Title: A Threat, A Realization, and A Hope

Rating: M

Pairing: EdxLust

Genre: Drama, Romance

Summary: "Lustful Humanity" Part 3. Lust visits Ed at home, and they find out that both of them are hiding something.

Warning: Graphic scenes, language

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Fullmetal Alchemist.

Authors Note: Here is the third part in the "Lustful Humanity" series. This one is a lot more plot than anything else but I still managed to stick a limey-lemon thing in there. There will be another one after this, but I'm in the process of writing two other fma stories right now, so it might take awhile, but I promise to write as quickly as I can. Hope you enjoy the story! R&R for elongated imaginary hugs... or high fives or something...

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"Niisan, what are you still doing up? You're usually asleep by the time I get back from my walk…" Al said as he closed the dorm door behind him. He stared at the braided boy slumped over the desk, doing whatever had him so involved that he didn't even hear the younger boy call him. Al sighed, used to Ed and his way of blocking out the world sometimes. As he softly padded across the room he heard the tell-tale scratching hiss of a pen flying across paper.

"Ed…" Al sighed in a tender, disapproving tone while he draped his arms around the older alchemist's shoulders.

"Oh, Al. I didn't hear you come back," Ed said, flinching at first but quickly relaxing as he leaned back into the embrace. He dropped the pen he was using, flexing his tired hand before gently placing it on the arm across his chest. He felt the warmth in Al's forearm sooth the aching muscles.

"Are you studying Niisan? What book is this?" Al asked as he leaned over Ed a bit to flip the book back to its cover. There was a silent pause as he read the title then flipped the book back to its original place. "Why are you…" he started, not really knowing where he was going, "I thought that now…"

"I know Al. It's just—"

"I thought that we were done with human transmutation!" Al exclaimed, his voice rising slightly as he pulled back, eyes flashing at the scrawled notes all over the desk.

Ed stood up and in one fluid motion pulled Al into his arms. "Shhh, Al. You don't have to worry. It'll be—"

"I almost lost you once, but by some miracle you're still here. I don't know what I'd do without you Niisan," he said softly through a thick voice.

"I know, but it was worth it though. You got your body back." He didn't give Al a chance to say whatever was about to come out of his mouth in reply though. "This is just something that I have to do now."

Al sighed heavily and let himself relax into the hug. Ed silently thanked him for that.

"I know Niisan, and… no matter how much I may not like it, I'm here to help you too."

Ed thanked him for that too.

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"And I want a full report this time Fullmetal. And no making Al write it either, I can tell when he does it. It's actually intelligent."

"Hardy har-har. You crack me up every time Mustang. What would we do around here without your comedy to lift up our spirits?" Ed said through his usual scowl that he mainly reserved for the Colonel. Havoc chuckled at his desk, but promptly pretended to be working again when Roy shot him a look that would kill if it could.

"Like I was saying," he said with heavy annoyance in his tone, "this may look like a paid vacation but I don't like to see time wasted by one of my subordinates. If you're going to Resembool, I think it's only fair to ask you to complete those surveys… Ed, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah yeah yeah, complete the dumb surveys. I heard you," Ed mumbled, flopping the packet of forms on his lap and shoving them none-to-carefully into his well-worn jacket.

"Well considering how I got you this two-week vacation in the first place, I think it would be equivalent exchange if you would do this one simple task for me. It should be easy for you anyway, considering how you almost never shut that loud mouth of yours," Mustang said, smirking in his office chair.

The blonde harrumphed with a pout on his face, crossing his arms over his chest. Mustang had to hold back a laugh at the extremely childish act.

Some things never change I guess.

"Are there any other witty remarks you wish to make while you still have a chance?"

"No Fullmetal, that's it. You and Alphonse have a good trip and I'll see you in two weeks."

Ed stood up from the chair before Mustang's desk and threw back a quick 'thanks', still obviously pissed at Roy's previous comment. The young alchemist waved to the first lieutenant as she wished him well and nodded as Havoc told him to take it easy. He opened the office door (now lock-clad after a weird break-in about seven months ago. Roy couldn't explain it—the only damage was to his own desk and nothing had been stolen) and without another word, slipped into the hallway.

"It's good for him and Alphonse to get a break. They haven't really gotten time to spend together since Al… came back," Hawkeye said, standing by Roy's desk, holding a folder of papers for him to sign.

Mustang took the folder from her hands and grabbed the first paper, signing the lines without reading as he talked. "Knowing Ed though, it won't be two days before they get into some sort of mischief."

