This one is a continuation to 'Secrets', but from (mostly) Roy Mustang's perspective. This is another one that doesn't directly mention the theme name – it also plays with the Pride idea a bit.

Pen-Name-Kitsune-Chan: I do the same thing XD And it's just so...Ed-ish. He would TOTALLY do shit like that. Etymology is a love of mine, too, although it means I end up putting way too much thought into names for my original stuff. FMA's really cool for that though, because Hiromu used names from a language that wasn't even her own. Alex Louis Armstrong is one I get a kick out of because he has the name of two kings and the first man to walk on the moon. SUCCESS HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS indeed...

Refresher for timeline: set just after Lab 5…then massively diverges.

43. Loyalties

Colonel Roy Mustang frowned as he deciphered the chicken scratch that passed for his subordinate's writing – and then looked up at said subordinate. "An inside source?"

Ed nodded. "He's giving me information on…his kind…in return for…" He stopped, looking almost embarrassed. "Well, he's doing it because he hates them now." It was an obvious cover up, but Mustang decided to let it go – for the most part.

"See you aren't trading military secrets, Fullmetal. Your brother isn't worth the country."

Ed's eyes flashed, and he smacked his hands onto the Colonel's desk. "He is to me, asshole! But…" His voice subsided to a semi-normal level. "I'm not gonna do that."

Ed reported in again a week later.

"You asshole! I didn't need to go on that stupid fool's errand!"

Roy raised an eyebrow, not bothering to suppress his smirk. "Oh? So he wasn't ignoring the rules of equivalent exchange after all?"

"NO!" thundered the blond. "Not only was he some stupid third-rate alchemist, the people who'd reported it in didn't know the first thing about alchemy! They'd seen him make something bigger and assumed he was ignoring equivalency – it's like they'd never even HEARD of density!"

Losing himself in his own agitated rant, Ed began to pace back and forth, gesticulating wildly. Roy observed, noting every detail as he always did.

Then he noticed the bruise.

It wasn't a real bruise; besides, Ed had taken down the alchemist without a fight. It was the dark-red type of bruise one got from lips and teeth rather than fists.

"I see you had time to stop and visit your girlfriend on the way, Fullmetal."

Ed froze. "What? I don't –"

Roy's smirk grew even wider. "Next time you delay reporting to me, make sure she doesn't leave evidence behind."

Ed's hand clapped to his neck as his face paled. "D-damn him…" he muttered, almost too low for the Colonel to hear.

But he did.

Roy blinked, and then sucked his lips in. "Ah. It appears I've made a mistake."

"W-wait, no! I didn't – no – I – just –" Ed stammered and stuttered, until finally he fell into an uncharacteristically meek silence. He walked closer to the Colonel's desk.

"Please," he whispered, voice almost breaking. "I…Even Al doesn't know."

"The policy, Fullmetal, is 'don't ask, don't tell'." He smiled in an attempt at comfort. "Your business is your own." His tone turned mock-serious. "Until it makes you late for another report. You're dismissed."

With that, Ed returned to his usual self with a snort. "About time, bastard Colonel. Seriously, I don't know why you can't just read the stupid things without me having to go over everything twice."

"Because your handwriting is atrocious and your sense of structure isn't much better."

"Pff. Whatever." Ed lifted his hand as he left. "Later, asshole."

Alone again, Roy bent down to fill out his paperwork – when the corner of a file poking out from underneath the stack caught his eye. He slid it out, careful not to let the papers above it fall over, and opened it.

Envy (no last name given).

"He's giving me information on…his kind…in return for…Well, he's doing it because he hates them now."

"Oh, Ed," murmured the officer with a growing sense of apprehension. "What have you gotten yourself into now?"

Ed requested (by letter) not to be sent on another mission for at least two weeks – unusual for the Elrics. They were usually haring off another place within three days at least; either a lead from him or something of their own.

Still, Roy wasn't worried. Everybody needed to stop and catch their breath every now and again, and Ed hadn't stopped for four years. I know some higher-ups who could take a lesson from him on perseverance.

However, when Al showed up (alone) at his office three days into the vacation, he began to feel the first twinges of concern.

"Oh, hello, Alphonse. What brings you here?"

The suit of armour pressed his fingers together in an awkward gesture that reminded Roy sharply of who the imposing figure really was; a fourteen-year-old boy in a body he didn't own. "I…Um…It's, it's…It's Brother."

Roy discreetly closed his office door – he trusted Havoc or Hawkeye or Fuery with his life, but some things it was best to keep to a small circle. "What's the matter?" he asked, rather too brusquely, but it couldn't be helped.

"He's…I think something's wrong."

"Is he sick?"

Al shook his head. "No…he's disappearing. He'll say he's going to the library, then he won't be back for twelve hours!"

Roy couldn't help but smile at the thought that crossed his mind. "Are you sure he isn't just at the library for twelve hours?"

"No, that's what I thought at first…but then I went to ask the librarians and they said they hadn't seen him!"

Roy raised his eyebrow. He was going to have amazing facial muscles by the end of his dealings with the Elrics. "Uh, which librarians?"

Al checked them on his fingers. "First Military Branch, Second Military Branch, Third Military Branch, Fourth Military Branch, Central Public, all the high school libraries…They wouldn't let me into the primary schools, though."

Roy pretended to drop something, and then bent down to get it. I will not laugh at the poor worried boy. I will not laugh at the boy looking for his brother. I will not laugh. Strength of will won out and he straightened again. "I see."

"Not only that…I think he's sneaking out at night."

"How would he do that? I thought you two shared a room."

"Not anymore…he, er..." Al rubbed the back of his head, once again acting his age. Finally he leant over and whispered it shamefacedly into Roy's ear.

