Returning Echoes Chapter 26: “Roy”, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

Returning Echoes

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor ever will, Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters within.

Chapter 26: " Roy."

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Elric was not smiling when she left her dorm earlier than normal. A restless night had not put her in a good mood and she was going to have to face the mess for breakfast without her arm because she and Al had eaten the last of her meagre stocks yesterday. She was not looking forward to that. She had never had to go without her arm around other people before. Her only hope was that it was too early for the majority of soldiers to be there.

And she wasn't exactly happy about the rest of her day either. It felt like she had so many things to do and absolutely no time in which to get any of them done. And hanging it over it all was this evening. She was trying very hard not to think about it. The problem was that everything she had to do today was related in some way to it.

She puffed her breath out as she pushed the mess door open with her left hand and a frown. Gracia was first, she thought. She could sneak into the hospital before any of the others showed up. Talking to Al had helped, but there were some things she just didn't feel comfortable discussing with him. And she had been trying to get to see Gracia for a few days now. If she had managed to see her earlier maybe yesterday afternoon wouldn't have happened.

There weren't many soldiers in the mess this early, which made them notice her entrance almost immediately. She was too deep in thought to see the looks and her empty jacket sleeve became the focus of their attention. She grabbed a tray and slid it in front of her as she continued to think about the day. She knew she had to keep her thoughts occupied or they would head straight into Roy Mustang-land. She had just spent a whole night doing that, she didn't want a day-ticket as well.

"Sir?" The hesitant word caused her to turn and she saw Terlat there, joining the line with a tray.

"Hey Terlat." She said cheerily enough and then her eyes narrowed. "Just the person I need to see." She added thoughtfully.

"Me, Sir?" He queried, slightly curious. He was surprised to see her here so early. Actually very few officers appeared in the mess this early.

"Yes, seeing as you're the one who seems to control my schedule lately." She grinned at him as she slid her tray along and began to fill it up. "I need you to cover for me this morning."

Terlat frowned. "I'm not sure if I can do that, Sir." He said as he thought about it. Edward looked at him and her eyebrows rose.

"Why not? All I need is a couple of hours this morning."

Terlat paused and wondered what to say. Telling the Lieutenant-Colonel that he had been directed never to let her be without adequate supervision was not a viable option, even if it was the truth.

Edward took note of his silence and the expression on his face. She knew that expression.

"Hawkeye got to you." She said in a flat tone and saw his eyes open wide and stare at her. "I'd know that look anywhere."

"I'm really not at liberty to say, Sir." He said uncomfortably. Ed almost laughed. Hawkeye had obviously terrified the man.

"Terlat. If I remember correctly, I believe you were ordered to serve under my command."

"Yes, Sir." He agreed as he saw the glint in her eye.

"And while Major Hawkeye no doubt has nothing but the best of intentions, she isn't really part of the chain of command here."

"Uh, no Sir."

"So, she really doesn't have the ability to influence your actions in this matter, Terlat." Edward said confidently.

"Sir, she is a Major and I am merely a Sergeant. Regardless of our being in different departments, I am still required to obey the commands of a more senior officer."

"Well, that makes me senior to you both, therefore I can order you to ignore her order." Edward stated. Terlat went pale and stared at her.

"Are you out of your mind?" He blurted without thinking. No-one ignored Major Hawkeye. No-one ever went against anything she said. It had taken him a lot of courage to face her when she had first approached him regarding the accident that had damaged the Lieutenant-Colonel's arm.

Ed looked at him quizzically. "It'll be fine, Terlat. You'll be fine." She smiled and moved along the line, lifting her tray easily with her left hand and looking for the closest table to the coffee. She sauntered across and put her tray down before getting her coffee. By the time she sat back down, Terlat was there and his face was looking disturbed.

"With all due respect Sir, I can't ignore the Major's orders."

"It's just for a couple of hours, Terlat. Hawkeye's not even going to know." She replied between mouthfuls. "And if she does ask, just tell her I overruled her instructions."

"Do you have a death wish, Sir?" Terlat asked bluntly. Edward laughed.

"It'll be fine." Edward repeated confidently, and Terlat no longer questioned the Major's reasons for ordering him to keep a watch on the blonde. Her behaviour seemed to be almost foolhardy to him at the moment.

"Where are you going, Sir?" He asked, deciding that if he was going to be the one left behind, he was going to know as much as he could. And after having observed her over the last weeks, he knew she was not going to get offended by his manner.

"I'll be at the hospital and you can only tell that to Hawkeye, and only if it's a dire emergency." Edward said firmly. "I don't expect anyone to ask, Terlat. And they know I'm not going to be in the office later on anyway." She waved briefly at her empty sleeve. "But I will be back for the afternoon."

Terlat nodded and they finished breakfast, rearranging the day to accommodate Ed's plans. Terlat found himself reassessing her again. She wasn't being foolhardy at all, and although she wasn't saying why she needed to go to the hospital, he could see she was making sure that her absence was not going to cause problems for him or for the rest of her crew. And that's what we're becoming, he thought. With Cal as her secretary and himself to oversee, the others were finding places gradually as well. Simon especially was proving very handy at finding things and Terlat was determined to develop that skill of his. There was nothing more valuable to a group than having someone able to 'find' whatever you needed.

He sat at the table and watched as she left the mess. He had been in the military for ten years. For the first time since he had enlisted he had finally found an officer he liked and one he was going to make sure he stayed with.

Lieutenant-General Roy Mustang was smiling as he entered his car Friday morning and kept smiling all the way to Headquarters. His driver had to keep looking in the rear mirror to double check that it really was the Ice General and not some stranger in there. He was still smiling as he entered his office, ten minutes early, and began on the first of the files without a complaint or long-suffering look.

His staff looked at him and then at each other. Wide smiles broke out and Breda and Havoc left the room hurriedly so they could laugh in the corridor. It took ten minutes before they could stop themselves from laughing every time their eyes met.

Hawkeye shook her head at them when they returned although she too, found it hard to keep a straight face as Roy kept working solidly. And every now and again he would look at the small paper flowers sitting beside him.

Edward entered Elysia's room and smiled at the little girl as she bounced on her bed.

"Sister! Can you do more flowers for me? Please?" Elysia asked, her eyes wide and pleading, the minute the door closed behind Ed. Edward blinked.

"More flowers, princess?"

"Elysia!" Gracia said firmly and Elysia's face fell slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mummy." She said in a downcast voice and Edward looked from one to the other in surprise.

"I said you could ask Edward later, not straightaway." Gracia said with a firm gentleness and Elysia's head sank slightly. Edward opened her mouth to say she didn't mind when she caught Gracia's eye and the brief headshake, and closed her mouth without saying anything. "I didn't expect to see you so early, Edward." Gracia said with a slight smile.

"I'm sorry, but it's the only free time I've got today. And…" she paused and fidgeted slightly, "…I knew no-one else would be here this early." Her face went slightly pink. Edward knew she needed to talk, but now that she was here, it was making her feel nervous and unsure of herself. Suddenly she didn't want to say anything and had an almost overwhelming urge to leave.

"Let me get Elysia organised and then we'll talk." Gracia said gently and Edward nodded. She watched as Gracia called a nurse and Elysia was led out of the room.

"She goes and plays with the other children for awhile. The doctors say it does her good to mingle and keep up her social skills." Gracia said as she sat down and looked over at a restless Edward. "Sit, Edward. It can't be that bad, whatever it is."

"I don't know, Gracia. It feels pretty bad." Edward grumbled and pulled a chair over. She turned it around and straddled it, her arm resting along the chair back and her chin on her arm. She fell silent, unsure how to start now that the moment was here. Especially after last night when she had all but told Riza to stay out of it. But friends or not, there was no way she would have spoken out last night, not only with Al and Winry there, but Havoc and Elysia as well.

"I'm guessing this is about Roy." Gracia said softly.

"Who else?" Ed complained. "The man's a walking distraction and it's driving me insane!"

Gracia smiled. Edward sounded frustrated and confused.

"You like him."

"I know that and so does he." Edward said slowly. "The problem is that he likes me too."

Gracia frowned. "I wouldn't call that a problem, Edward."

"I would. It just shouldn't be like this." She looked at Gracia and her expression lost its confused look. "He's not supposed to like me. I'm male. Roy Mustang doesn't like other men."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No. but he doesn't need to. I mean, if he did like…men, everyone would know." Edward waved her hand around slightly.

"I thought you said he liked you."

"That's what he said."

Gracia looked at Edward and felt slightly confused herself. "Okay, let me see if I have this straight. You like Roy, he likes you. But because you're male, it's all wrong? Is that roughly what we have here?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, I know it doesn't seem a lot, but it certainly feels like a major problem."

"Edward…" Gracia paused. "I don't understand why you think Roy shouldn't like you. Just because you see both of you as male really isn't a big problem."

