The door to the guest room burst open and Ed glared. Soubi had told him that Roy would have no choice but to listen as long as he framed his statements around the word 'order.' So why was the bastard barging in now? But, it wasn't Roy. The black-haired boy, Ritsuka, stood in the doorway, glaring at Ed with a fierceness that would rival a homunculus. Ed glared right back.

"You can't do that!" Ritsuka said firmly, slamming the door behind him. The black tail that emerged form the boy's jeans twitched back and forth, agitated. "It's despicable."

"Do what?" Ed demanded back. His ears flattened to his head. "That bastard Colonel has ordered me around since day one. I wanted one thing from him and that was my brother. I hope he's as miserable as I am."

"He will be," Ritsuka shouted in response. "He can't do anything but follow your orders. You can't do that to your fighter. It's cruel. You're bonded stronger than Soubi and I. Your Sentouki can't say 'no' and he can't follow your order."

"I don't care," Ed said and he looked down. "My brother… my brother - "

"Your brother isn't here," Ritsuka said. "I hate that you take advantage of the people around you. You give him an impossible task and say that he can't be by your side. That's all he wants now. He's different here and you can't do that. It hurts him to not be able to be near you or see you. He'll follow you everywhere now; he'll hide so that you can't see him, but he'll follow you and it will hurt him. Go take the order back!"

Ed was completely out of his depth. He looked over at Ritsuka and had to admit that he had no idea what this boy was about: none at all. One minute he was hiding behind his Sentouki like a frightened child, and the next minute he was telling him, Ed, what to do? That he needed to be considerate of Mustang's feelings? Mustang, of all people? The same Roy Mustang who felt no qualms about ordering him around like a dog? The same Roy Mustang who was responsible for him losing his brother yet again? Fuck you, no way.

"Look. I don't think you understand what's going on, here. Mustang and I aren't kissy-face, star-crossed lovers like you and your weirdo friend, kay? We're just two fucking random alchemists who got sucked into this world by accident. I got the information from the Gate about how the system works. One person is the Fighter, the other the Sacrifice, and Mustang has to do what I say for a change. So? I want him to fucking find Al. It's his fault Al isn't with me now. We need to find him and help him, before it's too late. It's… he's my little brother, he…" Ed faltered. He had lost his momentum all of a sudden. Where was Al?

"Soubi and I aren't lovers!" Ritsuka's face was red. "It's you who doesn't understand. You don't understand anything. It's not about 'the system' like it's something you can read in a book! You are bound together now! He needs you. You're hurting him."

"What if I don't care?" Ed spat back.

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Fuck him. I'm sick to death of him!"

"You're just angry because he witnessed you in your vulnerability."

Ed covered his face with his hands in a gesture of frustration. What the fuck with this kid? Next thing you know, he'll be quoting random German philosophers at me.

"Alright, alright… What do you suggest I do, then? Besides kiss and make up with Roy, I mean. …about Al, and everything."

"You aren't going to be able to help your brother unless you and your Sentouki find a way to get along amicably. No more wrestling and screaming at each other. You must give him orders, and they must be things that he can reasonably be expected to carry out."

Hell of a lot more than Mustang ever fucking did for me, Ed thought, but he kept his mouth shut, for once.

"Like I was saying, he has a physical need to be near you, to see you, to hear you and to touch you. By denying him and pushing him away, you are only weakening your bond, your fighting abilities, and ultimately, yourself," Ritsuka explained.

"Sounds like you speak from experience. Let me guess. Everything wasn't always this charming in kissy-face land?" Ed made a face.

Ritsuka sighed. "Look, do you want us to help you or not?"

"I don't know what the hell I want. I'm still exhausted, even though I slept for hours. I don't want to be here. I don't want to deal with this. Roy. Your world. Any of it."

"Go to him. Just go to him. It will be better if you do. Trust me."

It was Ed's turn to sigh. He followed Ritsuka out of the room, down the hall to where Roy was sleeping. The door was ajar. He could see him in there, spread eagled on the chair, completely wiped out. Damn him. Why do I suddenly feel the need to be closer to him, even though I hate him?

