I just got the inspiration for another chapter, but I can't tell when the next will be, it really depends on my inspiration to write.

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Chapter thirty

Roy put Ed down on the floor in the living room, the whimpering boy instantly heading for what he spotted as another safe corner. Fuery and Falman had (for the military's money as they had given Roy an extra amount of money to spend on whatever materials needed to prepare the house for Ed) done an admirable job with buying and preparing a total of five extra mattresses, thirty soft pillows, twenty warm winter duvets, another ten summer duvets, as well as their respective bedsheets, pillowcases and duvet covers, all of them flannel as it was soft and warm, and yet very different texture-wise from Melanie's silk. Roy knew that Edward's favourite colour had used to be red, but Roy had avoided it now as it might give him associations with Melanie.

And so Roy had already spotted three of the five safe corners that he had told his team to make. There was one in the living room in the corner behind the sofa for when Ed really needed to be alone, as well as another one in the hallway, and then there was one in the kitchen. Roy knew that the fourth and fifth ones were in Roy's bedroom and downstairs in the basement so that Ed could stay with his brother when Al was in the library.

Roy watched as Ed disappeared beneath a duvet, his now short hair being the first thing to disappear. Roy had needed to be quick, so now Ed had a weird mixture of a short version of his usual haircut, antenna the only thing that was still as long as it had been, his fringe shorter, but the rest of his hair looked pretty much like Roy's. It had simply been a case of panicking on Roy's part, because he knew from experience that it wasn't too short, easy and quick to make and VERY easy to keep knot-free, which was a plus as Roy had discovered Ed to NOT like hairbrushes.

So something that only needed about three strokes with a comb had seemed a good idea and Alphonse had agreed.

Roy had also finally found a garment that Ed seemed to approve of. He knew that Ed firmly disliked tight clothes and wool, the wool part was easy because of those damned blankets inside the cage. And Roy could only guess that because of their lack of dress inside the cage, Ed mostly associated regular clothing with lots of people seeking to hurt him. Ed had after all been a lot more wary at the first time he saw Roy in the hospital and he had time and time again on the drive home grabbed the front of Roy's shirt and lifted it as if trying to get it off.

And now, after a few conversations with Alphonse back in the truck, Roy had asked Havoc to phone Hawkeye to ask her to buy whatever non-woollen, large ponchos she could get.

So now Ed was wearing diapers and a large, white, flannel poncho with childish drawings of smiling sheep in light grey and black. Ed had looked at the sheep, poked one of their foreheads and then looked back at Roy without complaint or attempts to pull it off again.

Roy guessed he still liked sheep. Al had told him to take that one because it might remind him of the Resembool Spring Sheep Festival, and even if it didn't seem to spark any memories, at least it seemed to be decorations that he liked.

Al walked over to his brother and sat down on the floor next to him. "I'll look after Brother, Colonel, you deserve to really get home, you know."

"Bo-uh," came the small voice from under the duvet.

Roy paused. "Alphonse, that's not your responsibility... If you need some time for yourself with everything that has happened these last few days, then the library has probably got a lot of alchemy books that you'll like. There are even a couple of shelves of fiction to the far left."

Al paused a little. "Could you watch Brother while I get some books? Or do you want them to stay in the basement? It's just that I don't want to distress Brother even further by moving him downstairs."

"Bo-uh," came Ed's muffled voice. "Bo-uh."

Roy sighed. "Alphonse, it's your house too, you can go wherever you want with whatever books from the library you want. Of course I'll look after him in the meantime. You take your time finding what you would like to read, and I'll stay here with him." Roy gave him an encouraging smile and went over to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder where he was still sitting on the floor.

Alphonse looked at his hand, then at him, and then he gently placed his own hand on top of Roy's and squeezed it carefully. "Thank you, Colonel," he said before standing up and leaving the room.

