Part eleven: Anger Management
Al was slightly nervous about it all. Lieutenant Hawkeye had left a note by the phone in the hallway, a coded message with the address of where they had taken their informant.
Right now, that location was a derelict apartment building and Brother was annoyed because he had to be carried up the stairs. Their informant was being kept company/guarded by Havoc at daytime and Lieutenant Hawkeye would come by during the night. Dad was walking in front of them and he had his gun in his shoulder holster hidden under his coat. Brother was wearing his usual black tank top, but his leather trousers and belt had been swapped for a pair of loose, black trousers transmuted onto him, and his red coat had been replaced by what was essentially the same garment, only that it was jacket-length. The last part had been because the coat kept getting wrinkled by him using the wheelchair to push himself forwards, making sitting uncomfortable.
Al still found it amusing how Ed had still insisted on wearing his black leather boot on his automail leg. But it was also a bit sad, because Al could see Brother's frustration when he was in the wheelchair instead of the Fracturer. It was obvious that the lack of mobility made Brother feel useless and gave him a need not to look even less like himself than what his broken leg did.
As soon as Al put him down, Ed began wheeling himself forwards at full speed towards the correct door and knocked. Five seconds later, Lieutenant Hawkeye was peeking out in the hallway before stepping out and saluting Dad. She was wearing civilian clothes and had a greyish beige jacket reaching her hips, followed by a knee-length black skirt and a pair of stylish high-heeled, black, short boots. She looked at Dad. "Let's talk in the neighbouring room first, sir, he's very fond of interrupting us unrestrainedly and I should fill you three in on the situation first."
"Of course, Lieutenant. It seems that you've handled the situation well," Dad told her calmly.
She went straight to business. "Seeing as how Lieutenant Havoc is on leave, I told him to guard him as he would be the least suspicious. However, Falman is getting a cold so as to give Havoc some actual time off two days from now," Hawkeye said, before leading them to a room across the hall, holding the door for them as they went inside, and then closed it behind the four of them.
"Who's the informant, Lieutenant?" Dad asked.
"We have captured the guard that Alphonse fought at the Fifth Laboratory. We've been interrogating him to check if it really is Barry the Chopper, Falman being the one to instantly function as lie detector."
Al froze. If Barry mentioned what he had been trying to fool Al with in front of Brother, then Ed would possibly be very hurt about all of it if Barry said the wrong things. "Has he said anything about fighting me?"
The Lieutenant's features softened slightly. "Only some obvious lies so as to try to get you to lose your focus. I put his opinions to rest very quickly." Then a sigh of exasperation escaped her. "And he seems to think very highly of me, so he does as I order him to without fault. It has kept him from walking off and go out and kill people to his heart's desire."
Dad froze, and Al saw that he was instinctively pulling on his right ignition glove, obviously not exactly fond of someone hitting on his Lieutenant when she obviously didn't appreciate the attention.
Ed was instantly pulling Dad's wrist back down and then pulled off his glove again. "Knock it off, Dad," he said in irritation as he shoved the glove back inside Dad's coat pocket.
"I see, Lieutenant, thank you," Dad said as if he hadn't just done something so obviously possessive and unprofessional. "Is there anything else?"
"No, sir, you can ask him about whatever else you'd like to know about. It's better that he tells you himself so that you three can interpret his information for yourselves." She stepped back and opened the door for Ed to instantly roll through.
"Thank you, Hawkeye," Dad said as he pulled off his coat and folded it slowly over his left arm, the Lieutenant already following Ed out of the room. "Are you okay with meeting him, Alphonse?" Dad asked quietly so that nobody else could hear, his head still bowed in fake concentration so as to hide the movement of his lips.
Al nodded, still a bit uneasy. "It's okay, Dad. Besides, I think he won't mention anything according to the Lieutenant's look."
Dad nodded, his eyes flaring just slightly again at the reminder as he looked back up at him. Al had to admit that it was a bit amusing, even if sad. "If he tells Ed about what happened, then we'll discuss it in the car once we're done here."
"Yeah, now let's just go talk to him."
Roy sighed once they were done questioning Barry. He wasn't exactly happy with him. The bastard had tried to kill Al, had made him doubt his brother, wanted to kill Roy himself, and basically just split up their family, and now he'd been hitting on Hawkeye relentlessly and called her "Toots" and Roy "Chump", before concluding with that Ed wouldn't be fun to cut up because there was too little meat on his bones.
So now they would be keeping him hidden until they knew what else to do with him. Roy had a vague plan about using Barry as bait to lure out the homunculi from the lab. But Roy would wait until Ed had his Fracturer repaired at the very least. He couldn't have him taken hostage if it could be avoided. After all, those freaks could heal themselves up over and over again without any effort.
Hawkeye had ordered Barry to stay silent as the boys guarded the serial killer while Roy had a private word with the Lieutenant in the neighbouring room.
"What's the matter, sir?"
Roy sighed. He had been thinking about it ever since the hospital after he broke into the lab, but now he was certain that it should probably be done sooner rather than later. "Hawkeye, you too know that we're getting deep into a major conspiracy. If the other military higher-ups are involved and I have some bad luck, then I am in a position where I might find myself a fugitive in the near future. Which again would mean that there's a risk that I will need to go into hiding while being separated from the boys. I don't want a repeat of last year that results in Ed being given a new CO that tries to use him to achieve their own goals. Said CO also becomes Ed's temporary guardian. If he ends up as a hostage by being claimed by someone who is the reason that I would find myself a fugitive in the first place, then that would be disastrous."
Hawkeye just looked at him threateningly, obviously daring him to die on his sons.
"Like I said, Lieutenant: a fugitive. I'm not dying on my boys if I have something to say about it." Then he sighed. "...However, even if I'm not murdered, then I could still get sick, run over by a car, basically just a basic form of accidental or even natural death."
