Sorry for the lack of update last week, again. Thanks for reading! I wish I had more good news, but alas, I must admit: This is the last chapter. :( There WILL be an Epilogue, though!

The trip back to central had been an uneventful one, but it was probably the highlight of the past couple weeks for Edward. He sat against Roy's side, the man's arms circled tightly around his waist, warm enough to help him to sleep for the ride back. They talked for the first hour, just among themselves and with Alphonse across the isle, Edward taking particular pleasure in talking with Roy about what they'd do to Giovanni when they got back to Central.

And while Edward dozed on his shoulder, Roy merely held his hand and idly drew patterns in the other's hand.

"Roy." Alphonse spoke in a light whisper, despite knowing first hand that a earthquake wouldn't have woken his brother. Roy sent him a questioning glance, him too knowing that nothing would wake Edward, so he rose a brow instead of stopping the conversation before it started.

Alphonse coughed, trying to think of the best way to approach what he was about to say, without making Roy fly off the handle and try and turn the train around, "They didn't find Irving's body."

Roy sighed, nodding and looking back down at the man spooned against his side, snorting when he saw Edward's mouth parted and a soft snore sounding every once in a while. Roy answered the question that he knew Alphonse was about to ask, "I know, Al. A man like that wouldn't be taken down so easily."

"Don't you want to go back and find him?" Al severely hoped Roy said no, but he knew that Roy was a spontaneous man, and nothing could stop him once he had his mind set on something. But what shocked him even more was Roy's shrug, a gentle smile crossing his face as he looked more content than he had in years.

"Honestly?" Roy questioned lightly, his lips twitching when he felt Ed's hand tighten in his, "Nothing could tear me from his side."

Al put away all his jokes about the statement and chose to keep his mouth shut, pinching his lips tight. He would glance over once in a while, but he always had to look away, lest he wanted his blush to burn off his face at the blatant out of character show he was getting from the Major General. He's always thought of the man as stoic and crude, sticking to the point and commanding with an iron fist. Guess love can do that to someone.

"No!" Giovanni struggled against the arms holding him down, frantically trying to wiggle and wrench from the other's grasp, despite the fact he was weak and missing some limbs. He wouldn't stay in this room any longer, he needed to get out, these tormentors would hold him no longer in this solitary confinement.

Mika merely sighed, continuing to hold onto the back of the boy's shirt, every once in a while tugging on it to make the boy come a bit closer. He was amazed at the way Giovanni managed to make everything so much more dramatic, especially with the yells and screams of disapproval. If it were any other day, Mika would let Gio wiggle around on the ground for all he cared, but he knew that a certain teacher of the boy's would be arriving in no more than fifteen minutes.

Smirking again as Giovanni tried to swat away his hand, he realized that Giovanni should be scared.

"Come on, Mika!" Giovanni whined, slumping forward in his seat and glancing over his shoulder at the man, trying to give his most pitiful look he could muster, "Teacher is going to kill me."

"Yes, well, that may be true." Tilting his head to the side and musing on the subject, Mika merely shrugged, "And you're going to stay here and let him do it."

Giovanni's eyes went from pleading to terror, widening in pure fright at the other's words and tone. Would Edward really kill him? Sure, he did perform human transmutation on him while he was unconscious, the one sin of the alchemic world, almost causing both of them to lose their lives, only to have Edward kidnapped immediately after by the people that wanted Ed's alchemy that Gio gave back to him...Oh, god, teacher really was going to kill him!

Struggling harder, Giovanni whined and pulled, trying to wheel around and strike Mika with fists at every chance he got, "Let me go! I'm too young to die! I have a full life ahead of myself! Show some mercy!"

"Oh, I am." Mika laughed, slumping forward amusedly as he cradled his chin in a hand, showing no effort at all to hold the boy back, "Think of what he'd do if he figured out you ran from him?"

Giovanni didn't even want to think of it. He didn't know what was better, taking the brunt of Edward's anger right now, or run and take the gamble that either his teacher had calmed in that time or become that much more infuriated.

