A/N: Morning! I'm so very sorry for the long absence, but I haven't found the time to post this chapter in the past few months. Thank you very much for waiting and I hope you'll enjoy it!

Not much warning for this, and evidently, I don't own anything besides the obvious. On the other hand, please leave me some feedback, I'd love to know what you think!

That being said, on with this...

Chapter 28 - Familiar Faces

Roy hummed to himself as he walked back home, admiring the beautiful green of the trees. Spring brought a new air with it, heavily scented with the blossoming flowers. He tightened his grip on the paper bag he carried, thinking what would be best to read on that beautiful Saturday, so rewardingly free after an awfully long week of continuous work.

He's been alone at home for quite a few days. Edward was taking part of a science congress that was held in South City. At first, it didn't sound all that interesting, but the moment the young alchemist heard just how much work they would have to do that week, he fled faster than a horse thief.

Roy wished he could have gone too, and with all the proper intentions. The main theme seemed interesting, something about a discovery in the field of molecular physics, but of course he couldn't – he had to be confined to his office chair and sign reports and promotion decrees. The latter wasn't all that bad because at last, after about three years since the Promised Day, all those who remained of the participants were rewarded for their efforts. That included his team, which hadn't been promoted in ages, and the Briggs soldiers who, at Major General Armstrong's most peculiar demand, were left at the end. He didn't understand her move, but he didn't comment on it. Actually, she spared him of a lot of trouble during the rehabilitation of the state, considering the Northern massive forces they've disposed of during the coup d'état.

'Ed should be home soon,' he thought airily, flexing his aching hand on the bag. He wondered when that would be, because the blond didn't leave him any details. Not that it hasn't become a common occurrence by then.

Lately, Fullmetal was heavily inclined towards flying away like the swiftest bird, spreading his wings as far and long as possible. He was excited to work on all sorts of projects, more dangerous than the others, to the point he actually started to take up missions without being threatened by anyone. Roy was worried for him, but what could he do besides waiting for him to say something?

But it was too beautiful of a day to think such sad thoughts. He could be depressed a bit later, he decided as he fished for his keys. He balanced the groceries on his hip and searched his pockets, which appeared to be depthless. He eventually found the keys stuck at one's bottom and took them out. He held them tightly in his hand as he turned around the corner to the back alley of his house. He has never enjoyed entering through the front door, he preferred the privacy of the other entrance, where no one would bother him.

He looked down into the paper bag, hoping he hasn't squished the early plums he had bought. That year, after the heavy snow that kept the earth warm and the high temperatures that followed, many trees blossomed much earlier, their spring fruits invading the colourful markets of Central City. He has waited the entire winter for those damned plums, he didn't want to squish them before he reached his destination. They looked safe between the bread and the eggs, and the rest of the groceries seemed intact under them.

He smiled, satisfied with himself. Let Edward ramble all he wanted that his arms would fall off if he continued to act like a flower and didn't stop making his subordinates carry his things – he could very well lift some bags. He wasn't inapt, he was only lazy. Or practical, as he preferred to call himself.

All his mirth dissipated as fast as it came when he raised his eyes. He walked cautiously slow, staring at the person who was sitting on the stairs that led to his back door.

The said person looked up at him and smiled. It was a teenager who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, perhaps a bit younger or maybe older, but not with much. He was tall, a bit gangly like he has grown in height too fast, and his deep blue eyes were expressive and intense. They had that sort of spark in them that indicated he enjoyed laughing. Those eyes were currently wary and guarded, but something joyful could still be glimpsed in them. His hair was light blond and awfully messy, even though it was styled into something that wanted to be tamed and not sticking in all directions, like it actually did.

The boy waved at him and his eyebrows lowered apologetically as he stood up. "I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to sit on your doorstep," he said politely, his voice sounding hoarse from lack of use. He swallowed drily to calm himself and gazed straight into the older man's black eyes.

Roy continued to fix him like one would look at an atrociously humongous piece of dirt. It was a mix of dread and annoyance, like he was seeing some mishap thing standing in his way. For all he knew, his reaction was more than entitled because, once again, something that has caught his interest managed to blow up in his face.

The previous year, he had asked Albert Crendell to search for a person he hasn't been aware it existed before he'd accidentally found some old identification papers. Curiosity got the best of him and he had to look for the stranger. Knowing how Crendell adored collecting facts about Roy, he'd asked him to follow the lead that brought him to Aerugo on his very first mission there with Major Armstrong.

Roy read whatever information Crendell provided him with most carefully and thoroughly, almost memorising it, but not once had he suspected that his person of interest would appear at his doorstep, and quite literally at that. He was very much content to know he existed and he didn't particularly care to meet him.

The teenager started feeling uneasy under the older man's inexpressive gaze. He looked a little startled into Mustang's dark eyes, seeing himself reflected in them.