She raised an eyebrow at him. He knew that he was sounding like he was planning to die, which meant that he should get to the point rather quickly. "My point is that I'm meeting with my lawyer tomorrow to write up a new will, seeing as how I have both a new house and a car, as well as a new level of income. It's just so as to make sure that everything is in order, also because I'm going to include Winry and Elicia. I'm their Uncle Roy, and I'm not leaving them without anything for it." Then he sighed again. "Also, I would like to appoint you their legal guardian in the event of my death or if I go missing. That way Ed won't have to end up in a position similar to last year. You three will end up living together in our house and even if Ed should end up a hostage, then he would still be allowed to live at home with his brother and their guardian. You're still going to be a military officer and you're able to look for clues on getting my sons their bodies back because you're you, and the three of you will also be able to keep in contact with the Madame." He decided that this was an entirely personal matter and had nothing to do with her being his subordinate, but just his friend that he trusted deeply. And so he placed his right hand on her left shoulder, looking at her in a kind of fearful plea. Because he was scared shitless by the prospect of being in a situation where granting her guardianship would actually be necessary. He didn't even want to think about it... About the hurt an the fear that it would cause all four kids. "I know it's a lot to ask, but please do this for me, Riza... I can't risk leaving my sons on their own with their dreams crushed."
She looked at him with determination, but her eyes also revealed that she was touched by it... And slightly amused by his plea. "Of course, Roy... But I'm guessing that you have a few backup options?"
"Yes... Should both you and me both be indisposed, then that would most likely mean that the team is being targeted, meaning that appointing one of the others is too risky... So I've chosen to have Major Armstrong be their guardian in the event that we both go missing or die as he is more or less untouchable because of his family. The boys understand, but are more than a little unnerved by it. If it happens after Ed is retired or the two of you are both unavailable for some unknown reason, then Pinako has said that she's more than willing to move to Central and live with Ed and Al in our house here."
She smiled at him, taking his hand off her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze, before leaving it back at his side. "You're highly prepared, in other words."
He smiled. "They're my boys and I've quickly come to realise that whenever they are involved, then you need at least and option a, b, c and d."
"You know, sir, fatherhood suits you."
Roy scratched the back of his head, still smiling. "I'd better hope so, I'd be an insult to my sons' judgement if it didn't."
"Well, sir, other than that, is there something more you'd like to say?"
Roy paused. "...I should probably tell you that I'm currently housing three illegal immigrants, including a fifteen-year-old Prince of Xing that is looking for a way to achieve immortality and has made me his mentor."
Roy smiled and waved at Winry as he spotted her at one of the train doors. She smiled as she saw him, waving back as she made her way down the steps and onto the platform. Manoeuvring his way through the crowds wasn't too easy, seeing as how noon was obviously a very busy time. But he found himself hugging her soon enough, getting squeezed tightly in return. "Hello, Winry, was the train ride okay?"
"Yeah, I slept most of the time because I've been pulling a couple of all-nighters to get ahead a bit to earn an extra few days here in Central."
Roy was still happy that Winry could spend her days with the Hugheses, so that she wouldn't be bored out of her wits during work hours. Then he would pick her up at half past five to have a second dinner once they were back home. The girls ate dinner at about two o'clock, meaning that eating dinner didn't basically consist of choosing whom she wanted to eat with more. And so Roy would drive her over to the Hughes house, before driving back to work with a large, freshly made quiche for lunch for Ed and him. "Well, I think you'll find Al's new bed to be more than comfortable enough. It's been approved by Lieutenant Hawkeye, Gracia and Elicia. Ed and Al are looking forwards to seeing you again too, but they had to stay back at the office because Ed had to help out. Havoc's still on leave and Falman's caught the flu... And Al needed to look after Ed because Ed is Ed."
Winry chuckled and pulled out of the hug. "I don't doubt it, Uncle Roy. Now let's find that dork his Fracturer so that he'll stop pouting."
Roy chuckled himself and kept a hand on her shoulder as they made their way to the luggage car. Said hand on her shoulder was simply because of the throng of people and Roy was worried that she'd get knocked into by someone and fall.
...Which would be bad because she was wearing her miniskirt and that could lead to some very, very uncomfortable moments for the young girl in his care. Also, he wanted to sort of use his uniform to make it clear that she wasn't to be messed with.
It was funny how much being a father and an uncle had changed his view on train stations. Large crowds had used to just be a myriad of people.
...Now they hid muggers and people with flick knives and kidnappers and bastards who wanted to do very inappropriate things to those in his care. And Winry was a kind, pretty blonde in a miniskirt who was bound to attract all kinds of bad attention. And so Roy would rather be there to punch them should anyone try anything with her.
"You know, Uncle Roy, you're a bit funny like this," Winry said almost teasingly.
"What do you mean?"
"You're just... Well, it's just so obvious how much you've changed."
Roy was seeing parallels to his conversation with Hawkeye, only that he wasn't asking Winry to look after his boys for him. "You know, Hawkeye said the same thing a few days ago."
She smiled, almost smirking. "Like I said, obvious."
Roy sighed fondly. "Thank you for being okay with it, though... I'm not exactly an easy man to trust."
"Then I guess you've proved yourself trustworthy." She suddenly took his hand in hers, obviously finding something that she needed in him, just like the boys did, as she leant her cheek into his arm. "Thank you, Uncle Roy... It means a lot," Winry said quietly, her voice filled with gratitude.
"Don't mention it."
It was almost funny how this made him even more certain that he would have to get Ed and Winry together. Because he knew that he wouldn't mind being her father-in-law.
...And that he wasn't too certain if he would approve of many other girls.
Then dread hit him.
...Because Al too would find himself a sweetheart at some point.
