Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Full Metal Alchemist or it's characters. I claim no right to them. I am merely a fan-fiction-er that is a huge fan of them.
Chapter 2: The Road to Discovery
"Stupid…. Stupid…" Riza muttered, splashing water on her face. "Since when do you cry?" She sighed and used her foot to push the door closed as she toweled her face dry. "You don't. Never."
After crying herself to sleep with Derrik in her arms, she awoke bright and early the next morning. After years in the military, she had become so accustomed to waking up at the break of dawn that the habit never left her. Now, as she stared at herself in the mirror, grimacing at her disgusting appearance, she sighed again.
She grabbed her brush and began combing out her blond hair, wincing as the occasional knot ripped at her scalp. When she was finished, she pulled it back in her usual lose bun. Satisfied, she opened the door and walked down the stairs.
Knowing Derrik would still be asleep for several hours, made her feel secure that she would be able to completely calm herself down before he son woke up. The thought of Derrik seeing her cry again made her shiver. "You never cry." She sighed. Sitting down at the kitchen table, she stared out the window. The sky outside was still a hazy grey and the sun would be coming up soon. Luckily, it would be coming up on the other side of the house so there wouldn't be another haunting flame illusion.
Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes. "What do I need to do today…?" She tried to make a mental note of everything. Getting up, she walked over to a small table next to her couch. Picking up a book, she flipped to the back. "Expired today." She sighed. "Guess I'll have to go renew it today." She heard her bed creak as Derrik rolled over in his sleep. "I should take Derrik down to the park again to see… Gage. That was his name."
She sat down on the couch and glanced at the clock. "Only 6:30?" She sighed and lay her head on the back of the couch. She could tell already it was going to be a long day.
About 9 o'clock, Derrik, walked down the stairs rubbing his eyes. "Morning sweetie." Riza smiled, putting the bookmark in where she left off in her book. "Morning…" He mumbled. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you still sad?" He asked, looking up at her with big eyes. "No." she said, hugging him tightly. "I'm not." She wasn't sure if she really was done being sad, and she was pretty sure she would never be done feeling sad, but she couldn't tell him that. "Good." He said, letting go of her.
"Want some breakfast?" Riza asked, getting to her feet and walking towards the kitchen. "If you get dressed while I'm getting it ready, we can go down to the playground afterwards." Derrik's eyes lit up and he ran up the stairs. Riza grinned as she watched him go. She walked into the kitchen and pulled out some pancake mix. "I guess I need to go grocery shopping too." She added it to her mental list, noting the empty cupboard.
After mixing the batter, she poured it onto the griddle. She frowned, wishing she knew how to make the smiles in the pancakes like her mom did when she was little. Shrugging, she flipped them over. Derrik pounded down the stairs and slip into his chair at the dinner table. "Are they ready yet?" Derrik asked eagerly. Riza shook her head and picked up the newspaper. "Oh look. The old middle school burned down last night." She said, skimming the page. "Really?" Derrik jumped up and grabbed the paper, reading it intently.
Riza sighed. "You are such a pyro." She muttered. He ignored her and continued reading. The fact that he was interested in alchemy was bad enough. But did he really need to inherit his father's obsession with burning things? "They think it was arson." Derrik told her, putting the paper down. "Really? Who would burn down a school on purpose?" She asked rhetorically. Derrik shrugged. "I dunno."
As Riza flipped the pancakes onto a plate, she asked herself how many kids Derrik's age knew the word 'arson'. "Can you get the syrup?" She asked, turning around to find it was already on the table, as well a fork for both of them. "Wow. Your in a hurry." She put the plate down in front of her son. Derrik nodded but looked at his mother in concern. "Aren't you eating?" He asked. "Already did." Riza assured him. He shrugged and dug into his pancakes.