Roy pressed his lips together in a thin line and cocked his head to the side, breaking the uncomfortable eye contact. The young boy felt grateful for that, because he didn't think he could possibly tear his eyes away from those onyx orbs which seemed to be reading into his soul without returning anything back.

"Um, Sir... Are you Roy Mustang? General Roy Mustang?" the blond boy asked timidly, but he wasn't given an answer. He cleared his throat and made to extend his hand to introduce himself, but he noticed Roy had both of his arms occupied with the large bag he was carrying and with the set of heavy keys dangling from one of his hands. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth again, but he was cut off fast.

"Not here, kid. Come in," Roy said surprisingly soft, trying his best not to scare the youth more than he has already done. Something inside him wanted to scream, but it wouldn't do to do that where anyone could hear. Not that his good neighbours would say anything, they were already used to his quirks, but it just didn't do.

The bag was placed once again against Roy's hip as he opened the back door. The stranger watched him apprehensively as he unlocked the entrance. "Follow me," the brunette made as he entered the house.

Roy put the groceries down and turned abruptly to his unexpected guest. The boy looked around his surroundings, not wanting to disturb anything but also for assessing the place.

Mustang sighed. All he wanted to do that day was to read and eat plums, maybe visit his Aunt later for a drink and some good old catch up. Why couldn't he be left alone to do just that? Was it that much to ask for his plans to be respected by fate just once? He crossed his arms over his chest and watched the teenager turn his blue eyes back at him. He had his attention.

"What are you doing here?" Roy asked, sounding irritated. He clenched his teeth. The only young person to whom he talked regularly was Edward, at whom it was impossible not to snap from time to time. He needed to sound less sour, he thought.

The stranger watched him apprehensively, like he was calculating his next move. "I'm sorry?" the boy inquired, but found himself displeased by his own tone. He tried again, more levelled. "Pardon me, Sir, do you know who I am?"

"Depends," Roy made dispassionate as he rested his back against a wall. "Who are you?"

"My name is Calder. My mother told me to look for you just before she died, Sir," the teenager replied, something panging in his voice. Roy measured him with his eyes, taking in the new information. When he received his report from Crendell, the boy's mother was still alive. He nodded, expecting to hear what the other had to say. "She said you know my father," Calder continued, taking the hint.

"And who might he be?" Roy asked, feeling his blood pressure rising exponentially in his head. He already knew the answer, but he had to hear it. He had to hear it from the source.

"Telford Mustang," the boy retorted serenely and looked into his eyes. "Do you know where I can find him?"

XXXXX

Edward nearly had a heart attack when the conductor shook him awake. He was announced that the train was already leaving the Central Station, where he was supposed to descend. With a start, the alchemist thanked the kind conductor and snatched his suitcase. He jumped out of the moving wagon, startling the unaware people bundled at the end of the station. He yelled another thanks in the train's direction and apologised to the citizens he had hit in his fuss.

Without waiting for anyone to reply to his excuses or curse him for his imprudence, Ed made his way through the crowded station, guiding himself on instinct rather than visuals. He could barely see what was in front of him, not to mention what was farther away. Everyone around him appeared to be taller than him and he couldn't see a thing. He felt every bit like a lost child.

Kicking his path to the exit, he emerged into the equally lively streets of the capital city. The good weather seemed to have extracted everyone out of their houses, otherwise he couldn't explain those masses of people who flowed in his way.

He turned to the narrower streets, where there were fewer people. He looked up at the sunny sky, enjoying how his face warmed up. He wondered what Roy was doing, if their shared house got blew up or, at the very least, got thrashed while he was away. He dreaded the state he would find the kitchen and the living room, knowing the older officer probably didn't have the time to clean up anything, given his schedule.

He frowned as he entered the Central City Park, deciding to cut through it. He'd prefer to see unwashed dishes than none. Plates in the sink meant that Roy had been at home. He hoped the man had taken care of himself while he has been away and hadn't forgotten to eat or sleep.

Hawkeye had assured him that she would make sure their commanding officer remembered he had base needs like any other human, but he knew that particular week must have been tough on him, with all the work he had to do.

He stopped at a bakery and acquired some pastries, not knowing if Roy had the time to buy anything to eat. He would go out for groceries after he assessed the situation at home. He'd yell at his partner and then take care of him, kick him underneath the covers and put him to sleep, if he was too tired, but he needed to see him first.

Edward smiled gently, thinking about how much like a mother hen he could get sometimes. It was usually Alphonse who worried about everything, not him, but it seemed his brother rubbed that attitude on him. Oh well, perhaps that was what it meant to be an adult, having to shoulder such worries. He had carried so much since he was a child, he wondered how much more burden he would have to put up from then on.

