Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/5682997.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      Multi
  Fandom:
      Fullmetal_Alchemist:_Brotherhood_&_Manga
  Relationship:
      Alphonse_Elric/Edward_Elric/Roy_Mustang
  Character:
      Alphonse_Elric, Edward_Elric, Roy_Mustang, Riza_Hawkeye, Sheska_|
      Sciezka, Team_Mustang, Chris_"Madam_Christmas"_Mustang, Greed_(Fullmetal
      Alchemist), Lust_(Fullmetal_Alchemist), Envy_(Fullmetal_Alchemist)
  Additional Tags:
      Prostitution, Alternate_Universe, Drama, Underage_Prostitution, Drug_Use,
      Intersex_Character
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-01-10 Updated: 2017-03-02 Chapters: 7/? Words: 14550
****** Past the Mission ******
by callasyndra
Summary
     Roy Mustang keeps his promise to get the golden brothers who have no
     memory of their previous lives out of the brothel they're currently
     living at.
Notes
     Okay so it's Winter and the depression has hit and for some
     reason...I kept going back to Tierfal's story Half-way Decent. I
     wanted to know the rest of the story. What happens to Ed and Al? Is
     Roy able to get them out of the brothel? So the long and short of it
     is...I'm writing the sequel. Please don't hate me because I'm not as
     good at fan fic as Tierfal is and I do this with the utmost respect
     for her writing. But I really wanted to hear the rest of the story
     so...here goes nothing.
     In keeping with the original AU Ed and Al do not remember anything
     about their past. Roy also has an automail leg as he attempted to
     bring Maes back via human transmutation when he was killed in battle.
     Please mind the tags/warnings as they will be updated as the writing
     flows. No idea on how often updates will happen or how long this
     sucker will be. Enjoy?
See the end of the work for more notes
  This work was inspired by
      Halfway-Decent by Tierfal
***** Prologue *****
Roy Mustang lay in his bed staring at the ceiling.  The two golden brothers at
the brothel were all he could think about and since it was going on 2 am it
seemed as if sleep was not to be had tonight.  While his body stayed in a state
of half-arousal Roy’s mind was plagued with thoughts of how to get those two
out of the brothel.  Ed’s words kept repeating through his head: “Most of the
girls are really nice and they don’t know anything else….I don’t know anything
else.” 
          There must be a way to get the brothers out and any other unwilling
sex workers out of the brothel without endangering any of them.  Frustrated,
Roy ran his hands into his hair, pulling it slightly.  What would Maes have
done?
          Slowly Roy let go of the grip on his hair and thought about that
again.  Maes would have gone through the records in Intelligence to see if his
branch had ever worked with local law enforcement in regards to the brothels
before.  If there was an established precedent then perhaps it wouldn’t be as
difficult as Roy thought to get some kind of investigation going.
          Glancing over at his clock showed it was 2:30 now and with some sort
of resolution in mind Roy felt his body finally relaxing.  7:30 was going to
come awfully early, but five hours of sleep was much better than none.  Roy
gave into his body’s need for sleep with a last thought for Maes.  “Thank you,
as always.”
                                      ~*~
          Seated behind his desk Roy looked contemplatively at the amount of
paperwork he’d completed before reaching for the telephone.  The larger than
normal pile should grant him a brief reprieve before Riza’s fingers would
twitch toward her pistol.  Glancing through his contacts Roy dialed the number
to reach the extension at Lieutenant Sheska’s desk.
          After Maes’ death Sheska had become a source of comfort for Gracia as
well as a friend for Roy to have drinks with and reminisce with about Maes.  A
warm smile came over his face as the young woman answered the phone.
          “Hello Sheska, it’s been a while.”
          “It certainly has and Gracia told me to tell you you’re to call her
and come over for dinner because it’s been far too long since you’ve seen
Elysia.  How is the promotion treating you, Colonel?”
          “Very well, thank you.  But it has raised certain concerns.  I was
treated to a visit at a certain brothel as a congratulations of sorts and
noticed there were some underage individuals working there.  Do you happen to
know if there are any files showing that Investigations worked with the local
law enforcement to get underage sex workers out of the brothels?”
          There was a pause as Sheska went through all the information in her
photographic memory before she took an excited breath.  “There were!  I even
remember where they are because it was something Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was
working on getting together to present before…”
          Gently, Roy said “Before he died.  That sounds like something Maes
would have put on the front burner to have looked into.  Could you perhaps pull
those files and see what procedures were used at the time?  I have a feeling if
one brothel is doing this there are probably others in the city as well.”
          “Yes of course, Colonel.  I’ll call you as soon as I’ve had a chance
to look them over.”
          Roy sighed.  “I’ve asked you to call me Roy when we’re not around
other personnel, Sheska.  It’s pleasant to be able to have friends call me by
my first name and I have so few.”
          “Very well.  Why don’t we just plan on meeting tonight at the normal
place and I’ll tell you what I find, Roy?”
          “Thank you, Sheska.  I think this investigation is something Maes
would approve of.”
          Sheska smiled softly.  “I think so, too.  Don’t forget to call
Gracia.”
          Roy hung up the receiver and glanced up to see Riza staring pointedly
at him.  Smiling sheepishly he grabbed another of the pieces of paperwork in
his to do pile.  Once he and Sheska had discussed what had previously been done
they’d have a better idea of how to approach the new investigation.  And if
they got a good strategy tonight then he’d present it to his team tomorrow. 
Getting those brothers out of that brothel without hurting any of the other sex
workers was a promise Roy had every intention of keeping.
***** Chapter One *****
Chapter Notes
     Some info. for easy reading - the venue for this is changing from
     East City in Halfway-Decent to Central for plot convenience. Also,
     Maes died approximately 18 months ago and the Elrics have been at the
     brothel for a little over a year now. Ed is 15 and Al is 14
     currently, so when they were kidnapped and brought to the brothel
     they were 14 and 13. Also, the age of majority is 17 in this AU, not
     18. And the age of sexual consent is 16. This story will be frankly
     discussing underage prostitution, so if that's not your cup of tea
     you might want to skip it.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
  
          Gracia had been the one to make the suggestion that Sheska and Roy
might want to spend more time together after Maes’ death.  They had met several
times at Gracia’s and had coffee after lunch, talking for some time afterward
about Maes.  A few of those times Gracia sat with them listening to tales of
her late husband with a small smile.  Elysia required more of her time than
before since the child was also grieving and confused, and Gracia had gently
suggested finding a new venue for their chats.
          Roy had asked Riza to help him come up with a location which would be
appropriate for taking a younger woman who he had no romantic interest in to
reminisce about a deceased friend.  Riza had blinked at him like he was an
idiot before pointing out he already knew the perfect place.  His Aunt Chris’
place was professional and she allowed no shenanigans.  There was the added
bonus of being able to use the back bar which was normally for employees only,
but Chris Mustang made exceptions for her adopted nephew.
          Riza had gone along with them the first time they’d gone to Madame
Christmas’ brothel as Sheska had turned an uncomfortable color at the idea
until Riza mentioned she’d be there as well.  Chris Mustang had made a very
short entrance upon their arrival, but had left them to themselves for most of
that first visit.  Once Sheska had gotten used to the brusque Madame she’d
visited with them more often during their meetings.
          Tonight Roy had called ahead to let the employees know he and Sheska
would need some privacy during their talk.  Julia had chuckled a bit before
assuring him they’d have privacy if it was needed.  “But you know if it’s
something important the Madame will have us working on it before the night’s
out,” had been her impish response before hanging up the phone.
                                      ~*~
          Having a photographic memory made it easy for Sheska to have
knowledge readily available whereas anyone else would have needed to sneak
files out of the military base.  The young woman had a determined look on her
face as she approached the table Roy was already sitting at. 
          “The good news is there was a joint investigation several years ago
in which the local law enforcement and the military worked together to clear
out underage sex workers from the brothels in Central.  The bad news is Maes
was getting ready to persuade the police to go into another joint operation
when he was killed.”
          Upon noticing Sheska’s arrival Julia had come over with their regular
drinks.  She placed them onto the table with a warm grin at Sheska who was
taking her jacket off.
          Roy pursed his lips.  “So it seems Maes was already aware of this
problem.  But no one in Investigations took it upon themselves to follow up
after his death?”
          Sheska took a sip of the long island ice tea in front of her before
shaking her head.  “Maes’ death really shook up the office.  And I’m not sure
he’d gotten far in his personal investigation – it seems as if he hadn’t
presented it formally.”
          Roy took a sip of his own scotch as Julia passed by with two glasses
of water for them and some peanuts to munch on.  He sent her an amused glance
as she winked back at him before moving on to another part of the building. 
          “Would you mind telling me how the previous investigation was
conducted?  It might help to have some collateral in putting together a new
one.”
          It took quite awhile, but Sheska patiently laid out how the Central
wide investigation of brothels had been conducted.  Another sex worker had
voiced concerns to a prominent military customer (who just happened to be a
general) of hers that she was noticing more underage kids being brought into
the business.  The general had voiced concerns to the police who had gone to
each brothel and requested copies of the paperwork on all their sex workers. 
According to Amestrian law each sex worker needed to be filed by brothel until
such time as they quit.  The general then asked Investigations to conduct an
anonymous survey of military personnel on the subject of if they had noticed
any sex workers who seemed too young, a physical description of the sex worker,
when they had noticed them, and at which establishment.  It had been relatively
easy to get the information from the military personnel when word was passed
that no one would be asked to give private information and the results were
being used to end underage prostitution.
