around to see Alex towering over the other alchemist, who too had turned at Alex's voice.
"It is! Salutations, Lt. Colonel!"
You began to back away, but resisted bolting, lest Mustang hear your footsteps and react.
Alex was saluting, though it looked a little ridiculous considering how he had to look down quite dramatically on Mustang in order to meet his eyes.
"Major Armstrong! I'm a bit busy at the mome-"
"Nonsense," Alex interrupted, before continuing just a mite quieter: "You can't be dallying in alleys, think of your reputation. Besides!" he said, raising his volume even higher than before. "We are both off duty today, and I haven't gotten to congratulate you on your promotion! It's almost like you've been avoiding me these past months! Come along, I know the most exquisite place for a repast!"
With that, he took Mustang's arm and led- or dragged- him back into the brightly lit streets of Central.
You watched them go, then doubled back via the alleys to let Cary know you were okay before they left for work.
When you got home, you checked the lock more than once before you let yourself clean up and relax.
After a hot shower, a long nap, and a quick meal, you found the sexiest undergarments you could- well, they weren't the absolute sexiest, but since your last meeting with Alex, the lingerie holding that particular title had some new tears that you weren't sure were salvageable- a jewel-toned set in a smooth satin with ruching and ribbon creating lines that drew the eye to just the right places.
Over top of them, you threw on some of your more comfortable clothes, practically pajamas. It wasn't that you didn't want to be hot at a glance, but you wanted to be comfortable in your downtime, not to mention be a bit less obtrusive than you were some mornings. You placed two more pairs of underclothes, thin enough to fold up so that they didn't create a bulge, into one of the deep inner pockets of your coat, and into the opposite pocket, a comb, and your face lotion, which unfortunately did create a noticeable bump. From there, you got ready to go out as you would any day, taking your wallet, walking shoes, and checking the mirror before putting on your coat and heading out.
It was hard not to feel as though you were being watched after your encounter at noon, and as a result, harder still not to feel as though you were sneaking around. You tried not to show it, walking with your shoulders back, head proud and tall, yet repeatedly noticed that you were walking unnaturally fast or slow. When you reached the side-gate into the Armstrong manor, you heaved a sigh of relief, letting yourself into the yard, then rushing into the staff entrance.
Lilah, or Mrs Abbot as most of the house staff called her, the first person you had met at the manor besides Alex, wasn't there to show you upstairs. Her daughter Mona, a young woman with quick-wit, excellent at keeping secrets, was waiting. She led you upstairs, and checked the hall for privacy before ushering you towards Alex's room. When you bid her goodnight, she just smiled and winked.
You knocked twice softly on Alex's door, then slipped in, stepping out of your shoes just inside his door.
The curtains around his bed were fully drawn.
"I'm here," you called.
"Then join me," he answered, laughter in his voice.
You could feel yourself smiling, you probably couldn't hide it if you tried, as you took the heavy key Alex had left out and locked the door behind you.
More than just happy, you were, after the stressful day, rather desperate for release, and the dreams you'd had after getting home had done nothing to take the edge off; they had brought up one of your early encounters, shameful and hot and desperate, and if you hadn't been off to Alex's immediately, you would have taken care of yourself. So, now, anticipating the image beyond his four-poster's curtains, you began to ache, even as your hands were occupied by the mundane folding of your clothing, placing them on his couch.
After a few quick tugs to make sure your lingerie was in place, you approached the bed, and slipped through the curtain.
You took a second, only a second, to be thankful that the inside of Alex's bed was lit, for without the lighting you wouldn't see the absolute sculpture, the portrait of desire stretched out before you.
Alex lay on his side, the muscles in his arms and abs unconsciously flexed and standing out from his thick limbs and narrow stomach. You couldn't help but glance at his cock, lying soft and clean against a bed of his yellow-blonde body hair. Though you hadn't noticed in your hurry and anxiety earlier, he had grown in some stubble, just enough to accentuate the natural structure of his face and his strong jaw, and though his mouth sat in a neutral line, his narrow lake-blue eyes shifted, and you knew he was looking at you with... appreciation. As if to accent that thought, his cock throbbed, the movement catching your eye, as it twitched once, then twice, half-hard yet already doubling in size to its unaroused state. Your mouth watered, you wanted to taste it, to feel it filling and hardening to its full length against your tongue, but you weren't done taking in his legs, even his feet, and the rounded shape of his ass just visible behind his testes, which hung close to his body. His upper leg was bent on the knee, tilted just a shade back, casually angling his genitals outward for you to see.
