Roy sat quietly in the place that he had come, it was some abandoned building in the middle of a bustling city.
'So long, Sir', Hawkeye had said as she'd saluted him and stood as he'd transmuted himself and three freshly dead cows. The gate had gladly accepted the new meat, but it hadn't been enough to keep the door open so now he was alone.
"I guess it could be worse", he told himself just as he had since he'd gotten here, though by now the words were losing their truth. As the days went by, he became hungry, water was present in this place; food was not.
Wrapping himself up in a tarp that he'd found, he quietly dug some papers out of a stack and started a small fire. Alchemy didn't work here, that had been his first lesson.
"With the death of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party has slowly receded and recovery…" Edward turned the tea off as the pot started to whistle at him. He wasn't really listening to the news, he'd just turned it on for noise while he'd cooked.
"Al! Lunch!", he called, pulling saucers and teacups from the cupboard.
The news topic changed and he looked curiously at the flickering colorless picture on the new television set's screen.
"Thank you Dianne. We see some strange things in this world and they never cease to surprise us. Such is the case of a man living in an abandoned mansion in Munich that once belonged to the University.
The man is said to never come outside, using few if any technologies in his day to day life, a Jewish refugee perhaps? So far, no one knows" A picture of the man, obviously taken without his consent flickered onto the screen and a clattering smash was heard as Edward dropped the dishes he was holding. There on the screen, curled up under a tarp, reading; was Colonel Roy Mustang. No, no it couldn't be- but it was…
The picture flipped off of the screen as Al came running in.
"Brother are you okay?!", at the sound of the younger male's voice, the older male slowly started cleaning up the glass shards, his eyes still trained on the screen as though Roy would appear on it again. He was here, he was in Munich, but he was in this world. 'Why?', he wondered, 'Why would he be here now?'
"Brother?", a sharp sensation bit into Ed's finger just as his little brother spoke and he jumped and swore. Alphonse jolted back, startled by his brother's sudden out break, and whimpered as Ed dropped the glass again and held up an overly dramatic, bleeding finger. He watched it for a moment, then sighed and got up, leaving the glass where it was.
"Al, I have to go to Munich for a couple days, is that okay?", he honestly didn't know how long he really would be gone, that depended on how hard it would be to get into contact with Roy once he was in Munich, but he figured a couple days in Munich would give him at least a week of traveling time to work it out. The younger male nodded lightly.
"Yes, it's fine, I can have Noah come and stay with me", it wasn't that he was too young to take care of himself anymore, more as it were Alphonse had been getting sick lately and Edward always insisted on having someone stay with him in case something went wrong. It had become something that was expected and neither one had to remind the other about the rule's existence. Giving a nod, Ed hurried up the stairs to pack, he had to get there as soon as possible, there was a sense of urgency upon him for some reason. Now that he knew Roy was there, there was a pull, a magnetic force urging him back to Munich, begging him to be near to the Colonel, to see him with his own eyes.
Pulling a suitcase from the closet that held both his and Alphonse's clothing, he threw in a couple white shirts, some slacks, an extra jacket, underwear, socks, a hairbrush and a book or two before closing the case and tossing it onto the bed. Al came to stand in the doorway as he pulled on a jacket and gloves, brushing his hair back into a tight ponytail once he had them on.
"Brother, is something wrong?", he asked curiously, Ed shook his head, not looking at the younger boy as he sat on the bed, pulling on his boots.
"Brother?"
"Nothing is wrong Al", Edward answered as gently as he could, he didn't want the boy to worry, but he didn't want him going with him either.
This is something I have to do alone.
Standing, he gave his brother a smile and grabbed the suitcase from the bed, he felt like he should've been hurrying more than he was, even though he was already hurrying quite a bit.
"It's only a couple days right?", Alphonse asked, something in his voice telling Ed that the boy didn't like the idea of his being away under the circumstances; pacing across the room, the older male palmed the younger's face gently.
"Yes, only a couple days, I will call you immediately if it turns out to be more", Al nodded and looked away before Ed leaned and kissed his forehead. He could tell that he was upset about it but the pull to go was stronger and in the end it won out.
"Why don't you call Noah, I am off", Al nodded again.
"See you in a couple days…?", Ed smiled gently.
"Yes, just a couple days…", then he left, closing the door with a small 'clack' behind him. Raising his arms high over his head, Edward smiled lightly as a car pulled over and an old man peered out of his car at him.
"Are you going towards Munich?"
Al was lonely once Ed was gone, he didn't want to call Noah, even with her here he still felt lonely. Edward was his only companion, when he was gone there was no one to talk to. Then there were the dreams; dreams so sinfully blissful that delved from him on the nights he slept alone in that room. They weren't so bad when Edward was laying in the bed across from his, but they got unbearable when the older male was gone and when he came back Alphonse couldn't look him in the face. He wanted so desperately to touch and be touched.
My sin is that I love my brother…as more than a brother…
Remembering the mess in the kitchen, the seventeen year old grabbed a broom from the closet and headed in to clean the mess up.
"Such is the case of a man living in an abandoned mansion in Munich that…"
This was a way for him to distract himself, wasn't it? But the mess needed to be cleaned up as well; he swept the glass into a pile.
"The man is said to never come outside, using few if any technologies…", Al reached to turn the small television set off, he hated it when they repeated stories, "…a Jewish refugee perhaps? So far, no one knows." The blonde's fingertip touched the power knob, but before he could turn it, a familiar face flickered onto the screen and he stared, slowly releasing the knob from between his fingers.
The Colonel…?
His breath was stuck in his throat, slowly turning from the technology; he pressed his back to the counter and slid down it to sit on the floor.
The Colonel…Edward is going to Munich to see the Colonel…?
He felt sick again.