Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Not making any money from this. Love the idea of Ed and Roy. Please leave me a review if you like the story.

Author's Note:

I did say it would eventually be RoyEd. This is part of eventually. I just find the nuances of their relationship interesting, and I'm indulging myself because…well, just because I can since this is my fic. And I'm stressed. And when I'm stressed, I write stuff that makes me feel less stressed. This is by way of saying that this chapter might seem somewhat tangential, so please don't write to tell me that; it only annoys me and irritates Auric. Tangents…circles…. Humour me; I needed a RoyEd fix. We're back on track next chapter. And there'll be bits of this that come back again later anyway. Brownie points for anyone who can point out RoyEd allusions to previous chapters. And…I'm going to stop babbling now and find some coffee.

In re: interrogations and assassinations. Patience is a virtue. That's all I'm gonna say. Consider it payback for all the oh-my-god -you-killed-Ed grief I got back in Chapter 18.


Chapter 31: No More Secrets

The watery moonlight streaming in the window gave everything a mysterious, silvery cast, lending a fragile, ethereal mystery to the objects in the room. It skated luminously over the two bodies lying tangled amidst twisted sheets on the bed, one of which was peacefully slumbering, an arm possessively thrown over its companion. The other, however, was not.

Edward Elric lay wide awake, staring at the patterns the moonlight was drawing on the ceiling. It was always odd to wake up in unfamiliar surroundings, although given his iterant lifestyle, that was more the rule than the exception, he thought wryly. The shadows that stretched about the room were different, the texture of the linens against bare skin, the sounds of the night, one of which was currently rumbling softly in his ear. As if reading his thoughts, Roy shifted slightly, pulling Ed closer to him as he nosed aside the matted fall of golden hair and dropped a gentle kiss on Ed's nape, and the blonde smiled an unseen smile in the darkness. He thought that he could get used to this, given the chance. "Sleep, old man. You'll need it for tomorrow…or today, really, given that it's about two in the morning. You'll be up well past your bedtime tonight, if I know balls."

A sleepy purr. "Mmm…do you promise?"

"Mind out of the gutter, pervert," whispered Ed, stifling a laugh. "Besides, who says I'm coming home with you tonight? They say the crème de la crème of society will be there tonight, and I have it on the authority of at least five newspapers that I'm considered quite a catch."

He felt, rather than heard, a jealous growl into his hair, a low rumble that ran quicksilver fingers up and down his spine. "Then we're not getting out of this bed."

"I don't think Hawkeye would agree to that. Can't have the guest of honour missing from his own party, can we now?" Ed pushed against Roy's encircling arm pointedly. "I, for one, do not want to be on the receiving end of a bullet from her gun."

"Don't care," came a peevish mutter. "Not losin' you again," and the grip tightened determinedly. "'sides…she's got other things to worry about. Like introducin' Jean to her father."

Ed wriggled around to face Roy, tucking an arm under his head. "Why, do you think he won't approve of Havoc? He's a good guy, you know, and, come to think of it, handsome in a rakish sort of way, faithful as a dog…." He watched in amusement as Roy's eyes snapped open, although in the man's groggy state, his eyes remained seductively half-lidded even as his gaze sharpened and his mouth opened to deliver a snide retort, which Ed deftly cut off by throwing a leg over the man's hip as he purred, "Good thing I'm a cat person myself, hmm?"

"Ed…." You'll be gone when I wake up. Can't deal with that again.

"Stop worrying, bastard," and an affectionate smile tugged at the corners of Ed's mouth. No, I won't. Who knew the prideful Flame Alchemist could be this insecure once you got his guard down? Although it was an incredibly gratifying attitude to be the object of. "You asked, I chose. You're stuck with me now, so get over it. Besides, we promised we'd come home when it was all over, remember? And a Gatekeeper always keeps his word." He nestled a little closer, enjoying the contrast between the warmth of Roy's body and the coolness of the night air against his skin, running his fingers lightly down the man's flank and purring in satisfaction as he felt the tension slowly ebbing from Roy's body.

