Chimera

*L* You guys are silly. Do you honestly think I'd abandon Ed like that? Nope, not at all. Though, good guesses. Ed lost his memories to the Gate with Al, he just lost everything. Next update, so enjoy!

Found

"Sir, there's a report you might be interested in." Roy flicked his lighter absentmindedly. "Sir, there was a young man caught in an explosion in Scione, four days ago. A blond alchemist from Farigain. Gave his name as Alphonse Hayes, he was injured but his companions, three other blond alchemists, have not been located." Roy had been staring in boredom at his lighter but looked up at the name. He frowned, trying to place the last name; Alphonse was common enough, after all. "It was Trisha Elric's maiden name, sir. I checked Edward's file to be certain." His eyes widened and he opened his mouth. "I've already sent for a car, he's being held at the military hospital I had him transferred to."

Roy grinned his thanks and took off, running down the stairs and hopping into the car. A bag was on the seat along with his jacket; he silently thanked anyone listening for Riza Hawkeye. A note was there as well, informing him of an error with his vacation days and that the ones he’d used had been misfiled. He had three weeks off.

They stopped at a local constabulary for the evening and Roy confiscated a driver, leaving his original behind. The trip still took almost two days, using three drivers. Roy was exhausted and blew through the doors to the nurses' station, demanding the location of Alphonse Hayes. It was given and he barely managed to keep himself from running, walking down the hall and opening the door cautiously.

"Are you here to make them let me go? I haven't done anything." Roy couldn't make him out, but the voice was clear and tears threatened. It was him, Al, he sounded just like Ed, attitude and all.

He swallowed, "Al, do you remember me? It's Roy, Colonel Roy Mustang. I've been looking for you and Ed."

"If you're not here to let me go, get out. I have nothing to say." Roy flicked the light and saw him, gold blond with deep green eyes, just like ones in the picture of his mother, the one Ed used to have. He was younger than he’d thought he would be, but it didn’t seem important. His cheeks were high and smooth, just like Ed's were, but he was taller, it was obvious even lying down.

"I bet Ed gets mad at you every time you get close enough to look down." Roy smiled fondly, "He's just stuck being short."

"He's not short, he's just not done growing yet." The young blond clapped a hand over his mouth in horror.

"He's over twenty, he isn't going to grow anymore, no matter how a big a fuss he makes about it. He should have listened and drunk his milk when I told him to." Shivers ran down the older man's back, 'He's alive! And at least mostly healthy.' "Where are they, your companions?"

Al looked away, the same stubborn set to his chin as Ed. It was bad enough he'd told this stranger Ed was alive, but he wasn't telling him anything else. Though, he did seem to know them, at least about Ed's height issues and his aversion to milk. The dark haired man walked over and knelt beside the bed. "Please, Al, please. Tell me where he is, I've waited so long, looked so hard. Please." He begged, his head down, but Al could see tears anyway. "I love you both so much, I thought I would die but I couldn't, I waited for so long, please tell me where he is." He’d held himself together the entire way here and he was too tired to wait any longer.

The blond groaned to himself, how could he not? "Alright, get me out of here and I'll arrange for you to see him. He, we don't remember anything, he won't know you."

Roy looked up, hope in his eyes, "It doesn't matter, I just want to see him, meet him again, know that he's alright. Does he still change? Has the aggression gone down? Is he healthy? Tell me everything, anything!" He grasped the blond's hand and noticed it was tied down. "What's this?"

The younger Elric blushed and mumbled, "I tried to draw an array to get out. They won't untie me for more than a few minutes under supervision."

Roy stood and stomped to the door, "Get me a doctor in here. And find some scissors." He was saluted and one of the guards took off. At least they were competent here. "I'll get you freed, just hang on a second. Really, can't control one boy." He picked at the knots without success until the young officer returned, followed by a doctor.

"Please, sir, leave those alone, it's for his own safety. He has to remain here until we find out who he is." The doctor rushed over and tried to remove Roy's hands. The General shook him off and glared.

"I know who he is, and I'm taking him with me." He held out his hand for the scissors and they were pressed in. The ropes were cut quickly and Al rubbed his wrists. "If your idea of protection is to tie up a child, he will be better served in my care. Come along, Mr. Elric, we're leaving." He stalked down the hall, Al following slowly, looking around for an opening. As he stepped through the door, Roy whispered, "Don't run, I'll have to catch you and we'll both look bad." He was hustled out to the car and they were driven to Roy's hotel.

"You called me Elric, I haven't used that name since I was ten. We go by Hayes now. The shop is in Farigain, we do alchemy for hire. Russell and Fletcher Tringham are our partners, they found us and took us in when we forgot." He'd been right, the Tringham brothers had been the key. Dammit, he should have looked harder. How had he missed them? His frown must have been obvious because Al produced the answer, "They changed their name too, it's Cohen. Their aunt left them a house, and her name was Cohen, so they took it when we moved in."

Al couldn't believe he was telling this man so much, but it felt right, as if he knew him. "Did I know you, before? You seem familiar."

