Housework

Because I love you guys, I got up early and finished this chapter. I'll work on the others tomorow, it's work time. Thank you so much for reviewing and letting me know what you think. I'm so happy you all like it.

Alone

Three months since Roy became Fuhror

He paced, from the window to the door and back, flicking his fingers, fighting to keep from snapping. He was alone, the first time in months, the second since he had returned home. He could hear the quiet sounds of the office and missed his old team, even though the new one was efficient, he could tell they were afraid of him. They did try, he would admit that, and it wasn't as bad as when he went to the cafeteria, where everyone stared, but still. Roy missed being normal, accepted as part of the group, and it hurt that he would never have that again. The only ones who didn't fear him at all were Ed, Al, and Elysia, who rarely saw him because Gracia didn't trust him.

Gracia had become fearful of anything that might cause harm to her child, including the military in general, and now that Roy was the embodiment of the military, as well as a twice over war veteran, she tended to avoid him if possible. There was also the feeling that she blamed him, however slightly, for her husband following him to battle. On occasion, if Al begged hard enough, she would come for supper, bringing Elysia, but that never happened more than twice a month, sometimes two months would pass before the two women appeared at the door.

Enough of that, he was getting upset. 'Where is Ed?' he wondered, and immediately hated himself for being so weak as to need someone with him at all times. 'I am not a child and I am not broken. I can be by myself for a little while, until Ed comes back.' But what if he doesn't come back? A little voice whispered. What if he's tired of you clinging to him all the time? 'No, Ed loves me and will come back.' Are you sure? He doesn't say it. 'Of course he does, I know it. It's not his fault he can't say it.' He kept reminding himself, mumbling while he paced, eventually snapping his fingers in time to his steps without realizing it. This is what Al walked in on an hour later.

“Ed? Have you seen the... Oh, Fuhror sir, are you alright?” Hiding behind formality seemed like a good idea, at least until he figured out what was happening. Al looked around quickly, trying to see Ed.

“Where is Edward Elric?” Roy stalked towards the pale young man, “What have you done with him?” Al gulped. This was bad, really, really bad. If Roy didn't recognize him, they needed Ed, now. Where the hell was he?

“I apologize sir, but I have no idea, sir. I'll send out a search immediately, sir.” Pale eyes flickered to Roy's gloves. They looked like the modified ones, but you couldn't really tell until you were too close. Roy saw his eyes move and grinned slowly, raising his hand.

“Are they real? Shall we test them?” He watched the shocked look cross Al's face. “Ah, didn't think I knew did you? I've known for quite some time, I can feel the difference, you know.” The gloved fingers snapped, shooting flame and singing Al's bangs as he threw himself back to the door. He slammed it shut behind him, muffling Roy's laughter, and holding it with his back. The office stared back at him, half the men drawing their weapons.

“Where's Ed?” His eyes darted around the room, noting that two privates were missing. The others watched him in concern.

“We thought he was there, the Fuhror returned from lunch two hours ago. Privates James and Foran have been sent to look.” Colonel Bishop stated; they had obviously been listening.

“Get everyone looking for him. I need two alchemists, Pepper and Lanidy. They're in the training hall. Bring them here immediately, they are to reinforce this entire area of the building. It is vital that we find Ed immediately. I'll be here, keeping the Fuhror distracted from looking for him, but I can't hold him for long. It' s up to you, Colonel, to guide the search. ” Al threw out the orders, readying a few arrays in his head for immediate use. “Once he's by me, get out of his way, do not challenge him. Find Edward and bring him to wherever the Fuhror is, he'll take care of it.”

A young private pipped up, “So what if Ed isn't here, you're here. Can't you talk to him? Anyways, why do you need two alchemists, how much damage can he do?”

Al stared for a second, shocked out of preparations by the sheer brazenness of this young man to question both his orders and his Fuhror. “Fuhror Roy Mustang is one of the most powerful alchemists in history, and arguably the most powerful alive. If you paid any kind of attention when you were assigned here, you would know that, and that three months ago he destroyed half the city looking for Edward and I. I don't know how you got transferred here, but you will be transferred out immediately. As of now, you are to be placed on gate duty until further notice from myself or Colonel Bishop. Now get out.” The other officers stared, Al was actually angry? They scrambled to obey his earlier orders, beginning the search for Edward.

Roy suddenly pushed on the door, shoving Al out of the way. He looked around, checking for Ed, then spotted the officers fleeing. They would know where his lover was. He started after them, but stopped when he heard Al's caustic voice.