"I remember." A rich laugh, warm and content, and heard all too infrequently. Although there was still the faintest hint of a damnable doubt, a fear that all this might be taken away again. That was going to change, even if Ed had to beat it into the man's thick skull, although he was quite confident in his ability to convince Roy without needing to resort to violence. A feline grin crept onto the blonde's face as he began to contemplate the arsenal of persuasive techniques he had at his fingertips.

Roy glanced suspiciously down at the young man curled around him, and caught the tail end of a mischievous smirk that dissolved into a look of pure innocence as soon as Ed realized he was being watched. The blonde alchemist pillowed his head on Roy's shoulder, and the older man had to fight off a grin at the way his personal space was being unconcernedly invaded. Despite the young man's earlier hesitance, once Edward Elric had made his mind up about something, he was nothing if not decided. Move forward, never back. And if last night was anything to go by, Auric had had some very…varied experiences over the last four years. Ed blinked up at him, his face so close that Roy could feel long lashes brush against his cheek. "So. Why would you think Hawkeye would be worried about Jean meeting her father?"

A rueful smile tugged at the corners of Roy's mouth as he thought about his faithful aide-de-camp. "Didn't you know? Hawkeye's family is low nobility – her father is a Baron; he and his wife will be in attendance tomorrow. I've met him before, at a military function many years ago - he can be…cantankerous and he will not take kindly to the news that his daughter is being courted by a country-boy, charming through Jean can be."

"There's nothing wrong with being from the country," Ed said defensively. While Auric had been, as most Gatekeepers were, urbane and at home in both fine and rustic environs, Ed still much preferred the simplicity of the country, although having Auric's experiences to lean on would certainly help with tomorrow's – no wait, make that today's - diplomatic festivities. Especially with the dancing.

"Of course there isn't," drawled Roy. "If anything, ordinary people from the countryside are often a good deal more decent than the so-called sophisticates of the cities. But the Baron is unlikely to see it that way. He was against Riza joining the military in the first place – he had hoped for her to make a good match early on, preferably with a highborn family in order to elevate their standing." His mouth twisted as if he'd just bitten into a sour apple. "One has to question the intelligence of a man who believes that the circumstances of your birth are more important that what you do after it."

"Where were you born?" asked Ed curiously. There had been a curious hint of bitterness in the man's tone that suggested some personal enmity towards the Baron – or perhaps towards the nobility in general, which was strange since Ed had always assumed, from Mustang's manners and carriage, that the man was in some way related to the nobility. But the man never talked about his family, and fair was fair, after all – Roy knew everything about the Elrics. "And what about your family? Are they going to be in attendance too?" The blonde alchemist realized, belatedly, that his curious question had come out a little too sharply, and he tried to soften the thrust with an apologetic snuggle. "You're going to be Fuhrer tomorrow, after all. It's a pretty big deal."

Roy let out an abrupt bark of harsh laughter. "My rise to Fuhrer is as the bitter taste of ashes in my father's mouth. It is a form of revenge upon him."

Ed frowned. "I don't understand."

"Edward…my father was not married to my mother." A simple statement of fact. Ed blinked. He had to have heard wrong.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said…."

"I did." Still in that perfectly neutral tone of voice.

The blonde alchemist considered this new piece of information. He recognized the hidden tension in Roy's voice for what it was – fear. Of pity, of rejection, although why the man would even think that given Ed's own dubious family history was beyond the younger man. "Oh."

A raised eyebrow and a sidelong glance. "Oh?"

"Oh," Ed repeated more firmly. "You know, an expression of acknowledgement?" The other brow went up, and Ed sighed. "What, you expected sympathy? Who cares if they were married or not? I'm not even sure mine were. But mama was still mama, and while he was around, that asshole was papa. A signed piece of paper changes nothing. It's not like a child gets to choose its parents, you know."

"At least yours gave you his name." Roy's mouth was a thin line as he relived what had to be a very old hurt.

"What was his name?"

Roy snorted. "Ironically enough, Maximillian St. Just."

"And you're depressed about it?" Ed shuddered theatrically. "Roy St. Just. Colonel St. Just. Terrible. Believe you me, I would never have gone to Central to find you if that had been the name on your calling card. It screams inbreeding and snobbery, and you're doing just fine on the latter on your own!" He paused and added snidely, "No pun intended, of course."

