AN: Well, this is it. I'm happy that I've finally finished this story but I'm also sad to see it go. For those of you still sticking with it, THANK YOU for being so patient between updates. I hope you enjoy this. (Also, there will be a time-jump sequel, btw, for anyone interested. Also also, if you're ever in the mood to re-read this, please check out the AO3 version because I did a lot of cleaning up in the previous chapters and I'm not sure if I'll ever bother transferring that stuff over here.)

Ed tugged on Roy's hair when they reached the top of the stairs. Although Roy had been preoccupied on the way up, seesawing between curiosity and nervousness, he was still able to find humor in the child's preferred method for getting his attention.

"What am I, a horse?" he asked jokingly.

"Giddy-up," Ed shot back. His grin gradually faded and he regarded the teen with determination in his golden eyes. "I can walk the rest of the way."

"But your bedroom is just right there," Roy said, pointing at Ed's door. "I'll take you."

Ed shook his head, causing his cowlick to sway to and fro. "I gotta get something out of my mom's room first."

Roy immediately understood. Mom rooms were sacred spaces not to be invaded by random house guests. He was impressed that Ed was aware enough to know and respect that, whereas Al, bless his heart, probably would have invited him right in without giving it a second thought.

He lowered Ed to the floor carefully, watching him closely for the first hint of discomfort. The boy's brow was creased but there were no moans or yelps or any other obvious signs that he was hurting. Roy guessed that he was holding it in for his benefit, but he kept mum while Ed limped away from him and into his mother's bedroom. How most parents—especially Trisha Elric—just stood back and helplessly witnessed their children soldiering on through pain, he would never know.

Ed exited the room a couple of minutes later with a piece of paper clutched in his left hand. Upon closer inspection, Roy realized it was a newspaper clipping, and his curiosity intensified. Whatever had happened to Ed was serious enough that an article had been written about it. It was intriguing in the worst possible way.

The nine-year-old paused in front of the door and blinked expectantly at Roy. Roy immediately understood that as well. Despite Ed's silence, his flushed face and heaving chest were a dead giveaway for the soreness he felt. Ten feet probably felt like a mile to the poor boy, and he had already made the trip one way. Roy went over to him and picked him up, to which Ed responded with a sigh of relief and gratitude. They went into Ed's bedroom, where Roy carefully made his way along the Transformers and Lego-littered floor until he reached the bed. He sat Ed down on the edge and took a seat beside him.

Minutes passed. Roy waited quietly, giving Ed all the time he needed to proceed. For all he knew, this was not an account the kid had ever given to anyone else, and damned if he was about to rush him. He looked around the room and fondly recalled the first time he laid eyes on the assorted displays of geekiness. Roy found himself wondering if Ed's interests would keep as he grew up, or if he would ever one day consider himself too mature for the toys and the comics that presently comprised a large portion of his belongings. He hoped for the former.

Ed spoke up just as Roy had noticed that Omega Supreme was front and center on the dresser in what was noticeably a position of honor (and contemplated what threats of bodily harm had been issued to prevent a certain little brother from touching it).

"It was after he left," he began, his face twisted in disgust at the mention of his father. "Mom… she was really sad… She tried not to be in front of us, but I could tell she was." Ed raised his right foot and wiggled his toes, something he couldn't quite yet do with the left. His voice was calm but guarded, and he proceeded cautiously, taking his time, choosing his words with care. "I didn't want to bother her, so me and Al… we would play outside. We played outside a lot."

Silence again. The newspaper clipping rested against his right thigh, and Roy averted his gaze to keep from succumbing to the urge to peek at it.

"One day…" Ed continued after a time. "One day we were in the backyard. Al… Al was… I thought…"

Roy turned in time to find wide eyes staring at him. Eyes that were filled with sadness. And guilt.

"I didn't know that he could open the gate. I didn't see him get out. But… then I heard him yell."

Between those words and the memory of Pinako telling him that Ed's limbs had been ripped off, it was all starting to come together for Roy, and he felt sick to his stomach. For one crazy and desperate moment, he almost stopped Ed from finishing the story. He suddenly didn't want to know whatever terrible, horrible thing had happened to this child. He didn't want to be scared for him all over again, to experience the dread and worry and fear and heartache over an event that happened years before, to feel the sting of tears over something he could never change. He didn't want to care one single bit about Edward Elric.

But then the feeling passed, just as quickly as it had occurred. Of course he wanted those things. It was far too late to pretend that their existences weren't intertwined as a result of their time together (both good and bad), or that Ed, bratty little thing that he was, didn't already own a piece of his heart.

