Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Not making any money of this. Love the idea of Ed and Roy.


Chapter 4: Separation

Auric stood leaning up against the fireplace, contemplating the stilted family tableau spread out before him. Granny Pinako was holding little Edwina, Winry was matching up the socks scattered on the coffee table, and Al was reading and watching his family. It looked like a peaceful enough scene to the casual eye. Someone more observant might notice the way Winry's lips were pressed tightly together, or the way Al was fidgeting with the book in his lap. Finally Granny Pinako stood, announcing frostily, "I'll put Edwina to bed."

The yelling started as soon as she left the sitting room.

"You cannot be serious," Winry snapped. "Ed would turn in his grave. Not that we ever got around to digging one."

"Ed is standing right there. And the General is right, we don't have a choice. If I wait until I'm drafted, there's no telling where I'll be sent," Al pointed out, trying to sound reasonable.

"Auric is not Ed. And I'm sure he agrees with me anyhow! There's a reason his Guild didn't mix with the military, am I right?" Winry felt vaguely guilty seeing Al wince at the reminder, but she pressed her advantage. "Al…you can't volunteer to join the military. It's suicide. Apart from the politics, the war isn't going well, you know that – the number of State Alchemists has been dwindling and you know as well as I do they aren't retiring and going to some place warm! At least draftees can discharged after the war, and maybe they won't get around to you until later…."

"You heard the General, Winry," Al said tiredly. "I'm at the top of the draftee list, for obvious reasons."

"You're not that great!" argued Winry testily.

"I'm an Elric," was the soft response from her husband. "People remember Ed. It's as much a propaganda issue to raise morale as it is a genuine need for more alchemists. If you can't have the Fullmetal Alchemist, you can have his brother." Auric looked at Al with respect. He'd thought the pleasant young man too naïve to see the greater game being played. "But remember, I'm a grown man now, I can take care of myself. Brother was only a child when he joined, and he was fine."

"Because he had you to watch his back!"

"And the General. I'll be all right, Winry, he'll look out for me." Al's voice was coaxing, rational, and worst of all, right. But she didn't have to like it. She crossed her arms firmly and the two men could see the cogs in her mind working furiously on a comeback. "He can't be there all the time!"

Auric decided this might be an appropriate time to interrupt. "Winry…I'll watch his back."

The two of them looked around in confusion. "What?"

The blonde man chuckled. "Well, I'm useless here, aren't I? No memories, no real responsibilities, and I'm terrible at housework. I might as well go along with Al and make myself helpful – I am familiar with war, you know. And wasn't Granny Pinako saying something about familiar sights and sounds jogging memories? Seeing as how I seem to have spent a good deal of my formative years in Central City…."

Al spoke hesitantly. "Not to sound…rude, or anything, but you don't remember anything about alchemy, which makes you…sort of defenseless. And I don't know how we'd explain who you are."

"Well, to the latter…if your General Mustang is as powerful as he makes himself out to be, he'll figure something out. And as for the former…." Auric smiled wolfishly, an expression Al had seen on his brother's face before. It generally wasn't a good thing. "I'm still a Gatekeeper. We have our ways."

"Show me." Winry's eyes were torn between hope and suspicion.

"Certainly." And suddenly he wasn't there anymore. Winry jumped back, startled, only to bump into Auric, who had rematerialized behind her. "Hang on!" And he took hold of her shoulders lightly and she felt an odd feeling of being stretched and then she was looking at Al from across the room. She squeaked and Auric laughed behind her. "Sorry. It always feels that way. You get used to it if you do it often enough."

Al was wide-eyed. "Is that the teleportation you told me about? When you don't need a Gate?"

"Yeah. We can generally carry one other person with us. So you see, Winry, I'll be able to get Al out of any tight spots. And I promise to watch him very carefully."

"Why?" It was a sharp question that came from the entrance to the sitting room. Granny Pinako hobbled in and over to a surprised Auric. She tilted her head up to him and eyed him thoughtfully with bird-bright eyes. "You said yourself, you have no responsibilities here. And your Guild, what you've told us, doesn't seem to place much store in emotional ties. How can you, without memories?"

