Chapter 2 : House Rules
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"I swear, Roy, you'll be the death of me..."
A half drunken cup of coffee sat abandoned on the outdoor table of the small café, threatening to go cold in the morning air. A dark haired man in a police uniform (save for the jacket and hat which lay over the back of his chair) sat with one leg resting atop the other, seeming to have forgotten about his morning coffee.
His dark eyes were more focussed on a small fragment of metal in his hands, turned it over and over with his fingers, studying the thing. It appeared to be made out of bronze, but it was lightweight and had obviously been broken off something. There was part of a design on it; a snake, with a tiny red ruby for an eye, appeared to be eating it's or another's tail, it was hard to tell as the rest had been broken off.
The man's eyes hardened and he squeezed the thing in his hand, running his other hand through his already messy black hair. He let out a sigh and raised his head to look up at the sky which was already beginning to darken with dreary grey clouds. Something stung the back of his eyes and he shut them tightly letting his words escape his mouth in a breath. "I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
The man jumped a little, startled at the woman's voice coming from behind him. He turned around swiftly to see a brunette in a police uniform frowning at him.
"Rebecca..." there was a hint of annoyance in the man's voice as he turned back around in his chair and motioned for her to sit down. The hand that clutched the piece of metal opened a little as he did so and the woman caught a glimpse of the sunlight reflecting off it. She narrowed her eyes and her frown deepened as she realised what it must be.
"Don't tell me you've still got that thing, Roy. Are you still blaming yourself for what happened? It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have done anything. It's been two months...Hughes wouldn't have wanted you to-"
"Shut up!" A few people looked up at Roy's sudden outburst, but they soon returned to their business when they seen the anger in his eyes. "You don't know a thing; not about Hughes, not about that night, nothing! So stop telling me that it wasn't my fault when I know it was!"
With that, Roy grabbed his jacket and hat and stormed away from the table, leaving Rebecca alone with a startled expression on her face. It took her a few moments to recover, but when she did, she jumped off her own seat and swiftly followed the man.
"Roy..!"
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A line of sunlight streamed through the semi-open curtain and the morning songs of the birds could be heard from outside. The two boys lay atop Ed's bed in a darkened part of the room, holding tightly to each other. The only sound coming from them was their soft breathing.
Ed's golden eyes cracked open a bit as he heard his brother emit a soft whimper and felt him move around a bit, clutching to Ed's shirt as if afraid to let go, even in his sleep. Wrapping his arms tighter around his brother in a small hug, Ed rested his chin on Al's head and murmured softly to him. "It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright. Don't worry, it'll be alright..."
His voice broke and already red and puffy eyes began to water. He squeezed them tightly shut, tears rolling down his cheeks. How could he comfort his brother with something that he didn't even believe himself? How could he lie like this?
A replay of the night before flashed in his head and he clutched even tighter to his brother, trying to cover his worry and fear with the pain of his bruised body.
Bradley took a step into the darkened room and both boys immediately dropped their toys and huddled closer to each other. The malicious glint in his eye and the cruel smirk on his face were completely different from the smiles and friendly aura he had exuded when they had met him with Riza and Havoc. And though he had not made his intentions known yet, each boy felt a small shiver run down his spine as Bradley towered over them, hands clasped behind his back. He moved over to the lamps in the room and turned them out, so that only the light streaming in the door from the hall remained and the boys were left in Bradley's shadow.
Edward narrowed his eyes and moved protectively in front of his brother, mustering up the best brave face he could and staring Bradley right in the eye. This defiance only made Bradley's smirk wider, at least the boy showed to have some guts, exactly what he wanted.
"Now, now, boys, there's no need to act so nervous around your new 'father'. I only came in here to make sure you would understand the rules of the house. And the consequences if these rules are broken."
Edward swallowed a little and felt Alphonse squeeze his hand softly, somehow, despite what he had said, Bradley still managed to make him tremble. There was an underlying tone in Bradley's voice, a hint of warning, of authority. And Edward had a feeling that these 'rules' might prove to be unreasonable and strict and the consequences would be more than a time-out. Unfortunately, Bradley soon proved him right.
