My first fma fanfiction, my first multi-chaptered fanfiction, my first fanfiction...and it's AU v.v
I know I'm not all that good, but... I hope you like it anyway ^^; Constructive Criticism, please ?
Uh...so maybe it doesn't seem very Roy/Riza yet, but wait a while..
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and its characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa. Sadly, I own nothing, I just like toying with them...
Chapter 1 : Meeting
xxx
"It's going to be ok, Ed, Al."
The blonde woman turned around in the front passenger seat of the car to look at the two boys. She felt sorry for them, having lost their mother at such a young age and being estranged from their real father. But, then again, she was used to this sort of thing, it came with the job.
When the boys just looked at her, not making any sound, Riza sighed and turned back around in the seat, looking out the window at the greenery flashing past in a blur. This man sure lived a long way outside the city. Picking up the file, she looked it over again; King Bradley, apparently he was some sort of distant relation to the boys. He was also the most powerful man in Central City, the whole nation of Amestris even, having a hand in everything that was going on.
"Yeah, your new father's a rich man, I'm sure you'll have everything you ever dreamed of with him."
Riza glanced over at her companion, Jean Havoc, and smiled. He was never seen without a cigarette, and was holding one in his mouth while driving. Luckily he had had the courtesy not to light it in the car. He knew that she hated the smoke and she was thankful that her partner was so considerate.
She glanced in the rear-view mirror, watching the boys' reactions; they hadn't known that their 'uncle' was rich. The younger brother, Alphonse's face seemed to light up at Havoc's statement, but Edward, the older brother, just folded his arms and looked out the window.
It was almost a year since their mother had died, and Riza had been checking up on them since they first came to the children's home. She had been the one to fill out all their medical details and all the adoption forms. Of course, Havoc had helped her; she had been too busy to meet Bradley in person, so Havoc had interviewed him for her. So this would be her first meeting with Bradley as well as the boys', she hoped he was nice enough.
"Why do we have to go live with this stinking old man anyway?" Edward huffed, still gazing stubbornly out the window. "Granny Pinako could have looked after us fine. Or we could have moved in with Auntie and Uncle Rockbell."
Riza sighed again, she had lost count of the amount of times she had explained this to the boy. It had been heartbreaking taking the brothers away from their 'family', though they weren't related in anyway and she hated having to take him to some man he didn't even know.
"Edward, you know this. Ms. Pinako is in no health to look after one growing boy, let alone two. And the Rockbells were moving to Aerugo, they couldn't take you with them, it would have taken months for all the adoption papers to be processed and validated. Besides, they aren't related. I'm sorry, but you just couldn't stay with them..."
Alphonse's face fell at his brother's comment and he was now frowning deeply after hearing Riza. Edward just glared up at her and mumbled something incoherent.
"C'mon guys, cheer up. I've met Mr. Bradley. He seems a very nice man and he's always wanted children. But his wife passed away not too long ago and he couldn't have any of his own. You'll like him, I promise." Havoc turned his head and smiled at the two, holding his cigarette between his teeth. "Besides, I bet if you ask real nice...there's plenty of room for a dog, even two!"
With the mention of a dog, both boys' eyes lit up. They had always wanted a dog, their neighbours, the Rockbells had had one and they had loved playing with it.
Riza just looked over at Havoc and smiled, he always knew how to cheer the children up. Sure she was a good shoulder to cry on, or a person to tell any troubles to, but Havoc was the one to go to if they wanted fun or a laugh. Sometimes she wasn't sure who was more immature, him or the children.
"Ah. Here we are." She said as a large house came into view behind the trees and bushes.
The boys gasped in amazement as they caught sight of the house. It was more like a mansion, with a long, winding drive with tall hedges on either side and large grounds surrounding it. Even Riza gasped at the sight of it, though she shouldn't be too surprised, this was the richest man in the country.
"See, what did I tell ya. Plenty of room for a dog." Havoc smirked at Riza he pulled into the drive.
The boys were bouncing in the back, their earlier gloomy mood gone, as they struggled to unbuckle their seatbelts in the hurry to get out and explore what was to become their new home. Havoc looked at Riza expectantly as he unbuckled his own belt and made to get out of the car, she just nodded and continued rifling through the papers she had brought with her.
"Go on ahead, I'll just get these sorted. I'll only be a couple more minutes."