He genuinely cared for Roy's well-being, he didn't want to see him waste himself because he didn't realise his limits. He knew just a week without him wouldn't render Mustang completely useless, but he enjoyed showing his love in those little ways. He hated himself sometimes, preventing him from having a normal life. At least for as long as he could, he would offer Roy all that he had.

The blond wiped away the tear that threatened to fall on his cheek. He didn't want to be sad on such a beautiful day, when the nature forgot of all the coldness it endured that winter.

XXXXX

Roy could swear someone from up above didn't particularly like him.

He blinked, unable to make the young boy in front of him disappear, looking back at him with those deep blue eyes he knew so well. The eyes of his family, those endless doors he had never walked through.

Calder watched him patiently, feeling hopeful. The man in front of him held some familiarity to him, he noticed as he examined his features. Even if he has been sent by his mother to find him, he didn't know much about the officer besides his name. He shared the same name with his father, so they were probably related in some way. His mother hadn't said anything about that. Other than that, he appeared to be young, he'd say somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties, and he thought that he was rather handsome. The teenager enjoyed looking at people, wondering what they did for a living and what their story was. He chanced another glance into Roy's eyes, wanting to do the same as he did with everyone, to guess about him, but he found himself unable to. Those eyes were too dark for him and all he could see in them was his own image staring back at him.

He also noted that Roy has gone awfully pale, his skin a stark contrast to his charcoal hair. He might not have been able to read him, but he couldn't ignore that the brunette looked like he might faint. That much was obvious. "Um, Sir?" he made concerned, not knowing what to do.

Roy rubbed his temples in response. He was loosely aware from Crendell's report that his most wonderful uncle indeed had a son which appeared to have popped out of nowhere, but not once did he think that the said son would come looking for him. He has been made aware that this boy existed six months before and hasn't thought about him in just about as much. He has been content enough just with reading about him from a sheet of paper, he didn't need to be presented with the living person. It was by accident that he heard of him. He might have asked things about him, but that didn't necessarily mean he wanted anything to do with the boy.

That boy was his family, though. They were cousins by blood. His only cousin, who came to ask him about his father. How could he possibly tell Calder that he could go find his father in a shallow hole in Eastern Amestris, next to the charred remains of his brother and sister-in-law? He couldn't possibly tell him that.

Roy inhaled deeply. "Look, kid," he started, but he got interrupted.

"My name-"

"Is Calder, right? I got that part. You can call me Roy, if you want, yes?" The teenager nodded, looking at him expectantly. Roy took another breath, this time more decisive. "Look, Calder, I can't help you. I am very sorry that your mother died, you have my sincerest condolences, but you came here for nothing. She didn't send you to the right person." He looked away, not able to face him.

"But I thought-"

The telephone in the living room started ringing violently, startling both of them. Roy raised his hand and motioned for the other to wait for him. He hurried deeper inside the house.

Fluidly, Roy caught the ringing apparel and snatched a little notebook, a pencil already in his hand in case he needed to write down what he heard. "Mustang," he replied.

"It's a secured line, Sir," the person from the speaker told him. He recognised Hawkeye's voice, newly promoted to the rank of Captain. "You need to come to the office right now. I've sent Breda and Havoc to your house, they will be there shortly."

"What for?" Roy asked, but he was already turning towards the door, ready to leave when she told him.

"Sir, just come to the office," Riza repeated. Even if that was a secured line, she didn't want to tempt fate and say something that she shouldn't.

Roy exhaled audibly and nodded like there was someone in front of him. He heard some noise coming from the entrance door and extended his neck as much as he could, unable to see more without dropping the phone. "Alright, I'll be there shortly," he replied hastily and hung up, going to see what has happened.

Edward stood with his back at the door and was apparently questioning Calder, who held his arms up defensively. The blond alchemist looked behind him and frowned. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked and put his hands on his hips, his suitcase already on the floor.

Roy rubbed his neck, irritated. "Don't ask. Come with me, I need you to do something," he said and returned to the living room.

Edward let out an enraged grunt. "Ta, this better be worth it," he muttered under his breath and got past Calder, who stood dumbly and watched him go. Not knowing what else to do, he followed the two officers, keeping his distance from them.

Roy moved fast across the room, holding a cardboard box in his arms. He put it down by the phone, which was on the floor, and turned his head to Ed. "Close the curtains," he instructed. Edward obeyed the order, but not without his fair share of grumbling. "What's going on? I'm out for a week and-"

"Havoc and Breda should be here shortly, I'm going to the office," Roy said without listening. "They know what to do with these," he pointed to the box. "I'll be back soon."

"Yeah, but-"

Roy's brows furrowed angrily, visibly displeased. The blond crossed his arms over his chest and let out a puffy breath. "Seriously, what-"

"If you really don't want to stay cooed up in the records room and do inventories for the rest of the year, I suggest you wait nicely for the guys. Am I clear, Lieutenant Colonel?"

