"Sir. We have no leads. No fingerprints were extracted from the piece of wire, and we got nothing from the glass, either. The assassin may have been inexperienced with killing, but they were sure to leave no traces of incriminating evidence."

Roy sighed in frustration and banged his head against the top of his desk. Any attempt all morning to locate the almost-killer had been met with dead ends before they even got anywhere in the first place. It just confirmed what Edward had said the night before: this had something to do with the Gate, and the person behind the Gate's apparent fear. No one was ever this thorough at a crime scene. Especially not one as clumsy as this one had been.

It just didn't make any sense.

"How's Ed?" he murmured into his desk a moment later, concern quashing the frustration he was actually feeling.

Hawkeye's eyebrow raised, like she'd expected him to ask something slightly different. She must have sensed whatever tension he and Ed had been experiencing the night before. "Havoc called to say he raided your fridge and your coffee. Then he went upstairs, presumably to take a shower. He hasn't come back down yet."

"There's nothing up there for him to get into, so it doesn't matter as long as he hasn't left the house." He'd have to pick up some groceries on the way home from work, however. He knew how Ed's stomach worked, even if he wasn't eating for both himself and Al anymore. And he knew there wasn't going to be anything left by the time he got home.

"Permission to be informal?"

"Oh?" He raised his head to watch his subordinate curiously. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"Only your very obvious affection for Major Elric," Riza responded without preamble.

"I don't—"

"For the past three years, you have moped, cried, and looked about as morose as a turtle that couldn't cross the road. Now Ed is back and you look more or less like a lovesick puppy." She shrugged casually. "Considering Edward's interesting reactions last night, I would even go so far as to assume he feels the same. And frankly, sir, none of us would like to watch you hem and haw around one another without making a move. So please, either decide to keep your distance or ask him on a damn date before any of us have to deal with you moping even more."

Roy could only gape openmouthed at her as she firmly saluted and left the room. He would never have expected Hawkeye to try to push him in any particular direction, certainly not with Ed. But he did know he had feelings for him. And he also knew that he wanted to try to feel them out. He couldn't let them sit and rot as she had suggested. The past three years had proven that they would only fester and grow.

But Ed . . .

Did he really feel the same way in return? Did he feel anything last night when they had come close, when he had purposely stayed close? Ed was . . . out of this world, frankly. Attractive, more than smart, and had a fiery attitude that made it feel like Roy was abusing himself at the same time as he found it endearing. He'd grown to become a very handsome young man in spite of the Gate keeping him for three years.

No, Roy could not just sit back and pretend that he didn't see anything in Edward Elric.

He would have to do something, soon, before they wound up hating each other over it or worse. The only question was what because when it came to Ed, there was no telling what he would find offensive (except when it came to his height). A date was too forward. Honestly, so was cooking him dinner and then telling him.

He'd just have to be abrupt. Or he would have to take advantage of a situation again like he had last night, just to get close enough to him to say something. No hemming and hawing, as Hawkeye had called it. And if Edward rejected him (which Hawkeye seemed to doubt, but Roy himself had no confidence) then he would just have to live with the consequences of that. And hope that Ed didn't see him as some sort of pervert . . .

But honestly, since when had he ever acted his age? Ed had always had an old soul trapped in a young body; otherwise he would never have had what it took to attempt human transmutation. It wasn't his fault the arrays had gone awry. It was the Gate's for manipulating anyone who went through it. Ed might act brash and rude, but it was just a cover for the grief he had caused himself all those years ago.

He straightened up hurriedly as the phone rang shrilly in the quiet office. Now was not the time to be thinking of having a relationship with Edward. Not while there was a more pressing issue to take care of. It wouldn't do for him to start something, only for Ed to be killed before they caught the bastard.

"Mustang speaking," he answered, then immediately relaxed when he found it was Gracia on the other line.

"I thought I would fill you in on how she is, since you did request to be kept up with her condition," the widow offered softly, a gentle smile in her tone.

"You know, with everything going on, I'd forgotten that I even asked you that," Roy answered wryly. "How is she? Any strange symptoms?"

"None at all. She did appear a little timid this morning, what with waking up in a new place all of a sudden, but she's quickly warmed back up. She and Elycia are playing together in the living room right now." She paused, cleared her throat, and forged ahead, "Did something happen?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We had a close call with an assassin last night. They went for Edward."