          Once the survey was completed by Investigations the results were
compared with the official files from the brothels.  There were enough
differences in the information from several brothels that a simultaneous raid
was conducted on 6 different brothels.  Several teams comprised of both
military personnel and civilian law enforcement were sent to the brothels.  The
raid resulted in 30 underage prostitutes being freed from the brothels which
were holding them.  Of those 30, 15 were found to have been taken off the
streets whereas the other 15 were taken back to their homes.  After some
rehabilitation the fifteen children who had no home to go to were offered the
chance for school and entrance into the military if they so chose.
          Madame Christmas had drifted over at some point while Sheska was
relating all the information.  There was a troubled expression on her face as
Sheska finished.  “Is that what you wanted the privacy for?  I can have my
people do some checking around, but after that raid fifteen years ago the
brothels have been very careful not to engage in anything illegal.  Those
brothels you mentioned were heavily fined and as a result many of their
prostitutes sought other employment.”
          Sheska shifted restlessly in her seat before looking between Roy and
his aunt.  Apparently the Colonel hadn’t mentioned any of this to his adopted
mother and she wasn’t sure if she should say anything else until he’d said
something.
          Roy’s fingers tightened on his shot glass before he turned to face
Chris.  “I know that at least one brothel is keeping underage sex workers, Aunt
Chris.  And I was asked by one of them not to commit an act of arson to get
them out of there.  So I’m trying to find a way to get all underage prostitutes
in Central out of the business.  And it seems that might be easier than I
thought based on the information Sheska provided.  Would you like to conduct an
investigation of your own?”
          The Madame took a healthy drag off her cigarette.  “Damn right I
will.  You know how I feel about that kind of thing, Roy boy.  Kids belong with
their parents or other family members.  When they turn 17 then they can decide
to work in the business, but before then they need to be at home.  I won’t have
that going on in my town again,” she finished with a frown.
          As Madame Christmas motioned Sebastian over to inform him a new
investigation would be conducted starting that evening, Roy and Sheska
discussed how best to approach the police.  Sheska was currently in
Investigations whereas Roy wasn’t, so it made more sense for her to approach
the locals.  It also helped that she could bring the military files from the
previous joint operation to present, if necessary.  Roy would be briefing his
own people on the details in the morning.  While Investigations would
officially be running the survey of military personnel Roy’s team would be
helping as well. 
          Sheska stood and smiled warmly at Madame Christmas.  “Thank you as
always for your hospitality.”
          The Madame smile broadly before pulling Sheska into a hug.  “None of
that now.  You’ve practically become family Sheska.  And Bernard will walk you
home so I don’t have to worry about anything happening to you between here and
your apartment.”
          Sheska held onto the hug a bit longer than she normally would before
turning to say goodbye to Roy.  Bernard made sure another guard was available
to watch his vacated position before walking out into the evening with Sheska.
          Chris looked around and motioned for the other employees to give them
some space before she pulled out Sheska’s vacated chair and sat down in it. 
Sebastian walked past to bring the Madame a highball of the same scotch Roy was
drinking and a glass of water before vacating the area.
          Contemplatively Chris picked up her scotch and glanced over at Roy. 
“So.  Are you ready to talk about what’s bothering you?”
          Roy sat silently for quite some time.  His shoulders had become
hunched and Chris wondered if she needed to push a bit more before he ground
out, “You know how I was able to talk to them.  You know how I was asked not to
burn the place down.  Do you think I feel good about having had sex with
children?”
          Idly Chris ran her fingers along her glass of water.  “I would
imagine you’re horrified and feel guilty as hell.  And I know you well enough
to know you didn’t ask for them specifically.  Was it a gift for your
promotion?”
          Roy nodded, still looking down at the table and not meeting her
eyes.  Chris sighed gently.  “It’s not your fault they’re prostitutes, Roy. 
You know that.  And right now you’re their best bet to getting out of the
business they were forced into.  Do you think they’d be happy you’re beating
yourself up over this?”
          Roy slowly raised his head and met her eyes.  “I doubt it.  They’ve
been told before by other customers they’d get them out, but they’re so smart,
Aunt Chris.  They got my name and know I’m in the military.  And they both have
amnesia.  I’m fairly certain they were taken right after the accident that cost
the older brother his arm and leg.”
          Chris was gazing at the bar with a look of disgust.  “They kidnapped
kids who don’t know who they are and one of them is crippled?  I’m astounded
this news escaped us.  This is exactly the type of thing we try to pick up on
early and take care of it within the brothel system ourselves.”
          Roy looked as if he were expecting something scathing directed at
him.  Chris took a drag on her cigarette and gave him a faint smile.  “I knew
something was up as soon as you mentioned underage prostitutes, Roy.  When you
said you’d spoken to one of them about burning the place down, I knew you’d
been with them privately.  And if they’re any good at their job you’d had sex
with them.  I take it they did all the work?”
          As Roy’s jaw dropped it occurred to him he should really stop being
surprised by anything Chris Mustang said.  While his mind frantically tried to
come up with a response the Madame continued.  “I didn’t raise you to rape
children, Roy.  I raised you to have the utmost respect for sex workers and
sometimes in situations like this that can rebound.  Because you cared about
those boys you allowed them to handle you as they’d been taught.  And now
you’ll help them get away from the bastards who kidnapped them and begin lives
of their choosing.”
          Roy grabbed his highball and finished off the remaining scotch.  It
took a couple of times clearing his throat before he was able to get out, “I
thought you’d be disgusted with me.”
          The Madame took a sip of her own scotch.  “If you hadn’t tried to
find a way to get them out I would have been.  As it is I say enjoy the sex for
what it was and let me know what I can do to help.  My people will get you as
much information as we can about how that particular brothel is run.”  She
paused momentarily before asking, “Does the older brother have auto-mail?”
          Roy nodded hesitantly.  Chris smirked at him.  “Don’t you think you
should alert your auto-mail mechanic that she’ll be needing to look over
someone else’s auto-mail soon?”
          The Madame got up to go over to her employees and discuss the new
investigation they’d be conducting.  Julia slid neatly into the vacating seat
and slid another highball of scotch over to Roy.  “Looked like you needed it,”
she observed.
          “You have no idea,” Roy breathed before taking the shot.  With Aunt
Chris helping this is going to go even faster than I’d originally planned. 
I’ll brief Riza and the others in the morning and we’ll come up with a
streamlined plan of engagement.  And I will get them out of that hell hole.
Chapter End Notes
     It would be extremely helpful to get any type of criticism on this-
     both good and bad. Hopefully this will be heading in an interesting
     direction for all readers, but I'm making it up as I go so no end
     game in sight right now.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Mind the tags, because from here on out we're going to be dealing
     with underage prostitution. Also, since this is an AU of Brotherhood
     I'm taking some creative liberty. Ed got Al's body back at age 14,
     but lost a bit of his own physicality in order for Al's body to not
     be a total wreck. While they were trained by Izumi they don't
     remember any of it, so unless a life or death instance occurs don't
     expect any fancy moves from the boys.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 
                              Fifteen months ago
       Al had managed to scrounge enough ragged blankets to make their burrow
habitable against the cool Spring mornings and evenings.  The clothing he’d
managed to cobble together for himself and Ed were far from adequate, but it
kept him from being chased away by police for being indecently dressed.  It had
only been a week since the brothers had found themselves naked and alone in a
field surrounded by strange circular drawings.  Ed had been in a bad state.  It
had taken another day for him to fully become aware of his surroundings so it
had been up to Al to find somewhere they could hide from authorities until some
idea of what happened came back to them. 
          Al had managed to snatch a few pieces of clothing from a clothesline
not too far from where they’d awoken in the field.  Once he’d dressed and
pulled the clothing on Ed, he’d guided his older brother toward the city he
could see from the smoke stacks in the distance.  It had quickly become
apparent that hiding was in their best interest unless they wanted to become
part of the local orphanage.  Al had stashed Ed in a fairly clean alley with
another vagrant resident before dashing off to find some sort of food.  The old
woman he’d left Ed with had settled the elder with blankets wrapped around his
torso and legs when Al returned breathlessly with the food he’d managed to
procure.  Luck had been with him that day as he’d happened past a small cart
selling dumplings.  The gentleman purchasing some had taken one look at him
peering around the corner and asked the vender for two more orders.  The man
had approached Al slowly with the food and gestured for him to take two of the
bags.
          “But, why?” Al had asked.
          “Because you look as if you need them, whereas I was just a bit
hungry,” was the answer he received.  “Go on now, and notice how people are
looking at you.  Not all offers of food will come without a price.”
          Al thanked the man gratefully and ran off to share the dumplings with
his brother and their new friend.
          Havoc had watched the youngster run off with a troubled face, but
there were always homeless youth in cities.  He made a mental note to offer the
boy lodging if he saw him again and headed back to the office.  Hawkeye had
looked twitchy earlier and he didn’t want to test her patience.
                                      ~*~
          Once the food had been consumed Al began to gather what he thought
they’d need to have their own space.  He asked Meg if she would mind them
staying in the same alley if they were farther down.  The old woman looked at
them both contemplatively before giving her answer.  “I’ve never wanted any
others in my space before, but if you promise to give me some of your food then
I’ll help guard your space while you’re away.”