"Sir, there's something that you should know... Second Lieutenant Maria Ross is now the prime suspect in the Hughes murder case," was the first thing that met Roy as he stepped out of the car at the Central Command parking lot.
He froze, staring at the Lieutenant in horror, his stomach clenching. Lieutenant Ross had helped save his life at the Fifth Lab. He had a hard time believing that it could be her.
...But then again, she had also been close enough to the matter to survey all of them. If she was the murderer, then she had been in a prime position to get close enough to Maes to catch him off guard. "What has she been saying, Lieutenant?!"
"She denies all charges, sir." She too looked slightly shaken. "I have yet to tell Ed and Al as I figured that you'd want to decide what to tell them yourself."
"Gather every piece of information you can get on her." Roy's voice was urgent.
"Yes, sir. Ed and Al are going to be here in a couple of minutes, would you like some help with getting the Fracturer out of your car in the meantime?"
Roy nodded and slammed the front door shut before walking around to the boot, lifting the vehicle slightly awkwardly out of the car with the Lieutenant's help. Paninya and Garfiel had been the ones that had re-painted it, and it had obviously been done with great precision, so Ed would be pleased.
It turned out he was. He was extremely pleased, in fact. So pleased that he decided to check out that the speed was as good as always by taking a lap around Central Command.
...And in the meantime, Roy was putting together a very vague plan as his eyes had fallen on a particular piece concerning the reason for Ross's arrest. Because she claimed that the missing bullet that had been discharged had been when protecting them at the lab. And judging by the two bullet holes in Barry's hand, Roy would say that evidence supported that fact. So even if an anonymous eye witness had said that they had seen Ross at the scene of the crime, if the bullet that had killed Maes hadn't been shot by her, then she hadn't shot him. And she was also stating that she had been at her parents' house at the time, and that she knew that that couldn't be used as an alibi because they were close relations.
...And sometimes not having a satisfactory alibi was a lot more convincing than having one. Because hers meant that she hadn't been planning to have one at the time, because she had frankly been clueless about what had gone down.
So adding in the fact that they were involved in a major conspiracy concerning the military, and it all looked like she was either a manipulative, cold-hearted bitch, or she was being framed as a way to distract Roy from digging deeper, then something might be a bit off about it all.
And his mind was putting together a very devious plan that might just work.
...Especially as he had a love-struck serial killer as bait to lure out the true culprits.
...And a Xingese Prince who definitely owed him a favour.
"Hey, Ed? I need a word," Dad said, opening the bedroom door. They had made their plan for tomorrow. Ed was happy that Dad was going this far just to save Lieutenant Ross's life, but now Dad was looking worried. Worried and guilty.
Ed looked up at him from the bed. "What's wrong, Dad?"
Dad walked over before sitting down next to him, cupping his cheek almost automatically. "There's one final step of the plan that you're not going to like, and neither do I... But when Maria Ross breaks out of the penitentiary tomorrow, there's going to be a manhunt... And even though we know that I'm not actually killing her, then you living in my house will mean that you being oblivious of said manhunt will be suspicious... Meaning that I basically need you to zoom around town, looking for me and Ross to try to stop a furious me from charring her to an unrecognisable corpse. After all, you're not one for killing, so you trying to bring her in unharmed is the most logical way for you to respond."
Ed looked up at him in horror, seeing where this was going. "...So you want me to see the explosion and take off towards it and find you..." Ed began.
Dad sighed. "...And yell yourself hoarse at my frankly revolting actions... We need to be inconspicuous, and that means that you're going-"
"I'm going to have to tell you a shitload of insults because you betrayed my trust and turned into a heartless bastard that I won't ever be able to truly forgive?"
"Basically, yes... You acting like that will remove any suspicions about it. I'll take my revenge while blinded by my fury over the way that a woman I trusted killed my best friend."
Ed felt his stomach clench. "Dammit... I don't wanna pretend that I can hardly stand to be around you for weeks... Like we have to build up trust again."
Dad sighed once more, stroking Ed's cheek with his thumb. "Which is why you're going to decide that you need some time away from me three days from now. That will probably reduce two months of bitterness and angry yelling at insignificant things, to two weeks of you and me trying to work things out once you get back home, because you find out that you miss me and I have become very apologetic and desperately afraid of losing you because of my mistake."
Ed looked up into his eyes, seeing the sadness that it brought Dad too that this was how it would have to be. And Ed's stomach was clenching even more. "So where and for how long? 'Cause I really don't wanna stay away longer than absolutely necessary because we just got back home to you. Also, I like the new house, I'm not really in the mood to leave it either."
Dad gave him an encouraging smile. "I'm thinking about two weeks in Resembool. You know, visiting your mother's grave and your old house, mulling things over when it comes to family and what you want to keep... Whether you want to decide that I did something so unforgivable that you can't trust me any more..." Then he suddenly chuckled slightly, a playful glint in his eye. "...And so I really hope that you'll decide to come back home."
Ed couldn't help the humorous snort escaping him. "No way in hell, Dad... I'm staying in the middle of nowhere, replacing you and Al with Granny and Den while becoming an automail engineer out of pure spite."
Dad chuckled some more. "I see that I really have ruined everything."
"Damn right."
They laughed quietly for a few seconds more, before Dad sighed, looking back down at him with sadness and obvious disappointment. "So three weeks. Two weeks in Resembool, and four days by train in both directions. I'll miss you, Kiddo..."
Ed sighed sadly. He didn't like this at all. "Yeah, you too, Dad..." He looked down. "So I'm guessing Al's staying because he's too kind to leave and wants to fix things... That's really the only way for him to act to make sense... After all, he kept calling that bastard "Dad" until he got a real one... He's not one to give up on you so quickly... He's too willing to give people second chances... So he'll assume the role of mediator... And Winry? Is she gonna stay here?"
