Chapter 3- Revival

"Ed, over these past years…I've been thinking…" The colonel set his scalding cup of coffee down. They were seated in a small restaurant not far from HQ, a usual stop for Maes and Roy.

"What is it?" Ed sipped his hot chocolate. He still didn't like coffee, despite his age.

"I'm finished with my military business now, and I've accumulated a lot of money over these past years; I was saving up for something…" Roy's voice grew quiet.

"…and?" Ed urged on.

"And, I was just thinking…maybe…you could live with me. We could move away from Central, somewhere in the country, somewhere close to Resembool, so you'd never have to be far from family--"

"Yes." Ed said abruptly.

"What?" Roy didn't take it in as quickly.

"I said yes. I want to live with you…" Ed found himself on the verge of tears. He looked deeply into the man's eyes before him. "You are my family, remember?" Ed realized that his statement was painfully selfish, but he recovered by leaning on his elbows to kiss the colonel across the table. They got some strange looks, but they didn't phase them.

"But you gotta promise one thing."

"What?" Roy looked at the boy strangely.

"That we live close to Winry and Pinako and Al. They're already aware that I might live with you, and they're okay with it. But I do want to visit them often. I mean, after Winry was sick…"

"What exactly was wrong with her?" Roy sat back in the booth and took another sip of his coffee, burning his tongue and cursing at the black liquid.

"Well, She was helping our childhood friend Nellie with the birth of a calf. Winry was up all night, and soon after she came home, she passed out." The blonde sighed.

"You mean she was tired, or…"

"No. She literally passed out. They called a doctor because her skin was burning up. She had a temperature of one-hundred and six that day, and that's when they called me. Turns out, she had gotten some parasite in her body at some time, and it's effect took it's toll on her. She was bed-ridden for three years. I had to stay home…to help her with everything. Just this year, she completely healed, and the doctor said it would be alright for her to get up. She needed to learn how to walk again.

"Winry was really there for me as much as I was for her. She knew what I was going through, and we'd talk about it as I laid by her side at night. It was her idea…and her great memory that made me come back. The first day she got out of bed for more than a minute, and walked a few steps around her room, she turned to me and said, 'Hey, Ed…you're already twenty…isn't it time to visit Roy? I'm sure he's thinking of you, and I know you never stopped thinking of him.' She was right…There hadn't been a day that I didn't think of coming back. I had waited so patiently, and having her there to support me was so important to me, that I need to stay by her side."

"Edward…" Roy smiled and reached over, taking the boy's hand in his own. "Then let's go to Resembool. I'm aware that only Winry knows our secret, but we can't keep it hidden forever, right? We'll find a house, or heck, we'll build one within walking distance of your home. We'll see Winry and Al and Old Lady Pinako every day." Roy laughed. "How does that sound?"

"I…" Ed answered by launching himself across the table to hug the man, tears running down his pale cheeks. "Thanks Roy…this means a lot."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's pack." Roy stood up, left a generous tip, and strolled out the door with Ed close at hand.

Back at Roy's house, Ed stood dumbfounded and watched as Roy tossed his possessions into a large suitcase.

"We're leaving right now?" Ed asked, slightly excited.

"I wasn't joking." Roy laughed.

"Roy…thanks." Ed smiled and walked over to the colonel, wrapping his arms around the man's waist. "I…you know, I…" Ed sighed, unable to make the words come out of his mouth.

"I know, I know." Roy turned and hugged the alchemist tightly. "Let's go…we don't want to miss the train."

"Yeah." Ed looked up at the older man, a blush creeping over his cheeks. He got on his tip-toes and kissed Roy's mouth softly, smiling when Roy gasped. Roy stared at him for a long moment before kissing the boy back, equally as soft, nipping his neck before releasing his grasp. Their fingers twined together, and they walked out the door and to the train station together.

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Chapter 4- Switch

"Man, I don't remember this train ride being so long…" Ed squirmed in his seat, glancing out the window every few seconds. Across from him, Roy sat comfortably, smiling whenever he looked up at the impatient blonde.

"Maybe that's because you slept through most of it last time." Roy laughed.

"That's true…I was so excited the night before and I couldn't sleep…I must've fallen asleep right as the train started moving. Ed smirked to himself. I just took this same train to come see Roy…and now… He looked adoringly at the older man, who looked a little tired himself, I'm coming back…with him in hand.

The train's gentle vibrations got the best of the men, and they both slowly fell asleep for the rest of the ride.

Arriving in Resembool, the train's sharp whistle quickly awoke the two men. Roy groggily opened his eyes.

"I guess we're here." He said with a long yawn.

"Yup." Ed smiled wide. "We're here." He grabbed his suitcase enthusiastically, and began to walk down the aisles of the train quickly.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"Edward!" A shriek came from the Rockbell's front porch as Ed and Roy approached the house. Winry was sitting out in a chair with Al and Pinako, drinking lemonade. She stood up quickly, and began to hobble over to the steps.

"Winry, watch out!" Pinako warned. It was too late, Winry began to fall, but Ed dropped his suitcase. Luckily, he was close enough to catch her.

"Winry…." Ed shook his head. "Be more careful." He hugged her tightly, pulling away for a moment to look in her eyes. She had visible tears forming in the sapphire-blue orbs. He wiped them away and smiled. "It's good to see you again…even if it's only been a week or so."

"No kidding." She looked behind Ed at Roy, smiling brightly. "Hello Roy." She grinned.

"Winry, good to see you." Roy walked up to the blonde girl and set his bags down, hugging her as well. "Ed told me what happened. How are you feeling?"

"It's been a long three years, but I'm feeling much better thanks to Ed." She giggled. "I can walk almost perfectly now."

