A/N: Oh my goodness, almost a week late ::shame:: I had a lot of stuff come up this week, on top of which this chapter was just being a beast. Then I had to rewrite the whole first part from Ed's POV since I did it in Roy's first and decided I didn't like it. XD Thank you for being patient with me, hehe.

I have two bits of news for you all. First, this story took off in a slightly different direction than I had originally anticipated, so anything you've heard about the story before now may no longer be true. Just wanted to give you all a heads up.

Second, Conversion is going to be on hiatus until mid-December or so while I participate in NaNoWriMo and then give myself a week or two to recover. You may get a chapter sooner than that, depending on how things go, but no guarantees. I'll let you know when I'm back on track with my once a week updates. For those of you who are curious about my NaNo progress, feel free to pop on over to my livejournal, (same username, and its also linked from my profile) which I'll be updating daily with my word count progress, which directly relates to how soon you get more Conversion. ;) I also post new chapters of Conversion there as well for those of you who prefer your fiction on LJ.

Much hugs and love to my reviewers, you guys are awesome!

::Chapter 6::

::Old Friends::

Edward Elric felt like he had been hit by a truck. A large one. One that perhaps was carrying ten tons of bricks that it had dumped on him after running him down. Everything ached, and his vision was doing strange things, fuzzing in and out as he blinked up at the man who was staring back down in obvious shock. Colonel Mustang.

It worked, he realized distantly, shifting slightly and regretting the movement when his muscles screamed in protest. Ed was laying on something hard, and after a moment, he realized it was Roy's desk. The thought struck him as funny, but he couldn't seem to muster the energy to laugh.

His stomach suddenly heaved, and Edward rolled over, ignoring the protests of his body and threw up over the side of the desk. A wastebasket suddenly appeared under him, and Ed didn't question it as he proceeded to empty his breakfast, and possibly dinner from the night before. He could hear voices over his head and felt someone pull his hair back as his stomach heaved again and Edward was fairly sure he threw up everything he had eaten in the last week before it felt like he was finished.

"Ugh," Edward groaned, spitting into the wastebasket and wiping his mouth in disgust. That had been truly foul. "If I had known that would happen, I wouldn't have eaten breakfast," he grumbled, sitting upright as the hand that had been holding his hair --Roy's he realized-- let go. It turned out Hawkeye had been the one holding the wastebasket, and he managed a weak smile for her, still feeling dazed. "Thanks."

She smiled at him, seemingly taking his sudden appearance much better than he expected. "You're welcome Edward," she said, looking over at Roy. "I'll go see about that uniform," she said and vanished from his office with a salute.

Uniform? Ed watched her go, wondering what she needed a uniform for. "How do you feel?" Roy asked, and Ed jumped at the sound of his voice.

Edward looked up then, feeling anxious as he slid off the desk and flopped gracelessly into one of the chairs. Damn, but his muscles felt like rubber. "Like shit," he said with a weak smile, looking up at the familiar face. It was strange, to see him again after everything that had happened and he suddenly wished Hawkeye would come back. He didn't think he was ready to face this man. Not yet.

Carefully stepping around the gift Edward had left on the floor, Roy sat on the edge of his desk, giving Ed a careful once-over. He was covering it well, but Ed could read the shock in his visible eye. Wait a minute. Ed blinked a few times, making sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. An eye patch? When the hell had he gotten that? "What happened to your eye?" he asked, frowning. For some reason he couldn't place, the eye patch bothered him immensely.

Roy blinked, obviously not expecting the question. "An old injury," he said after a moment. "I lost it years ago."

Edward felt suddenly dizzy, and all he could do was nod, swaying slightly in his chair. God damn, he was not ready to face this Roy yet. Traveling from one world to another had left him feeling weak and out of sorts as it was, and Edward found himself having a hard time getting a grip on his confused feelings. He was sorely tempted to curl into a ball and scream, maybe cry, but he suspected he'd have a hard time explaining that to the man afterwards.