"Gracia…" Edward paused and then she looked up and Gracia saw a vulnerability in the golden eyes she had never seen before. "Gracia, I don't know what sex I am, I'm not even a whole person…I have scars that…I have scars. This liking feeling terrifies me, Gracia and knowing that it's him of all people, and that he likes me. It's not something I know how to cope with, Gracia."

Gracia stared at Edward. Gone was the nervousness, gone was the confusion. Edward stated the problem as she saw it. She had let herself open up and reveal the uncertainty she was feeling.

Edward was like Roy in many ways, she thought. Roy had had Maes and Ed had had Al. Neither had looked for more. Edward was probably the more independent, she thought. Four years away without Al, without anyone she knew. It had to have developed a self-reliance beyond what she had always shown. When Ed had returned, she had found Al again. And things had changed. Al had Winry, they lived in different places and although they were still very close, there was no immediacy to their contact.

Without Al beside her anymore, she had no-one to talk to, to stop the little things becoming bigger things. And all the maturity and self-reliance was not going to help when you suddenly found yourself feeling things you'd never felt before. If anything, you found yourself becoming insecure because what you had relied on, what you had depended on no longer helped. And Edward was realising that.

"Edward, everyone goes through similar feelings."

"I know, but that's not really a help here, Gracia. I can make it as simple as I can, but it can't… it won't stay that simple. There are too many other considerations. And those other things are crowding everywhere before I've even had a chance to figure out the basics. Every time I turn around… it's like a monster I once heard about. It grows an extra head. Every time I think I've answered one question, two more appear in its place." The restless nights were evident in the tiredness in Edward's voice.

"And what about Roy?"

Edward rolled her eyes. "Damned stupid man. It doesn't seem to be affecting him. 'Edward Elric, I like you and I am not about to let you forget it.She almost sneered the remembered words and then muttered. "Arrogant bastard." Gracia held back a smile. It sounded as if Roy had been less than tactful in his declaration of intent, and the fact that Edward could quote them so easily merely demonstrated just how much she had been remembering exactly what he had said.

"You're not exactly letting anyone see how it's affecting you, why would you assume he would either?" Gracia asked logically and Edward froze. Hadn't she thought the same thing about him back then, after he had let fly with words and feelings she had never thought him capable of, after he had thrown his watch at her. Was he hiding the same confusions she was? It didn't seem possible, not when she remembered how intent his voice had been. He hadn't been confused. He had been determined.

She shook her head. "I don't think he's confused like I am." She sighed. "Is this a female thing? This confusion?"

"No, Ed. It is a human thing. Everyone gets confused when feelings change. Everyone finds a way through it."

Ed put her head down onto her arm. "Some days I wish it was all like it used to be." She said quietly.

"Do you think it would make a difference?" Gracia asked curiously. "Do you think that if you were as you used to be, you wouldn't like Roy?"

"Of cour…" Edward stopped and looked up with a frown on her face. "Of course I wouldn't." The initial force of her rebuttal faded slightly and Gracia could almost hear the unspoken 'Would I?'

"Edward, attraction comes as it pleases and liking someone is the same. And neither can be forced. Trying to make yourself feel something you don't, or denying something that you do never works."

"So, I have to just let it run its course?" Edward asked, her voice doubtful.

"It's not a disease, Ed." Gracia smiled. "Don't you want to know where it will go?" She added, and Edward heard herself saying 'What do we have, Mustang?' after everyone had left the office yesterday. There had been no reply, she hadn't wanted one and she hadn't given him a chance either. All she had wanted was to get out of there.

More than anything else, that was the question she didn't want to hear at all. That was the one that led into the places she wasn't sure she wanted to go. Not with him. Not with anyone. Scars were there. Nightmares were there. She shook her head and swallowed.

"Edward, you wouldn't be walking it alone." Gracia pointed out in a soft, almost hesitant voice. Horrified golden eyes stared at her.

"I can't even say his fucking name!" Edward suddenly said loudly, and stood up abruptly and began to pace around the room. Gracia watched her with concern. "I don't even know why this keeps twisting me up everywhere. One minute it seems obvious and the next it's all confusion again. I just can't get my mind to decide."

"Edward. This has nothing to do with your mind. It's all to do with your heart." Gracia said and Ed stopped her pacing to stare at her.

"That makes it so much more unreliable!" Edward replied as she threw her hand in the air and resumed her pacing. "Why didn't admitting that I like… him, make this easier?"

Gracia laughed softly and Ed looked offended. "Come here Edward." Gracia said and waited until Ed had walked over. She patted the bed beside her and Edward sat down.

"Ed, when I told Maes I liked him, he smiled at me and said he had known for a while and that he had been waiting for me to say it. I was furious with him. I asked him why he hadn't said anything and he said that he just wanted me to be sure. That I wouldn't have said anything until I was ready for it. He said that he had been trusting me to make my own decision without feeling like he was pressuring me. I spent a week resenting him before I accepted the truth of what he had said."

"I wish he was here now." Ed sighed.

"Me too." Gracia echoed and there was silence for a moment.

"He would have been making Mustang's life hell about all of this." Edward grinned. Gracia smiled at her words and nodded in agreement. Edward sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. Gracia turned slightly to look at her. The grin had gone and her face was pensive as she stared at the ceiling.

"I shouldn't have let him kiss me." Edward said in a thoughtful voice. "And I should never have kissed him back."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I don't think I was ready for it. Especially with everyone there watching." Ed's breath puffed out. "I can't believe I was such an idiot."

"No-one actually saw you two kissing, Ed."

Ed turned her head slightly and met Gracia's eyes. "We were in the office Gracia, everyone was there when I put my foot in it."

"So Riza told me, but Winry shut the door before anyone saw anything."

Ed's eyes went wide and she sat up. "So Al didn't see…" she sagged with relief slightly.

"That doesn't mean they didn't know what was happening." Gracia reminded her.

"I know, but Al's as confused as I am, I think. And thinking that he had seen me … that, made it awkward when I was talking with him yesterday."

"Like you, he probably needs some time to adjust. At least you can talk to him."

"Yeah, but not as much as we used to. The thought of discussing some of this with him makes me uncomfortable. I don't understand why that should be."

"Because it's different and it's new and strange. And because he wasn't here when it all started changing. You two are very close but you can't talk about this over a phone. After being apart for a while, it will take you a little time to readjust again, that's all. Al probably talks most things over with Winry now, but you'll always be closer than most."

"Well, of course he does. That doesn't surprise me at all. And there's no way we'd ever lose what we have, despite him and Winry being engaged and all."

"Who do you talk to, Edward?" Gracia asked suddenly.

"Uh… you." Ed frowned as she tried to think. She wondered if the conversations she'd had with Mustang counted. They probably didn't, she decided. After all, she hadn't intended to say most of those things to him anyway. They'd just been blurted out. The thought of deliberately discussing anything like this with him was unthinkable. Was not going to happen. Ever.

"No-one else?" Edward shook her head.

Who else was there? She hadn't really needed people to talk to. Al had been the only one she had really shared things with. And until all this attraction and confusion had appeared, she hadn't felt the need to confide in anyone. It just hadn't been necessary.

Gracia watched as Edward thought and saw the flickering changes in her face. Gracia smiled. Sometimes things just fell into place and she wondered how long it would take Edward to realise that she was going to have to talk to Roy about this.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you call him 'Roy'?"

Al walked across the parade area at Headquarters and smiled in the morning sun. Despite whatever was going on between his sister and the General, it was good to be back here. It was his second home. He had grown up here and after Edward had gone, he had found a place that offered him a chance to find his brother. And also a place where he had been welcomed, not because he was Fullmetal's brother, but because he was simply Al and they had been more than pleased at his return.

Since Ed had returned to Central, he had found it both easier and harder than he had expected to stay in Resembool. He had missed her and quite often he had started to say something, only to stop suddenly as he realised she wasn't there to hear it anymore. The phone calls had become important and he would often jot things down so he wouldn't forget to mention them. He hadn't told her just how much those phone calls meant to him some days. Because there were days when he would find himself thinking she had left again, that she had disappeared again and was never going to return. Hearing her voice always reassured him, knowing that if he rang to reassure himself, she was always happy to talk to him and she never asked why he was ringing earlier than usual.

Winry had given him space but she was also quick to hug him whenever she found him looking lost as he wandered the rooms occasionally. She had begun to teach him about automail and he had started to do small repairs with his alchemy. There were things he could do and plenty of space and time to do them in. But Edward was never far from his thoughts and he had often wondered how she was managing here without him. Of all the things he had imagined, yesterday had shown him that his imagination was severely limited.

It was hard to believe and the thought of Ed with the General made him slightly uneasy. Of all the people for Ed to like, it had to be him? It made sense in one way he supposed. They did know each other well and they had always enjoyed their squabbles. But he would bet that even they had not seen it as anything more than a way to annoy the other. He wondered when it had all changed. Edward had been too confused to be really articulate and he knew how hard it was to pin her down to specifics at times.