"Yes. She's going to keep Al company while trying to make her own mind up. She'll be extending her visit so as to also give Al some moral support."
Ed looked back up at him. "There's something more, isn't there?"
Dad nodded. "Yes. By sending you to Resembool, I'll also be able to send Major Armstrong with you as your bodyguard... And you will take a little detour to Xerxes to say hello and goodbye to Lieutenant Ross."
Ed looked at him in surprise. "That actually sounds pretty interesting, and he'll definitely be happy to see that she's innocent... But does the Major seriously need to stay with me for three weeks?"
"I'm going to tell him that you're to be given plenty of alone time and he's merely there as a bodyguard. You need to be together with your family, aka: Pinako, and you're not in the mood to discuss it all with someone else."
Ed sighed again, disappointment sinking into him. "Okay, Dad..."
Dad just lay down next to him, sneaking his right arm under Ed's head, gently pulling him to his chest. "So I'm definitely your pillow for tonight because it will be a lot longer than I'd like until next time."
Ed tilted sideways himself, pressing his face against Dad's chest, carefully placing his broken leg on top of Dad's not-broken ones. It stung a bit because of his cuts that weren't actually done healing yet, but it was still a hell of a lot nicer than just lying flat on his back. "Sounds good, Dad." Ed enjoyed hugs like these immensely. They were nice and warm and completely safe. No, Ed cherished this type of hugs.
...Because they smelt like Dad. These hugs really left no doubt that Dad loved him.
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yes, Ed?" Dad asked softly.
"...No matter what bullshit I'll have to say tomorrow, just remember that that's all it is." Ed put his automail arm over Dad's waist, hugging him back, before he began whispering to him. "...So you'll better remember that I love you. And that you're gonna need to take care of yourself, as well as Al and Winry, okay?"
Dad kissed the top of his head. "Yes, Ed, I'll remember that. I love you too."
"Good."
Roy felt his heart sink as he straightened up, hearing the Fracturer approaching as it skidded around the corner of the building. Roy was standing with his back to Ed, turning around slowly to look at his son, keeping his eyes cold and his face remorseless.
Ed's eyes were wide, having brought the Fracturer to a complete stop about two metres away from the doll. They had done a lot of acting before, Roy having worked on it together with the boys to make any sort of covert operations or undercover work go a lot smoother. After all, Roy wasn't a single man without anyone to miss him should he come back home late. Of course, Ed's acting was always a lot more necessary as Al was very easily recognised, as well as Ed being the military officer and Al the civilian. Ed was always a lot more involved with that sort of operations. And they were a good team, because Roy and Ed had fun when doing it together. It was always like an inside joke as they went along. They were very tuned in on each other's plans and way of thinking, and so they could fool just about anyone.
But this was not a fun one. This was never going to be a fun one.
...And Roy had been too late to realise that this was going to be far worse than he had imagined... And Ed looked genuinely terrified at the scene in front of him. Just like he had done after the fight with Greed.
Because right now they were acting out a scenario where Roy had gone too far in his anger. And they had both failed to see that that was what would happen. Even if they both knew that it was all fake, then it was supposed to look real.
...And Ed seemed to have an easier time selling the act than Roy had thought.
Roy should be relieved, but he wasn't. Because seeing Ed's face as he looked at the "corpse", there was no doubt in his mind that his son's terror was all too real.
But Roy couldn't stop now. He'd be ruining everything if he did. He would risk the lives of everyone involved in the matter.
"Our orders were shoot to kill if she resisted. And that's what she did, Edward," Roy told him calmly, getting things moving as he turned towards him completely.
No, there was no doubt about it.
Ed wasn't frightened by the body.
...He was terrified by Roy because he was imagining that this could be happening for real later on.
"How could you do something like this, Dad?!" Ed asked in a voice laced with betrayal, horror, and anger at Roy for doing this and the way that his father was showing that his sons' opinions didn't matter.
And yet Roy kept himself just as calm as before. Just as self-righteous. "She murdered your uncle after fooling us all, Ed... What if she had gone after you and Al next?" He knew that he just made things a hell of a lot worse with those words. But it was obvious that for those that knew about his fierce protectiveness, that Roy would be a lot less humane to those that posed a threat to his boys.
Ed paled. "He wouldn't... He would never have wanted you to do this!"
Roy's stomach was clenching ever harder. He had obviously been blind about how much terror his father's fury was bringing Ed.
"I don't see your problem, Edward. My orders were shoot to kill. It was over before she knew what was happening. It was far more humane than what most officers would have managed to do. Otherwise, she would most likely have been shot without proper aim and then spent her last moments in agony. By doing it this efficiently, her death was painless. Consider it a repayment for saving mine and Al's lives."
Tears were brimming in Ed's eyes. "You're lying, Dad... And you know it too." His voice turned sharp. "This isn't you being merciful like with Nina and Alexander! This is you being a cold-blooded slaughterer and that "painless death" thing is just you trying to justify this! You're the damn Flame Alchemist, you could have killed her instantly with a lot less force! You wanted to see her burn and that is all there is to it!" And actual tear ran down his cheek. "So don't you dare hide it behind protecting Al and me! This isn't you caring about us! Because caring about your sons means that you don't look like you're not giving a damn about how we feel about this!"
There was no doubt in Roy's mind at this point that these were all thoughts and feelings that had been there for a lot longer than the past five minutes. Which brought him a sick sense of gratitude because he could experience it for himself while it was still fake.
...Or at least fake enough for Roy to turn back.
There were people approaching, gasping. And so it was time for Roy to deliver the final blow. "Ed, remember that you're at work. I'm still your CO and if you go much further, then I am expected to reprimand you at the very least."
Ed went from pale to white as a sheet. In a way, Roy was relieved that Al was staying at home with Winry. That way Roy would only have to deal with having Ed in this situation, because he knew that his acting would most likely have failed had he needed to do this to both of his sons.