Roy staved off his apprehension. Ed wanted to share his story, to tell Roy the whole truth. That sort of thing, on the heels of being asked to accompany him for his automail replacement, denoted a level of trust that ran deep, right down to the core. And so Roy would accept that truth, no matter how much it hurt. And even though Ed's trust was not a tangible thing like Optimus Prime or the salvaged tulip, it was, by far, the best gift that Ed had ever given him.

"Go on," he said softly, encouraging him with a nod.

Ed stared down at his lap, his eyes open but not seeing. "There were two of 'em. They were so big. Their teeth were sharp, like a bunch of little knives all at the same time. I don't remember much else before I woke up, but I remember that. Big. Sharp."

He held out the clipping. Roy took it with a trembling hand. Then, with a deep sigh, he started to read. He had barely gotten past the title—Small Child Savaged in Wild Dog Attack—before his eyes started to blur, and he blinked rapidly to bring the words back into focus. Key phrases screamed at him from the article, searing into his mind:

… viciously mauled…

… tossed around like a rag doll…

… gruesome tug-of-war…

… tearing chunks out of his flesh…

… torn apart…

… covered in blood…

… screaming for help…

… critical condition…

… brink of death...

"Oh my God." Roy felt like he had been punched in the gut. He hunched over, elbows on his knees and sucking in air until the dimness subsided and consciousness opted to remain.

"Roy?" Ed called out to him from seemingly far away.

Tiny automail fingers touched Roy's forearm, cool and tentative. "I'm fine," he managed in a tone he did not recognize. He glanced at Ed and was nearly swept away by an almost irresistible urge to hug him and never let him go. Instead, he offered him a weak but sincere smile. "Still here," he said with more conviction. "More importantly, so are you. You're pretty goddamn lucky to be alive, Ed."

Ed nodded in agreement. "Miss Pinako said I almost…" The boy fell silent, frowning. "When you lose too much blood."

Roy wasn't certain that he wanted to live in a world where children had to know and experience firsthand the meaning of bleeding out. With all of the other wickedness and evil out there, how was something like that even remotely fair?

"They had to do tests and stuff," Ed went on. "To make sure I didn't catch the rabies. I had to have a whole lot of stupid shots."

Amusingly enough, he looked far more put out by that than the actual attack. Roy suspected that needles were right up there with milk on Ed's list of most hated things.

"After I got better, I got this." Ed held up his right arm with a mild wince. "I had to learn how to do everything all over again, like I was a baby. But I did it." He lowered his arm and peered at Roy. "That's it. That's how it happened. What do you… what do you think now?"

"I still think your automail is badass." Roy gave the clipping back to him. "And I also think you're the bravest person I've ever met."

"I wasn't trying to be brave," Ed insisted as he ducked his head to hide his blush. "I just wanted to save Al. I didn't care what happened to me as long as he was safe."

Without thinking about the right or wrong of it, Roy brought his arm around Ed's back and rested a hand on his shoulder. None of the cursing or kicking or pranks, none of the torture and hell this kid had put him through mattered anymore. When he tried to visualize everything Ed had just described, and he realized just how close the boy had come to dying, he wanted to curl into a ball and weep.

After a while, he squeezed Ed's shoulder before letting him go. "We should get back downstairs," he said.

"'Kay."

Roy carried him back to Trisha's bedroom so that he could return the article, and then toted him down the stairs. He made Ed comfortable on the couch and cleared away the plates and the books and the candy-less Candy Land. After that, he fetched them each a glass of grape juice and joined him. Their eyes met briefly as Roy gave him one of the glasses, and in Ed's he saw raw and fierce affection. It wasn't because of the child's crush on him, although he was smart enough to guess that it did figure somewhere in the equation. No, this affection was different. Deeper. Permanent.

They watched TV until Trisha and Al came back from visiting the Tringhams half an hour later. Trisha was carrying a covered dish (because Nash was apparently an amazing cook, or so she had practically gushed) and Al had a stuffed SpongeBob courtesy of Fletcher. The little boy ran over to the couch and hopped onto Roy's lap, just barely missing his groin and giving him an entirely different reason to curl into a ball and weep. After giving him a sound tickling, Roy deposited him beside his brother and went into the kitchen, where Trisha was rearranging items in the fridge to make room for the newest addition.

"Thank you for letting me come over today, Mrs. Elric," he said.

"You are welcome here any hour of the day, any day of the week," the woman replied before adding a hilariously undignified, "Shit!" while shoving the dish into a tight space between another dish and countless bottles of juices. With that out of the way, she closed the refrigerator door and turned around. The instant she saw Roy's face, she knew. "He told you."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, he told me."

