A/N: NEW AU!

Thanks to my beta ClosetedOtakus24! Thanks for all your help! Enjoy all!

Maes rubbed the lenses of his glasses clean before putting them back on and opening the apartment door. Inside was his brother Roy, sitting over a pile of torn open letters.

"Every single application, rejected," Roy snarled without waiting for Maes to ask why he was so angry.

"All of them?" Maes found that hard to believe.

"Screw college!" Roy said throwing himself onto the couch. He closed his charcoal colored eyes and chuckled. "Guess foster kids like us don't get to be real people, ever."

"That's not true." Maes' green eyes darkened as he sat next to the other teen. "We just graduated. Maybe someone will be willing to offer us some other scholarships later." His usually exuberant voice was quiet, but hopeful.

"Do you hear yourself?!" Roy asked sitting up. He looked at him and shook his head vigorously, causing the black fringe of hair hanging in his eyes to sway side to side. "Without a scholarship or someone to pay for us, we aren't getting out of this place. Not in the least."

"If not college then we'll work."

"We already work Maes! We don't even have enough money to pay the rent this month."

"WHAT?!" Maes asked in shock.

"Yeah. When I got sick last week I was forced to go home for the night and the next morning that prick of a boss told me to stay away. Asshole doesn't want to get sick."

"So we're doomed," Maes said miserably.

Suddenly, Roy started laughing. First it was a mere, quiet chuckle, then, it became full out maniacal cackling. Maes stared at him, wondering if the other teen had finally lost his mind.

"Roy?"

"We're so SOL right now! I bet the military wouldn't even take us!"

"That's a great idea Roy!" Maes yelled jumping to his feet. "We'll become soldiers and when we've served our time we can go back to being average Joes."

"And how will that help us out?" Roy demanded.

"With a little rank and service on our resumes, we'd have no trouble with job hunting. Hey, bet we could get military scholarships if we tried."

Roy frowned in thought. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That useless brain of yours may have just had a decent idea for once," He said, opening his eyes. Maes grinned. No longer were his foster brother's eyes despodent, now they had the fire he was familiar with.

"We should go down to the recruiting office now."

"Too late, first thing tomorrow morning." Roy suggested.

"You'll sleep in!" Maes protested.

"I want to sleep one last morning away! We'll be up before dawn when we get shipped off to boot camp."

"Good point."

"That's why I'm the brains of this outfit." Roy boasted as he stood and headed to the kitchen. "FFYS on dinner."

"You suck! It's your turn to cook!" Maes exclaimed.

"Sorry." There was no sincerity with that apology. "I don't do the whole housewife thing."

"Men can cook too y'know. Famous chefs around Amestris consists of both men and women," Maes argued.

"I don't care," Roy responded while grabbing a box of cookies from the cabinet.

"Whatever you lazy SOB."

"HEY!"

"You know you are and so am I." Maes reminded him with a smirk.

The two had been stuck in a foster home together for the formative years of their lives. Instead of splitting when they were old enough, the two left the very nice couple they had lived with together.

Neither of them knew their real parents. Roy knew he'd been given up by a female companion who didn't have the time to waste on a child, and Maes was pretty sure his mother had dumped him off after deciding he was too much work.

The two fell upon the cookies as they shared a dry laugh.

"Remind me to put that on my next application," Roy said sarcastically. "I'm sure they'll LOVE IT!."

"With a note that says you totally don't give a crap?"

"Something like that," Roy said with a smirk.

They turned on the television, easily avoiding the news and flipping to some corny action film. "Do you believe that guy? He's starred as the same character for seven movies. You think he'd have died by now," Maes complained.

"Nah, jerks like him get to live forever as part of their punishment for never being nice," Roy said with a lazy wave of his hand. "It's like some action film rule that NO DIRECTOR dares to break."

The two were silent, then shared another laugh with each other.

On the far side of the same town, a blond man was busy watching a couple through binocluars from the roof of an empty parking garage. He didn't care for the pretty brunette clinging to the man's arm. The subject of his observation had long dark hair, a thin frame, and looked pathetically weak.

It was dark that night, with only a handful of streetlights glowing. The pre-autumn air was chilly, but not uncomfortable to the pair of shadowed figures barely silhouetted by the sliver moon hanging in the sky.

The man watching the couple knew otherwise. He turned to the blonde short haired teenager next to him. "Riza, hand me that rifle."

"Here you go dad," The girl handed him a shiny black sniper rifle [with an expensive scope] to the man.

"This one's in for a rude awakening."

"If the gilfriend doesn't get in the way we'll have a clean victory," Riza said, pulling her own rifle up. "Ready when you are."

"Target acquired." Berthold Hawkeye told his daughter. Simultaneously, they both readied their fingers on the triggers. They tensed, holding in their breaths. The two were completely focused on the targets.

Berthold let a small smile form on his lips. "Fire," He whispered as he squeezed the trigger. Riza followed suit waiting three seconds and firing exactly where she had been waiting for the target to fall.

The man they were targeting fell backwards as his head was pierced by the hollow tip round. The girl screamed and ran for it, probably certain that he was already dead.

Riza's shot came in his chest as he lay there. For a minute there was nothing but silence. Then, the body crackled with bright energy around the bullet wounds. After a few more seconds he was sitting up, rubbing his head.

"Again!" Berthold ordered.

"Yes sir," Riza said as she fired again. Her father joined her and the two took turns shooting the target.

They managed to empty both clips before the sirens blared in the distance. Berthold shouldered his rifle, grabbed Riza's hand, and took off towards the garage exit. They were far enough away for the authorities to take a while before they even thought to check the garage.

"Damn it." Riza'd been looking so forward to seeing that thing die for good.

"We'll take care of it," Her father assured her. "It will seek out young people."

"So watch for teens or young adults with absolutely no clear connections to anyone?" Riza asked.

"Yes, and for them in a group, maybe a roving gang or pair of good for nothing friends," Berthold added.

"I'll keep my eyes out," His daughter replied as they reached the bottom of the garage and turned onto the alleyway. Quietly they hurried down a few streets until they had a chance to place the guns in a large breifcase. Once their weapons were hidden they took to the open street, walking around the action as an ambulance came to a halt near the target.

"I do so hate to let a Homunculus go like this," Berthold murmured as he walked away from the action. He probably could have found a way to finish it off right then and there, but he dare not risk his daughter being caught.

The two vanished into a gathered crowd, weaving their way through the onlookers as they hurried away from the scene.