“Is this the great Flame Alchemist? Chasing defenseless peons? Fight the opponent you have, you taught me that.” The haughty tone was filled with contempt and arrogance. Roy turned slowly, eying the tall, pale man before him. He raised his hand and watched as the young man mirrored him. He narrowed his eyes, unable to see the array on the back of the gloves. A snap and a questing flick of flame burst across the room, to be met with an answering snap and a flick of water. Another snap and it was raining inside, and Roy hated rain. He darted back to his office, grabbing his extra gloves and situating himself behind his desk. Al followed him in, keeping his distance. He slapped his hands together, activating the arrays on his palms, and slapped his hands onto the floor. A wall rose up, cutting Roy off from the rest of the office. 'Maybe that'll hold him a couple of minutes.' Al hoped, but knew he had no more than a minute. Less it seemed, when Roy started laughing. There was a rumbling, and the wall fell to dust, leaving Al coughing.

“Though I didn't have anything other than my gloves, didn't you?” The white chalk shone dully from his hand. Oh hell, Roy never fought with anything other than his gloves before and he hadn't been expecting him to start now. Al threw up another wall to buy some time and reached for an array, anything to help him, and came up with a simple explosion. Good enough. He clapped his hands again, focusing intently on the array in his head, it wasn't as easy for him as for Ed. The floor exploded between the two men as the second wall disintegrated, throwing Roy backwards into the wall.

Al winced, he didn't want to hurt him, he only had to hold him and keep him from hurting others. Just a bit longer. Roy staggered to his feet and threw out a lash of flame, hitting the walls around Al, causing multiple, small explosions. Al backed off a few steps. It was all Roy needed. The Fuhror finished the array on his desk corner and the desk reached out and grabbed Al, enveloping his hands in marble. It didn't hurt, but it was hard and he couldn't move. Roy stalked towards him, smiling dangerously. “Now, tell me where Edward Elric is.”

Meanwhile, Ed was sleeping soundly in the library. He and Roy had gone for lunch, then stopped for a new book for Ed for the afternoon. Ed had laid down for a moment on a couch and passed out. A shudder woke him, someone was doing major alchemy. 'Hey, where's Roy?' He looked around, noting that the library was empty; most odd for the middle of the week, someone was always doing research of some sort. He got up, smoothed his coat and headed for the office. Roy must have decided to let him sleep a bit, he certainly hadn't last night. Ed smiled a bit at the memory before walking into the door.

He rubbed his nose gently while staring at the locked door, then alchemized it quickly. Something was definitely wrong for the door to be locked. The blond jogged down the hall, looking for someone to tell him what was happening. It couldn't be an attack, the alarms hadn't sounded. Maybe the new alchemists are practicing battle techniques? But there hadn't been an announcement, and Al would have said something at breakfast. Speaking of food, a snack might be in order, he should get Roy and they could go to the new place down the street. He spotted a distressed looking private near the outside doors and called out to him. “Private! Hold up a minute, what's going on?”

The young man turned, looking annoyed at being disrupted, then opened and closed his mouth, pointing, “You! You're Edward Elric!”

“Yes, I am. What about it?”

“Thewholebaseislookingforyou!TheFuhror'sgonecrazyandyour brotheriswithhim,buthedoesn'trecognizehimandwecouldn'tfindyouand..” the young man babbled.

Ed had to interrupt, “What?” He tapped his foot impatiently while the young man got himself under control.

“The Fuhror, sir. He's looking for you.”

“Fuck! Where is he?”

“He's in the office, sir.”

“Good, follow me.” Ed took off running for the offices, bolting past several people who called out much the same message as the private had. 'I'm such an idiot, how could I fall asleep like that? I hope they're ok.' As they neared the office, the crashes got louder and the floor bucked under their feet. Two young women were using array after array to keep the walls up and to prevent the area from collapsing. Ed blew by them, slapping his hands together, then against the wall, making a door for himself. He skidded to a halt. Al was kneeling in front of Roy, his hands encased in marble. Flames were flying everywhere, hitting the walls and setting off small explosions. Roy was yelling, screaming for the younger man to tell him where Edward was.

“Roy! I'm here, Roy!” Ed called for him, letting his voice calm the older man. The dark head snapped up and stared, before he ran over and grabbed him. Ed hugged him back, motioning for the onlooking women to close the hole he had made in the wall. They obeyed, casting looks at their leader on the floor.

