Riding in the back of Roy's car, hand in hand with Envy and followed by the rest of his adoptive father's team on the way to Mr. Nichols's house was…oddly calming. Yes, the atmosphere was tense and all business, but at the same time, this thing was almost over. Ed would be able to just be done with the anxiety and relax…and enjoy his time with Envy worry free, as he should have been able to do all along.

Even though he hadn't known for all that long what Mr. Nichols had been up to, realizing that the whole time he and Envy had been together, the man had been watching kind of put a damper on all their previous memories. Now they would be able to make new ones, and that thought was exciting.

Of course, they still had to get Mr. Nichols to confess, but Edward was choosing to not worry about that bit.

They swung into the man's driveway, Roy jerking the wheel violently and breaking hard enough to make Ed jerk forward against his seatbelt. He looked back at Edward and Envy, asking, "You coming?"

Envy looked to Ed for an answer; obviously, he was ready and raring to go. Honestly, if he still hadn't been limping from his bleacher-dive, Edward would have thought the other boy was planning on roughing their teacher up a bit. Actually…that was still possible.

And Ed himself? Well, on the one hand, the last thing he wanted to do was be anywhere near Mr. Nichols. But at the same time, he was naturally a curious person, and he was dying to understand the man's choice in photos, even if the answer turned out to be more disturbing than what they had originally suspected. That's just the way Edward was. He needed to know everything.

"Yeah," he answered, opening the car door and stepping out. Ed was followed quickly by Envy as he walked behind Roy up the front porch stairs.

Edward could only imagine that his over protective guardian wanted to bust in the door…but Roy, the perfect soldier, followed protocol and knocked, calling out, "Robert Nichols! Colonel Roy Mustang—open the door!"

Surprisingly, the door swung open almost immediately, Mr. Nichols having been waiting there. The man stood, strangely calm. "I was expecting you," he explained. "Come in."

Even Roy seemed taken aback by the invitation, and he followed Mr. Nichols cautiously. Ed was even more hesitant, gripping Envy's hand tightly in his own. What he was expecting, he couldn't say, but it wasn't natural for a pedophile to just let the military in with no fuss.

Followed by the rest of Roy's team, they made their way to the teacher's living room, an unexpectedly warm, cozy area. "Have a seat," Mr. Nichols offered, shaking his head sadly when no one did. "Please," he almost begged. "I know you're going to take me in, just—I want to explain."

Out of nowhere, Roy threw a punch, catching the other man squarely on the jaw and making him stagger. "I don't know if you're aware," he hissed, "but this is personal. You take photos of my kid, naked, and expect me to bother listening to your perverted explanation!?"

"Wait," Edward interrupted quietly, shocking everyone. "I want to hear what he has to say."

Rubbing his jaw, Mr. Nichols was silent, looking to Roy, waiting for permission to speak. Roy was positively seething, disgusting darkening his eyes, but after a long moment he spat, "Fine."

Mr. Nichols took a deep breath before looking straight at Ed. The man's gaze seemed to irritate Envy, who stepped halfway in between them, stating bluntly, "I think you've seen enough of him, yeah? Just spit it out."

Turning away, their teacher began. "I know it's wrong. That's the first and most important thing I have to say. I'm not kidding myself that what I've been doing is alright…but it's also not what you think."

The man sat down on his couch, bowing his head before continuing. "I'm an asexual. I haven't felt any sexual drive for as long as I can remember. I've never looked at anyone, male or female or neither, old or young, and wanted them. That's not why I have those photos. Have you really looked at them?"

"Yeah," Ed answered. "And I was wondering about that. Why you chose those moments to capture."

"It's not the sex."

"We figured that out," Envy interjected impatiently. "So what is it?"

"Happiness," Mr. Nichols answered simply. "My first year teaching this class, I didn't use the cameras. Why would I want to? I don't particularly care to watch my students having sex—it doesn't do anything for me in the slightest. My second year was the same…only that year, I had my first real couple. My first year, everyone had partners, but none became concrete. My second year, there was one pair, Alex and Raj. And they fell for each other hard. It was really…beautiful, seeing them walk out of that class, each day looking more and more excited to be together."

The man paused, nodding his head, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face as he remembered. "My third year, there were a few couples like this—I think it's because I was getting better at pairing people up. And nothing was more satisfying than watching them fall in love. I became…curious. I've always said that sex between people who are connected means more, and it became an obsession of mine, thinking of how happy they must look when they were together. It got to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to see. So I turned on the cameras, rerouted them to my own TV."

Standing with his arms folded tight, Roy made a low, disapproving sound in the back of his throat that made Mr. Nichols look up. "I knew it was wrong," he repeated, "but I had to know. Again, it wasn't for the sex, it was just…I wanted to see them happy. And it was wonderful, the expressions they always had afterwards, so much more meaningful than the acts themselves. I couldn't stop. I've been picking out the couples who actually mean something to each other ever since, because seeing such strong attachment in these kids…it's wonderful."

Edward was silent, unsure of how to take this. It made him feel slightly better, knowing that the man hadn't been jerking off to photos of him and Envy, but still…it couldn't be ignored that he had been watched.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Nichols finished, once again looking at Ed. "Truly, I am. I never meant any harm. All honestly wanted was to see you and Envy together."

No one moved for a long moment, until Roy stepped forward, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. "Whatever the intention, watching the kids…it's illegal, but it's also sick. If that's all, it's time for you to come with us."

Nodding, the teacher stood up, offering his hands. "I'm not going to fight you on that."

Roy cuffed the man, perhaps tighter than absolutely necessary, before handing him off to his team. "Take that one to Headquarters. I've got to take these two home, then I'll join you."

Following behind, Ed sighed. "What?" Envy asked quietly, concerned.

"Nothing, really. It's just…I almost wish he had just been a regular pervert."

"Why?"

"Because," Edward explained, "that way it would be more cut and dry. He's a sick bastard, we were used unknowingly, he goes to jail. But this way…I don't like what he did. It's terrifying and I can't stand the thought of being exposed like that to someone…well, anyone who isn't you. Anyone I don't care about like that. But he wasn't trying to do anything wrong. It makes it harder to just call him evil and go home."

"I guess," Envy replied, doubtfully. It made Ed laugh, though the situation was anything but funny.

"I know, I sound crazy. And I really am glad he's going to be gone, so I can be comfortable walking into that gym again. But at the same time…" Edward paused, looking up at the sky before he ducked into Roy's car. "He was just fighting for love. He was doing it in all the wrong ways, but still, if he was on the side of something so good, he can't be all bad."