          It had taken Al some work to get what they needed together, but that
had been easier once Ed had come out of his stupor.  The two of them were too
busy getting what they needed together to be frustrated by the emptiness in
both their memories those first few days.  But as those first days passed and
nothing was coming back to them, Al was realizing living on the streets wasn’t
going to be an option for long.  Food was hard to come by and Ed was in pain on
the days it rained or if there were large temperature changes. 
          The brothers were down visiting with Meg the first time the woman
approached them.  Her hair was long and thick; its color was black with purple
highlights.  She wore heels and a tight fitting dress with long gloves on both
arms.  Silently the woman had stood at the entrance to the alley watching them
for a few moments before slowly approaching Meg’s space.  Apparently the woman
had some knowledge of vagrants as she stopped a respectful distance away before
calling out to them.
          “It must be hard caring for a family in times like these.  Am I
right, Grandmother?”
          Startled, all three of them turned toward the sound of the voice. 
Meg grimaced before answering.  “They’re no family of mine, we just help each
other out.”
          A small smile graced the woman’s face.  “I see.  Well then, I have an
offer for the boys with you.  There’s a place I can take you where you won’t
want for food, will have clean bedding and a roof over your head.  What do you
say, boys?”
          Al pulled Ed back as he began to snarl at the woman.  “I say we need
a day to think it over.  There’s always a price to things and you haven’t named
yours.”
          As her eyebrows raised delicately, Lust realized these boys were
smarter than average.  Which meant Greed would want to keep them instead of
selling them to another brothel.  “Very well, you shall have your day to think
about it.  Grandmother, will you tell them about the brothels so they know what
the price is?”  Lust threw a smile at the old woman as she turned to walk back
out the alley.  She would indeed be visiting them again tomorrow.  Greed would
be very pleased with this gift if she could bring them in relatively unharmed.
          Ed glared at the woman until she was out of the alley.  Al had been
watching Meg, who seemed troubled but at the same time accepting.  “Why did she
call you grandmother, Meg?”
          A soft sigh came out of the old woman.  “Because in her way she was
honoring me.  I used to work for her many years ago.  That woman, I don’t know
what she is exactly, but she’s not human.  Her and her man, neither of them
are.  They run a series of brothels and they go for the exotic.”
          Al sent a troubled look to his brother, who was still keeping an eye
on the entrance of the alley as if he didn’t believe the woman was really
gone.  “What is a brothel, Meg?  We…you know we’ve lost our memories.  If I
ever knew what a brothel was, I don’t now.”
          Meg looked at both of them unhappily.  “A brothel is where people go
to have sex they pay for, boys.  That woman is offering you food and shelter,
but the price is your bodies.  And if you accept you’ll be given drugs to make
your bodies want to have sex.  The other thing you need to know is that Lust
and Greed don’t just let anyone go.”
          Meg lifted the blanket she habitually kept over her legs to show them
the lack of a foot on her left leg.  “I wanted to leave, but they weren’t
through with me yet.  So they took my foot as punishment and kept me for
another ten years.  Some of their clients really liked having a prostitute with
only one foot.  The choice is yours, I can’t make it for you.  But you will be
well fed and Ed won’t be out in the open like he is now.”
          Al had gone quiet, but Ed turned to move closer to Meg.  “Will you be
alright if we do go with her?  It must be hard for you to get what you need
like that.”
          Meg smiled gently at him.  “That’s sweet of you, but no.  I’ve
managed all these years on my own and will do fine that way again.  There’s a
stick over there I use to get around and I know places to look for food.”
          Al raised his head and looked Meg in the eye.  “What would you do in
our place?”
          Unhappily, she answered “I’d do what any young person with a pretty
face would do.  I’d go with her.  Especially because you have no memory of how
you came to be here.  But becoming a prostitute has a price, boys.  You can’t
always have a life like a regular person when you’ve been a sex worker.  People
never really accept you after that.”
          Ed raised his auto-mail arm.  “People don’t accept me the way I am
now.  It doesn’t seem like it’d be any different except that we’d have a better
chance of figuring out what happened to us.”
          Al took in a deep breath.  “Well then it seems we’ve decided.  Meg
we’re going to leave you all our things when we go with her.  And we will make
it out.  Count on it.”
                                      ~*~
          Lust sauntered down the hallway to the suite she and Greed were
currently occupying.  Upon opening the door, she found Greed lounging in an
opulent chair with the child he’d named Envy at his feet with its head in
Greed’s lap.  Greed was running one of his hands through the child’s hair as if
it were a pet, which was quite the analogy since Greed thought of Envy as a
pet.  Lust frowned momentarily.  She’d never been on board with taking in the
strange child, but when Greed had found what he called the perfect combination
of woman and man it had seemed imprudent to fight him on it.  If Greed was
fixated on a ten-year-old child being a perfect blend of male and female, there
wasn’t much she could do about it.  At least the brothers she’d found in the
alley with Meg were older.  She wouldn’t feel as badly about them having sex as
she had when Envy had been initiated at eleven.
          Lust was started out of her musings by Greed noticing her leaning
against the doorway.  “Ah you’ve returned.  Did you find anything interesting?”
          Envy quietly pulled away from Greed and made their way over to the
small sunbed Greed had given them.  Lust had ceased trying to think of Envy as
a he or she when the child had been repeatedly told by Greed that they were
both.  As long as Envy was with them it didn’t really matter.  Greed had
decreed they were both and both they would be.
          Lust approached and sat herself on Greed’s lap.  “I found something
you’ll be interested in.  Do you remember Meg?  She was a favorite of yours and
I quite liked her as well.  She’s living in town and has two young brothers
with her.”  Lust lifted her right hand to scratch gently at the back of Greed’s
neck.  “I’ve offered to come and bring them in tomorrow.  You’ll find them
quite delectable.  They’re much smarter than most of the children we bring in
and one of them has an auto-mail arm and leg.”
          Greed leaned into Lust’s hand and sighed.  “I do remember Meg.  It’s
unfortunate that Gluttony got to her when she was trying to escape.  We took
him to Pride for safe-keeping after that, didn’t we?”
          Lust’s fingers tightened fractionally before relaxing.  She still
remembered the cries when Gluttony was taken away.  I’m sorry, Lust!  I was
just so hungry and she was leaving!  You said they weren’t to leave.  Please
don’t let them take me, Lust!
          “It might be time for a visit, don’t you think?  Gluttony was only
doing what he thought we wanted, after all…”  She stroked her fingers through
Greed’s hair and turned her face into his cheek so he wouldn’t see how upset
she still was about having lost Gluttony.  It occurred to her Greed was being
awfully pliable at the moment.  Pressing her luck, she purred, “You know, Meg
is living on the streets in filth now.  And since she never acted badly again
after the escape attempt perhaps we could offer her some assistance.”
          Greed pulled back with a look of dismay.  “I like variety, but I
doubt I could get anyone to fuck her now, Lust.”
          Lust frowned back at him.  “No that’s not what I meant.  Perhaps
those boys would be more inclined to become part of our operation if they
thought we’d take care of Meg.  And it might be nice to visit with her
occasionally, just to talk.”
          Greed seemed to think for a moment before nodding.  “Yes I think we
have a small house available not far from here that would suit her.  And what
would you think of having her fitted with auto-mail?  Perhaps using her health
and well-being as an incentive will make those boys more amenable to our little
family.”
          Lust showed her teeth in a smile.  “I think that will work nicely to
keep them with us for as long as we want them.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Head's up - found out in January that I've got skin cancer. Will be
     having surgery in May and last class is finishing in April, so don't
     expect updates until mid April at the earliest and maybe into Summer.
***** Chapter Three *****
Chapter Notes
     Not beta read so please point out any errors.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
          Envy was silent during the discussion of the two brothers, but inside
their mind was working furiously.  Lust didn’t say how old they are, but I bet
they’re not as old as Shailey.  I bet they’re still kids like me.  I don’t want
any more kids initiated by Greed.  Envy kept their body still while they
thought about solutions to this problem.  Now that Greed’s sights had been set
on the brothers it would be difficult to get them out of the brothel at all,
let alone keep them from being brought here in the first place.
          It became obvious Greed was in a very amenable mood at the moment. 
Slowly, Envy thought about how they could help the two brothers.  Abruptly an
idea came to them, one which they would never have entertained normally.  But
this was not a normal circumstance.  Envy took a steadying breath before slowly
and carefully crawling over the carpeting to the chair the other two occupied.
          “If the brothers come to the brothel I would like to train them,”
Envy said quietly at Greed’s knee.
          “What was that, pet?”  Greed let a hand drop to pet and caress Envy’s
long strands.  Envy took a breath to keep from tensing and asked their request
in a louder voice.
          Lust and Greed were so surprised they both turned to address them
fully.  Greed was frowning his surprise while Lust looked concerned.  This
wasn’t normal behavior for Envy and they didn’t know what to make of it.
          “Why would you want to do that, Envy?” Lust genuinely wanted to know
whereas Greed was mildly interested.
          Here was the tricky part.  They couldn’t just blurt out that they
didn’t want any other kids having Greed be their first sexual experience.  Envy
set their face in the pleasing pose Greed liked to see before stating “We’re
the youngest one here.  It would be nice to have friends close to our own age
and to help that friendship build it would help to have time for the brothers
to adjust to the brothel.  If you give us permission to train them they will be
better at pleasing you and the customers.  It can take time to get used to a
brothel and this might help them feel safe.”