Havoc nodded and got out of the car. Three slams of the doors and Riza was left in the relative silence of the vehicle. She sighed as she pulled out the necessary papers and shoved the rest in the glove box.
Quickly unbuckling her belt and stepping out of the car, closing the door lightly behind her, Riza stepped up to the front door of the mansion, where the boys had already gone.
The double front door was made out of a heavy wood with an ornate golden knocker, a lion's head on it. There was a butler dressed in a black tuxedo and what appeared to be a few security guards standing at either side of the tiled hall. The butler held the door open for her and beckoned her inside where the boys were waiting to be shown where to go.
Her eyes widened at the golden chandeliers hanging from the high roof, the seemingly priceless pieces of art on the walls and the skins of various beasts she had never seen before sprawled as decorative mats on the floor.
This was intimidating even to her.
xxx
The butler led them into a large, open sitting room, with couches gathered around a small coffee table. The boys looked about in excited wonder, while Havoc nervously stood, fingers dangerously close to the cigarette pack in his pocket; he had been told not to smoke indoors and, despite arguing that it wasn't lit, had reluctantly been made to take the cigarette out of his mouth and throw it away. Riza could tell that he was lost without even the unlit cigarette to chew on, but she said nothing, instead giving him a somewhat sympathetic yet stern look, telling him that she knew how he felt, but also warning him not to touch the cigarettes until they were away.
None of them noticed that they were not alone in the room until a dark haired, eye-patched man stood from one of the comfortable looking chairs facing away from the door, and cleared his throat, indicating his presence. Edward and Alphonse let out a timid squeak and ran from the fish tank they had been tapping, hiding behind Riza and Havoc. The man looked at them all and smiled, motioning for them to sit down on the chairs surrounding the coffee table.
They made their way round to the chairs and sat down on the long sofa, the Elric brothers sitting between Riza and Jean; Alphonse holding onto Riza's arm and Edward looking around the room and shifting every now and again beside Jean. He made to put his feet up on the coffee table, but thought better of it when Riza sent him a stern warning look. Though he was a trouble maker, he knew better than to cross the 'Hawk's Eyes'.
Riza studied the man as she sat, unsure of whether she should speak first or let him. The man walked over to a bar in the corner of the room took a glass out of the cupboard, pulling out a bottle of scotch and making himself up a drink. As he sat down on the chair opposite Riza and the others, the butler came in with a tray of tea and soft drinks for Ed and Al.
"I hope you don't mind that I'm not offering any of my scotch. It would probably be unwise of me, seeing as you're driving. I do hope you like the tea, though. Xing's finest, right from the emperor's palace itself. I'm King Bradley, by the way. It's a pleasure, finally meeting you here."
"Thank you very much. I'm Riza Hawkeye, and this is my partner, Jean Havoc. And these two, they're Edward and Alphonse Elric, though I'm sure you know that."
Riza said quietly, while Havoc muttered a small 'Yo'.
She gratefully accepted the tea offered to her and sipped it slowly, letting the warm drink enter her mouth and savouring its taste. She found she never had time for a nice cup of tea any more, instead taking the coffee that was quick to make and great for late nights and early mornings. She took this time to study the man carefully. He seemed nice enough, his smile was friendly and welcoming and he had enough wrinkles to make him look sophisticated, but not so many as to just look old. And though he was just over sixty, he still had quite a fit body and his hair showed no signs of greying.
Bradley seemed to be studying them just as she was him; his one olive-green eye was slowly drifting between the four on the sofa in front of him and his expression had changed to a more stern one. Riza could have wilted under his strong gaze, but she kept her back straight and smiled politely at Bradley, waiting for him to speak.
It was a while before he finally did, but she was relieved that his smile was back on his face.
"So these are the two boys I'm adopting. I'm glad to finally meet you two. You look like two energetic young men, don't worry, there's plenty of room for you to run around and play. In fact, why don't you two go and explore a bit. You can check out your new room as well, though I hope you don't mind sharing, I've been told you would prefer to."
Bradley motioned for the butler and Edward and Alphonse looked up at Riza and Jean before getting up to follow the butler. Riza gave the boys a reassuring smile and gently squeezed Alphonse's hand. Jean punched Edward playfully on the shoulder and told him to 'go on and have fun', grinning at the two. The boys nodded and reluctantly followed the butler out of the room. Sure, they were excited to have been adopted, but they were scared to be leaving the people they had known for most of their lives.
