Complications

Al glanced at his visibly shaken brother, trying not to ask any questions about his state at the moment. Okay, so it was admittedly more difficult than he\'d anticipated; why was his older brother so suspicious all the time?!

\"What\'s wrong, Alphonse? Any particular reason you keep looking at me like I got a metal head, too?!\" Ed finally snapped, losing his control entirely. Al sighed; caught!

\"Well...you just seem kind of...upset, brother...I was wondering what was wrong...\" Al managed, adjusting his wrist nervously. \"I mean, you\'re acting like everything\'s all...urgent, all of a sudden...just once, can\'t you relax for awhile? Stay in one place and...wait until we have another mission? We go to the library in Central when we don\'t have one of your missions, then we always go on little side trips when you do have a mission...\"

Ed sighed, staring out the window of the train; after the first ten hours on a train, one was prone to wishing they could just jump out, he decided. But he had to answer his brother; damn him for being so observant! \"We\'ve been through this before...waiting is--\"

\"--wasting. I know, brother; \'waiting is wasting--if you decide to sit back and relax for too long, you\'ll never get anything done.\' But, brother, people also say \'All work and no play--\"

Ed cut him off quickly. \"--makes you a grumpy old sourpuss whose favorite pasttime is sending their subordinates off to random places and calling it work, then telling them how they screwed up and how you know everything they did.\'\" He finished, crossing his arms and pouting like a child. \"But the sooner we get the Philosopher\'s stone, the sooner you can get your body back, Al. Never forget that, \'kay? We\'ll have plenty of time to relax when you\'ve got a body to enjoy it with.\"

Al mentally sighed at his brother\'s brazen foolishness; he didn\'t really mean that, did he? \"I assume the \'grumpy old sourpuss\' you mentioned is Colonel Mustang; am I right?\"

\"Duh.\" Ed grumbled, eyes narrowing in dislike; Al sensed a \'Roy rant\' coming on and found a spot on the wall to stare at. His little rants really got to him...and Hughes was there, so it meant he\'d get feedback this time...wonderful. \"That guy just lives to annoy me! I mean, is there really any reason for us to have to go all the way to some backwater town just for some old guy who figured out how to transmute water into daggers and killed eight people when he lost control?! That\'s a footsoldier\'s job!\"

Hughes grinned at him. \"Somehow, I doubt a normal footsoldier could\'ve both gotten a hold of that guy and leveled a dam in the process...\"

\"And he\'s gonna scream my ears off for it, too! You just know he\'s gonna tell me how I totally screwed up the damn mission! \'Fullmetal, all you needed to do was take him into custody; did you take that to mean \"level that town\'s symbol of hope\" or something? You\'re just another source of my accursed paperwork!\'\" He sighed heavily. \"Then he\'ll taunt me about being short...then he\'ll just send me off to the dump he calls my quarters...\"

Al stiffened as he saw a mischevious look appear on Hughes\' face; this could turn out bad! \"You like him.\" Ed snapped his head up as his friend openly smirked at him. \"You know you do...otherwise, you wouldn\'t talk about him so much...nor would you try so hard to hate him! There\'s no reason to hate him so much unless you\'re hiding something...\"

\"Pervert!\" Ed spat, pink tinting his cheeks. \"I hate him because he\'s a superficial, condescending, perverted, ignorant bastard with the personality of a squid!\"

Hughes was content to simply chuckle and smile at him. \"You know, I think he\'s got something for you, too...I mean, when Roy gets tired of something, he discards it: women, subordinates, furniture...the list goes on and on...but you cause him more paperwork than anything else, even his frequent flings and collateral damage reports from when he gets mad at the soldiers, and he still keeps you around, right?\" Ed attempted to punch him, but Hughes held him back over an arm\'s length away; a few well-chosen words escaped Ed about short limbs, causing the Lieutenant Colonel to grin. \"Besides, you could\'ve chosen another superior, but...\"

\"The only reason I keep him is because he knows about Al!\"