          Lust turned her head slightly away from Greed so he couldn’t see her
expression as she realized Envy was trying to protect the children who weren’t
even here yet.  This was also an opportunity to make it up to Envy, who she had
not been able to help and had never really lost the guilt attached to that. 
Carefully, she swallowed and schooled her face as Envy had.  Greed could never
see their true feelings for him.  Greed must always think he was adored, and so
these were the faces Envy and Lust showed him.
          Greed had been mulling over the proposal while Lust had quickly made
up her mind.  She smiled at Envy in a way that had them giving her a puzzled
look before she spoke.  “Envy’s request will work perfectly with giving Meg
care and housing.  If we take the time to make the brothers feel safe they are
much less likely to try to leave the brothel.  I approve of this request and
additionally I think Shailey and Simon should be brought in to help when
appropriate.  You do want the brothers trained for both male and female
customers, yes?”  This was directed at Greed who was beginning to look more
like this was a good idea as well.
          “Yes they will need to be trained for both.  But, before they are
ready to take customers they must please me.  So if you want to take on this
training Envy, you will need to prepare them for my satisfaction as well as the
customers.”
          Envy had known they could not save the brothers from Greed’s
attentions, but at least this way they might not be hurt as much.  Their first
time with Greed had been a nasty affair both physically and emotionally. 
Shailey had pleaded an illness to help them recover while Lust had kept Greed
occupied for several days afterward.  If Envy could save any other kids from
that then it would be worth it.
          Greed’s lips were pursed in thought as he thought of anything else he
wanted to add to this agreement.  Lust quickly took advantage of the situation
by asking Envy “Will a month be enough time for their successful training?”
          Cautiously Envy shook their head.  “We were given a year before Greed
initiated us.  It would take a minimum of six weeks before we would feel
confident presenting them to Greed.”
          Lust sucked in her bottom lip and determinedly kept her eyes on Envy
while they both waited for his answer.  A month had been pushing it and asking
for six weeks was almost guaranteed a negative response.  But she understood
that Envy was simply trying to buy the brothers more time.  And she’d already
committed to this, so all she could do was hope Greed would go for it.
          “Both of you think this is a good idea, and I want both of my
favorites to be happy, so what the hell.  Envy, you will go to Lust for any
problems in their training.  I will check in periodically during their training
to see how these new recruits are doing, but I’m trusting you to train them
properly.  After all, you both know what I like,” Greed finished with a leer. 
          Lust relaxed fractionally as Envy let Greed lift them up onto the
side of his lap Lust wasn’t currently occupying.  It seemed this request was
not going to require sex for completion.  Today had indeed been a good day. 
Envy relaxed their body against Greed’s and sent Lust a grateful look.  She
sent him a small smile in response.  Their pact now in place they both worked
to keep Greed happy for the rest of the day.
                                      ~*~
          Meg, Ed, and Al were waiting for Lust when she approached them the
next day.  Al squeezed Meg’s hand before standing to address the woman who
would take them to a brothel.  “We have talked about it and Brother and I will
take your offer.  But.  We need to know that you’ll leave Meg in peace and not
bother her.”
          Ed turned to snarl at Lust, who was still standing a respectful
distance away.  “Agreement or not, if we find out you’ve hurt Meg we’ll fuck up
your brothel.  And we’re not agreeing to any set amount of time.  When we
decide we’re done fucking people for you we leave.”
          Lust’s eyebrows rose as she realized these two were going to be quite
the handful.  But with Envy’s help this might just work out for all involved. 
She slowly moved closer to the small group before offering a very small smile. 
“Actually, I was able to swing a deal with Greed to get Meg off the streets. 
No strings attached.”
          Meg immediately looked as if she would argue, but Lust raised
placating hands.  “No really, Greed was in a very amicable mood yesterday.  I
was able to persuade him to put you in one of our homes by reminding him how
much he’d liked you when you worked for us.  And he’s even going to fit you for
auto-mail if you’d like.”
          Meg gawked at the standing woman for a moment.  “Greed never does
anything for nothing.  What did you promise him for this?”
          Lust nodded to acknowledge Meg’s words.  “Well, it wasn’t me.  It was
Envy, who you boys will meet later today.  Envy was brought to the brothel when
they were ten.  Greed initiated Envy to sex when Envy turned eleven.  When they
heard of two young brothers possibly coming to the brothel Envy offered to
train them.  We were very lucky that Greed agreed to this as it will make your
lives much more pleasant.  You should both remember that Envy put their neck on
the line for you, and they haven’t even met you yet.”
          Meg had paled considerably hearing Envy’s story, while Ed and Al had
frowned.  Ed glanced over at Al and gestured for him to ask the question that
had bothered them both.
          “Why do you call Envy they?”
          Lust lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.  “A couple of years ago
Greed brought this kid home with him.  Greed said the kid was both man and
woman, and believe me, you don’t argue with Greed unless you want to get hurt. 
So Envy is they.  And Envy is sticking out their neck for you, so if you get
them hurt I’ll remember it,” she added with a small warning.
          Al looked interested at the conundrum of a child being both male and
female while Ed shrugged and turned to Meg.  “Well, what do you think?”
          Meg gestured for Ed to help her stand.  She drew herself up and faced
Lust.  “I will accept your offer on the condition that these boys will not be
held accountable for any of the aid you offer me.  I know Greed.  His mood
shifts and things happen accordingly.  They will not be part of this, Lust.”
          Lust stepped forward and solemnly shook Meg’s hand.  “I agree.  And I
am sorry about your foot, Meg.  That was never meant to happen, it really was
just an accident.  I still haven’t been able to get Gluttony back after he took
your foot, but this will help you and give me someone to talk to every so
often.  If you’ll have me as company?”
          Meg softened somewhat as she realized Lust had actually been lonely. 
“I think tea every so often would be lovely.  Do you think the boys might be
allowed to visit?”
          Lust eyed the brothers gathering up the small things they wanted to
take with them.  “I daresay they might.  I may even bring Envy by if Greed will
allow it.  This agreement is something different, Meg.  I hope it means things
will be getting better.”
          Ed took one last look around the small encampment before nodding to
Al.  “All done, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he muttered as he stalked
toward the two women.
Chapter End Notes
     I'm contemplating how much of the "training" time to put in here. Any
     thoughts on that? Also, just to catch everyone up - My cancer surgery
     was successful. RL now consists of the normal stresses of caring for
     3 kids and applying for teaching positions.
***** Chapter Four *****
Chapter Notes
     So we're getting into the darker stuff now. Underage prostitution has
     its own nasty reality that will be explored somewhat in this story.
     Here's your warning if you want to stop.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
       Lust observed the three odd seatmates in the back of the car.  Meg sat
behind the driver with Al in the middle and Ed on the other side glaring out
the window.  Meg and Al spoke quietly, and while Ed wasn’t taking part in the
conversation, Lust could tell he was listening to them.  He would occasionally
nod his head or frown while they were talking, and Lust could tell these two
brothers were unusually close.  Close enough that they may not agree to working
separately, she noted with a small frown.  While that might appeal to Greed, it
may make it harder to market the two.  While continuing to observe the three
Lust began planning on how to broach the subject of keeping the brothers
together when she next spoke with Greed.
          The car pulled up at the rear entrance to the Brothel and stopped. 
Meg tensed, but Lust sent her a reassuring look.  “Boys, you will be getting
out here.  Say your goodbyes to Meg for now.  I give you my word you’ll see her
again once your initial training is complete.  I’m going to go with Meg to
where she’ll be staying from now on.  Later today you’ll see me again, but for
now I suggest you go with Envy and whoever else they have with them.  They will
make you as comfortable as possible while things are explained to you.”
          Al gave Meg a longer hug than Ed, but they were both oddly protective
of the older woman.  Meg grabbed Al’s hand before he could walk away.  “Promise
me you’ll be careful.  This isn’t an easy life you’re choosing and you both
need to think before you do anything stupid.  I’d never forgive myself if I
heard you were hurt trying to escape.”
          Al pulled Meg into another hug.  Lust watched in surprise as Ed came
in on Meg’s other side and added to the embrace.  “I promise,” Ed told her
softly.  “Nothing’s gonna happen to Al or me.  And we will get out.  But we
need to remember some things first.”
          The brothers pulled away and gave each other a look before Al turned
to smile at Meg.  “Brother and I will come visit you soon,” he added cheerfully
before heading toward the door that had opened from the back of the brothel.
          Meg slowly made her way back into the car.  She turned a belligerent
face to Lust before speaking sharply.  “I don’t care what else you do to me. 
But you will leave those boys alone, or so help me I will find a way to hurt
you and yours, Lust.”
          Lust gave her an oddly sympathetic look.  “I believe you.  I’m still
working to try to get Gluttony back from the prison Greed sent him to for
punishment after he detained you.  I know you don’t believe me, but I have no
wish to hurt those boys.  In fact, I’m hoping the two of them find some way to
make life in the brothel more bearable for the rest of us.  Envy and I will do
the best we can to protect them, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they
find a way to leave on their own terms.”
          After meeting Meg’s shocked look, Lust turned back to face the front
of the car.  “Take us to the house,” she said to the driver before turning to
contemplate the view out her window.  There’s something about those brothers…I
don’t know what it is, but for some reason they give me hope.
