Edward didn't move when the reaction came to an end and the by-now familiar sight of the academy's auditorium appeared again. He sat there, crouched and still next to Roy, his golden eyes wide with shock and an unfathomable sadness. Roy had never met the Elrics' mother, nor had he seen the face in the Gate like Ed had just moments ago. But he knew Edward, and he knew that his mother's face was burned into his mind like a damning curse and a love spell at the same time. If Ed thought the person taking control of the Gate was wearing his mother's face, then . . .

Roy was sure that was exactly what Ed had seen.

Children were crying and hugging each other all around them, looking relatively unharmed, but Roy only had eyes for the distraught young man kneeling next to him. He slowly reached over to place a hand on one shaking shoulder. "Ed . . ."

"Chief!"

With a soft sigh, Roy turned away and looked around to find the rest of his team running towards them. Riza looked undeniably frantic, while the rest of them simply seemed relieved to see them again. They were, Mustang observed with mild dread, notably missing the presence of the supposed third alchemist.

"What the hell happened?" Havoc demanded, whistling lowly at the cracked remnants of the auditorium floor. "One minute we thought everything was going fine, and the next thing we knew there was an eerie light and the whole pack of kids went missing."

"It seems," Mustang answered softly, "our alchemists acquired some confidential blueprints and used them to attempt to create a Philosopher's stone. Luckily for us, that attempt did not work." He glanced briefly to Edward. "Luckier still is the fact that Fullmetal was there. If not for him, we may not have made it back in one piece." Even quieter, he added, "I am afraid he may have suffered some slight trauma from the experience, however."

Riza's gaze tightened slightly at that. Roy knew more than anyone else how much she actually cared about Ed and Alphonse. Ever since she had come with him to view the effects of Edward's failed attempt to resurrect his mother, she'd shown a motherly side no one knew she even had when it came to them. Not that it showed in her voice, per say. "Sir," she said, clipped and professional, "we can clean up here and retrieve witness statements. I insist that you and Major Elric step out through the back and take a moment to pull yourselves together. You could use a moment's rest after your experience."

"Understood, Lieutenant." Roy offered her a grateful smile—damn, how he would really need to get some paperwork done—and pressed his hand to Ed's arm. "Let's get out of here for a moment," he suggested. "The kids will be fine with the rest of the team."

Surprisingly, Edward drew in a heavy breath and nodded. The gaze that met Roy's was shaky and unsure, and Roy wasn't sure if he would ever be able to dig up the reasoning behind that expression. But that was fine with him. He knew what Ed was like, knew he hated to talk about everything that he thought was wrong with him. What Roy really wanted was to lend an open ear—and an equally open heart—if his subordinate ever decided he wanted to let him in. He would never force him into spilling his deepest secrets or concerns . . . just as Fullmetal had always done for him.

He pushed open the back door to lead Ed outside, only to be bombarded by a journalist and a photographer loitering by the exit. Ed immediately cringed, ducking back somewhat behind Mustang to awkwardly hide his missing right arm.

"You have no authorization to be here," Mustang barked with all the superiority of a general to back himself up. It wasn't often anymore he got to use this voice. It felt rather nice. "If you remain in this area, I will have the local police relocate you to the nearest jail cell. And if I find so much as one illegally taken photograph hit the newspaper, rest assured that I will hunt the two of you down and refer you to military custody. Or I could just let you spend the day with the Fullmetal Alchemist here. Wouldn't that be pleasant?"

He could feel Ed sullenly glowering behind him at the two men, and without further ado the two of them took off rather quickly.

"Ugh," Ed announced faintly, "Why are you always so fucking needy?"

"Unless you'd rather the East City Herald to announce our unlawful relationship simply because we were seen leaving the site together . . ."

He shook his head and swallowed, staring down at his feet. No, Roy thought, that was the absolute last thing they needed right now. "Sit down," he pushed softly, gesturing to a nearby bench that was likely used for the janitor's smoke breaks. It certainly smelled of Havoc's favorite brand.

"I'm not crazy, right?" the blonde man asked suddenly, turning to stare at Roy in some sort of crazed desperation. "That it looked just like her?"

"Ed." Perhaps he needed a seat for this too. "From where I was, I didn't get a good look at her. I never truly met your mother, in any case; all I had were old photographs on the Rockbell's wall. So even if I had seen her . . . it probably wouldn't have clicked."

"Well, fuck," he whispered, running his hand through his mussed golden hair. "It can't . . . it can't be her, why would she . . ."

"We have noticed that they—she—seems to be targeting you specifically right now. So perhaps she took on that form specifically to rile you up, to make you falter? What if it isn't really her, but just her face, her body? Who does that remind you of?"