Meeting his eyes again, you swallowed.
He seemed to have taken you in similarly, though you hadn't posed, or done much but stand there in awe.
Alex reached out, beckoning to you.
You all but scrambled onto the bed to join him, and he pulled you into a kiss immediately, one hand gentle behind your head, his other wrapped with his arm around your back, pressing you against him, and an overwhelming feeling of closeness, of emotional fullness arose in you as your skin pressed against his own.
You broke the kiss, instead nuzzling into his neck, holding him tight.
Alex kissed your ear, and you laughed, finally backing off from your clasp on him.
"I missed you," you told him, and though there was a teasing humour in your voice, you could feel the truth of it in how relieved you felt to be together.
"You saw me earlier," he answered, but he was grinning with the same silly, gleeful expression at your reunion that you knew you yourself wore. "And yesterday."
"I didn't see you like this yesterday, and I barely saw you at all earlier."
"My apologies about that," he said, face suddenly serious.
"Never mind that right now," you insisted, not wanting to lose the lust that had been rolling through you since you'd arrived. "Fuck, I need you to take me."
Alex was nothing if not obliging. He flipped you on your back, his hand pinning your wrists above your head as he kissed you again, hard and demanding as you could ever hope for, and you desired nothing but to surrender yourself to him. He straddled you, and when he broke from the kiss you could see his cock, fully erect, looming above you, bouncing against his stomach.
"Please," you said, panting, "fuck me now."
He shifted down first, placing just one kiss on the thin, silky layer of cloth, and you felt almost as though you'd left your body, just for an instant.
Not a second later you felt something cool dripping between your legs- you hadn't even seen him reach for the lube- and he shuffled down, lifting your hips easily to put you on level with his own.
You moaned and twisted your hips, trying to press against his cock, and he held there for a moment, then another, as you felt your face heating up with the desperation to have him inside you.
Just as you opened your mouth to beg for him, he shunted himself forward and deep inside you, and you cried out in pleasure.
Though you had been expecting him to jackhammer you, to immediately claim you and fill you with cum, and you had in fact been thinking of it since your dream that afternoon, Alex had other plans. He fucked you with deep, confident strokes at a pace just slow enough that you could feel his cock pressing against every point within you, feel every detail of yourself stretching around him.
"A-Ale-e-x-" you groaned, speech breaking each time he pounded into you, and as though you'd whispered some secret charm, he grew even harder, impossibly harder, and you lost yourself in moaning as he his the right spot again, and again, rubbing everything else along his way.
As you grew louder, he released your wrists and used his newly free hand to stroke you, moaning himself as you squeezed even tighter around him, and his moans only encouraged you; you felt yourself pulsing and throbbing and before you could be ready, you came on him, around him.
He slammed into you thrice more, then shuddered and moaned as he shot his load inside you, his cock twitching with each spurt of cum.
Instead of pulling out, he rolled you on top of him, and held you gently against his chest, like something precious, and you leaned into it, sighing with just how right he felt.
Eventually, you took a sharp, somewhat grumpy breath.
"We should go rinse off before we drip all over your bed."
Silently, he sat up, easily scooping you into his arms, and carried you toward his bathroom door. At the door, he set you down- you had always been untrusting of the bathroom floor, it would be too painful to fall on if Alex slipped on some errant drip of water. The times you had allowed it, you clung to him and your heart sped, so Alex had agreed it was for the best to let you walk.
"Just a shower," you told him. "I think I'd fall asleep in the bath right now... but maybe later?"
"You would need another reason for a bath," he answered, meeting your eyes with an uncharacteristically lascivious grin.
"I hope so."
Taking his hand, you led the way into the shower.
You both rinsed thoroughly, and for a while, you just stood under the hot streams of water, leaning your head against your lover and letting the tension you had felt all day dissipate.
After the two of you dried off, Alex fetched your bathrobes, and you settled on his couch together. The sweet, fresh, tang of the fruit he'd had waiting on his table woke you up a bit, brightening your spirit after your horny, distracted evening and long shower.
Alex sighed deeply, with a weight opposite the lightness you now felt, and you turned to meet his eyes.