"Yeah, except when you're running to Ed." A voice from behind signified Al was down with them.

"Alphonse." Roy smiled. "Good to see you too." Roy's voice shook a bit. Ed could tell he was nervous about the confession.

"Roy, I haven't seen you for so long. Keeping things up at HQ?" Al smiled.

"Actually, I haven't worked at HQ for about 4 years now…ever since Ed left…" Roy's voice trailed off. "But I do visit from time to time, and everyone is doing well."

As soon as Roy said that, Ed realized how he had completely forgotten about Riza. He needed to talk with Roy about her. He made a mental note.

"Oh…but that's good. Everyone is good. That's good." Al repeated himself, but sounded a bit disappointed. "Hey, why don't you guys come inside?" Al grinned.

"Okay, I'll get our stuff." Roy smiled.

"No no, I'll get it." The brown-haired boy quickly grabbed the suitcases and ran into the house.

"He's sure full of energy." Ed smiled, looking up at Roy. His smile quickly faded when he saw the look on Roy's face. It was a mixture of sadness and worry. "Hey." Ed stepped in front of Roy, taking his hands. "Everything's going to be all right, okay?"

"Ah-" Roy smiled. "Okay." A quick kiss on the cheek followed, and then they walked to the house together.

"Edward, you're back already?" Pinako lit her pipe and smiled at the two men, fully aware of their relationship. Winry tells her everything, after all.

"Yeah. As soon as I saw Roy, I needed to come back and see you guys too. We're thinking about living around here." Ed smiled nervously.

"You and Roy?" Al chirped, looking confused.

"Yeah. I've saved up a lot of money over the years, so that when Ed came back, we could build a house." Roy grinned sheepishly.

"You guys are going to live together, you mean, like, together together?" Al's face twisted.

"Yes. Together Al. Roy and I are together. We have been for the past four years now." Ed blushed and scratched his head. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I just didn't know when the right time would be." He dared to look at his younger brother. Al was smiling a little.

"I knew it." Al suddenly blurted out. "That makes so much sense!" Al started to laugh. "I knew you loved the colonel, I knew it." Al smiled brightly at Ed, who sighed a heavy sigh of relief. Even for being nineteen, Al still had his childish moments.

"Jeez Al." Roy smiled. "You have good intuition."

"Hey, I bet you guys are hungry after your trip. Grandma, would you like me to help you start dinner?" Winry asked.

"Yes. Let's go to the store first though, I want to pick up some things. We should have a feast in honor." Pinako smiled.

"I'll go to." Al ran to Winry's side. The two seemed to have grown closer over the years. After all, they were only a year apart. Ed could tell by the blush on Winry's cheeks that her feelings towards Al weren't just friendly. He grinned.

"Okay, then we'll just get settled, and I'll show Roy around the house." Ed took the man's hand in his and walked up the steps slowly. Sure that the other three were gone, he pulled Roy into the house hastily.

"Ed, is everything okay?" Roy laughed.

"Yes, everything's fine." Ed's voice had a hint of embarrassment in it.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I…Roy, there's something that's been bugging me…it's about Riza. You know about her, don't you?" Ed looked up at the colonel, his eyes fixed on the other's.

"Well, of course I do…I couldn't forget, you know that."

"But, you know why she's gone, don't you?" Ed turned to face the man, a grim look on his face. "It was because she loved you…and after you snapped at her--"

"I didn't snap at her!" Roy shouted, cutting off the blonde. "She just left…I had nothing to do with it." Roy looked down at the ground.

"But you did! You told her you loved me, when all she was doing was caring about you, and now she's gone! Doesn't that phase you the least bit?!" Ed felt tears forming in his eyes. Riza, after all, had been so much support for the boy during hard times.

"Edward, of course if did! What was I supposed to say? I couldn't return the feelings!" Roy sat down at the kitchen table, sighing heavily. "If I could've stopped her, I would have…I just didn't know what to do."

"Dammit Roy!" Ed slammed his hands down on the table. "You didn't have to be such a jerk! She loved you, maybe even more than I did at the time, and she was there, pushing you up, making sure that you reached your goal. You threw her away, and your goal, for me?" Ed's voice shook. "It's disgusting…throwing away what you've worked for your entire life…for one person. It's selfish and I just--I can't deal with the fact that someone's suffering because of me!" Ed turned away from Roy, feeling a bit ashamed that he was throwing all this on him at once.

"Edward…hear me out." Roy sighed again and stood up. He walked over to the boy and wrapped his arms around him from the back. "I love you, and that's what I told Riza. She understood, but the timing was terrible. I wasn't feeling well at all, and I'm not going to try and defend myself. I was a total asshole to her, I understand that. I wish I could say I'm sorry…if I ever saw her again, I'd take her in my arms and apologize over and over. I miss her as much as I missed you, but don't you dare ever say I didn't care about her. I cared about Riza so much. You're right, she was helping me achieve my goal, but she was more of a sister to me than anything else. I did love her, but not in the same way that she loved me. I'm sorry if it's hurt you, Edward…but…I promise, if I ever see her again--"

"Okay Roy…" Ed turned around and wrapped his arms around the man's neck, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry for yelling." Ed let go of Roy and then glanced at the suitcases. "Let's unpack, okay?"

"Okay."

Later that night, after a long dinner and a lot of conversation, everyone was getting ready for bed when the phone rang. Pinako answered it, as usual.

"Hello?" The old lady asked.

"Hello, is Edward Elric there, and if he is, may I please speak to him?" The voice asked.

"Why yes, hold on a moment." Pinako covered up the phone with her hand. "Ed? Phone!"

The blonde came down the hall and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Ed? It's me, Riza."

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