"Envy is gone," Ed answered immediately, "and he wouldn't be smart enough to do this. So . . . maybe it really is Mom." Ed finally sat down. "She's gonna hate me by now. Trying to bring her back to life. Dragging Alphonse into it. And then going and leaving him . . . "

"You loved your mother, Ed." Roy didn't know exactly what to say, to be honest. But he was damn well going to try anyway. He hated to see Edward like this . . . but it was a part of him he tucked away where no one could see. No one except what was left of his family. And now, perhaps, Roy. "You made stupid mistakes, Ed, but first of all, Alphonse was not one of those. He willingly put his hands down beside yours. And he knows that you left him trying to bring him back to a bodily form, left him without knowing you were leaving him. You were eleven years old and without a mother or a father. Anyone can see a child's reasoning behind just wanting their mother back. Your mother included, for sure. No one wants to see you repeat those mistakes. But Alphonse certainly doesn't blame you for them. He adores you."

"I'm the only family he has left, he's sort of stuck with his shitty older brother."

"Alphonse is traveling all the way from Xing, all the way across the desert to see you again. I have a feeling he wouldn't be doing just that if he thought you were a shitty brother. Don't sell yourself short. He loves you, Ed. So even if that is your mother. Even if she no longer loves you, remember that Alphonse is always going to have your back. And so will I."

"Yeah, but you're an idiot."

"On whose declaration?"

"Mine. Edward Elric stamped and approved. I should release a patent. Come see idiot the Roy Mustang bark orders at wild photographers."

This was a relief. This meant Ed wasn't so upset he couldn't function like his normal smart-ass self which was exactly what Roy wanted him to be like. He wanted to see Ed open up more. But he wanted to see Ed do it his own way, in a comfortable way.

"You," he said gently, "are amazing. You've fought through your past and you are working to gain yourself a new future. You defied all odds and got your brother's body back for him, regardless of the cost to you."

"Never once."

Roy blinked. "What?"

"I never once regretted being stuck with the Gate. It was horrible, it was hell, but I never regretted it because I knew that somewhere out there, Al had a body again. God, you have no idea how much of a relief it was to know that the mistake I made was finally rectified in one way. I didn't give a single shit fuck about how I was going to end up. I never thought I'd be able to come back. When I did I thought the Gate was just fucking with me, you know? It wanted to play, to try to mess me up inside some other way. But it actually needs my help. And I can see why. Truth might be the worst part of alchemy, but without the Gate we wouldn't even have alchemy. We need it. And this person is inside it, controlling it, my mom or not. I have to stop them or Amestris is screwed more heavily than Father ever could screw it over."

"And that," Roy commented, "is what I admire so much about you. No matter how bad the situation is, you always manage to find the strength within you to get to the end."

"I have things to protect," Ed answered almost defensively.

"Things such as?"

"My family. Alphonse. My friends." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You."

"Funny . . . because all I seem to want to do anymore is to protect you."

"Stop being cheesy, old man," he groaned, nudging Roy gently in the ribs. "I can protect myself just fine, thank you. I'm even down a fucking limb and I'm still doing better than your old creaky bones."

"Just wait another five years."

"Geez, no thanks."

"Are you alright?"

"Wha—I mean, yeah, I just told you, even if I have to take out whatever. . . whatever it is that has mom's face, then I'm willing to do it."

"That isn't what I mean, Ed. You were stuck inside the Gate for three years; that was all you knew. When you came back you almost immediately had a panic attack under my desk." Mustang shifted a little on the bench, turning to the side to fully face the younger man. "Did being in the Gate upset you in any way? That's all I mean. They have a term for it, it's called—"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, yeah I know. I know you had it after Ishval. That's why I asked you about that shit." Ed shook his head, took a deep breath. "I'm okay, honestly, Roy. The Gate we saw just now isn't the same place I was trapped in. All those dead bodies . . . all those discarded souls and the fact that Truth was nowhere in sight. That wasn't what I experienced." Golden eyes rolled back in some semblance of a mocking toss. "I would've preferred the dead bodies any day. At least then I'd know I wasn't alone all the time, you know? At least I'd know the life I had before getting stuck there was real."

He understood now. He understood why Ed had changed the way he did and why . . . why he needed to help let him know that he was certainly really back. Ed needed more than romance, more than just Roy courting him. He needed to be rooted here again. He thought Ed might still think he was in the Gate half the time, or that he would have to go back when this was all over. But he . . . he was going to make sure this golden-haired man never had to go back to that hellhole ever again. Even if that meant he had to go himself, even if he had to give his own life to secure Edward's.