He still resented the fact that she hadn't told him what was happening. Something as big as liking someone was not the sort of thing you kept secret from your brother. He sighed as he walked. But it wasn't something you could really talk about over the phone, not when the phone was in the middle of the office or the one in the hall of the dorms. There was no chance of privacy. Maybe he was just being irrational because he was feeling left out.

Ed's office door was open and he looked in to see a thin, young nervous looking private staring at several files. Al coughed gently and waited for the private to look up.

"Is the Lieutenant-Colonel in?"

"No…Sir." Cal looked at the newcomer. He looked familiar but Cal didn't think he had ever seen him before. He hadn't seen many civilians here and was rather surprised that this one had just walked in without an escort.

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"I'm not sure, Sir." Because I don't know where she is, he didn't add, and even if I did I'm not going to tell you.

"Is Sergeant…Terlat here?" Al asked as the private seemed to be uneasy with his questions.

"The Sergeant is out for the moment." Cal said more firmly. He did actually know where the Sergeant was.

Al frowned slightly. "When is he due back?"

"In half an hour, Sir." Cal replied after a quick look at the clock on the wall.

"When Ed returns, get her to give me a call." Al watched as the private pulled out a piece a paper and pen. "Tell her I'll be in General Mustang's office."

"And you are, Sir?" Cal asked.

"I'm her brother."

Cal's eyes went wide and he stood up abruptly, halfway into saluting before he remembered that Major Elric was retired.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't realise…" No wonder he looked familiar. Cal could see the likeness to the Lieutenant-Colonel.

"It's ok, Private…"

"Cal, Sir. Everyone calls me Cal."

"Cal." Al nodded. "I met Sergeant Terlat yesterday. If you can give that message to Ed, I'd really appreciate it."

"I don't know when she'll be in, Sir." Cal said almost hesitantly. This was her brother, it wasn't against the rules to tell him.

Al's frown deepened. "Didn't she say when she'd be back?"

"She hasn't come in yet, Sir."

Al stared at him. "What do you mean she hasn't come in yet? She should have been here an hour ago."

"I know, Sir. But she hasn't shown up yet."

"Ed never sleeps in this late." Al muttered, thinking quickly. Maybe he ought to check her dorm anyway, just in case. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well lately, maybe it had finally caught up with her and she was actually sleeping. "I'll check her room Cal, and give you a call from there. Knowing Ed, she'll turn up the minute I leave."

"Ok Sir. I'll tell her where you are."

"Good." And Al smiled as he left the office.

"I don't know, Gracia. It's not like I don't know what it is, or that I can't say it at all. I just can't say it on its own." Ed sighed and moved back to straddle the chair again. And it comes with all those images and feelings, she didn't say.

Gracia looked at Edward. She had it so bad and she was still unaware of how many other facets there were. Unless she was ignoring them, or just not realising the implications of what could develop. One thing was certain, Gracia thought. Edward was seeing everything in a jumbled manner and that was why she wasn't coping. Perhaps, she thought, perhaps Edward needs to see things from a different angle. She frowned slightly and then her smile widened briefly, disappearing completely before she spoke in a contemplative voice.

"There aren't many people who use his name anymore." Ed looked up and Gracia kept her smile hidden at the sudden gleam of interest in the golden eyes. "Other than Riza and I, everyone else has gone."

Edward began to stare, her eyes widening. "No-one?"

"No." Gracia sighed slightly and her eyes were darker as she met Ed's gaze. "He's the 'General' or 'Mustang'. Even you called him 'bastard'. The ones who used to call him 'Roy' didn't survive Ishbal. And of those who did, most have since died." Like Maes, they both thought. "I wonder sometimes if using his name brings back those memories to him, but I believe someone has to remind him of who he is." Ed frowned, puzzled.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"Just as you get seen as Fullmetal or Lieutenant-Colonel, they're not really who you are. To me, to your friends, you are Edward. The rest are things that you have accumulated and grown into, but underneath everything, you are Edward. When you hear your name, you respond, because it is you and everything you have been." Gracia watched Ed listen intently. "So I call him Roy, because no matter what has happened or gone before, he is still Roy."

Edward blinked. "Human" slipped out before she could stop herself and Gracia nodded at her.

"Yes. For all his Ice General façade and the distance he kept, he's always been human."

Something Ed kept forgetting as she dropped her head to the back of the chair and groaned.

Edward was not in her dormitory and Al received some wary looks from several of the female residents as he walked through the halls. He felt slightly nervous as some of them looked as if they would follow him. He tried not to look too suspicious as he walked a bit quicker to the phone and dialled Ed's office.

"Cal? She's not here. Has she turned up there yet?" His breath puffed out and he frowned as he listened to Cal's negative response. "What about Terlat? Is he back?"

"Not yet, Sir."

Al paused, trying to think. Where could she be? She wouldn't be at the General's office. Would she? After yesterday, would she had gone back there? If he knew one thing about his sister, it was that she never ran away from anything.

"I'll go and see if she's gone to the General's office, Cal. It's the only other place I can think of."

"If she comes in here, I'll tell her that, Sir."

"Thanks Cal." Al hung up and began to trek back through the complex.

Edward had better be there he thought. All this walking around was starting to annoy him. And if he wasted too much time finding her, he wasn't going to get much time to talk to her either. Winry would be waiting for Ed to have her arm re-attached and then who knew what the afternoon would be like? Winry was again talking about going shopping after lunch. He was hoping he would be able to spend some time with his sister today.

The General's office was busy he noticed. Hawkeye was talking to a young brown-haired Corporal who looked absolutely terrified. Al sidled over to Havoc's desk as the man looked up and saw him entering the office.

"Hey Al." Havoc greeted him with a smile.

"Havoc." Al nodded back, smiling easily in return. "Have you seen Ed today?"

"No, she hasn't been in. Have you tried her office?"

"Yes, and her dorm." Al frowned. "I can't find her anywhere."

"What did that Sergeant of hers say?"

"Terlat? He's not there either, but Cal, her secretary, says she hasn't been in at all."

Havoc pursed his lips. "That's not like the Boss." Lately she had developed a conscientious streak and always let someone know if she went anywhere, during working hours at least. And the time she had not come in, she had called.

"She didn't say anything last night about not being here." Al said. "And we had organised to go to Mrs Hughes' for her arm just before lunch."

Their eyes met. Edward didn't disappear without a reason. She always had a reason. They both remembered yesterday's events and while it was uncharacteristic of her to run from anything, they both could understand her wanting to stay away. But she would have said something. She wouldn't have just gone.

"I'll ring her office again, Al." Havoc said and Al nodded. He looked towards the inner door.

"I might just see the General as well." He said slowly and Havoc watched as Al entered Mustang's office and closed the door behind him. Jean looked over and met Riza's eyes briefly before he picked up the phone.

Roy looked up as his door closed and he saw Al standing there. The teen had a strange look on his face, determined, slightly embarrassed and nervous. Roy watched as he came closer to the desk, the grey eyes not faltering.

"Good morning, Al." Roy said as he waved him towards a chair. He was not completely surprised when Al shook his head and didn't sit down. He put his pen down and rested his chin on his fingers as he put his elbows on his desk.

"I wanted to speak to you about Edward." Al said bluntly and Roy held back his smile. Al was always the one to confront any issues head-on. To ask the questions instead of trying to figure it all out on his own, like Edward did.

"What did you want to discuss?" He asked calmly. He was not surprised that Al had decided to question him. He was a bit surprised that Al had come here so soon. He had been expecting Al to do something like this over the weekend.

"Exactly what is going between you and my sister?"

"Edward and I like each other, Al." Roy said, keeping his voice even.

"That really doesn't tell me anything." Al replied, frowning slightly.

"Al, there's not really more to tell. What happened yesterday…it wasn't planned and I did not expect anything like that to occur." Roy kept his eye focused on Al. "Edward and I haven't had a chance to talk about this. You probably know more than I do because you were with her yesterday."

Al wasn't about to be drawn into discussing anything Ed had said to him yesterday with the General. That was not something he was going to share.

"But what are you going to do now?" Al asked. "What you said yesterday can't be taken back."

"I don't intend to take it back. But Al, what happens next will be between Edward and I. I know how concerned you are, but this is something we have to figure out on our own." Roy told him firmly.

"Concerned is not quite the word I would use, General. Edward is my sister and I don't want to see her hurt or placed in any situation that could cause her to be hurt. I will hold you responsible if that should happen." Al replied just as firmly.

"Even if this had not happened, do you honestly believe that I would jeopardise Edward's safety and well-being?"

"Not intentionally, but Edward…"

"Precisely. Edward rarely listens to me at the best of times. I hardly think she's going to be more inclined to listen to me now."

"That's not what I was going to say!" Al said quickly, even as he acknowledged the truth inherent in that remark. If anything, Ed would become downright unmanageable if she stayed in that confused state much longer.

"What were you going to say?"

"Edward doesn't look as she rushes into things. It's not her listening to you, it's Edward listening to herself."