Then Ed wiped away his tears and drove up to him, glaring up at his father where he sat next to Roy's left leg. Then he lifted his right hand and saluted Roy, speaking through gritted teeth. "Then excuse me for expressing the way you broke your sons' trust, General Mustang."
It appeared that Ed was the one to deliver the final blow, and Roy barely stopped himself from breaking his façade in favour of apologising and hugging his son. "Edward, I suggest we talk about this at home where our ranks are inconsequential." Roy didn't like the way that his own voice was so sickeningly calm. It felt like every single word was burying their relationship just a bit further. Because Roy found himself unable to discern with certainty that Ed wasn't acting any more, and that Roy had taken his act too far.
Ed just kept glaring up at him, lowering his hand to his side. "Yes, sir! I suppose I'll need to stay here until the military police has taken our statements."
"Yes."
Ed reversed the Fracturer so that it was about half a metre away from the nearest wall. Then he began moving to get out of it, and Roy paused. "What are you doing, Edward?"
Ed kept moving carefully, still keeping his eyes fixed on Roy. "I'm putting your mind at ease, sir. This way you can at least be certain that I won't be insubordinate and drive off so that you'll have to court-martial your own son."
Roy felt a chill go down his spine. They had both agreed that walking into this with their script planned out could be risky as it would cause some level of uncertainty should they forget something. And it was clear that Roy had taken it too far. And he could no longer tell just how much so.
Which meant that he needed to find a way to show Ed that he still cared just as deeply about him as he had ten minutes ago. And he had to do so before the MPs came and Roy would be too occupied by being hated and feared by them.
Ed managed to get himself out of the Fracturer completely and sat down on the cold ground next to it, dragging himself backwards so as to lean his back against the wall.
Roy sighed and pulled off his coat, walking over to Ed, the young boy just looking down with his arms crossed. Roy knelt down, just as the first couple of MPs turned up and saluted him, even if they looked sick at the sight of the "corpse" that was still smoking slightly. "I apprehended Lieutenant Ross and was forced to kill her as she was resisting arrest. I suggest you cover up the body before too many people can see it. I'll give you the details in a minute."
"Yes, sir!" the two MPs said, and Roy returned his sole focus to Ed who was still looking down.
"Edward, lean forwards a bit, if you're going to stay outside the Fracturer, then it's too cold for you to be dressed like this." He hated how stern and unkind his voice needed to be so as not to give the game away.
Ed just leant forwards as Roy in turn leant over him, bowing his head enough for the MPs not to see his lips moving as he slowly helped Ed's arms into the coat. "Ed, I'm so sorry about this... Would you let me be your human pillow later?" he asked quietly as he worked with great care.
Ed had bowed his head too, using the same trick, but his whispers were strained and shaky with tears. "Sure, Dad... Th-thanks for not going as far as to call me Fullmetal..."
Roy felt his stomach clench. "Of course not, Ed... It's all just an act... Please believe me."
"Please just let me be defiant and pissed off enough for you to carry me to the car, 'cos I really need a hug before the morgue."
"Of course, Kiddo, whatever you want... But I need you to declare that you're going to spend the night at a hotel... And I'll have to order you not to because I'm not letting you stay alone where no one can assess your cuts."
"Yeah, okay."
Roy still felt like he had betrayed Ed greatly.
...And so his son was going to be pissed off once he found out that Roy was also sending him away so that they could hunt homunculi with Ed in a much safer location.
Ed leant against the car door as soon as Dad had shut it behind him. The MPs had already finished up loading the Fracturer inside the slightly alchemically modified boot, meaning that Dad was walking over to the front door at the driver's side. The MPs had been confused by Ed's sudden reluctance to use the Fracturer, but Ed had just told them that he wasn't going to worry his boss about him running away from home.
Basically, there were a hell of a lot of frowning officers who didn't seem too pleased with Dad. But thankfully one of them had given Dad the benefit of the doubt and had said that it had obviously been an instant death and that Ed had a personal policy against killing people. When the MP then added that Dad had been fearing for his sons' safety, then the frowns had shrunk slightly. It was a human characteristic to go a bit further than necessary when your kids were involved.
Ed was worried about Dad. And he had a giant lump in his stomach because Dad was one hell of an actor. One hell of an actor that left Ed wondering if this hadn't been staged, but an actual prison break where Maria Ross was the actual murderer, would Dad have done the same thing to her that he had done to the dummy?
Dad closed the door up front and started the car, staying silent until they had been driving for about ten seconds. "Ed... I'm so sorry about scaring you like that."
Ed swallowed hard, hugging Dad's coat tighter around him. "Could we please just take this once we get home? I want to..." Ed felt his lips quiver. "I don't want to have this conversation while your back is turned to me."
They both understood the significance of those few words. "Of course, Ed... Of course."
Roy groaned as he got to his feet, putting his watch back in his pocket. Ed really was a genius who was looking after him even when he was a few hundred kilometres away from them by now and had no idea that they had just broken into another military lab.
So now Roy would just have to find his son and Lieutenant Hawkeye and then they'd get the ambulance for Havoc... And they'd be leaving this damned place alive to see Ed being pissed off once Pinako was able to deliver him the message that Roy was once severely injured in a hospital after cauterising his own wounds so as not to bleed out.
But this time wasn't going to be like it was with Greed. He wasn't going to let Ed become terrified because he had been away when Roy went too far against another homunculus.
He wasn't going to do that, because Ed had given him another addition to his pocket watch last night as Roy was serving as a human pillow again. Because he had transmuted Roy a small dagger. Only about five centimetres in length, and it resembled Ed. The hilt was a tiny replica of his son's face with its tongue out in his usual "SUCKER" face, and the blade was an exaggerated antenna. It was all engraved steel, but it was still very Ed.
