First, to every single one of you who has gotten this far, thank you.
Second, to every single one of you reaching this point now, and maybe realizing I marked this thing as complete: yes, I did. Because technically, that's true. At least, for this part. Because this was a fic that began as a romance between a ghost and a living man. But I, at least, am not at all finished with the story and Ed's now no longer a ghost.

So, if you are not finished either and want to join me for more, I'll be starting an At Gate's Edge: Part Two. Which will be involving Al, Scar, Hoho, some of the homunculi and Dwarf, and some others. And now I get to think of another shite summary, so yay! I will say that Part Two will be shorter, but maybe only by a third.

Chapter Sixty-Six

Roy was the first of them awake the following morning, yanked rudely from his sleep by sharp pain shooting through his shoulder and along his arm. Despite the acute pain however, he managed to keep from jolting for the painkillers and only sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth.

Because Edward was curled up half on top of him, fast asleep and exhaling little puffs of breath across Roy's sleep-warmed skin with a look of utter contentment on his face.

A smile crept across Roy's lips at the sight, and ever so carefully, he began to stretch and slowly wiggle them over enough that he could finally grab the bottle of painkillers. He managed to unscrew the bottle one-handed and then tip a few pills out onto the nightstand to pick up and pop in his mouth to swallow dry. That done, he settled in to hold Edward against him with an excited happiness as he toyed with the golden hair that was fanned across Edward's back and his own chest.

The painkillers had just begun their magic when Edward finally began to stir against him with a soft, sleepy noise that caused Roy's heart to seize with affection in his chest.

It was truly one of the weirdest sensations to Edward, waking up again from sleep after not having slept since his death. Like so many other things, he'd forgotten what sleep felt like, and what waking from it felt like. But any discontent that may have come from waking up was summarily chased away as it all flooded back to him – the why he was able to experience this again at all.

"Wow, easy there," Roy quickly soothed as Edward startled into full awareness with a jolt. "I've got you."

Edward slumped a bit back onto Roy with a half a laugh, eyes closing again as he soaked up the wonderful feel of the man against him. "I am really glad that wasn't a dream," he murmured and nuzzled down a bit against Roy's chest, "I'm still here."

Roy didn't bother arguing that Edward had always been here, for quite some time now, because he knew that's not what the former ghost meant at all and he bent his head awkwardly to press a kiss to that golden hair. "Yes. Yes, you are, love."

Edward smiled and finally lifted his head a bit so he could meet Roy's eyes, "hi."

Roy chuckled and tucked the falling fringe of blond hair behind Edward's ear, "hi."

Edward considered Roy for a good long moment in silence, before smirking. "I suppose I should be off then? I'll just take Hazel and be out of your hair."

"Wait, what?" Roy honestly couldn't take that seriously, not with the wicked smirk still on those now laughing lips, and he seized the blond about the waist to stop an exaggerated and slow attempt by Edward to sit up as if he were, in fact, about to leave. "You're going nowhere."

Edward grinned, and shifting around so that he was straddling Roy's waist, he leaned forward on his elbows to rest just above the man, his hair falling down like a curtain around their faces. "I thought you never slept with the same person more than once?"

Roy took the briefest moment to assess how much pain his shoulder was still feeling, before deciding it was certainly not enough to keep him from suddenly flipping them over so that Edward rested pinned beneath him now. "You've never been some ordinary person to me, and you know it. Now, would you like me to chase such silly thoughts from your head? We do seem to be having a mutual morning situation."

Edward laughed, and was still laughing even as he eagerly met Roy's kiss.

It took them quite a while to pull themselves from their bed, with Roy finally unable to really ignore any longer just how much closer his nightstand clock kept ticking towards the time that he really needed to get out of bed or risk running late. And on a day like today, after a night like last night, he didn't want to risk being late.

Edward had been tempted to rest in the bed for a bit longer, but he slipped from it anyway, allowing Roy to help him up and hold him steady until he was sure that his legs would hold him.

"How are you feeling?" Roy asked as he ran his hand along the jut of Edward's hip bone. "Still tender?"

Edward flushed, but it was a happy one, "happily so, I'll be fine. I promise I'm not in any pain. I thought I just might take a hot bath today while you're away." But he wasn't long distracted as he reached up to gently brush his fingertips against the stitches that closed off Roy's shoulder wound. "You're the one you should be worrying about. How is this feeling?"