Ed\'s obvious anger brought another chuckle out of Maes Hughes. \"Aw...you\'re still in denial! I remember when I kept telling Roy that Gracia wasn\'t the one...but he was right! I did end up marrying her, right?\"

\"Yeah, but there\'s this little thing you might\'ve forgotten, Hughes; I\'m a guy, he\'s a guy, and I\'m totally straight!\"

\"With hair that long?\" The older man teased, twirling Ed\'s bangs in his fingers. \"You can deny it all you want, Ed...I\'m in the investigations department, remember? I think I know what I\'m talking about! Besides, you can\'t keep denying your own wants, right? Just go tell Roy what you think of him!\"

Ed growled. \"Okay, how\'s this? \'Roy--you\'re a selfish, conceited bastard and I hate your guts.\' I have to meet with him today...he wants me to meet him outside of the office, too. I gurantee that he\'s going to try to make me look like an idiot...\"

Al finally stopped staring at the wall and stood up. \"Brother, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, we\'ve arrived in East city...\"

The two kept up their little argument all the way back to the base.

-----------------------------Later, outside--------

\"Are you sure you\'ll be okay?\" Al asked one final time, staring at his brother; Ed nodded.

\"Al, it\'s not like I\'m some helpless little kid; I\'m just gonna go wherever that damn Mustang wants me to, hear him gripe at me, then go straight home. Besides, do you really think I won\'t be okay? What\'s gonna happen, some kid gonna throw rocks at me? The East is way too peaceful for that...\"

Not two seconds after Al finally left Ed\'s sights, Roy stepped over to the younger man, smirking as usual. \"C\'mon, Ed...we should go...\"

\"Where are we going?\" Ed grumbled, standing up and squinting at Roy. \"Havoc\'s again?\"

\"Not this time, Ed; this time, we need to speak privately. We\'ll be going to my house for this conference. Now, keep up; if I lose you on the way to the car, you\'re walking there.\" Roy started off with a quick walk, causing Ed to have to jog to keep up with his long strides. \"Mind you, this will possibly be the only time I offer you a ride, so take advantage of it.\"

Ed snorted at this. \"How do I do that?\"

\"Simple; don\'t complain, and accept my offer.\" Roy unlocked his door, reaching across to unlock Ed\'s. \"Now, then...get in.\"

The ride to his house was surprisingly quiet, other than the occassional insult or sarcastic remark thrown between them; Roy seemed to be refusing to speak until the two arrived, and Ed was more than happy to take the time to memorize the route. One never knew when they\'d have to transmute their superior\'s house into a giant mushroom or something. Once the car stopped, Roy simply walked to the door and went in, leaving it open for Ed to follow. Minutes later, the two sat at Roy\'s kitchen table.

\"I wanted to talk to you about your theories about what happened when you attempted human transmutation.\" Roy stated firmly, lacing his fingers. Ed blinked in shock; Roy was showing interest in that, of all things? \"With all you two lost, there must\'ve been something gained...equivalent exchange, after all.\"

Ed clenched his fists, staring at his right hand; how many times had he wondered that himself? \"We gained nothing...and lost everything; what we lost must have gone somewhere, but I just don\'t know where. But, Colonel, we gained nothing.\"

\"Nothing? Are you certain?\"

Ed glanced up at Roy, curious about his words. \"If you call knowledge a \'thing,\' then maybe we gained something. But materially, we gained nothing. If this is all you wanted to talk about...then I\'ll have to give you a good discussion.\"

He stood up and took off his jacket, followed by the black overshirt, grasping the metal of his right arm. \"I can\'t
describe everything, but the only thing I lost, of my own body, to the void was my leg; my arm, I gave up later. But between the two, I could see everything. There were...what appeared to be some sort of plant...like an alchemical catalyst...they broke our flesh down. Al literally began to disintegrate before my very eyes--but even as his wrist vanished, his hand moved, as though the wrist had simply been cloaked. Then, I saw a door--a gate, really. I can\'t really remember what happened to me then, but...when I saw Al\'s body gone, I knew he was still near...and the gate was open...so I used my blood to make an array. Before he woke up, a voice said that he was now bound to me.