                                      ~*~
          Envy observed the two golden brothers hugging the old woman for a
moment.  When they were obviously done, they opened the door so the brothers
would come in the building.  Shailey had been standing next to them observing
the two and she put a hand briefly around Envy’s shoulders.  “They love each
other,” she stated quietly.
          “Yes and we both know Greed will use that against them,” Envy said. 
“We’ll have to teach them how Greed is, because if they can’t adapt he will
destroy them.”  Shailey gave Envy’s shoulders another brief squeeze before
dropping her arm.
          “Well you’ve set up the way to teach them.  Now we just have to make
sure they learn quickly.”
          Envy waited until the brothers had come into the entrance, then
closed the door behind them.  Holding up a finger to motion silence, Envy
beckoned them down a hallway.  The boys sent a quizzical look at Envy, but
followed with Shailey coming up behind them.  Ed noticed they passed six
doorways before Envy stopped in front of another one.  Pulling out a key, Envy
unlocked the door and opened it.  Shailey motioned them in while Envy waited
until they’d all gone in, then pulled the door closed behind them.  Locking the
door with the key, Envy then turned to face them.
          “Shailey, what do you think,” Envy asked the pretty girl who’d come
in with them.
          She had been circling the brothers, who were watching everything with
raised eyebrows, taking them in from top to bottom.  “If we are actually given
the six weeks Greed promised us, I think they’ll be a good draw.  They’re both
attractive and young, but not young enough to turn off a good deal of the
clientele.  Have either of you ever done work like this before?”
          Ed and Al shot each other helpless looks before Al answered the
question.  “We don’t really know what we’ve done before.  Part of the reason we
agreed to this is because we can’t remember anything about ourselves.”
          Envy let out a small huff of breath.  “First lesson is you don’t tell
anyone else that information.  Greed will use anything he can against you as
leverage.  How old are the two of you?”
          Al answered for the both of them.  “I’m 13 and Brother is 14.  We
think.”
          Ed was gazing with narrowed eyes around the room.  He took in the
bed, small cabinet next to the bed, and the lack of dresser before turning back
to the others.  “I’m Ed and this is Al.  We were told we were going to have to
have sex to pay for our food and boarding.  Even though we can’t remember
anything, I’m pretty sure we’ve never had sex of any kind.”
          Envy nodded abruptly as that was what they’d been expecting.  “I was
brought here by Greed when I was ten years old.  He’d heard a rumor there was a
child in a small town a few hours from here who was strange.  When he went
there and talked to the local doctor and found I had genitalia for both girl
and boy, Greed decided he wanted me.  He killed my mother, kidnapped me, and
brought me back here.  He had sex with me when I was eleven.  Shailey and I
want to make sure that the two of you don’t have to go through what I went
through.  But that means you’re going to have to learn things that will make
you uncomfortable.  After today you’re not only going to be brothers, you’re
going to be lovers.  You will both have sex with male and female clientele in
this brothel.  Occasionally Greed will want you to put on a show for him, and
no one ever knows what he’s going to want.  Tomorrow you start taking drugs
that will make this easier, but I’m not going to lie.  It’s going to suck. 
You’re going to have to act like everything’s okay when you’re around Greed. 
There are three of us here you can be real with, but everyone else can’t know
what you’re feeling.  Because Greed will use it against you.  He will own you
if you let him, and you don’t want that.”
          At some point during this speech Al had dropped down onto the bed. 
Ed quickly sat next to him and pulled him into a hug.  Shailey had moved to
stand behind Envy, and as soon as they were done talking leaned down the hold
them reassuringly.  She spoke from the vicinity of Envy’s shoulder.  “We’re not
trying to scare you, but you need to know the best way to survive this place. 
Greed isn’t human.  Lust will try to help the prostitutes occasionally, but
mostly she’s out to help herself.  Envy, me, and Simon are the only ones you
can be yourselves with, and I’d still be careful around Simon if I were you. 
He’s an addict, so Greed will use him for information hunting among us, but
Simon doesn’t enjoy hurting people.  He’ll help if he can.”
          They were all silent for some time, until Ed popped out.  “Look we
didn’t know we were going to have to do that with each other.  But thanks for
laying it out like you did.  Doesn’t sound like there’s a way to lay it out
easily, so I’d rather have it all at once.  But you both need to know,” he
glared at both Envy and Shailey.  “If anyone tries to hurt Al I’m gonna fuck
them up.  Nobody hurts my brother.”
          Shailey’s jaw dropped at bit, but Envy grinned back at Ed.  “You’re
going to need to reel that in, but I’ll do what I can to help.  I’ll make you a
deal.  If you allow Greed to make you one of his special toys, between you,
Lust, and me I think we can keep him from touching Al much.  But I’m warning
you that Greed won’t be careful with you.  He’ll hurt you more often than not.”
          Al seemed to be in a bit of a shock while Ed cuddled him closer and
stroked his hair a bit.  “I’m not sure why, but for some reason I think pain is
something I’ve gotten very familiar with,” Ed said softly.  “What can we expect
from here on out?”
          Envy pulled away from Shailey and walked over to one of the other two
doors in the room.  They opened it and turned on the light switch illuminating
a bathroom.  “The two of you are fortunate enough to have your own bath which
features a shower and tub.  Food will be brought in for breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and occasionally snacks when Greed is in a giving mood.”
          Walking to the other door, Envy pulled open an empty closet.  “When
you begin seeing clients they may hang their clothing in here.  Occasionally
Greed will see fit to offer you new clothing, but mostly you have what you came
in with.  And it works better for you to have less clothing than more, so
that’s what Greed usually sees to.”
          Shailey was leaning against the locked door.  “Envy shares a room
with me when they are not wanted by Greed.  We have our own bathroom as well,
but most are shared so keep in Greed’s good graces or you’ll be moved to
another room.  This room will always remain locked while you are in your
training period.  Once Greed is certain you won’t try to leave the door may
sometimes be left unlocked.  If the door is unlocked you can walk freely
through the prostitutes’ section of the brothel, but don’t enter Greed’s
quarters unless he asks for you.  There are guards posted all over the place
because Greed owns us and he doesn’t like losing his property.  Most of your
training will take place in this room with me, Envy, and Simon.  Occasionally
other prostitutes will be assigned to work with you.  You need to understand
that we really have no control over any of this:  Greed is the one who decides
everything.”
          Ed nodded and Al finally lifted his head to look at the other two. 
He was solemn and quiet, but spoke loudly enough that the others could hear
him.  “You didn’t have to tell us this, you could have just let us find out on
our own.  I’m upset right now, but…thank you.  And Brother,” he turned to meet
Ed’s eyes.  “You can’t protect me from this.  We both have to participate.”
          Ed narrowed his eyes.   “Not with Greed.  Envy said they’d help with
that.  And you’re gonna have to let me deal with it.  I can’t do this if I
can’t protect you, Al.”
          Al closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Ed’s.  “You can’t
always protect me and you shouldn’t have to.  We’ll figure it out, but you have
to let me protect you, too.”
          Envy didn’t know what to make of this as they’d never had siblings or
close friends other than Shailey.  They shrugged and made their way over to
Shailey.  “We’ll help, but seriously you two have to learn not to let as much
show.  Dinner will be brought soon and then it’ll be lights out.  Shailey and I
will come in first thing tomorrow morning to get you started.  We’ll do our
best to keep you from meeting Greed until you can control yourselves better,
but he’s going to want to meet you soon.”
          Envy turned their back to the brothers and walked out with Shailey. 
Once the door had been locked Envy quickly looked to make sure no one else was
there before quickly covering their face with both hands.  I don’t know if I
can do this! Envy thought frantically.  They felt Shailey pull them into a
quick hug and whisper into the top of their head.  “We’re doing more for them
than anyone else who’s ever been here.  You’re so brave for helping them at
all!  Come one, let’s get back to our room.”
          Putting on the familiar mask, Envy let Shailey quickly walk them to
their room.  Once inside they locked their door and collapsed, shivering on the
bed.  Shailey spooned up behind them and held Envy while quiet sobs shook their
small body.  “I know you don’t want to see any more kids here,” Shailey said
quietly.  “But they’re going to be stronger than us.  They’re going to be able
to get away from here.  I don’t know how I know that, but they will.  We just
have to take it one day at a time.  And wear our game faces in the hallways.”
          Envy nodded and turned to press their face against Shailey’s collar
bone.  “I hated it,” Envy whispered.  “I hated telling them all of it.”
          Shailey nodded and stroked down Envy’s hair.  “I know.  Just rest,
we’ll have to see Greed tomorrow and give a report.”
          Envy nodded and made themselves relax.  Rest now so I can deal with
the monster later.
Chapter End Notes
     Comments are appreciated and please feel free to point out any typos.
     Next chapter will introduce drugs into the mix, so if that's
     triggering for you please be aware.
***** Six *****
Chapter Notes
     I did some very basic research on historical aphrodisiacs which
     resulted in coming up with a random thing to use in this. Most of the
     stuff used historically was herbal or a mixture of other animals'
     body parts. I'll include a link at the end of the chapter if anyone
     is super interested in that.