"The painkillers I took before you woke up have kicked in," Roy reassured, and reluctantly drew his hand away from Edward's hip so that he could take him by the hand instead and turn and go in search of the bathroom. "Come on, we need to get clean. And then I need to get dressed."

Edward padded after him happily, eager to be in the shower again with Roy. He knew that he couldn't reasonably expect anything other than actually having a legitimate shower and little else, but it would hardly stop him from enjoying the view.

And while they did manage to keep it to just a quick shower, it still didn't stop the few stolen kisses here and there as they washed.

After they'd dried off, Edward went to sit on the edge of the bed with his towel, trying to further dry his damp hair so he could braid it again, while Roy found a clean uniform.

"Want me to just snap it dry for you?" Roy offered as he glanced over, carefully inserting his arm back into its sling.

"If you want to be the next to turn into a ghost, sure." Edward shot him a bit of a smirk.

Roy snorted and held up his good hand in grinning surrender, because far be it for him to decide when it was too soon to make jokes like that. "Is there anything in the fridge for a quick breakfast?"

Edward slipped off the bed at the mention, "yeah, actually. As long as you're good with leftovers. I'll do some cooking while you're gone today as well."

Roy smiled, and as Edward neared he reached out to snag the blond at the hip and give the gentlest of tugs. "Not looking like that, you're not," he stated, smiling at the confusion that furrowed Edward's forehead. "You can reheat things naked after you've had more practice at it while wearing a nice protective layer of clothing."

A short laugh escaped Edward, but he didn't argue. Honestly, he was so unaccustomed at this point to not having to think about clothes – his old ones had come with him when he'd died, after all, and they'd just become a part of him – that he really didn't entirely realize his own nudity. And given this was Roy, he hadn't exactly needed to start caring in the privacy of their own home. "Okay," he agreed and peered past Roy into the closet, "grab me that green shirt of yours? The one closer towards the end on the right?"

Roy's hand slipped from Edward's hip and he moved to do as asked, finding the correct shirt and slipping it free of its hanger before turning to offer it to the blond. "Need help?"

Edward gave him a faint smile, just a bit distracted as he slipped his arms into the proper sleeve holes, "well, if I somehow get lost in here, come find me." And he brought the shirt up over his head, letting it fall down loosely around him before peering down at himself with the slightest of frowns. "Even this is a bit long on me, although not as bad as that damn jacket."

Roy was observing with a smile and a fist to his chin as he considered the sight of Edward standing there in a long-sleeved dark green shirt that just managed to cover all of the important bits. "Well, that's because you are smaller than me, dear."

Edward's gaze snapped back up with a glare that only intensified as Roy grinned unrepentantly, "Oh, see if I sleep in the bed tonight."

Roy stepped forward with that same grin still firmly in place, and reaching out to snag Edward by the hip before his feisty lover could stomp off, he stole their lips together in a kiss that lingered softly until he felt the annoyance begin to leave Edward's posture. "Well, try not to miss me too much then," he whispered against Edward's lips, his hand drifting down to a place that made Edward squeak, "because truthfully, my love? I like your size."

Edward swatted Roy's hand away with a shy smile and finally managed to wriggle free. "Just finish getting ready for work. I'll meet you downstairs."

"You sure you'll be okay going down the stairs on your own?" Roy questioned with an uncertain frown as he watched Edward move away.

"I'll hold onto the railing, I'll be fine." Edward promised him with a smile. "If I recall correctly from the last time I was alive, going down the stairs is always easier."

Roy couldn't argue with that, and he watched with an appreciative smile as Edward walked off in his shirt. That was definitely going to be a sight he wouldn't tire of anytime soon. Clearing his throat and trying to shake certain thoughts from his mind again, he turned back to finishing getting himself ready to leave.

While going down the stairs was easier for Edward, he admittedly was still missing his former ability to just float wherever he needed to go. It felt like it took an unreasonable amount of time to walk down them, while being sure his coordination stayed okay, and then make his way into the kitchen.