\"What I saw was the other side, I believe. The array must\'ve been wrong. I broke it down after the fact...and I found that there was something missing. I can\'t figure out what it is, but...the array had a discrepancy in the rings; the pattern was lost in one part--each circle had a certain number of symbols, but we missed one--and no books have anything on it. All the designs are wrong; they open the gate, causing you to give to the void, but they don\'t include a way to take what you want and close it.\" He slowly rubbed his auto-mail. \"Satisfied?\"

Roy studied him for a moment, then nodded. \"Bound to Al...how so?\"

\"It\'s a double-edged sword, really...\" Ed met the man\'s eyes and laid his fists on the table. \"I want to believe that Al can die of his own injuries...I want to believe that he could die. However, so long as I live, he lives; when I die, he dies. It\'ll be like that until I get him a body. I never told him, though...but I want him to believe that he can die, too; it keeps him more human than most people. You can\'t tell him, understand?\"

The Flame Alchemist glanced at the window, then back to Ed. \"Why are you entrusting me with this?\"

Ed sighed. \"I don\'t really know; you just strike me as the only one I can really trust with this information, you know? But...\"

\"Edward...\" Roy murmured, slowly walking over to the younger man. \"I know things between us aren\'t very good, and I know how low your opinion of me is, but...it was good of you to trust me so much. I\'ll promise you this much, though...I will probably never tell anyone about this...\"

The boy stared at him. \"How can you be sure of that?\"

\"I have no one to tell, Fullmetal.\" He said simply, placing a hand on Ed\'s shoulder. \"I\'m about as alone as you are...the only people I can really trust are the same people that you feel you can trust. We aren\'t strong, though, Ed...\" He whispered, his black eyes meeting Edward\'s golden ones. \"...we\'re not strong. What power do we have without our science? Without alchemy and without those we trust behind us, Edward...we are nothing more than two men with stained hands.\"

Ed\'s eyes glittered with unshed tears as Roy spoke. \"Colonel...\"

Then it happened--Roy leaned down and captured Ed\'s lips in a slow kiss, sliding his tongue in; Ed\'s words died instantly. It was like he\'d forgotten everything with that one simple, gentle, exploring kiss. He didn\'t have to do anything; if Roy was kissing him, he didn\'t have to risk speaking. If Roy was kissing him, he couldn\'t be reminded of anything the two had done to each other: fought, argued, yelled...it was another world. Ed found himself disappointed when the older man pulled away.

\"Edward...\" Roy murmured, cupping the boy\'s chin. \"...if you want to forget what happened for awhile...\" he motioned towards the living room. \"...I can help you, if only this once.\"

The younger man understood what Roy was offering, but didn\'t know what to do. Yes, he did want to forget...he\'d always wanted to forget...but what Roy was willing to give him was something that...confused him. As much as he knew what it was, he didn\'t know how it could make him forget...

Roy held out a hand. \"Edward?\" He had a choice...he could back out...but...

\"All right, Roy...make me forget.\" He suddenly reached up and encircled Roy\'s neck, bringing the man down for a kiss; the man pulled back briefly in shock, but then returned the boy\'s embrace, deepening the kiss.

Roy began to push Edward back, and the alchemist could do nothing to stop him--even if he\'d wanted to, Roy\'s strength was too much. Seconds later, he found himself being pushed back into the soft fabric of what must\'ve been Roy\'s couch, groaning as Roy\'s tongue invaded his mouth again; he tasted like...wine.

They broke apart, breathing slightly heavily, and Ed looked up at Roy uncertainly; it wasn\'t like he\'d ever done this before. Roy nodded encouragingly and gripped Ed\'s hand, bringing it up to the buttons of his shirt. \"Just do whatever feels right, Fullmetal. I don\'t think you\'ll be able to do that, however, if we\'re both fully clothed...\" Ed smirked at him.