     Also, Envy is intersex in this 'verse. I'm also going to include a
     link at the end of the chapter for the Intersex Society of North
     America, but my beginning basic research for this 'verse found some
     historical picture of what doctors termed hermaphrodites. It seems to
     me these folks were intersex and doctors just didn't know what to do
     with them. Most of the cases I found were from folks with very low
     socio economic status and the docs took pictures of them in exchange
     for medical treatment.
     If any of this weirds you out, there's only going to be more in the
     chapters to follow.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 
       Lust had briefly checked on the brothers after dinner the night before,
mainly because she’d told them she’d see them later that day.  Greed had, of
course, wanted to know what they were doing.  She’d had her hands full keeping
him from stalking down to their room that first night, but had gotten a promise
to give them some time before meeting him. 
          Just before sunlight began to show through the curtains in Greed’s
room, Lust had quietly gotten up and gone into the kitchen.  The staff was busy
mixing up the prostitutes’ aphrodisiac concoctions and she wanted to make sure
the brothers weren’t given too much.  Envy had apparently had the same concern
as she found them already there talking to Conrad. 
          Envy spotted her entrance and shot her a look of relief.  “Lust, can
you please explain to Conrad that if the new guys are too stoned they won’t
learn anything?”
          With a small frown, Lust looked at the man who had whipped up the
special blend of herbs and street drugs their prostitutes depended on.  As far
as they knew the drugs weren’t addictive, but they did help the prostitutes do
their job around customers who would normally make them run in the other
direction.  No matter how long you were in this business you ran into customers
you just didn’t want to fuck.
          “How much are you planning to give them, Conrad?”
          “Everyone else gets two teaspoons, I don’t know why these two would
be any different,” grumbled Conrad.
          Envy glared at the man they all depended on.  “That’s not true. 
There are times when doses are increased or decreased depending on the person
and the situation they’re in.  I only take two teaspoons when Greed calls for
me,” they added softly.
          Conrad scoffed.  “You only take the drugs when you’re sent to Greed. 
Everyone else gets two teaspoons every morning, then they come get more if they
need it.”
          Lust tapped a finger to her mouth.  Two teaspoons of the stuff made
Envy so malleable they would do anything Greed wanted.  This wouldn’t work well
in teaching the new recruits sex work.  “Why don’t we try one teaspoon to begin
with and see how they do,” she suggested.  “Envy is correct, they need to be
coherent enough to learn and they won’t do that if they’re stoned out of their
minds.”
          Conrad huffed an annoyed breath.  “Fine.  Envy, you’re going to be
working with them, right?  Let me know if you want an increase or a decrease on
their drugs in the mornings.  Otherwise we’ll just set them at one teaspoon.”
          Envy nodded in acknowledgment.  “I’ll take them their drugs this
morning.  Do you know what breakfast is going to be today?”
          Conrad shrugged indifferently.  “Gotta go ask Sylvia that, she makes
the food.  I just come in to mix the drugs, you know that.”
          Conrad turned this back to mix up the appropriate amounts and Lust
approached Envy.  Warily they watched her, but Lust only gave them a small
smile and squeezed their shoulder slightly.  “It’s very kind of you to watch
out for them,” she said quietly enough that Conrad wouldn’t hear.
          Envy swallowed a startled breath before scowling slightly.  “We both
know what happens if they can’t be taught properly.  I’m only looking out of
myself.”
          “Hmmm,” was the reply while Lust gave them knowing eyes.  “Make sure
they take the drugs, Envy.  I’ll come see them this afternoon.”
          Conrad turned to give Envy two small paper cups of liquid.  “Here go
take these to the new recruits.”
          Nodding at Conrad, Envy took the drugs and started off down the
hallway to the brothers’ room.  Hopefully this will be just enough to mellow
them out for their training.  While keeping them stoned might be easier on them
now, if they don’t learn their jobs it’ll be worse for them.  And Ed’s going to
need more training than Al if he wants to keep Greed off his brother.
                                      ~*~
          The brothers had rather indifferently taken the drugs Envy had
delivered to them.  They’d discussed it the night before and figured at this
point the drugs were inevitable.  At some point in the future they may find a
way to get around them, but for now they had to take them.
          When Envy showed up with breakfast roughly an hour later Al met him
at the door.  Al’s eyes were dilated and he was blinking quite a bit, but he
appeared distressed which didn’t usually happen with these drugs.
          “Brother’s not acting right,” Al muttered.  “I feel funny, but
Brother’s…”
          Envy frowned and placed the tray of food down on the end table.  They
walked over to where Ed was laying quietly on the bed and just breathing. 
Climbing up onto the bed, Envy got into Ed’s face to look at his eyes.  Ed only
blinked back at them, which was very much not like the Ed they’d known since
yesterday.
          “Shit,” Envy ground out.  “It must be the auto-mail.  We’re gonna
have to cut down on his amount or he won’t be able to learn anything.”
          Al was back up on the bed behind Ed hovering worriedly.  “What’s
wrong with him?”
          Sighing in frustration, Envy sat back and put their head in their
hands.  “I had them mix up a lighter dose of the drugs for you guys so this
wouldn’t happen.  His lighter body mass made it hit him harder, I guess.  Your
brother’s so stoned right now he probably won’t be able to eat.”
          Al ran a concerned hand down Ed’s arm.  “But he’ll be alright?”
          Another long breath in frustration.  “Yes, he’ll be back to normal in
a few hours.  Hey, when was the last time you two had a bath?”
          Al frowned in confusion.  “I don’t know?  Not since we woke up in
that field…”
          Envy thought for a minute.  “Okay here’s what we’re going to go.  You
need to try to eat something and I’m going to go get some stuff for you two to
take a bath with.”  They stopped and looked over at Ed again.  “Well I guess
all of us.  You won’t be able to hold him up in the water like this.  I’ll be
back with bath stuff, but you need to eat Al.  And see if you can get him to
eat a few bites of something.  Maybe if you feed it to him?”
          Al nodded, then frowned.  “Am I supposed to be feeling all tingly?”
          Envy thought about that.  “The drugs are supposed to make you feel
relaxed and not mind being touched.  Some people here say the drugs make them
horny.”
          Al stared at Envy blankly.  “Right, you don’t know what that means,”
Envy muttered.  “The drugs are supposed to make you want to touch other people
all over,” They finally said.
          “Oh.  Well I guess they did do that.  But, I love touching people
anyway, as long as they don’t mind,” Al said contemplatively.
          “I don’t know what happened to the two of you, but you might change
your mind about that after you’ve been here long enough,” Envy mumbled.  “Okay,
you try to eat and I’ll be back.”
          Envy ran through a list of all the items they’d need to help bathe
the brothers as they locked the door behind them.  On the other side of the
door they heard Al quietly telling Ed, “Brother, just try a little bite of
this.”
          Envy clenched their hands together.  I’ve got to teach them not to
act so much like they love each other.  Greed will use that against
them. Turning to walk down the hallway, Envy kept their face blank.  I wonder
if they can teach me what it’s like to love.
                                      ~*~
          When Envy returned with the bathing supplies, Al had Ed propped up
and was taking turns feeding them both.  Envy took everything into the bathroom
before walking back out to the bed.  “How much did you get him to eat?”
          “He ate a little bit, but he’s still not talking or anything,” Al
said.
          “Not surprising.  Did you eat?”  Envy glanced at the younger sibling,
who nodded.
          “I ate what I could.  It’s hard to eat when I’m worried about
Brother,” Al added with a concerned look at Ed.
          “Well, time to get clean.  Give me the dishes,” Al and Envy got
everything put back onto the tray.  Envy immediately began taking off their
clothes and Al’s mouth dropped in shock.
          “What are you…?”
          Envy stopped and looked over at Al.  “I keep forgetting you two
aren’t used to this.  Prostitutes work mostly naked, you do know that?”
          Ed made some sort of noise while Al just gaped.  “But…I don’t think
we’ve ever just taken our clothes off in front of other people before!”
          Envy’s shoulders slumped.  “Okay.  First rule of the brothel is you
get used to being naked a lot.  Second rule of the brothel is you don’t freak
out when other people take their clothes off.  This is part of your job now. 
If you like having food and a bedroom all to yourselves, you’ve got to get used
to this.  Understand?”
          Swallowing, Al nodded.  Ed made a confused noise and tried to move
his head, but Al petted his arm.  “I’ll get Brother undressed.  Will you help
me get him to the bathroom?”
          Envy nodded.  Then waited while Al got their clothes off.  I think
I’ll let Al keep the boxers and Ed can have a button up shirt.  That’ll keep Ed
from getting as pissed as long as Al’s bits are covered.  I don’t think Ed will
mind as much as Al about the clothes.
          Envy grabbed Ed’s left side and Al grabbed his right and between the
two of them, they managed to get all three into the bathroom.  Al sat Ed on the
toilet and steadied him while Envy began running the taps.  The bathroom had an
unusually large tub and Al had no idea why.  He figured it would be explained
at some point just as everything else was.
          When Envy stood back up Al couldn’t help glancing at the younger
child.  Puzzled, he glanced back at Envy’s face.  “I thought you said Greed
said you were a hermaphrodite.”
          Envy frowned.  “Greed says I’m both male and female, why?”
          Al met Envy’s eyes, before glancing back down.  “But, you don’t have
a scrotum.  Men have a scrotum, we saw it in every picture…”  Al grabbed his
head as pain sliced through him.
          Envy was just able to grab Ed and keep him from falling off the
toilet.  Al was breathing fast, but slowly letting go of his head.