His mouth twisted, but he met her gaze steadily enough. "Fair point. But this isn't purely disinterested – I've always wanted to know about my past before I became a Gatekeeper. And it seems obvious part of my past is there, in the military. I'll be damned if I let those hidebound idiots keep myself from me. And you're wrong about the Guild…we do have emotional ties. To each other." He looked across at Al, and Al almost stopped breathing for a moment, because the look in Auric's eyes was just like the one Ed used to give him, that fiercely protective, reassuring I-will-hurt-anything-that-touches-my-brother glare that made him seem twice as tall. "I wasn't there to watch Alp, and he died. And I know why I couldn't be there, but that doesn't make it any easier. I will not lose him again. Does that answer your question?" He looked back down at the old lady.

She looked at him searchingly, then nodded, satisfied. Auric was startled when she abruptly reached up and pecked him on the cheek, a dry brushing of lips on skin. "Glad to see losing your memories hasn't warped your conscience, Edward. Well, I'll let you three finish the packing – you should get to bed soon if you're catching the first train, Al."

"Yes ma'am," murmured Al dazedly.

Auric stared after the formidable old lady, then shook himself mentally. "I won't have much to pack," he murmured wryly. "But Winry…might I trouble you for some help in sharpening and balancing a couple of things?"

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

With a smirk, he bent over and pulled two long daggers out of his knee-high boots. "These," and then there were the short blades concealed in his gauntlets, "and these too," and he headed over to his cloak hanging on a peg in the hallway and removed a handful of small metal stars, "mustn't forget those, and oh, oh, wait…" he bent over and pulled a little blade from the heel of his boot. "Yes, I think that's it." He gave her his best winning smile. "Self-defense, you know. They'll come in handy while I'm watching Al too."

Winry gaped. "You've had those on your person this whole time? With Winnie around? And you never said anything?" Auric's grin faded as she began to advance on him threateningly.

Al bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Auric…you should probably run now.


They left the house at what Auric thought was an ungodly hour. His bones were still aching from the aftereffects of the Gate that had started this whole mess. No long-term damage done though, or so he hoped. It had been a subdued goodbye to the women of the household, Al lingering over little Edwina and promising her in barely audible tones that he would come back. Given the history of fathers leaving in the Elric family as told to him by Al, Auric could appreciate the concern on Winry's face as she stretched her face up for a goodbye kiss. He was mildly surprised when she pulled him down to her and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Be careful, Auric. Watch Al. And watch yourself."

He smiled uncertaintly. "Who'd harm an innocent bystander?"

Winry's face had darkened and she'd tugged on his ponytail deliberately. "You're hardly unnoticeable, Auric. The legend of the Fullmetal Alchemist is still very much alive, and you…that is, Ed…well, you were never really the sort to worry about making enemies or remaining invisible."

"Good to know," Auric had replied flippantly. "It would have been terrible to realize I had been a wimp."

Now sitting at the train station, he was beginning to regret having said that. People seemed to be staring at him even though he was wrapped up in his green traveling cloak and he was starting to crave the anonymity he had had in his own world as a Gatekeeper. He huddled into its weather-beaten confines a little deeper and flipped his hood up. Al looked at him questioningly, and he indicated their watchers with a tilt of his head.

Al's face closed up and he nodded almost imperceptibly. Auric almost regretted letting the younger man in on his concerns, but he had to learn sometime or he really would wind up getting himself killed all too quickly in this pointless war. He could see the young man scanning the crowd with his peripheral vision. Another point to Al, he was a fast learner.

Finally Al leaned over. "I think they just find you attractive. There aren't that many good looking young men in town."

Auric began to give serious thought to teleporting the snickering young man into a wall.


Captain Hawkeye cast a considering eye over the wall clock. She had suggested sending a car to pick up Alphonse Elric at the station, but he had insisted that he could make his own way to Central Command. If he had made his train, he should be arriving shortly. She walked over to her CO's office and rapped smartly before poking her head in. "Sir? You asked me to give you a heads-up on Alphonse's ETA. Probably another fifteen minutes."

Mustang nodded distractedly. "Good. Show him in when he gets here." He was holding the photograph that normally sat on the corner of his desk, and an open drawer seemed to be its next resting place.