Roy smiled sadly, "Yes, I suppose I would. You and Ed lived with me during his changes for almost a year before you disappeared. Ed was my boyfriend, and you didn't approve."

Al blushed and muttered an "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't be sorry, you did what you thought was right, just like we did. There were a lot of risks, but it was worth it. Just like it was worth waiting for you two to appear again." He examined the boy, they had all looked forward to seeing him in the flesh, it was hard to believe he was right there. A hand reached out but stopped before touching the blond head, "May I?" He received a slow nod and pressed his hand to the hair. His eyes closed as he remembered another blond head with soft hair; he shuddered a breath and let go. "Where did they go?"

"They probably took Ed home and just stayed out of sight for a bit. They couldn't carry both of us, so I stayed. If he changes in public, they'll take him away." Al looked up at the brunette, "You're not going to try to take him, are you? I'd like to know more about our past but I won't let you have him."

"No, I won't take him, at least not right away. I'd like for you to come back with me, eventually. But, if you don't want to, that's fine too. We'll think of something. I'd like to leave now, if you don't have anything else to do in town?" His eyebrow raised in question.

"No, we were just stopping by on the way back from Rush Valley, Brother needed a tune up and it was time for a break, so we all went." The boy stood and walked to the door, "Shall we? I'd like to get home and make sure everyone is alright. I know Ed hit his head, but the other two looked alright when they left." Roy dismissed the driver, preferring to keep it as much a secret as possible.

Another day by car and they were there. Roy examined the small town, even smaller than Ressembool, no wonder it hadn't shown up in any of his searching. Al directed him to the house. There was a small flower garden in the front, well tended, and the corner of a vegetable garden was visible in the back. A building was set away from the main house, a workshop of sorts, and there was an addition built on, more recent than the rest of the house.

Roy took a moment to just breath, he had always hoped Ed was alive, somewhere, but he'd never expected to see him again, not after so long. As much as he'd wished otherwise, it was always possible the blond alchemist had just left everything behind, started over somewhere. But now, he was here, minutes away.

Loud crashes could be heard as they walked up the path and Al started to run, Roy close on his heels. "Shit, get away from him, Fletcher! Just give him a minute, we'll" The voice was cut off by another crash and Fletcher's yells, "No, Russell, he's getting loose, I have to catch him first!"

Al reached the door and called out, "I'm back, what's happening?" Uneven steps approached rapidly and Roy pushed Al out of the way as Ed launched himself at the door.

Roy caught the small form and staggered under the weight. "Hi, Edward. Missed me, huh?" The slim body froze, not even struggling in shock of a new person touching him. His eyes turned upwards and his head instinctively rubbed Roy's shoulder. "Still remember a bit, I see. Come sit?" He set the blond on his feet and walked towards a chair. When he was sitting, Ed was standing in front of him, staring uncertainly. Roy's arms reached out but didn't grab him. "Come here, Ed, come sit with me." Cautiously, Ed reached over and touched Roy's hands, sliding his own mismatched ones over the older man's arms and around his shoulders, perching delicately on his lap. Roy looked at his wrist, a white rope was tied tightly to his flesh wrist and it was bleeding slightly. The young man didn't seem to notice, so he let it go for the moment.

"Who? Like." Yellow eyes looked Roy over carefully, taking in the patch and scars, the blue jacket and matching pants, black eye and eyebrow. His ears were pointed at the man, perked up to hear the answer. "Nice." He ran his hands over Roy's arms and chest petting lightly.

"I'm Roy, Roy Mustang. You used to work for me and be my boyfriend." Russell and Fletcher both made noises of shock, but the two men ignored them. "I love you and I've been looking for you. I missed you terribly. I have your cat, if you want it back. Or, you can have a new one, would you like that?"

Ed shook his head, "Toy! Chirp!" As strange as that seemed, he knew better than anyone cats didn't chirp, it just seemed right.

Roy hugged him tightly, unashamed of the tear that ran down his cheek. "Yes, Ed, your cat chirps. Do you want to go home and get it?"

He shrugged, moving in Roy's lap to cuddle a bit. "Home." He rolled himself around so he was across Roy's legs and offered his stomach for petting. Gentle purring started when the older man complied. He took a moment to examine him, noting the changes from the past years. Gold hair was uniformly cut at chin length, the smooth face had slimmed a bit and lost the haunted, angry look it used to have. The tank top showed that his shoulders had filled out and he's grown a few inches, he looked about five foot six. The ears were wider and a darker blond and the slim tail had lengthened and curled more under the edge of his boxers. Roy thought he was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. His attention was caught by whispers from across the room. "Do you now who that is? He's gonna try and take him!" "No, he won't, he used to know us, care for us." "Hardly, he used you, you were his weapons."

"For people who think tethering him is a solution, I hardly think you can talk about using him or not caring." Roy's voice was low but carried easily across the room. "Look at his wrist!"

Russell turned and pointed his finger, "You shut up! You don't know anything, he goes crazy sometimes, loses himself, and he has to be tied. He even does it himself if we're out. He's just extra upset this time, because Al wasn't here."