          “How would you know that,” Envy whispered.  “If you’ve never done
this type of work how would you know that males have that?”
          “I don’t remember,” Al whispered back.  “But we did look at pictures,
lots of them, and men always had a scrotum.”
          Envy took a deep breath in and out.  “Well Greed says I have a penis
and a vagina and I’m not going to argue with him.  But he’s never pointed out
the other.”
          Al breathed slowly as if his head still hurt.  “I think what you
actually have is an enlarged clitoris that Greed thinks looks like a penis. 
But there’s no way to tell if you have male or female anatomy on the inside. 
If it makes a difference to you,” he added slowly.
          Envy briefly considered if it did make a difference to them.  “While
I’m here, I’m whatever Greed says I am,” they answered.  “And now we need to
get the two of you clean.  Both of you could use a hair wash.”
          Gingerly, Al stepped into the tub.  He balanced on his knees then
held out his arms for his brother.  Slowly, Envy handed Ed over, then climbed
in behind him.  “I’ll hang onto Ed while you wash, then you can wash him,
okay?”
          Al looked at Envy for a long moment, then nodded.  Keeping his eyes
on his brother, Al began washing.  All the while he was puzzling this new bit
of information.  How didI know the difference?  Envy’s right, that’s some very
distinct knowledge to have about the human body.  Al thought about this the
entire time he washed himself.  But when it came time to wash Ed, he focused
completely on cleaning his brother.  Who was still not able to move well on his
own.
 
Historical_Aphrodisiacs
 
History_of_intersex_movement
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Thanks for reading! Please point out any typos and comments are
     appreciated.
***** Chapter Six *****
Chapter Notes
     So I wasn't very happy with the way this chapter turned out. I'm
     going to be reworking it this weekend (and probably into next week)
     because my original idea was to have this bit in the present be one
     chapter. I cut it short originally because it was already longer than
     most of the chapters in PTM, but it just didn't flow right that way.
     So....when this is all finished and updated it's going to be a really
     long chapter with smut.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Roy’s team had just heard back from the Investigations division that a joint
raid would take place on local brothels in one week.  Teams were being put
together and Roy wanted to make sure a member of his personal team was on each
one.  He wanted to be on the team that went to the brothel with Ed and Al, but
he was faced with a quandary.  There was no guarantee that the brothers were
the only underage sex workers at that establishment, and Roy wasn’t certain
they’d get everyone out if someone didn’t go in and give Ed and Al warning
about the raid.
          Roy worried about it all day long, which required Riza to give him
even more pointed looks than normal to get his paperwork completed.  By the
time he’d gotten home Roy was exhausted.  Putting the bag of takeout on the
kitchen table, he turned back into the hallway and picked up the telephone. 
Sliding into an exhausted heap beside the telephone stand, he dialed the number
to Madame Christmas’ office.
          The line rang twice before an irritable voice answered.  “This better
be good,” his aunt snarled at him through the phone.
          Roy allowed himself a small smile.  “Aunt Chris, it always amazes me
that you do such good business when you answer your office phone that way.”
          The smile in her voice could almost be heard through the line as she
snorted.  “Roy boy, you know the people who call me don’t care how rude I am
when my brothel offers the best fantasy in town.  Now, why are you calling me
on this line?”
          At this the smile slid off his face.  Roy sighed wearily, then said
“I need your advice Aunt Chris.  We’re going to be conducting multiple raids on
brothels the Office of Investigations thinks may be holding underage sex
workers in a week.  Do you think someone should go in and warn the brothers I
found or do you think we’d get everyone out regardless?”
          Chris Mustang leaned back in her office chair and frowned at the wall
as she thought about his question.  She knew why Roy was asking this question,
and she also knew he’d put hours of thought into it before consulting her. 
Finally, she huffed in annoyance.  “Roy I’d love to be able to tell you the
raid would work by itself, but I know how sneaky some of these bastards are. 
If someone doesn’t go in and tell them, there’s a damn good chance they’ll hide
the kids as the raid’s happening.  Especially if there’s more than just the two
you saw.  There are some sick people who will pay large amounts to be able to
have sex with children.  Because of this if a brothel is catering to that crowd
they’ll have ways to protect their investment.”
           Roy leaned his head back against the wall.  “So, you’re saying the
only viable way to get all the kids out of this particular brothel is to send
someone in and alert them.”
          Chris pulled a cigar out of one of the drawers of her desk.  Lighting
it, she nodded.  “Yes, and you and I both know what that means.  It’s going to
have to be someone those boys know, which means it’s going to have to be you.”
          Roy swallowed and closed his eyes.  “You know I’ll do whatever it
takes to get them out of there, but if I go back in…”
          Chris regarded her cigar before sighing down the line.  “When you go
back in they’ll be expected to have sex with you again.  Yes, Roy, I understand
completely why you didn’t want to do this.  Maybe more than anyone else would. 
But if you really want to get them out, this is what has to be done.  They
wouldn’t trust anyone else, and they’d still have to have sex with them.”
          Roy lightly smacked the back of his head against the wall behind
him.  “How do I live with this, Aunt Chris?”
          Scowling, Chris glared at the wall across from her.  She took a deep
breath before saying lowly into the phone, “You’re doing what you have to do to
get those kids out of being forced to have sex with strangers every day.  Don’t
you dare blame yourself for what they’re already being forced to do.  Rehabbing
them is going to be a different story, but right now none of you has a choice. 
You live with it just as you have with every military campaign.”
          Laughing weakly, Roy said “Yes, because that’s worked out so well.”
          Closing her eyes, Chris cursed herself for briefly forgetting Maes
Hughes.  “Maes would want you to get them out, Roy.  And I’m going to go ahead
and offer any of the kids you get out of that brothel a place to stay here
until they’re ready to go out into the real world.  They can’t stay with you,
Roy.  I can offer them protection and a sense of safety here that you can’t
offer them at your place.  Besides, they’re going to need some time before they
can be around anyone they knew in the brothel,” she added gently.
          Roy closed his eyes and nodded.  Of course, she was right.  The
brothers would feel obligated to offer themselves if he suggested they stay
with him.  He hadn’t even thought…but this was something Aunt Chris had dealt
with before. 
          Clearing his throat, Roy said quietly, “Thank you, Aunt Chris.”
          “You’re welcome.  You’ll need to have your mechanic check the older
one out after he’s been here about a week.  And Roy?”
          “Yes, Aunt Chris?”
          “I love you.  Don’t forget that.”
          Roy leaned his head against the telephone stand.  “I love you too,”
he said softly before hanging up.
                                      ~*~
          The next day Roy woke up early and took extra care with his morning
routine.  He confidently walked into the office and told Riza he’d be leaving
early for an afternoon appointment.  She gave him raised eyebrows, then
narrowed eyes, as this appointment wasn’t in the book, but nodded slowly in
acquiescence. 
          Taking a walk for lunch, Roy stopped by a telephone booth to call the
brothel and book time with the two golden brothers for that afternoon.  Without
batting an eye at the inordinate fee (Aunt Chris had warned him, after all) Roy
agreed to the price quoted him.
          Upon returning to the office, Roy applied himself to get as many
forms signed as possible.  Which ended up earning him a worried look from Riza,
since this was out of the ordinary.  He smiled at her reassuringly, continuing
to work until thirty minutes before his appointment.
          Rapidly signing the last form, Roy piled all his signed paperwork
into a neat stack, which he placed on Riza’s desk before donning his uniform
jacket and bidding the office good afternoon.
          Riza stared after him suspiciously, while Havok and Breda side-eyed
each other.  Finally, Breda turned to ask Riza, “Did you blackmail him to get
all that paperwork done?”
          “No, I didn’t,” Riza answered with a frown.  She sat quietly thinking
for a few minutes before picking up the phone.
          “Hello, Madame Christmas, I was hoping you knew what Roy was up to
and if I should be concerned,” Riza said into the receiver.
          She listened for a few moments before slowly nodding.  “Thank you, I
appreciate that,” she said before hanging up the phone.
          “Is Colonel Mustang alright?” Fuery asked hesitantly.
          “Yes, I think he is,” Riza answered.  “Although she wouldn’t tell me
what this appointment is, she said it was one he had to keep.  She also told me
not to worry about him as he’d be back to his normal self soon.”
          Shrugging, Havoc looked at the new piles he had to sort.  “It’s kind
of a good thing the Colonel doesn’t always get paperwork done.  If he did this
all the time, we’d never get a break.”
          Riza smiled before turning away to begin sorting out the forms Roy
would be handed tomorrow morning.
                                      ~*~
          Time felt as if it had stopped momentarily for Roy as he stepped back
into the room where he’d met Ed and Al.  They were both on the bed wearing the
same clothes they’d been wearing the last time he’d seen them.  The same man
who’s shown him into the room last time had grinned unabashedly at him before
showing him in again this time.  The main difference this time seemed to be
both the recognition and the awareness in Al’s eyes as he regarded Roy.
          Roy said nothing until he heard the footsteps in the hallway
signaling the man who had let him in leaving.  He said nothing as he sat on the
edge of the bed and took a deep breath.  Roy sat silently until Al crawled over
to him and put a hand on his face.
          “We weren’t sure if we’d see you again, Roy,” Al spoke quietly.  He
seemed much more aware of his surroundings, and even put a cautious finger to
his lips to indicate Roy should speak quietly, as well.
