Ed struggled with the dishes he was attempting to shove in the cabinet when another hand pushed them the final inch in.

Ed turned to look the man who had appeared behind him. "You're late," he told him.

Mustang's mouth curved into its familiar smirk. "Well," his voice trembled as if he were trying to hold back some unknown emotion, "I had some issues to work out on my end."

"Uh-huh. So what was it that you wanted to talk about anyways?"

"Political unrest."

"Mustang." Edward grunted as he lifted another box of something up onto the counter to unpack, "Can you really see me solving your diplomatic problems?"

"No, not really."

"So then, why," Edward slapped his hand on the counter and turned to the older man, "are you coming to me?"

"I don't need you for the political unrest issue – I need you for the issue connected with it."

"Aren't those usually political?"

"Generally. This one is and isn't. Hear me out."

Ed snorted but continued pulling things from the box.

"Youswell, you remember that right?"

"Of course I do. What's that got to do with anything?"

"You made that fake gold – "

Mustang nearly got whacked in the head when Ed's arms flailed, "You knew about that?"

"I knew about everything you did. Now listen to me."

Ed settled down and Roy continued.

"The dirt you made into gold didn't stay as gold for very long. It's virtually impossible to make it stay as gold before it reverts, correct?"

"Right. There's no feasible way. Do you want me to make counterfeit gold or something?" he asked suspiciously.

"No," Roy laughed but then his face turned serious. "Someone claims that there is a giant city of gold beneath Amestris."

Ed chuckled good naturedly beneath his breath, "You've got me, Mustang. That was a good joke. I thought it was something important."

"It's true, Edward."

Ed stared at him. "Are you kidding me? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I'm telling you now. The man who claimed this was taken into custody with a map on him. It's apparently old. I have it with me. I was hoping that you'd look at it."

Ed held out his hand and wriggled his fingers. "Why don't we go to your room where we won't be disturbed?"

Ed slunk into his room. It was quite bare at the moment – a full bed, a nightstand, an armoire, a large rug that took up most of the floor space in the room and a large sitting chair with a small table besides it.

Mustang laid the map out on the bed and Ed kneeled on the floor to study it.

"It's old – really old. Probably, hmm, from before Amestris was founded. Long before maybe." His fingers traced the key. "You can also see by this key the age. These symbols," he pointed to a select few, "aren't used any more. But they also aren't Amestrian. I guess you can say this wasn't Amestrian but a conglomeration of other places." Ed tapped his lip. "It's hard to explain this without it getting confusing. We know that there were people from all over, well some, that were picked to start this nation. One of these people must have brought it with him in the hopes of finding this city. What's weird is that, well, this still exists, that anyone could actually read it."

"Can you read it?" Mustang asked.

"Of course I can read it! I've studied this type of stuff for a long time now."

"What does it say?"

"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied-
"If you seek for Eldorado!"i

"It's like a treasure map to find the City of Gold – aptly named 'El Dorado' the Golden One."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Plenty; the handwriting is that of a man's – an old man's. You can tell because the writing is heavier and thicker than a woman's. As to the age it's a bit shaky, look here, see how the line wavers a fraction. The man was having trouble holding his hand steady."

Roy looked to where Ed pointed. "The map itself could be drawn by anybody, but I'd guess the same guy drew it. Why? Because how would a second person write those limericks without actually having seen what he's writing about? I'd figure the man was young when he drew the map. I also suppose he was dying so he wrote the stanza as to give clues to where to find the "treasure". He probably wanted someone to find his life's work." Ed concluded.

"Do you think it's real?"

Ed sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe. It's possible something like that could exist but…" he trailed off. "It would be unlikely. Even if it did exist then, it's been hundreds of years since it was made. There is no guarantee that it still exists today."

"Should I fund an exploratory mission for this?"

Ed looked at Mustang for a moment and with a seriousness that he had seemed to develop only as of late replied, "No. It'd be chaos. No if you were to fund it you should only fund it if you yourself were planning to go on the mission."

"Could you do it?"

"Me? Oh, hell, that's what you wanted from the beginning wasn't it? Whatever this turned out to be – you wanted me to play along with you."

"You know I'd only ask. Never order." Edward raised his eyes to Mustang's.

"I won't go. Not without someone else coming with me. I don't want Al coming either, so you'll have to find a qualified alchemist." He cleared his throat. "Because I can't do alchemy anymore I'm going to need somebody who can because I'm guessing that anything to do with this place is going to involve alchemy."

Roy rubbed a hand over his mouth thoughtfully. "I'd send Armstrong but I have a feeling that's not what you're looking for."

