Once again, thank you so much for your support, people!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

And if anyone's wondering, I am not doing the full Dublith arc right now, but will be doing it further on in the story, so Greed will come into the picture and Al will regain his memories, but this will be after I save Nina, so it'll probably be in a little while.


Chapter Eleven

"Where would you like me to begin?" Roy asked.

"Why did you bring Ed into the military? Why did you recruit him instead of bringing him in?"

Roy thought back to that day. It was all just a stupid mistake. Someone had somehow managed to write that the talented alchemist they were going to visit was thirty-one instead of eleven. For some reason, they had still gone to the Elrics' house. What they found had initially filled him with anger, but then he had stormed into the Rockbells' house and had seen the two brothers. "When I found them, I was met with a boy who was in pain, who had nearly lost his only family and with two missing limbs. Yet, for some reason, it hadn't broken him. He had a fire in his eyes that spoke of wanting to fix things. It spoke of his strength. And Alphonse had made me realise that those two had never meant for it to happen. They hadn't been arrogant or thought that they were playing with lives. They were kids and they were hurting. I wasn't going to act without thought and send one brother to be executed and the other to be experimented on in some laboratory. And, although I'm ashamed to admit it, I recruited him because of his talent. I knew that my own stock would rise for finding him. But even so, I wanted to give him the opportunity to get their bodies back. To make things right."

"And you were his commanding officer ever since he joined the military?"

"Yes."

"How was your relationship with the boys?"

"I'm sorry to say that me and Fullmetal used to drive each other up the walls. We bickered and resorted to childish name-calling. We generally just teased and insulted each other … You cannot even begin to understand how I regret that … We were trying to keep him safe and move him to the barracks when we learned that the kidnappers were specifically targeting Fullmetal. We didn't foresee the fact that there would be two of them and that they were officers themselves. They took him. And it was my fault. I should have protected the kid better. Done something. He was my subordinate, he was my responsibility." Roy was having a hard time looking at her by now. "I-I am so sorry. So sorry."

"What happened to Ed?"

"They did several different transmutations. Irreversible ones. They kept regressing him to a kid, using the excess organs and so on as materials for a new arm and a leg. According to what Edward has been telling me, they used the transmutation circles to "hurt his mind" to delete all the information from these last ten years. When they weren't able to go on using the arrays to wipe his memory further, they pulled out a series of syringes in order to try and make him forget, but they were unsuccessful. According to Ed, these substances were basically torture either meant for him to see things or hurt him from the inside out. He was fed through an IV for the four days that he was conscious." Roy told her the story through gritted teeth. Repeating the hell that the boy on his lap had been through made him want to just hug him tightly and never let go ever again.

"Why did you take them in?" Roy realised that Izumi was evaluating how fit he was to take care of the Elrics.

"Because I failed Fullmetal, yet Ed trusts me. It began as a promise to a five-year-old to protect him, but we have found comfort in each other's presence. I don't do this because I feel bad for them, but because I have a genuine wish to make their lives better. To make things right. Because losing Fullmetal made me realise just how much I really care about them. And I won't push Al into liking me, nor will I push him away. I just want my boys to grow up to be just as great as they already are."

Izumi nodded, apparently agreeing with his answer.

"Why does Ed call you Daddy? After his father left I would have thought that he would have needed a much longer time to call you that."

"I can only guess that it's because of two main factors. First of all, he still believed his mother to be alive when we found him, and isn't as bitter and as angry with the world. Secondly, I think that it has something to do with the fact that he has had a couple of maniacs trying to tell him that they are his parents, and so I think that it has given him a sort of hunger for a parent that he has chosen on his own."

"I see. Now tell me what happened with Lillian Penton."

"She blew up your wall, knocking me and Lieutenant Hawkeye out before she took Edward. She was however attacked by another person that was after her for unknown reasons. Ed got away from her but was captured by this other person that could change its form, clothes and all. It disguised itself as me in order to use Ed to make Penton behave. I attacked the impostor with my flame alchemy, making it let go of Ed before I picked him up. It should have been unable to walk due to my attack, but it somehow healed itself. I was ready to attack it again when it changed its shape into Fullmetal's." Roy stopped. Up until that point, the report had been driven by anger, but now Roy was struggling to keep it together. He could still feel the helplessness at watching the thing looking so much like the kid that had been forever lost to him.

"You froze," Izumi said softly.

"It sounded like him. I couldn't just snap my fingers and hear the sound of him screaming. I just couldn't."

"Of course."