          Roy nodded in acknowledgement before quietly answering.  “I wasn’t
planning to come back until it was time to get you out, but in speaking with
someone who is an authority on brothels, it became essential I come back to see
both of you.”  He turned to include Ed and noticed the older boy had the same
spaced out look Al had worn last time.  “There will be a raid on this brothel
in six days.  If there are any other underage people here, you need to make
sure they’re not hidden away.  We’re going to conduct simultaneous raids all
over the city, but it won’t do any good if we can’t get all the underage kids
out.”
          Ed slowly nodded to show he’d understood what Roy had said while Al
chewed on his bottom lip.  “It’s going to be difficult to get Envy away from
Greed,” Al almost whispered. 
          Roy frowned, but Ed was shaking his head with a small smile.  “Lemme
talk to Lust,” he whispered.  “She told me awhile back that if there was ever a
chance to get Envy out with us she wanted in on it.”
          Al gave his sibling wide eyes, but Ed just shook his head again. 
“It’s a guilt thing.  I dunno why, but she feels responsible for Envy being
here.  So, we’ll get Envy out, too.”
          Roy sighed softly.  “If you can arrange for this other person to be
in plain sight I’ll make sure they get taken out of here.  I need you both to
know,” he looked away momentarily before meeting each of their eyes again.  “I
don’t want either of you to feel obligated to have sex with me.  I just paid
for the time with you to warn you.”
          Al was smiling softly at him while Ed just gave him a look that
clearly said he was out of his mind.  “Does it bother you because we’re both so
young?” Al asked quietly.
          Roy blinked at him a few times.  “Yes, of course it does.  I’ve never
wanted to sleep with children…”
          Al had placed a hand on his shoulder and he gazed dazedly at it. 
“Brother was 14 and I was 13 the first time we had sex, Roy.  Nothing you do
now is going to change that.”
          Roy swallowed as Ed drily pointed out, “Besides, if there’s not a
used condom in that bathroom trash bin after our clients leave, Greed thinks
we’re not doing our job.  And not doing our job gets us in trouble.  We learned
pretty early on to always leave a used condom where they can find it.”
          “So, it’s really up to you, Roy.  If you don’t find us attractive,
Brother and I will just have to find another way to make sure that condom gets
put in the trash.”  Al gave him an impish smile as he moved to begin
unbuttoning Roy’s overcoat. 
          Roy looked back and forth between the two of them.  “What if I just
leave it up to the two of you?  What would you do if you could do whatever you
wanted with me?”
          Ed leaned forward with a wicked grin.  “Oh, you don’t want to offer
that.  Al’s been talking about you since the last time you were here.  I think
he might even have a bit of a crush,” he said teasingly, but still in the soft
whispers they’d been using the entire time.
          Al’s face was a particularly bright shade, but he shook his head
determinedly.  “That’s not how this works, Roy.  You paid a fee for us and that
means you get to choose what you want.”
          Roy grabbed the nimble fingers that had already unbuttoned his coat
and were beginning to work on his shirt.  He held them pointedly until the
younger boy’s eyes met his own.  “What I want is to get both of you the fuck
out of here so you don’t have to do this anymore,” he stated.  “And since I
can’t offer you anything else right now, I’m telling both of you to decide how
this is going to work.  You said the rule is a used condom in the trash – that
leaves much open to interpretation.”
          Al sat back on his own legs in shock while Ed sidled closer in
interest.  “Are you serious?” the older boy asked bluntly.
          Roy turned to meet Ed’s gaze.  “Yes,” he whispered. 
          “How much time did you buy?” Ed demanded while Al seemed to have lost
the ability to speak.
          Roy met the golden gaze even though he was quaking inside.  “I bought
the same amount of time as last time – ninety minutes.”
          Ed gave him a considering gaze before turning to look at his younger
brother.  “Well you’re the one that liked him so much last time.  What do you
want to do?”
          Al leveled a serious gaze on Roy.  “What happens to us once we leave
this place?  You must have a plan if you’ve already put simultaneous raids
together.”
          Roy gazed back just as seriously, feeling as if these two boys had
more power over him than he’d ever had in the military.  “You’ll go to a
hospital for about a week to get the drugs out of your systems and get
healthy.  After that you’ll go stay with my Aunt, who owns a reputable brothel
and has offered you a place to stay until you’re ready to move out on your
own.”
          Al’s head had tilted to the side and that gaze had sharpened on him. 
“So, you’re saying that after tonight we won’t see you for some time.  And when
we do it will be on different terms.”
          Ed had settled himself back to observe whatever this was while Roy
was beginning to feel as if he were standing on the edge of a very steep
cliff.  “Well, yes,” Roy answered uncertainly, because he really had no idea
where the beautiful blond boy was going with this.
          “And you’ve already told us that outside of this place people look
down on sex with kids, even though we were taught to have sex in a brothel,
which is a socially acceptable business.”
          That cliff was only getting deeper the further this conversation
went.  “I…yes?” Roy asked because he wasn’t sure how to answer that sentence.
          Al appeared to be quite perturbed, which Roy didn’t think was helping
the current situation, but Ed seemed to find is hilarious.  “Well, then,” Al
said lightly as he resumed unbuttoning Roy’s shirt.  “If you’re serious about
letting us do whatever we want with you, then I want you to fuck Brother,
because it’s been a very long time since he’s had a good client and after that
I want to fuck you.  Because I really like your body, Roy.  And if we won’t get
to see you again for years with no possibility of sex, I’d really like you to
remember us.”
          Ed grinned cheekily as Roy gaped at the two of them.  “I did warn you
not to offer that,” the older brother chuckled as Roy swallowed. 
          Roy had to clear his throat before he could answer.  “Forgetting the
two of you isn’t an option.  And if that’s what you really want,” he turned
uncertain eyes to Al, who was clearly in charge of this operation.  “The answer
is yes.  But while we’re not having sex, can you tell me how this brothel is
run?  I’ll need as much information as possible to make sure the raids run
smoothly.”
          “Of course, we can,” Ed answered snarkily while taking off his
shirt.  Right now, you need to work on getting those clothes off, because if we
time this just right, we can fuck and get a bath in before your time’s up.  And
trust me, you’re going to want a bath.”
          “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, Roy,” Al asked with a smug sort of
smile that had no place on his face.  Roy realized he’d handed himself lock and
key to these two not at all innocent boys without thinking it through.  And
part of him was relieved they were going to take him at his word and use him. 
This was, after all, the only place he’d been able to let go of his self-
control in years.
          “Yes, it has,” he whispered back.  “It’s been a lifetime.”  Al leaned
down to kiss him as Ed scrambled down to work on Roy’s boots and pants. 
          Panting, Al sat back up and smiled serenely.  “Don’t feel sorry for
us, Roy.  In our own ways, we like sex.  We don’t always like that we have to
have sex with everyone who comes through that door, but you’re going to change
all that.  And if we do this right, you’ll want us to come find you when we’re
old enough to do this legally.”
          Ed turned to give his sibling an exasperated look.  “Al, we’re on the
clock here.  Less talking and more getting him ready for my ass.  If this all
plays out we can talk him to death for years, but we won’t be able to fuck him
again until you’re seventeen.”
          Al sent a mischievous glance at Roy as he leaned over him to get the
necessary supplies from the nightstand.  “What do you think, Roy?  Will you
want to see us again in three years?”
          Roy banged his head helplessly against the pillow Al had tucked under
his head.  “Two beautiful young blond things want to fuck me and are
essentially promising to come and find me again when they’re legal.  Clearly, I
have died and gone to heaven,” he murmured before turning his head to see Ed
regarding him. 
          The older boy was naked.  He had significant scaring around his auto-
mail arm and leg and was watching him warily.  “You think I’m beautiful?” Ed
asked quietly.
          Roy reached out a hand to pull through that rich fall of golden
hair.  “How could anyone not?” he asked.
          Al crawled over Roy to snuggle up against his brother momentarily. 
“We’ve had clients who screamed at Brother when he took his shirt off.”
          Ed snuggled back up to Al while watching Roy closely.  “Most of the
time I just leave the shirt on,” he said quietly.  “But I thought since you had
auto-mail too you might not mind.”
          Roy felt the change in his heart.  He knew just how fucked he was as
he acknowledged the familiar feeling Maes had invoked now belonging to the two
brothers in front of him. 
          Roy looked at each of them before saying, “You are both the most
beautiful creatures I have ever had the privilege of getting naked with.  And I
will wait for you as long as you both want me to.”
          Ed blinked at him while Al slowly grinned.  “Well you picked a good
one, Al.  I think he’s got a crush on you, too.”
          “Us, Brother.  He likes both of us,” Al said quietly as Ed slowly
moved forward to kiss Roy.  He’ll wait for us, just like he said.  And
eventually, we can make a life together.  One the three of us choose.
Chapter End Notes
     This was supposed to be a nice little segue into Roy getting the boys
     out and in turned into...whatever the hell this chapter is. I think
     the smut will be one long chapter and then back to the past, but who
     the hell knows. I sure wasn't expecting Al to orchestrate this.
     Anyhoo, please point out any typos and thanks for reading.
End Notes
     The title is taken from the Tori Amos song. Please don't send me
     comments asking when I'm going to update. I will update if and when I
     have the time as I'm raising 3 kiddos and have multiple WIPs in
     different fandoms. Any kudos or other comments are always
     appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!