So, to all of my readers: thank you for re-reading this story. I changed something in it, and so it changed the story considerably. Therefore, I had to re-write it.

The late afternoon sun crept in through the open window. Bathing everything in its path with a golden hue. Inside the room, many things littered the hardwood floor. Books stacked on top of each other haphazardly. Papers cluttered about the room, and pens littered the floor. But otherwise, you could almost say that the room was tidy.

The room was quiet, aside from the sounds of nature escaping in through the open window. A figure laid across the bed, his back pressing into the deep red covers. One arm rested behind his head on the pillow, his other hand held a book tightly. Deep blue eyes scanned the thin pages of the book, heavily in groused in its words.

The man was average looking, aside from his Xing looking enthnicy. His skin was pale, like most people that had Xing heritage. His hair was black, with choppy cut bangs that hung above his eyes. All in all, an average looking man.

The man was broken out of his thoughts at the sudden loud noise of what he thought was a door being slammed. And soon after that came the sound of yelling.

'Sounds like something's going on across the street…' He thought.

Intrigued by the disturbance, he sat up. Hearing the bed creak in annoyance as he got up. Lazily, he threw the book down onto the floor. A loud 'thump!' sounded as it hit the floor. He sauntered across the room towards the window, peering down at the world beneath him.

He saw that the noise was coming from the Rockbell home, which didn't really surprise him. As the old woman's granddaughter, Winry was known to have a bad temper. His younger sister was friends with the ill-tempered teen, so he had known the girl since they were young.

The scene that was painted below him was quite amusing. Two young teens were out in the front yard. The first he saw was the tallest out of the two. With a suitcase in one hand, he was yelling at the other man. Who had his arms crossed against his chest, and appeared to not be listening. A car was behind the man who was yelling, the trunk was open, and a suitcase was on the ground. The lid opened up, and belongings were scattered across the yard. The ebony haired teen had to surpass a chuckle.

'Ah, it seems that Winry has some comical visitors.' He thought, resting his arms against the window ledge. He was going to wait for the real show to start.

It was then that the front door to the Rockbell home was opened, and violently at that. A young girl stomped down the stairs of the patio, long blond hair flying in the process. Her face was red with anger, fist curled together in tight balls. As she approached the men, a string of violent curses were thrown. And the ebony haired teen let out a loud chorus of laughter. He suddenly got up, walking across his room and out into the hall. As he trotted down the stairs, he passed the living room. Peering his head in, he saw his younger sister sitting on the couch, eyes fixated on the TV.

"Riza, tell Mom that I'm going over to Winry's." He said. "They have some visitors and I'm going to see if they need help…" He trailed off, finding himself far too slothful to go and find his mother himself.

Riza turned her head, amber colored eyes glued on her older brother. "Okay Roy, but be back before dinner." She said, giving him a slightly cross look. "Mom wasn't happy last time you were late.." She said, silently reminding her brother of the infamous incident.

Roy merely rolled his eyes, "You are never going to let me live that down.." He muttered under his breath. He then quickly turned on heel and walked out the door, leaving Riza giggling on the couch.

Al sighed as he sat a suitcase down, giving his brother a glare. Winry had gone inside a few moments ago, but not after giving them hell about the mess on the yard. "I told you that you stuffed too much in that suitcase, Edward." He grumbled. "And now look!" He screeched, pointing over to the suitcase that had popped open, leaving a trail of things in its path.

The long haired teen just shrugged his shoulders, looking between his brother and the suitcase. Before a lazy smile danced a crossed his features, he gave Al several hand gestures before shoving his hands in his pockets.

Another sigh passed through Al's lips. "You're cleaning it up…" He muttered, grabbing the suitcase. He then marched inside, leaving his brother alone.

Edward merely shrugged once more. And with his hands dug deep in his pockets, he walked over to the mess around the suitcase. He fell onto his knees, picking up the miscellaneous things that now scattered part of the yard. He was so wrapped up in the thoughts of cleaning up the yard; he hadn't noticed the presence of another person.

"Need some help?"

Edward jumped, slightly startled by the new voice. A soft chuckle was heard after that, causing him to look up. He saw a tall looking man standing before him, deep blue colored iris's staring at Edward. His lips were curved in a gently smile, all in all he looked like a nice person.