He flipped on the lights to help lift the lingering darkness that the weak dawn light hadn't yet banished, and made his way to the refrigerator. After a few moments spent rustling about in the chilliness that he shivered against, he nudged the door shut with a hip on his way to lay everything in his hands out on the nearest countertop. Soon enough he'd gotten the waffles and bacon reheating for Roy, before a sudden pang in his stomach and a gurgling noise he'd not heard in years reminded him that Roy was not the only one who needed food in this house anymore.

With a bit of a high, delighted laugh, he added another portion.

And while the food reheated in a dish in the oven and his stomach protested at the lack of food inside it, he worked on making them up some sliced strawberries and bananas to go with it all. He had just finished with the fruit and put the knife in the sink to wash later with the other breakfast dishes, when he heard Roy's footsteps enter the kitchen.

"Managing okay?" Roy asked as he walked over towards where Edward had half turned to smile in welcome at him, "sorry. I should have set us an alarm to wake us up earlier, so I'd have time to help you. Your first time cooking like this again."

Edward scoffed good-naturedly and slipped his hand in Roy's while rising up on his toes to press a kiss to the man's cheek. "Don't be ridiculous. We planned for this in case you got hurt last night. Just because I'm now among the living again doesn't mean you're any less injured."

Roy felt it was hard to disagree with that, and knew better than to try.

"We'll be back to splitting the cooking before you know it anyway." Edward told him fondly, "but if you really want to help me any, you'll pull two plates down for me."

It took Roy a moment to realize why Edward had asked, and then there was nothing that could stop the mischievous grin that lit his face. "Why, don't tell me you're too short to get them now."

"Roy! So help me, I'll – " what Edward planned to do was cut silent as Roy's lips descended on his, and then he was turning fully into Roy and slipping his arms up around the man's neck as the kiss deepened and Roy backed him up against the counter eliciting an approving whine.

When Roy broke the kiss, earning a disgruntled noise from Edward, he chuckled and dropped another kiss to the blond's nose. "I swear, as soon as I'm home from work I'm taking you to bed again."

Edward admitted that the promise perked him up a bit, even if he was still just the slightest bit grumpy about his kiss being cut short. "Get the plates, you horrid tease."

Roy did so, unable to help but grin as he grabbed two. "So you're hungry? What does that feel like after all this time?"

"I'm starving," Edward admitted, pressing a hand to his stomach with a small groan. "It's stopped making noise but it hurts. And the smell is killing me all over again."

Roy laughed as he began to set the table, grinning over at Edward, "love, the smell of your food is incapable of killing anyone. It smells delicious. Have a seat, I'm going to get you some juice and finish up with the food for you."

"But, shouldn't you finish getting ready to go to work?" Edward frowned as Roy walked back over to him to take him by the shoulders and spin him about, pushing him towards the table.

"I may not have had time this morning to help get breakfast started, but I can finish it. Now sit," Roy insisted fondly.

Edward gave in, shifting a bit to find a somewhat comfortable position while he watched Roy begin pulling everything back out of the oven. And soon enough, the waffles and bacon, the butter and syrup, and the fruit that Edward had sliced up was on the table. Neither of them lost any time in eating until there was nothing left, with Edward in a certain state of eager euphoria at the taste of food, causing Roy to laugh more than once.

It was only after Roy had assisted Edward in clearing the table that the former ghost felt the mood shift, and he looked up at Roy in discontent. "I don't like you going there without me. I know it can't be helped, and I know you're not going to be careless, but..."

Roy let out a long breath, his mouth pulling into a thin, regretful smile as he moved to pull Edward into a tight hug. "I know, love. I know. I'll leave the number to reach my desk phone, as well as Hawkeye's. I'll call to check in on you after I've seen the Fuhrer, and before I head home; but if there's anything you need while I'm gone, just call."

Edward nodded into Roy's chest as he hugged the man back tightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't – you have enough to worry about without me being like this."

"Nonsense," Roy denied softly, and bent his head to press as best a kiss he could into Edward's golden hair. "I'd walk out that door being more worried if you put on a show for me."

Edward sucked in a long breath, then nodded again.

"I'm going to write those numbers down and put them by the phone in here." Roy hated to pull away from Edward, but he truly did need to leave for work in the next few minutes if he was going to be on time.