"Of course," Roy agreed dryly, although he seemed to be relaxing as he absorbed the matter-of-fact way that Ed was taking in the revelation, which had been the effect the younger man was striving for. He swallowed the guilt he was feeling over all the times he'd called the man a bastard to his face; the last thing Roy needed now was a lame apology, or worse still, pity.

"So…what did you mean when you said that becoming Fuhrer was a form of revenge on him?"

The Flame Alchemist shrugged noncommittally. "It's a long story."

Ed sighed. Tight-lipped idiot. "I'm not going anywhere, Roy. Trust me. Now talk or I'll beat it out of you," and that last earned him a surprised laugh, as he had hoped. "You're just lucky I don't have automail anymore. But I can still kick your ass in any Battle Assessment, so don't push it."

"Indeed," his lover observed wryly. "Well, then." He hesitated, as if casting about for a starting point, then sighed and wrapped an arm more firmly around Ed.

"My father – if he deserves the term – is a member of the high nobility. Grand Duke Maximillian St. Just. My mother was a maid in his household. She was herself, illegitimate – the product of a lowly Amestrian soldier and a woman of Xing," and at that Ed's eyes flicked up to Roy's dark hair and received a nod. Well, that explained the exotic looks. "But her father did leave her a name – Harriet Mustang. Despite her humble beginnings, she was a hard worker and a pretty enough little thing that she was able to obtain a position at my father's manse in the country. A pretty face can do more harm than good under circumstances like those, and soon enough I was born. To do him justice," and Roy's tone suggested he would really rather not, "he did allow my mother to name and keep me, and he did keep her on as a maid, which meant I grew up in the servants' quarters, which were quite extensive, as one would expect of the seat of a Grand Duke."

"Is it still standing?"

"Sadly, yes, according to the latest damage reports. For all intents and purposes though, it's in a state to be condemned. And as the Grand Duke is land-rich but cash-poor, I very much doubt he will have the financial resources to have its repair seen to." Roy shrugged. "Anyhow, when I was old enough to be in school, my father thought it would be a charity to allow his bastard son to accompany his two legitimate heirs in their classes. I was essentially their whipping boy, beaten if the other two fell behind in their lessons or were unruly." A mirthless smile. "Not all my scars are from the military."

Ed stared in horror. He'd heard that the rich did that, but he'd never quite believed that a practice so cruel still existed – not to mention, he was having difficulty envisioning the Flame Alchemist as anyone's whipping boy. The flat look in Roy's eyes said it all, however. "That's…that's just…." Barbarous, his mind whispered furiously. If he ever got his hands on Maximillian St. Just….

"Indeed," and it was Roy holding him close, comforting him. "It was…unpleasant. But it did mean I was given access to deportment classes, taught to ride, to dance, to use the right silverware – and most importantly, allowed to learn. And I was an outstanding student. Even the tutor admitted as much. It was he who first introduced me to alchemy when he realized my potential – he was a very talented alchemist."

The odd note in Roy's voice made Ed frown. "What was his name?"

Roy laced his fingers through Ed's as if needing reassurance – or perhaps, Ed suddenly realized, to reassure. "Hohenheim Elric."

Ed froze. So that was how Mustang had known his father – and why he had come to Risembool in search of him after receiving Ed and Al's letters asking for information on their father. Numbly, "Oh." He seemed to be saying that a lot of late. "Oh. Um. Small world, I guess. That must have been before he met mama and had us."

"Given that I was about eight or nine at the time, yes," Roy murmured. He hesitated a moment, then added, "Ed, I know you hate him, but…he was my first teacher. And he did set me on the path to learning, for which I was immensely grateful under the circumstances."

"Don't. Just don't." Ed took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not a child anymore. I'm never going to forgive him for leaving us, and for what he did to mama. But I can remember a time when we were a family, and we were happy. He would carry me on his shoulders…" and he had to stop, because his throat was hurting, and he cursed himself for being a maudlin fool. Roy waited patiently, not saying anything, and Ed leaned gratefully into his chest, waiting for the wave of mixed emotions to pass. "But if you hadn't known him, you would never have come to find us…and I would never have gotten Al's body back…and we wouldn't be here." He nuzzled into the crook of Roy's neck, breathing in the clean scent of the man before tilting his head up to press a kiss to the corner of Roy's jaw. "So while I can't forgive him…I am glad that you met him. Although," and Ed's glare was now one of mock disgust, "I had better not be some kind of sick replacement for him in your affections."