Roy slid down the desk, putting himself at eye-level with Edward. "Where the hell have you been, Fullmetal?" he asked softly.

Fullmetal. He hadn't heard that name in five years, and it didn't sit well with him now. He hadn't been the Fullmetal Alchemist in a long time. Ed sighed. "That's a long story Colonel, one I don't think I'm up for telling just yet," he blinked, peering blearily at Roy for a moment. Not a colonel anymore, it seemed. "General," he corrected. Not bad. That was just one step short of Fuhrer. He had obviously been busy in Edward's absence.

For a moment he thought Roy was going to push the issue, but he frowned and seemed to think better of it. That was going to be a strange story to tell, though he had every intention of leaving out the...personal bits. Mustang didn't need to know those. His brother on the other hand, well, he wasn't sure how much he would tell Al either.

Al. Ed surged to his feet, a sudden burst of restless energy filling him at the thought of his brother. "Al! Did it work? Is Al okay!?" He asked quickly, scowling when Roy pushed him back down into the chair.

"Alphonse is fine," Roy assured him, and Edward sagged with relief. He listened as Roy told him briefly about what had happened after he disappeared, about how Al had seemed to lose everything from the moment they had tried to transmute their mother. His memory, and even his age. Part of him was sad that Al wouldn't remember anything they had gone through, but on the other hand, it was probably better that way. His brother would be spared the hardships they had to endure all those years.

Ed nodded slowly, yawning. Yeah. It was for the best. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and he let them slide closed. Al was safe, healthy and whole again. That was what mattered.

"Fullmetal."

The name was followed by a touch on his shoulder and Ed started awake, head snapping up. He blinked at Roy sleepily. Roy? What was he doing there? Had he been dreaming? "It didn't work?" he asked, voice thick with sleep. "But, the colonel...he..." he trailed off with a frown, confused.

"Fullmetal? Are you alright?" Ed blinked. Roy never called him that. He stared at the face hovering near his own, and he suddenly realized it wasn't the Roy he was used to seeing. Not his Roy. He wasn't in Boston, he in Central. "I thought I was still..." Ed shook his head slowly, feeling foolish. "Sorry, I don't think I was quite awake. Er, how long was I out?"

"Not long," Roy assured him, dropping something blue into his lap. Ed stared at it in confusion for a minute before he realized he was looking at a uniform. "Get changed and I'll have Hawkeye take you down to the infirmary. I want them to have a look at you, make sure you're okay."

Ed rolled his eyes. Figures. He pops up after five years and yaks on the general's carpet, and this is what he got. "I'm fine," he said. "Just tired and a little sick to my stomach."

"Humor me."

Edward glared at him, then at the uniform in his lap. "Why do I need to wear a stupid uniform anyway?" he asked, feeling decidedly cranky.

"I assume the last thing you want right now is to stand out," Roy said with a smirk.

Ed made a face, but sighed and stood. The man had a point, his clothing was hardly the norm for this place. Hawkeye politely turned her back so he could change. He started to unbutton the shirt he was wearing, then stopped, pulling the journal from where it had been tucked away inside his shirt and giving Roy a dirty look. "Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

Roy smirked, "Well-" he was interrupted when Ed launched the book he was holding at the general's head. Roy caught it easily.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, you bastard!" Edward threatened as Roy turned around with a chuckle. It was strange how easy it was to fall back into familiar patterns, Ed thought, discarding his old clothes on favor of the uniform Hawkeye had brought. It was a little too loose in the shoulders and a little too long in the legs, he noted sourly. "Let's get this over with so I can sleep," Ed said, punctuating the words with a loud yawn.

Roy turned, smirking at the sight that met him. "A uniform suits you, Fullmetal."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Screw you, Roy," he snapped, "I'm only wearing it until I can get some real clothes."

Roy raised an eyebrow, and Ed realized he had called the man by his first name. Damn. That was going to be a hard habit to get back out of. He could tell Roy was curious, but didn't say anything, instead plucking an empty coffee cup from his desk and tossing it to Ed. He barely caught it, reflexes not near what they should be and looked at Roy in askance. He hoped things wouldn't take too long. Ed really wanted to sleep.