Roy took in the mans appearance slowly. He had long blond hair that was tied up in a pony tail, with long bangs framing his face. His eyes were a vivid golden color, and were wide with curiosity. His skin was tanned slightly, a nice olive color. But he had to hold in a gasp when he took the golden eyed teen's face in with detail. Across the left side of his face were deep colored scars, four deep cuts running from the side of his cheek just to the edge of his nose in a diagonal pattern. His auric colored bangs hid the rest of his face, which in reality wasn't much. Roy managed to remain collected together, keeping his many question inside.

"I'm sorry if I startled you…" Roy trailed off nervously as he took a seat on the ground. "I live across the street." He said. "And I saw the mess, and I thought that you could use some help."

Edward gave him a smile, making Roy feel slightly more welcome. "By the way, my name's Roy." He said. "What's yours?" He asked.

Edward looked him dead in the eye for some time, and Roy was just about to repeat his question. When the youthful looking teen gave him a wide smirk, eyes dancing with delight and a hint of mischief. A gasp left his lips when he felt the golden haired teen grab his hand. He felt the boy's fingers dance across his palm, sending slow chills down his spine. "Wh-What are you doing?" He stammered out, his cheeks slightly tinted pink.

Edward just smiled, continuing what he was doing. His long slender finger danced across the palm of his hand,

It took Roy a moment to realize that the blond was spelling out words. And after a few minutes had past, the man let go of his hand. Sitting contently, as if what he had done wasn't strange at all. Roy thought through the letters he had written, and suddenly it clicked. "Oh! Your name's Edward." Roy said, before a smile broke through. Edward nodded, a huge grin on his face.

"I see…" Roy muttered. "How old are you?"

Ed held up ten fingers before adding seven more. "Ah, seventeen?" Roy asked, just to confirm it. Ed nodded quickly, long strands of his pony tail flying as he did so. Roy went silent, thinking through what he just discovered. Edward can't talk He thought to himself. He sat there for a couple more moments, thinking through what he'd just realized. He then remembered why he came over. "So, how about I help you pick things up?" He suggested, a soft smile gracing his features.

Edward just shrugged his shoulders, as if he was saying 'if you want to.' Roy smiled once more, before he began to pick up the items. Edward fallowing shortly after.

Roy watched as the teen stretched his arm out, causing more marks upon his skin to come into view. Long lines scratched all upon his muscular arms, but they weren't nearly prominent as the marks upon his face. He watched as Edward forcefully threw things into the large suitcase, not really paying attention to what was going in.

Roy shook his head, a playful smirk was painted across his face. He then began to slowly pick the items up, eyes dancing in wonder at the items the blond teen had in his possession. He noticed that many of the scattered items were books, and thick ones at that. As he picked them up, his eyes glanced over the covers before he sat them in the suitcase. Many of them seemed to be on psychology and some sort of science.

"You seem to like science.." Roy said suddenly.

The teen looked at him, before a small smile played way to his petal-pink colored lips. He nodded slightly, before returning to piling things into the already over stuffed suitcase.

The rest of the work was done in a comfortable silence. And in a matter of minutes, the two teens were done.

Edward zipped the suitcase up in victory, a large smile coming upon his lips. He turned to Roy, and gave him a thumbs up. Roy smiled, rolling onto his back. He felt the prickly grass poking through the thin fabric of his shirt, making him itch slightly, but he made no move to solve that problem.

"So, are you friends of the Rockbells?" Roy asked, trying to break the tension between the two.

Edward nodded, his gaze heavy on the ground. "I see, my sister and I have known the Rockbells since we were little…" Roy said, as if he knew that Ed wondered his relation with the family. He could some how feel the question, even though the teen made no motion that he wondered it.

After that, Roy was silent. Edward and Roy just enjoyed each other's company and the warmth of the sun above them. And Roy briefly wondered where the other man had gone. But it wasn't long before made his appearance again.

The door opened slowly, unlike Winry's violent slam they had witnessed earlier. And a tall teen came through. His skin was a pale peach color, unlike Edward's mild tan. And his hair was more brownish than it was blond, and it was short, unlike Edward's long tresses. Just like Edward's, his eyes were an odd color. A light mixture of silver and brown. When he spotted Roy, he went into a slight tizzy. Barreling down the steps, he approached the two quickly.

"Brother! Were you bothering him!" The taller teen asked, pulling Edward up from the ground. Edward glared at the young teen, earning a glare back.