Bradley smiled as he watched the boys leave, shoulders slumped slightly. They looked like strong boys, they'd get over it, he'd make sure of that. He returned his gaze back to the two social workers. One quick interview and that was it. They'd probably come back to check up on how they were getting on, but he wasn't worried about that. He just needed to make a good impression now...
xxx
"Well, I hope that's everything cleared up."
Bradley smiled friendlily at the two and stood up to see them off. He felt his bones crack as he did so and clenched his teeth, his limbs were stiff from sitting for so long, a painful reminder that his body was growing old. The interview had run on later than he had hoped, but it was finally done.
"Yes. That's everything." Havoc replied, standing up as well while Riza gathered the papers. "It was nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll be a great father to these boys." He offered his hand out for Bradley to shake.
"Thank you. It's been so lonely since my wifepassed. It'll be nice to have someone in the house again.."
Bradley reached out and took Havoc's hand, shaking it heartily before doing the same for Riza.
"I hope you don't mind, but we'll be checking back in a month to see how things are going." Riza stated, stifling a yawn.
"Yes, I know, that's fine. I'm sure the boys will be glad to see you then." Bradley moved towards the door, this had taken far too long, he had business to see too and these people didn't seem to want to leave.
When they reached the front door, Riza turned around.
"Do you mind if we say goodbye to the Elrics. We've spent a lot of time with them, I'm sure they'll want to say their farewells."
Bradley cursed inwardly, damn woman, but he smiled to her and stepped towards the stairs.
"Sure, that's no problem. I'll just go up and get them now, so wait here."
Riza nodded and stood at the door with Havoc, waiting for Bradley to come back down. She could tell by the way Havoc was impatiently tapping his feet that he desperately needed a cigarette. She imagined him cursing her for being so thorough in the meeting and chuckled to herself. Just because he was a slob, didn't mean she couldn't do the job properly.
Havoc's hand kept wandering to his pocket with the cigarettes in it. This had to be the longest he had ever gone without one and it was absolutely killing him. If he didn't get one soon, he would scream.
Soon enough, Bradley came back down the stairs and Riza frowned when she failed to see the boys with him. Before she could ask, Bradley was already explaining.
"Ah. They must have been so excited that they used up all their energy. Fast asleep, the little angels. I didn't want to wake them, they looked so peaceful. I'm sorry, but you'll see them soon, anyway, yes?"
"That's fine, yes, we'll see them soon. Tell them that, will you?" Though she was only a carer, Riza couldn't help but feel she had lost her sons. She had spent so much time with the Elric brothers, she would miss them deeply.
"Thanks see ya" Havoc said, waving slightly before near-dragging Riza out the door and towards the car. Her mouth opened to say goodbye but the door was slammed shut and she frowned again. He had seemed to be in a hurry to get rid of them.
She pushed Havoc away from her and walked towards the driver's seat, sighing when she saw Havoc light up the cigarette and take a deep drag, relieved to have finally got one.
"You know I'm not letting you smoke that in the car." She stated and he frowned miserably, before taking one final puff and stomping the butt out with his boot.
"Ah. C'mon, I was so good in there. I need another, please?" he whined, getting into the passenger seat while Riza rolled her eyes at his childish pleads. Didn't he know he was fighting a losing battle? There was no way in hell she would be stuck in a smoke filled car.
Ignoring Havoc's pleas, Riza took one last look at the mansion and started the car. She hoped the Elric brothers would be okay, there was something about that man which gave her a bad feeling.
xxx
One olive coloured eye watched from the window as the car drove down the driveway and out of sight. He smiled and let the curtain drop back down from where he had been holding it out of the way. They had stayed for so long that it had irritated him. That woman even more so than the man; he could tell the man had been itching to leave the whole night, but the woman had been so damn thorough and nosey.
It didn't matter, though. They were gone now. Bradley made his way up the stairs to the boys' room, they had been sitting playing with some toy cars when he had gone up last, not sleeping. They still were now; he could see them through the crack in the partially open door. Their big grins as they raced the toys up and down the room. Bradley wondered how long those smiles would last as he stepped into the room, turning out the light in the process so that only the dim light from the lamps remained. The boys looked up at him in surprise, why would he turn out the light on them?
"Well," Bradley said, closing the door behind him. "Now that they're finally gone, let's get things straight."
A sinister smirk appeared on his face and a glint of something neither boy recognised, but both knew couldn't bode well, shined through in his eye as Bradley stepped forward into the darkened room.