"It's been just over two weeks since I last saw that kid. And god, do I miss him. I miss my insubordinate, little brat that always had to destroy at least one building with each mission, that called me the "Bastard Colonel". I would give so much to have him back. But I wouldn't change this Ed for the old one. I want them both. I care so much about them both. I couldn't swap one for the other. But I can't have my Fullmetal back. So at least I will take care of my son. And I hope that Al will view me in the same way that Ed does some day. Because they are my boys. They are my brilliant, wonderful boys, so if you want to fight me for them, then I won't fight you. I will let them choose who they want to be with. Because I know that I will never be worthy of them."

Roy was frankly impressed with himself. He had never said anything like it before, but those thoughts had been buzzing around in his head for a few days now. And he knew that it was the absolute truth.

It was quiet for a while.

Then Izumi laughed, throwing her head back.

Roy just stared at her. He had never felt less like laughing in his life. He was just proud with himself for not beginning to cry.

Izumi smiled at him. "Well, it seems like there are a few dogs of the military that actually have some sense in their heads. Very well, Colonel Mustang, but just remember that if you ever hurt them, I won't hesitate to kill you."

"Duly noted."

"How about you go find Ed some clothes while I clean things up here. I guess that you'll be needing three bedrooms?"

"Two will suffice, Ed still can't sleep on his own. He still gets nightmares and doesn't manage to fall asleep in his own bed yet." Roy hated this fact, but he would just have to wait for Ed to be ready for it. If anyone had the right to be traumatised, it was him.

"I see." She looked sorrowful.

Roy lifted Ed higher up against his chest and carried him with him into the hallway where he met Alphonse who looked a bit jumpy. "Oh, hi, Roy, I was just …"

"You heard the entire conversation, didn't you?" Roy wasn't angry, he was just worried about what Al was thinking about everything.

"Uhm … most of it … Did you really mean what you said about Brother and me?"

Roy smiled at him. "I meant every word."

"Oh … Thank you, Roy."

"There's no reason to thank me, really. It's the least I can do. I'm your guardian and I intend to fulfil that role. You boys deserve that."

And Roy suddenly found himself being hugged lightly by the suit of armour. Roy just wished he could hug him back, but his hold on Ed was hindering him from it. And so the hug felt both odd and good at the same time.


"So, Ed, you can't remember anything about that night when the transmutation failed?" Mrs. Curtis asked Ed. He had to say that he was still a bit scared of her. It helped that he was sitting on Daddy's lap. It was funny to think of him that way, but there wasn't really anything wrong with it. He was his guardian and would be so for a long time. He was his Daddy and he had chosen him. The way Ed saw it, he would end up being his Daddy anyway, so if Ed wanted to call him that now, then that was fine. And he was Daddy and not "Dad" because "Dad" had left them and made Mom cry. No, Roy Mustang was his Daddy. His safe, warm, good Daddy. He wouldn't leave him because he had promised him that he would protect him.

"No."

"But Alphonse is still bound to the armour, although you now have both your arms and your legs."

"So does that mean that the toll hasn't been paid? Then how am I still here?" Al asked.

"I can only guess, but the Pentons used Ed's body with its missing limbs to make him this way. That could mean that Ed's growth will merely be limited and that he will literally be one arm shorter."

Ed was about to scream in frustration, but then he realised something and instead crossed his arms. "It's worth it for Al."

Daddy ruffled his hair.

Mrs. Curtis smiled at him.

Ed heard footsteps and turned around, seeing Riza standing in the doorway. She looked groggy, but smiled at them all the same. "I'm glad to see that you're safe, Ed."

"Daddy came for me," Ed said simply.

She looked a bit surprised at the name, but she smiled even so. "He said he would."

Ed grinned. "He did." And then he turned around and placed his arms around Daddy's chest and hugged him, getting hugged back.

Ed was very happy with his Daddy. He was the opposite of Hohenheim, because Hohenheim had left them while Daddy chose them. He wanted them. And it felt good. It was great in fact. And so when bedtime came, Ed lay down in those warm, safe arms and smiled. Ed loved having a Daddy. A real one, a proper one. It was exciting.

The only problem was that Ed couldn't get the pictures of his old self holding a blade against his neck. It still hurt when he touched it. And Daddy had frozen when he had seen him. He hadn't stopped him from hurting him at first.

"Daddy? Do you care about the old me more than this me?"

"Of course not. I care about you both, and I wouldn't change you for anything in the world."

"So if you could fix me, you wouldn't?"

"No, Edward. You are my boy. Both you and Alphonse are my boys and I care about you so much, I couldn't have changed you even if I tried."

"So when you didn't move earlier today?"

"It was because I couldn't hurt anything that looked like you. Whether it's the old you or not, it would feel like burning you, and I couldn't do that. It had nothing to do with which one I love more."

Ed put his arm on Daddy's waist, snuggling his face into his undershirt. "Love you, Daddy."

Daddy hugged him tighter. "Love you too, Edward."