And Roy had been given said object for one single purpose: Emergency transmutations. Mostly emergency transmutations concerning being able to carve his flame alchemy transmutation circle into his own hand like he did in Dublith.
And like he had done once more on top of his right hand this time.
...Basically, being Ed and Al's father had an uncanny ability to leave him with more scars in about sixteen months than he had gained during the previous twenty-seven-and-a-bit years of his life.
"Havoc, you stay alive while I save the others and then we have a party with no smoking allowed and some IV stands..." Roy told his unconscious subordinate as he made his way towards the door, limping and feeling the agonising wounds protest his every movement. "And that's an order..." he added as he made his way out the doorway, his right hand pressed to his wounded side as he began speaking again as he walked. "Because you're not allowed to die on my boys either... No more Ninas or Maes Hugheses or Martels... You're not allowed to do that to them." Roy was already about three metres down the hallway as he finished speaking.
The knife in his watch had been a brilliant idea of Ed's... Because this way, Roy wouldn't be nearly as likely to go too far when the thing that allowed him to do so was a gift from Ed. A symbol of trust in Roy to be able to use it and still keep his eyes his own. Not those of a possessed man turned into a monster by his own rage.
Because the way Ed had been looking at him when seeing the dummy had made Roy a lot more concerned about keeping his anger in check.
Because Ed was scared of him.
And Roy couldn't prove Ed's trust in him to be so misplaced that Roy would be choosing his own rage over his sons.
He stumbled slightly, grunting, holding his left hand out to the nearest wall as he moved forwards, just in case he should lose his balance again. Falling like this could turn out to be fatal when paired with even more bad luck than he was already having.
Roy had made himself a kind of motto. Because Ed had told him that he was channelling his protectiveness into the furious rage that terrified him. "...I'm not here to protect..." he said hoarsely. "...I'm not here to punish..." He took a deep and pained breath. "...I'm here to save lives..."
Then a weak smile formed on his lips. "...And adrenaline is amazing... because I'm not giving up on my sons."
It was a few minutes of agonising steps later that he heard something surprising.
Because he was fairly certain that his Lieutenant had screamed at Lust that she was a bitch.
...Which was supported by the series of shots that followed.
Roy knew he had little time, but he couldn't walk much quicker... Because he might have stopped the external bleeding, but the internal one was still a major concern.
He still had to actually make it out alive, after all.
Which meant that his flaring anger needed to be controlled. "I'm here to save... Here to save... Here to save..." He kept whispering it to himself, keeping Ed's tearful face in his mind's eye. "Because there's no point in me returning to my sons when they can't recognise me as their father... Because I'm their Dad... They need their Dad... Not a monster... They trust me to come back to them... I won't do that if I leave my soul behind ... in this damned place." He was panting quite a bit. He needed medical assistance, that was for sure. But Havoc needed it first. Roy was awake to survive this long enough through his sheer stubbornness, Havoc wasn't.
He was getting closer, his anger threatening to take over. He could hear the Lieutenant sobbing. Both of them were thinking that he was dead. Al would be so happy to see him. He would be worried sick once Roy reached the inevitable point where he'd collapse, but he'd join him in the ambulance. They'd talk for the entire time and they'd do so again once Roy woke up from the surgery that would follow.
"Alphonse, go! I-I'm your guardian now and that means you'll have to listen to me! I'm not letting you die too! Think about your brother!" came Lieutenant Hawkeye's tearful and desperate voice.
"No, Lieutenant... We're going to leave here together! I'm sick of watching those I care about die and I'm not leaving you to do the same! Now get up!" Al's voice was strained by the obvious grief and pain that his soul was feeling.
"ALPHONSE, LEAVE!"
Roy was only about ten metres away from the door now. He knew he was running out of time. Al was clapping his hands, obviously to make a weapon.
"Oh, my, it seems that you really are a perfect sacrifice," came Lust's voice. "It really is such a shame that I'll have to kill you."
Roy's eyes widened in horror, his mantra dying at the thought of both his sons being used as human sacrifices.
He strode forwards as quickly as possible, his anger boiling just as Al spoke again. "I'm not dying, neither of us are!" There was the clanking of Al moving, the sound of armour parts being flung through the air, and Roy felt terror grip his heart that he might be too late as he reached them. "...Because I'm a Mustang, and we don't stop moving!" Al finished.
Roy felt a relieved smile on his lips. "Funny, I think we must be related," he announced loudly as he reached the doorway, hearing a gasp and a clap as Al transmuted a protective wall, pulling Hawkeye behind it. Then Roy flicked the lighter, creating the necessary spark, and torched the bitch in front of him. Lust screamed as she fell to all fours. "Looks like I can get you on your knees after all!" Roy said in a loud growl, feeling a deep satisfaction at the way that the tables had turned. He glared down at the homunculus on the floor.
She looked up at him, a bit of angry fear in her eyes. "You should have bled out by now!"
Roy engulfed her in flames once again. "I seared the wounds closed, you gave me some experience with it last time I met you!"
Another spark, another burst of flames, more screams from the one who was planning to sacrifice his sons.
"And fighting your colleague down South was very educational too!"
Roy's chest constricted with realisation as yet another burst of warm air hit him and Ed's words echoed in his mind at the thought of Greed.
All I ask is that you don't let rage consume you like that, because I wanna keep my Dad... I just wanna keep my Dad... Because I mean it... I love you, so just... Just... Can I use you as a pillow?
The homunculus before him was still healing, looking so grotesque. She was panting, down on all fours.
And Roy knew that he had to kill her. He knew that he had to do so now. Because it was kill or be killed.
...And Ed had never forbidden it. He had only begged Roy to stay himself. And the transmutation circle on his hand was made by Ed's dagger.
