Chapter II Obsession

It had been a few months since the incident at lab five, and much to his confusion Roy found he could not erase the events of that day from his mind. Everyday he would sit at his desk and contemplate the image of those boys. Every night he dreamt the scene over and over in his head. The vision of that small child cradling the corpse of his fallen brother, desperately calling out to him in the hopes of him waking up, haunted his sleep deprived mind.

Every second he relived the moment when black met silver.

The General sighed deeply, running a shaking hand through his raven hair. He needed to stop letting this get to him. He did not even know those boys names. They were criminals; they did not only break the laws of the state, but the very law of nature itself. Human transmutation was forbidden for a reason. By every right the man knew he should not give a damn what the hell happened that afternoon. It was just another day at work. It was part of his job.

Roy placed his forehead to the cold glass of his office window, watching the birds flutter in the trees outside. The transmutation had been a success. The boy with the sliver eyes was definitely the product. Why and how the other one had manage to create such a being using alchemy that was far more advanced than even the top scientists here at central, was unknown. The kid was obviously a genius, and would have made an excellent state alchemist. His only mistake was getting caught.

After an extensive autopsy, the boys were kept in storage under central command, where bodies of unnamed soldiers were stored. He did not even know their names. Hughes told him this morning that a family from the east was coming down to identify them today. They had heard the news on the radio and reported that they were missing two blonde haired boys. Two? The general supposed that perhaps these people were mistaken and these boys weren't theirs.

He sincerely hoped so.

"Sir?" a voice spoke from the door behind him, and Roy turned to meet the gaze of his right hand "woman" and wife of two years. Lieutenant Riza "Hawkeye" Mustang entered cautiously staring at her husband. He could not look into her eyes. He did not think he could ever again. "Sir…Lt. Colonel Hughes says that the family that called yesterday is here." She glanced to the side as he felt a foreboding feeling constricting his chest. "They have confirmed the boys identities."

Riza then handed him a small manila envelope and motioned for him to open it. He swore his heart leapt into his throat when his eyes met silver one more time. On the page in front of him was a photo of the two children from lab five.

They were much younger in this image and both had wide smiles on their faces as they held up a large trout they had obviously caught from the stream that was painted behind them. The boy to the right sat on the ground looking up at the other in excitement. His glittering hazel eyes shining in pride towards his now apparent older brother, the brother in question wore a large grin plastered on his face and had one hand on the younger boy's shoulders, the other firmly gripping the massive fish.

Roy had been unable to see this boy clearly enough back in the dark lab. His eyes had been closed and his face plastered in blood and the General had never much liked to stare at dead bodies. But if he though the younger boys enchanting sliver eyes had paralyzed him, nothing would have prepared him for the startling golden eyes that stared at him from under the elder child's mop of blonde bangs. He had never seen golden eyes before in his life.

It was then that a strange thought occurred to Roy.

The younger boy was like the moon and stars.

The older was the sun.

With that revelation Roy felt his chest constrict again with this unidentified emotion.

"Their names are Edouard and Alphonse Elric." His wife spoke seriously, pointing first to the golden-eyed boy then to the silver. "Their mother died a few years ago and their father is no where to be seen. They have been living with their relatives, the Rockbells, until a few months ago when they left their east village of Resembul. Their family has been looking for them since."

At this Riza motioned to the doorway. "They are downstairs in the waiting room. They wish to speak with you."

He shut the folder, and followed her out.

When they entered the waiting room Roy saw two women sitting on one of the couches. Well, one elderly lady and a tall blonde girl who look no older than sixteen. Riza closed the door behind and, introduced them. "Ms. Rockbell, Miss Winry this is General Roy Mustang head of central command, Sir they are Pinako and Winry Rockbell the boys' relatives."

Before the general could reply a loud crash was heard as a nearby stool landed beside him, narrowly missing his head. He turned to meet the murderous glare of a young Winry Rockbell.

"You bastard! It's not enough that this damn military and all these wars caused the death of my parents…but you took Ed and Al away too!"

"Winry calm down." Pinako said gently placing a hand on her granddaughters arm as the girl had reached for a vase on the table beside her. "b- but grandma…Ed and Al are…they're…" Winry collapsed to her knees crying and Roy was not sure of what to do. Pinako Rockbell shot him a glare and Riza led him away.

"I disserved that girl's wrath…" He told his wife. She did not answer as they walked out of central command. "I took away her family…I killed a child."

He shuddered at that thought but that was what troubled him, right? Surely he had killed before, but men who had already lived their lives. Not a child who barely had begun his.

"I often wonder if I would make a good parent. If I could raise children like those boys."

He sighed as they walked towards their car.

"I often wonder the same thing."

Roy turned to Riza with a surprised face, but she was already stalking off to the vehicle.

What had she meant by that?

Had she wondered if she could be a good parent? Or he?

"Are you coming sir?"

He stared at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever known and he had loved her since he met her. Maybe even before that, but it took him so many years to realize it. He knew the loss of the baby after they had tried so hard to have one, affected her badly, no matter how she acted. He could tell. And he often wondered if she blamed him for it.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Sir?"

Roy stirred from his thoughts. "Oh? I'm sorry…no I think I'll walk. You go on ahead."

Riza nodded and turned away.

"Riza."

She stopped but did not face him. "Yes?"

He hesitated "I…nothing never mind."

Honestly he was such a coward.

Roy walked down the streets that lined the route to his large mostly uninhabited house. It was dark and the local derelicts sat on the corners begging for food and loose change. As a member of the Amestrian military he should have been chasing them off the streets and cuffing them back to HQ. But the General did no such thing. It was not their fault that they were poor and homeless. He had joined the army to help people, and although he seemed lately to be doing quite the opposite he thought he could at least partially atone by helping these people to the best of his ability.

A small girl of around six or seven stood on the corner a block away from his home. She turned to him with a toothless grin, brown pigtails failing about and she raised a small mug in her hand.

"A sen for a poor girl and her Mum sir." She said stepping up to him.

He immediately dug into his pockets and pulled out a few sens to place in her cup. She giggled slightly and too placed her hand into her worn out pockets.

Out of them she pulled out a small antique mirror and positioned it in his hand.

"There you go mister. For a kind man like you." She smiled brightly. "I hope it serves you well."

Roy stared at the object in his hand. It was beautiful and glittering. It seemed almost impossible for a girl in such a situation to own such a thing. If so it must have been an heirloom of sorts.

"I'm sorry but I can't take—"

The girl was gone.

Shrugging, much too tired to contemplate how such a small child had disappeared so fast. Roy glanced at the shining mirror before shoving it into his pocket and continuing on his way.

Perhaps he would give it to Riza…