There was a gentle knock at the door, soft enough that both of them barely heard it, but at the same time it froze them both. The person behind the door didn't bother to wait for an answer to it's knock, and rather opened the door with a slow precision. Air around them stilled, and a dark force moved from beyond the door, slowly seeping in like the depths of the night, anger and ice cold frustration seeping around the edges of the room.

A glint of golden hair fell around the malicious man's shoulders, making Mika immediately let go of the boy's shirt and stand, taking a few steps back into the corner. He could do nothing for the boy now.

There was a steady rhythmic tapping of a bare foot than metal on the ground, taking slow and methodical steps forward as he neared the bed. Sweat pooled on the back of Giovanni's neck as he watched the form near the bed, his eyes widening in pure terror. He was getting ready to scream for mercy when he was cut off by that voice.

"Gio...vanni..." Edward clenched his hands together and finally met the boy's eyes, his teeth glinting in the light as he smirked maliciously, his brows twitching.

Lunging forward, he raised a single hand, smacking the boy upside the head, "What the hell were you thinking!"

"Teacher, wait!" Giovanni didn't get a word in edgewise as Edward grabbed him by the forearm, nearly failing him about as he let loose his anger.

"You performed human transmutation!" Edward seethed, making sure the boy couldn't break eye-contact, making sure the boy knew how angry he was, "And not only that, you performed it on me. What in the hell were you thinking, what could have possibly gone through your mind!"

He wasn't going to hit the boy, much like his teacher had done with him, but he was more than tempted. He wanted to hit the kid until he couldn't think straight, he wanted to pound it into that little brain of his that this was not forgivable, this would forever be on his conscience. This wasn't something you could say a simple 'I'm sorry' too, this wasn't something erasable, this was indefinite.

But, Edward remembered with a simple sigh, he had done the same thing.

"This is something that I can never forgive you for." Edward stated with a sigh, letting go of the boy before he inflicted any damage, and took a single step backward, looking deep into the other's green eyes, "I hope you know that your life is never going to be the same. You've taken this responsibility onto your shoulders."

The words of never having forgiveness struck Giovanni more than he'd like to admit, and his hands shook as he stood terrified in the wrath of his teacher, more afraid of this calm Edward than the angry and screaming one.

"You performed human transmutation." Edward repeated again, sighing and dipping his head, "you don't only have me to answer to, but yourself. What was my first lesson, Giovanni? Respect alchemy; and you didn't. You spat in it's face, and mine. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Giovanni couldn't breathe, none the less speak. He was terrified, but more so, terrified that Edward would truly hate him forever. He still loved Edward, more than he'd loved anything before, he wanted to always be around him, he didn't know what he'd do if Edward didn't even want to look at him. He gulped, clenching his hands and taking a deep breath, "I told you I loved you, right?"

Edward was shocked at the admission, half hoping that the declaration of love before in the storage room had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, and that neither of them would ever think about it ever again.

"I would do anything for you Edward, even if it means going against your own words." Giovanni sighed, failing to keep his voice steady as he stuttered and paused in his words, "You were miserable without your alchemy. I couldn't stand seeing you so miserable, so unhappy, so sad. I needed to give you back the thing that would make you happy."

Edward laughed, shaking his head and feeling his nerves calm. He much preferred the truth than to a lie, even if the truth wasn't quite what he wanted to hear. It was a blow to his pride if even a thirteen-year-old boy could tell how unhappy he'd been, "But, you misunderstood, Giovanni. It wasn't simply alchemy that was making me so unhappy. Sure, I missed it, but it was just another peg on the infinite list of things that was making me unhappy."

Giovanni felt his heart clench at that, already devising more plans in his mind to find those other pegs on the 'list' and disposing of them.

Seeing the look in Gio's eyes, Edward merely strode forward and took a seat next to the boy, the soft mattress shifting as he sat. Sure, he didn't want to go explaining himself to the kid, not just yet, but Gio did deserve to know, "It was everything. The injuries, my brother, Roy...the list goes on. Were you planning on fixing every single one of those?"

Giovanni gulped and felt his cheeks alight, shaking his head ashamedly as he looked down at his hands, feeling his shoulders start to shake. He was stupid, that was true, but why couldn't his teacher see that he'd just been trying to help? Sure, he didn't think it through all the way, but he'd been so preoccupied with the image he'd created of Edward's smile when he got his alchemy back. He'd wanted Edward to be happy.