And so he kept flicking the lighter, he kept burning her to cinders, but he wasn't shouting or growling or punishing... He only watched as she ran out of lives just before she could kill him, her spear only stopping ten centimetres away from his face.
Then the homunculus began disintegrating slowly while her eyes looked at him in an odd sort of seductive confusion. "I guess you really have changed, General... Those cold eyes of yours aren't so now... I look forward to the day when those tears of yours will be streaming in full... It's coming... It's coming..."
Then her Stone disintegrated as it hit the floor, leaving no trace.
Which was when Roy noticed the tear going down his cheek as he looked towards the transmuted wall. "Hey, Al... Daddy's home..." he said hoarsely.
...Then he slumped sideways with a groan, his newly and crudely cauterised wounds shouting with pain as he landed on his bad side.
"DAD!" Al shouted, instantly running forwards next to Hawkeye. "We need to get you to a hospital!"
Roy flipped over his back, wheezing with pain, his breathing ragged. Now that the fight was over and they were safe, the agony was making its presence known quite thoroughly. "Havoc first... Get an ambulance for Havoc... Hawkeye, go find him... you've got medical training."
She looked at him with desperate gratitude, tears in her eyes. Roy supposed he should be touched. He'd tease her about it later. But Havoc needed help, and she seemed to understand from the look he gave her. "Yes, sir." And with that she jogged off, meaning that Al was leaning over Roy, obviously overcome by worry and in desperate need of hugging Roy, but knowing that it could quite possibly kill him instead.
"See, Kiddo? ... Didn't give up on you..." Roy said weakly, smiling bravely up at his youngest son. "...Besides, I've got training in this stuff by now, even if my left side will be looking even worse than it did..."
"Dad, what happened to you?! How badly are you injured?!"
Roy just lifted his right hand weakly, pointing at his wounds, groaning slightly, most likely failing in his attempt at giving his son an encouraging smile. "Spears there and there..." He let his hand slump back to the floor. "But I'm gonna be fine, Al."
Al just leant forwards on his hands, bowing his head. His face looked wrong with the jaw part ripped away like that. Lust had hurt his son, but most of all by killing Roy. "She told us you were dead, Dad! I-I thought she'd killed you!"
Roy's stomach was somehow managing to clench even through the agony. "I'm sorry, Al... But I came back... Because I couldn't just die down here while leaving you to be killed, not when I had a chance not to."
Roy couldn't help the coughs escaping him, making the pain spike and Al gasped and began fussing over him. "Dad, do you need something? Should I carry you or-"
Roy lifted his right hand slightly to tell him to stop. He didn't actually care one iota about the cuts on his hand, but they could serve to make Al feel better. "I think I should just lie still... and wait for the paramedics... but if you could transmute me some bandages... from my uniform... and dress my hand... then that would be great..."
"Oh, of course, Dad!" And so Al clapped his hands and brought them to the outer covering of his uniform trousers. Then he sat down on Roy's right side, gently taking his hand and began wrapping it with bandages. "Is it too tight?"
Roy smiled weakly at him. "No, Al, it's perfect... Thank you."
Al finished up bandaging his hand, and then he put his left hand gently on Roy's forehead. "Thank you, Dad... For not being dead."
Roy was lying in his hospital bed, feeling just a bit groggy. It had been about thirty minutes since he was brought inside his room after having woken up from the surgery. He had fallen asleep on and off the first hour or so after he first woke up, and he had kept nodding off even after having been brought up to his room from observation.
Although this time, he woke with the feeling of his stomach dropping as he heard a clang and a panicked "gaaah!" from his son.
...Which was quickly explained as Al's right arm appeared to have simply fallen off. "Al?"
"Oh, Dad! I, oh, it's okay! It's just a bit... It startled me... You can sleep again if you need to... Master Sergeant Fuery's outside, he can help me. I'll just transmute something to cover up that hole too and..." Al said quickly, already getting to his feet.
Roy was confused that the Lieutenant wasn't there, but he reached out with his left hand, groaning as the pain hit him again. It was the first time he actually felt awake since the surgery. "Al, wait... Just... Just... We were supposed to talk in the ambulance, but we couldn't because you were too big to be allowed inside..."
Al took his hand, gently stroking his thumb over the scarring from the transmutation circle made in Dublith. "Dad, you've already said that seven times now since you woke up from the surgery. You don't need to worry about it. I'll go talk to Fuery, and then we can talk if you're still awake."
Roy looked at him. There was something about that post-surgical-finally-waking-up-and-needing-to-make-it-clear-that-I-am-awake-this-time thing that made him feel vulnerable. "I suppose... But I want... Need to talk to you about something really, really important, Al... And I'm awake now..."
"Then we'll talk once my arm hole has been covered up because we keep getting visited by nurses, and they're going to scream..."
Roy nodded. "Oh, of course... That's good thinking... I'm sorry... I'm still a bit fuzzy, I guess..."
Al replaced Roy's hand by his side, and instead reached out and tousled his father's hair. "It's okay, Dad... I understand."
Roy looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Love you, Al."
"Love you too, Dad. Now let's talk after Fuery has helped me out," Al told him as he stood up, before heading for the door.
Roy watched as Fuery helped Al, getting told the basics of what was going on. Lieutenant Hawkeye was back at Roy's house, fetching Winry, and thereby letting his Xingese guests know that things had changed, and that Roy expected them to keep the house clean and in order while he was in the hospital as Al and Winry were most likely going to spend their nights at the hospital for safety. Once Winry arrived, Al would go phone Pinako and tell her what had happened. Thankfully, this all meant that at least Ed would come back home sooner because having his father almost die was at least an excellent reason to square up after what had happened. Having their family back together was going to be a relief. There was no telling once the next lead would come up, and then his boys would be leaving once again.
