Roy would never admit it to the kid, but when he had raised his voice a little in protest of the deep heating rub, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. The action was proof that Ed was still in there somewhere, and that Hohenheim hadn't quite defeated him.

Not quite broken, but still very, very hurt and damaged to the point where Roy could only hope he would recover.

So as Roy watched the boy, curled up on the bed with his pale bruise-littered skin and dark rings around his eyes despite his many hours of sleep, he was left wondering how he hadn't yet shattered. Roy was certain he would have broken long ago had he been in the same position. The boy's sheer strength and willpower never ceased to amaze him.

He tugged out the chair that had been sitting just under the desk and dropped himself into it with an apprehensive sigh, flipping the corners of the documents he held back and forth with the pad of his thumb.

Ed, still bundled to his chin in blankets, continued to stare at the ceiling with unfocused eyes and his mouth set in a grim line. Even if the boy clearly didn't have enough energy to go on his usual rants and tangents, Roy knew that wouldn't stop him from trying. It certainly wouldn't be an easy ride for either of them, but he could only imagine how much worse it would be for Ed.

He shook his head in what could either be fondness or disapproval, the small pained smile on his face suggesting the former but the glint in his eyes fighting towards the latter. He had already filled out the basics on the forms, Ed's name, age, medical records and the rest of the related drivel, leaving him with only one sheet left, an empty page that would soon be filled with a sickeningly long list of Ed's injuries and explanations of how they had occurred. Roy could only hope he would be able to get through Ed's recollection of events without either blowing a blood vessel or leaving Hohenheim with third degree burns before he could even stand trial. He could make no promises.

It was then that Maes sauntered into the room with two mugs of steaming coffee in hand, the vague stubble on his jaw and tired glaze over his eyes suggesting he needed it. He gently set one cup down next to Roy on the desk, putting his own down as well on the opposite side and nearly collapsing into a nearby armchair, sinking into it with a contented sigh that held a slight whisp of fear and sorrow. It was something that Roy rarely heard from the usually jolly and whole-hearted man, only seeming to wrench the knife in his heart and forcing him to face his harsh reality.

He let out a heavy breath through his nose, flipping through the thick pad of stapled documents in his hands before dropping it down on the desk and swinging his arm over it with a pen in hand, allowing himself visual access to both Ed and what he was writing.

"Okay, Ed." He began, his voice resonating off the hollow walls in the silence. "I'm sure you've already deducted this, but I need to ask you a few questions. I know this must be really hard for you, and I'm sorry, but we need to do it in order to put that man behind bars so he can't hurt you or anyone else ever again." He explained, a hint of danger scraping in his voice.

The only acknowledgement that Ed had heard him was a nearly unnoticeable flinch- a tiny pinch of his eyebrows that let a bit of his dicomfort shine through. Roy knew it was only the tip of the iceberg.

The edges of his mouth tugged out into a grim line, his brow furrowing in equal parts sympathy and dread.

"Okay, kid. First question- when did... When did the abuse begin?" He managed to utter, the words sitting like poison on his tongue.

Ed shifted uncomfortably under his blankets, not meeting the two soldier's eyes.

"Well, I mean, I guess that kind of depends..." He muttered sheepishly, his voice hardly above a whisper. Roy felt a twinge of alarm at the implications of his words. "He lived with me, Al, and my mother until I was about 5, then left. He hadn't exactly been kind to me during that time if you know what I mean." He chuckled humorously. "Since then, I haven't had any contact with him until this past week."

Roy swallowed stiffly. That was exactly what he was worried about. Not only had Ed been enduring the recent abuse, he had trauma from when he was practically a toddler to carry with him as well. He idly wondered how he could cause Hohenheim the most painful death possible, when he was struck with a realization.

"Edward, if you knew that Hohenheim was abusive, then why would you move in with him? Why would you put yourself in that situation?"

A crestfallen smile made it's way onto Ed's face, his eyes losing their focus as he retreated into memories of what could only be a warmer and happier time.

"Al doesn't remember the Hohenheim I know. He's always loved Al so much, and I could hardly blame him." He murmured, the melancholic smile only growing. "Al started meeting up with him a few weeks ago without me knowing. He came home one night, and finally spilled, saying that Hohenheim missed us and wanted us to be a family again." He explained, his face falling into something more solemn. "You should have heard him. He was so happy..." He paused, losing himself in his reveries for a moment before blinking a few times to readjust his vision. "Al deserves a family. He's still just a kid, and it's my fault that he can't act like one anymore. It's my fault he's in that suit of armour and it's my fault that he can't eat, sleep, or feel." He bit out, a frustrated sort of determination clouding his voice. A sigh slipper through his parted lips, smoothing the furrow in his brow and releasing the blankets from his clenched fist, opting to just fiddle the hem of the fabric between his fingers. "Al deserves a family, and if that involves me getting a little hurt in the process, so be it."