Ed closed the door, and he and Roy were alone in the darkness. He carefully climbed into Roy's lap, which, unbeknownst to him, had only recently been vacated. Laying his head on his Colonel-turned-Fighter's chest, he thought about what a strange world they had been transported into, and whether all these events were just random, or if they had some metaphysical significance that Ed couldn't begin to understand. Aw, screw it, he thought, I'm starting to sound like that kid. He closed his eyes. In his sleep, Roy smiled.

Roy woke to find that the pain in his chest was gone. He could hear words being mumbled against his ear and he stretched slightly. Surprisingly, he didn't feel achy after sleeping i that chair all night long. Something warm surrounded him and made everything seem alright. Wrapping his arms around the warm thing in his lap, Roy sighed and made a happy, lazy noise against a yellow cat-ear. Somewhere, outside the window maybe, birds were singing and the sun splashed across Roy's skin in a perfect way that made him want to fall back asleep.

That mumbling happened again and Roy finally cracked one eye open. "Don't make me order you awake," Ed sighed against Mustang's temple. The boy smirked as two dark eyes opened to slits.

"I didn't know where to start," Roy said after a moment, staring at the kid. He felt comfortable with Ed on top of him like this. It felt right and he tightened his grip on his Sacrifice. "I was going to try, but I couldn't." Roy wanted to explain how that sick need for Ed had enveloped him, left him standing still and useless. He didn't like it, but he loved it. That made no sense.

"It's alright," Ed snorted. "I take it back. I don't order you to find Al anymore. I don't order you to leave. You can stay by me."

Roy couldn't have been anymore relaxed. He felt something warm sweep across his body and sighed into it. It felt good to just breathe. Having Ed near him, touching him and just being with him was all that he could remember ever wanting. The feeling of contentment nearly overpowered him and he squirmed in the chair.

Ed looked up at him then. One cat-ear twitched and Edward smiled. "You've never been very good, though, at working, have you?" Ed slid from his lap then and stretched, looking down at him. "You always seem to avoid it."

Shrugging, Roy nodded. He stroked Ed's face and ran his hands down to the boy's hips. One hand traced over Ed's lower back, touching the tail and stroking lower. Ed gave Roy an annoyed look and moved his hands. "Sure," Roy finally responded. "I'm not… as dedicated - "

"You're nowhere near as dedicated as me," Ed said. "I'm going to change that, I think."

Watching with an uncomprehending look on his features, Roy stayed on the chair. Ed hadn't said he needed to move and he felt perfectly fine sitting. The boy was manipulating the situation and that frustrated the Colonel. Ed twisted his gold hair out of its usual braid. It had come undone and tangled sometime overnight. Watching, Roy could see Ed redo the braid and then tie it firmly when he was finished.

"Colonel," Ed said after a moment. "You don't think you've done anything wrong, but you have. You've wronged me and Al and I hate you for it." The boy paused, a hand on his hip and continued. "I won't give you impossible orders, since they hurt you. I won't hurt you. I won't push you away.

"However, I will bring my brother from the Gate. I will find him and you're going to help me, whether you want to or not. Ritsuka says you're programmed to follow my orders, to crave them. I'll take that. I'll take whatever I can from you and if I have to use you, I will. If it makes you happy, fine. If it doesn't, tough." Ed twisted on his foot and stepped to the side slightly.

"There's a library here," Edward said, his face twisting into a fierce smile. The boy looked confident and whispered, "I order you to read every spell-book there, from dawn to dusk. I order you to learn to fight for me. I order you to learn to use the Sentou System for me. I don't want to see your face until you've carried out those orders, Colonel. And, remember, you don't rest until night falls."

Roy felt warmth around him suddenly and smiled fondly at Edward. The boy needed him and wanted Roy to be his Sentouki. Mustang had never liked following orders and a part of him rebelled fiercely against it, but another, deeper part told him that this was how things should be. He nodded numbly and felt the urge to follow the order wash over him.

"If we can make it to this world from the Gate," Ed said solemnly, "we can make it to the Gate from this world. I'm sorry. I know you won't like this. I know you'll learn to hate me for this, even if you can't express it because you have to love me, but I need him back and if I have to use you to get him back, I will."

Edward stepped further aside and the Colonel felt himself moving methodically to the door. This was a task that Roy had no usual desire to partake in, but here he was, opening the door to Soubi's study and reaching upward. A book was selected and Roy sat down and began to read.