About five minutes later, he was jumping up and handed her and empty plate. "You shouldn't eat that fast. You'll make yourself sick." She scolded. He shrugged and ran towards the door to grab his shoes. "C'mon mom!" He shouted. Riza grinned and put the plate in the sink before walking to the door and sliding on her shoes. One nice thing about not being in the military was that she could show off her more feminine side. Not that she was all that feminine in the first place. She admired her black shoes with their half inch heels. Derrik grabbed the keys off the hook by the door and ran outside. Riza rolled her eyes and walked outside, locking the door behind her once she managed to grab the keys out of Derrik's hands.
As they walked down to the park, Derrik was always ten feet in from of her. It made her a bit nervous but she knew she wasn't that far away from him. Plus, she always had her pistol with her. Once they got to the park, Derrik dashed away to find Gage. She wandered around curiously until she spotted him talking to Gage, standing next to a tall blonde girl.
She sped up and jogged over to them. "Derrik, slow down!" She said, walking to his side. "Sorry, mom." Derrik said, though she could tell her didn't mean it. Riza rolled her eyes and looked up the the woman. "Hello, I'm Riza, Derrik mother. You are…?" She extended her hand. She grabbed the hand and shook it. "I'm Winry. Nice to meet you Riza." "Nice meet you, too." Riza said, resting her hand back at her side.
Derrik and Gage watched them dully until Winry sighed, smiling. "Okay, you two go have fun." They grinned and both dashed towards the playground. "They seem to be good friends already." Riza commented. "They have. Gage has been begging me since last night to set up a play-date." Riza chuckled. "You have no idea how fast Derrik ate breakfast so he could get down here." As the women laughed together, Riza couldn't help but notice the strange recognition she felt from the name Winry. Perhaps she went to school with someone named Winry… She shrugged inwardly. Ah well.
Once their laughter died down, Riza remembered the book in her hand. "Oh, shoot." "Something wrong?" Winry asked. "I forgot, I need to go renew my book at the library today…" After looking around briefly for her son, she looked back at Winry. "Would you mind watching Derrik for a few minutes while I run down to the library?" Riza asked, feeling guilty. Wirny shook her head. "No, I wouldn't mind at all!" She smiled. "I'm sure those too won't be coming back for a while anyways."
Riza nodded her head great fully. "Thank you." She turned and jogged back to her house. Pulling her keys out of her pockets, she got into the car and slammed the door shut. She felt guilty about leaving Derrik alone without telling him so she wanted to get back fast. She pulled our of the driveway and drove down the street, a bit faster then she should have.
Once she got to the library, she ran in, renewed her book, and ran back out. During the drive home, she decided to take a bit of a detour. In her many years in the military, she had easily memorized the way to work. Holding her breath, she neared the building. She slowed down so she could examine the building closer. It wasn't until she saw two men talking in front of the building that she sped up and drove away. Inhaling deeply, she drove back to the park, relieved they hadn't seemed to notice her.
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The tall, black-haired man rolled his eyes. "No excuses, Full Metal. You've been chasing after this stupid stone for years and you still haven't found it. Can't you just live with the reality?" Ed rolled his eyes. "You now Mustang, your even more heartless then I thought. You really want me to watch my brother as a suit of-" "SH!" Mustang raised his hand as a car sped past them. "What? You think some speeder is more important then my brother's body?!" Mustang continued watch the car curiously until it rounded a corner.
Ed blinked. "You know, you need to get over it. She's dead. Stop daydreaming." He shoved his hands in his pockets. Roy rounded on him. "Easy for you to say! You have a wife and son." He sighed and turned away. "Just, worry about your brother…. I'll worry about my own problems." He walked towards his car and got in.
Ed sighed and looked to the sky. Alphonse ran up behind him. "Something wrong?" He asked. "Mustang's day dreaming again. Not to mention the fact that we still haven't found that stone." Al watched Roy drive away. "It's been four years though. Does he really still think she's alive…?" Ed sighed and shook his head. "Who knows. Let's go."
Hah, much longer then the last one, eh? And, Ed, Al and Mustang apear in this one. Not to mention Winry. Pretty exciting, eh? Yeah, I know I told you I would wait a while before Roy showed up, but I couldn't help it. So, have you figured out who Gage belongs to yet? xD
More to come soon, I hope!