For Her. For Him.

A/N: Nomme de Plume, I couldn’t keep them apart for long. You all have been waiting for a lemon for so long (next chapter) that I couldn’t have them still fighting. My only problem with Wrath now is, what do I do with him by the end because I’m coming to like him like this. Flames of Love, I know what I’m doing with the brothers and Roy at the end, but I’m still trying to decide with other characters, not that I’m going to tell anything anyway. Ed’s into his 6th month of pregnancy. animecrazed, yeah, I’m a fluff lover at heart and couldn’t keep them apart. Sorry if I’m causing you insomnia with my story. oukiku hatsu, thanks so much for reading it so many times. I’m really flattered you check my story first. TrulyWished, thank you. 4thcry, I know, they had to be idiots, wouldn’t be them if they weren’t, but I knew if it ended with I love you, it would be okay. KeiraOvad, I know, I’m anxious to get rid of Ed’s pregnant belly too, but my plot won’t let me. Emo-In-A-Shell, hope you feel better, and pleased you like Wrath. Kumiko, glad you’re still reading. kikiko, fixed the mistake. I meant homunculi. milky, because I didn’t have Ed know exactly that Al had been captured, I kept him from doing anything too stupid, at first. I don’t like the log in policies, either, but if CYA (Cover Your Ass) is necessary, I can’t blame them.

This is an edited version of my last post of this chapter. The changes are subtle.

Chapter 27

Reunion

Ed hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep until he heard a soft voice coming from an open doorway.

“Brother? Colonel Mustang?”

Blurry-eyed, Ed lifted his head from beneath the older man’s arm, seeing the armor standing at the door to the compartment. “Colonel Bastard,” Ed hissed, poking the man in the ribs with an automail index finger, “Colonel Bastard, wake up.”

Ed was smashed against Roy’s chest as the man hummed and squeezed him tighter. “Roy!” Ed said, smacking the man hard against the ribs as his own head was being crushed by Roy’s firm hold. “Wake up, damn it.” Coal black eyes finally opened and looked down at Ed. The man smiled a slightly dopey, half-asleep grin which might have been very endearing in a normal situation, but as Ed began darting his eyes at the doorway, glazed eyes followed his own. Roy released his hold on Ed and looked over his shoulder, finding that Al was no longer standing in silent shock at the entranceway, but grabbing the back of Roy’s collar, forcibly pulling him from the bed.

“Colonel Mustang, what are you doing in bed with my brother?”

Clutching at his collar, Roy skidded backwards, feet flailing comically.

“He came in to try to make me feel better, Al.” Ed was choking back laughter. “Please, Al, it wouldn’t look very good if you injure a colonel in the military. You could go to jail for it.

Roy pulled his collar away from his windpipe. “You’re finding this funny, aren’t you?”

Ed pushed himself upright, sitting with a pleased smirk. “Unbelievably, Mustang.”

“What about Marta?” Roy asked as Al released him to the ground.

“She had to use the restroom. I have to go back and let her hop back in, but first, I want to know what’s going on.”

Ed sighed, inching himself forward on the bed so that his feet were on the ground. “Not long after you left again with Armstrong, Roy and I decided that we’d like to be more than just friends, so we’re sort of, together.”

“You what? The colonel?”

Ed folded his arms and rested them on top of his stomach. “Yeah, go figure. Colonel Bastard here swings both ways.”

“But you and Winry…”

“Have always been good friends and will always be.” Ed sighed. “But as much as I’ve tried for it to be otherwise, I just never was going to see her like that.” He was never going to see any girl like that, to be perfectly honest, but he figured that could go without saying. Ed pushed himself up from the bed, staggering a bit from the shaking and jarring of the moving train. Roy extended an arm, which he took to steady himself. “Al, why don’t you get Marta and bring her in here before she holds herself up in the bathroom?”