Apparently Al and Lieutenant Hawkeye had decided that Roy ought to talk to Winry alone, and Roy had agreed that maybe it was for the best. Especially when Hawkeye thought so. And most likely it had something to do with how Havoc was going to be out of surgery within the hour, and then he would be brought to the same room as Roy. It was for security reasons, and Winry might feel a bit too awkward about it all once Havoc arrived.
Also, Roy would probably be given an earful by the young woman because he had told her that he would be picking her up at seven because he was working a bit overtime.
...It was eleven at night now, and Al had needed to phone Gracia to ask her if Winry could stay for a bit longer because Roy had been impaled and was in surgery. Which meant that Roy had worried Winry immensely and damn well ought to face up to it without her feeling the need to show restraint.
And so Roy thanked Fuery for his help, before his subordinate left Roy alone together with Al, the latter walking over and sitting down next to Roy's bed.
"Al, please answer me honestly... Was I... Did I stay your Dad?"
Al was obviously confused. "What do you mean?"
"When I fought Lust... Sometimes, when I get angry, I get too much so, and I don't look like your Dad... Did it happen again?"
Al bowed his head. "There was something I didn't like in your eyes right before I pulled Lieutenant Hawkeye behind the wall... But something obviously changed... So you didn't let it go too far when you pulled back like that... Maybe it will help Ed forgive you..."
Roy knew that Al added the last part obviously just to keep up appearances.
Roy let out a relieved sigh. "Al, I've told Ed to stop me and pull me back before it's too late should something like that happen again... I'm trying to fight it, and I think I did... But could you please promise me the same thing?"
"Of course, Dad... Just don't get killed."
Roy nodded at him. "I'll give it my best... I think I did pretty well today, what with the not dying..." He gave him a small smile. "I think I did one hell of a job, in fact."
Al chuckled a bit. "I guess you're right about us being related, then."
That was when there was a knock on the door and the Lieutenant opened it, letting Winry inside.
The girl looked more than a little distressed. "How... How are you doing, Uncle Roy?" she asked quietly as Al got to his feet. She was standing there with a wicker basket in her hand.
"Not too bad, considering."
"I'm gonna go tell Granny, now that Dad's awake," Al announced.
"Oh, of course... She would only have been worried if you had told her while not knowing the exact extent of his injuries... Tell her hello from Gracia and Elicia too."
"Yeah, I will, Winry."
And with that, Al and Hawkeye disappeared out the door and closed it behind them, leaving Roy alone with Winry who was still standing by the door.
"It's the left side, right?" she asked.
Roy nodded. "I'm sorry I-"
He didn't get any further than that before she strode over to his right side and put the wicker basket on the floor.
...And then she flung out her right hand and slapped his left cheek hard. "YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT, UNCLE ROY!"
Roy was in a daze. Creating metal limbs for a living made it obvious that her skinny arms were highly misleading. Because her strength was definitely not leaving anything to be desired.
Roy barely repressed the urge to rub his cheek with his left hand like instinct told him to do. Mostly because any sort of movement didn't make his side approve much. "I'm sorry, Winry..." Roy told the furious girl weakly, his cheek stinging a lot.
"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO GET IMPALED WHEN WE'RE HAVING PASTA!"
Roy paused. He had said that they would have it today as it was her favourite dish that he made. It was so as to make up for the events concerning Ed's departure and Roy's "working overtime to compensate for the way that Lieutenant Hawkeye needs some time off to finally finish unpacking after moving into her new flat."
"I'll make it as soon as I'm released from the hospital... I'm sorry."
She slapped him again. "YOU'D BETTER DO! BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO EAT SOLID FOODS FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS!"
Roy was seriously beginning to regret lying to her, seeing as how Lieutenant Hawkeye had obviously told her that the overtime had been a cover for their attempt at catching Maes's killer.
"I'm so sorry, Winry..."
She let her hand fall to her side as tears began streaming down her cheeks. Then she fell to her knees, sniffing. "I don't want you to become another customer... And if you keep getting hurt like this, then there's a very real chance that you will," she said weakly, her lips trembling, before she bowed her head. Her shoulders were shaking with tears.
Roy looked at her, sighing heavily, his stomach clenching. He had a bad habit of forgetting that the girl was far too familiar with listening to pained screams. She probably had no trouble imagining Roy lying there as she performed that hellish surgery together with Pinako. "Dammit, come here, Winry, the least I could do is give you a hug."
"But what about your injuries?"
"My right side isn't injured, and I got plenty of training from last time. Now come here, I could use a hug too and being a human pillow is my speciality. Me leaning up isn't really the the most comfortable option right now."
Winry looked at him and got to her feet, before she climbed onto the bed awkwardly and Roy put his arm around her as she used his shoulder as a pillow.
Then she began sobbing into his chest. "Don't you dare die, Uncle Roy. I can't lose even more of my family."
"I'm going to do what I can."
"Good... Otherwise I'll tell Ed that he'll get free automail for a year if he rams your legs with the Fracturer... That way you won't be able to go off and hurt yourself again for a while."
Roy gulped. "That's probably the most unnerving form of protective custody I have heard of."
"It's better than having Miss Riza shoot you."
"I suppose you're right... Could I ask what's in the basket when you can't really bring food?"
"I didn't know what sort of plants you like, so I bought you and Lieutenant Havoc a cactus each just in case you were allergic to something."
Roy's eyebrows shot up. "...That's the first time I've received a get well soon cactus... Thanks."
"Just make sure that you won't need any more of them."
So, just as a bit of an explainer here at the end: I will include a lot more Roy and Al moments in the upcoming parts, don't worry ;)
Also, I am following the manga course of events, meaning that the battle with Lust happened before Ed even arrived in Resembool.
And please, please leave reviews!
(But no flames)