Edward watched as Roy moved off to do so, anxiety prickling at him and making him shift where he stood as he watched the man write. Roy was still writing when he heard a familiar-sounding knock on the door. "If they've come to offer you a ride, fair warning, I may kiss them." Edward warned Roy as he turned to get the door.

Roy scoffed in humor.

"Which, by the way," Edward called back as he moved into the hallway, "I'm guessing you have even better car requisition powers now, use them until you're healed!"

Roy smiled as he finished writing down the number to Hawkeye's desk phone, knowing that if he didn't come home with a vehicle tonight that he'd have Edward out for blood – theoretically speaking, anyway. But it was as he was tucking the numbers next to the phone that he suddenly paused, a certain iciness washing over him as his head whipped back towards where Edward had gone. Because the former ghost had mentioned them, but that knock hadn't sounded like anyone he knew. "Edward!"

Edward was already hauling open the door when he heard Roy's shout, and frowning he almost looked back over his shoulder – except his eyes had caught on who was standing on the doorstep. And it was not Riza, nor Maes. Nor any of the others of Roy's staff. "Let me guess," he growled, hands landing on his hips as he glared, "you're here because – no, you know what? I don't even want to know! You don't get to – I can't do this now!"

Roy made it to Edward's side just as his irate little lover was about to slam the door in Van Hohenheim's face. "I've got this," he reassured as he caught the door before it could slam, but was effectively ignoring Edward's father stood on his doorstep as he focused on Edward who he'd put an arm around, "is it okay if I take care of this?"

Edward fought not to grind his teeth, but he nodded jerkily.

Hohenheim had been staring wide-eyed at his son, his living son in complete shock and a crushing mix of desperation, regret, and love. But then Roy was there, and suddenly his main purpose for coming here came crashing back to him swiftly, and before either Roy or his son could stop him, he shoved his way inside the house.

"Hey!" Edward exclaimed furiously.

Roy quickly pushed Edward behind him, more in an attempt to stop the lunge the blond had made for his father, than as any attempt to protect Edward. But with Edward temporarily out of the way, Roy lunged forward himself, fisting a hand in Hohenheim's weathered jacket and slamming him up against the wall as he kicked the door shut – no need to have the neighbors watch this. "The fuck is wrong with you?!"

"The fact that my son lives with a complete idiot," Hohenheim informed him as he glared right back into Roy's furious eyes. "What insanity has possessed you to make you think that you're going to Headquarters today?!"

"Laying aside the obvious reasons," Roy growled, "because you're the one who told Edward that if Amestris had any hope of surviving what's happening to it, that I need to take control! I can't take control if I don't – "

"You can't take control if you're dead because you walked happily into a fucking trap!" Hohenheim snapped back, and gestured sharply at where Edward had come to stand nearby, but just behind Roy, "I also mentioned staying together when around the Fuhrer! And you are not about to tell me that my son is going to Headquarters dressed in nothing but a nightshirt!"

"Your son doesn't need your permission to go anywhere dressed in any way." Edward hissed in offense, practically vibrating he was shaking so hard from anger. "You are not about to shove your way into my life, into my home, insult my Roy, and dare to dictate my actions!"

Roy felt that was a pretty apt statement, and found himself nodding in sharp satisfaction. "As he said."

Hohenheim barely kept from growling in frustration, "you are going to walk into a trap, Roy Mustang! If you go to Headquarters today, you are going to die! The stunt you two pulled last night nearly got Wrath punished in a way I don't have time to describe to you, but rest assured he's not about to risk it again. He took Envy and Sloth with him last night, the three of them are waiting for you at Headquarters now. And hate me all you want right now, I am not about to let you waltz in there for a three-against-one. As good as you are, it'd still be a slaughter. And not of them."

Edward, still shaking in his anger, began to frown as he edged a bit closer to Roy, "how do you know that? How would you know that unless you were close enough to see it, or to hear it." But that was all the lead up he needed for the anger to enter his voice, "surely you have enough power, being what you are, to stop them. So why didn't you?"

Hohenheim stiffened, and shifted his attention fully onto his son now, even as he felt Roy's grip on him tighten warningly. "Things are not that simple, so don't dare insinuate that I'm not on your side in this. I'd found Dwarf's hideout, but before I could make my move against him, circumstances I was not expecting and outside of my control left me considerably weakened. I was forced to conceal myself until I could recoup enough strength to attempt to sneak away. A task I only barely managed. I am not strong enough again yet to face him right now."