Roy just chuckled, slowly getting up from the ground. Brushing some dirt off his jeans as he spoke. "Oh he wasn't bothering me at all." Roy said, before looking the new acquaintance in the eye. "If fact it's quite the opposite, you could say I was bothering him." He trailed off, a slightly chuckle escaping his lips.

"Oh…" The man said. "I see."

Edward began to do quick hand gestures to the taller teen, earning nods and such from him. "Oh, I see, I see." The brown haired teen the turned to Roy. "So, my brother says that you helped him pick up the mess…" He trailed off.

Roy nodded. "Yeah, that's sort of why I came over…" He said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I'm Roy…" He said, outstretching his hand.

"My name's Alphonse." Al said, shaking Roy's hand. "But I do prefer Al…"

Roy nodded, and the trio fell into an awkward silence. "Well uh, Winry and Pinako are making dinner…" Al trailed off. "Would you like to join us in exchange of you helping Ed clean the mess up..?"

Roy smiled. "I'd like that." He said, flashing a grin towards Edward. Who smiled back.

After a lovely dinner of stew made by Winry and Pinako's team work, Roy found himself seated at the table with Al across from him. While Ed and the others sat in the living room watching TV. A cup of tea sat before each of them, but it had still gone untouched. Roy watched as the hot transparent steam rose up from the cup before it evaporated into the air. He waited patiently for Al to speak, as he said he wanted to. But the other teen seemed to be watching the other's in the family room.

After a couple more minutes of silence, Al let out a long breath of air. Turning his attention over to Roy, who seemed to be getting slightly agitated by the wait.

"So, I'm sure you're curious about my brother…" Al trailed off.

Roy nodded, "Very much so." He said. Hand's folded neatly under his chin. He'd been waiting for this subject to be brighten up.

Al sighed, taking a small sip of his tea. "My brother has a very…well, rare condition.." He was silent for a moment. "…or condition's, I should say." started. "You've probably never heard of either of them." He said, lifting his head up to meet Roy's curious gaze.

"Try me." Roy said, taking a sip of the tea.

"Elective mutism, is the first one." Al said. "Though, most psychologist don't study it anymore, it's what he has." He added on, stumbling slightly over the words.

After that, their was a long pause of silence. Neither male spoke, they merely sat there with their thoughts. The sounds of the TV filtered through into the dining room, and it seemed that the others had decided to watch the show 'House M.D' for the time being.

"So, what is Elective mutism?" Roy asked suddenly, very intrigued by this new information.

"It's when a person refuses to speak in all social situations when they are perfectly capable of doing so." Al said, drinking more of his tea.

"Was Ed born with it?" Roy asked, taking a drink of his tea as well.

"No, you can't be born with it." He said his voice wavering slightly as he started his next sentence. "It's often caused by defiance or, in Edward's case, the effect of trauma…" Al trailed off, his voice saddened.

"Do you know what-"

"No." Al said abruptly. "Only two people besides Edward know what happened that caused him to stop talking." His voice was quick, and the words were slightly rushed together.

"And who would that be?" Roy persisted.

"Our Mother, who died a year ago." Al said, "And our Father, who refuses to speak of it."

"Where's your father now?" Roy asked.

Al sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "With his work, traveling all over the place." Al said harshly. His gaze falling to the light auburn color of the tea, watching his reflection in it. "Hence why we're here now." Al said.

Roy was silent, feeling that Al was not done talking yet.

"Our Mom and Dad divorced when I was seven and Ed was eight." He began. "We lived with out mother up until she passed away a year ago." Al continued on, but not before taking another sip of the tea. "After that, we lived with our Dad for a year, but he found a job that required him to move a lot." He said. "And he found that an unfit environment for us to live in, so he shipped us here."

"I see." Roy said.

"Yeah…" Al said. "It's better for Ed to be here though…" Al said, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand, looking out into the living room. He watched as Ed smiled, taking a picture of himself and Winry together. "Our Dad and him didn't see eye to eye on anything at all."

Roy didn't say anything for a moment. "Your brother…how does he communicate..?" Roy asked.

Al turned his attention back on Roy. "Oh, well with the Rockbells and me, he uses sign language." Al answered easily. "We all understand it pretty well." He paused, "How did he speak to you?" Al asked.

"He grabbed my hand and began to write letters on my palm…" Roy said, his cheeks turning a fair pink color.

Al just laughed. "Don't say it like it's weird." He said. "That's what he does when he feels comfortable with a person but he knows that they don't understand sign language."