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"Do you own a vehicle? And if so, how often a week would you say you drive it?" Ed read almost robotically as he bent over the paper, pencil in hand, ready to check the 'yes' or 'no' box.

"Ed, you know I'm glad you and Al are spending some time here with me and Granny but do you really have to ask these boring questions?" Winry said, smiling at the obviously bored boy sitting across from her on the couch.

"Aww, come on Winry. You know Mustang practically begged me to fill out these stupid surveys for him. I figured I'd cut the guy a break for once," Ed said as he threw the papers down on the coffee table to stand up and stretch.

"Yes, I understand that, but you know damn well that I don't have a car Mr. Elric. Can't you just fill this survey out yourself?"

"Then how would I annoy you for the rest of the afternoon?" Ed chuckled.

"I'm sure you would think of something," Winry said with a smile as she stood up. "How about you come into the kitchen and have some pie?"

"I really should be getting back," Ed replied reluctantly. "I told Al that I would be out for only a few hours while I interviewed a few of the nearby neighbors. I really should be getting back." He picked up his jacket, but didn't put it on; instead he draped it over his shoulder.

"Well then, please take some back with you. I know how much Al loves my apple pie. I did a little something different with the crust this time but I'm sure Al will still—"

"Thank you Winry," Ed interrupted, gently taking the plate out of her hands. He was standing very close but Winry didn't back away. She did the opposite actually and slid her arms around his back, pulling him into a hug being mindful of the plate in his hand. He was surprised by the uncharacteristic gesture but smiled as he petted her head with his free hand, letting his jacket fall to the floor.

"I want you and Al to move back. You guys rebuilt your old house now that Al's back. I don't see why you still have to work for the military. Haven't you reached your goal?" she said into his chest.

"I have. I have Al back. That was all I wanted for the past several years, but isn't it normal for me to have a new goal now?"

"…Yes, but I still think you and Al should settle down again. If not for you, for Al then. I can tell he misses it here a lot."

"Yeah. I can see that too."

"But that isn't a part of your new goal, is it?" she asked, not bothering to hide her displeasure at the answer she already knew.

Ed chuckled and pulled away, grabbing his jacket off the floor. "Well I don't know yet."

"Hmm, well do me a favor and think about it. At the very least visit more than once a year!" she shouted to him as he walked down the path to the road. He waved back amiably as he made his way back to the home he had left so long ago.

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He stood there. At the door.

"Did you really think that this wasn't going to happen again?"

"Maybe, because of Al…"

"Please, did that really change anything? At least when it comes to her…"

"No…"

"Well then it was only a matter of time."

"But I'm not ready. I need more time."

He bent down and picked up the white envelope on the front step. It was plainly addressed to Edward Elric. The door before him opened and he almost shouted. Al was standing there, leaning against the doorframe, looking at the envelope in his hand, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he almost gave his brother a heart attack. "You've been gone a long time. It's almost dark."

"Sorry. It took longer than I thought, but I did manage to get ten of the thirty surveys done that the Colonel Bastard wanted." He watched Al's face as he took in the sight of the envelope in his hand and the plate of pie from the other. He took both from Ed and turned back into the house.

"I'm assuming this is one of the letters that you told me about," Al called back as he made his way to the kitchen, leaving Ed to close the door behind him. "Where did you get this?"

"It was here. On the front step," Ed answered as he slung his jacket over the back of a chair at the kitchen table. Al was moving about the kitchen and soon placed two plates of pie down. He sat down and starting eating, waiting for Ed to follow him. The elder sat down as well and began to eat too, although he didn't really feel like it anymore.

"What does it say Niisan?" Al said around a mouthful of apples. Ed could tell that Al wasn't too pleased with the stationary on the table, but at least he was still trying to be helpful. Typical Alphonse.

"I don't know." He carefully opened the seal, pulling out the plain white paper and unfolding it. Even though the sun was almost completely down now, there was still enough light to read the four words written.

~You, me, 20 minutes~

"It… it says the same thing it always says," Ed whispered, placing the paper on the wooden surface. Al looked down, reading the words but didn't say anything, instead opting for the last few pieces of his pie. He got up and put his plate in the sink.

"Do you need me to be there?"

Ed let himself smile at the concern he heard in his little brother's voice. Al may know that he had been meeting the homunculus, but Ed didn't tell him what happened during these meetings. He could feel his cheeks flush at the idea of Al knowing.

"I'll be okay. I'm sure I can handle it… just like all the other times…"

"You know Niisan, you're not as sneaky as you like to think you are."

Ed glanced up to Al, but the smile fell off his face when he saw the way Al was fidgeting with his hands as he leaned against the sink.

