This little apartment my Izumi and Sig, my parents, own... It's quite nice, and I'm comfortable living in it. But... Someday, I want to move out of this tiny apartment and move into a giant house, a mansion even, where there would be so much empty space that I could run around in it without running into anything, and I'd be rich and never have to worry about money again...
"Ed, are you doing anything after school?" Fuery asked. The bell was about to ring for class to end, and everybody was packing their books and getting ready to leave.
"Sorry, I've got to drop by my apartment to get some stuff and then I have to go to work again." Ed replied, shoving a textbook into his book bag before looking up at Fuery apologetically.
"Oh.. That's okay. But why do you have to work so much? What do you need the money for? A car? A computer?"
"No... While that would be nice, I want to save up for a house." Ed said, standing as the bell finally rang for class to end.
"A house?" Fuery blinked, his glasses making his eyes seem even wider than they normally were. He followed Ed as he walked out the classroom.
"Yeah. It's always been my dream to live in a huge house at least 15 times bigger than the apartment I'm living in. I have to save up!" Ed smirked.
Fuery accompanied Ed halfway to his apartment, then parted with him. Ed walked alone for a while, and he was almost there when he noticed rows of shiny black cars lined up outside of the apartment building he lived in. Ed heard his mother's voice shouting from about two stories up.
"What do you mean?! We didn't take anything from the Van Hohenheim family! Now get out of my doorway before I ask my husband to throw you down the stairs!" Izumi shouted angrily.
What are they talking about? Ed hid behind the corner of a wall so he could eavesdrop.
"Perhaps you are mistaken, madam, but what you took from the Van Hohenheim family is not an item." a man's voice said calmly. "You have his son, I believe. Edward Elric?"
There was a long stretch of silence, and Ed had no idea what was going on. How did that man know his name? What was happening? He walked out from behind the wall and marched up the stairs to his apartment to see what was going on. He got to the last flight of stairs when he was blocked by a giant mass dressed in a black tuxedo.
"Ow!" Ed cried out as he bumped into the giant thing blocking the stairs. Looking up, he saw a giant man with a head completely bald except for a single curl of blonde hair dangling in front of his forehead. The man was enormous and had gigantic muscles, and to top it all off he had a big mustache above his lips. Was this guy even human?
"Who-- No, what are you and what are you doing--" Ed was interrupted when the massive man turned and stared at Ed, wide-eyed. Ed suddenly found himself embraced in a bone-crushing hug.
"OW!! HEY! LET GO! MY RIBCAGE! MY RIBCAGE!! OOOOOWWWW!!" Ed shouted.
"I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU MASTER EDWARD!! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU'VE BEEN MISSING, MASTER VAN HOHENHEIM WILL BE SO PLEASED TO SEE YOU!!" the man cried, his grip on Ed growing tighter. Ed coughed; he couldn't breathe!!
"W-would... you... please... just let me go...? I... can't breathe..." Ed gasped. The man immediately released Edward, and he crumpled to the floor, gulping in air.
"I apologize, master Edward!! You probably do not know my name!! I am Alex Louis Armstrong, the loyal butler of the Hohenheim family that the Armstrong family has proudly served for generations!!"
"...what?"
"Oh, Master Edward, how glad I am to finally see you... the son of the great Hohenheim!! I'm sure you must be a brilliant little one!!
"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' LITTLE YOU BEHEMOTH?!" Ed shouted, punching the man in the stomach, which he soon regretted since the man's stomach was hard as iron.
"Edward, come in, I think we need to explain some things..." Izumi said, grabbing Ed's arm and dragging him into the apartment, followed by Sig. Armstrong remained at the doorway, abandoned.
"WHAT?! So, you're telling me that I'm the son of the richest man in the world? Van Hoenheim?! Are you serious? You're kidding, right?" Ed shouted in frustration.
"Edward... I... We didn't know about any of this. I'm not lying... really..." Izumi was close to tears.
"Edward, the truth is, we couldn't have a child, since Izumi is unable to bear children. So we decided to adopt a child, but since we were so poor, nobody would allow us since they thought we couldn't support a child. So... we illegally went and adopted you..." Sig explained, a grave expression on his face.
"What?! So I was basically just dumped somewhere and picked up by you guys? And you're not my real mother and father... this has to be a joke... it can't be..." Ed sank to his knees, shocked.
"We're sorry, Edward... We're so sorry..." Izumi fell to her knees next to Edward, embracing him while she started to cry.
"But... What do I do now? Who am I?! You're not my mom and dad... but you've always been my mom and dad for as long as I can remember!! How can I just leave you to that rich stranger that I've never met before?! What should I do??" Ed also began to cry, sobbing into Izumi's shoulder.
"Edward, are you ready to leave now?" A booming voice came from the doorway. It was Armstrong, the last person Ed wanted to see at the moment.
"... What do I do... I don't want to go... I don't want to leave you!!" Ed held Izumi tighter, and looked up at Sig desperately.
"Ed... This is your decision, I won't let these people take you away unwillingly." Sig said.
"Master Edward, if you do not wish to stay at the Hohenheim mansion, you can at the very least visit your biological father." Armstrong strode into the room and stood in front of Ed. He was so large that his bald head actually brushed the ceiling. "But are you sure you want to stay in this place forever?" Armstrong gestured to the tiny space that was the Curtis' apartment.
"... Well... You know what, fine. I'll go. But only if my mom and dad can come too." Ed glared at Armstrong, crossing his arms stubbornly.
"Very well, then, I'm sure that can be arranged." Armstrong nodded, "Please pack your belongings. I shall be waiting outside."
That's all for now. I wrote this on a whim after watching Romantic Princess, so I apologize if it sucks... If nobody noticed, Romantic Princess the show I stole the plotline from. XD But I will change it a bit to my liking. Please review and tell me what you think!! X3
Oh, also, I have a question. Is it spelled Hoenheim or Hohenheim? I went with Hohenheim for this chapter, but I'm not entirely sure... XD