Sorry for the wait, guys! Have been waiting for my muse for this story, I guess.

And this chapter is definitely parental and I hope it doesn't seem rushed or anything and that you guys like it.

And thank you so, so much to all the readers, reviewers, favouriters and followers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter Nine

Roy sat there, holding the crying child. He knew that he had crossed some kind of border and that he wouldn't be able to ever go back to how things usually worked between them, but Roy could be okay with that. They had reached a kind of emotional dependency, he guessed.

Well, the kid wouldn't be the first, although his bond with Hawkeye was a very different one.

He guessed he had sort of seen it coming the last year or so, but still, this was a large step. A very large step.

But no, it was Roy's duty. He had stolen a lot of this boy's childhood from him, he was going to let him be a kid when it just became too much to bear. Edward deserved at least that.

And so he held him.

Edward was clutching the front of his shirt.

"Dammit!" he said, obviously still crying.

"Listen, it's okay."

"No it's not! I'm stronger than this!"

"Not being able to take the emotional pressure of having your father run out on you has nothing to do with strength."

"Yes it does! It does, you manipulative bastard!"

Roy just shifted his grip and placed his left hand on the back of the kid's head.

"You bastard! There you go again! I'm not a child, dammit!"

"Actually, you are."

Roy was amazed at the way that the kid managed to both cry and be pissed off at the same time.

"Shut up."

"It's alright, kid. It really is."

"No it's not! Because you're The Colonel! You're supposed to be a womanising bastard and nothing more! I'm not supposed to be hugged and you're definitely not supposed to be the one hugging me!"

"Well, it's better that somebody does."

"No! It's all just wrong!"

Roy, what have you got yourself into?

"Tell me, Edward, why are you so afraid of emotional attachment?"

"I'm not afraid!"

"No, you're just holding on to your superior, still trying to fool yourself. It's okay. You're only being human, and not a living soul other than you or me knows it."

"Please, Colonel, just don't."

"It's okay, Edward. It really is. You've had a stressful week, your life has been turned upside down, you've been beaten, flogged, had your nose broken and you've got a concussion too. It's okay to just let it out."

"No! Because I don't do that!"

"Then it's about time."

"No!"

Damn, this kid is too stubborn for his own good.

Roy closed his eyes and sighed, putting his chin on the top of the child's head.

"Come on, Edward, why is it such an issue? I've promised you not to leave you, why won't you just allow yourself to be a child for once?"

Roy wanted the kid to understand. If not, the result of this may be that he would close himself off from Roy instead and come off worse from this. He didn't want Edward to be embarrassed after the first time in years probably that he lets himself actually open up.

Which meant that Roy needed to get through to him about it actually being okay.

"You were wondering why I was being so considerate ever since you were reassigned? I guess it's a bit of the same thing as what happened to you. There was a part of me that panicked the moment I lost you on my team, and I wanted to make sure that you were taken care of."

Damn it, Roy! Did you actually say that?

The kid looked up at him curiously, tears still running down his cheeks. "So what you're saying is that you … care … about … me?"

Well, Roy, you asked for it, you might as well just go all the way through with this.

"I guess I do."

The kid studied his face for a few seconds. Then he smiled slightly.

"Damn, Colonel … I didn't see that one coming."

Roy just sighed again. "Come here, you stupid brat," he said and pulled him closer.

The kid leaned the right side of his face against him and slowly put his arms around Roy too.

"If you say anything about this to anyone, I swear that I will learn the secrets of flame alchemy and use them against you."

"Duly noted."

And so they just sat there. Roy was actually feeling a kind of happiness that he hadn't felt before. A kind of terrible happiness that also filled him with fear. Roy couldn't really explain it, but he suddenly felt so much more responsible for this boy.

And it felt good.

It felt right. This hug. It felt like it was his job.

Because Edward was his no matter what Schiff said. Roy was the one who cared for him and Roy was the one that held onto him and Roy was the one that was going to make things right.

Roy was the one that was going to take care of him.

… Like a parent.

Shit! Did I just think that?!

No, Roy! No! No! No!

Why not though?

Just no!

Why?

Because that is Edward Elric and you are already getting in too deep to get out of this! Do not make this any worse! You're not a father! You're not HIS father!

No, because he was a bastard that left this kid a long time ago. I won't do that.

Stop it, Roy! Stop this before it is too late!

I won't leave this kid.

Don't think like that! Just stop! STOP!

I won't hurt him.

Roy! Don't do this to yourself!

I think it's too late for that.

STOP IT, ROY!

No.

And so Roy just held Ed tighter, relishing in the fact that this has gone as well as he could have hoped.

Ed was conflicted. He was hugging the fucking Colonel!

What the hell!

He was actually hugging him back even. Not caring about the fact that his back was burning or that his nose was screaming in agony because he felt better than he had for days now.

He felt better than he had for days because of this hug. He felt safe. He felt warm. And for once he felt like a kid.

And it was great.

And no one would ever know about it.

Never.

But still, how the heck did he even end up here in the first place? Why the hell did he let him hug him? Why?

Argh, this is so confusing!

He was surprised as hell to hear the Colonel say that he cares about him. He had just assumed that he really saw him as an insufferable brat because that was what he had been saying all the time.

He guessed it was kind of nice, although it was weird.

Really weird.

Fucking weird, actually.

Because, Ed, you're still hugging him...

Yet Ed couldn't really get himself to let go of the man either. Fact was, this hug felt even more real, even warmer, even safer, than any of the ones he could ever remember Hohenheim giving him.

So maybe he could trust him?

There was none of the feeling of this being forced. Ed hadn't been the one to initiate this. There wasn't any of the distance that he had felt from Hohenheim. And it felt so good. This was so much more of what it was supposed to be like. And the part of him that was so angry with Hohenheim, was cherishing this. This was what he had wanted from that bastard, but had never got.

And Ed knew he could trust this man. If there was one thing that Ed had admired about the Colonel, it was his loyalty. And if he said that he actually cared about him, then Ed believed him. And it felt good.

So he was going to overlook the fact that it was the bastard Colonel that he was hugging.

Because this was the first time in a week that he had felt safe. It was the first time in two years actually. And Ed had never realised how much he had missed it.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Mustang said quietly.

"For being here."

"Anytime, kid. Anytime."

And so Roy just held him. Held him until he could hear the child snoring against his chest. He smiled slightly. Of course the kid had to be exhausted. He had a concussion and needed rest. Roy too.

And so he just gently lowered the boy onto the bed and then lay down himself, pulling the covers over them, before holding him against his chest, loosening the ponytail and then just resting his left hand at the back of his head.

Maybe he was finally understanding Maes slightly. Although no pictures.

Then he too fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Alphonse came back into the house and went upstairs to check on Brother. He opened the door slowly and looked inside the room, only to find something surprising. Ed was lying there, and the Colonel was hugging him, a smile on his face.

About time.

Ed deserves a break. He deserves someone looking after him for once.

Al smiled inwardly and turned off the bedroom lights and closed the door slowly.

I hope that I got the rejection bit realistic when it comes to comparing it to Hohenheim, because I'm really basing it on personal experiences.