Red Roses2:

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. It belongs to Hiromu Arakawa.

!#$%^&*()_+~

The ground shook as Envy pounded it repeatedly, the crater getting deeper and deeper. All he could hear were that hag's words. And her words. About the organs being used as alchemic materials. They echoed in his head, bumped into each other and tried to drown each other out.

No organs. Desperate didn't have most of his fucking organs. But why? Why didn't they use them for materials? What did they get in exchange? What the hell did Desperate get in exchange? Nothing. Nothing but pain. And what the hell were they planning to do to him afterwards, huh? Why couldn't they have just left his little brother alone!?

Lust stood at the edge of the crater, frowning down at him.

"Envy."

He glared at her.

"What?"

Lust's eyes dulled.

"Your hissy fit is causing the Rockbell house to shake. It's causing him pain."

Envy immediately stopped attacking the hard ground.

"Tch. . . ! Damn it!"

Envy climbed out of the crater, dirt digging under his fingernails. He stood beside Lust, fists shaking.

"It's not fair! First those bastards create us, and it's bad enough they abandon us, but they had to go and - !"

Lust bowed her head.

"Envy."

He glanced at her, gnashing his teeth together. He raised an eyebrow at her expression.

"What is it?"

"You need to come back to the house."

Envy continued to look confused as he followed her down the hill to the Rockbell house. Lust opened the front door, and sobs reached Envy's ears. Envy shoved Lust out of the way, and his eyes widened at the sight before him.

Desperate was curled up on the couch, knee firmly pressed to his chest, face buried in Winry's lap. Winry stroked his hair, and her frown curved upward as she looked up at Envy.

"It's okay, your brother's back now, see?" Winry comforted, pulling Desperate's bangs out of his face.

Desperate looked up as best he could from his position, eyes red but relief washed over him as he recognized Envy. He pushed himself up out of Winry's lap and even tried to stand on his one leg. Winry panicked and grabbed onto him as he lost his balance.

"Careful!" Winry said.

Envy watched, solely focused on the relief in Desperate's eyes and the need to be with his 'brother' on such display. A heavy, but warm, feeling settled in his chest. He crossed the room and sat down on the couch. Desperate quickly did the same, Winry sighing in relief.

Envy gave him a look.

"What's up with you now?"

Desperate rested his head on Envy's shoulder.

"You didn't say you'd be coming back. . . ."

Envy stared at him in disbelief, then looked at Lust for confirmation.

Lust nodded. Envy groaned.

"I didn't mean to upset you, I was just pissed off."

Desperate peered up at him, not lifting his head off Envy's shoulder.

"At who?"

Envy wrapped an arm around Desperate's shoulders, gritting his teeth as he remembered Desperate didn't recall a thing from before he knew him.

"The bastards who did this to you. They'll pay dearly, don't you worry." Envy grinned sadistically. Lust sighed. Pinako narrowed her eyes, and Winry raised an eyebrow. Desperate only nuzzled Envy's neck, not understanding what his brother was talking about. But if it made Envy feel better, who was he to complain?

Winry swallowed hard as the image of Desperate cuddling up to Envy like that reminded her of Ed and Al. Though the last time she had seen them cuddling hadn't been quite as . . . .

Ed clung to Al's armored body, arm and leg missing. He wailed through gritted teeth and rubbed his face harshly against the cool metal.

"I'm sorry, Al! I'm so sorry!"

Al touched Ed's shoulder.

"Careful, Brother. You'll hurt yourself."

Ed sobbed. "I was so wrapped up in wanting Mom back, I didn't pay attention to what I had! I'm sorry!"

"It wasn't just you, Ed. It was me, too. You don't have to apologize to me."

Ed's body trembled, his stump leg slipping dangerously close to the edge of the bed.

"I should've listened to you. I should've! What kind of a brother am I?"

"That's enough, Ed. Please. Let's just try to move forward, okay?"

"I'll make it up to you! I promise!"

The next morning, Ed had demanded automail.

Desperate opened his eyes, and she reminded herself that Ed wasn't there right now.

!#$%^&*()_+

Hawkeye sat on the train, alone, not bothering to look out the window. She stared at the empty seat in front of her, thinking about where Mustang might be. He hadn't called her. He hadn't called Hughes since he informed him of the papers Fletcher and Russell had signed. All she knew was that Mustang had lied about going to East HQ and that he took Fletcher with him. Hughes couldn't even hazard a guess as to where Mustang was.

Hawkeye held her head, eyes dry but heart heavy.

Did he not trust her anymore? Why didn't he tell her where he was going? Why didn't he ask her to come with him? Was he really in so much pain that he couldn't open up to her?

In the opposite direction of the train's course, Mustang surveyed the town of Leore from a bedroom window in the former temple. Rose stood next to him, pointing out certain landmarks and informing him about what the military had been doing in Ed's absence. Mustang's jaw tightened as the stories became darker and darker.

Fletcher sat in a chair against the wall, every word Rose said echoing in his ears.

He was supposed to fix all the damage? All that death and destruction? That anger and turmoil? Where – how – why - ?

Why couldn't Ed be here? To tell him what to do?

Wait. Ed? He had barely known Ed. Why . . . ?