"Of course, sir." She closed the door silently behind her before letting the mask of bright efficiency drop from her face as she put a hand over her mouth for a moment. She knew very well who the subject of the photograph was. She had given it to him.

It had been the Valentine's Day of the year after Alphonse had returned and Edward had…had left. War or no war, love – or lust, as the case might be – was still in the air, and everyone in the office was making plans. Except for their CO. Which was very odd, given his reputation as a ladies' man. Even Havoc, who was normally concerned about Mustang stealing his intended's attentions, was getting worried. So she'd mentioned it to him. Casually. In passing. With the door firmly shut.

"Everyone's talking about it, sir."

"Would 'everyone' include you, Captain?" he had drawled, looking up from the report he was reading.

"No, sir. But sir…permission to speak freely?"

"Have you ever not?"

"No, sir. Sir…your subordinates are concerned about you. You've shut yourself up ever since the…incident with Fullmetal and his brother, and it's not healthy. We all miss Edward, sir, but you're letting it get to you and it could begin to impair your performance. You're under a lot of stress, sir, you need to learn to relax."

"Hawkeye," his voice had held a warning note, "you're starting to sound like my mother."

"Sir, yes, sir. Look sir…Roy…at least take yourself out to dinner and company once in a while and get your mind off things. There are plenty of lovely women out there who would be happy to have you escort them to dinner on Valentine's Day."

She had tried not to flinch under his dark gaze. "Captain…are you propositioning me?"

"Sir…." He had stood up and walked towards her then, steady, measured paces, circling her as she stood at attention in the middle of the carpet. She could feel the heat of his hand as he stood behind her and reached for the pins that held her hair up, gently tugging them out to let her fine blonde hair tumble down over her shoulders. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"You have very pretty hair, Captain," he said in a conversational tone of voice. "It becomes you." She crimsoned furiously, struggling to keep her face neutral and thankful that he couldn't see her face from his vantage point behind her. He continued to card his fingers through her hair. "He had beautiful hair too. Pure gold. Like his eyes."

She sucked in a mouthful of air as understanding came crashing down into the pit of her stomach. He stepped away, back to his desk where he seated himself with the languid grace that marked all his movements. "Please listen carefully, Captain, because I will only say this once. And this goes no further than this room."

"I am touched by everyone's concern. I genuinely appreciate it. And please assure Havoc that his harem of playmates is still not safe from myself. I am an adult, I do realize that certain needs need to be taken of, and my reputation, I trust, is evidence that I do so."

"But Valentine's Day is a day for lovers. I do not intend to cheapen the intent of the occasion with a fling whose name I will not remember come morning." His eyes were clouded now, although his expression never changed. "Nor will I make use of a friend, no matter how willing she may be, knowing that I cannot give her what she wants."

She had said the only thing that came to mind. "Edward is dead, sir."

"And I never told him. And what never had a beginning…cannot have an end, can it, Captain?" He had stood briskly then. "I'm going to get a fresh cup of coffee. I'll be back in five minutes. Would you mind filing those reports on my desk while I'm out?" And he had closed the door on her, letting her recover her dignity in the privacy of his office.

The next day, she had brought him the photograph. Colonel Hughes had taken it a couple of years ago while fooling around in the office with a new camera. In the picture, Edward Elric was smiling as he looked up from a book. He was seated on a window-sill of the library, and the wind was ruffling loose strands of hair that had escaped the confines of his heavy braid. Alphonse was likely standing next to Hughes at the time, because Edward's eyes held that soft, warm look reserved for those closest to him. The contrast of light and shadow on his face was striking, and Hughes had murmured, "One of the best pictures I've ever taken, outside of Alicia's photos, of course. Damn, but if you can't see the man peeking out from the child's face. He's going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up."

Of course, the truth of the matter would never be known since Edward Elric would never grow up now.

She had left it on her CO's desk later that night in a simple gold frame with a note. "Happy Valentine's Day."

The next time she saw it, it was sitting on the corner of his desk facing him. He had looked up at her and nodded, and she had inclined her head. No words were necessary between friends.

But it still hurt. A lot.