"Not exactly, no." Edward's mouth twitched and he sighed. "Maybe you should come with me considering you can do what I lost."

"Not a bad idea, a few days off work, and maybe a promotion if something is to be found…"

"Of course you're only thinking in terms of what it brings to you. I'm the one who decoded this whole –"

Ed squawked when Roy leaned over him. In an attempt to push the older man farther away from him Ed planted both his hands on the man's chest which somehow made Mustang raise his brows.

It soon turned into a scrabble of arms and legs as Ed tried to free himself from the embarrassment that was soon to come.

Instead of letting him go as Ed had predicted the man hung onto him and with little warning flipped him over his back.

Ed stared at the ceiling for a long moment wondering how he'd landed on his back. The man looked smugly down at him.

"Don't forget, you're not the only one who knows hand to hand combat." He then held out his hand and helped Edward up off the ground.

When Ed stood up it was as if the whole world had shifted beneath his feet. He'd said many times during the time he'd been in Central that his former commander and himself had been getting along much better since he'd exited the military. At this moment however he could tell more than ever that this man was not only an ally but also a friend. A friend he'd refused to see because he was so dang stubborn.

"Thanks, I'd like it if you'd come. It'd be a great help."

Ed blinked up at the man who was staring down at him and watched as not a smirk, but a genuine smile crossed Mustang's face.

"Of course, and you do know that if I end up with a promotion it'll be because of you."

Ed's mouth twitched. "Partly. The rest will be your work. I won't be of that much use."

"I highly doubt that."

From the outside there was a bang and, "Brother? Where'd you go?"

Ed glanced at Mustang once more and moved to open the door but before he could get there Al opened the door and peered around the frame.

He grinned when he saw his brother. "This place looks amazing! And you got a good deal!"

Ed smiled. "That I did."

"Hello, sir," Alphonse greeted the Brigadier-General.

"Alphonse, how are you?"

"I'm good. And yourself?"

"I'm well, thank you for asking."

Al gave him a smile and grabbed his brother's arm. "Let's continue putting stuff away!"

Ed could feel Mustang's eyes on the both of them as they worked. He did his best to ignore the scrutiny as he stashed some clothes in his room.

He turned his head to the side and let his bangs cover his face as he knelt at the drawers.

Ed bit his lip and turned to take the man to task for why he was staring so intently but when he turned around Mustang wasn't there.

He rose from his knees and headed back into the kitchen where he found his brother and former commander chatting over the counter island.

Alphonse lifted an eyebrow. "I thought you might have fallen into the drawer. I was about to come and rescue you."

"Brat," Edward muttered lovingly and ruffled his brother's hair.

A few hours later they had everything unpacked and in their respective rooms. Ed knew it'd take a few days to get everything settled so he wasn't in a rush to get anything done.

He ordered takeout and the three of them ate it in the quiet of the kitchen. When Ed finally put down his fork and declared himself full, Al collected the plates and placed them in the sink.

Roy was pulling on his overcoat to leave when Ed approached. "Call me when you're ready to leave, will you?"

"I know it'll be within two weeks. I just have some files that need to be straightened up. After that though I think we should solve this problem as soon as we can."

Ed made a face. "So soon? And just when I moved as well," he sighed. "I suppose I can live with it though."

A hand rested gently on his shoulder for a minute before it and its owner were gone through the door and into the night.

Ed closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the closed door. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth as he struggled to retain composure. His hands curled helplessly against the door and his legs trembled and gave out.

He couldn't let Al see him like this; he couldn't stand the thought of his baby brother seeing how weak one man made him.

Edward picked himself up off the floor and headed to the kitchen where his brother was putting away the leftovers.

"Don't worry about that, Al," and he tried to smile for his brother.

"But Brother!"

"I mean it Al, I can do it tomorrow. It's not a big deal."

Al sighed and relinquished the pot scrubber he'd just picked up.

"You can spend the night here in the guest bedroom if you'd like," Ed offered.

Al's face brightened up quickly and he grinned and gave his brother a hug before he took off for the other room.

Ed smiled slightly at his brother's energy. But back in his own room he suddenly felt lonliness and want coming over him again. Al had Winry, and what did he have? Only…only something that would never come to pass he thought.

Once undressed and in bed he lay staring at the wall in silence, unable to fall asleep.

He could feel himself choking on something – something he never thought he'd want. He pressed a hand to his chest and felt the beating of his heart.

I don't understand, his brain whispered and his heart whispered back, you don't have to, just follow me.

i The poem is Edgar Allen Poe's, "Eldorado".