The suit nodded a bit, then left the compartment, though Ed had a sense that for Al, this was far from over. For a moment, he considered warning the colonel, then decided against it. Let Al take him by surprise. He’d gotten enough of his younger brother’s lectures in the past. It was Roy’s turn. Placing a hand on one of the walls, Ed sidled to the small bench seat on the other side.

“Ed, shouldn’t you be lying down? And what about the suit? Are you going to put it on?”

Ed reached up and grasped Roy’s hand, pulling him onto the bench beside him. “Like it or not, Roy, we have to trust her. Marta’s coming to Risembool with us, and there’s no way I’m spending my entire time at Auntie Pinako’s house wearing that hot, heavy fat suit.” Roy ran a hand over Ed’s stomach, his hands lingering as the babies were wiggling. “Yeah, they’re awake, too.” He looked up at Roy. “Did you honestly think I was going to stop taking the hormones because of the Rockbells?”

“I tried to blow my head off because of the Rockbell’s, Ed.” Ed winced at the bluntness of Roy’s words. “Ten years later, I still try to drink myself into a stupor because of the Rockbells."

“Does it ever get any easier to live with?” Ed asked, twining his fingers with Roy's. “Knowing you’ve killed someone?”

“You learn to cope. It isn’t easy, but you learn to do it.”

********

“I don’t remember you drinking so much before,” Zolf Kimbee said to Roy as they sat at the makeshift officer’s club just outside of the front lines of Ishbal. “You really should take it easy. You’re only a kid.”

“I’ll be twenty next month,” Roy said, slamming back another shot of vodka.

“Like I said, a kid.”

“I killed people, Major. I’m not a kid.”

“I kill people every day, and I have for a lot longer than you have.” Kimblee sat next to Roy, ignoring the fact that the young major obviously didn’t want the company. “You could have taken the easy route in the military, become a pencil-pushing desk jockey or joined the mass of troops, where you wouldn’t have to look someone in the eye before you kill them. But you chose to become a state alchemist because of your ambition, Major, and don’t pretend you didn’t.”

Roy poured another glass of the clear liquid and swirled it around, watching the way the alcohol clung to then slid down the sides of the glass. “And what do you expect me to do? Become a sick son of a bitch who actually enjoys this?”

“This sick son of a bitch isn’t the one working on alcohol poisoning.” Kimbee stood up. “We all snap one day or another. You just have to decide how long you can hold out before you do."

*******

Remembering back as he sat with Ed, Roy had had no one then, no one to comfort him when it happened, so if he could be that for Ed, be for Ed the way Hughes had been when he returned back, he would be. If he could keep that cold killer’s look from dulling those gold eyes permanently, as Ishbal had done for his own, Roy would do anything he could.

********

After a two-day train ride, Ed and Roy together and Marta on her own taking turns with the bed, the train pulled to a stop in Risembool.

Given the time to talk, the group spoke on what they could, as Roy had managed to discover a transmutation that would make walls soundproof. Marta gradually grew more trusting of the two state alchemists and was in complete awe that Ed was very pregnant. Her amusement was so overwhelming that Roy had to finally ask her to stop rubbing the blond’s stomach. Ed would never have told her, as the idea of the babies made her more inclined to trust them both, but Ed seemed to be having more moments where he really didn’t welcome extra human contact, part of the hormones and the pregnancy, Roy supposed, and constantly allowing the snake chimera to rub his belly was beginning to make Ed more irritable to both Al and Roy.

As they talked, Marta and Al explained why Ed had been able to defeat Greed without the use of remains. They had seen Lyra, apparently Dante’s previous student who was seeking the old woman’s property, use a transmutation circle and a skull to bind Greed and then break down his regenerative abilities. Lyra had looked more that willing to kill him, but he had fled, hearing that Fullmetal was inside the mansion, almost as though he was choosing his killer. That fact seemed to prevent the young woman from hating Ed, knowing Greed had chosen him for a reason.