"I've known you forever Niisan and the whole time, I knew that you have a habit of carrying the whole load of a problem yourself."

Ed was about to say something in reply but was cut off as Al walked over and leaned down to give him a quick hug.

"Just don't forget I'm here Ed," he whispered before standing back up and leaving the room. The older boy could hear him walk up the stairs and into his room, leaving Ed in the now dark kitchen.

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The light from the lamp bounced off the walls as he climbed down the steps. The flickering shadows distracted his attention and threatened to trick him into missing a step. Fortunately he reached the bottom without incident. When the two of them had come back to Resembool they had rebuilt the house exactly as they had left it. Their mission was over and they figured that they had deserved a place to call home once again. The air in the basement was considerably cooler. The warming lamp-light tentatively danced in the shadows, revealing boxes piled in the corners of the small room designated for storage. Jars filed with preserves lined the dust-growing shelves, waiting for summer to fade to finally be enjoyed. The light eventually landed upon a door placed opposing the stairwell where Ed found himself stuck: hypnotized.

It was the only the third time he had been down here; usually Al brought down the boxes or Winry dropping off the jams, but since coming back here with Al, Ed had only been down a handful of times, and only in the daytime as if unconsciously avoiding the cellar. But here he was, and without thinking about it, he strode across the room, half-heartedly stepping over boxes and around piles of books. As he reached for the doorknob he realized that he had been holding his breath. With one fast release, he turned the knob and pushed open the door.

For a second he actually did see the blood; the pooling crimson soaking into the cobblestones, a deep burgundy staining the flecked-gray stones. The sharp tang of iron hit him forcefully, turning his stomach and threatening to up heave his earlier helping of pie. He could see the alchemic sparks lighting tiny flashes, illuminating the heaving mound of flesh inside the array. The malformed, tortured flesh taking its last few breaths as it crawled in the—

"No."

Empty room. It was just an empty room. What had once been Hohenheim's study, filled with alchemic tomes and jarred stuffed with materials for transmutations was now barren. Not even the huge wooden desk remained; having burned long ago and never replaced. The wood stove was cold and hollow, the floor not covered in blood but rather dust.

"This is bullshit," Ed sighed, dropping his head to massage his temples with his free hand before turning around and closing the door behind him.

"Well if you really feel that way, I can just leave," said a sultry voice that was just out of reach by the tendrils of light.

"What the—aw fuck. It's just you..." Ed gasped, almost dropping the lamp in the process.

"Someone's a little jumpy today, no?" teased Lust. The clicking of her heels grew louder as she stepped out of the shadows and into the middle of the room. Ed could see her eyes flash to the study and knew it wasn't worth lying, but that didn't mean he had to talk about it either.

"Maybe I'm just not used to people sneaking up on me in my basement," he scowled, partly telling the truth.

Lust chuckled as she took in the sight of the easily ill-tempered alchemist. "I'm sure that's it."

There was a long pause and Ed almost winced at the awkwardness that was prominent. He battled with himself for a moment, figuring out how he wanted to proceed. The blonde could still remember the last meeting like it had just been a few days ago, and even though it had actually been a lot longer than that, he found that he didn't want to turn back.

"It's been awhile," Ed started, setting the tone.

"Hmmmm," the homunculus purred but then said nothing. Ed wondered if maybe he had gotten the wrong idea; that maybe he shouldn't even be there in the first place, or—

But no. He knew what happened seven months ago and no matter what, he was going to go ahead with his plan.

"I had begun to wonder if I'd ever see you again…" he whispered as he strode towards her, breaking the distance that she had been trying to create. She shifted briefly from foot to foot, but didn't back up when he got close enough that she could smell the spicy, heated scent that she had associated with the golden-eyed boy.

"I was waiting…" she breathed out, momentarily hypnotized, her head swimming at the close contact, "…for an appropriate time." Lust noticed that he seemed to be surprised by her answer.

"Really?"

"Yes. I know about Alphonse," she saw a look on his face that she almost placed as trepidation but she wasn't sure so she kept her hand to herself for now, "and I just thought you two needed some time together." She finally back up an inch and turned around, acting as if the other side of the room had the most interesting focus.