Edward snorted and waved him off. "Do you hear yourself talking?" he commented and looked at his nails. "Not even I would let myself in the records room, idiot."

Roy made an exasperated gesture as he snatched his uniform coat from a chair. "Just stay put and wait for Breda and Havoc, that's all I'm asking, okay? Please!" He ran up the stairs, probably to change in his uniform. When he returned, he was buttoning up his undershirt, the uniform jacket opened and loose around his upper body. "And take the bags from the door, I've bought some groceries."

"Ha! That's a miracle," Ed said sarcastically and rolled his eyes just because. "You'd better explain what the hell's going on when you come back, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Roy made as he jumped into his boots, abandoned by the lamp's leg. He looked up and remembered there was also his cousin in the same room with them. "By the way, that's Calder," he said, pointing towards the boy. "Calder, this is Edward Elric. I'd like you to stay with him until I come back, we will talk then. Is that alright with you?"

The teenager nodded. "Yes, of course, I can wait. Nice meeting you, Edward," he called cheerily and waved his hand. "Can I help with the groceries? Actually, I'll go get them," he added and went back to the hallway, where Roy has left the bag.

Edward looked at Roy and snapped his fingers to get his attention. "Who the hell is that?"

"You won't believe me if I tell you," the brunette whispered to him, not wanting to be overheard.

"Try me," Ed whispered back.

Roy finished lacing his boots and straightened to his full height. He paced to the door and stopped before walking out. "He's my uncle's son."

Fullmetal's head snapped up. "No way!"

"I'd wish!"

"What's he doing here?"

"See you later, sunshine," Roy said, ignoring his question. He kissed the blond on top of his head before going to the front door, where Hawkeye was waiting for him in the car.

Edward watched him close the door behind him. He was used to seeing Roy rushing out to work during the weekend or having to wait for some of their team mates to intercept calls or things like those – though never at home, that was a first – but he didn't think he got the last part right. He was so confused, he had even forgotten to yell for being called that obnoxious nickname again.

"Can you show me where the kitchen is?"

Ed turned on his heels and looked at Calder, who was carrying a big brown bag in one arm and his suitcase in the other. "Sure, but give me the suitcase, it's heavy."

"No, it's fine," the boy brushed him off, but Ed took his luggage nevertheless and put it next to the couch. Calder smiled at him and tilted his head. "So, the kitchen?"

"Here, come with me."

They went in silence to the kitchen, where Calder put the bag down. He quietly placed the rather careful packed groceries on the large table in the middle and looked up at Edward, who was filling the kettle with water. "I'm making coffee, do you want some?"

The younger blond shook his head, but then stopped to consider the question. "If you have some milk, I'd like some, please."

Ed pulled a face. "Ugh, milk," he muttered and put the bottle on the table. "Help yourself," he said as he stirred the powdered coffee in the heating water over the stove. The granules slowly mixed with the colourless liquid, making it turn brown.

Behind him, Calder pulled a seat and sat on it, looking curiously at the other person in the room. He wanted to ask a lot of things, but he didn't want to sound impolite. He watched Edward turn around and hop on the counter top. "If you want, you can go to the living room," he told him. "I'll stay here to make sure the coffee doesn't spill over, it always waits for the moment I leave the room."

"No, it's fine. I'll wait with you, if you don't mind," Calder replied warmly and smiled. He crossed his legs and set to examining the room, trying to learn more about Roy Mustang, the man who had the same name like his father.

Fullmetal put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, doing his own bit of examination of the boy who, by then, started to exasperate him with his repeated 'No, it's fine'. Leaving that aside, he had to admit the youth had a bit of Mustang's face, or actually some of his family's features, such as the nose and chin. His hair was very blond, almost golden like his own, and it was so messy he wanted to ask him if he shared Roy's bad habit of brushing it only when the planets aligned just right and the angels sang up above.

With every second, the teenager looked more like a younger version of Roy, one that was fair-haired and blue-eyed. It was strange to see such a striking resemblance into someone's sibling. He supposed that was the same with him and his brother, but he and Alphonse had such different characters, it was impossible not to wonder if they were actually related, no matter how alike they looked.

It was true that Calder held some familiarity to his cousin, however, Edward didn't know anything else about him. "So, how old are you?" he asked, deciding to get to what was coming first, then draw conclusions.

"I'll be sixteen at the end of spring," Calder replied and put his head on his palms. "So technically, I'm still fifteen. What about you, Edward? I hope you don't mind me calling you that, right?"

Ed gasped a little. What was with kids these days, looking so much older than their age? That wasn't fair, the boy was taller than him and he would be growing up more, if he was only fifteen. "I'm twenty-one...," he mumbled.

"Really? You don't look that old!"