"You seriously believe anything in my life has been simple where you're concerned?" Edward snapped at him in offense, ignoring the rest of his father's words for the moment. "Why would it be any different now?"

"We're getting away from the point," Hohenheim stated coldly, turning his focus once more back onto Mustang. "Which is that I'm here to stop you, by any means necessary, from getting yourself slaughtered. My son cares about you, you've become his family, and I'm not about to see him lose you. And I'm not about to see the best hope this country has at not collapsing get himself killed."

Roy swore under his breath, his eyes falling shut.

"Whatever reward you were promised, Mustang," Hohenheim began quietly, "it's worthless if you're dead. Right now, it's better to fall back and not play into their hands. Do this on your terms."

"Roy?" Edward asked now, softly, and reaching up laid a gentle hand on the man's arm. "Setting aside the fact that he barged in here without invitation, insulted me, insulted you, and can generally be frustrating to deal with," he caressed his thumb over Roy's bicep, "and I really, truly wouldn't mind you punching him again. I don't think he's lying."

Roy let out a frustrated breath before admitting, "I don't either."

"Now that we're all finally thinking clearly – " Hohenheim was delayed in continuing as Roy abruptly released him, before punching him square across the jaw.

"That, was for whatever Edward wants it to be for." Roy told him with a false sweetness.

"My hero," and when Roy turned to give him a look, Edward smirked.

"Admittedly, I probably deserved that one." Hohenheim rubbed at his jaw with a grimace before straightening his coat. "I saw you in uniform and let urgency get the better of me."

"I don't care about any of that," Roy sighed, giving Hohenheim a disgruntled look, "right now I need to make sure my team goes underground and I have a limited time to reach them before they'll have left for the office."

Edward looked up at Roy in sudden concern, "go, hurry."

Roy didn't bother questioning if Edward was sure he'd be okay, being in effect left alone with Hohenheim while he did this. He knew Edward was quite capable of at least being vocal if Hohenheim tried anything, and so he rushed back to the kitchen.

Edward watched as Roy all but ran for the telephone, and only once he heard Roy apparently reach Maes, he looked back to his father. Finding himself being watched, studied, and he shook his head in a long-simmering disappointment he'd held since the man had first reappeared during his time as a ghost. "And I didn't even ask," he accused softly, turning away, "and you know, it accused you of being the brilliant one."

Hohenheim flinched unseen by his son, his hand moving subconsciously up to where the Philosopher Stone rested inside him, glowing weakly for the first time. But he forced himself to lower his hand as he realized, forced the troubled and resigned look from his face, and cautiously followed his son into the kitchen where Roy had just hung up on someone and was now dialing again with expediency. "Edward," he called after haltingly.

Edward stopped, half turning to look at Hohenheim with that same disappointment, "please, don't. Don't try and… I don't know. I appreciate you warning Roy, I do. But I can't do this," he motioned a hand between them, "whatever this is, right now. You can't just walk in here and expect me to be okay with you. The last time you were here – you couldn't hear me, but right before I shut the door on you? I'd told you that I wouldn't trade Roy for anything – I still wouldn't – but that doesn't mean I'd never looked back and wished you'd stayed. We're not okay, dad. We just aren't."

Hohenheim nodded jerkily, lips pulling between his teeth as he sucked in a settling breath.

"I don't know if we ever will be," Edward admitted without an ounce of regret, "but the best thing you could do right now is treat me with some damn respect."

"You have it," Hohenheim told him, and it wasn't a lie. And granted he'd been the sole orchestrator of his situation, but it didn't stop the strange twist inside his chest that was seeing just how much his son had grown. The last time he'd seen Edward, his son had barely been out of diapers and Alphonse had been in them. But now, here Edward was, a grown young man who carried himself with self-assurance and confidence. Even dressed in nothing but a shirt that covered just enough – clearly confirming for him that the relationship his son shared with Roy was definitely romantic in nature – Edward stood there entirely regal and looking not at all concerned about his state of undress. "How?"