He didn't say anything, of course. About that. "Trust me, Major Elric," he announced smartly, "Immortal Homonculi and power-hungry Fuhrers are about as real as you can get these days."

"You forgot to add soul-bound armor and finger-snapping Colonels," Ed added with the first instance of a grin since they'd returned just now.

"Ah, my bad. Only, he's been replaced by sometimes-snapping-sometimes-clapping Brigadier Generals."

"Somehow I like that guy better than the Bastard Colonel."

"Somehow," Roy replied softly, "so do I."

"So now," the sometimes-snapping-sometimes-clapping man groaned loudly as he collapsed onto his couch, kicking off his military boots without so much as a care in the world as to how messy his study got, "we have to figure out how those alchemists wound up with Marcoh's array blueprints on top of figuring out who it is we're trying to stop exactly. On top of that, we have to deal with multiple attacks on your life and desperately need to find out if Alphonse is safe with that bodyguard from Xing. Why does it feel like we just keep piling on more questions instead of solving some of the ones we already have?"

"Don't forget we also have to figure out exactly who attacked me in the first place," Ed pointed out, sagging down in the nearby armchair, equally exhausted.

There'd been a short discussion once the immediate details of the case were wrapped up over what to do, but ultimately, the team decided to go ahead and catch the fastest train home. It meant they'd go even longer without resting, but the promise of their own comfortable and familiar beds at the end of a long train ride was more than worth it. Granted, Roy thought the couch in the study wasn't so bad looking either. His behind felt like a sack of potatoes after sitting on the rock that was the train seating. He could never for the life of him figure out how Ed had always managed to doze off on them.

"We did in fact ascertain that it was not Shou Tucker, am I correct?"

"Yeah, it wasn't that fucker. But can we talk about it later? I don't know about you, but my head feels like Hawkeye shot a fuckin' round at me."

Roy managed a smirk. "I'm quite sure you wouldn't have enough of a head left to say that had she actually shot a round at you."

"Gee, Mustang, thanks for the mental image."

Roy stood, wobbled his way over to the couch and held out his hand. "Come on," he said. "I'm not letting you sleep down here by yourself, even if it is eight in the morning. You can sleep in the guest room if you'd like." He hesitated and then added, "or you can sleep in my room."

"Well shit," Ed said, "you aren't coming on thick at all, are you?"

"I'd like to think I am far more gentlemanly than 'coming on' to someone." Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, fuck gentlemanly." Ed offered Roy a casual grin and reached up to take the offered hand, and Roy's heart soared to the sky. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to cope with this sort of reaction if Ed stuck around. He was amazing, though. So outside of Roy's own comfort zone and he probably really needed that. He needed something to break away from the monotone life he'd fallen into after the Promised Day.

"If you'd like to take a shower," Roy said as he led Ed upstairs to the bedroom, "feel free to use mine."

Ed grumbled under his breath as his metal foot dragged a little and kicked the next step. "No offense, Mustang, but I think right now I'd rather sleep. Hope you don't mind dead people smell."

"No offense taken," Roy chuckled lightly. "I highly doubt I smell much better than you. We can reestablish how much we need a bath after we take a nap." He smirked. "Besides, if it makes me sick, that's one less day I have to face the end of Riza's gun when she finds out how much paperwork I have left to do."

In spite of not wanting to shower, however, Roy decidedly did not want to go to sleep wearing his uniform. It would have been a decision he certainly would have regretted come when he woke up. So he reluctantly let go of Ed's hand and slipped into the bathroom to change into a comfortable pair of sweats. By the time he returned, Ed had already burrowed himself into one half of the bed; the only things visible were the crown of his head and his half-closed eyes, following Roy throughout the room. Roy seriously doubted Ed had changed his clothes—not that he had many to switch between to begin with—and he did inwardly cringe as he thought of all the hidden grime he was probably concealing and rubbing all over his pricey covers . . .

But hell, it was Ed. He didn't even care.

He slipped into the free half of the bed, sighing comfortably as he sank into the mattress. The train ride home was definitely worth it at that moment. Worth it because Roy was in his favorite environment with one of his favorite . . . no, Ed was his favorite person too. There was nowhere else he'd rather be right now.

Roy shifted a little closer, not quite touching Ed but close enough to smell the automail oil and sweat. It should have made him cringe. It made him want to bury his face into that mussy blonde hair and never leave the bed again.

He thought Ed had already fallen asleep and had very nearly done just that when the head underneath the pool of messy hair spoke, so quietly Roy almost missed it. Hell, he hadn't known Ed could be that quiet in the first place.

"Hey, Mustang."