Roy blinked and stared at Al with a new respect. Not only was he prepared to talk about this, he was also prepared to share the fears he had and, protective brother he might be, he was not a blind one. He knew Edward better than anyone and he was prepared to do all he could, and use everything he knew to protect her. And his honesty was his best weapon.

Roy could not ignore him like he had Riza yesterday, but he didn't want to share with Al what he hadn't shared with Edward yet. Al needed reassurance and he needed promises from both Edward and Roy. He could offer reassurances, but he wasn't going to tell Al what he wanted Edward to be the first to hear. And some promises were just not possible.

"I'm not going to let Edward go rushing into anything, Al." He said sincerely as he met the grey eyes with a level stare. "But I can't promise to never let her get hurt, there are no guarantees now. For either of us."

Edward let her breath out and lifted her head slightly. She looked at Gracia and kept her voice neutral as she spoke.

"You used that to make him think I was going to help tonight."

Gracia's eyes widened but then she blushed slightly and nodded. "Yes. Although I didn't expect you to realise what I had done."

"I was talking to Al when I figured it out. If he hadn't been so angry and come barging in as I was getting my arm removed, probably neither of us would …nothing would have happened." The golden eyes stayed steady. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it proved what I wondered about." Gracia smiled. "I knew how you felt, and I was fairly sure about Roy, and I wanted to know why both of you had declined to help tonight."

"Stupid date." Edward muttered and Gracia's eyebrow rose.

"A date? I thought it was a civic function."

Ed grimaced, she hadn't meant to be heard. "It is a civic thing, but originally it… he… he had asked me to dinner."

"And you had accepted. Well, I can see why it was changed, with the Fuhrer requesting you to attend. There will be other dinners, Edward."

"Yeah." Ed sounded rather unenthusiastic about that notion and Gracia smiled. First steps were always the hardest ones to take and Edward had enough extra concerns to make them harder than usual.

"Don't worry Ed. For once, just try not to think so hard about things."

"Easier said than done." Ed replied and began to draw back slightly. She'd had enough of talking about this for awhile. More things to think about and more thoughts to keep her awake at nights. And she knew she still had more talking to face later with Al and Winry. This better be worth something, Roy Mustang or I am seriously going to kick your ass, she thought. Edward froze slightly, that had hints of going places to it and she wasn't prepared for that yet, not at all.

"…get ready for tonight?"

Ed blinked. "Sorry?"

"I asked if you needed any help getting ready for tonight." Gracia repeated and Edward shook her head, remembering last time.

"No, I think I can manage."

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping again."

"No!" Edward said loudly and cringed slightly. "Thank you, but I really don't think I need that much help to get dressed."

Gracia laughed. "Was it too overwhelming for you last time, Ed?"

"Yes." Edward agreed fervently.

"Well, if you want to, on your way, you can call in here and…show Elysia." Edward looked at Gracia as she paused and saw the offer Gracia didn't give words to. And it probably wouldn't hurt to get that second opinion either, she thought.

Edward nodded. "I might just do that." She said replied slowly. "I'm sure…Elysia will want to see it." And you as well, she said in her smile. "So, what did Elysia mean when she asked about the flowers?"

Al stared at the General. Ed was going to kill him when she found out he had come here to question Mustang, but Al was not going to apologise for it. And he knew she'd probably forgive him as soon as the bruises faded.

The man was being honest with him and it had to be awkward for him Al realised. He wondered how many times the General had been questioned over his love-life. Wait, that was not the right word for this. Both his sister and the General had said 'like' and both had said that yesterday had been unexpected. Al knew Edward wasn't even attempting to think further, she was nothing but confusion. The General however, was much calmer, more settled. The General was thinking clearer than Ed, Al realised. His eyes narrowed.

"No guarantees, you say. But you're still going to follow it." He pointed out.

"Yes." Roy kept his answer short. Al's stance had changed slightly and he was unconsciously leaning forward.

"Regardless of whether Ed wants to or not." He stated as his forehead creased.

"I am not going to force Edward into anything, Al." And Roy straightened up in his chair. Al was staring harder at him as his face became intent.

"Maybe not deliberately, but you know her almost as well as I do." Al's voice went slightly flat and Roy recognised the traits of an Elric seeking information.

"Al, I'm not going to manipulate Edward into anything either." He said, hoping to close off that line of thought. "There is no place for that in something like this."

"'Something like this'?" Al pounced. "So you have considered it further." His eyes widened. "Yesterday was unexpected to you. You'd had it planned for tonight!"

Several thoughts hit Roy all at the same time. One, somehow Al knew about the original date he had planned and the only one he could have found that out from was Edward. He wondered how Al had managed to get Edward to talk about it and what other information he had gotten from her. Two, that Al wasn't completely innocent when it came to knowing how relationships worked. Being with the Rockbell girl had probably been a steep learning curve for the young man Roy thought. Given a choice between the two, he'd stick with Edward. Winry Rockbell frightened him at times. Three, that when Al was seeking information, he could override his normal politeness, courteous manner and inherent shyness and be as focused and blunt as Edward.

Roy discovered again what he had allowed himself to forget. Al was a whole lot more perceptive than Edward ever was. And Al was often the smarter of the two.

He managed to keep his mouth from falling open although his eye widened at the suddenness and pertinacity of Al's statement. He took a deep breath. This was going to be trickier than he had thought.

"Hadn't you, General?" Al repeated.

"The plans I had for this evening, were probably not as definite as you seem to think they were." Roy replied carefully and then decided that he too could be blunt. "Al, I do not intend to discuss Edward with you. What …there is or might be, or could happen, I really think is something that we will work out for ourselves."

"Edward is my sister and anything that concerns her, concerns me." Al said without apology. "I don't want to know what you had planned, but I do want to know where you're planning to take it."

"You want to know the future before it happens, Al? I can't tell you that. I don't know where it's going." Roy replied openly. "If I knew, I wouldn't have asked Edward to dinner."

"But you've considered it. I can see that."

"Of course I have." Roy paused. "Al, this really is something you are going to have let us work out."

"General, no offence, I don't really care about you in this matter. But Edward has given up everything for me, more than once, and I will not let her get hurt again."

Roy frowned. He had heard those determined overtones in Al's voice before and he knew how stubborn he could get. Of all the things he had considered when he had thought about Edward, he had not given much…any… thought to an overly protective Al. The last thing he wanted was to have Al upset with him, but he wasn't about to let Al dictate to him either. Not in this matter, not in anything.

"You think I would hurt her?" He asked and watched the grey eyes flicker. "What are you basing this on, Al? Me? Or Edward? Do you think I would deliberately set out to hurt Edward in this manner?"

Al shook his head, but there was still doubt and worry in his face. "No, but …"

"There are no buts here, Al. You have known me for a long time, you have known me longer than Edward has. If you think I am capable of such a thing, then you don't know me as well as I thought you did." Roy leant back in his chair, his face serious and not allowing himself to get offended by what Al was implying.

"General…"

"No, Al. You are Edward's brother, I appreciate what you are saying and that you are…concerned. But what happens or doesn't happen between Edward and I will stay between Edward and me." Roy spoke firmly, his face setting in a determined expression.

Al stared back, seeing the conviction in that determination and wondering where he had gotten it all from. He didn't remember the General being this decisive before, and he certainly wouldn't have sat here and let Al question him as he just had. Was this because he did like Edward? Like her enough to change so much? He had to have a talk with Hawkeye, she'd know. She always knew. But he couldn't let the General think he was just going to accept this state of affairs without a fight.

"If Edward gets hurt, General…" He began in a promising tone, but the General interrupted.

"If Edward gets hurt, then so will I." The General's voice was almost completely expressionless but there was a gleam in the dark eye and Al couldn't finish his broken sentence. "Why don't you go and see her, Al? She's the one you need to talk to."

"She's not there." He replied absently as he tried to define just exactly what that gleam had meant.

"What do you mean, she's not there?" Roy asked sharply, abruptly straightening up in his chair.

Major Hawkeye looked at the clock surreptitiously and tried not to let her left eye twitch as she interviewed yet another possibility for a secretary. It was barely ten o'clock and she could feel the headache coming on. This one was probably not going to make the grade either. She hadn't realised how hard this was turning out to be. Twelve so far this week she had interviewed and rejected. Mainly women, some men. None of them had the qualities she was looking for. Most had been terrified and the ones that weren't, soon were as Breda and Havoc took it upon themselves to talk loud and long about various past incidents that had occurred in this office. She had frowned at them, but it had held little weight and only added to the general nervousness of the applicants. Mustang's crew were almost as infamous as the General himself was.

"…served in Western Command for three years, Major." The latest one, a black-haired Sergeant, was saying, valiantly ignoring Breda's offhand remark of "D'you think the General would've incinerated the bastard if the Fuhrer hadn't been there?"

"No idea, Breda, but the Boss wouldn't have minded." Havoc drawled as he leant back in his chair and avoided Riza's stern eye.