Roy smiled and claimed a quick kiss. "You are no one's replacement, Edward Elric. You're too unique to be anyone but yourself."

"Damned straight," Ed snorted grumpily. "Go on. But skip the bits with him in it."

"It was obvious that I was outpacing my half-brothers at their lessons, and that annoyed my older half-brother, Neville, intensely - he eventually had my father fire Hohenheim and ban me from lessons with the new tutor. Pandora's Box had been opened, however, and I would steal books from the library to read, especially on Alchemy. My younger half-brother, Reginald, was my ally in this. I don't know how my father was able to produce two such different sons, but where Neville was a small-minded, beetle-browed idiot, Reggie was kind, and sweet, and honourable. Very much like Alphonse, actually."

"I hope that doesn't make me Neville," Ed essayed, and was rewarded with a very small smile, the sort Roy reserved for unguarded moments of affection.

"To make a long story short, as soon as I was able, I ran away. Reggie gave me all the money he had on him, which tided me over until I joined up; the military paid for the rest of my schooling as soon as they realized how…useful…my particular brand of alchemy could be to them. My mother lived long enough to see me commissioned – she was so proud," and Roy's voice had grown wistful as he looked into a past Ed could not see. "She knew that I had bought my freedom from the St. Justs. Despite their position, the family has never been heavily involved in the military and politics, you see – as a State Alchemist and commissioned officer, I was – and am – untouchable by them."

Ed nodded thoughtfully. That did explain a great deal: why Roy had joined up so young, his languid mannerisms and ease in society, his respect for the bond between the Elric brothers, his aloofness and general avoidance of deep intimacy – well, until the day a certain blonde, brash alchemist had stomped into his house and heart. "Do you still keep in touch with Reggie?" It sounded as though Roy had had at least one decent relative, and he couldn't even begin to imagine not keeping in touch with Alphonse. And then the rest of his brain caught up with him.

"You have a younger brother?"

"Had."

"Oh…" Ed looked up at Roy, who was staring straight ahead, jaw set, eyes wide and unseeing.

"You would have liked him," Roy said finally, almost conversationally. "He was a scholar of sorts, as well, not alchemy, but medicine. When the Ishbal Rebellion began, he volunteered to go to the front to help – my father was furious at the thought of one of his sons sullying his hands in that manner, but Reggie always got his own way in that quiet, stubborn fashion of his. I'd managed to stay in touch intermittently, although I suspect our father had many of my letters to him intercepted and burned. But Reggie knew I was a State Alchemist, knew I was being sent there, and got himself assigned to my unit. And for a time, we were as happy as one can be in the middle of a war, because we had each other," and Ed nodded at that, understanding. "And then…the incident with the Rockbells…."

Winry's parents. They had been doctors. Reggie had been a doctor. "No…" Ed breathed.

"When I got back to my unit, I tried to find him…to tell him…I don't know, Ed, maybe I wanted him to absolve me in some warped way," Roy was shaking now, his grip on Ed almost painful, but the young man didn't flinch, squeezing back, letting Roy know that he was still there, that he wasn't running away from any of this, damn it. "But he…when I got back…they told me…he told me, that bastard Basque Grand, said it had been orders. Said Reggie was guilty of treason and deserved to die like all the rest of them…."

"They murdered him too," Ed choked.

There were no tears in Roy's eyes, as though he'd already shed them all, leaving behind nothing but a memory of pain. "At first I thought it was my fault. That someone was punishing me for having sinned – that it was my fault he'd died. An equivalent exchange. I almost tried human transmutation to bring him back, you know."

"What stopped you?" Ed could barely get the words out past the lump in his throat.

"Maes. He found me ready to do something stupid, hit me, yelled at me, pointed out that Reggie would never have countenanced such a thing. He was right, of course," and Roy managed a faint smile. "I came to see it his way, after he knocked me out with the butt of his gun and left me to sleep it off. And after that I realized what I had to do to stop any of it from happening again."