"Well…" Trisha leaned back against the door, right next to an adorably crude drawing of the house that Al had done. "You're in it now, kiddo. With both feet. I hope you know that."

Roy knew, all right. What Ed had shared with him today marked the confirmation of everything he had already known to be true, that the boy was now and would always remain a part of his life, even long after his role as a babysitter came to an end. And he was okay with that. As a matter of fact, he didn't think that he would have it any other way.

"Do you have time for lunch?" she asked.

Roy checked his watch. Maes wouldn't be there to pick him up for another hour. "Sure."

"Get your butt over here, then."

Chuckling, Roy stepped over to the counter to help her prepare food while the soothing laughter of two very special brothers rang throughout the entire house.

xxXXxx

"How'd everything go?" Maes asked after they got home.

Roy followed him into the kitchen, both arms filled with bags of soda and chips. He had decided during the car ride to keep Ed's story to himself. Not because he wanted to keep secrets from his boyfriend, but out of respect for Ed. What he had divulged was nobody else's business, not even Maes'.

"Fine," he replied, setting the bags down on the counter with a grunt. "He's still pretty sore, which I expected. But he'll be okay in another day or two, I think."

"Good." Maes placed a bag of subs beside the other bags. They were all sick to death of pizza by that point, and since no one had been able to agree on which hamburger joint was the best, subs it was. "If you want me to take you over there tomorrow too…"

"Nah. I think he can manage for one day without seeing my face. But thanks."

Roy reached out to take him by the hand but paused when he saw an apple pie sitting on the corner of the countertop.

"Did... you make a pie while I was gone?"

"Oh, that." Maes grinned nervously and rubbed at the back of his neck. "No… um… Gracia made it."

"Gracia… made you… a pie."

"She didn't make it for me," Maes quickly clarified. "She said she was making pies for some family thing and ended up with one extra."

Roy didn't even notice that his jaw was clenched until he had to make a concentrated effort to unclench it before speaking again. "It sounds like she said a lot," he said coolly. "How long was she here?"

"Like five minutes. That's it. I told her I had to be somewhere so she gave me the pie and took off." Maes wrapped his arms around Roy and held him tightly. "Please don't be mad at me," he murmured into the teen's neck. "You know how I feel about free food."

Roy tried not to laugh and ended up failing miserably. He returned the embrace, closing his eyes and breathing in Maes' cologne. Honestly, the guy could probably get away with murder if he dialed up the charm just right.

Even so, there was something that Roy needed to say, and he reluctantly extracted himself from Maes' arms to look him in those gorgeous green eyes.

"Listen Maes, I don't want to come across like I'm being jealous or possessive or some shit like that, but… I really don't like the idea of her just popping in whenever she feels like it. I know you set her straight, but that doesn't mean she stopped liking you."

"I know," Maes acknowledged. "If it happens again, I'll remind her that I only want to be friends with her. And if reminding her doesn't work… I'll tell her about us."

Roy gawked at the other teen. "You would do that? What if she told other people?"

"Then I would deal with it. We would deal with it." Maes grabbed the front of Roy's shirt and pulled him close. "I told you I would never lie about us," he reminded him while trailing his fingers over Roy's chest. "I meant that."

"I don't know if I deserve you," Roy said, weaving his fingers through Maes'.

"You don't. You deserve better."

Maes drew him into a slow and sensual kiss that sent shockwaves of desire through every inch of Roy's body, right down to his toes. They fell back against the counter, tongues tangling and bodies shifting and grinding, until they finally broke apart, both of them breathing heavily.

"Now if you don't mind, I don't want to talk about Gracia or her pies anymore," Maes said, nuzzling his beard against Roy's cheek. "I want to eat a sub and make dirty jokes about foot-longs. I want to play Street Fighter and kick your ass with Guile. I want to hang out with our crazy friends and have a good time. And later, after they leave…"He burrowed his face in Roy's neck and clamped down, sucking on a patch of smooth skin. When he was finished teasing the teen, he raised his head and gazed longingly at him, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "… I want you."

That was, undoubtedly, the hottest thing that Roy had ever heard.

"For fuck's sake, get a room, horndogs," Riza growled from the kitchen doorway.

The couple separated as she entered the kitchen with Jean and Sheska. Roy's face felt like it was on fire, among other body parts, and he tried to play it cool. Unfortunately, Riza wasn't about to let that happen.

"You should probably put some ice on that," she remarked, glancing downward. "I hear it's good for all kinds of swelling."

"Shut up!" Roy turned around and tried to ignore the laughter that was directed at him. "Don't you guys know how to knock?"

"We did," Jean informed him. He plucked the cigarette that had been lodged behind his ear and shoved it between his lips. "We figured you were too busy to hear us."

