Hey guys! Venicexx here! Finally, after a looong time, I've decided to make my first multi-chapter story filled with angst! It focuses on parental! Royed because I can't get enough of their father and son relationship. Just as a warning though, this fanfic contains the mentions and slight depictions of PTSD, so if you aren't comfortable with reading that, I suggest you move on to another book. I don't have a LOT of knowledge about PTSD and things like that, but I know the basics of it. Feel free to tell me in the reviews if something doesn't make sense.

Again, this is my first angsty story, but I'll try my best to make it good. We gotta get our daily dose of angst fanfictions, am I right?

Chapter 1: Khaja

"Aaaaaaand I win again," Edward chuckled, laying down all the cards he had in his hand onto the small table.

"Aw man! Let's give it another go, brother. I think I might be able to beat you this time," Alphonse said, rearranging the cards.

The older brother crossed his arms over his chest, "That's what you said last time, Al."

"Eheheh…"

The train suddenly rattled, causing the table beside them to shake. Ed let out a panicked squeak as his hands darted towards the glass of orange juice to prevent it from toppling over. The juice sloshed around the rim of the glass cup when he did so, but luckily, none of the contents had spilled. He let out a sigh of relief as he adjusted his body. It would've been a pain in the ass if he had gotten juice all over his clothing. Al simply scratched his head and continued to look out the window, the plate of cookies set in front of him left untouched. Edward's face softened when he saw the plate of cookies. Al loved them when he was younger, especially the chocolate chipped ones. They used to fight over the last cookie and Al would always win. If only he could go back… he'd do anything to see his smile again.

When the train reached the station, the doors slid open to allow passengers to get on. Several scruffy looking men entered the crowded locomotive, each of them cackling with laughter as they told nonsense jokes. Ed couldn't help but look their way; it was hard for him not to due to their freakishly muscular build, ridiculously deep voices, and… well…. tall stature. The men were literally towering over the train and they had to bend their necks to be able to fit through the double doors. God, why did life have to be so unfair?! Edward groaned and sank into his seat, clearly intimidated by the men. Alphonse looked over to where Ed's stares were directed at and mumbled a soft 'oh' when he realized what it was.

"The hell, man!" Edward yelled, earning him a few glances from the passengers seated around them. "If only I could cut their legs off and stick them to mine…"

Alphonse shuddered at the thought. "Now, now, brother…"

And the train started off again, picking up speed as it moved out of the station into more fields of green; it was going to be a while until the two brothers would reach their destination. Ed pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. Only 15:30. He sighed and ran gloved hands through his hair while Alphonse stared at the floor. The two were silent for a moment before Al spoke up.

"Hey, brother?" Al questioned, his crimson colored eyes flickering briefly when he spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Where do you think the Colonel went? Wasn't he supposed to be coming with us to Lanswill City?"

Edward shrugged as soon as he heard the man's title. "Don't know, don't care. He's probably just looking for some stupid excuse to get away from us," he grumbled, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "It's better this way. I'd rather not deal with his cruddy insults right now."

"…You think so?"

"Yeah. Why are you worrying so much about the bastard anyway?"

"I don't know… it's just kind of odd for him to leave like that…"

The blonde raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see the way his face went pale? He looked like he saw a ghost or something. What if he's sick? I feel like we should go back to check on him…"

Edward sighed.

While it was a bit unusual of the Colonel to leave so abruptly, Edward was reasonably certain that it was nothing. After all, if he remembered correctly, Mustang was perfectly fine on their way to the station. But now that his younger brother had brought it up, a hint of worry crept in the back of his mind.

("…Go on ahead…I'll catch up with you both later… I- I just remembered I have some business to take care of before I go... Just wait for me at the station when you get off…)

Ed groaned. "God damn it! Where the hell did that jerk go? Seriously… making us worry for no reason… I swear if he's doing this for the sake of pissing me off…!"

Alphonse smiled to himself. Even though Edward never showed it, he knew the Colonel was still important to him. He knew his older brother wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line if Mustang was in trouble, and neither would the Colonel.

"An Ishvalan child, would you look at that! What's an Ishvalan doing here?" a voice boomed, followed by tittering.

Edward scooted over to the edge of his seat to get a better view of what was happening; it was the same group of men he had seen earlier. They were huddled around some poor kid and throwing offensive insults at the little boy while he just sat there, terrified of what the guys could do to him if he said anything. Alphonse whispered 'brother' to get his attention, and in turn, Ed gave him a nod. As soon as the train came to a stop, the brothers stood up and stormed over to the men—well Edward did. His eyes widened in shock when he approached them. They were even taller now that he stood next to them!

Clearing his throat, Ed began, "Hey! Stop picking on that kid! He's done nothing to you!"

At first, the men didn't seem to notice, for his voice seemed so small in comparison, but Alphonse gently pushed his brother aside and coughed. "Excuse me?" he managed to say in the nicest way possible. Instantly, the men turned to his attention. Edward gritted his teeth, forcing whatever he wanted to yell down his throat.