"I have a meeting with Mustang here tomorrow. He couldn't specify a time."
"So I won't be seeing you," you answered.
"I will try to find you once he leaves," Alex said, "as it seems likely that you'll be involved, considering this afternoon. However, I don't know how late he may end up arriving."
"I understand," you told him, and you did, though you were disappointed. It seemed like the military was really trying to keep him busy lately. If it wasn't a research project sending him out of town, it was recruiting at the schools- something you both loathed- for everything from military police to potential state alchemists, or scouting out unassociated alchemists to take the exams. Sometimes he was summoned before you woke up in the morning, leaving you to wake alone in the sea of blankets he called a bed.
"I've told you before," he continued after a moment, no doubt as lost in thought as you had been. "Lt. Colonel Mustang hated being in Ishval, hated what the military made him do-"
He broke off, seeing your narrow stare.
"I'm not defending him, or anyone else," he assured you. "What I mean to say is that he is supposedly here on his own time. He may be here to warn me of something."
You went still, mind twisting around no particular threat, yet possibilities seemingly endless of what someone could want with him, the military, or the resistance, or-
"What I'm saying," he said, interrupting your spiral, "Is that you may need to be on the lookout too. And that if I am relocated, I promise I will do what I can to contact you. Just don't follow me."
You stared at him, eyes wide.
"I fear that the Führer may sense a traitor in his midst," Armstrong said, carefully. "If that happens, I will have to disappear before I can warn you. If that happens, I swear on the Armstrong name that you will be protected, and informed as soon as it is safe to do so."
"...what if you leave now?" you started after a moment, and he shook his head.
"I have to see my position in Bradley's regime through, for as long as I can. Getting rid of him, declawing this entire military, it's going to take everyone we can get on the inside, and it could take years. I can't leave the cause without being sure I'm in danger."
You went silent, but acquiesced to his arm pulling you closer under his shoulder.
"It is probably nothing," he told you, though the words felt hollow. "I only want for you to be forewarned."
You nodded, snuggling tighter against him, listening to his breath expanding his chest.
"I'm sorry to have given you so much stress."
Shrugging, you leaned your face against him. After a few moments, you finally mumbled, "It's not you, it's them," and tilted your head up for a kiss, which he gave.
You looked up into his blue eyes, at the way they were framed by long, dark lashes.
Whenever you saw photos of him in the newspaper, whether serious pieces on state alchemy and thwarted crimes, or puff about military career outreach at the schools, his eyes looked cool, hard, and dull. The eyes of a seasoned soldier, or so said reporters and officers alike.
He met your gaze with clear, bright eyes, the expression warm despite the deep, icy blue of his irises. Since his heavy moustache covered his mouth, you relied on his eyes more than anything for emotional cues, even now that he lacked the long, dense stubble he'd had on your first meeting.
It was lucky you never visited- couldn't visit- him at work, else other soldiers notice that his aloof look had more to do with trauma and disgust with his workplace, rather than simply his demeanour.
He took your chin, lifting your head up to kiss him again, and you responded in kind, stretching up and leaning back, baring your lips to his, your hand cupping his cheek.
With the arm resting behind you, he pulled you up onto his lap, not breaking the kiss, letting you sit sideways across his legs as your tongues touched.
Gently, you sucked on his lower lip, then backed off, moving to frequent, short kisses, your mouth just grazing his, the soft sensation of his lips on yours again and again sending warmth through your body, and leaving you longing for him for the split seconds that you broke apart.
You worked back up to longer kisses again, then Alex lifted you slightly, helping you turn to straddle and face him as he placed pointedly delicate kisses on your neck. You bent your head back, and felt still more of the familiar warmth he gave you filling your chest, and you smiled, though you knew he couldn't see it. You felt good, comfortable and safe and happy with his arms wrapped around you, an almost sleepy serenity washing over you as your lover held you close. You pulled back slightly, as much as your shared hug would allow, and he paused from his attention to your neck.
Meeting his eyes again, you lowered yourself just a bit, and kissed his mouth, so slow and soft that it felt as though it could have been your first, before leaning in and resting your cheek on his.
You sat like that, holding each other for a moment, before releasing his hand and standing, taking his hand to lead him up as well.
You tossed your bathrobe over the couch, and he followed suit, then left the sitting area, back to his bed.