"Yes?"

Ed popped his head out from under the covers once more, blinking sluggishly at Roy with a furrowed brow. "I must be a fuckin' idiot," he announced, "because I know what the results are to bringing someone back to life, whether it works or not. But did you ever . . . did you think after this whole shitty thing started 'I really wish this person would be brought back'?" Ed shifted. "Cause I did. When I heard Nina was back I . . . God, I didn't even waste any time thinking 'maybe mom can come back too'. Haven't I . . . I've done fucking enough wishing. You'd think I'd learned my lesson when I almost lost Al. But I still couldn't help . . ."

Roy sighed softly. He should have known this conversation would have come up at some point or another. After all, it was Ed. He was the product of what not to do when a loved one died. And Roy . . . well, he was too, even if his mistakes weren't visible like Ed's were. Gingerly he reached over, draping one arm comfortably against Ed's form. The body beneath stiffened just for a moment before eventually sagging back into the bed's comfortable mattress.

"The first thing I thought when we figured out what was going on," he murmured softly, "was that now there was a chance for Maes to come back. Now there was a chance for him to be returned to his family, and everything would be okay again. I thought, 'maybe now Hughes can get back the life that was taken from him so wrongly'. And if you recall, it was him that Pride attempted to coerce me into reviving on the Promised Day."

"You said he forced you to in the end," Ed mumbled under the covers.

"He did. But I can't deny thinking while he did, 'what if this works?' It didn't, of course." Roy slid closer, lips now close to the face-shaped lump under his blankets. "But this time, I did have something that kept me from wishing on Maes too hard. Something before we found out what the person inside the Gate is doing to them."

"What w's that?"

"You, Ed. For three years, I have seriously contemplated what I could possibly do to get you back. It was only the promise your brother made me make that stayed my hand. That I would never try to retrieve you from the Gate. But we all thought you sacrificed yourself for him, not just your alchemy. Had any of us known that, we would have fought tooth and nail to get you out of there."

The blanket eventually lowered as Ed snorted. "Pretty sure that's how Truth wanted to make it look. You never would've known."

"You're right. I never would have known." Roy raised his body, propping himself up on an elbow, and looked down at the blonde with an affection he was afraid the other was going to make fun of as was his way. Surprisingly, he didn't. "You were a missed opportunity for me, however. I didn't realize until you were gone just what I had lost. An invaluable team member, someone I could trust with everything I had, and someone I cared deeply about. I spent three years 'moping' as Riza put it, with no purpose. And then you quite literally fell out of the sky."

"Technically," Ed stressed, "I just sort of materialized right there due to a—"

"Ed."

"What."

"You fell from the sky."

"The fuck are you so damn cheesy for?"

"Let me have my moment, okay?"

The look in Ed's eyes made it clear he thought the admission was probably the sappiest thing he'd ever had the pleasure of hearing, but Roy studiously ignored the look in preference for continuing. "So," he answered, emphasizing his words now, "the point is, I can wish Maes would be brought back, but what would he have to do? What would his cost be for coming back to life? Killing his best friend? Killing his wife and child? The moment he came back, we'd have to lock him up to keep him from hurting the ones he loves. Because he would be entirely conscious the entire time. I miss him. But I would never wish that on him."

Ed was silent for a little while, his gaze locked on the dresser beyond the bed. "Guess I never thought about it that way," he eventually admitted, turning those tired golden eyes back to Roy. "Even if Mom came back she might have to kill me or Al. And then she'd know . . . she'd know what we did to her, probably. And maybe she'd want to kill us."

"You have Alphonse," Roy replied, "and really, that's all you need. You've taken care of him for as long as you can remember, and he's done the same for you. It's been long enough, Ed, that you can put your mother to rest for good. Even if the woman in the Gate is your mother, she isn't the mother you knew in loved. So really, it isn't even the same thing." Roy reached out, gently sliding his fingers through Ed's hair. "I'm just happy you were able to return. You may have lost your arm again, and you may think of yourself as not whole, but this is you. You aren't being controlled, you aren't being manipulated or forced to do things beyond your will. You're simply Edward Elric. So perhaps you should remember that. And remember that you have practically an entire army to back you up this time."

"Are you calling your team an army again?"

"Are they not?"

"I mean it's mostly Hawkeye, she's a fucking one-woman army or some shit."

"Not that you aren't two armies put together."

"I'm waitin' for a compulsory short joke."

"I wasn't even planning on it."

"Bullshit."

"It's just that no one can see you coming."

"I'm gonna fucking kill you in your sleep."

