For Her. For Him.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed to that horribly botched version of chapter 29. I went back and edited, and apparently removed one of the little > with a . and ended up with half of my story being invisible to readers. Whoops!. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone. I'm only 20 reviews away from 200, at about 30 chapters (Holy Crap) and over 80 pages of writing. I vaguely remember when this was supposed to just be a quick writing exercise for me. But I guess that passed about forty pages ago. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and to those reviewing, remember, you're the reason I update as constantly as I do. And to 4th cry, the only one of you who got to review the right chapter 29, thanks. Use a shower scene if you want. I don't think I was all that original using one either.

Oh, and like I borrowed Dr. Knox, I've implied about Riza's father, both men I know are strictly from the manga

Chapter 30

Monster

Roy hadn’t even realized that he had reached the front porch of the Rockbells’ until his feet suddenly bumped the bottom step. Dumbly realizing there was now something in his path, the black-haired man looked over at the taller blond, then back down at the porch, trying to remember how to perform the simple act of lifting his foot and shifting his weight up onto a step. Years of training for the unexpected, learning how to put up an impassive front had gone down the drain in one conversation with Hohenheim Elric that had more than confirmed Roy's suspicions.

The two men had reached the porch when the front door opened.

“Colonel,” Al said, though Roy’s mind only half registered it, “we were just going to get brother. Is he with you?”

Roy didn’t answer.

“Colonel, are you okay? You look kind of sick.”

“What?” Roy said, finally realizing that the suit of armor was talking to him. “Oh. No. I’m fine.”

“Is brother around?”

“No. He and Marta are still at the inn. He was up and down all night with the babies, so I let him sleep a little longer. Why don’t you go get him? I’m sure he’s anxious to get out of there.”

Winry still watched Roy with wary eyes, but she was making an attempt and that was more than enough for the state alchemist.

“Why don’t you wait inside Colonel Mustang, Mr. Elric,” Winry offered. “Grandma is out doing a quick repair job for a friend, but you are welcome to sit inside if you’d like.” Winry’s voice was very formal, very rigid for the young girl that Roy had remembered before she learned the truth.

Roy walked inside with Hohenheim close behind, and the two men sat at the kitchen table.

********

“Mr. Elric,” Roy finally said when they were far enough away from the inn, “I want to know everything you know about Dante of the Deep Forest, homunculi, specifically one who calls himself Envy, and whether you have ever had a son before.”

“Straight and to the point.” Hohenheim said as he folded his arms across his chest.

“Always.”

“You have encountered Dante then?” Hohenheim said while Roy watched the man with the skilled training of an interrogator, looking for that chink in the armor, some sign of concern or trouble, but there was none. The senior Elric remained calm.

“She was killed by a homunculus called Greed, though we have information she is not truly dead.” Roy reached into his coat pocket, pulling out several letters. “But I believe you knew her because when we were at her home, I discovered these. They appear to be every bit of the 400 years on the dates, yet they are love letters from a man named Hohenheim to Dante.”

“Seems like a strange coincidence.”

“I am not a strong believer in coincidence, Mr. Elric.”

“Then, are you suggesting that I am that old?”

"I am merely saying that this is your handwriting

********

Roy sat at the kitchen table across from the man--monster?--who had fathered his lover. Four hundred years old. Transferring his soul and that of his lover, Dante, from body to body to gain near immortality.

“So, you are a colonel in the military,” Hohenheim said, his voice creepily calm as he tried to start up a conversation with Roy. “You will forgive me, but as I listened yesterday, I was at a disadvantage not knowing the basic history between you and my son.”

“Yes, I am a colonel. I have been for most of the time your son’s been in the military.”

“And you are my son’s direct superior.”

“Yes.”

“I cannot imaging the military views that in a very kind light.”

“No Sir, they don’t.”

“And what of the fact that he is underage?”

“He was considered an adult at twelve when he became a state alchemist.”

“That young? I knew my boys would be gifted, but twelve?”

“Al passed the written exam as well when he was only eleven.” Hohenheim nodded, looking almost proud of his sons for a brief moment before continuing on.

“And what of the fact that he is male? I have visited other countries that do not look favorably on that.”