Thankfully, the coffee started boiling in that precise moment, because Edward didn't trust himself not to cause a scene after that particular remark. He merely stirred the hot beverage and let it brew a little longer before he turned off the gas. He put a saucer over the kettle to let the mixture blend.

"But I guess nor does Roy," Calder added. "He's a General, he should be at least, what – forty? Fifty?"

"Not necessarily, there are young Generals in the army," Ed retorted, thinking of Armstrong or Crendell. "His thirty-first anniversary was last year, but he's an alchemist. We attain the rank of Major after getting the licence." And he also fought in the war, but Ed didn't want to add that to Mustang's résumé.

"You're an alchemist, too?"

"Mhm. Fullmetal, if you've ever heard the name."

"Of course I have, I thought I've recognised your name! I lived a while in Aerugo, but you are known there, too! The youngest registered alchemist ever!"

"Do you know anything about alchemy?" Ed asked, his interest peaked. Calder nodded, but his head tilted a bit to the side. "Not as much as I'd like to... I'd love to learn about the medical alchemy from Xing, alkahesty, but my mother didn't encourage me that much and I didn't get to find too many works on it. She said she didn't want me to learn alchemy, but I took anything I could find from the libraries in my home city."

'I don't wonder why your mom didn't want you to learn alchemy,' Edward thought. Knowing the history with that science in the Mustang family, he wouldn't advertise it to the younger generation either. "Alkahesty? Why?"

"Because I'd like to become a doctor and if you want to cure a person, you must know as much as you can from the medical field. I wouldn't want to be ignorant of alternative remedies, because all that matters is to heal the individual, not to practise one method."

"That's an astute remark."

"Thank you. That's what I've told my mother, too, but she wouldn't listen to me. She was a nurse, you see, but she didn't agree with me."

"Well, each to their own."

"Evidently. I heard a lot about Roy, too, he's the Flame Alchemist, right? Do you think I could ask him to help me with studying about alchemy?"

Ed didn't want to make any promises, because he wasn't sure the boy would want to even think of Roy after he learnt the whole truth. He shrugged. "You should talk to him, but I don't know." 'He killed people with alchemy, your dad included, he will want to teach you for sure,' Edward thought sardonically, but kept it to himself.

Calder looked a little diminished, but he didn't let it show for too much. "I will... I actually came to him because my mom sent me to him, but he said he couldn't help me. But he said he would talk to me later, so I guess that's a good thing," he commented, keeping up his cheery mood. He looked like a very happy teenager, one that faced everything with a smile.

Edward had to admire that in him. That was a brae attitude. He wondered if Roy used to be the same, when he was his age. Has it been so easy to smile for him, having his mind drunk on righteous ideals and believing the world was just? Has it been as natural to him to want to know more to help others, too blinded by his big heart to see the dirt that stained everyone, to anticipate the blood that he would leave behind in his future and the corpses that would bundle in his closets, plunging out once he opened the doors?

Was the boy in front of him what it was normal for a teenager to look like? He wasn't sure, because when he had been at that age, not that long before that day, he spent his days travelling with an empty suit of armour in the desperate quest to acquire their bodies back after he and his brother attempted the ultimate taboo.

With that in mind, Ed vowed to himself that, even if Roy decided he didn't want anything to do with his cousin, he at least could try to point him in a good direction, one that wouldn't maim his soul.

"Are you staying anywhere right now? I don't see any luggage with you."

Calder nodded. "Mhm, I'm staying at a hotel not too far from here. I have some money, it's not a problem. Do- do you live here?"

Ed supposed that was a sensible question, considering things. He nodded.

"So you are Roy's roommate?"

"You could say that, yes," he replied, not sure if he should say anything more. He had a gut feeling that told him he could trust that stranger, but he's lived long enough to know that few things were what they seemed.

Merciful to his inner musings, the doorbell rang. Ed buried his hands in his pockets and went to the door, rising on his toes to look through the peep hole. He opened the door and backed off.

"Hey, boss, back already?" Breda echoed in the hallway. "You don't know what a shitty week you've missed at the office."

"I'm good without knowing," Ed said mirthfully and clasped the man's hand.

"Hey, boss!" Havoc greeted him loudly and closed the door behind him. "The chief's already out?"

"You've just missed him," the blond replied and motioned for the red haired officer and the retired Lieutenant to follow him to the living room. "He's left you this box, he said you'd know what to do with it."

"Hm, thanks, boss," Breda made and started taking out wires from the box.

Havoc started sniffing the air and patted his breast pocket. Taking the hint, Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes, Havoc, you can smoke, just open the window."

"Yes, Sir!" the tall blond said happily and pulled out a cigarette. He started conversing about the wires with Breda and they set themselves on connecting what appeared to be a portable telecommunication station.