\"Shut up, old man...\"

With this, he brought both up to work on the buttons of Roy\'s white shirt, mentally cursing the fact that he had auto-mail; Winry was a good mechanic, but auto-mail just wasn\'t very dextrous. The older man chuckled at his stubborness. \"Need help?\"

\"Not on your life.\" He snapped, finishing the last button and ripping the material off the older man\'s body. A moment later, Roy tugged his tank top off and ran his hands over the metal of his shoulder and down his chest as Ed trembled and quietly gasped. The Colonel stopped briefly.

\"Make some noise, Ed; believe me, I\'m the only one who\'s going to hear it.\" With that, he dove down and found the younger man\'s nipple, biting gently. Ed gasped more loudly than before and arched his back off the couch. Roy continued his slight torment, straddling his hips in order to get better access to the smaller body below him. He carefully searched the boy\'s neck, nipping and licking until he had the boy moaning and shifting to give him better access. Ed was far from submissive, though, and the moment Roy dropped his guard, the boy reached down and slipped his hands into the older man\'s pants, finding and grasping his length. Roy gasped. \"Edward...?\"

The younger man squeezed gently and began to stroke. \"Hey, you said it yourself; I should do whatever feels right, right?\" He managed. Roy wasn\'t to be beaten, though, quickly undoing Ed\'s pants and leaning close; Ed cried out sharply as he was engulfed with wet heat, hands abandoning their task and gripping the older man\'s shoulders.

Roy mentally congratulated himself, continuing what he\'d started; he ran his tongue over the tip of the boy\'s arousal, sucking slightly. Ed gasped, breath coming in pants, and tried to thrust into the moist cavern above him. Roy allowed it, sucking harder; the younger man screamed then, hands shooting into Roy\'s hair, out of his control. The younger man twitched violently and Roy pulled away. He gently met Ed\'s lips, briefly, before removing the boy\'s remaining clothes with great haste; Ed mirrored him, using his feet to pull the unwanted material off the man\'s body. He watched, confused, as Roy reached over the armrest of the couch and pulled something off of the lamp table next to it. The man noticed Ed\'s confusion and chuckled.

\"I figure that lotion can work just as well as lubricant, Edward...\" He whispered, coating two fingers with it and slipping both into the boy\'s entrance roughly. Ed gasped, his flesh hand gripping Roy\'s shoulder painfully. The older man simply brought his lips to Ed\'s again and began to stretch the opening, scissoring slightly. As soon as the man slid a third finger in, Ed whimpered audibly with pain. The colonel nipped at his neck to distract him, carefully probing within the Elric\'s body; Ed moved carefully against the slightly intrusive touched, looking as though he were about to reconsider his decision, when Roy brushed his fingers against something inside him, making him scream and buck hard against him. Roy smirked. \"Hm...now what\'s this?\" The Colonel began to rub the boy\'s prostate purposely with every stretching movement until Ed was panting for breath.

\"Goddammit, Roy! If you\'re gonna do something, do it now!\" He groaned, wrapping his legs around the older man\'s back, anchoring the metal one with his flesh. Roy complied, pulling his fingers out and positioning himself between the boy\'s legs. He looked at him once more, offering him this chance to get out of this; Ed didn\'t like that, apparently, grabbing his hips and forcing him to push in. Roy forgot all about Ed\'s inexperience and thrust as deep as he could, then held still as the boy whimpered in pain.

\"You okay, Fullmetal?\" He whispered, trying not to move; he was a bit surprised when the pressure around him lessened, Ed leaning in for another kiss. Roy answered by bucking his hips against Ed\'s, slowly at first, then with more speed as the boy caught up to his thrusts.

Ed was gasping as Roy moved within him, and soon forgot all about any source of pride or dignity, whimpering for the man to continue. \"God, Roy, please...\" He managed as Roy hit his prostate again, causing him to arch into the older man with a short cry of pleasure. Between the clenching of Ed\'s muscles and the erotic noises the boy probably didn\'t know he was making, Roy lost all control, pounding into the boy.