“Amestris is not among those ranks. Quite honestly, though it is never publicly admitted, the military prefers their soldiers to have relationships that do not provide the added concern of children, whatever form they take. ” Roy moved his hands to their familiar steepled position, regaining a bit of himself. “Not that this is one of them. But the preference of the military is why there have never been any sanctions against same-sex marriage.”

Roy looked across the table at the man who resembled Ed, yet could not have been more different from him. Even in his presence, there was a sense of wisdom and experience, an aura of I’ve-been-there-and-done-that, which came across without a single word. It made the Flame Alchemist feel inferior.

And yet, knowing what this man had done, slaughtering to create a philosopher’s stone, continually placing his soul in another’s body with the help of Dante, who he’d abandoned just as he had his two sons and Tricia, and bringing back his first born son through human transmutation...

********

“You asked if I know of the homunculus Envy,” Hohenheim said, as they walked a path in the forest toward the Rockbells. “I have heard of no one by that name.”

“He claims he is your son.” Roy analyzed the brown eyes behind those glasses. “He is also insanely jealous of both Ed and Al, hence his name.”

“He knows of my boys?” Finally, the reaction came, one of actual worry for the boys he’d left behind. “Then so does Dante.”

“Then he is your son,” Roy said, ducking under a low branch of a tree. “Or rather your attempt to recreate him.”

********

“You know a great deal about alchemy, Colonel. Are you also a state alchemist, or merely well-learned in the science?"

Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch, placing it on the table. “Both.”

"Two parents are alchemists,” the man said wonderingly. “I do not believe it has happened before. Of course, there is the third. Was she?”

“No,” Roy answered, opening his watch for a quick look inside. “Riza Hawkeye was one hell of a sharpshooter, but not an alchemist.”

“Hawkeye? She may not have been an alchemist, but I would place bets that her father was. Quite skilled in fire alchemy if I remember right... and he had a daughter... Riza sounds about right.” Hohenheim leaned back in his chair. “Colonel Mustang, if your children turn out to be anything but the most skilled alchemists to ever live, I would be immensely surprised.”

The dark-haired alchemist made no comment at that, though the thought of how powerful the twins would be had not truly crossed his mind until this moment.

Roy instead looked down at the photo he carried in his watch, a copy of one from some official gathering or another where the closest members of his unit had posed for a photo. Ed had been forced into the picture, with Maes and Breda lifting him up to eye level, much to the then-fifteen-year-old's fury. To fit it into the watch, Roy had cut off Havoc, Breda and Fuery from the ends, leaving behind only a straight-faced shot of himself, an outraged image of Ed, an amused-looking Maes, and a shot of Riza, rolling her eyes. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but it was the only picture he had of them all together, and Roy wouldn’t have traded this candid photo for a proper, formal shot for all the money in Amestris.

Roy traced his finger over the snapshot.

“Is that the mother?”

In his brief reverie at the photo, Roy had completely missed the tall man moving behind him.
“It is.”

“And the man?”

“My best friend.”

The older man sighed. “That shot of my son seems to be very characteristic of him. Is he always angry?”

“He has a nasty temper, yes. That, you can be thanked for, Mr. Elric. Just like his unwillingness to trust, dislike for authority and fear of abandonment.” Roy slowly closed the watch. “Your affect on your son has made my life since he entered it very difficult.”

“I had little choice. I loved Tricia and the boys, but I knew I couldn’t be a proper father as long as the threat of Dante and Willi--Envy hung over my head.”

“You need to tell him, both of them, everything you’ve just told me.”

“They are just boys.”

“Boys who’ve been fighting your past for far too long, Mr. Elric.”

********

Ed arrived at the house, kicking off the last of the shirts and pants he’d used for his suit onto the flatbed. He tried so hard to fight off the contented smile on his face, but his focus had been shot to hell. It made him feel sorry for anyone who tried to start a conversation with him, as they had to repeatedly say his name, even sometimes wave in front of his face to get him to pay attention.