“Ed! You came back! I was waiting but you were gone so long, I didn't think you were coming back.” Roy babbled for a few minutes, while Ed maneuvered him over to the couch, fixing it quickly with a clap. He sat them down and laid Roy across his lap. The older alchemist immediately fell asleep, clutching his lover's shirt. Ed clapped and sent the energy through the floor to the desk to release his brother.

“Are you hurt?” He asked, carefully inspecting his beloved sibling. He was pretty sure his older lover wouldn't hurt his brother, but it never hurt to careful.

“No, no, he yelled a lot, but he didn't hurt me. I don't think he would have hurt anyone, just questioned them. Remember when they took us? He only hurt the ones who threatened him, or us, nobody who ran.”

“Hmm, good.” Ed reached up and hugged his brother, “Your girls did good out there, they kept the place pretty sturdy. Are they new?”

“Yeah, just passed the test, a lot of potential in those two. But Ed, what are we going to do? What if this happens again and I don't happen to come by? We can't let him hurt anyone, he's never forgive himself.”

“It won't happen again. I'll be more alert, it was my fault. And, you said it yourself, he wouldn't have hurt anyone, no one was threatening him or us. It'll be alright, it's been two months since he even had nightmares, bad ones anyways. He's getting better, it just takes time.” Ed was worried too, but kept it to himself. It was important that Al be reassured. He would talk to Roy in the evening. “Have faith Al, he's strong. He'll put it behind him.” Al just shrugged and cast a worried look at Roy, sleeping quietly in Ed's lap.

They sat, Ed rubbing Roy's back and shoulders while he slept. Al finally got up and went to get his alchemists. The three of them fixed the walls, floor, and furniture before heading home for some rest. Ed stayed for an hour, letting Roy rest, directing the office from the couch through Colonel Bishop. Paperwork was brought to him and resorted; urgent things to the floor, important things signed and returned for filing.

At 4:00, he woke Roy and set him to signing papers. Roy was still groggy and unfocused, so the blond let him sit on the couch and cuddle while he signed. By the time he was done, he looked much more alert. Ed decided it was time to follow Al home and grabbed their jackets, waving to their Colonel that the day was over.

They drove carefully home, Ed at the wheel. They had refused a driver and he wouldn't allow Roy to drive, so he was the only one left. Not that he couldn't, of course, Havoc had taught both him and Al how, it was just a slow process as there was always someone else to do it, and Ed was lazy if the opportunity presented itself.

“It would have been faster to walk you know.” A slight smirk appeared on Roy's face.

“Shut up. Like you could keep up anyways.” A scowl hid Ed's grin. Roy was still pretty slow and Ed had no problems outrunning him, but his lover was all about endurance. While Ed had never, even after hours of running and training, been good at long distances, Roy could run for hours before stopping. The younger alchemist was good for about 15 miles, but the elder easily went 40. They hadn't gone further to test his limits because Ed got cranky if he had to run too long. Al wasn't much of a runner period, and was waiting at home when they got back, usually with food on the table.

Ed pulled up in front of the house, and flashed back to the first day they had come here. How scared he'd been, how gently Roy had treated them. A tiny smile flitted over his face, then disappeared when he thought of what he was about to do. “Roy?” He put a hand on the seatbelt clasp to stop the older man from retreating. He waited until Roy looked at him. “I want you to tell me everything that happened. From the moment you left this house until you came back.” The dark eyes twitched, then shuttered, and the straight nose went up in the air. “Don't, Roy, I want you to tell me, and in exchange, I'll tell you everything from before we came to you. Deal?”

“No, Ed. I won't subject you to that. I'm fine, I can handle it.” Roy was looking out the window, staring at their home.

“You aren't! We can't keep on like this. Al loves you, and I, I. We need you, to make this country strong, to fix this. You can, you are, but we can't go on like this. I can't be with you all the time, even if I want to. Please Roy! Let me help you.” Edward begged, a rarity, and Roy turned to look at him. “And subject me to it? Al and I, we've seen it, we've lived it. You can tell me anything, I'll understand.” The dark haired alchemist watched him for a moment, considering. His shoulders slumped a little.

“Alright. You want to hear? I'll tell you, every filthy little detail. Then will you be happy?” Bitterness flowed freely, anger at being forced into this. Ed didn't take offense, he remembered being angry at anyone who dared drag him out of his own little hell.

“Do you want to eat first? Al is waiting for us. We can talk later, after he goes to bed.” A compromise, time for each of them to organize their thoughts. Roy nodded, head still down. The blond hopped out of the car and moved around to open his partner's door, leading him by the hand into the house.