"What're you doing?" Edward asked as he returned with coffee from the kitchen. Behind him, Calder came with some cups.

"We're just relaying some codes through this house's telephone," Breda started explaining. "The chief's having them sent through redundant posts until the final destination so they won't be intercepted. We don't know more, Hawkeye sent us here pronto to do the cabling and rebound the message, with some altered parts, evidently, in case it has already been decoded through one of the lines.

"Could it be any vaguer?"

"'Course it can, we'd had shadier missions," Jean replied and blew out some smoke. The cigarette dangled out of his mouth while he talked. "Hey, who's the kid behind you?" he asked and pointed with his head.

"That's Calder, you can trust him," Edward replied. "They're Havoc and Breda, in case you were wondering," he told the boy, who nodded. "Why are you wiring Mustang's home phone? I thought you guys didn't use personal effects, I mean, isn't it a bit too obvious?"

"Beats me," Havoc said monotonously. He connected the telephone on the little coffee table by the couch to the box and took out a tapping device like the ones that were used for the telegraphs.

"That's 'cause you're an idiot, dimwit," Breda huffed annoyed. "The best places to hide are the most obvious, so we're using the chief's house because we've already checked it and it's the safest from all area. We've got Miss Carol from the telephone's room messing with the signal anyway, so don't beat your head over it."

"Not Fuery?"

"No, he's the one sending the message."

Edward shrugged. He didn't understand what was happening, so he let the officers set up their equipment. The telephone started ringing and Havoc swiftly took the receiver. He counted three seconds then hung up. It started ringing again and that time he pulled a switch on the console. "There goes."

"Now what?"

"Now we wait."

XXXXX

It was much later when Roy returned home, his head throbbing in ways he wouldn't wish even to his worst enemies. He felt around the doorknob and entered his house, having to take a step back and inhale before going anywhere further.

He was instantly hit by a cloud of smoke so thick it could as well have been from something burning. He hurried to the living room and found Havoc sitting on the coffee table, puffing slowly from a leaf cigar and relating some sort of tale.

"HAVOC!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing with my aunt's cigars?!"

Edward let out a guilty noise, sounding a bit like a dying whale. He sank lower on the couch as Roy's eyes found his. "Seriously? I've told you I've gotten them for Chris! It's going to be her birthday in a few days, for fuck's sake!"

"Um, I forgot...," Ed mumbled behind a pillow.

Roy clicked his tongue over his teeth. He took the cigar from Havoc, took a drag from it and blew it straight into the former Lieutenant's face, making his eyes sting. "Okay, out with you two, now," he said and pointed to the door for the two fine gentlemen smoking his aunt's present which he looked for in every tobacco shop he found.

Breda and Havoc looked at each other quite unimpressed for how demanding their chief sounded, but they still rose to their feet. Unenthusiastically, Breda motioned for a small black notebook which lay by the telephone. "There goes, chief. You know the drill."

"Mhm, burn after reading," Roy mumbled as he opened the window. "It smells like you've smoked sausages in here, the stench is going to take years to get out!"

"That's not right, you know...," Breda said with a shrug. Roy glared at him. "Anyway, we should get going."

"Your words are music to my ears," the General said and smirked. "See you at the office," he told Breda and looked at Havoc. He picked the half empty box of cigars and threw it at Havoc. "At least finish it, since you've opened it."

"Thanks, chief."

"Don't mention it, but you'd better find me something similar for Chris," Roy said dismissively. The two men left the house after saying their goodbyes, leaving the brunette alone.

He turned on his heels and remembered he was not what people usually called 'alone'. On the contrary, two pairs of eyes were watching him, golden ones with evident boredom and blue ones with curiosity.

He would take Edward's impassive stares any other day over the look of hope that was etched on his little cousin's face.

Roy waved at Calder, who was patiently sitting on the couch, his legs crossed and hands clasped over his raised knee. "I see you've stayed," he said and the lad nodded.

"Of course, you've told me to wait for you. It was only natural that I'd stay," Calder replied smoothly, his smile brilliant.

Roy chewed on his tongue, a little unhappy with his cousin, who sounded too bright for his taste. If he were some dim bloke with little to no mind, it would have been easier to send him going.

Edward looked at his partner and then at the boy – who was not much younger than him, but whatever - and they were both staring at each other, like they were waiting for the other to talk. He sighed audibly and jumped from his seat. "I'm going to the study to read, you two solve whatever problem you have. I'm not in the mood to watch your staring contest."

The two siblings turned their eyes to Ed and he shrugged. "Just talk to the kid. You owe him that much," he said and left them in silence.

"Hm," Roy exhaled. "Tell me, Calder, have you eaten for the evening?"

The boy smiled. "Edward said that we should eat just before you've arrived, so no, not really."

"Then it's settled. I need you to meet someone. I shall tell you everything, but I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Don't hate me for what I'll say to you."