"Um… I'd appreciate it if you could leave him alone?"

The red-haired man with a beard looked over at his acquaintances who just shrugged. "You mean this disgusting piece of trash?" he said, pointing at the boy. "Why the hell would we do that?"

"Because- "

Alphonse noticed a hand placed on his armor and stilled when his brother shook his head. 'Let me handle this' his expression seemed to say. Edward then took out his pocket watch, swinging it in the men's faces. "Edward Elric, State Alchemist. If you have problems we can take it outside," he said rigorously.

"Oh, shit he's military…" the grey-haired man whispered to his friend.

"Ha! A shrimp like you? Military? You've got to be kidding me- Ow!" the bearded man clutched his stomach in pain after his friend elbowed him. "What the hell was that for?!"

"He's the Fullmetal Alchemist, Dan! Let's leave them alone before we get into trouble again. We only just got out of jail a week ago! C'mon drop it, let's just go. We're at our stop anyways."

"…Fine," he growled. "You're lucky this time, kiddo. Military or not, I could've beaten you to a pulp if I wanted to… "

Edward sent a glare their way as he watched them leave the train. His eyes then trailed over to the boy sitting near the window, "Hey… are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

The Ishvalan boy blinked for a moment as if he hadn't realized Edward was talking to him and said nothing.

"…Hello?" Edward waved his hands around.

"Y-You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?!" the boy suddenly jumped out of his seat in awe, tumbling over when the train shook. Edward quickly caught his body before it had a chance to hit the floor.

"Easy there! And yeah, I am! What's the deal?"

"I've heard all about you in my country! I've always been a fan! I thought it was so cool to be an alchemist at such a young age—a prodigy at that!" he dusted his clothes off and seated himself back down, lowering his voice when he continued. "You see… I've always wanted to travel. It's been my dream since I was little, but my mother wouldn't let me. She said it was too dangerous and that I should never involve myself with the people who killed our people… I wanted to meet you…"

"…Oh… I see…"

"So, I snuck out."

"YOU WHAT?!" the brothers yelled simultaneously.

"I snuck out," he repeated, grinning proudly.

"Your mom's going to be worried!" Alphonse scolded like a parent. "What is she going to think when she finds you missing?!"

The boy merely shrugged in response. The two brothers sighed and gave each other a look that read 'what the hell did we just get ourselves into?'

"…Thanks for saving me back there though…" the boy continued after a moment of silence. He gave them a small, but genuine smile. "My name's Khaja, by the way!" he chirped, smiling brightly.

"My name's Alphonse! I'm Edward's younger brother!"

"Cool! Nice to meet cha'!" the two shook hands and beamed at each other. Edward smiled awkwardly in the background; it was good for Al to make some new friends since they were always traveling around.

"By the way, what's with the suit of armor?" Khaja questioned, observing him. "It gets really hot at the city."

Alphonse glanced at Ed to see his reaction. When he made none, Al scratched his head, "Um... I'm going through some sort of training, so I need to wear this to get used to it!"

Khaja blinked. "Okay..."

"So um... where are you going, Khaja?"

"Oh..back home… I need to get off at Lanswill City to buy some supplies first before I can go back."

"Oh, great! We're going there too!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm so excited! I get to hang out with the Fullmetal Alchemist and his younger brother!"

Edward snapped out of his dazed state and crossed his arms, smirking, "Yeah, that's right. Only cool people get to hang out with us."

Throughout the entire ride to Lanswill City, the boys told stories, made jokes, and played games to pass time. Edward and Alphonse had learned a lot about Ishval and their culture as Khaja talked about his life there. Oddly enough, the boy never mentioned the Ishvalan war, which Ed was grateful for, but he still felt a slight uneasiness in his stomach–a feeling of guilt almost; however, he shook off the thought as quick as it came. Now wasn't the time for that.

Edward sat up straight and wiped some drool off the corners of his mouth—that was quite embarrassing. He looked around to make sure no one had seen him and sighed.

"Um... there's some drool on your shirt," a familiar voice pointed out.

"No, I think you're mistaken," Ed replied, zipping up his jacket to hide the atrocious drool stain in the center of his shirt.

Alphonse chuckled, "Sorry he's such a weirdo, Khaja."

"Hey!"

Khaja shook his head and laughed, "Oh, look! We're here!" he exclaimed, pointing.

The doors of the train slid open, and immediately following, was a mind-boggling heat wave. Lanswill City was fairly close to the desert, which was why it was so terribly hot. Edward had almost forgotten how much he despised the heat since there were only so many clothes you could take off, but he supposed it was better than the cold; at least his automail wouldn't stiffen up and cause him joint pain.

Hohoho~ and that's the end of the first chapter! School and just life, in general, has been pretty hectic lately, but I'll try my best to update when I can. Winter break is coming soon anyway! Woot woot! So, you can look forward to updates during that time, but it ain't guaranteed, so don't come yelling at me if you don't see an update. Anyways, thanks for reading and don't hesitate to R & R!