It rained that night. Roy stepped out of the house the moment darkness fell. His fingers ached and his eyes hurt. He'd strained them with too much reading and his head hurt. The rain drenched him from head to toe in an instant and he started to run. He found the field where they'd come through the gate in a moment and slumped there, falling in the mud.

Roy pounded on the ground once and closed his eyes. They were still wounded from his earlier fighting, though the Gate travel had somehow healed the worst of his wounds. The darkness was soothing. Rain burned its way down his skin and Roy pounded the ground again.

"Open up," he screamed at the earth. "Open up!" Roy touched the array on his hand and put power into it. Something happened but he couldn't quite be sure what. He hit the ground again, kneeling with his face in the mud. Water dripped from the trees and the lamppost around him and he screamed at it.

"I don't want this!" he yelled.

Suddenly, it wasn't raining on him anymore and Roy started, lifting his head. It was still raining, he could hear it, but it wasn't raining on him. "An umbrella," Soubi said from above him and Roy felt a hand touch his shoulder. "I'm next to you."

Soubi knelt, crouching slightly and Roy felt a coat being wrapped around his shoulders. What good would that do? Soubi pulled at him and he shook the man off. "Leave me alone," Roy hissed, teeth chattering slightly.

There was an amused chuckle above him. "For a man with an affinity for fire, you have an odd taste, running away to pound on water." Soubi paused then. Roy could hear the man's lighter click as he lit up and suddenly, under the umbrella; the smell of smoke was heavy. Roy still didn't move. "You ignored Ritsuka when he came into the study," Soubi said. "Ritsuka talked to you for hours. He was worried about you. He tried to get you to eat."

Roy heard Soubi take another drag from the cigarette. "Edward has a lot of power over you," Soubi said after a moment. "He is passionate about his orders. It makes them stronger."

"Stop talking," Roy said.

"You said you didn't want this," Soubi continued, ignoring Roy's demand. Roy rubbed his temple. "Why?"

"I don't want to fight for him," Roy said. Soubi almost dropped his cigarette at that and Roy heard him resettle himself. "I don't agree with… He sacrifices too much of himself for one person. I don't… you can't sacrifice everything around you just for one person."

"Wouldn't you?" Soubi asked. "If someone you loved needed it?"

"There's a limit," Roy said firmly. "There's a difference between protecting the people you love and destroying yourself for someone. If you destroy yourself for someone, when you have their loyalty, you can't protect them. You have to be strong, you have to…" Roy stopped for a moment. "You have to protect those loyal to you. You can't sacrifice yourself. You have to know that people need you."

"Edward takes a different way," Soubi said. "He's young. He doesn't understand. You both want similar things, I think. Protecting people is important. There are many ways to do it. It's difficult, I think, to care for the people we love."

The statement humbled Roy and he paused. Hadn't he wanted the same thing with Hughes, a miracle resurrection? Ed, though, didn't understand when to stop. Ed didn't understand where to draw the line and grieve. Ed never gave up, even though there had been people, right there in that world, that Ed should have been able to live for. How far did passion go?

"I don't want to be his Sentouki," Roy said. "I can't handle him taking care of me. I-"

"-don't like obeying him," Soubi finished. Roy seemed surprised and stared at the ground for a moment. "Giving up control is hard. Submitting to the will of another, accepting that doing that can bring joy, these are hard things to understand and accept. It would be so much easier to help him on your own terms, wouldn't it?"

"Yes."

"You can learn to accept it," Soubi said, lifting Roy's chin. "I was born a Sentouki but there was a time before I knew what I was. It was hard to let go but, in the end, it rewarded me to be a witness."

"Slave," Roy said bitterly. "The word you're looking for is 'slave.'"

"Yes," Soubi replied, refusing to deny it. "When you served the military, what were you? You had power over some, but others had power over you. Power is always in play, somehow. Now, it's been taken from you, but you still have something. Edward needs you more than he admits and you'll always have that. Without you, he's powerless in this world. He'll take care of you. He has no choice but to love you and his love for you will even pass his obsession."

Roy laughed slightly. "I can't do this. I can't bringing his brother back for him."

"If he orders you, you must try, or you'll suffer," Soubi said and he reached for Roy again, helping the man up. Roy could feel his warm body next to him. "Keep your eyes closed. I'll lead you home. You'll need rest for tomorrow."

"I love him," Roy said suddenly, laughing hysterically.

"I know," Soubi said, holding the umbrella higher.