Yay! Next chapter. I kinda rushed and so it's not that great, but whatever. Thanks again to everyone who has commented!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own FMA.

For the next few days Ed's condition improved steadily, but his vision still did not return. It was only when he was finally able to get up and, with Al or Mustang's help, get around the house that he asked Winry and her grandmother about the surgery that had been his reason for coming. At first they were reluctant because Ed was still so frail, but after quite a bit of urging from both Ed and Mustang, Winry and the woman Al called Aunt Pinako agreed to perform the automail surgery that would replace the alchemist's lost limbs. Ed was overjoyed at the decision, but Roy was a bit apprehensive. He knew this was what his lover so desperately wanted, but he too had been warned of the risks, which he knew Ed hadn't considered. Ed had always been a bit blind, for lack of a better word, when it came to things like this.

Tensely Roy paced outside the room where the surgery was going on. Winry and Pinako had assured him it would be alright and for a time Al had waited with him, but now he was alone and more nervous than ever. A thousand horrible thoughts ran through his head. What if something went wrong? Then something even worse came to him. What if he lost Edward?

His frantic thoughts were interrupted by a small voice next to him. "Colonel, are you alright?"

He looked down to see Al standing next to him holding a plate of onigiri. Silently he nodded at the boy, not wanting to voice his thoughts for fear of making them seem more real.

"I brought some food for both of us," Al offered. "It's been quite a while since they started and I noticed you didn't eat breakfast this morning. Are you sure you're alright?"

Again Mustang nodded. "Thank you, Al," he said as he took one of the onigiri.

Al sat, leaning against the wall, and watched the Colonel stare at the rice ball in his hand. There was something more to this. He had begun to realize from the first day that there was something odd about the way the Colonel acted around his brother.

"Colonel?" Al said, gesturing for Mustang to sit beside him. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure," Mustang responded dazedly.

"My brother…" Al began, not really sure of how to word his question. "Colonel, is there something between you and my brother?"

Mustang stared at the boy, his usually passive face a mask of shock. He quickly regained his composure. "He's my subordinate. It's my duty to watch over him. And besides, he's the only other person left from our squad. Both of us need support right now, after watching our comrades die, losing so many who were so close to up. You've never experienced the horrors of war. You don't know what it's like."

"I realized that," Al said cautiously. He didn't want to upset the Colonel, but he did want to know what was going on. "But that's not what I meant. My brother… are the two of you… You love him, don't you?"

Mustang nearly choked on the rice he had finally begun to eat. "What?"

"Are you in love with my brother?" Al asked again just as cautiously.

"Of course not," Mustang sputtered. "The Fullmetal is not only my subordinate, but he's fourteen years younger than I am. And he's a man. Do you know what you just suggested?"

Al shrugged. He decided that he may as well just say it. "That you are gay and that you and my brother are together. I understand why you would worry. You're in the military. You'd lose your job if anyone found out. But don't worry. I won't say anything."

Mustang was quiet for a moment. The boy had just called him gay, made it clear that he could destroy his career if he so chose, and then told him not to worry. Then again, this was his lover's younger brother. Maybe he should trust the boy.

Mustang took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he spoke. "You are correct." He looked over at the sandy haired boy to find that he was grinning at him. "I just told you that I'm…" he trailed off uncomfortably. "That doesn't bother you?"

The young alchemist shook his head. "Nope. I've known about Brother for years. He doesn't know that I know, of course, but when you know him as well as I do, it's pretty easy to figure it out. Plus I noticed the way you acted around him and the way he talked about you. Seeing the two of you during your time here just confirmed it for me."

Mustang didn't know what to say. It was the first time he had said anything to anyone on that topic. In Central he had dated as many girls as possible so that people wouldn't realize he preferred men yet this boy had just seen through everything. He told himself to calm down, that everything would be alright.

"Actually, I'm kind of happy about it," Al offered, breaking the awkward silence. "You really seem to care a lot about Brother and he seems so happy when you're around. That's all I'm concerned about. I just want Brother to be safe and happy, and I know with you he will be."

Mustang glanced over and saw that the boy was watching him. He smiled faintly. "Thank you, Alphonse." Maybe everything would be alright after all.

Just a note: This is not the end, even if it sounds like it. I promise there's more. ... that would be a really lame ending ...