"Was it Alphonse?"

Edward's face, which had previously been content, drooped suddenly. He held a carefully neutral expression, but his complexion paled alarmingly, and his voice, when he answered, was so shaky Roy could hardly understand him. "N-no."

"Ed," Roy said, knowing from the boy's reaction that he was right—though he could scarcely believe it. "I know it was him. I can tell by how afraid you are, and the way he's acting weird around you…both times I've seen you after you talk to him you were almost or actually in tears."

"No!" Edward shrieked. "No, it wasn't him! I swear it wasn't Alphonse!" As he spoke, Ed's voice rose higher and higher, and he struggled to escape the blanket.

"Ed!" Roy held him down, which only terrified the blonde more. He thrashed about, crying now, hitting Roy's chest to try to escape.

"Calm down, Edward!"

"No, no, no, no! It wasn't him Roy, you can't say that, please!" he sobbed, his movements slowing, his denial turning to words alone.

"Look at yourself, Ed, you're hysterical! I know it was him…" Now, with Edward secured, Roy pulled him into his lap and held the frightened boy tightly as he continued to cry. "It's okay, Ed, it's over now—"

"You don't understand!" he shouted, smacking his forehead on Roy's shoulder. "It wasn't him, please just believe that, you have to!"

"Edward." Roy said, trying to stay calm. He had no idea why the boy wouldn't just admit it; yes it was horrible that his brother would do this to him, but to not tell him while safely away from any threat was…strange. "Why won't you admit it?"

"Because," Ed choked out, "you're wrong!"

"Then why are you so afraid of Alphonse?"

"I'm not!" he insisted.

Roy readjusted the blonde so that he was looking at him. "You told me, when we rescued you, that I was the only person you trusted anymore. I didn't understand why then, and I still don't now, but if you trust me then tell me, Ed."

This, at least, stopped the boy's denials. He sat in Roy's lap, shaking violently, tears still streaming down his face. Roy's words seemed to have affected Ed; eventually he spoke. "I can't Roy. I can't say it."

"Why?"

Edward shook his head.

"Please, Ed. I want to help," Roy whispered, hugging the boy tight. "You know, if you don't tell me, I can't have him arrested—there's no proof—but I will go after him myself. He deserves it after what he's done to you."

This brought on a whole new wave of struggling. "No!" Ed gasped. "No, no, you can't!"

Roy's eyes became hard, his voice harsh with impatience. "Yes, I can, Edward. In fact, I prefer that…getting to take care of the bastard who did this to you myself…"

To his surprise, the blonde grabbed his face, fear and desperation shining in his eyes. "Fine! You're right, okay? He—he sold me…my little brother sold me. He watched all those men rape me. Al never meant for me to be rescued. That's why you can't let him know that you know. If you do, he said he'd take me to that place again, or somewhere similar, and make sure it was worse this time." Edward's voice quavered as he spoke.

"Ed," Roy murmured, pulling the boy against him, surprised by the lack of resistance. It seemed he was too numbed by the bigger threat to be worried about something so small. "You know I won't let that happen. I told you, I'll protect you."

"No," Edward whispered back, voice muffled by Roy's shirt. "It's more than that. If he finds out I told anyone…he's going to do that to you, too—cut off your hands so you can't defend yourself and sell you."

Roy said nothing, shock spreading through him. Sure, he had been threatened before, but that was a new one. "Why," he said after a long pause, "would Alphonse bother coming after me?"

"Because he knows you're the only person I would trust in this situation."

"What if I wasn't?"

Ed still did not raise his head to answer. "Believe me. Al…he knows why I trust you, okay? And he knows I won't be trusting anyone else."

"I still don't understand," Roy confessed, stroking Edward's hair. "Why am I the one you chose to trust?"

The blonde shook his head, refusing to answer. "C'mon, tell me."

"You'll leave. And then I'll be alone."

"I wouldn't leave you like this, Ed. I'm not that terrible. I promise."

Edward raised his head, glancing at Roy, biting his lip against whatever secret he was holding in. "It's because I…love you." Ed ducked his head back down, apparently not wanting to see Roy's reaction.

"Oh, Ed…" It made sense now, why Edward had said that Roy was the only one he would trust—Roy was also probably the last person Ed could say he really loved, now that Al had betrayed him. And—what about Roy? How did he feel? While he pondered this, Roy posed a question: "Why does Alphonse know?"

Again, the blonde's voice was muted. "I told him way before I brought his body back and he sold me…"

Roy found himself smiling, not that the boy could see this. "So you've felt this way for a while…?"

A silent nod.

Roy considered his own emotions—the frantic searching for Edward while he was missing, the intense rage upon finding him broken in that hellhole, the sadness that welled up in his chest whenever Ed couldn't bring himself to smile anymore, the desperate desire to destroy the man who did this, even before he knew it was Alphonse…and most of all, the way that seeing Edward smile had seemed to put the whole world back in place again today.

"Well, Ed…I'm not going to pretend I know much about it, but…I think I love you too."

Roy grinned broadly as this confession had the boy's head snapping up to look at him, hope brightening his features. "Really?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie, am I?"

Edward threw his arms around Roy's neck, half-laughing, half-sobbing with relief. Roy was caught off guard but immensely pleased at this action—the first time Ed had initiated physical contact since being rescued.

Letting his arms fall around the blonde clinging to him, Roy spoke in Edward's ear. "It's alright. I won't let him hurt you again…which means I'll keep myself safe, too."

Edward nodded, not daring to speak, lest he break the stunning, absolute happiness that coursed through him.