Alex sat on the edge of the bed, and you climbed into the same position, straddling his lap, now skin-to-skin, and felt the endorphin rush from that contact fill you, combining with your already content feelings to make you feel both up and down, entirely calm and close and safe, yet also brimming with feeling, trembling above him.
Without a word, Alex laid back on the bed, taking you down with him, your head resting on his chest, listening to his heart beat.
Slowly, you became aware of a heat and pressure against your thigh, and the dopey, sedate contentment you had felt at first started to give way to an urgency and heat, a fervour for your partner.
You sat up quickly, felt dizzy for a moment, then shuffled down a bit, so you could comfortable put your weight on your knees- though his waist was proportionally narrow, it was still a lot to spread yourself across- and bent down, licking his nipple.
His breath hissed through his teeth, and you repeated on the other side, then sucked it, massaging the other in your hand.
Alex rolled his hips, and his cock, freed from beneath your body, smooth, hot, and hard, glided against you, and you moaned against him.
You took it in your hand, stroking him with ease, and leaned up to nip at his neck, consciously keeping it gentle until you had kissed in a stream down to below his collar bone, then sucking hard, pumping his cock faster than before as he gasped in response to the bruising kiss.
He reached down, taking his cock from you, and repositioned it against you, thrusting it against your hole, sliding it across with no effort to push inside, even as you rode back against him, moaning, feeling fantasies of fullness cloud your mind as you ground yourself against his mons.
Still below you, Alex pulled at your hips urging you forward, and you awkwardly knee-stepped over his shoulders to get where he wanted you: directly above his mouth.
You could hear the gentle thudding of his hand against his body as he jerked his own cock, but in seconds you forgot about it, lost in his mouth, unaware of how loud you were or weren't as he licked and sucked at your most sensitive bundle of nerves, hardly feeling a reprieve before he stuck his tongue into you, and it somehow too was strong and large, pushing against the sensitive spot just inside you, before stopping suddenly and resuming his attention to the front of you, licking every detail, every fold of skin. His free hand gently tugged back at anything that obscured your head, and you felt yourself beginning to lose control; first your hips jerked and bucked toward his mouth, then a heat, even greater than any before, flooded down through you, and you felt your body pulse.
"I need you now," Alex said, pausing only long enough for you to nod enthusiastically, reaching for any part of him you could as he deftly flipped you over, spitting onto your opening before pushing his cock deep inside you as you still squeezed and throbbed with your own orgasm, the rush enveloping your mind as pleasure shot through you over and over, hardly even aware of Alex slowing inside of you, another load of cum flowing from his thick cock and into your body as you shuddered around him.
Together, laughing and nuzzling each other and never fully ceasing contact, whether it was leaning directly body-on-body or just your hands touching, you managed to find your way back into the shower, cleaning up just enough to go back to bed without worrying about wet spots, too tired to really bathe.
You woke up and rubbed at your eyes. You needed to use the washroom, and maybe take a quick dose of ASA for your slightly-sore post-coital body. It wouldn't hurt to wash your face properly, either.
So you did, and before returning to the bed, you checked the clock at your side table.
4:14 AM.
It was late, or early.
You looked at Alex, sleeping peacefully on his side, rolled toward you as though waiting to accept you again as his smaller spoon, and you longed to curl up against the warmth of his body, especially with the back cramp now menacing you, but again you looked at the clock, then sighed.
Tucking him in, you accidentally woke Alex, so you whispered in his ear, letting him know you were leaving so he could sleep until his meeting. It already had been too late a night, even if Mustang decided to show up at a decent, polite time in the morning, so you dressed quietly, alone, then hung up each of your bathrobes and hampered your towels before slipping on your shoes and out the door.
None of the staff were around, but nor would be anyone in the house, so you felt comfortable enough to quickly cross through the hall and back into the staff passages alone, following the one path you knew by heart out to the manor's side door.
The manor grounds were dark, so dark that you could see nothing but the glow of street lights behind the towering hedge bordering the property.
Still, you knew the way, and you could feel the stone garden path beneath your feet, leading you to the gate. You kept your eyes down, almost shuffling your feet as you walked to avoid tripping over anything that might have ended up in your way between arriving and now.
Something gripped your arm, and you jumped, giving a shocked but low yelp, and your heart staggered. Instinctively you yanked back against whatever had clamped around your forearm, though you couldn't see what direction in which to escape to.