"Transmute that for me."

"Why would you want me to-" he stopped suddenly, looking from Roy, to Hawkeye and back again, realization dawning. They were suspicious. The thought pissed him off. After all the shit he went through to get back here, they had the gall to ask him to prove himself? "You don't think I'm me, do you?"

Roy sighed. "Let's just say you picked a bad time to appear out of nowhere. Just do this for me, and we can let the matter drop."

Edward dropped to the floor with a snarl, slamming the cup down in front of him none-too-gently. He rolled up his sleeves and held up his arms, back and front, showing that he had no arrays drawn on his flesh or automail. "Nothing up my sleeves," he muttered sarcastically. He brought his hands together, stopping just short of touching the palms together, staring at his hands. He hadn't been able to do this for five years. He smiled slightly. If the bastard wanted him to prove he really was Edward Elric, then he would do it with a little style. He clapped his hands together and touched the cup. There was a flash of alchemic energy, and in place of the cup was something else.

Ed picked it up, turning it over in his hands with a grin. It was a small likeness of General Roy Mustang, cross eyed, the words 'Colonel Bastard' etched into the base. Nothing fancy, and he could have probably done better if he wasn't so blasted tired, but it wasn't bad for his first try. He tossed the figure to Mustang. "Good enough bastard?"

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Roy was trying not to laugh when he realized what he was holding. "I'm not a colonel anymore, Fullmetal," Roy reminded him dryly, setting the little statue on his desk.

Ed grinned. "Yeah, but General Bastard just doesn't roll off the tongue as well."

"Well, I think even if the method wasn't proof enough, the choice of subject matter would have convinced me," Roy said, shaking his head, a small grin stealing onto his lips. He looked over at Hawkeye, who was watching the exchange with amusement. "Take him down to the infirmary, Major," he said, then turned to Ed. "Get checked out and then you can sleep as long as you want. I have to clean up this mess, then I'll join you."

Sleep. God, that sounded so good right then. Ed could put up with a little poking and prodding with the promise of a nice, long sleep waiting for him. He hadn't been so exhausted in ages, and he certainly didn't recall being that tired when the gate had first dumped him on the other world. Hawkeye waved him over, and he complied, stopping for a moment to stare at her.

Her hair, her face, her eyes, the self-assured way she held herself. Things he feared he would never see again. How long would it take him to get used to the faces of his friends again? How long would it be before he wasn't afraid they would vanish in a puff of smoke? Hawkeye noticed his scrutiny and cocked her head slightly, questioning. "I just...it's good to see you again," he told her, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

She favored him with a faint smile and a nod. "It's good to see you again, too," she said. "We missed you."

Ed returned her smile. "Yeah," he turned to look at Roy, who was watching the exchange with an unreadable expression. "I even missed you, you bastard. A little. Don't let it go to your head."

Roy smiled then, and Ed suppressed the painful twinge at seeing such a familiar expression on the face of the wrong man. "Of course not."

Ed shifted uncomfortably and turned back to the door. He took half a step and paused. "Are they out there?" he asked, suddenly not wanting to see anyone else. He was so tired, and so overwhelmed that he wasn't sure he wouldn't start crying if he had to deal with many more reunions before he could sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself.

"I've got them all out looking into things for me," came Roy's voice from behind him. "You probably won't see any of them until later."

Relieved and feeling a little guilty about it, Ed nodded and pushed the door open, Hawkeye starting to follow, then pausing and turning back. "Sir, I don't think it's such a good idea to leave you on your own."

A heavy sigh. "I'll be fine for a few minutes, Major. I just need to straighten up a little in case someone wanders in to my office. I'll join the two of you in the infirmary shortly."

She frowned. "Sir, I really-"

"That's an order, Major," Roy said shortly, his voice taking on that 'shut up and do as you're told' tone Edward had heard and ignored so many times before.