"For Ed? Is he alright?" She quickly added, "Does he have somewhere to stay? I can—"

"You don't need to worry about that, he's staying with me at the moment. Alphonse has been calling him. The odds that Alphonse would contact us right after Ed's return . . ."

"They are brothers. He must have somehow sensed it was time."

Roy nodded to himself, tapping the butt of a pen against his desk. Whatever the case, he was glad that Al had gotten back in touch with them. Not only for Ed's sake, but also for the team's. Alphonse had become something of a fixture in their lives after his older brother had seemingly died. They wanted to take him under their wing and protect him from anything else that could have harmed him. Not that Al needed it. He was truly a force to be reckoned with when the situation called for it.

"Please keep a close watch on Nina," he requested eventually, setting the pen down on top of an unsigned document. "I want to make sure that nothing is going to affect her. I have a feeling she was brought back to life to get to Ed somehow. He knows that she is here, but I think it would be best if they didn't meet right now. Nina would probably be very happy to see him, but he needs to stay focused until we have this situation under control."

"I understand," Gracia hummed. "I have no problem watching her. For as long as you need, Roy. Really. If I need to keep her for good, I will do that too."

He smiled, knowing that Gracia had always wanted more than one kid for Maes to fawn over. She'd never gotten that, but at least she could adopt a second daughter. "She is going to need a loving mother, I think. You are just the woman for the job."

"Why, Roy Mustang, was that a compliment?"

He settled the phone on its receiver and leaned back to sigh up at the ceiling. The past two days had been hell on his work ethic, but at least things weren't so boring anymore. He'd had three years to grieve, three years to do absolutely nothing but sit in his chair and sign papers and think of the glory days with Ed. They only ever seemed to happen with Ed.

Perhaps it was one reason why he was so drawn to him. Ed was an alchemist, first and foremost. He liked to put his talents to use, and he liked to show off doing it. He was good at it. And he was good at attracting attention. That attention, good or bad, made the military in general so much more lively. He didn't quite understand it. But everything just felt dull without Edward Elric around to make a mess of things. It made him want to expand his own alchemy, to once again experiment as he used to.

But Roy just sighed and looked down at his gloved fingers. He didn't need the gloves to create alchemy anymore. All he needed to do was clap. But he was past the glory days of being a state alchemist, in his opinion. He had a higher goal. The powers he already had were good enough for him.

Still, it would be nice . . .

The phone rang again; Roy jumped approximately five feet out of his seat in fear. "What is it with the phone today?" he grumbled to himself as he picked up the phone and gingerly put it to his ear.

He immediately yanked it away again.

"Roy Fucking Mustang, you had better be keeping my patient locked up and tied to a bed until I come and get that ungrateful little dick, or so help me I—"

"And to what," he managed finally, even conjuring a bit of sarcasm to cover his otherwise startled tone, "do I owe this pleasure, Miss Rockbell?"

"We've been looking for Ed for days and I just now find out he's up and gone back to Central," the fiery young blonde answered angrily. "For what I don't know, because he definitely didn't go back into the military, the bastard, but he is absolutely not ready to leave! So why don't you just send him right back down to Resembool before he gets himself killed trying to hobble around on that leg."

"He appears to be getting around perfectly fine on it, so long as he rests it once in a while." Yes, Ed wasn't one hundred percent currently, but as far as he knew, there hadn't been anything actually wrong with his leg port. Chances were, Winry was just being overdramatic.

"I just got that leg built for him last week. He hasn't even had time to adjust to it again! He took off as soon as he could stand by himself."

Now that didn't surprise him. And he would certainly be more conscious to make sure he rested it fairly often until he got full use back. He understood automail reattachment was notoriously painful. Still . . .

"I can't send him back home," he answered her gently. "We have something of a problem right now that he thinks pertains to the Gate. And you and I both know that he is more fit to take care of something regarding the Gate than anyone else, par perhaps his brother. Besides." He debated whether to pause for dramatic effect; everyone in Ed's family rather seemed to like being dramatic. "Contrary to your belief, he did have intentions to stay with the military. He made a rather flashy entrance, and he is officially back on duty. He would have had my head if I tried to handle it any other way."

Stony silence met him on the other end of the line.

"You can yell at me all you like, Miss Rockbell, but none of this is my doing," he reminded her. "Edward is the one who asked for all of this."

"I'm going to kill him."

"I assure you, there's no need for that. He's already had one attempt on his life since returning. He's quite popular, isn't he?"