"Well, if it isn't just who I was looking for," spoke a smooth, confident, and familiar voice.
You stilled.
There was a snap, a spark, and then a small lamp glowed, hanging from your captors hip. He raised it and held it between you.
Roy Mustang. You recognized him immediately.
"It's a good thing you didn't try to run. Those who try to escape the Flame Alchemist get more than a bruised wrist."
"Yeah, I know what you did in Ishval." As soon as the words had left your mouth, you wondered where your sense of self preservation had gone.
You thought you saw Mustang falter, but if he had, he covered it well. The only sign was a tighter grip around your arm.
"Good," he said, with too much bravado. "Before I take you in, I'm bringing you to Major Armstrong, so he knows about the spy who has been sneaking in his servant's entrance."
He looked you over briefly, and wrinkled his nose a bit.
"I don't know how you planned to get away with this, you couldn't pass for one of his staff in that." He gestured with his lamp-hand at your pajamas.
"So," you ventured, as he dragged you toward the house. "You- you're reporting me directly to Major Armstrong? Not someone else in the family?"
"Don't play dumb, I know it's the Major you've been monitoring. I saw your shadow against his window; you couldn't possibly pass it off as his. I've seen blueprints of the manor, and the original drafts; that side entrance you take is the shortest way to and from his rooms. I don't know if you're after military secrets or the Armstrong alchemy, but I will know by morning, even if I have to raid your apartment on my day off."
You let yourself be silent. This was exactly why you hated the military, always in everyone's space and self righteous about it.
Quite quickly, Mustang led you through the halls of the servants quarters and passages, his steps surprisingly quiet for the military-grade boots he wore, though you supposed you shouldn't be surprised; that was how he had surprised you.
Once upstairs, he knocked solidly on Alex's door, and you cringed, looking from side to side to make sure that no other Armstrongs happened to be wandering the halls at this horridly early hour.
From behind the door, you heard Armstrong's voice.
"Lt. Colonel Mustang, please allow me a moment."
After an uncomfortable minute, Alex opened the door, fully dressed, his bed behind him shrouded in its closed curtains. His eyes widened at the sight of you.
Mustang pushed you in ahead of him, though he didn't release you.
Alex locked the door behind you, putting the key in his pocket.
"Thank you, Major. If you have any cuffs, that would help."
You felt a rush of blood heat your cheeks , for you knew for a fact that Alex did indeed have cuffs in his room, and you thanked the stars that Mustang still stood behind you, unable to see your face.
Somehow, Alex banished his own blush before it began.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Lt. Colonel?"
"Major Hughes heard rumour of someone sneaking in through your servant's entrance, and popping up around you in town a more-than-coincidental amount of times, so he sent me here to investigate. We didn't know who the spy might be working for, so this is all off the record so far, for your safety. I arrived just as this one was leaving."
You grimaced slightly, tightening your lips pointedly, trying to signal to Alex that you had no idea what to do, but he gave no sign of response.
"You thought King Bradley might have sent the spy himself," he answered, and Mustang narrowed his eyes, nodding.
"Then you know something? You must, otherwise I hope you wouldn't have said it in front of the spy, lest they report this insubordination to a different faction."
"This is my lover."
For the first time you wished you were facing Mustang, for you could hear him sputtering, and could only imagine what his face looked like right then.
"I- I had no idea! Are you- are you sure?"
"Considering we've consummated the fact many times over this past year, including tonight, I would say I am certain."
The Lieutenant Colonel's hand snapped open, off of your wrist, as if he'd only realized he was still holding it, and you took a few steps, standing beside Alex now. Mustang's mouth was gaping open like a fish out of water.
"I had no idea-! Major, I am so, s-"
"I appreciate that you wanted to look out for me, Roy. Now that you know, I think we can leave some of the formalities behind. "
"Of course, of course. Sorry, again," he said, looking to you, "but what are you called?"
Shakily, you introduced yourself to Mustang, though you didn't shake his hand, and he didn't insist.
"And," Mustang continued, clearly trying to sound jocular, "You definitely aren't a spy for Bradley? Or for Drachma, or Creta, or-"
"On the contrary, Roy," Alex interrupted, then gestured for you to speak.
"Actually, I've done what I can- what little I can- to connect Alex to the civilian resistance against Bradley's warmongering."