He tried so hard to remind himself that the stranger he acted, the more likely it was that he’d be found out and his brother and best friend would realize he’d had sex, but then every time he reminded himself of that thought, that idiotic grin crept across his face. He’d had sex. He’d made love. He'd lost his virginity. He’d gotten laid.

His mind found dozens of ways to describe what had happened last night and every single one of them curled his lips upward.

“Ed,” a voice hissed in his ear. He turned to see Marta leaning close to him. “You’re going to need to pay more attention to what’s going on or everyone’s going to know what you and the colonel did last night.”

Ed’s mouth hung open. “You know?”

“You think I didn’t notice that you’ve been walking around like the cat who ate the canary?” Ed looked at his outstretched feet for a moment, tucking his hair behind his ear--Roy liked it loose, and Ed thought he’d let it that way, for today at least.

“Can you do me a favor then?” Marta looked at Ed expectantly. “Can you elbow me or nudge me if I’m doing something really obvious or stupid?”

“Gladly, kid.” There was a swift elbow nudge to his arm.

“What?”

“Just practicing.”

“Very funny.”

Winry pulled the tractor to a stop and Ed climbed off of the trailer carefully, still cursing Roy for the pain in his backside.

“Ed,” Winry said. “do you need me to check your automail? You’re walking funny.”

“No. Between the leg being about an inch off and my waddle,” He hated having to call it that. “I guess I’m just adapting to being able to walk a little more normal, or as close as I'm going to get to normal for a while.”

Leaning on the railing, Ed climbed the few stairs to the front porch while Winry opened the door and ushered them in. Roy was sitting at the table across from that bastard, while Pinako was standing brewing a pot of coffee. The colonel stood from his seat, signaling for Ed to take it, but before he did, he felt a quick jab to his ribs from Marta. Noticing the heat that had risen to his cheeks, Ed realized he was blushing furiously.

“Ed, Al, your father needs to talk to you,” Roy said as Ed sat down. He felt the man’s hands on his shoulders. “And you need to hear him out.”

********

Roy was surprised with how long Ed lasted before storming out of the house. He’d actually listened to every word that Hohenheim had to say before rising from his seat and charging out the front door.

Unfortunately for Ed, he simply wasn’t fast enough to keep Roy from gaining on him and overtaking him, grabbing Ed’s flesh shoulder as tightly as he could without hurting him.
“That bastard is a monster,” Ed said, trying to wring himself free of Roy’s grip. “He’s a damned monster! And I’m half of him. Get away from me, Roy!”

The older alchemist refused to listen, spinning Ed around and embracing him, holding the teen’s upper body flush against his own, and holding him at the waist as closely as the belly would allow.

“You are no monster, Ed.” Roy leaned down and kissed the top of the blond head, not really caring that the witnesses present probably had little desire to see him do it.

“Yes I am,” Ed said. “I always have been, but...” Ed was sobbing. “but this proves it. Look at what I’ve done. What I’ve done because I’m his son.”

Roy had his face buried in the unbound locks, cradling his lover in his arms as he heard the clanking of the youngest Elric stepping closer to comfort his older brother. The large metal hand began rubbing circles on Ed’s back. “And am I a monster big brother? I’m half him, too.”

“Of course not, Al,” Ed said, half muffled by Roy’s sweater.

“I truly am sorry, boys,” Hohenheim said, still standing on the porch, as though he knew this intimate scene was not for him. “I have committed a great number of sins in my life, and you are the ones paying for them. I promise you I will do what I can to make this right.”

Ed was still sobbing. “Damned hormones,” he muttered. “I want to be angry at the bastard. I want to punch him again for all the shit he’s done. So why the hell am I crying?”

Winry and Pinako left Hohenheim on the porch with Marta following behind them, Winry grabbing hold of Ed and Al, not seeming to mind that in the process she was hugging Roy as well. Pinako merely rubbed Ed’s human hand wrapped around Roy’s back, patting Al’s armor in the process. Marta, seemingly at a loss for how to comfort the teen merely hovered nearby.

“Look at the people who care about you, Edward,” Roy said, his fingers tangling in the blond hair. “Do you think a monster gets this kind of love?”

Looking up at Hohenheim alone on the front porch, Roy felt a though his question was answered by some greater force by a resounding “No.”