"Don't let us stop you," Sheska piped in as she started rooting through the bag of subs. "You two wanna bang? Go right ahead."

Maes rolled his eyes and grinned. "As tempting as it is to bend Roy over the counter while the three of you watch, I'll pass."

"Maes!" Roy had thought that he couldn't blush more. He was wrong.

They unwrapped subs, tore open bags of chips, and poured fizzy drinks. The hardcore beverages would come later, after the sun went down. For now, Coke and Mountain Dew would suffice. The five teens spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening doing what they always do: stuffing their faces, playing video games, talking shit to each other, and having a grand time.

Later that night—after they got good and liquored up around Roy's fire; Sheska took off her bra, barfed, and swore off drinking for the billionth time; and Riza collected her winnings from the boys—Roy and Maes retired to Maes' bedroom and picked up where they left off earlier in the kitchen. They broke out the perverted goodies that Maes had purchased from the sex store (1) and tried out a number of items for the very first time.

As it turned out, that night was the very first time for many things.

And after that, they curled up together in Maes' newly made bed. Roy had no intention of returning to his own bedroom that night; Maes' parents could have walked in on them right then and there and he couldn't have cared less.

Lying in Maes' arms, it was all too easy for Roy to believe that his life would always be like this. Much like with Ed, perhaps even more so, he couldn't begin to imagine an existence without Maes. There was no other person in the world he trusted or loved more, and he was fully secure in the knowledge that the feeling was mutual, and that despite the current need for secrecy, everything was going to work out. They would get past high school and get on with living their lives openly, unchained from the limitations of discretion and fear of reprisal for the simple act of falling in love. They would be free.

He fell asleep with a yawn and a smile, clinging to Maes' body for warmth and comfort… and completely oblivious to the fact that the half-eaten apple pie on the kitchen counter was, for all intents and purposes, a sign of the crushing heartache still to come, the beginning of the end.

xxXXxx

The pain from the automail replacement procedure had diminished greatly by Monday. Aside from the occasional reminder that left Ed cringing and cursing under his breath (when his mother wasn't around), he was more or less back to normal. Still, Trisha had allowed him to stay home, and hadn't that been fantastic. He stayed on the couch for most of the day, drawing pictures of weird circles and symbols; he had no idea what they were, the images just popped into his head so he ran with it. He also drew a picture of a new garden he envisioned creating with Russell. Just because their first one had been destroyed didn't mean they couldn't try again. Trisha had sat right beside him, knitting a dress for one of Winry's hundred dolls. It was a hell of a lot nicer than ripping the damn thing's head off, something that Ed would have done if given the chance. Okay, maybe not. Not if the head couldn't be popped right back on. He wasn't that much of a jerk. (And she probably would have hit him with a wrench over it too, complete with Al's blessing because he was so in love with her and how gross was that.)

They'd had a nice, long talk all the while. Well, not so nice because his father was one of the topics of conversation. But then again, it was nice because Trisha had revealed to Ed that she was filing for divorce, and that made him happy. Happy for himself, happy for Al, and happy for his mom, who deserved to be happy more than anyone. Even better was the news that he was leaving again, heading back to wherever the hell he had been. Or somewhere else. Ed didn't know or care. They would finally be rid of him again, only this time no one was sad about it. Trisha had delicately suggested that Ed might one day change his mind and seek contact with Hohenheim when he was older, but the boy highly doubted it. A bitter "So long, asshole" had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, but instead of reprimanding him, Trisha had merely grinned, ruffled his hair, and said, "Yeah."

By the time Roy arrived with a squealing Al over his shoulder, Ed was able to move around with minimal profanity. After greeting them both, Trisha kissed Ed goodbye—embarrassing!—and left for work.

"All better?" Roy asked Ed as he tossed Al down on the couch like a sack of potatoes, much to the child's eardrum-piercing delight.

"Yeah." Ed gave Al the pictures he made and all squeals came to a sudden halt as the younger Elric stared at them in fascination. Taking advantage of the silence, he added, "Did Maes bring you today?"

Roy's head tilted. "He did. Is that okay?"

Hell no, it wasn't okay. Ed was insanely jealous of Maes and would probably always be as long as he and Roy were boyfriends. However… he clearly made Roy happy. And if Roy's happiness meant that Ed had to suffer his general dislike of that stupid jerkface of a jerk with the copycat cowlick, then fine.

"I was just wondering," he claimed, swinging Al's legs off the cushions so he could sit.

"Why don't we go outside?" Roy suggested. "You've been cooped up in this house all day."

"I wanna go outside too!" Al yelled cheerfully.