Roy got a solid eight hours of sleep before the downstairs phone rang and disturbed whatever sort of heavenly realm he had ascended to. He rolled out of bed with a groan and a curse. Ed didn't so much as stir, and a bleary look up at the bed showed he'd relaxed quite a bit over the course of the night; he was practically invading the entire bed at that point which was . . . quite a feat considering how small he was compared to the mattress. The phone ringing didn't cause him to so much as stir, and Roy mumbled another soft curse under his breath as he scrambled downstairs for the phone. He jerked it up to his ear and prayed to all the gods that be that it was not Riza.

For once, it wasn't.

"Mustang Residence," he groaned into the phone, exhaustion clear in the raspy tone his voice had taken.

A chirpy, definitely-not-asleep voice answered him. "Brigadier General Mustang! It's Alphonse, I figured I'd call you again. I figured that was where Ed might be hiding himself away."

It took Roy a minute to process that Alphonse was actually calling them. And another minute to process that Alphonse was supposed to be in the desert and not able to call the house while in the middle of nowhere. "Aren't you traveling?" he asked several seconds later, feeling there was probably some silly explanation to all this.

Turned out, there was.

"We made it to the Xerxes ruins," Alphonse confirmed. "I brought some materials along with me in the off chance I needed to contact you. I was able to transmute some wires and a couple other things to create a phone line directly to your house."

Roy blinked. "Oh. Is that all?"

"Did I wake you up, Sir?"

"We . . . had a rough couple of days, I'm afraid. Your brother is still sleeping. Knowing Ed, he could be a few more hours at least."

"That's okay, I wanted to talk to you for a minute anyway. Did you . . . want to make some coffee or something first? I know how you and Ed are with needing to wake up."

"Is this thing very serious?"

"Ah . . . potentially."

"I'll be just a minute, then."

More like five, for he found himself brewing enough coffee to drain one so fast his tongue would be burnt for days. Totally worth it, though, because it was just what he needed to wake himself up. Well, and figure out how badly he smelled. He decided not to think on that until he was done talking to Alphonse at the very least. He settled back down on his couch with a second cup of coffee and picked the phone up again. "Alright, go ahead."

"We've noticed something a little . . . off about old man Fu," Alphonse admitted. "And May and I were wondering if maybe you knew anything about it."

"I dare say I do," Roy sighed. They must have been attacked or at least noticed some unusual movements. "What happened?"

"It's not that he's done much, exactly," the younger Elric brother explained. "He said that sometimes he feels like he isn't fully in control of his body. That once in a while he will do something he didn't think about doing, or his arm will move without his control. I thought maybe . . . something was overriding his basic movements. Something like that. Has Brother ever had that problem?"

"Not Ed," Roy affirmed, "but we've already confirmed that he was never dead in the first place, and the Gate merely sent him back to Amestris. We think this specifically is the reason he was sent back. There is someone inside the Gate who is bringing all of these people back to life. We think it has something to do with Ed, or maybe you too. We received further confirmation of that yesterday. But you are correct. The one controlling the Gate has the advantage of controlling anyone they bring back to life. You could very well be in danger, even if it's clear he doesn't intend to hurt you himself."

"I think he would be willing to let us keep him restrained, if that's the case. I know he would hate for one of our deaths to be on his shoulders, even if it wasn't his intention."

"I think that is for the best," Roy agreed. "They revived Shou Tucker and he managed to find Ed. Thankfully he is no longer an issue but the concern is very real. If it weren't for your brother's quick thinking, Tucker may have gotten him."

He heard Alphonse's sharp intake of breath, but he wasn't going to scare him any further. It was serious enough that they knew what might be coming for them. "What about Nina?"

"Nina is fine. Gracia is looking after her. As far as I know, she was only brought back to life to give Ed hope at first. But if she does try something, Gracia is certainly ready and has been warned."

"How is Ed doing?"

"Overall, he's fine." Roy glanced over at the stairs where the person in question had just emerged, blinking owlishly into the study looking like he'd just walked into a wall. Perhaps he had. "Coffee in the kitchen," he mouthed with his hand over the phone, and Ed took off like a rocket. He pulled his hand back down. "He just woke up, so I'll let you ask him about it after he's had his daily dose of coffee. He could probably use the talk. If you have the time, that is."

"I always have time to talk to him, you know that."

"That I do. But perhaps he doesn't. I suggest you remind him."

"Who're you talkin' to?" Ed asked from the doorway, cradling a cup of coffee in his hand.

Roy turned around and held out the receiver. "Why don't you find out?"

"I gotta put down my coffee."

"I think it's worth it."

"Well shit."

And certainly, the way Edward's face lit up as soon as he found out who it was made Roy think it most certainly was worth it.