"Of course, Al," Roy said in time for Alphonse to hear, before he sat down with his legs crossed in front of the bundle of duvets and pillows hiding Ed. "Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry getting your hair cut scared you. But it seems like baths are the way to go at least. Nice and warm, wasn't it?" Roy said softly. Ed hadn't tried to run away from it, although he had quickly tried to keep his toes and fingers above the water as it seemed to be uncomfortable on his abused digits. It had sent a shiver down Roy's spine to see him flinch like that and instantly lift his leg onto the edge of the tub as if it had been burned. That was Roy's doing. He had pulled out those nails and he had no idea what Ed must think about it or how the discomfort and pain from it must be perceived.

After that, however, Ed had seemed to relax just slightly and enjoy the feeling of that warm water, even if he pressed himself into the corner as if the free space was threatening. Al had been quick to transmute the bathroom wall so that the bathtub was temporarily divided into two by a small wall, which Ed had seemed to find perfect and it was easy to transmute back, so everybody gained from it.

There was a set of clanking footsteps and Roy turned around to see Al standing in the doorway. "Alphonse? Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering, sir, if it would be all right if I rang the Rockbells to tell them that we're here and that the drive over went fine?" Al asked quietly.

Roy just looked at him, feeling a bit disappointed that Al still seemed so scared to do something wrong around him. He made up his mind, hoping that it would gain some form of trust to not just see Roy as an officer. "Of course you can, Al... And please call me Roy... We're living together and I'm not..." Roy sighed. "Alphonse, I have a year's leave to get back on my feet. No going to the office, no paperwork, nothing. That means that this is a year where the only thing I am is Roy Mustang and after that, then you're hopefully still living here and..." Roy didn't even know how to finish that sentence without sounding downright creepy.

Hopefully you're still living here and you, Ed and me are a bit of a messed up family of sorts.

You didn't say that to a kid that hardly knew you. Roy knew Ed because of everything. He knew Alphonse through what Ed had told him during the long days spent inside that hellish cage to keep their spirits up and remind them of what they were fighting for. But Alphonse still didn't know Roy. And Roy had a nasty feeling that he was little more than a stranger. A stranger that had spent three-and-a-half weeks getting tortured with his brother.

Alphonse seemed to get his meaning and nodded. "Okay ... Uh, Roy. Thanks, I'll try to be quick."

Roy took a deep breath. He had to tell Al just what this was about because he was beginning to realise that Alphonse might have misunderstood the situation. "Alphonse, please, take whatever time you need. Being with Ed isn't a burden to me. I know him and me had our differences before, but... Things have changed and I'm not doing this because I have to... I need him. I would never be comfortable not knowing how he was doing while he lived somewhere else." Roy took a deep breath, seeing that if anyone deserved to know it, it was Alphonse. "Al, to be honest, I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for him. Had I been alone in that hellhole, I wouldn't have made it out. He gave me a reason to keep fighting and I don't do this because I feel guilty. I care deeply for him and I want to look after him. I'm not doing this because it is a last resort, so please... Please don't think of yourself as my guest," Roy told him. Roy needed human contact that didn't involve torture and anger. He couldn't imagine anything worse right now than to live with Alphonse tip-toeing around the house because thought him and Ed were a burden for Colonel Mustang. This had nothing to do with the being out of the goodness of his heart or guilt. After everything that had happened, he couldn't just be separated from Ed. He was happy to have him living in his house where he could protect him and care for him. And he knew how obsessive it sounded, but he honestly needed to relearn how to be around other people than Ed and his instincts to keep him safe and protected that had built up increasingly since their captivity began didn't just disappear in a few days. He might not feel like Ed's father per se, but Ed was his kid.

Alphonse nodded, apparently not knowing what to actually say to that. "I'll be back soon, then, Roy."

Roy gave him a weak smile. "If you want some privacy, feel free to use the phone in my room, Al, it's the second door on the right."