He must've meant Russell. Yeah, that was it.

Russell. His own big brother.

Not someone else's.

Russell would know what to do.

Fletcher stood up as Rose motioned for him to follow her. He walked after her, Ed's pocket watch dangling from his belt. They walked in silence until Rose turned around and smiled weakly at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Fletcher shrugged.

"I miss my brother. He's probably worried. . . . Wish he was here . . . ."

Rose nodded.

"A war zone can be a scary place when you're on your own. But you have me for now, so we'll have to make due."

He knew she wanted him to be Ed. So he nodded, sucked it up, and went out into the mess known as Leore.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Russell slammed his fists upon the desk and cursed loudly. Al stood silently beside him, temporarily reminded of how Ed would act if he had no idea where Al was. He banished the thought.

Russell was nothing like Ed. Ed was stronger. Smarter. Ed deserved the state alchemist pocket watch.

The chain of Russell's pocket watch beat lightly against Russell's thigh as he hit the desk once more.

"Where the hell is Mustang!? Where'd he take my little brother!?"

The woman behind the desk gave him a pitying look and touched his hand. Russell looked up, angry tears pricking at his eyes.

"We'll inform you as soon as we learn Colonel Mustang's whereabouts. Just hold tight for now, all right?"

Russell bowed his head and shut his eyes tightly.

Al stood beside him, not moving to comfort him or saying anything. A part of him really, truthfully, thought that Russell deserved this.

Then an image of Ed sobbing over failing Al entered his head, and he couldn't believe he could be so horrible.

But he couldn't make himself reach out and pat Russell on the shoulder.

He couldn't comfort his brother's murderer.

Even if the murder had been an accident.

Even if Ed would be angry with him, if he were still there.

Even if Ed wouldn't said something comforting.

He just couldn't.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Smoke wafted into the air from Pinako's pipe as she clenched it in her teeth. Den lay at her feet, sending furtive glances at the strange visitors. Desperate and Envy slept on the couch, curled up with one another, Desperate's head laying on Envy's hest and Envy's fingers lost in Desperate's hair.

They looked more like lovers than brothers, in Pinako's opinion.

Winry slept upstairs in her bed, leaving Pinako and Lust with only each other for company.

Lust watched Envy and Desperate, a concerned frown on her face.

"Do they do that often?" Pinako asked.

Lust hugged her elbows.

"I'm sot sure what it means. Desperate just wants attention."

Pinako blew smoke rings up towards the ceiling.

"What about Envy?"

Lust shrugged. Pinako hummed thoughtfully.

"Desperate looks a lot like a boy I know."

Lust tensed.

"And I used to have a drinking buddy who talked a lot about alchemy, monsters created from human transmutation, and strange tattoos."

Lust lifted her eyes up to Pinako's. Pinako lowered her pipe.

"I was wondering if there was a connection. Ms. Homunculus."

They stared at each other for a long moment.

Shink – splick!

Den barked. Pinako's blood cascaded onto the floor, her pipe clattering on the hardwood. Lust tore her blade-like fingers through the old lady's chest and sliced through Den's head, silencing her.

Envy cracked an eye open, examined the damage, and smirked. He resumed stroking Desperate's hair. Desperate purred in his sleep, but didn't wake.

Thumps from upstairs alerted the two homunculi of Winry's waking.

Winry ran down the stairs.

"Grandma, what - ?"

Winry gasped, frozen, Lust's razor-sharp fingers grazing both sides of her neck. Lust stared into the girl's fear-tinged eyes.

"You're to build Desperate's automail. No exceptions."

Envy chuckled darkly, his lips curling into an evil grin. A small smile graced Desperate's lips, the blond blissfully unaware of murder, only conscious of the nice feeling of his brother's chest thrumming.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Hawkeye knocked on the Rockbell front door, the sun rising in the sky. She furrowed her eyebrows as she remembered there used to be a dog that would greet visitors.

Ed's grin as he spoke about Risembool. Den's a great guard dog, but she's also as sweet as any dog can be. She'd beat Black Hayate any day.

Slowly, the front door creaked open. Dark eyes peered at her. Hawkeye narrowed her eyes.

"Is Winry or Pinako Rockbell here?"

The woman beyond the door was silent for a long moment.

"No. They took a trip to Rusk Valley for an automail contest. I'm watching their house while they're gone. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I have an important message for them. It's urgent."

The woman was quiet for a while more.

"They haven't called to give me their hotel's number yet. You'll have to go to Rush Valley if it's that urgent."

Hawkeye nodded, sighing internally.

"Thank you. Goodbye."

Lust closed the door without replying. Winry didn't dare look over into the other room. She concentrated on the automail, nervous sweat rolling down her face and trickling down her neck. Envy leaned over Winry's shoulder, leering at the steel she was working with.

Desperate sat, hugging his sides in an attempt to will away the pain. He wore a pitiful smile as the pain stabbed at him with greater intensity that it did the day before.

The corpses had been disposed of long before Desperate woke up.

Tink, tink, squeak, squeak, chok, chok, wring, wring, and Winry couldn't stop thinking about how Lust had killed her grandmother, for no apparent reason.

Envy struck terror into her with one small statement.

"It better be good automail."