The room went silent for the umpteenth time that day, and though he couldn't take his eyes off of Edward, Roy saw Maes looking away out of the corner of his vision, shaking his head in disbelief with one hand tightly plastered over his mouth and the other wrapped around his waist.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he found himself unable to move, and even breathing seemed like a challenge in the room's thick air.

With Ed's words, so many things began to sink into place, yet at the same time everything seemed to be only further knocked into chaos. Many things began to make sense, especially now that he knew that Al wasn't even aware of the abuse, but the understanding of the situation only encouraged the nausea welling within him.

"Ed, you can't really believe that's true, right?" Maes pondered aloud, his voice lilting with disbelief.

Ed's brows lowered in confusion, as if he found it hard to believe anyone could believe that it wasn't his fault.

"What do you mean? Of course it's true. I talked him into it. I made him help me bring mom back. It didn't even work and now he's stuck like that until I can figure out how to fix my stupid mistakes." He stated matter-of-factly, shame and guilt forming thick clouds in his eyes. Roy shook his head with amazement towards how deep the boy's guilt really ran.

"Edward, you were just a kid. You didn't know any better."

Ed scoffed lightly with a roll of his eyes.

"Like hell I didn't know any better. I knew it was forbidden, I did it anyways." He countered, shifting slightly in the bed to look further away from Maes and Roy's burning gaze.

Roy just sighed, his heart sinking in his chest further than he even thought possible. He tossed down his pen, completely ignoring the empty page in front of him and forgetting all about the legal blather and instead focusing on Edward, whose hurt ran much deeper than he had realized.

He stood from his chair, Maes following immediately after, seemingly in the same mindset as Roy. Ed looked at him with eyes widened slightly in surprise at the his actions, even more so when Roy held out a hand to help him sit up.

Nonetheless, he wrapped both of his hands around Roy's, and slowly eased himself up into a sitting position, wincing with the movement. As soon as he was upright and settled, Maes sat on his other side, opposite Roy, all while Ed eyed them with an air of confusion and slight apprehension.

Before he could voice his bewilderment, he was enclosed in two pairs of strong arms, embracing him as gently as possible so as to not aggravate his sore body.

Though the two were ginger and considerate, Ed couldn't help his surprised sudden intake of breath. Their grips immediately loosened.

"Sorry, are we hurting you?" Maes asked softly, running a soothing hand over Ed's hair.

Ed blinked himself back to reality, attempting to process what had just happened.

"Oh, uh, no- no don't worry, I- you just surprised me, that's all." He stammered, still at a loss for what had illicited such a reaction from the two soldiers.

Having been assured that they weren't causing the boy any pain, their wrapped their arms back around him, holding him close and just cherishing his presence.

"You listen to me, Edward Elric." Roy began, his voice low and rumbling in his chest, adding a certain hint of sincerity to his words. "You don't have to carry the weight of your burdens alone. It's okay to share the load sometimes." He told him, a kind of heft to his voice that Ed couldn't quite pinpoint. "I promise you, Ed- none of this, absolutely none of this has been your fault. I swear to you. You didn't deserve this, you didn't deserve any of this, and I'm so sorry you had to go through it. I promise to you that I'll do everything in my power in order to make sure you'll never have to endure anything like that ever again." He added, and he said it with such determination that Ed couldn't help but believe him, leaving him wondering on earth he had done to deserve such kindness.

He, who had committed the ultimate taboo, condemning his brother to a lifeless suit of armour and killed his mother twice.

He, who tended to be aggressive and offensive at times when his frustration grew to be too much.

He, who even his own father couldn't love.

Edward Elric, so distorted and wrong and pathetic in so many ways, hardly deserved this love.

He slowly shook his head back and forth, as if he might be able to knock his thoughts back into order.

"W-Why," He croaked, his voice tired and cracking with emotion. "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much?"

Roy looked down at him, his face taut with shock and what Ed was surprised to perceive as hurt. The man just held him tighter.

"We're family, Ed. You and Al, me and the team, and of course Hughes. We're family, and that's what family does."