Two against one. Damn it. Ed truly never minded staying indoors because his books and toys were there, but conversely, he wanted to be wherever Roy was. And if Roy was being attentive enough to suggest going outside for Ed's comfort, then Ed would indulge him while pretending not to care (and then swoon and blush about it later that night in the privacy of his own bedroom).

"Yeah, okay," he said as nonchalantly as he could.

They went out the back door. Ed squinted as daylight hit him square in the face and blinked until his eyes adjusted. He sat down on the grass while Roy and Al engaged in a fierce game of tag that Al was never going to win.

Pinako and Winry came around shortly after. Winry took over for Roy (and Al purposely slowed down because he was too much of a gentleman to chase down and tag the girl of his dreams) while the old woman gave Ed a quick once-over to ensure his arm and leg weren't giving him any trouble.

"And how are you, young man?" she asked, turning to Roy and peering at him through her thick glasses. "I know this little trooper is going to be just fine, but I was worried about you for a while there, too."

"I'm good," Roy replied. "At least I know what to expect next time."

Although Ed had been watching Al pretend to chase Winry, his ears caught every word of Roy's conversation with Pinako and his heart skipped a beat upon hearing the teen's statement. Next time? Next year's automail replacement was the furthest thing from his mind, but knowing that Roy was expecting to be there with him for it almost made him wish he could go ahead and do it now, agony be damned.

Since Al and Winry were having so much fun, Roy offered to accompany the little girl home in time for dinner, so Pinako jammed her pipe into her mouth and left them to it. Roy sat down next to Ed and stretched out his legs, craning his neck to soak up the sunshine.

"My mom is divorcing him," Ed announced out of the blue.

Roy didn't seem shocked by the news. "How do you feel about that?" he asked.

Ed stretched out his legs as well, and was somewhat annoyed that they didn't come anywhere close to covering the amount of ground that Roy's did. "I don't care," he replied. He looked at his younger sibling, who had given up "chasing" Winry to show her some fascinating thing on the ground. "Al might care, though," he added thoughtfully.

"He might," Roy agreed. "If he does, go easy on him. I mean, yeah, your dad's a raging prick, but that doesn't mean Al will see him that way. He hasn't had the same… experiences… as you."

Ed understood what Roy was getting at. Sure, his father was still an asshole, but at least he had been a slightly lesser asshole to his youngest son. Al had the biggest heart in the world; if he managed to find room in it for Hohenheim no matter how much the bastard didn't deserve it, then Ed wouldn't do anything to disrupt that.

"I don't want to talk about him anymore," Ed said. His alone time with Roy was too precious and short to waste on discussing Hohenheim more than they already had.

"What do you want to talk about?" Roy asked. "You can ask me anything."

Ed twirled a blade of grass around an automail digit while he pondered the request. He and Roy had shared so much already but there was one thing he had yet to inquire about:

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Remembering that Roy was sixteen (and then grinning evilly when he also remembered calling him an old man the first day they met), Ed amended his query. "When you grow up more?"

"I have no idea," Roy answered, running a hand through his black hair. "College maybe. I used to think about joining the military."

This fascinated Ed. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hm. I always imagined rising up through the ranks and becoming someone awesome and important." The teen smirked. "Something like… Colonel Roy Mustang. Or whatever."

Did he really not see that he was already someone awesome and important? Ed so longed to tell him that, but he didn't dare. So much for being the bravest person Roy had ever met.

Al and Winry were kneeling down now, their heads bent over to the point of touching to get a better look at whatever Al was showing her. A damn rock or bug, knowing him. Ed planned to get all the details later that night, right before he mercilessly teased him about her. But right now, he had more important issues to address.

"If you go into the military…"

Roy raised a brow. "If I go into the military… what?"

"If you go into the military, then that means you'll be far away. I don't…" Ed sighed deeply. "I don't want you to forget about me."

He risked a glance in Roy's direction. The teen was smiling warmly at him, and it almost made him want to cry for reasons he had yet to fully understand at such a young age.

"Edward Elric, there's no place in this world far away enough for me to forget about you."

Ed swallowed the lump in his throat. "Good, because I won't let you."

"I didn't think you would," Roy replied with a hearty laugh.

With that settled, they resumed their observation of Al and Winry. Ed attempted and for the most part succeeded at keeping a straight face while dealing with the barrage of emotions that overwhelmed him. Even though Roy would be around for months, maybe even a year or two down the road, he wouldn't be their babysitter forever. Time would eventually pass and he would move on to whatever future awaited him. All Ed could hope for was that he might somehow be a part of that future.

And if he had any say in the matter, he would.

(1) References a bonus story that did not get posted here due to rating and content.