Calder looked taken aback. "Why should I hate you? I don't know anything about you."

"You will see soon enough."

XXXXX

On their way to Chris Mustang's pub, Roy started regretting his choice of asking Calder to come meet someone. He thought that he should introduce him to his aunt - their aunt, actually - but then he would need to tell him about what has happened. He didn't have to, he could make up some lie, but he supposed that Edward was right – he owed him that much. It was feeling a bit as if his uncle took him out for dinner and told him over a bite of steak that he had brutally murdered his parents, but he wasn't his uncle.

Thinking of that, he wasn't that much different from Telford Mustang. At least, he wouldn't do any harm to Calder, who seemed like a decent person.

They walked in silence, the boy silently taking in everything he saw. People passed by them at different paces, but most of them were out for a promenade, since it was Saturday afternoon.

He opened the door to the bar for Calder and he followed him in. Some working girls saw him and waved, perhaps wanting to exchange a few words, but the looks Roy gave them signalled them that they should carry on with their business. He wasn't there for socialising.

They made their way to the counter, where Chris was polishing an already pristine glass. She looked up at her nephew with a smile and then, she saw his companion. Her smile didn't falter, but she appeared like she was seeing double.

"Madame, can we take a moment of your time?" Roy asked, his voice not as flamboyant as he usually greeted his aunt.

"Sure, my boy, wait for me in the backroom. I'll be there shortly," she said and disappeared among her customers.

Calder's eyes roamed around the pub, almost missing the little conversation between Roy and the woman behind the counter. He didn't know her, but it seemed like he was about to meet her. He followed the older man to a corridor that led to a wide set of doors, ending with a staircase leading to the upper floor and the basement.

They climbed the stairs and entered in one of the rooms, exquisitely decorated with fine tapestries. Roy pointed to the couch. "You should take a seat," he said as he took off his coat. The evenings were still a little chilly.

Calder sat quietly. He remembered how his mother told him when he was little not to go with strangers, but he had a feeling he couldn't quite put at ease about Roy. He somehow trusted him, with those shallow eyes of his and quick smiles and frowns.

Roy coughed in his fist, gathering a bit of courage to talk to his cousin. The boy shifted his glance at him, giving him all of his focus.

"Look, Calder, I don't know how to start this... it's a bit of a delicate situation, you see."

"Alright, there's no problem," he replied gently.

"No, it's not just a problem, it's a huge problem. What- what do you know about me?"

Calder adopted that look of sheer confusion. "Not something relevant, if that's what you're asking. I didn't ask the guys that came to your house about anything, either, I promise I won't tell a soul about that!"

"You probably shouldn't tell anyone about that, true, but that's not what I'm saying."

"Oh, alright," he said and nodded, like showing he understood. "It's not much, only that you're in the army and your age from Edward... but I guess you are somehow related to my father."

"What gives?" Roy asked a little defensively.

"You have the same name, that's all."

"Oh," Roy made dumbly. "Oh, yeah, we are."

"So we're related, too? We're family, then?"

"That is correct," Roy said with unease.

Calder didn't seem to notice that particular feeling in his interlocutor, so he asked just as excitedly, "What's your relationship to my father?"

"We are... um..." Roy didn't know what tense to use for what he was to Telford. "My father was his brother," he said awkwardly, but the boy caught up immediately.

"So it means we're cousins? That's amazing! I have no other relatives from my mother's side, so you're the first! We're cousins!" Calder said happily. "That's great!"

"Yeah, we are, um, cousins. Yeah..."

"Then I have an uncle, too! This is fantastic, I've never had any siblings before."

Roy gave him a pained stare. "About right..."

"But you said they were brothers, as in past tense... did something happen to him?"

Roy nodded. "Both my parents have been dead for more than twenty-five years now."

"Oh, I'm- I'm sorry."

"Thank you," the brunette retorted. "Damn it, I don't know how to tell you. You seem like a good kid and you don't deserve to be told this, it's just gruesome. But I feel like I should be honest with you. If finding your family is why you've came here for... you're going to be disappointed. You won't be able to find your father."

"Why not? I thought-"

"He is dead, Calder. I can only show you his grave."

The blond's face fell. "But-"

Roy rose abruptly and crouched next to his cousin's seat on the sofa. "Please, Calder, let me explain. Please," Roy begged. "We were a bigger family, but now the only ones left are the two of us and our aunt, Chris. She is the owner of this place. She has taken me in after my parents died. They-" he took in a breath, "they have been murdered by your father."

"What?" Calder said shocked. "That's impossible!"

"It very much is, I've seen it with my own eyes. I was only five, but I still remember some things. They didn't deserve that," he said warily. "My father married the one my uncle has made an obsession for. Telford lived in Dad's shadow and he has been wronged by him many times, but his marriage topped it all. And when I was born... well, they stopped working like brothers, my father and yours. Telford, he killed my parents and set their house on fire, but Chris managed to grab me and made a run for it."

