Well finally got this chapter finished :D I am not 100% happy with the way I have written this chapter - it was tricky! And I know I came up with a rather lame excuse to get Ed into Roy's house, but I have to get some way in getting yaoi in there! :P I am happier with the plot than the writing so I hope you guys enjoy it as well! And I am happy for mistakes to be pointed out, as I have to depend on spell checker - I am dyspraxic so I need a proof reader for academic work and well, I don't hire one for fan fiction :P So apologies if there are any mistakes! :)


Envy had never been one to trust others, so he was always sure to observe the Trinity attacks. He would transform himself into a rat and hide amongst the bushes. However, this time, Envy chose to hang around to see how much the military had figured out. He wandered around the crime scene, listening to the conversations of the military personnel, smiling smugly to himself when no one seemed to have any idea what was going on. That was, until he spotted Mustang and Hughes (he chuckled – well more squeaked – when he remembered the incident in the phone box). Suddenly, all the smugness Envy felt was replaced with horror when he discovered about Ed's visions. He had remembered Father telling him about the power of the stone, but could that moment at the gate have given them some sort of psychic connection? If that was the case, Envy was even more furious as he had not himself had visions of Ed. The Fullmetal pipsqueak is involved, this could ruin everything! He thought angrily. But, not being the one to panic, Envy came up with a simple solution – Fullmetal must die. With that thought, Envy scurried off back to Trinity HQ to formulate a plan to destroy Edward Elric.

xxx

"Jesus Roy!" Hughes cried. "Is it really possible for Ed to... well... predict the future?"

"It's starting to look that way Maes," Roy shook his head. "I am really worried about him – I mean with everything the kid has been through in his life, it's like fate just won't give him a break. I'm not sure how he will cope with this..."

"Roy, this is Ed we are talking about. He is stronger than most of the soldiers in this military – Hell, sometimes I think he is stronger than the two of us. He'll figure this out."

"But Maes, you saw how much pain that last vision caused. He was physically drained – it could kill him!"

"Woah, calm down Roy! If he can survive losing limbs after a human transmutation, I think he can handle this! But he won't go through this alone; we will help him through this."

"I guess you're right Maes. I still worry about him..."

"Never knew the kid meant so much to you..." Hughes raised his eyebrows, and Roy realised what he was getting at.

"No! Maes, I think of him as a good friend, but that's all! I just don't think he deserves to suffer this much."

"All right, all right, but I know you Roy, you clearly like him. Hey I'm not one to judge." Hughes smirked, but all he received in return was a glare from Roy. "Fine, I'll drop it. Come on, I don't think there is much more we can do here, it's been a long day."

"Yeah, sounds good. Look, I'm meeting Ed first thing, I promised to go over the case with him. Would you join us there?"

"Sure. And don't worry I'll keep an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything... inappropriate," he winked at Roy, but received a punch for his efforts. "Ow! I was just joking. Come on, let's get out of here." Both men swiftly left the crime scene and made their way home.

xxx

Roy sat impatiently in his office the following morning. Although he expected Ed to be angry at him for not allowing him to tag along the previous night, he just wanted to make sure he was all right. But just out of concern for a friend. I don't know what Maes is on about, as if I would fancy Ed. Just because I like men, he automatically assumes I like any bloke I give a damn about. Sure, Ed is attractive – small, slender with well defined muscles, long blonde hair in an attractive plait, sexy golden eyes... Roy had no idea he was grinning to himself until Hughes snapped his fingers in front of him face and yelled, "anyone home? Or are you too busy dreaming of a certain young alchemist, judging by that smile on your face?"

"No, I wasn't thinking of him," Roy lied, ever so slightly blushing. "I was actually thinking about the many ways in which I could cause you extreme pain."

"Ouch, I am soooooo offended!" Hughes replied sarcastically, yet he was unable to suppress his laughter. "So where is the young man in question?"

"Not sure, should be here in a minute or two." Sure enough, a few moments later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Roy yelled. He was not all that surprised when he discovered that Ed was not alone and was followed by his younger brother.

"Good morning sir," Al said politely. "I hope you don't mind me being here, but I really want to help Ed out..."

"Al, it's fine, you're always welcome. It's good to see you boys." Al smiled, but Ed remained silent. His face was pale and dark circles appeared under his eyes. "Are you feeling any better Ed?" Roy asked. He expected to be ignored, but was surprised when Ed answered immediately. "Not really, but I am going to work on this. People are dying, and I'm not going to let my health get in the way."

"Look Ed, if you are not up to it, you don't have to..."

"No, I'm doing this." He had hoped to come across firm and sincere, but his voice was shaky and he felt dizzy. He hadn't fallen back to sleep the night before; he was too busy worrying about what Trinity were up to.

"Maybe you should sit down brother." Al could see that his brother was light headed, and he didn't want him passing out. Ed merely nodded and slumped down onto the black sofa.

"If you are sure Ed, then I will let you work on this, but we must monitor your condition," Roy stated. Ed nodded in reply, looking thoroughly miserable. "Now I hope you won't be angry with me Ed, but I informed Hughes of your situation. I trust him to keep this too himself, and I think he could be of help." Roy prepared himself for the Ed rant, complaining about how he can't be trusted. Again, however, Ed took Roy by surprise. "That's OK, I trust Hughes."

"Well, that's good. Shall we proceed?" Before Roy could start discussing the case, Al blurted out, "Ed, you have to tell the Colonel and the Brigadier General about what happened last night!" Roy and Hughes looked at each other, then at Ed. Ed remained silent for a moment, then finally said "I had another vision last night."

"Another murder?" Roy groaned. No wonder Ed was looking so rough.

Ed shook his head. "Just a conversation between some members of Trinity. Somehow, they know I am involved with the case, so they..." Ed trailed off. Al was quick to finish, "So they are planning to kill Ed!"

Roy and Hughes stared at Ed in horror. Finally, Hughes was the one to break the silence. "If your life is in danger Ed, I am not sure I am comfortable with you working on this case. I am sure Roy will agree." Hughes looked at Roy for back up, and Roy nodded.

"I don't care if my life is in danger." Ed muttered (he had attempted a yell but he just didn't have the energy). "My life was in danger throughout my hunt for the stone. Actually, being in the military guarantees my life is in danger. You guys should know it comes with the territory. The reason I am concerned is that they know I am involved. Surely that means someone is watching us. Or worse – there is a mole in the military. This means we are going to have to work with extreme caution on this case."

Roy knew that there was no way he was going to stop Ed working on the case, so reluctantly he had to allow him to continue. "All right Ed, you can stay on this case. But I want to offer some sort of protection. If someone is threatening your life I don't think you can be left alone. Hughes, do we have a safe house we can arrange for the boys?"

" 'Fraid not Roy. But after all the trouble we had from the homunculi, it's taking a while to return to normality. Safe houses were kinda low down on the priorities list..."

Roy thought for a moment. "Well you boys will have to stay with one of us. I'm happy for you to stay with me, I have two spare rooms. I don't want to put Alicia and Gracia in trouble so I don't think you should stay with Hughes. Normally I wouldn't do this, but these are extraordinary circumstances. Are you boys fine with that arrangement?" The brothers nodded, although Al seemed slightly more enthusiastic. "Good, it's settled then. Al, you return to Ed's flat and gather your things and then you can wait in my office for the day to end. Ed, I want you to continue with paperwork, we can leave the case until later. Hughes, do you think you could arrange a team to check the security of this building? See if we can't find this spy..."

"I think so Roy, but I'll need to come up with a reason for investigating the security."

"You'll come up with something, I trust you with that. Right, let's get to it."