Ed, meanwhile, apologized over and over to Al for not knowing that he had been captured and for not behaving for his irrational self, as he might have done before the babies, going out on the off chance that Al had been captured, to make sure that the younger Elric knew the risk. Hell, more than likely, he’d have been with him to fight Greed at the time of the capture. Roy could tell that Ed was feeling guilty for breaking the promise that he’d made the Al that he wouldn’t let being pregnant affect their search to restore their bodies.

One topic that was never broached by either of the state alchemists was that of Winry’s parents, deciding it would be better if they broke that to everyone at once.

Roy stood at Ed’s side, guiding the teen in the fat suit as he stepped from the train, Al down at the bottom of the steps, Marta inside, guiding Ed down to the platform. Roy could see Ed searching for a sign of the blond girl.

“I told her to bring some form of transportation, she may be outside.”

Roy held tightly to Ed’s arm, noticing that without the movement of the train, his legs seemed a little shaky; he guided the teen out front of the depot toward a beaming, waving Winry, sitting atop a tractor, with a flat-bed trailer behind it.

“Gods, this is going to be an uncomfortable ride,” Ed muttered.

“At least we don’t have to walk, Brother.”

“Small consolation, Al,” Ed said. Roy saw that Winry seemed to just be noticing Fullmetal’s size for the first time, her eyes widening and jaw becoming slack.

When they approached the tractor, she asked, “What happened to you?”

“Side effects of his illness,” Al answered, with a calm voice that forced Roy to raise an eyebrow. He had no idea the younger Elric could lie this well. Roy hopped down first onto the trailer, silently cursing in pain as it felt like every nerve in his legs were tingling with pain, though apparently, not hiding the wince on his face.

“Old men shouldn’t try to act like teenagers,” Ed teased as Roy held up his arms to the blond and guided him carefully onto the wooden floor of the trailer. The colonel was grateful that Ed wasn’t being stubborn about receiving help, but a content Fullmetal was almost more disturbing than an argumentative one.

They rode in near silence, Winry appearing to be trying to gather her thoughts. The only noise Ed made was the occasional grunt as the tractor bounced over rocks or potholes. Roy wanted to pull the teen onto his lap or do something to provide some cushioning, but with Winry there, pulling the blond onto him was definitely not an option. They had been traveling for some time when Roy noticed that Ed was looking more uncomfortable than ever, his face flushed and breathing a little ragged. Without thinking, he placed the back of his hand to Ed’s clammy forehead.

“I’m not fevered, Mustang, I’m sweating to death. I’ve got to get out of this.” Ed looked up at Winry. “I’m going to need you to pull over. Because you’re going to wreck if you don’t.”

“What are you saying, Ed? You think I can’t drive or something?”

“No, Winry. Just trust me on this.” Winry pulled the tractor over as far as she could on the dirt road and brought it to a stop. “Al, you go first. Marta’s got to be dying in there.” Al lifted off the helmet of his armor and allowed Marta to slink her way out, much to Winry’s disbelief.

After very brief introduction and an explanation of how Marta was able to move the way she did, Marta sat on the trailer beside Al, and Winry moved as though to shift the tractor into gear. “He isn’t done yet,” Roy said, looking down at Ed. Winry twisted around to watch as Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the oversized body he’d created, transmuting it back into a loose pile of clothing. As Ed pushed the remaining shirts and pants off his body, Winry looked as though she might fall off of the seat. The shock made her unsteady, and Al helped guide her down from the tractor to stand in front of Ed.

She stood, gaping in shock, the three alchemists trying to explain what they could, skipping over the subject of Roy and Ed as a couple and the reason for their last fight. Her hand outstretched, she asked for permission to touch his stomach. Though Ed granted it, he seemed surprised that she first pulled up his shirt, as though trying to find physical confirmation that, yes, her male best friend for their entire lives was in fact carrying twins. She pushed Ed’s shirt over the stretched stomach and slightly protruding belly button. As though they knew they were getting attention, the babies began to move and Roy witnessed something that was both awe-inspiring and disturbing. He could see from where Aideen rested inside of Ed, a sharp, quick movement momentarily jutting out the skin, and then disappearing. Roy had known he would feel the babies, but by no means did he expect to actually see them.