Calder stared at him. His mouth has opened and he couldn't close it. Roy hated himself for making him look like that. "After that, two years ago, he has resurfaced. Your father, I mean. I found out through my work, and at first I thought he was a menace to the state. That's what we all thought, but we were wrong. He tried- he tried to finish me off and he caught others in it," he said, deliberately leaving Edward out of his explanation. "I eventually had to defend myself and the rest and... and I had to kill him. I- I'm sorry."

Roy looked down abruptly, ashamed. It was one thing to say that to his aunt, who has been with him since the beginning of that madness, but it was another to relay it to someone who didn't know him, who hasn't lived any of the drama. He couldn't fathom imagining how it must have sounded to the poor boy, who was being told by the one who has slaughtered his father that his parent was a murderer. He didn't want to know what was happening in his mind, in his soul, because he was feeling what was in his.

Shame, deep shame.

Calder looked at the man, sitting on his knees in front of him, like he was looking for forgiveness. He didn't understand, it couldn't be that the one who looked at him so pitiably has done such monstrosity.

But if he was right, and that his father has also done such atrocities... strangely, in all the ire that was bubbling in his chest, threatening to explode, he felt eerie sympathy. They have been put in the exact situation. Roy has experience the death of his parents and somehow avenged them. Calder was being told about his father's death and he had a choice ahead of him.

"Why did you do it?" Calder asked, his voice surprisingly levelled. Roy looked up at him like he was about to be struck by lightning.

"I... It wasn't me that was supposed to get him. We had a special team ready to take him in. He would have served in prison for the rest of his life, but... I just couldn't help it."

"Oh," Calder said. "That's- that's a shitty reason," he burst. "You don't just kill those who unnerve you, then there'll be no one to walk this earth!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, boy," Roy snapped, his eyes rimmed with red as he looked up. "You didn't see what people can do to each other for no reason, you have never seen a war starting for serving solely someone's interest and ravaging everything that didn't serve the purpose. You haven't seen children dying because they stood in the way." Roy thumped his fist over his heart. "But I have, I was made to clean them off, to make way for the armies to advance. You don't know what it feels to be helpless, to take innocent lives. He... he tried to slay the one I love above all. I just couldn't take it again, to see yet another killed just for standing in the way, it- it was too much for me."

XXXXX

Chris fretted around her customers, making sure everything ran smoothly before she retreated to find her nephew. She had a certain feeling that something was going to be wrong.

She hurried to open the door to the backroom, as they called the second floor booth. She found Roy kneeling on the floor in front of the shocked boy on the couch, staring at him puzzled. None of them looked at her when she entered, but Roy buried his face in his palms like he was hiding.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and studied the young boy that was sat down. He lifted his eyes and she immediately recognised that blue gaze. Her lips formed a thin line. She squeezed Roy's shoulder and he flinched.

"This is Calder, Chris," Roy murmured. "He's Uncle's kid."

"I see," she said. "That, I see."

XXXXX

Edward walked in circles in the study. He did pick up a book with the intention to read it, but the only thing he has done since that was pacing around. It was as if he could pick up on Roy's anxiety, choking him in ways that shouldn't.

He wondered if his partner would tell the boy the truth. If he did, Roy would definitely come back home devastated.

He heard the outside door shut with a loud thump, signalling that Roy has returned. He found him zooming out of space, focusing on a spot on the wall. "Hey, bugger," Edward said gently and touched his arm. "Come here, you," he tugged him between his opened arms. Roy shuddered but didn't say anything, only he leaned in the embrace. He put his arms around Edward's waist.

"Shh, you overgrown child, don't knock me over," Ed jested. Roy tightened his hold on him.

"I've told him, you know," he said brokenly. "I told him and he just took it. He was understanding. I told him what he did to you, and he understood." He pushed his beloved to look in his eyes. "How could he be so understanding?"

"I keep on telling you this, but you never listen to me. You're not a bad person, Roy, you've just been in bad situations."

"You think?"

Edward chuckled. "Yes, idiot, now let's wash up that stupid face of yours with some cold water and everything will be alright. Okay?"

"Okay," Roy said submissively and took Edward's hand.

That was not how he has envisioned that sunny Saturday that was supposed to be restful and cheery. It has been far from that, but lately, nothing really worked out his way.

A/N: That's it for now! This story is getting very close to its end, it won't be long before it's done. If you have taken a peek at some of the previous chapters, I have managed to edit a few, but not all of them – that's why some have capital letters in the title and some don't. I will get them done in time, but please, bear with me.

Thank you again for reading and please, leave me some feedback. It makes my day.

Until next time, bye-bye!