While Winry sputtered on the other end of the line, Roy looked up as Hawkeye poked her head in, tapping pointedly at her watch; he had a meeting in just a few moments. A very important meeting, on top of that. He nodded solidly to her and waited for Winry to finally say something comprehensible.

"You're telling me," she said slowly, "that Ed has already gotten himself into another situation? This is why he needs to come home! He can't get himself in trouble if he's here, and he certainly hasn't created a death warrant for himself in Resembool! It's only when he's there that—"

"It's only when he's here that he feels like himself, Winry," he said calmly. "He told me this himself once. Edward is not a farm boy. You should know that by now. He hasn't been one since the day he found his father's old alchemy books in the study room. And you trying to keep him there just makes him want to stay even less, I would garner. He might have stayed still longer if you hadn't constantly pestered him." He took a deep breath; it felt great to say that. "If you will excuse me, Miss Rockbell, I have a meeting that pertains to Ed, and I would really rather like to be there. Please feel free to call my personal home number if you would like to speak with him."

He hung up amidst more angry squeaks, suddenly understanding why Ed had wanted to leave as soon as he possibly could. She was a rather frustrating person to talk to, and everyone knew Winry liked him. Frankly she adored him, in spite of her fire and her propensity to whack him in the head with a wrench every time she got the opportunity.

But they were both over-excitable and their personalities would no doubt clash. If they ever did get married, it would end in disaster for sure, and a ruined friendship. Winry was far better suited for someone mellow, who would stay with her. Ed liked to travel too much, to see the world.

Which did beg the question of whether Roy was okay with that. But, thinking about it, he really didn't care so long as Edward came back at the end of the day. Whether it took a week, a month, a year.

Three years.

He'd wait.

Which meant he really needed to say something before he just watched Edward run away from him like a lovesick puppy. Because that was very possible. He was just . . . afraid of being rejected, of course.

But he could think about that later. What was important at the moment was wrapping up the case of the crater in the middle of headquarters from last month.

He adjusted his jacket in the outer waiting room before he entered, carefully adjusting his sleeves so that his stars were clearly visible on his shoulder. Roy may not have known what to do about Edward Elric, but he certainly knew how to handle military issues. He knew that he had to assert his authority as loudly as possible, from his demeanor to his physical stance. He was a Brigadier General now. One of the youngest ever in military history. And he was going to prove to them, like he did every other time, just how he had gotten his rank. He was going to go in there and dominate the floor, not giving them a single inkling of doubt that his story was not one hundred percent authentic.

Because it was utterly, completely fabricated, in any case.

Satisfied that he looked up to par for the board, he stepped confidently inside and shut the door behind him.

Immediately, a dozen pairs of eyes locked in on him and his uniform, and he was extremely glad that he had taken the extra moment to straighten up. Now, he was confident that he looked impeccable. He squared his shoulders and inclined his head almost cockily.

"Brigadier General Mustang, glad you could join us this afternoon," the Fuhrer himself stated cheerfully, nodding towards the only empty seat at the table. Roy was reminded ironically of the situation just yesterday with Ed. This felt an awful lot like an interrogation. But it was his own confidence that would prevent that from becoming a reality. "I'm afraid we have several matters to discuss today, so our time with you will have to be brief."

"Certainly," he answered as he took his seat, crossing his legs comfortably beneath the table. "I trust you have already received the written report of the final incident?"

"Of course," Hakuro sighed, tapping the aforementioned papers against the wood of the table impatiently. "We don't have all day, Mustang."

"There is nothing wrong with covering all of the bases, Major General," Grumman chastised. "If you will, please continue, Brigadier General. We have read the report but would like just as much detail coming from you."

Roy cleared his throat and went into the specifics. Earlier in the week, just two days before Ed's reappearance, he and his team had conducted a fake chase, starting with Falman catching sight of the chimera that had emerged from the crater. Naturally, there had been no real chimera, but the loose interpretation of one they had created for the sole purpose of burning was spotted by several witnesses in order to solidify their story. As it went, they had cornered the chimera, hoping to catch it and bring it back to headquarters, but it had viciously attacked and injured one of their men (this time, Hawkeye had taken the fall). Roy had no choice but to detain it the only way he knew how. Unfortunately, it had perished before they could put out the fire. The only way they could identify it was through dental records. Dental records that they had obtained from a deceased dog and a man that had disappeared some three months ago. That same man Roy's team had smuggled to Xing to protect him from a military attempt to erase his existence due to an unwilling aid to Father on the Promised Day. Officially, the man in question was missing with an order to shoot to kill.

