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“Don’t worry so much, General,” she said slyly, jumping back up on her horse. The princess has decided that you’ll be her consort, and I’ll make sure that it happens.”
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The entire ride back Roy's head would not drop it. All the snippets of conversation and hints that had been practically handed to him were settling into place and by the time the stables came into view he realised that Ed had asked him to marry her. Indirectly. And 'asked' was also on the table, since she'd basically said if he didn't then she'd be subjected to a forced marriage and what essentially amounted to rape should any children be produced. He pushed that thought aside, he already knew he wanted to wake up next to her for the rest of his life and she'd said that she'd let him win the fight, so everything looked like it was already sewn up with a little bow. All he had to do was play the part. And now that he knew she wanted to marry him, things just got a hell of a lot more interesting. This was going to be fun.
"Hey, you gettin off that horse or what?"
Roy snapped out of it, turning a giant grin toward Ed as he dismounted. Her eyes went wide in alarm, "What?!" she took a step back "We have somewhere to be, remember? Get your lazy dumb ass in gear."
Roy approached casually, "Actually Ed, before you run off I was hoping you could send a couple of messages to the princess for me."
She looked annoyed, "Sure. Fine, what do you want the princess to know?"
Roy was suddenly in her personal space, "Well, first off," a hand landed on her hip, "could you let her know that her proposal, while set with a beautiful sunrise background, was terrible . She didn't even directly ask me and there was no kiss afterward." Ed's eyebrows shot up and a hot blush swept up her cheeks. He pulled her toward him and brushed the hair from her eyes so he could see her clearly. His voice quieted but was no less intense, "Second, that the answer is whole-heartedly and emphatically YES. And third, if it means i get to fall asleep with you in my arms every night, FullMetal doesn't stand a chance."
He watched as Ed swallowed the lump in her throat and then he stepped back with a smirk and a warning, "Don't you dare lose to anyone else."
That snapped her out of it, "They couldn't even if they tried, and that includes YOU bastard." Ed flipped him off and marched toward the door of the stables, blushing to her ears as she realised there'd been a witness.
Andelar, who had been holding the two horses in place, suddenly found the floor intensely interesting and Ed shot an embarrassed glare at him as she stepped past the horses and out into the sunshine. Her extra steps had Roy noticing the stable-hand had cleverly walled them off from prying eyes during the short conversation.
He smiled to himself as they watched her leave, grabbing her red coat from the hook on the way out, refusing to acknowledge their presence any further.
"Oh man. She's got it bad." Andelar finally turned back to Mustang, "How long have you two been all …" he made some complicated hand motion.
Roy laughed, still smug in his discovery. "For me, years. But I only realised her side about a half hour ago."
"Damn. And she's going to fight Ling too. Good luck with that." Andelar turned his attention to the horses.
Mustang's cocky attitude evaporated, "Ling? Crown Prince Ling?"
"Yeah, i mean, he's married now and Emperor, and has basically just been collecting concubines for the last year, but i heard he'd be here."
Ohhhh shitshitshit. Dread started to grow in his gut. Had Ling ever beaten Ed? Or more importantly, had Ed ever beaten Ling? God he hoped so, his heart depended on it.