“Holy crap,” Roy muttered.

With a grin, Ed said, “She’s closer to the front than before, so we can actually see her boxing me from the inside.”

It took some time for Winry to regain herself, looking as though she had more to ask Ed, but not wanting to do it in front of Roy and Marta. The rest of the ride to the Rockbells was awkward, but Winry seemed to like the idea that there would be two little babies she’d get to gush over, and she didn’t have to be the one to carry and deliver them.

The tractor finally came to a stop in front of a house Roy had visited before, almost six years ago when he’d found Ed barely more than a child, missing two of his limbs. A tiny woman, smoking a pipe exited the house, followed by a black and white dog with an automail front paw. Behind them both, a man still in the shadow of the house stood in the doorway.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Ed said, his words practically spat from his mouth.

“Who?” Roy asked as he got his bearings and stood to his feet.

“My father, the asshole is standing right there.”

“Father?” Al asked, rising form his seated position. The large armor practically leapt from the trailer and ran toward the tall man, who stepped out onto the porch beside Pinako Rockbell and looked at Al strangely behind his glasses.

Roy climbed down from the flatbed and offered a hand to Ed, but the stubborn nature of the blond had returned and he was having none of Roy’s help. With surprising speed, Ed climbed down from the trailer, stomped over to his father and punched him under the chin with his right hand. “What the hell do you think you’re doing back here? You have no right. No right to come back!”

“Brother!” Al knelt down to pick Hohenheim up, helping the man to his feet.

“This son of a bitch left mom right after you were born. He abandoned us both and left mom.” With anger in those gold eyes, Ed glared at his father. “Did you even know she was dead? Did you have any idea she was sick, or did you even bother to check on how we were doing at all while you were gone?”

“Al’s body…” Hohenheim said, “your arm…”

“We tried a human transmutation to bring her back. We didn’t have anyone, no one to guide us, no one to stop us. So if you want to lecture us about it, you can just shove it up your ass.”

By this point, Roy noticed that Hohenheim’s eyes had fallen on the large bulge on Ed’s stomach and his more feminine chest.

“Your stomach,” the tall man said.

“Your grandchildren.” With a turn of his head so violent, it threw his blond braid completely over his shoulder. “I won’t stay in the same house with him. I refuse. There’s a hotel down the road a ways. We can stay there. Al, it’s up to you what you want to do.”

“Edward Elric,” Pinako said, looking sternly at the teen, so much so that Roy instinctively inched closer to Ed. “You are going to tell me exactly how this happened. Do you understand?”

“Riza Hawkeye, his girlfriend, was shot. I tried to save her with alchemy. I saved the babies, and now I’m over six months pregnant. There is your explanation, now I want to go.” Roy felt a little struck by the harshness of Ed’s words, but when the gold met his onyx, for just a moment, the anger in those large eyes began to wither. “I’m sorry.” Ed rubbed Roy’s arm with his left hand. Roy had begun to notice that when Ed was feeling particularly emotional or apologetic, he made sure that it was the human hand that made the gesture.

“Lieutenant Colonel Mustang? Is that right?” Pinako asked.

“Colonel,” Roy corrected with a polite smile.

“Well, Colonel, would you like to come inside?” Her voice was somewhat cold as she made the offer.

“I-I shouldn’t. Really, I never should have. I’m not just here for moral support for Ed while he gets these adjustments made on his automail. I…” Shocked as much as stumbling over his words, Roy felt Ed grab hold of his hand and squeeze it tightly, callused fingers reassuring him silently that he had support in this. “I was the one who executed your son and daughter-in-law.”

“We know,” Pinako said.