"But." Edward sighed and slowly slung an arm around the boy's shoulder, pulling him to his side, "Somehow, it seems that after your little act, everything that was making me unhappy was fading away. I'm not forgiving you, but I won't yell at you."

Giovanni felt his eyes swell, his chest wrenching as he let out a small sob, before twisting and collapsing into Edward's side, holding him tightly. Edward wasn't leaving. He was going to stay, and to top it all off, here he was, comforting him. Sure, he knew what he'd done was wrong, but Giovanni couldn't bring himself to regret it.

"Just promise me this." Edward sighed as he placed his hand atop the boy's head, rubbing down comfortingly, "You will get automail, and you will forever use it as a reminder of what you did."

The moments passed, and Ed allowed the boy to sob on his shoulder, holding him softly and comforting him for the time being. Be it for the fact that Gio's life would be infinitely harder from now on, or that he saw a bit of himself in the young boy, he didn't know. The kid would be getting years upon years of berating for his action, so he didn't need any more of it from Edward.

"So." Edward tried to break the mood, smirking unintentionally as he looked down at his young protege, raising a single brow, "Man, you lost one of your legs way up there. Is your junk gone, too?"

"Teacher!" Giovanni gaped as his cheeks enflamed, eyes widening at the question, fuming still as Edward jumped up and practically pranced from the room, his laughter following him out.

"Did you guys have a nice chat?"

Edward glanced over minutely as he let the door close softly behind him, smiling when he saw his dark-haired lover leaning languidly against the wall near the water fountain, his military uniform jacket slung over one arm and his white undershirt unbuttoned at the top. He looked drained, tired, yet sated and happy. They both needed a long sleep, preferably soon, but Edward had needed to go see Giovanni first. Roy hadn't argued, just as long as Edward promised to go to sleep afterwards, for a long time, preferably in the same bed as himself.

"I guess." Edward sighed, his metal foot ticking with every step as he made his way over to Roy, sliding a hand over the man's hip and leaning in against him, letting out a long held breath, "It was weird. When I told my teacher I performed human transmutation, she beat me half to death. I barely laid a hand on Giovanni."

Roy shrugged, letting out his own breath of relief, pleased to know that the boy wasn't dead in there, "You and your teacher are different people Edward, you teach differently and treat your pupils differently."

"Glad to hear." Edward snorted, shaking his head, "But - I looked into his eyes. I could see that no matter what I did, no matter what I said, he wouldn't regret it. I could beat him, scream at him or scorn him, but he would never regret it."

"Hm. His stubbornness sounds like someone I know." Roy mused, raising his brows and glancing down at the blonde, clenching an arm around Edward's shoulder.

Edward didn't reply, merely snorted again, shrugging at the reality. He'd known from the beginning that Giovanni was a strong and determined boy, and nothing would get in the way of what he wanted. After everything, he would never regret anything he did.

God, it really did sound a lot like him.

"Sleep now?" Ed asked, already half asleep as he pressed against the other, resting his head on Roy's strong shoulder and feeling more comfortable than he had in quite a while. Surrounded and wanted, like Roy was purely enjoying his presence. When he was with Roy, he felt a freedom he hadn't felt in years, not to mention the past few weeks cooped up in this stinking hospital. Being with Roy made it feel like he could breathe again, whereas the hospital was the crushing force keeping him from taking any air. And now, he just wanted to sleep. Sleep in this warmth and freedom and let the whole world fade away, hoping that when he woke, the warmth would still be around him.

Yet, unfortunately, the world seemed to have a deep need to make Edward's life suck.

"Edward!"

There was already a deep glare on his face before the other managed to end the word, and his arms tightened around Roy as he swiveled his head, unintentionally sending the man strutting down the hall a seething glare. It was completely unintentional on his part, but if questioned about it, he'd blame sleep deprivation and a deep seeded annoyance at everything in general.