"Yes sir!" Hawkeye saluted, the frown vanishing. She turned and left the office, Ed trailing after her. Hawkeye could be hard to read if you didn't know her, but Ed could tell she was most definitely not pleased.

"What was that about?" Edward asked, closing the door behind him.

She sighed, shoulders drooping a bit as they moved out into the hall. "There have been several assassinations recently, and we've been unable to catch the culprits. General Mustang among several others have been listed as future targets."

Ed considered this as Hawkeye led him down the hall. Maybe leaving the bastard alone wasn't such a hot idea. Mustang could take care of himself, sure, but maybe it was best not to tempt fate. He opened his mouth to say so, but before he could get the words out, a wave of agony ripped through him.

Edward distantly heard himself scream as he crumpled to the floor, the pain flaring unbearably and then fading almost as soon as it started. Echoes rippled through his body and he could feel Hawkeye kneeling beside him, hear her voice, but he couldn't seem to make out the words. Suddenly Roy was there, rolling him on his back, and the pain slowly began to fade.

"Fuck!" Ed gasped weakly, struggling to sit up. Roy pushed him back down and Edward didn't fight him, feeling weak as a newborn kitten.

"What happened?" Roy asked urgently, hands deftly checking for any sign of injury.

"I don't know," Edward said as the pain faded to almost nothing. He still felt weak and shaky, but within seconds the pain was gone entirely. "We were just walking, and then all of a sudden pain hits me out of nowhere."

"How bad did it hurt?" Roy asked, helping him sit up.

Ed scowled. "How bad do you think, asshole?" It had easily been on par with the pain of attaching an automail limb, but that had been easier to bear because he had been expecting it. This had hit swiftly and without warning.

Pushing himself to his feet with shaky arms, Edward wobbled dangerously, his legs giving out on him again. The only thing that stopped him from a sudden and painful reunion with the floor was Roy's quick reflexes. Before he realized what was happening Roy had scooped him up and startled, Ed threw his hands around Roy's shoulders to steady himself. He stared at Roy in stunned surprise for a moment, and began squirming when he realized the general had no intention of putting him down. "I can walk you know!"

"I think you just proved otherwise, Fullmetal," Roy said evenly and began walking in the same direction he and Hawkeye had been headed. Ed was suddenly very, very glad for the empty halls. It was probably a minor miracle no one else had heard him scream and come to investigate.

"Put me down!" He snarled, kicking his legs in a futile attempt to get the man to release him. "Or I'll...I'll..."

"You'll what?" Roy said, looking down at him with a smirk. "Bite my kneecaps?"

Edward roared. "You bast-" he was silenced by a white gloved hand pressing firmly over his mouth. He bit that hand, watching in satisfaction when Roy winced and gave him a dirty look. The hand did not move however.

"I swear I'll gag you if I have to," Roy threatened. "Now stop being a brat!"

Ed stopped squirming and settled on a malevolent glare. He could have walked on his own. Maybe. Probably not, but he wasn't about to admit as much to that bastard.

The infirmary wasn't far, and before long, he had another set of hands poking and prodding and asking uncomfortable questions. Edward put up with it with a minimum of grumbling, reminding himself that he had been promised a nap after. He was twice as tired now as before, if that was even possible, and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open.

Once the doctor announced he was finished and that Ed wasn't in any immediate danger of death, he stopped fighting his weariness and let his eyes slide closed.

Roy leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, listening to the murmur of voices behind the door. He couldn't hear the words, but he could easily distinguish the deep baritone of the doctor's voice from Edward's. They didn't have long to wait. The door clicked open and Dr. Jansen slid into the waiting room, carefully closing it behind him.

"He's fine," he said as Roy and Hawkeye stood. "So exhausted he could barely stand, and very weak, but nothing that a bit of food and rest won't put right. He fell asleep in my office. I can move him to one of the beds or someone can take him home."

"What about that sudden pain he experienced?"