"I think she's as quick as he is now." Breda said thoughtfully and Havoc frowned. That wasn't part of their script. "Think Havoc, she had those spikes coming up as he was lighting them."

"…with several of the filing systems in Records management, Major." Hawkeye watched the Sergeant keep going, sweat trickling down his forehead, as Breda and Havoc kept talking.

"Now that would be a bet worth aiming for." Havoc grinned. "Get them to face off again."

The inner door slamming open had them all jumping. The General stood there and he looked around.

"Havoc, has the Lieutenant-Colonel appeared yet?" He demanded.

"No, Chief." Havoc's eyes went wide as he saw Al appear behind the General, looking as startled as they were at the General's behaviour.

"Hawkeye, take Al and see what you can find out from that sergeant of hers. Havoc, ring the usual places and see if she's shown up at any of them. Breda, check the training halls and gym. Where are Fuery and Falman?"

"They had a meeting with Regulations regarding new wiring requirements." Hawkeye replied calmly.

"Who are you?" The dark eye focused on the one strange face and the sergeant barely managed to answer the abrupt question without stammering.

"Sergeant Berent, Sir."

"Ring for my car and then help Havoc."

"Where are you going, Sir?" Hawkeye queried.

"I'll check with Gracia." Roy replied and then re-entered his office.

"Al…" Hawkeye heard him say and she exchanged looks with the others. A quick shake of her head had them saying nothing.

"Well Sergeant," Havoc said cheerfully. "Once you've rung the motor pool, you can start on the Libraries."

Sergeant Berent looked rather shell-shocked and he blinked. Hawkeye almost smiled as she handed him a small book. He took it automatically and found it to be the internal phone directory. In a dazed state he rang for the General's car. Breda left and Havoc went to the filing cabinet and removed the sheet of paper attached to the side. Sergeant Berent watched as the General re-appeared with the young man at his side.

"Is my car ready?" He asked and Berent nodded. The General disappeared through the door before he could say anything.

"Well, Sergeant, I guess you'll be with us for the next couple of hours. You can answer the phones once you've assisted Major Havoc." Hawkeye said crisply as she exchanged a quick look with Jean.

"Yes Major." He saluted as she and the civilian left the room. Berent looked at the other Major. "Exactly why am I ringing the libraries, Sir?"

"Just ask if the Lieutenant-Colonel is there." Havoc replied as he put the piece of paper in front of him. "Here's the list of all the numbers."

Sergeant Berent was bewildered. "Which Lieutenant-Colonel?"

"Elric, but they'll know who you mean." Havoc said blithely as he picked up his phone and ignored the wide eyes and gaping mouth that the Sergeant suddenly wore.

"Major?" Al asked tentatively as they made their way to Edward's office.

"Al, you can call me Riza now." Hawkeye told him and saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. She had a fair idea of what he wanted to say as she heard the nervousness in his voice.

"Do you think the General has changed much lately?" Hawkeye's eyebrows rose. That hadn't been quite what she expected him to say, but she could see where he was heading.

"Yes, Al. He has changed lately." She said non-committally.

"Is it because of …Edward?" Hawkeye blinked and stopped walking. She hadn't expected Al to be this blunt. Al stopped as well and looked at her with serious eyes. "He's changed, Maj…Riza. I saw it in his office. He reminds me more of what he used to be when we first met him. And just now, sending everyone looking for her like that. It's not something he would have done before."

Riza studied the earnest expression on Al's face as she thought quickly. Of all the people around them, Al was the only person both Edward and Roy could not ignore. And neither could she, she realised. She had watched him for four years, a bodiless, selfless suit of armour. She had seen how Edward had done everything he could to protect Al, to keep every promise he had made to his brother. And she had seen how Roy had protected them both, giving them assignments that benefited both them and him, keeping the hierarchy off their backs and giving them as much space as he could for them to grow up in. And she had aided both of them in their efforts to keep Al safe, to get closer to their goals.

"I think that a lot of his changes are due to Edward, Al. When you brought Edward back, Roy began to return as well." Riza said in a quiet voice.

"This started that far back?" Al's eyes went wide.

"No, I don't think so. This is more recent. I don't know when it started and I don't think they know either. And they haven't been conventional with it either."

Al frowned and looked at her for a moment. "It's not like the General to over-react like this either. What exactly is going on between them?"

"I don't know, Al. Nothing they do lately is normal as far as I can see. It's as if they're making their own rules up as they go along."

"Do you think it's a good thing?" He asked in a contemplative voice and he met her gaze with curiousity in his eyes. She paused and thought about it for a moment. Al seemed genuinely interested in her answer and although she had already answered this question once before with Gracia, it was different hearing Al ask it.

"Yes Al. I think it is a good thing. For both of them."

Lieutenant-General Mustang was well aware that he could have rung the hospital from his office and asked the staff if Edward was there. He was also aware that he was possibly over-reacting…just a little bit... to Edward's non-appearance at her office. There were probably a dozen reasons why she wasn't there. He just couldn't think of one. And he was aware that the thought of not knowing exactly where she was made his fingertips feel cold.

He wasn't sure why he had decided to come here instead of going to Edward's office. He doubted Edward would have left Headquarters. She was more likely to be in the gym, beating her frustrations out on whomever or whatever was there. But he had needed to get away from Al for the moment. Al was asking questions that made him aware of how far he had fallen into this state of 'like'. He had never made it a habit to discuss his personal life with others, but he had noticed an increased reticence when it came to anything to do with Edward. As if he had found something precious, something just for him. And he didn't want to share it, not yet.

He wondered if Gracia had known what would happen after she had told that lie. He didn't know why she had done that and he was going to ask her about it. Another reason to justify his decision to come here he thought as he walked down the white corridors.

He stopped just outside the door as he heard laughter coming from the room. Elysia… and Edward. She was here after all. He felt the relief as his breath puffed out and his eye closed briefly before he felt the anger. She should have told someone where she was going. She should not have just left and come here without clearing it with him. She was supposed to be in her office working on getting the Research department re-organised. She was supposed to be where he expected her to be.

He opened the door and stopped.

Paper was strewn over the bed and Elysia was drawing coloured patterns on some of them. Edward was drawing too, but she was drawing circles and transmuting the coloured and patterned sheets into flowers. Gracia was trying to stack them without crushing the paper.

"Uncle Roy!" Elysia called to him but Edward had already known he was there. In the corner of her eye she had seen the door open and the blue uniform appear. She hadn't needed to look up to his face. The stance, the gloved hand in a pocket and the prickling at the back of her neck as she felt him stare, told her exactly who stood there.

"Good morning Elysia," the deep voice said as he came closer and bent over slightly to give Elysia a hug. Edward kept her eyes focused on the circle she was drawing. She hadn't thought she'd be seeing him before the afternoon, before she got her arm back and she felt at a disadvantage. Not to mention that she hadn't had any time to assimilate her talk with Gracia either.

"Hello Roy." Gracia said with a smile and Edward felt him walk past her to greet Gracia with a hug as well.

"Hello Gracia. You're looking well today." He said and Edward could hear the reciprocating smile in his voice.

"Edward." he said, suddenly right beside her. There was a slight edge to his voice and she wondered why he was upset with her. Not that she was going to ask, not here, not yet.

"Mustang." She replied after a small pause. She took another slow deep breath and refused to look at him.

"Have you come to help, Uncle Roy?" Elysia asked.

"Help with what?" He asked, wondering how long Edward would go before she looked at him.

"Making flowers. I want to give them to the nurses before I go tomorrow." Elysia replied as if it was obvious. Roy looked at all the ones already completed.

"How many more do you need?" He asked. Surely there was more than enough for every nurse in the hospital here already.

"Another …" Elysia paused as she counted on her fingers.

"Twelve." Edward whispered softly.

"Twelve!" Elysia said proudly, smiling widely at him and he stifled his laugh. "You can help Sister draw the circles." She said in a commanding voice. Gracia thought he was going to refuse, when he smiled.

"Of course." He said and sat himself on the bed on the other side of the small table Edward was using. "Can I see the circle, Edward?" He asked and she silently pushed one across the table. Edward's cheeks were pink and he smiled before he looked at the circle and began to copy it carefully.

It had been a long time since Roy had drawn a circle other than his own and he was aware that Edward was watching. She still wouldn't look up and he wondered why. It was unlike her to shy away from anything like this. Was she embarrassed about yesterday? Was she regretting having agreed to go tonight?

Edward was trying to gather what self-control she could find. There were so many thoughts running around her head at the moment, it was hard to remember what she was supposed to be doing. She didn't know why he was here and not in his office. She didn't know why he had agreed to draw the circles but the minute he sat opposite her, she understood part of his reasoning. He had deliberately sat there to make her react. Well she wasn't going to. The contrary part of her rose up and tried to ignore him. It wasn't possible but she could pretend.