"Become Fuhrer."

"Yes." A cold, hard assertion, almost defensive.

Ed looked pensively at his lover. He could feel Roy tensing up again and withdrawing, trying to put up a wall between them as though he feared what Ed might say. The blonde alchemist frowned at that, then leaned over and kissed Roy chastely on the forehead. "Love you."

Roy's brows lifted in surprise as he rolled over onto his side to face Ed. "What?"

Ed shrugged. "You needed to hear that. Didn't you?"

The barest of hesitations. "Not unless you meant it."

"Paranoid bastard," but there was no sting in Ed's gruff tones. "Quit fishing. I hate repeating myself." He turned his back on Roy and spooned up to him, reaching for the man's arm and tugging it forward and around himself, allowing actions to speak where words could not. "So…what about the rest of your family? Should I be worried about having to meet them? Most of society will be at the ball tonight after all."

Roy decided he should stop looking a gift horse in the mouth and wrapped himself a little more securely around Ed, eliciting a contented purr. "Neville died in an unfortunate accident some years back. Choked on a meatball at a particularly boring soiree," and he could feel Ed's snort of amusement in his chest. "My father will be there, yes, but as he's never officially acknowledged me, I feel obligated to repay the courtesy."

"Wait – Neville's dead? Doesn't that make you…."

"The laws of Amestris state that only legitimate children may inherit, Edward," Roy said calmly. "I have no need for his money, but that's neither here nor there – I would not be permitted to inherit, in any case. Which means that as he is now heirless, his estate will revert to the state upon his death, to be administered by the military. Which would be me. All of society knows of our relationship. It is the ultimate humiliation for him, that his own bastard son should wind up master of his estate nonetheless."

Ed half-turned in Roy's embrace, just enough to see the curl of the man's lips as he smiled lazily, like a cat that had gotten into the cream. "Remind me not to get on your bad side. You take revenge being best served cold to a whole new level."

"There are other things I prefer hot."

"Not going there."

"Think you already did."

"Pervert." A half-amused grumble.

"Prude." A mocking taunt.

"Is that a challenge, old man?"

"Afraid of a rematch, youngling?"

"Who are you calling…" Ed began to growl as he pushed himself up from the bed, then broke off as Roy dissolved into laughter. He huffed disgruntledly. "Bastard." But his glare softened as Roy continued to laugh helplessly, the dark-haired alchemist reaching a long arm up to pull him back down. "Stop laughing, damn it."

With great effort, the Flame Alchemist muffled his remaining chuckles as he buried his face in Ed's nape. The blonde could feel Roy's lips twitching as he pointedly ignored the man. "Well," Roy managed to gasp out finally. "Now that I've bared all my secrets, I think I'm due a little equivalent exchange. We never did finish going over the details of your interrogation of Hendricks."

Ed blinked in disbelief as he sat up again and pushed the man away to look at him. Roy's bantering tone had not changed, but the look in his eyes said he was serious. "Now? It's three in the morning, in case you hadn't noticed."

"We're both awake - no time like the present. Unless you've got something to hide…Gatekeeper?" and it was as though the past few hours had fallen away and they were standing in the middle of the street again, two strangers to each other staring across a great divide, one at the love he thought he had lost, the other at the love he did not know. Their gazes met and warred for dominance in a silent battle that ended when they both looked away simultaneously.

Ed finally broke the silence. "Everyone has something to hide."

"Not us. Not here. Not with each other," and the abrupt rawness of Roy's insistence rubbed painfully against Ed's conscience like sandpaper. Trust me. As I trust you. With all that I am. There was no other answer, really, and he could see that Roy knew it too.

The Gatekeeper drew his legs up gracefully beneath him and sat up a little straighter, the angle of the moonlight playing across his face leaving it half in shadow. "Just remember that this was your choice, Flame Alchemist."

Roy's eyes were dark, yet strangely luminous. "Would you have it any other way?"

And Ed threw his head back and laughed for the joy of having someone willing to choose to know you, all that you were and all that you would be, the good and the bad.