The doctor shrugged. "There's nothing physically wrong with him. Alchemists have a distressing habit of doing things to their bodies that physicians can't do much about. As long as it doesn't happen again, I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Roy frowned, not entirely satisfied with that, but nodded. "Might as well let him sleep for now. I'll leave Major Hawkeye here to keep an eye on him. I'll come back for him later." He nodded to them both, and left the infirmary, turning down the hall back towards his office.

He hadn't made it far when he heard Hawkeye shout, "General!" The urgency in her voice sending a thrill of alarm down his spine. Roy turned and ran back to the infirmary.

"It happened again, sir." Hawkeye said, concern clearly written on her features. She led him to the office where the doctor was with a now wide-awake Edward who was lying on the floor and gasping in pain. He knelt beside the doctor, taking Edward's hand while he waited for the attack to pass.

It did, almost as quickly as last time, and once Ed got his voice back he let out a string of curses. Dr. Jansen ignored these, looking over to Roy. "This is what happened before?"

Roy nodded, concerned. "I was in my office at the time, and Hawkeye was bringing him down here. It happened in the hall, and I came to see what happened when I heard him scream."

The doctor digested this. "You were involved in this alchemy working that went on shortly before this started, yes?" Roy nodded, and the doctor frowned. "And both times he had an attack, either he was leaving or you were, correct?"

"Yes," Roy said, not sure where this was going. "Are you saying I might have something to do with this?"

"It's an easy enough theory to test," The doctor said, getting to his feet as Roy helped Edward into the doctor's chair. The blond sank into the leather with a pained sigh. Dr. Jansen grabbed the chair and wheeled it out into the waiting room. "Major," he called, and Hawkeye hurried over. The doctor turned to Ed. "I want you to tell the major the moment you begin to experience any pain or discomfort, okay?" Ed yawned and nodded wearily.

He walked over to the door, motioning for Mustang to follow. He propped the door open and leaned against it. "I want you to walk slowly backwards down the hall, and be ready to come back the instant I tell you to." Roy complied, hoping fervently that the doctor's theory was wrong.

It was not to be, however. It didn't take them long to verify that Edward's sudden bouts of pain were directly related to his proximity to the other alchemist. Whenever Roy crossed that invisible line, it was like flipping a switch and Edward was suddenly doubled over in pain. The blond was sleeping again, not even what he had just been put through enough to keep him awake.

Dr. Jansen had retreated to his office after being thanked and ordered not to mention this to anyone. Roy was now conversing with Hawkeye in low tones, trying to decide what to do. "I suppose I'll have to take him back to my office. I have work to do, and he can sleep on the couch there. I'm not sure what to do after that, though. I can't exactly take him home with me."

Hawkeye looked suddenly pleased, and the expression made Roy a little nervous. "Actually sir, you'll have to do just that. You have more than enough room for a guest, and I happen to know you have several weeks of back vacation time. This would be a good time to take it."

Roy shook his head. "I can't, Riza. They would never approve it now, not with this mess we're trying to deal with."

"Oh, I don't know about that. If you agreed to a bodyguard, they might see things differently," She smiled at him, then looked meaningfully at the small blond curled up on the waiting room couch. "Particularly if that bodyguard was the Fullmetal Alchemist."

He stared at her for a long moment, a small smile curling his lips. Sometimes that woman was just plain devious. They would have to come up with a story to explain Edward's long absence, something other than the truth he suspected, but that wouldn't be too difficult. A perfect excuse for Edward to be around him at all times, and it would also get Parliament off his back about the bodyguard nonsense. "I could kiss you," he told her.

"Buy me a drink, and we'll call it even," she said with a smile.

"You got it," he turned his attention back to Edward, who had started snoring softly. Deciding trying to wake the alchemist was a lost cause, he crouched down and slid one arm beneath his knees and the other around his back and lifted. Edward was dead weight as he shifted the blond in his arms. He looked down to find golden eyes staring up at him sleepily and waited for the protest that never came. Instead, the eyes just slid shut again and Edward leaned his head against Roy's chest with a sigh, asleep again within seconds.