Edward gave him a lopsided, thin smile. "I learned a lot from your old books. I learned a lot from the Gate – although I'm unsure how much of that was intentional. And the theory that I was only a ghost because I had enough residual protection in my blood from you being a philosopher's stone seems to have been proven correct. I saved Roy's life with that array, it reversed the power of them, rendered them inert."

Hohenheim didn't need to know why – he knew why. But still, his son seemed to be missing his point. "No, I need to know how. What array you used."

"I made it up as I went along," Edward frowned, "I'm not sure it's a good idea to use again though. I'm not sure what the range is, and you're rather the exact type I created it to be used against."

"Let me decide that." Hohenheim told him, unconcerned.

Edward was about to press the matter when Roy hung up the phone for the final time, instead he now turned to walk over to Roy in concern. "Did you reach everyone? Are they going to be safe?"

Roy slipped his hand onto Edward's hip as they stopped in front of one another, "they're going to be fine. Everyone involved is going underground until I reach out to them at the safe houses for further instructions."

Edward breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Although I may yet set Fuery on fire. He was very interested in who the hell you are, and where the fuck you suddenly appeared from, and why I clearly knew you very well."

Edward burst into laughter at that bit, and grinning up at the man he tapped Roy on the chest lightly in reproach. "All fair questions, and we already guessed he'd have them. You don't get to be all huffy with him now."

Roy grumbled wordlessly, but he was smiling despite the situation. It was hard not to when Edward was grinning up at him like that.

Hohenheim cleared his throat pointedly, a part of him growing concerned that they may have forgotten he was even there. "Now that you've taken care of that, we need to discuss the repercussions that are about to come, and quickly, because of what Edward did last night. It's time I stop keeping you in the dark about some things."

Roy glanced over Edward's head to Hohenheim, realizing that by the man's tone this wasn't about to be a short conversation and argument they were going to inevitably have. And letting out a heavy breath of resignation he looked back down at Edward. "I'm going to go find you some sweatpants at least, love."

Edward felt a hint of pinkness flush his cheeks as he grumbled, "everything's covered."

"Yes, but I have a feeling your father is going to drone on for a while, and that's usually best dealt with while sitting down." Roy mentioned, ignoring the faint glare he could feel emanating from where Hohenheim stood. "I'll only be a moment," and pressing a kiss to Edward's lips, he moved off, as he did so, pointing a warning finger at Hohenheim, "don't be an asshole."

Hohenheim held up both his hands somewhat mockingly, but as the man disappeared the look he turned onto his son was void of his sarcasm. "You look a lot like me, when I was your age. The rare times I ever caught my reflection."

Edward studied him in silence for a long moment before saying quietly, "despite our differences, I hope you understand that I am genuinely sorry about your life before – " he cut off, waving a hand at Hohenheim.

Hohenheim gave him a thin smile and the slightest of nods, "I regret a lot from how I broke free of all that. But the one thing I don't regret is not bringing children into that life. I know the childhood you did have was far from ideal, but it was a far cry better than mine was. That, I do not regret."

While Edward knew he'd likely always harbor resentment towards his dad about abandoning them, he also knew that he would never argue that Hohenheim's words just then were beyond reproach or argument. He nodded in return, "so after all those years… I don't have any other siblings?"

Hohenheim shook his head with the faintest hint of a growing smile, "no. It was only ever your mother for me. It was only ever you and Alphonse."

Edward accepted it with another nod, and turned away to find himself a cup. All this talking was getting him thirsty, and he still was getting accustomed to his body actually having needs. And as he got himself some water, a silence fell between he and his dad, but it was a slight bit easier of one than it ever had been before.

That was what Roy returned back to, and walking over to Edward he held out the sweatpants while simultaneously ordering Hohenheim from the kitchen. Once Edward had been helped into the sweatpants – which needed to be rolled up quite a few times at the ankles to keep Edward from tripping all over them, and then cinched to the max at the blond's waist – they both went in search of Hohenheim.

They found the man in the sitting room, in one of the chairs.

"We have much to do, and very little time to do it based on the information I've recently obtained." Hohenheim began as he watched his son and Roy Mustang sit down together on the couch. "That being said, there is one thing that is crucial I know now," and he looked directly at his son, "can you still do alchemy, Edward?"