"I didn't expect to see you here this morning, Roy." Gracia remarked as she added another flower to the pile.

"I came looking for Edward actually." He replied and saw Edward stiffen. He hid his smile as he added. "Al was wondering where you were."

Edward looked up at him, a startled expression on her face. He could see a faint shadow underneath her eyes but he could see no regret there. It wasn't embarrassment that she was hiding from him, but self-consciousness and he had to think a moment before he remembered her arm. He kept his eye on hers. They were always changing he thought. Deep gold to almost tawny shades, they changed as often as she did. And her eyelashes were really long he noticed again.

Edward couldn't look away. He kept staring at her and she saw the awareness on his face but he didn't stop staring and she found herself noticing the deepening colour in his eye. So dark as to appear black, but it was the darkness of midnight blue and she could see the blue gleams shimmering. There was a faint tenseness to his forehead she saw and her eyes suddenly dropped to his mouth. The pink in her cheeks became more noticeable as she remembered the feel of his lips against hers.

Roy watched and when her eyes dropped slightly and he realised where she was looking, he smiled slightly. Her blush increased and his eyes dropped to her lips. He had spent much of last night thinking about them and those kisses. He wondered if she would shiver again and he wondered if she was going to let him kiss her tonight. Because he was certainly going to try.

Edward saw the way his lips curved when he smiled, the play of the small muscles around his mouth and wondered again why she had let him kiss her yesterday. Which made her wonder why she had kissed him back and that made her wonder what she was going to do if he tried it again. Because he was going to try again. Because he liked her.

She sat there and her eyes blinked as she felt it shift within her. An acceptance, reluctant and hesitant but an acceptance of the simple fact that Roy Mustang liked Edward. Him, her, Edward. She wanted to pick at it and find ways around it, but she couldn't. Because he had said the words, because he hadn't added any conditions to it and he hadn't apologised for it. It didn't matter that she thought it wrong or inconceivable for him to like her. It was his decision, his choice to like her. Or maybe he hadn't had any choice either and like her, attraction had just decided to grab him too. However it happened, she did have to accept that he was responsible for his own feelings, not her.

'You wouldn't be walking it alone' Gracia had said and Edward raised her eyes from his mouth to his eye. Like it or not, agree with it or not, it wasn't all about her, nor even all about him, but about them. Us, she thought. And she couldn't stop the shiver that made its way through her.

"Al?" she asked, almost absently as she still felt the echoes of 'us' reverberating inside.

"Yes. He came to Headquarters to find you." Roy replied, wondering at the sudden casualness of her voice and he looked up to meet her eyes. He nearly frowned at the expression in her eyes. The confusion he had seen earlier had disappeared and there was something else there. It was almost the same as when she had looked at him in the restaurant at lunch that day. She was seeing something in him and he wondered what it was.

"What for?"

"I didn't ask him." He wasn't about to tell Edward what he and Al had talked about.

"Probably just wanted to talk." Edward said and looked down at the paper with a small sigh. "We already had plans to meet at eleven."

"Eleven?" Gracia queried. "Ed, it's gone half ten now."

Edward stared at her. "It is?" She pulled her watch out and checked. "Damn, so it is. Al will kill me if I'm late."

"I'll give you a lift back, Edward." Roy said as he watched her quickly scrawl the last few circles.

"I wasn't meeting him there. We were supposed to be at Gracia's." She said as she touched the circles and smiled at Elysia, handing her the last of the flowers.

"We'll go to headquarters, collect him and then I'll take you there." Roy replied.

"You just want to get out of your paperwork." Edward accused him, slightly distracted as she hugged Elysia.

"The chance would be a fine thing." He groaned. "If I don't do it straightaway these days, it transmutes spontaneously into more. It never used to do that on such a grand scale before."

"My heart bleeds for you, really it does, Mustang.' Edward said sarcastically.

"Take care, Edward." Gracia said softly as she hugged her.

"I will, and thanks." Edward smiled at her before she turned around to face Mustang, who was saying good bye to Elysia. "Come on then, Mustang, otherwise I'll tell Al it's your fault I'm late."

"I don't think Al would believe you." Roy said as he hugged Gracia. "I'm not exactly happy with you, Gracia." He whispered in her ear, too low for Edward to hear.

"But Maes is." Gracia whispered back. "Look after her, Roy or I will be very upset with you."

Roy pulled back and smiled at her. "We'll see you on the weekend." Gracia smiled. It might be sooner than that, she thought if Edward decided to call in on their way to the function tonight.

Sergeant Berent found several inconsistencies between reality and gossip as he sat in Lieutenant-General Mustang's office answering the phones. Major Hawkeye did not punctuate every sentence with well placed shots. Major Havoc did not bet on every fly that crawled up the wall. Captain Breda did have a shogi set on his desk but he did not have it set up in one of several reputed unsolvable games.

He discovered that Major Havoc was correct. The librarians never asked which Lieutenant-Colonel he was looking for, they never even asked for a rank when he rang. The moment he said he was calling from the Lieutenant-General's office, they automatically responded with "Sorry Sir, she's not here at the moment." He noticed that Major Havoc seemed to have a similar understanding with the places he was ringing, although for some reason he seemed to be ringing the hospitals and …was that a police station?

"The Regulations committee is becoming too uptight." Falman stated as he entered the office with a smiling Fuery at his side. "They need to remove the sticks from their asses and get out into the real world."

Havoc and Breda stared at him. Falman was rarely disturbed enough to descend into vulgarity. "Who got up your nose?" Breda asked.

"Colonel Gerin. I think the concept of 'common-sense' completely baffles him." Falman stopped and stared at the new face in the office. "Who are you?"

"Sergeant Berent, Sir."

"He's here to answer phones, Falman." Havoc said with a smile.

"Where is everyone?" Fuery asked as he moved to his desk and put down the drawings he was carrying.

"Looking for the Boss." Havoc replied and they turned to stare at him.

"Where is she?"

"At the hospital." Hawkeye's voice came from the doorway as she and Al returned. Everyone looked at her and Havoc's eyebrow rose.

"The Chief's gone there." He said without inflection. Sergeant Berent didn't understand the looks that flashed around the room.

"Why did she go there?" Fuery asked, curiously.

"I don't know, she didn't tell anyone that." Hawkeye said, although she could make a pretty good guess. As could most of the others.

"Then they should be back here soon," Breda remarked as he leant back in his chair.

"I hope so. Winry was expecting us half an hour ago," Al said with a quick look at the clock.

"Winry got tired of waiting," came another voice in the door and they saw Winry standing there, a slightly annoyed expression on her face. Al smiled and went over to give her a quick hug and she smiled back at him before walking into the office. She put her toolkit and large case on a desk and looked around.

"So, where is she?"

"She'll be here soon." Al replied as he decided how much to tell her.

Sergeant Berent was confused. This office didn't seem one to inspire the reputation it had, although it wasn't exactly behaving as a normal military office did. The Western Districts had always been a more settled area with few problems, and they had eagerly picked up the stories and gossip that came from Central. Like most military personnel, he went where he was told and when he had been handed the note and told to front up for an interview, he had. When he had read where the interview was, he had immediately recalled every single story he had heard and had been terrified. But he had followed orders and he was aware of a sense of almost disappointment mingled within the relief that this office was not the gateway to Hell he had heard about. And he was stuck here until someone dismissed him and he could go back to Personnel for another posting.

"Let's finish looking at your papers, Sergeant." Hawkeye remarked as she saw him looking rather lost.

"Yes, Sir." He watched as she opened his personnel file again.

"…late and it's all your damned fault, bastard!" An accusing voice had him turning around, along with everyone else.

"I wasn't the one making flowers, Edward." A deep voice replied and two soldiers appeared in the door.

Sergeant Berent recognised them both from reputation alone. The dark haired, one-eyed Lieutenant-General with the arrayed gloves and an amused smirk on his face. The shorter long-haired, golden-eyed blonde walking beside him with a scowl on her face. Her jacket sleeve hung loosely and it took him a moment to realise that she had no arm.

"I would have finished them if you hadn't shown up!" Edward snapped back.

"I see the Chief found you, Boss." Havoc remarked lazily. "He had us running all over the place for you."

Edward stopped and turned to face Mustang. "You had everyone looking for me?" Her eyes narrowed. "I thought you said Al was looking for me."

"If you had left a message as to your whereabouts, it wouldn't have been necessary." Roy said and for a moment she thought she could hear a defensiveness in his voice.

"I don't work here at the moment, bastard. I don't need to tell you where I'm going."

"You still have a responsibility to your staff and to your commanding officer." Roy replied as he walked further, heading into his office.

"I slip out for a couple of hours and you organise a full scale search party? Exactly who is being more responsible here, bastard?" Edward asked as she followed him.

"It was no such thing. You're exaggerating things again." Roy replied and she definitely heard the defensive tone that time. She grinned at his back.

"You over-reacted." She said slowly and he stopped in his doorway before turning to face her.

"I did not."