"Oh, thank you," Al said and then he left the room and Roy could soon hear the clanking footsteps as they made their way up the staircase.

Then Roy heard another set of footsteps, some much softer ones that he recognised easily, even if they were usually heavier due to the military boots. He looked up to see Riza making her way towards him with two steaming mugs in her hands and Roy could see that they did not seem to be coffee, judging by the whipped cream and the pieces of crushed chocolate sprinkled on top of it. "Cocoa, Roy," she said softly as she came over and sat down on the floor beside him, handing him a mug. Ed mewled from under his duvet, but didn't do anything else about her sudden presence.

Roy, however, took both mugs out of her hands and placed them on the floor and just pulled her into a hug. He had been so cut off from everything and everyone and that simple gesture built on the fact that she instinctively knew that Roy would much rather have cocoa than coffee right now just really brought it home to him that he was finally safe and finally home and just how much he had missed her. And right now she wasn't here as his spectacular subordinate, but his oldest friend. And damn it if he didn't feel like hugging her for being here.

And she didn't even question it because Roy didn't need to explain it. She just hugged him back as Roy closed his eyes, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Thank you, Riza." Roy marvelled in the feel of the hug. So different from that possessive, manipulative, disgusting way that Melanie had been hugging him mostly just to demonstrate that Roy was powerless to stop her. He found himself hugging Riza tighter just thinking about it. Just to let it sink in that he was never ever going back to that place. That wonderful, warm feeling of being safe. Safe and warm and for the first time in a long time, he was enjoying a hug that had nothing to do with either impending torture or not freezing to death. "Thank you, Riza... For bringing me home," Roy whispered, a tear going down his cheek.

"Hello, Winry, it's Al," Alphonse said into the phone carefully. "I just called to tell you that we're back in East City and ... and settled in."

"Is Ed doing any better?" Winry asked quietly. "Is he remembering anything else?"

"He seemed to remember parts of when Colonel Mustang came to Resembool and..." Al didn't really want to tell her that Brother now seemed to think that the Col ... Roy... was the one named "Edward". Winry had already cried a lot when Al told them about Brother's condition back at the hospital. He had spoken to the Rockbells twice then, so this made it the third time since the rescue. As much as he wanted to give the Rockbells all the information available, he had a hard time doing so because it made Ed's condition so much more real to him.

"And what, Al? What more?" Winry asked desperately. "Is there something more that's wrong?"

Al couldn't get himself to lie to her and if everything went well, then the Rockbells would be allowed to come visit them in just a few days anyways, depending on how Brother reacted to the house. That meant that they would most likely hear what Ed called Roy. "You know how Ed calls me "Bo-uh"? ...I think he's thinking that what I call him is my name... So now he seems to believe that the Colonel is "Eddah", judging by what happened earlier."

Winry gave a weak gasp. Al had a feeling that this might be what brought it home to her just how ...broken ... Brother's mind really was. "Oh, Ed... Al, I'm so... I'm so sorry." Al could hear the tears in her voice.

"Me too... I haven't asked the Colonel just what happened to them yet... I want to understand, but I just... I just need some time to get used to this ... first. And I don't want to force the Colonel to relive it right after he got out, you know?" Al said quietly.

"Of... of course, Al," Winry said softly, her voice strained by emotion. "Do you know... Do you know when we can come see you?"

"Hopefully in a few days. It really depends on how well Brother adjusts to the house." Al decided it was time to tell her something that he had avoided so far, but letting her find out through the first time she saw Brother was crueller. This way she could prepare herself a bit. "There's something more, Winry."

"What, Alphonse?" she asked, sounding scared, obviously having interpreted the tone of voice correctly.

"You don't have to bring the automail."

"I guessed so... The pain from reattaching it could be too much for him right now," Winry said.

"Winry... He's not getting it reattached ever... They ... They removed the ports and healed up the stumps..." Al said quietly.

Winry gasped and then she began crying loudly.