\"Roy, I-I...oh, God, Roy, I\'m gonna...\" Ed gasped out, nails digging into the man\'s shoulders; Roy understood, reaching down and stroking the younger man as he felt the familiar tightening in his gut. He cut loose, pounding a bruising rhythm into the teenager, thrusting so hard that the couch beneath them began to quake.

Ed screamed as he came, arching his back off the couch completely; his muscles clenched Roy tight as the older man shuddered above him, groaning out his climax as he filled the boy.

Roy collapsed atop his subordinate, his breathing harsh and erratic. For a few minutes, neither moved, unable or unwilling to remove themselves from their current position. Finally, Roy pulled out and stood up weakly, looking down at Ed. \"W-we need a shower...\" He whispered, holding out a hand to help the boy up. \"You go first...I\'ll clean the room for now...\" Ed nodded, standing up and limping towards the bathroom.

--------------------

\"Brother, what took you so long?\" Al asked as Ed kicked his boots off at the door, rushing to his brother\'s side. \"I thought you were--why is your hair wet?\"

Ed reached up to touch his damp bangs and grimaced; he figured it\'d be dry by now! \"Oh, I just...Mustang offered me a shower after he kinda...got a bunch of coffee all over me...\" He lied, peeling his gloves off. \"Listen, Al? I\'m gonna go to bed, okay?\"

\"Not until we\'ve talked.\" Al crossed his arms and stood over his brother, watching his face carefully. \"I want to know what Colonel Mustang wanted to say to you; I know it involves me someway. If it didn\'t, you wouldn\'t try to keep it from me so desperately.\" At this point, Ed shoved past Al and laid in bed, burying his face in the pillow; Al followed him again. \"Come on, Edward...you\'re not getting away without telling me this.\"

The older boy finally picked his head up and shot his brother a dirty look; if he was going to resort to using his name, maybe he\'d have to talk. \"He wanted to know what happened when we tried to bring back Mom; that\'s all. I don\'t feel like talking anymore.\"

Al\'s eyes darkened; of course. There was no other real reason for Ed to be so quiet. \"Brother...\"

\"Drop it, Alphonse.\" Came Ed\'s muffled voice from the pillow. \"I just hate the fact that I cried in front of that damn Mustang.\"

Al sat on his own bed. \"But...we can trust him, so--\"

\"I said, drop it.\" Ed turned away. \"I don\'t want to face him.\"

\"What are you talking about? The Colonel won\'t tease you about something like that...\" Al murmured uncertainly. \"At least, I think he won\'t...\"

Ed sighed. \"That\'s not it.\"

Oh, this would be so much fun, wouldn\'t it? He wasn\'t really lying to Al...he was just telling, in essence, the truth with a few essential details left out. And...well, if he didn\'t know how to explain what was up between Roy and himself, there was no way he could do so for another person. He and the Colonel had just made love...

No, scratch that; lovers made love. Everyone else just fucked. Mustang had fucked Ed, and that was it. Ed still hated his guts and Roy must\'ve still thought little of Ed.

Come to think of it, why had Ed let that bastard fuck him?! It just seemed right at the time, but now that he could think of it more rationally, he\'d given the idiotic man yet another reason to tease him. Gah! That pedophile...how could he screw somebody half his age like that?!

\"Brother?\" He was snapped out of his mental ravings by his brother\'s gentle voice. \"What\'s the matter?\"

Ed groaned and pulled the covers over his head. \"Don\'t worry about it, \'kay? I just hate crying...\"

With that, the young man fell asleep.

--------------A/n--------

Rein: Dude, that was the first lemon I\'ve ever written! And for a story I wanted to do so badly, too! WOOT! And for those who did NOT understand what an MPREG is, lemme say this--how\'d you find this fic? ANYWAY, for those who DO understand, I think I just broke one of the holy MPREG rules...whick one, you ask? You have to find it...I\'ll post it in the next chapter, along with the names of ANYONE who spots it! Thanks--review for me!

...Who cares, anyway? Tell me what you think! I got so frustrated with the lack of RoyEd MPREGs that when I saw Kiba-Sama\'s request, I jumped for joy and HAD to write this!