"You did too." Edward stared at him and her grin grew wider. "Did you ring the police this time, or the hospitals first?"

"Had you left a message, no action would have been necessary." Roy retorted, unwilling to admit that he had over-reacted.

"If I had known you wanted to be kept aware of my every movement, I would have had my schedule sent to you." She smirked at him and he felt his hands tighten.

"Do that next time, Lieutenant-Colonel." He snapped at her.

"Edward did organise to have her absence covered before she left." Hawkeye said casually and Roy's head turned to glare at her.

"I hope you didn't frighten him again, Hawkeye." Ed said casually as Roy turned back to face her.

"He was most helpful. And we should discuss your definition of the chains of command at some point too, Edward." Hawkeye said firmly.

"The one where I do actually outrank you and should be able to use it at some point definition?" Edward replied and the office looked from one to the other.

"Precisely."

"We will." Edward smiled but her eyes stayed fixed on Hawkeye's and didn't smile as much as her face did. They nodded at each other and then Edward turned back to Mustang. "I'll be going now."

"Not yet, Edward."

"Do not start this again, bastard." Edward told him. "Al and Winry are here, so we will be going now."

"You're not going to use my office again?" Roy asked, almost sarcastically as his eyebrow rose.

"No. It's not suitable." Edward snapped. She did not want to discuss this with him.

"It was suitable yesterday." He pursued the matter and Ed fisted her hand.

"There's nowhere for Sis to recover in there, General." Al spoke up and Edward frowned at him, even as she felt grateful that he had fielded the question. "Re-attachment is always more painful." He added and ignored his sister's low growl as he turned to her. "Well, it is and you know that. There's no couch anymore."

"I know where there's a couch." Sergeant Berent said before he could stop himself and then cringed as everyone looked at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Edward asked him.

"Sergeant Berent, Sir."

"What sort of couch, Sergeant?" Hawkeye asked him.

"There's two actually. In General Lin's office next door. I don't know what they look like."

"Jean, Breda." She said and they stood up.

"On it. Come on Sergeant, you too" Havoc said, and as soon as Berent joined them, they left.

"We don't need to do this here," Edward protested. "We can go to Gracia's."

"Do you want your arm back or not, Ed?" Winry demanded. "I didn't carry it all the way here just to have to carry it all the way back."

"Of course I want it back. Why are you here anyway?"

"That's why Al came looking for you. I got it finished early and he came to see you and organise an earlier time." Winry replied. "The General's right, you should leave a message next time."

"Don't you start too, Winry." Ed warned in a light voice but her eyes darkened. She was beginning to feel cornered and it was not a feeling she liked at all. Knowing that Mustang was standing there, listening to all this did not help either. She had hoped not to be anywhere near him when she had her arm re-attached. It wasn't something she wanted him to see.

Havoc re-entered the office carrying one end of a long leather couch. Sergeant Berent held the other end.

"Now that is a couch," Fuery exclaimed as it went past him. It was easily three feet longer than the last one and it looked almost new. "And there's two of them?"

"Yeah." Havoc replied. "You really are going to need a bigger office now, Chief." He grinned as Mustang moved out of the doorway so they could enter his office and set the couch down before going back for the other one.

Winry carried her kit into the office and put it on Mustang's desk. She knew Edward wouldn't want to start until the other couch was here and the door closed. She also knew that apart from Al and herself, no-one else would be allowed in here until it was over.

She watched as the new sergeant and Havoc carried in the other couch and Edward appeared in the doorway with Al. Edward walked around and sat down on the couch. She smiled.

"These are comfortable."

"So glad they meet with your approval, Edward." Mustang said as he came over to examine the couches, running his hand over the soft leather and her face darkened.

"What are you doing now, bastard?"

"This is my office, Edward."

She looked at him and he saw the shadow in her eyes. She did not want him to push this one. This was not something she was prepared to share at all. They stared at each other for a long moment. If he pushed now he risked losing before he had really begun and he knew it. He nodded and the shadows faded slightly.

He stepped close and lightly brushed his fingers across her bangs. "I'll make sure no-one disturbs you." He said quietly.

"Thank you." Her voice was equally quiet as she felt the whispering touch of his gloved fingers against her forehead. The look in his eye stopped her from objecting. Human.

Sergeant Berent watched as Lieutenant-General Mustang closed his office door behind him and sat at one of the desks to begin on his paperwork. The rest of his staff merely exchanged looks and went back to work as well. Berent also noticed that they occasionally looked towards the closed door, but he could hear nothing.

"How did you know the couches were available, Sergeant?" Havoc asked.

"While I was waiting outside for my interview, Major. One of the secretary's and I got to talking. She said they were moving because General Lin won't be returning due to some injury he suffered."

"That was convenient." Havoc remarked. "Maybe we should just move into his office."

"Then you'd have to move the couches back." Breda said lazily.

"We're going to have to move them wherever we go. Next door is easier than halfway across the compound."

"There are several offices we can have, Havoc. You want to come with me tomorrow and see which is better?" Fuery asked as he looked up from his drawings.

"As long as we do it in the morning. We're at Gracia's for the afternoon."

"Okay."

"I want a window." Mustang said without looking up.

"No window." Hawkeye replied automatically.

"A large window." Mustang added. "With a view not of the parade ground."

"An interior office." Hawkeye stated as she initialled a page of Berent's file. Mustang upped the ante as he opened another report.

"With windows in both offices."

Edward let her breath out as the door closed behind Mustang and turned to see both Al and Winry staring at her. She blushed and glared at them.

"What?" Winry grinned at her and Al shook his head.

"You have no idea at all do you, Sis?"

"I don't need you to tell me that, Al." She groused at him as she sat up straighter and took off her jacket and shirt. Winry opened her case and took out Ed's arm.

"I've secured the cables slightly differently this time, Ed. They won't lose their tension as quickly and it should make the pneumatics quieter as well."

"It's already quiet, Winry." Ed replied as she looked at it.

"It never hurts to try to make it better." She said and walked across to stand in front of Ed. Ed leant back and turned slightly as Winry knelt on the couch beside her. She placed the arm into the port and let it slip into the grooves. Ed tensed and pressed back against the couch as she gritted her teeth. They looked at each other and then Edward nodded. Winry pushed the arm deeper into the port and connections clicked into place. Ed swallowed and took a deep breath before nodding again. Winry pulled the locking lever and Ed arched back with a grunt as her shoulder burst into fire as nerves locked back into the arm.

Ed shook as her nerves burnt and took deep breaths as the pain pulsed through her. She could hear Al and Winry talking quietly and she slipped back against the couch, knowing it would stop hurting soon. She swallowed and closed her eyes. Her shoulder eased slightly and she curled her fingers slowly, feeling her nerves twitch.

"Ed?" Winry asked gently.

"It's fine, Win." Edward replied as she opened her eyes. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

"Here's your shirt." Winry helped her sling it around her shoulders and she slipped her left arm into its sleeve, leaving the right arm free for now. "Can you move your arm?" They both watched Ed lift her arm, wincing as her nerves pulled. She moved her fingers and twisted her wrist. Everything felt normal but she still felt the twitches from re-attachment.

"It doesn't look I did anything to it at all." Ed said as she looked at her arm through half closed eyes.

"Of course it doesn't." Winry said proudly. "You think I would allow it to?"

"No, of course not." Ed looked at her. "Thanks Winry."

"Just don't break it again." Then she smiled. "You're welcome." Winry went to close her case up and Al moved over to sit beside his sister.

"Hey Al. Sorry I missed you earlier." Ed said as she smiled at him. He could see the twitches that went through her as her nerves adjusted and knew it would be awhile before they completely ceased. Her eyes were heavy in her white face and she looked very tired.

"It's okay." He paused briefly. "Are you going to be alright, Sis?" he asked softly.

"I'll be fine. You know me." She leant against him. "It'll stop hurting soon."

"That's not what I meant." He protested and she laughed softly, her eyelids drooping.

"I know, Al, but it'll be fine." Her words slurred slightly as her eyes closed completely. "I'm not walking it alone." She murmured just as sleep claimed her.

Al looked at Winry his eyes wide before they both stared at the sleeping blonde.

Hawkeye handed the file back to Sergeant Berent with a smile.

"My apologies that it has taken longer than expected, Sergeant."

"It's not a problem, Major. I realise that some things just can't be avoided." Sergeant Berent stood up and saluted. "Thank you for the opportunity."

"You're welcome, Sergeant. You will hear from Personnel when a decision is made."

"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir." He left the office and everyone watched him leave.

"The best out of a bad bunch so far," Hawkeye said as she rubbed her forehead.

"He was useful, I'll give him that." Havoc commented. "His phone manner's good. And he was helpful about the couches."

"He can answer the phone and find couches. Now that's what I want on my personnel file." Breda remarked as he stretched in his chair. "I still think Schieska would be good for the job. Instead of all these outsiders."