Scar seemed unperturbed about it, though, as he continued to strut down the hallway as if he wasn't just on the receiving end of a infamous 'Fullmetal Glare', for he'd had the pleasure of taking that glare on more than one occasion. He slowed his gait when he neared the couple, even more unperturbed by the obvious closeness of the two, not even batting an eye at their embrace and obvious affection. He barely let a twitch of the lips show his pleasure at seeing Edward in one piece, though he'd never admit it aloud, "Edward, it is a pleasure to see you well."

"Yeah, well, not quite, but I'll manage." It warmed him to see Scar so worried, but really, he wanted to do nothing more than sleep, and right now, this man was interrupting that, "How did you hear about me?"

"Well, Brigadier General Armstrong called me about the situation, sounding quite upset," Scar mused, realizing now that his haste in getting to Central had been in vein, but felt no regret at it.

Ed sighed, noting with amusement as a head peeked out of Giovanni's hospital room behind where Scar was standing, revealing the light brown hair of Mika as he curiously peeked in on their conversation. Turning his gaze back to Scar, he smiled for the man, "Yes, Armstrong does tend to exaggerate quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if he went as far as saying all was lost and I would never be returned."

"Something along those lines." Scar spoke lightly, taking a single step forward and regarding Roy with a respectful dip of his head, though his eyes hardened considerably, "Mustang, what room shall you two be staying in? I would much like to speak with both you and Edward. We have quite a bit to catch up on, Edward."

Ed could have groaned, turning his face into Roy's chest again and closing his eyes, willing the other man to leave. All he wanted to do was fall into a bed and sleep for the next twenty-four hours, and yes, Scar was a good friend, but Ed really didn't want to talk to him right now.

"Edward?"

Ed flinched at the sound of Mika's voice, realizing that the man had now come fully from his hiding spot to regard the two, a soft click announcing that he had closed the door to the room. Was everyone plotting to keep Edward from sleep?

"Just wanted you to know that..." Mika paused just a bit as the man standing between him and Edward turned to regard him, making Mika catch a glimpse of haunting scar and deep red eyes, looking at him with such intensity that Mika just wanted to crawl back into the hospital room and hide under Giovanni's bed. Gulping, he offered a smile, "H-hello...I'm Mika Orken, you're...?"

"Scar, a friend of Edward's from Ishval." Scar answered with a bemused rase of a brow, just barely catching the thin line of a flush over the man's cheeks, making him purse his lips in bemusement.

This whole exchange was witnessed by a wild-eyes Edward Elric, who's eyes had slowly started to squint with every word the other's spoke, his smile growing and growing, nearing the point of lecherous. Well, this was quite the interesting development, a plot twist if he didn't say so himself. A fascinating, interesting, and quite intriguing plot twist.

Not to mention, a plot twist that would get him into bed and asleep.

Slowly pushing Roy further down the hall, Ed reached and slowly turned the knob on the door nearest to them, remembering having heard someone mention that it was his assigned room. He really didn't care if it wasn't his room, all he needed was to get out of this hallway. Pushing Roy quickly into the room, Ed closed the door and locked it in one swift motion, before searching the bare room.

There was a beacon of light, shining around the bed stationed in the middle of the hospital room, the covers slightly pulled back and the pillows fluffed to perfection. He could have drooled at the sight of it, practically giddy at all the sleep he was gonna get.

Roy, on the other hand, merely rolled his eyes as he guided Edward to the bed, the soft room looking more than inviting. As he lowered his lover to the bed, he himself slipped in and threw the thin sheet and blanket over their bodies. He almost grunted as Edward attached to him, throwing a leg over his and wrapping his arms tightly around Roy's middle, burrowing in and preparing himself for the best goddamn sleep of his life.

"Edward..." Roy whispered lightly as he lowered his cheek to the pillow, wrapping his arms around the alchemist's middle, "Edward...?"

A tired murmur answered him and he could have chuckled. His eyes slipped closed and he almost let himself fall into the sleep that was slowly edging into his mind.

I REALLY apologize for the super short final chapter. I felt like this was a good point to leave it off at. I know that you all were expecting a lot of EdXRoy luvins, but just wait, that's what the Epilogue is for! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! I love all of the positive feedback I've received. AND - I'm already thinking of ideas for a sequel, so if enough of you are so inclined, I could be enticed to start on that... :)