It meshed together perfectly.

"We believe," Roy finally finished, hands clasped together politely on top of the table, "that Davis used his alchemy in an attempt human transmutation. Presumably, this was to attack Central with some sort of newfound power. He became a chimera and ran. We are unsure of how animalistic his mind had become. There have been other instances of combining a human with an animal to form chimeras. We are simply relieved that we could get this taken care of before he became a real danger to our military and to our citizens."

"Indeed, we were unable to identify the remains that were sent to our lab," Malov, a newer General stated with a nod, "but the dental records returned a positive for Davis. We have also heard of several civilian accounts of your team chasing a bulky form through the streets. It seemed to be quite a horrific sight."

"The result of human transmutation is never pretty, General," he agreed solemnly, but it was not a chimera he was thinking about. It was Ed. Ed, with his bloody missing arm and leg, and his brother's bodiless soul. No, it was never pretty. And that was why he could pull off a story such as this so easily. "A similar chimera was found some years ago murdered by the Ishvalan Scar. At the time, a child had been fused with her dog by her own father for the sake of passing the yearly State Alchemist assessment. Shou Tucker was taken care of, but the underlying problem was not."

"And once again we are reminded of the horrors of alchemy used in the wrong way," Fuhrer Grumman murmured with a frown. "If only there were a way to cut down on this sort of experimentation. Alas, we have no way of seeing what goes on in private. For all we know, unknowledgeable people have tried it with disastrous results."

"As someone who was forced to take part in Father's attempt at slaughtering Amestris, I know it is not a fate I would wish on anyone, Sir," he agreed softly. "Human transmutation can only end in more bloodshed. I wish there were a way to stop it altogether. But there is no way to halt the flow of alchemy."

"All well and good," Hakuro growled, clearly not happy with the turn the conversation had taken, "but this is a matter that can be discussed at another time, Mustang. I would hate to think you were using this story in order to gain an advantage of some sort."

"I would hate to think you would accuse me of belittling my superiors in such a way, General," Roy answered smoothly, turning his black gaze on the man with barely constrained contempt.

Hakuro wanted to be Fuhrer so badly that he was not only feeding into Grumman's hand . . . he was outright challenging those with an equal chance at the position. And luckily, Grumman knew that as well. Hawkeye's grandfather cleared his throat loudly, and Hakuro immediately snapped to attention.

"We asked the Brigadier General to provide us an explanation, General Hakuro," the old man stated with a small smirk. "The only one who is getting defensive here is you. It seems to me as though you yourself are the one wishing ill of a very faithful subordinate. I would watch my tongue. This isn't the first time this week you have been vocal about your dislike."

Ah, and the look on Hakuro's face made the entire thing unequivocally worth it . . .

"Dismissed, Brigadier General," the Fuhrer added cheerfully, with a wave. His detailed description had been thorough enough, it seemed. "I consider this cased closed, as well as the case against Davis. Good work. I might expect to see another promotion soon, between this and Major Elric's rescue."

"Sir," Roy answered respectfully, rising to dip down into a sharp bow. How ironic it would be, should he gain a promotion by lying his way through the ranks . . .

Some of the rumors might well be true at that point.

But some things were more important than honesty.

"Sir," Hawkeye greeted as soon as he stepped out of the meeting room. Her face was as impassive as always, but he knew her well enough to know exactly when she was worried about something. "Havoc just phoned. He says Edward has taken off."

. . . Well. There went his good mood for the rest of the day.

"How did he just 'take off' so to speak?" he demanded as he headed back towards his office, intent on calling his own house back to find out just what was going on. He should have known Ed wouldn't stay still all day, even if he was injured to the point where he really needed to keep resting for some time more. This was simply a hazard with Ed. He could never stay in one place for long.

"He was sitting on the couch, looking out the window. He said he was going to try to fix it but he suddenly stopped like he saw something. He jumped straight through the window. According to Jean, he seemed incredibly angry all of a sudden. When he ran outside to follow him, Edward was already gone. He thought the best course of action was to return and inform you."

"Understood. Has our office closed for the day yet?"

"The paperwork can wait until tomorrow if that is what you are asking. However, no excuses tomorrow."

Roy paused, looking over at his most trusted subordinate with one raised eyebrow. "What if I died in the middle of the night?"

Her mouth twitched. "I believe a deal with the person inside the Gate might be in order then, sir. One way or another, you will be at your desk in the morning signing papers."