"You can't take Schieska out of Intel at the moment. If you did, the whole department would fall apart. She's the only one holding it together." Hawkeye told him. She had already considered it. "If anything, she should get promoted. She'd be able to have more control over there."

"I've recommended it," Mustang said absently as he continued to work through the files. He was half listening to them and concentrating on the files. The other half was hoping Edward was alright. He knew she was no stranger to having her automail attached and he was slightly puzzled as to why he should be worried over it. He knew it hurt and that it was painful. He knew Edward would not show it either, but that didn't stop him from knowing that she still felt it. And that kept him worrying.

"There are still seven more possibilities." Hawkeye looked at her list. "They have interviews Monday and Tuesday."

"Why so many?" Havoc asked. "It's not like any of them appear to want to work here."

"That's because you terrify them." Hawkeye said sternly and he grinned at her.

"I know babe, but it does sort out the bunnies from the dogs."

"They've all been rabbits so far," Breda commented. "Where have all the dogs gone?"

Mustang looked up and let his eye run over each one of them.

"That's why I accepted this, Breda. We're going to bring the dogs back."

"I'm sorry about lunch, Winry." Al said quietly as he let Ed slip from his shoulder and settled her onto the couch properly. Winry handed him Ed's jacket and he put it over her.

"It's ok, Al. I know you want to stay here."

"But I promised you we'd go."

"We're here for a few more days, Al. We can go another day."

Al looked at his sister and then at Winry. He frowned. It wasn't as if he was choosing between the two of them, he thought, so why did it feel like it? Ed was asleep, he had seen her sleep lots of times. She was still twitching but it was fading now. She wouldn't sleep for long and then she had work to go to. He and Winry would go back to Gracia's and then help in the evening with everyone else. Winry had wanted to look at the shops after their lunch and he had been looking forward to sharing it with her. His frown deepened as he looked at Edward. But he had wanted to spend time with her as well.

She had left him to come here, to find a place for herself while he had found his. She had never once made him feel as if his moving on had been something bad or wrong or regretted. And he would have known if she had. She had accepted it and let him go. Perhaps he had to do something similar. She was making a place here for herself and while some of it might not be what he was comfortable with or accepted completely, it was still her choice. He couldn't influence her decisions. Now he knew how hard it had been for her to let him do things on his own.

"We're going to lunch, Winry." He said as he stood up and looked at her.

"Al…what about Ed?"

Al swallowed and then firmed his jaw. "…The General can watch her… for me …for us."

"Al." Winry stood up and walked over to him. He reached out and clasped her hand. He shook his head and his lips wavered for a moment.

"She will always be my sister, Winry. It's not leaving her behind, it's just letting her go." Winry wrapped her arms around him and held him. She had known it would happen one day, she hadn't expected it to happen today. Granny had told her to keep out of it. She had even considered maybe doing automail work in Central for awhile just so Al could be near Ed. But now it seemed he had found a way to accept it on his own terms.

"I love you, Alphonse Elric." She said softly.

When the inner door opened, Roy looked up and frowned when only Al and Winry appeared. Al walked across and looked at the file covered desk before he looked up and met the General's eye.

"Ed's sleeping and I promised Winry I'd take her for lunch. Would you watch her for me?" He kept his voice even, but the grey eyes were slightly hesitant and Roy stood up.

"Yes, of course." He said without thinking twice. Al was not completely at ease but something had changed and Roy wasn't sure what it was. After being so protective this morning, he was now asking Roy to watch over Edward?

Roy gathered several files and entered his office. Edward was lying on the couch, twitching slightly and he frowned.

"The twitching should stop soon." Al said quietly. "It's an after-effect of having the automail re-attached. She should only sleep about an hour or so."

"I'll look after her." Roy said slowly and as Al turned to leave the office, he added, "thank you."

Al walked out feeling almost as if he had just fed his sister to the wolves.

Roy put the files on his desk and walked over to look at Edward. He squatted down and brushed the bangs from her forehead. They were damp from sweat and her skin was white. The twitching was spasmodic and it looked like there were shadows under her eyes. He straightened the jacket covering her and removed his, placing it slightly lower to give her more cover.

He let his fingers slide down the side of her face and she twitched. He smiled and stood up, going to his desk and starting on the files. He often found himself staring at her instead of his paperwork.

It was closer to three hours before Edward stretched and began to wake up. She blinked herself awake as she shifted on the couch. She moved slowly as her shoulder ached and she looked around, her eyes still hazy. His office and he was working at his desk.

He looked up and saw her watching him. He smiled.

"Good afternoon sleepyhead." He said lightly and she blinked. That didn't sound like the Mustang she knew. And why was he only wearing a shirt? She started to sit up, trying to clear the sleep from her head. The jacket slipped down and she realised she had two jackets in her lap. Hers and his. She pushed them away and swung her legs around to sit up properly. She blinked at him and then at the clock.

"How long was I out for?" She asked and the words sounded rough.

"About three hours." He said and watched as she rolled her shoulder. It was the first time he had seen her complete arm and he had little time to see anything as she pulled her shirt up and slid her arm into the sleeve. His single eye met her golden ones and she paused before she began to do her buttons up.

"I'll go to the office. Terlat must be wondering what's happened to me."

"Hawkeye rang him. They're managing without you."

"Where'd Al go to?"

"He and Winry went to lunch and I believe shopping was mentioned." Or so Hawkeye had told him when she had come in with more files for him to work through.

Edward shuddered. "Rather him than me." She saw him grin. He was probably remembering how she had ranted about the one time she had gone shopping. Which reminded her of why she had had to go shopping, and that in return reminded her of this evening's event. She ran her hand through her hair and tightened the tie in her tail.

As if he had read her mind, he held up a sheet of paper. "The details for tonight have arrived."

"How bad is it?" She asked.

"It could be worse." He replied reflectively.

"That's not very helpful, Mustang." She stood up and staggered slightly, her head spinning a bit before she straightened and rolled her shoulder again. Damned re-attachments.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she began to walk to the desk.

"I'm fine." She held her hand out and he gave her the paper. She looked at it, reading quickly. Dinner and mingling with a few speeches in between. Dinner she could handle, mingling she hated. She handed it back to him. "Yes, it could be worse."

"I'll pick you up at six-thirty, we have to be there by six-forty-five apparently. The Fuhrer says we will be met by the Councillor and then into the main room for a seven o'clock start."

Ed frowned. She hadn't exactly promised that she would call by the hospital, but it felt like one. Fifteen minutes was not going to be long enough, but going earlier would mean she'd have to spend longer in his company. Which wasn't a bad thing, the little voice in her head told her.

"Edward?"

"Can you pick me up at six?" She asked abruptly.

"Of course, but why?"

"I kind of promised Gracia I'd call in on the way." She said reluctantly and he smiled.

"We can do that easily. I'm sure Elysia would be pleased to see you all dressed up as well."

She frowned at him. "How did you know it was for that?"

"Maes used to do it. Before they got married, if ever we had to put on formal wear he would always make sure we called past Gracia's just so he could show her." He blinked and suddenly realised what he had said as he saw her eyes widen. He wondered where that had come from. He never shared things like that. Not with anyone. His hands shook slightly and he looked down at the page again.

Human. Edward looked at his lowered head and then looked at her hands.

"I knew someone who reminded me of Hughes a lot while I was…away. He liked my landlady. She had a small store on the ground floor. He always came by, every time he got a new jacket or trousers. He was such a peacock at times. But he could never speak to her. He was too shy and I would wait for him just so he'd have a reason to stop and talk. So he could at least see her." Her voice was even and quiet and Roy heard the sorrow in it. "I miss him too."

He kept his head down as he heard her footsteps moving away. "See you at six… Roy."

Edward closed the office door behind her and shrugged into her jacket.

"All good now, Boss?" Havoc asked as she appeared.

"Yep, all done." Ed smiled and looked around the office. "I guess I should go and at least pretend to finish the day in my office."

"Al said he would see you tomorrow afternoon at Gracia's, Ed." Hawkeye said.

"Great. It'll be good to have Elysia out of there at last." Everyone nodded. "Okay, I will see you all tomorrow." She smiled, waving as she left the office.

Havoc looked at Hawkeye.

"You didn't tell her about the flowers."

"She doesn't need to know. Not until we know."

"It's not a bad thing, Hawkeye," Breda said.

"No, it's not bad, but it is strange."

"Won't her staff tell her about it?" Fuery asked.

"No, I asked them not to."

Everyone stared at her. "You asked them, babe?" Havoc spluttered.

"I even said please." Hawkeye smiled as she tapped her gun and they all laughed.

Author's Note: At forty pages the longest chapter I've ever written. I promise never to write them this long again. I had hoped to get them at least to the function, but as you can see they all decided to do a lot of talking. And there will probably be a fair amount of dialogue in the next chapter too.

Thank you so much for enjoying and reading my monster. It really is impossible to describe exactly how much I appreciate your comments and support. Kiitos.

silken :)