Roy wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or choke. "I…see. Alright. Perhaps it has something to do with –" He stopped himself, unsure why. Does Al know about Envy? They don't keep secrets from each other…and Ed doesn't lie to his brother about where he is.

"Edward can take care of himself, Al," he said, as soothingly as he could. "But I'll let you know if I learn anything new."

He should have told Al about Ed's informant there and then.

But he didn't.

It was almost two weeks later that Fullmetal finally dragged himself back into Mustang's office.

And every fear of Alphonse Elric and Roy Mustang combined was completely and utterly justified.

"Hey, bastard," he muttered, voice quiet and slurred. The bags under his eyes were almost as black as his jacket, and he was dragging his feet with a slight limp. He didn't even bother standing at attention, sitting (or rather falling) onto the black couch with a badly-disguised wince.

"What's the matter with you, Fullmetal?"

"Nothing."

Roy pursed his lips. He knew the signs of fatigue, and this was far beyond a few sleepless nights. "When was the last time you got some proper sleep?"

"I dunno. I thought I was here to get a mission, bastard-Colonel, not a lecture." He sat up, although his shoulders were hunched – and, Roy noticed, his automail shoulder was pushed farther forward than the other.

"Is your automail working properly, E – Fullmetal?"

Ed glanced up, as surprised as Roy was at the almost-slip. "Y-yeah, it's fine. Now what've you got for me? I don't have all day."

With a sigh, the Colonel slid the file he'd had for Ed off of the desk – and opened the top drawer with a clatter, dropping it in. "Nothing. Go home and sleep – and whatever you're doing to yourself, stop it."

"What?" Ed leapt to his feet. "Stop fucking around and gimme that file."

"No. You're in no condition to go gallivanting off anywhere, let alone on a mission. If you screw up on your own time it's not my business. If you screw up on an assignment, then it becomes my problem."

Ed slammed his hands on the desk, closing the gap between them with fire in his eyes. "I told you I'm fucking fine, now give me the file!"

"No." Roy returned his gaze, keeping it steady and using the moment to note just how haggard and drawn Ed's face was.

"DAMN YOU MUSTANG!" The automail fist crashed into his jaw without warning. "I need another fucking lead! I need to restore Al soon, or he's gonna…gonna…" He grabbed Mustang's collar, gritting his teeth, and then relaxed his grip, slumping dejectedly. "The armour's gonna reject him, Colonel," Ed murmured.

"And I suppose you got this from your…informant?"

Ed nodded, on the brink of frustrated tears.

Roy gently pulled his hand away. His jaw was stinging already, but he could deal with that later. "What have you been doing to get this information, Edward?" He used his subordinate's first name on purpose this time.

Ed shook his head. "Don't…don't ask me that. I'm awful at lying."

"Edward, tell me."

"I can't. I won't. It's none of your business anyway."

"It's my business when you're wearing yourself to the bone." Roy raised his hand to the collar of Ed's jacket and gently tugged it away. The bitemarks were fresh and bloody, some of them still scabbing over. "If you die before you get a chance to restore your brother, that'll kind of defeat the point."

Ed backed away, tugging his collar back into position. "Shoulda known you wouldn't understand. He promised. And…ah, fuckin' hell." He pulled the pocketwatch out of his pocket and tossed it onto the desk. "I guess I don't need you bastards anymore."

He walked away, and Roy was too shocked to even try to stop him – staring at the watch on the desk in front of him. It had sprung open at the impact, and the words staring him in the face – "Don't Forget, 3rd Oct." were enough to render him speechless.

Ed lasted a month after he left the military. The letters Roy got from Al were falsely cheerful, but Roy could read between the lines well enough to know that Ed was deteriorating – fast.

And then he disappeared.

"Have you found anything, Havoc? Breda?"

They both shook their heads, remarkably subdued. "The boss left no trace behind. Just…poof. Vanished." Havoc gestured with his hands.

"Nothing?"

"He didn't take anything with him, either," added Breda. "Even his coat's still here." He held up the signature red coat that had gone everywhere with the fifteen-year-old.

Roy sighed, rubbing his forehead. Hawkeye was with Al in the other room, trying to calm him down – it had been less than twenty-four hours and he was already blaming himself. However, from what Alphonse was saying…this had been coming for a while.

He picked up the coat – and felt something in the lining. Paper. Hands trembling almost too badly to do it, he ripped open the fabric and pulled out the note in there.

It was a string of letters and numbers he couldn't begin to comprehend – he didn't try. He strode through the doorway to where Hawkeye knelt in front of a motionless suit of armour.

"Alphonse." No reaction. "We found this."

Al lifted his head, read the paper; a moment later he spoke, reading out the coded words. "I'll find a way. No matter what it takes. No sacrifice is too great. I'm sorry." He began to make the sounds of choking sobs, and Hawkeye laid her hand gently on his helmet.

Envy couldn't stop admiring his latest prize. "You're right, this was far more fun than killing you."

Ed smiled, but it was empty. "You said you'd show me how to restore Al."

"Of course, of course, but…" Envy reached over and stroked Ed's unbound hair, falling like silk over his shoulders in the darkness. "Let's have some fun first, hm?"

Ed jerked away. "You have nothing to blackmail me with anymore. We can drop that bit."

"No, we can't." Envy bit down on his pet's throat, close to but not quite touching the jugular. "That was the deal, pipsqueak. You become mine…I save your brother."

Ed's eyes flicked downwards. "Of course."

"Of course…?" Envy squeezed the back of his neck, sharp nails digging into flesh.

He could hear the pipsqueak grit his teeth. "Of course…Master."

What do you think of your precious little boy now, Hohenheim?

Some things are worse than death after all.