"Lovely," he responded.

And then he was running for his townhouse, fearing for Ed's . . . well, not his safety, because Ed was the unreliable danger in any situation rather than the other way around. But for him. For Ed in general. Ed was strong, but he was injured, and there was no telling what he might compensate with to make up for the lack of physical ability right now. They couldn't let the military know what Ed was now capable of. Officers like Hakuro would take advantage of him in a heartbeat to further their own agendas.

Not to mention, he didn't even know what was going on in the first place. Ed had gotten mad at something, had run after something. Something near his house. Was someone watching him? The assassin from the night before, perhaps. There was also the possibility that someone else . . . that someone else had come back from the dead and he needed to get to them. But even then, there was danger. Danger that the person behind the Gate's trifling had planted that person there to lure Ed outside.

He realized five minutes after taking off outside of the gate that a car was trailing him, just five feet behind on the road. He slowed, breath puffing in his chest—he'd really gotten lazy since his time as a Colonel—and glanced sideways at the car as it pulled up.

"I don't have the time for this, Riza."

"I'm simply offering you a better solution to running all the way home, sir," the blonde woman answered with a shrug, peering out from the driver's side seat at him. He hadn't even thought to grab a car. It would have taken too much time. Running out had been faster. But running there was certainly not as fast and with just a moment's hesitation, he nodded his thanks and slid quickly into the backseat.

"How do you always manage to remember the things I forget?" he sighed as he sank down, staring out at the passerby in the chance that Ed would be spotted along the way. There was really no telling where the alchemist had gotten to. Or even if he was still able to be found at this rate. Knowing Edward, he could have left Amestris by now in his attempt to get whatever had pissed him off.

"I simply pay more attention."

Roy wrinkled his nose at her and her smug smile. It figured. Riza had always been two steps ahead of him. It was a wonder she was still his subordinate, really.

"In any case," he murmured, staring out the window again. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as of yet, but it was all the more worrying to Roy. What if Ed had found some abandoned building to take down this mystery person in? Then they would probably never find him. He was surprisingly good at getting lost.

That being said, he was also surprisingly good at turning up when someone least expected it. Like in Roy's office yesterday. Or in the middle of a damn crater a month ago. Honestly, Ed was just good at surprises in general.

The car slowed, and Roy straightened up as he caught sight of Havoc waving frantically in front of the townhouse. He rolled the window down, leaning out to call lightly, "You don't need to wave. We would recognize your face anywhere, Jean."

"Are you saying I'm ugly, Chief?" the man asked in dismay.

"Hardly. Do you have an update for us?"

Havoc nodded, pointing down the street. "I just caught sight of him going that way. He was chasing someone with a look that probably would kill if the man would turn around long enough to look at it. Whatever it is, Ed's seriously pissed off. D'you think it could've been the assassin from last night?"

"It's hard to tell," Roy answered, climbing out of the car. He would be better off going on foot to keep from attracting attention on the off chance that Ed was about to start something. "Ed's probably pissed at about half of Central's population by this point." He turned to look at Riza and Jean, whom had both moved to stand behind him, determination set in their expressions. "Stay back behind me. We don't need to create a scene, not while we're still in military dress. Follow at a distance in case I need the backup. And . . . no matter what, if you see Ed start to use alchemy, do your best to stop him."

"Sir?" Hawkeye looked at him in confusion. "Is there something wrong with Ed?"

"He is simply more powerful than we want the military to believe. He didn't come back from the Gate without taking something with him. You know Ed. He'll do what he can to fight back."

"He took knowledge."

Roy nodded solemnly. "And the Gate has so much power that some of it has leaked into him during his time inside it. He has enough power now for the military to fear him if he were ever on their bad side. Worse, he's a genius." Roy shook his head. "He's probably win singlehandedly if anything ever happened to make him hate the military. Literally."

"Best stay on the Boss's good side, then," Havoc muttered wryly. "Get going before we have more crap to deal with than we already do."

Mustang tightened his jaw, put on his best "I am extremely annoyed but I am holding back" face, and took off down the street. He brushed easily past civilians, several of them looking like they had already been startled once that day. It was as good a sign as any that Ed had certainly been in this direction.

Roy Mustang was going to find Edward Elric.

And then he was going to kill him.

Or kiss him.

He really wasn't quite sure yet.

Thank you lovelies as always for reading! Please feel free to drop reviews to let me know what you like or what you might possibly like to see happen!