Roy shook his head in amazement. He must not have actually been awake. There was no way Edward would have put up with being carried if he had been halfway lucid. He carried the alchemist back to his office, laying him on the black couch. Edward shifted slightly, curling up a little, but did not wake. Roy retrieved his long coat from the rack and draped it over the sleeping form.

"Tell the others I don't want to be disturbed if they make it back before I leave," he straightened, stretching. "I don't think Fullmetal is up to seeing everyone again just yet." Roy picked up the garbage can, wrinkling his nose as he tried not to smell it and passed it over to Hawkeye. "Get rid of this, and see if you can find someone to take care of that," he said, pointing to the discolored spot near his desk where Edward had left his little gift.

Transferring her burden to one hand, she saluted and left. Roy turned back to his office and set about cleaning up the mess he had made with a sigh. There were papers everywhere, including one unfortunate that had been a little too close when Edward had thrown up. He made a face. Hopefully that wasn't an important document.

After he had cleaned the array off of his desk he sat down with the haphazard stack of papers and began sorting them into some semblance of order. He spent a few minutes shuffling documents before he sighed and set them aside, his eyes roaming back to the young man sleeping on his couch. Edward had curled up even more while he cleaned, nearly hidden beneath Roy's coat now, just a lump beneath the black material with the tips of his shoes poking out one end and the top of his blond head sticking out the other. As he watched Ed sighed and rolled over, the coat falling away from his face as he turned towards Roy.

He looked different. Roy frowned, considering. No, not different really, just more mature. Older. His face has lost some of that childish roundness and Roy suspected he might even be a little taller. Not much, a few inches maybe, but it was hard to tell with Edward curled up on his couch. His hair was much longer, the braid falling just past the middle of his back.

It was utterly surreal, as if part of him still couldn't believe what his senses were telling him. Though officially considered dead, Roy had never really believed that. Fullmetal was just too tough to let a little thing like death get in his way. He smiled slightly, imagining a contest of wills between Death and Edward Elric would end in Ed emerging the victor.

Roy sighed, looking back and forth between his paperwork and Edward. Oh, what the hell. If he was going to take his vacation, he might as well get started now. He wasn't going to get anything done now anyway, not with the so many questions nagging at him. Standing up, he pulled open the door to his office, relieved to see that Hawkeye was still there. "Sir?"

"Get the car," he told her, "I'm not going to get anything done, and I might as well let Fullmetal sleep in a bed."

A short while later found them in the car headed towards his home. Getting Edward that far had been a task in itself. The blond alchemist had wobbled dangerously, eyelids drooping and seemingly unable to hold his head up for more than a few seconds at a time. Roy was half afraid Edward would fall asleep standing up, but they had managed to make it to the car before Edward had promptly flopped over in the back seat and fallen back asleep.

He didn't live far from headquarters, and it didn't take long for them to pull up in front of his house. It was nice, if a little smaller than one might expect for someone of his rank. He leaned over the seat as the car rumbled to a stop and poked the sleeping blond. "We're here, wake up." After a bit of prodding, he managed to get Edward awake and out of the car. He thanked Riza and then led Edward inside.

Roy left Ed on the couch in the living room and went to get some clean blankets for the guest room. He quickly changed them out and went to retrieve Edward only to find the alchemist happily snoozing on his couch. Roy shook his head with a smile. Tired didn't quite begin to describe it. For the third time that day, he found himself carrying the smaller man, but this time Edward didn't stir at all.

He managed to carry him upstairs with a bit of creative maneuvering and deposited him on the bed in the guest room. After a moments hesitation, he pulled off Edward's shoes and tugged the blankets up around him, watching as he sighed and curled deeper into them. Roy stared, still not quite believing that Edward was back. That he was really there, and not just a figment of his imagination. He watched him sleep for several minutes, memorizing the lines of his face, trying to convince himself that the young alchemist wasn't going to vanish the moment he turned his back. He reached out, hand ghosting over the blond hair, and he smiled.

"Welcome home."