"Why don't you just bond him to someone, there must be someone he enjoys." They looked blankly at him. Then he remembered something Al had told him, the aggression hadn't started until a couple of years before they disappeared, he wouldn't remember how to care for him or to try and attach him to someone. "Alright, you didn't know. Get me some bandages, I'll take care of him. He looks thin. What have you been feeding him?"

Fletcher scooted off to the back of the house to get the bandages and some water. Al moved closer to watch Roy pet his brother, "He usually eats meat when he's like this. He's amazingly calm, he normally whines a lot and rarely allows anyone near him. He doesn't usually like to be touched either, especially not the ears, he won't stand for that."

Ed shifted and started muttering, "Fire, fire, fire,"

"Oh damn, not now. Brother, please, stop that. There is no fire and there won't be any." Roy stared down, 'What was he doing?' The blond was snapping his fingers idly, repeating the one word over and over. Al looked over at his confused face, "He does this, picks a word and repeats it. We think he remembers something. Fire is one of his favorites, and toy, he likes that one too. Usually when he's especially stressed, but it can happen anytime."

Suddenly, Ed sat straight up and turned, his back twisting at an impossible angle. He pressed his nose against Roy's, "Fire!" and snapped his fingers insistently. Roy slid his hand into his pocket and pulled on a glove.

"Yes, Ed, I make fire. Want to see?" Blond hair moved up and down, their noses still pressed together. "Back up, I'll show you." The young man's head moved back and he turned to look at Roy's hand. The older alchemist snapped and a flame appeared and disappeared when Ed reached for it. "No, don't touch." He snapped again and Ed watched the flame in fascination, his eyes wide.

His head snapped around again, "Flame! Flame Alch, Alchem," He started making distressed whines and Roy patted him.

"Yep, that's me, Flame Alchemist. I'm glad you remember." Edward snuggled in his lap and let him tend his wrist, whining when he untied the rope and wiped it clean. He tried to lick the wound but Roy wrapped it quickly to keep the medicine out of his mouth. "Now, you leave that be. Don't touch. Here, take your pills." A familiar picture, nose in the air and back turned, presented itself. "Alright, if that's how you want it. Don't you bite me." Roy slid his hand under the smooth chin and forced the mouth open to drop the pills in before clamping his hand over the blond's mouth and nose. Frantic clawing ensued before he swallowed and was released.

He tried to get up and Roy let him go, watching him stalk off further into the house. Russell was still glaring at him, but looked faintly impressed at his easy handling. "Shall we get supper started? Pasta is good, with chicken was his favorite, you can usually sneak some peas and carrots in too. And bread, he'll eat bread if it's fed to him."

"Who said you could stay? You saw him, he's fine. Get out." Russell stood in front of his chair, glaring down.

Roy settled back and stared up, he finally had an inkling of how Ed had felt for years. All three boys were taller than he was and sitting made them seem impossibly huge. "You can't even keep him unharmed during his changes. He isn't eating well, only meat for at least a week, he's obviously upset and under a lot of stress, and he wants to remember, you saw him. I can help with all of that. And, he's attached to me now, you thought he was crazy before, see what happens if I leave. Give me until he changes back, we can discuss it then. He might not want to come back or remember. If so, I'll leave, after teaching you how to deal with him." The young blond flushed brightly and Al nodded.

"Yes, please, show us how to help him, he's so different from how I remember. He's not too bad with Fletcher and me, but he can't stand Russell and tries to attack him a lot. Most of the time, he won't allow anyone near him, he just stays in his room." Roy closed his eye and let out a calming breath.

"He's probably extra aggressive because you're all maturing males, a threat to his dominance. You, Al and Fletcher, are submissive and young enough to handle, at least sometimes, but Russell is too close to him, to much of a threat to ignore." The older alchemist rubbed his head, "He needs contact the most right now, to help him stay calm, that's why he needs to be attached to someone. Whoever he bonds with can pet him, feed him, look after him."

"But, you're male, why does he allow you?" Al's forehead creased, his active mind turning the problem over with the new information. They hadn't thought of that theory.

"I'm not sure, probably because I've always been dominant to him, it's the way things work so he accepts it. It doesn't matter, what does is that he be cared for properly. If he stays here, I would suggest finding someone discreet in town that he enjoys and bringing them up here for a few days a month." The three blondes looked at each other. "I would also suggest you three leave, take the time away, it might be less stressful, for all of you." They moved off to talk amongst themselves.

A flick of gold caught Roy's attention at the door and he turned to look, only to have Ed turn his back and stalk off again. He turned and watched from the corner of his eye as the blond tiptoed back and snuck into the room. A minute later, he was crawling into the dark haired man's lap again. "Hello, feel better?" Ears flicked, listening to his voice and the smaller body pressed close. "Are you hungry?" He nodded and Roy pushed him off. "Then, let's go find something to eat. Show me the kitchen?" Ed reached over and took his hand, leading him to a small kitchen just down the hall.