"And," Alex continued, "for this reason, it is best we keep this between us, although I suppose you may need to inform Hughes, both to stop the mission he sent you here on, and to avoid further investigation."
"Of course," Mustang agreed immediately. "Even the mildest association with anti-governmental movements could bring an investigation down on you, one that Maes couldn't prevent... but he will be disappointed that he can't openly meet you as a couple."
The conversation went easier from there; Mustang finally relaxed around you, and you finally got to see a few inklings of his real personality, behind the "Hero" and rank climbing talented-but-airheaded official that both the papers and his public persona purported him to be. You still didn't quite trust him, but you could see why Alex kept him around, and even in what little of his plans he revealed in front of you, see the worth in his strategies against the Führer.
"I mean no offence," he said eventually, and you prepared to be offended, "but there are a few things I would like to discuss with Major Armstrong in real privacy."
Alex nodded.
"It's better that you don't know everything, lest you be questioned in the future," he said, and you nodded in acquiescence. Even if it was annoying, you didn't want to be a target any more than he wanted you to be.
"I'll walk you out, as an apology for our rough first meeting," Roy offered, but Alex held a hand up, then looked into your eyes, almost too intensely.
"Before you go, I'd like to have a private word."
Mustang held his hands up in mock surrender, and Alex unlocked the door so he could wait outside.
Alone, Alex took you into a hug, and you wrapped your arms around him in turn, breathing in the scent of his body, his clean clothes, and the relief you both felt.
"I know it has been hard on you, both to be with me, and to keep it secret," he started, and you froze. It couldn't be a breakup, not after what he had just said to Mustang, but at the same time, this didn't feel good.
"It's worth it to be with you, love."
"I'm glad," he answered, and you could see in his face, his soft gaze and the slight rise of his cheeks indicating a smile, that it was true. "But I need to tell you, this is going to be still more years of work, of private meetings, of actual spies from Bradley and beyond, and if we're noticed, it will be dangerous. And I know you don't mind," he continued, before you could assure him of that, "but it will be dangerous to me too, and I think you would be as hurt if something were to happen to me, as I would if it happened to you. So I want you to always have the option to leave, before feelings get deeper, to move on so that you can still live a life instead of finding yourself grieving me in the future."
Again you moved to protest, but he continued:
"I'm not suggesting you leave. What I want to know is if you will stand by my side, however secret that may have to be, and if you will support me in this, even if we're both in danger, because I want to be that for you, to protect you from the military at large and anything else that may come for you. I want to make the country safe for us to have a future, and livable without a state alchemist's salary. I want to help return Ishval to the Ishvalans, and I want you to see that future with me."
He looked deep into your eyes, and this time his were glittering with tears, despite the happiness on his face.
"If this were a more certain time, I would have a more certain proposal for you. For now, all I ask is if you will stay with me?"
"Of course, Alex," you whispered, stepping toward him and melting into his arms.
He kissed the top of your head.
"I love you," he said, in his low rumbling whisper.
"I love you too," you answered, and kissed him, feeling as shy as the first time you had told him, but more sure than ever.
There was a knock at the door, and you broke apart. Mustang stepped in.
"My apologies," he said, and he did look both sorry and embarrassed. "I heard someone coming down the hall."
"It's fine," you answered. "I think I'm ready to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, Alex." You squeezed his arm
He nodded.
"Let yourself in, any time."
"Okay, lovebirds, break it up," Mustang said, with an overexaggerated sigh. "I'll be back in a few, Major."
He opened the door, and was face to face with the maid Lilah.
"I was just about to drop off breakfast for you and the Major," she told you.
"Thank you, but I'm going."
"Oh, already?"
"I'll be back tomorrow," you assured her. "For now, Lt. Colonel Mustang can have my share, he's just walking me out."
Lilah smiled at your promised return.
"Have a wonderful day, dear."
"You too, Lilah."
Mustang led you back down and out, insisting on staying next to you even to cross the yard. Only halfway to the gate, however, he stopped and faced you.
"What?" you asked, feeling nerves creeping up your spine.
"It's nothing. I'm just... glad the Major found some support. He needed it, after Ishval, and he's going to need it if this coup-" that explained why he stopped you so far from both the house and the gate- "is to succeed, and moreso if it fails, if we survive it failing. Just," he paused, thinking. "Just keep being good to him."
You breathed out, and stood tall.
"I plan on it."