I wouldn't call it an obsession, just a preoccupation. Besides, I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop thinking about Roy—what he was doing now, if he had gotten a good look at me (and if so, if he liked what he saw), if I would ever see him again…the man had a way of getting in my head.

Still, it probably wasn't a good idea to sleep in his jacket. That was probably going too far, but I never expected Hohenheim to see, to actually come to our room…

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

I sat up, hair whipping behind me with the speed. "Whatzit?" I looked around groggily, snapping into alertness when I saw Hohenheim in front of me instead of Al.

I looked down, eyes widening at the sight of Roy's blue coat covering my torso. Shit.

"What is that!?"

For once, I was at a loss for words; how was I supposed to get out of this one? I spotted Alphonse lurking in a corner. He shrugged helplessly.

"It's—" I decided to go with the truth. Hohenheim was perpetually pissed at me anyway; it wasn't like I had anything to lose. "—it's a jacket. A human jacket."

"And where," Hohenheim's voice was low and dangerous, and for the first time in my life I was actually afraid of the man, "did you get it, Edward?"

"Found it stuck on a coral reef?" I didn't mean for the statement to come out as a question.

"The truth!" Hohenheim thundered, making Al squeal.

At this point, I was getting angry myself. "Fine, then! I got it from a human on board the ship that sank a few days ago! He was drowning, and I saved him, but had to get his jacket off because it was so heavy. So I went and got it, from the reef."

Hohenheim was turning purple with rage. "HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!"

"Fuck you!" I shouted. The room turned silent as the grave. "You don't know anything!" I continued. "I love the surface; why do you have to try to keep me away from it? Humans aren't dangerous! He wasn't bad, he was just having fun on his ship! Was I supposed to let him drown?" I trailed off, "He was so beautiful…it would have been tragic to lose him…"

He didn't speak, merely raised his hand, hitting me hard in the chest. A glow filled the room; though I knew it was useless, I begged for him to stop, he couldn't do this—

The light faded. Roy's jacket was no more, decomposed into particles no bigger than dust.

"How could you!?" I wailed. My one memento of Roy, the best part of the human world I had seen so far, was gone.

"It's for the best, Edward. You must focus on your life, not go chasing after some human you can never have. You're a merman—remember that." With that he left.

My eyes burned with tears. How could he be so heartless?

Adrenaline rushed through me—I knew what to do. I swam out a window, Alphonse yelling for me to wait.

"Brother! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Dante," I declared, voice strong. "I'm going to become a human."

Alphonse tried to stop me up until the point when we reached the mouth of Dante's cave. Envy was standing there, and he laughed when he saw me. "I knew you'd come."

He led us down into the cave, Al now silent. He must have been afraid, and I realized it was cruel of me to bring him to the place where he lost his body, but then again, I didn't tell him to come with me.

"Edward Elric…it's been so long since I've seen you, and Alphonse too…" I shivered at the sound of the Sea Witch's voice before steeling myself. I had to do this.

"I need your help."

"Hmm, and what'll it be this time?" She swam out of the shadows. Dante looked worse, like she was growing old at a rapid pace.

"I-I need to become a human."

The homunculi came out of their shadows, curious about my request. I tried to ignore their stares. "Well, I can do that," Dante grinned. "But it will cost you an arm."

I gulped, trying not to think about the prospect. "Fine."

"May I ask why you want this?"

"I want to…meet a particular person."

"Oh!" Dante swam around behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "That's the one Envy told me about, the one you love…"

I didn't say anything, making the Sea Witch laugh. "Oh, excellent. I enjoy a good love story."

"And," I said, the thought just coming to me. "I want you to give Alphonse his body back."

"Oh, dear…that will come at such a price."

"What do I have to do?"

"Well, for starters, I'll need to take one of your legs once you become human. Beyond that…well, I think your servitude would be nice, but of course then I can't grant your first wish." Dante thought for a moment, a creepy grin forming on her face. "So, I'll just make your love life a little…difficult. You will have three days to get this human to kiss you. If you do not manage this, you will be mine for all eternity. And, just to spice things up…you will not be able to tell him about the world under the sea, nor will you be able to speak of you rescuing him. Do you accept these terms?"

My voice, I am proud to say, didn't even shake. I would take those odds. "I do."

"Well then…" Light flashed around me for the second time that day. In this instance, it hurt; I screamed, hearing all do the same behind me. Then, all of a sudden, I couldn't breathe; it felt like I was going to be crushed. I tried to swim, but a single arm and leg weren't helping me much.

"Oh, you do know humans can't breathe underwater, don't you, Ed?" Dante laughed maliciously. Of course, this was her plan all along; to never have me reach the surface.

Then I felt hands grab me, pulling me upward. A blue tail slapped against my side, and my eyes widened even as the edges of my vision grew black; it was Alphonse, back in his normal body, dragging me up through the ocean to the surface.

We just barely made it. On my first inhale, I got water, and I coughed, retching. That was horrible. The next breath was better, and so was the third. I splashed vaguely, trying to keep myself up; only with Al's help was I able to.

Admittedly, the first few minutes of being human were turning out to suck…but I was still excited.

"C'mon, Al. I think a visit to Winry is in order; I'll need a few limbs before I find Roy."