"Oh." Roy said, straitening up slightly. "I have another question." He said.

"Shoot." Al said.

"When did he last speak..?" He asked. "If you don't mind me asking, that is…"

Al was quiet for a moment. "Um….we were still very young…" He said. "I think it was when I was five, so he was six."

"I see…" Roy said.

"It's gotten to the point where remembering how is voice sounded is hard for me." Al said.

"I'm so sorry." Roy said. "Do doctors think that he'll ever be able to talk again?" Roy asked.

"He's perfectly capable of speaking." Al said. "He just needs to overcome his fears, whatever they are."

Roy merely nodded, his gaze drifting to his tea. The steam warming his face slowly. "What about school?" He asked, his gaze never leaving the tea.

"He's in a regular classroom, besides his inability to talk he's just fine mentally." Al answered. "He has a speech-language pathologist." Al said slowly. "Where he's learned sign language and other ways to communicate." Al said. "Kind of like how a young child with a speech delay would go to speech therapy." Al said.

"I see, so is that just for like a short amount of time a day?" Roy asked.

"During the school year, he goes once a week or once every other week." Al said. "He doesn't go as often as he did when we were younger." Al explained.

"You seem to know a lot about his needs and such…" Roy said, taking a sip of the tea.

"Before our Mom died…" Al said, his gaze shifting to his lap. "She sat me down and told me everything Ed needed and pretty much everything about the disorder." He said. "She told me that when she was gone, Ed needed someone who knew everything about the condition and how to take care of him."

"But she didn't tell you what Ed saw that made him mute…" Roy said, not questioning it. But more clarifying it.

"She said it was his decision to tell people, that he had to overcome it." Al said.

Roy was quiet, just taking everything in. "I see."

All was quiet in the dining room; the only sound was the TV's noise drifting in from the living room. When a loud pitter patter of footsteps met their ears, and Ed's figure emerged in the kitchen entrée way. He ran over to Roy, a camera in hand. He pointed at the camera, then at Roy. Roy only cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

Ed gave a frustrated stomp, before glancing at Al. Who sat their chuckling, "He wants to take a picture with you." Al said.

"Oh!" Roy said, turning his attention to Ed. "Yeah, let's take a picture." He said, smiling.

Ed gave him a huge grin before he leaned down beside Roy, his head practically on Roy's shoulder. Roy smiled, the closeness between him and Edward causing a warm feeling to evoke in him. The picture was snapped in a moment, the flash almost blinding the two of them. After looking at the copy of the picture on the camera, Ed smiled. He then handed the camera to Roy, letting him see it as well.

"Looks great." Roy said, handing the camera back to Ed.

Ed smiled, before dashing back out into the living room. Roy chuckled, "Full of energy, isn't he?" Roy said.

"Yep." Al answered.

They were quiet again, but not for too long before Al spoke.

"I have a feeling that you and my brother are going to be close friends…" Al said, more to himself than to Roy.

And that same feeling of warmth he felt when Ed was near him came back. His heart pounded loudly in his chest, and a feeling of anxiousness came over him.

Just what was wrong with him?

After saying his goodbyes to the Rockbells and his newly made friends, the Elric brothers, Roy found himself walking out into the warm summer evening. Looking both ways, he made sure that no cars were coming before he dashed across the street quickly.

"Mom's going to be mad.." Roy mumbled to himself as he walked up the steps to the front porch. Digging a key out of his pocket, he shoved the small piece of metal into the lock. Turning it quickly, hearing a click in response. He slowly opened the door, predicting his Mother to be there waiting behind it. But instead, he found the entrée way empty.

A sigh of relief passed through his lips, and he sauntered into the house.

"Winry sent me a text about you staying for dinner and I told Mom and Dad." Riza said as she saw Roy entering the living room. "They just went to bed.."

Riza was curled up on the couch, a book in her hand. The TV was on, but it was more for background noise than entertainment purposes.

Roy smiled. "Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you…" Roy said. "Forgot my cell phone here.."

Riza smiled softly. "It's alright, I heard you were making friends with Winry's guest."

Roy gave his younger sister a warm smile. "Yes, yes I was.." He said, his voice much softer than usual.

Riza gave him a smile. "That's good." She said.

Roy nodded as he began to slowly walk over to the stairs. "Night, Riza." He said warmly. He heard his sisters saying goodnight to him as he walked up the many stairs.

Hope you enjoyed chapter 1~!