In reality, she was just dreading what was next: the thanking, the timid sweetness of boys fumbling at a relationship. She had seen it over and over again and no matter how much she craved to be a human, that was one interaction she never wanted to have. She was a woman who often got straight to the point and a man who couldn't do the same thing usually turned her stomach. She could feel a pang in her chest as she let disappointment set in. If these painful interactions were supposed to be normal, then maybe she never should have even let things get this far with this boy who—

Rough hands spun her around and a bruising kiss erased her thoughts. When she tried to breathe he took control of the kiss and delved his tongue into her mouth, eliciting a moan that she hadn't been prepared for. When she tried to steady her weak knees he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up so he could lay her down on the floor, covering her body with his. And when she tried to unbutton his pants after she made quick work of his shirt, he used his metal hand to pin her wrists above her head before she could slide the leather fabric down over his blue boxers.

She was lost and he found her, she was shaking and he stilled her, and she was crying and he quieted her and at once she knew that Edward Elric wasn't at all like the thousands of human males that she had observed in her dismal existence. He had claimed what no man had ever managed to even grasp before, the whole of her being not only understood but conquered at the same time and Lust realized that maybe the being she was could actually be… completed by this person in front of her. That maybe she wasn't quite whole yet and the pain that she faced daily wasn't just from the sting of yearning for being human, but because there was another half of her that could only bring her that completeness. The thought scared her more than in the way of just not being human—the thought that maybe even if she ever were to become human, that she still wouldn't be fulfilled without Edward.

That maybe… she loved him.

It was too much.

"Don't," she said, tilting her head to the side away from him. He didn't stop though, but instead took advantage of the exposed flesh. A rough bite made her cry out in pain, wiping her thoughts. Slowly he kissed the reddened area, just a simple, tender brush of lips on hurt skin. For the second time in her life Lust wanted to cry, both times at the actions of the alchemist who was still barely a man in the eyes of society.

"Please…" he said while kissing her jaw.

"…tell me…" he said while kissing her cheek.

"…why me?" he asked while kissing her forehead.

She stared into the amber pools gazing into her.

He knows. He knows from my eyes just as clearly as I can see in his eyes.

Lust smiled.

"Because you always show up, Fullmetal."

He smiled back and it lingered even as he used his mouth for other things, entwining his tongue with hers, exploring every nook and cranny. Lust twisted her hands but they were firmly held in place, frustrating her.

"Edward…" she begged, raising her hips and in the process grinding her thigh into this groin.

"Fuuuuuck," he hissed, head hanging as he tried to catch his breath.

"Please," she whispered, using her sultry tone that she was known for, but apparently the blonde had a better handle on things.

"No. Not like this," he said, never once stilling his hand as it traveled between her legs and warmed her up immensely. She was so wet and he knew that she was close. The muscles in her thighs quivered and her breasts heaved up and down with each labored breath. He wanted so badly to replace his fingers with the throbbing heat that was thoroughly aching within its leather raven-haired woman could see and feel his hardened member against her leg, but his words echoed in her head.

What did he mean? Did he not want to partake in our usual activity with his little brother just upstairs? Or was it the fact that we're just a few feet away from the exact replica of the room where he lost everything?

Or maybe there was some other unknown reason in his head that she just wasn't meant to know; and she could respect that fact, so she didn't push it. The constant desire that took residence in her body could be satisfied with just this; and so could she.

The alchemist had plans though and he began to execute them. His talented tongue blazed its path down her neck; tracing her pulse and collarbone to eventually reach the swell of her breasts. This night though, he didn't linger despite the knowledge that the homunculus was very sensitive there.

She was confused slightly when he let go of her wrists but she quickly understood why when he scooted down, pushing her dress up completely around her hips and began kissing the inside of her thigh.

Lust raised her head slightly and watched as he trailed down the creamy skin to finally move his hand away from her folds to replace it with his tongue. She cried out louder than she wanted to while he took his time exploring the shape of her clit, reaching lower with his hand—slicking it up and sliding into her without much hesitation.

"Edward!"

The fires inside her stomach exploded, shooting into every muscle and melting every thought in her crowed mind. Her body tried to curl in on itself, but it couldn't as her back arched instead. As she drifted down from her ecstasy her eyes fluttered open in time to watch him place a kiss upon her stomach where a belly-button would exist. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he picked up his thrown shirt and stood up to get dressed.

She stood up slowly, straightening out the rolled fabric of her dress. Her heels clicked over the stones, making her way to the stairs. She paused at the bottom, confused by her overwhelming urge to turn around; to stay here and never leave.

A pair of mismatched arms encircled her, covering her crossed arms. Before she realized it she had already relaxed into the strong chest behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ed whispered, his voice husky from his still highly aroused state that he was trying to ignore.

"What… what are you talking about?"

"You're not leaving this time. I can give you what you want."

She wiped around and stared at him. She vaguely felt her eyes water up. His gaze was strong and he held onto her just as strongly.

"I can make you a human."