"The first one, and most important, is that I am the 'boss' here. Whatever I say, no matter how unreasonable you may think it, goes. You will treat me with respect and do what I tell you. The second, you are not allowed outside of this house, do you get that? There is nothing for you outside, and I don't want you running around to be seen by anyone. I will, of course, lock the doors if ever I have to leave the house and the guards are there, I will know if you go out. Third: while you are here, you will do work around the house; it'll get some muscle into those scrawny frames and will make things much easier for you later on."
Bradley narrowed his eye at the two brothers, the confusion was clear on their faces, sure they could do housework, and they already knew to respect their elders, but they weren't allowed outside? And what did Bradley mean, 'it would make it easier for them later on'? Ed also wanted to know why Havoc and Riza had left them here without saying goodbye; Bradley seemed to have read his mind as he continued, taking advantage of the boys' naivety.
"And don't try calling your two carers, they didn't even leave a number for you. They seemed happy to have gotten rid of you, they were eager to leave. They never cared for either of you. 'Good riddance'."
Edward's face and heart dropped when he heard this. They had really wanted to get rid of them? They were glad to not have to look after him or his brother anymore? But he had liked them, they had been nice. Had it all been just a front, like Bradley? Had they really been counting down the days until Ed and Al were adopted with an excitement akin to that of a child on the eve of his birthday?
Al seemed to be just as downhearted to hear that their carers hadn't actually cared about them at all, he clutched Ed's hand tighter and hot tears formed at the corners of his eyes. Ed could feel his own tears start to form as well and unfortunately, Bradley noticed this and the comforting squeeze Ed gave his brother back. He stepped forward quickly and grabbed Edward's wrist with such force that it made him drop his brother's hand. Bradley threw Edward to the floor again and stood over him.
"And I will not tolerate such childish behaviour. You are too old to be crying over such a trivial thing! You are both old enough to be able to take care of yourselves without having to hold each other's hand! I don't want to see you holding hands or 'comforting' each other. You have to be strong; don't baby each other!"
He landed a kick to Ed's stomach as if to further what he said and Ed groaned in pain. Al rushed over to his brother but was knocked backwards as Bradley's arm connected with his own stomach. Bradley kicked Ed again and then grabbed him and lifted him up by his already bruised arm, making the boy stand up. Once he seemed steady enough, Bradley whipped his hand across Ed's face, knocking him to the floor again, while Al looked on afraid. His own stomach hurt from the force Bradley had knocked him backwards and he just sat with his back against the bed, watching with his mouth agape as Bradley kicked Ed once more before standing back.
"I don't think I need to explain what any punishment I deal will be like, this demonstrated it perfectly. You will not act like little children in front of me. Count this as a warning, next time, I won't hold myself back."
He then turned his attention to Al, one good eye narrowed dangerously. "And you will both learn independence! You must fight your own battles!"
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the door and leaving the two in darkness, tears streaming down their faces. They felt so alone.
Edward pulled his little brother closer into a tighter hug and Al's eyes opened a bit. "Brother..?" Ed just smiled softly and Al clutched him tighter, burying his head into Ed's shirt. Ed laid his hand on Al's head and gently stroked his hair, trying to comfort his brother.
His eyes widened as the door banged open and Bradley's somewhat amused yet angered voice rang out.
"Perhaps I was not clear enough about this last night."
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Riza hurried down the street past the crowds of people going about their business. She had just received a call from her office; Bradley had been ringing requesting a meeting later that morning. Havoc had gotten the call as well, of course, Bradley wanted to talk to them both about the Elric brothers. But what could be so urgent that he had wanted a meeting so soon? Had something happened to one of them? Worry gnawed away at her as she ran through different possibilities of what could have happened to the two boys as she made her way towards her office, not really paying attention to where she was going.
Unfortunately, the man who banged into her hadn't been paying attention to where he was going either, resulting in both of them landing on the ground. The man cursed under his breath and picked himself up, brushing himself off. He only seemed to notice Riza sitting on the ground after he had gotten up and he blushed, offering her a hand.
"I-I'm sorry, should've been watching where I was going, are you okay?"
Riza gratefully accepted his hand and he helped her get up. She realised that he was a policeman as she caught a look at his uniform; trust her to knock a policeman to the ground.
"It's okay, it was my fault really, I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry." she said politely, bowing her head at him.
The man let out a chuckle and let go of her hand. "I guess we're both to blame, then. Name's Roy. Roy Mustang. I hope I didn't hurt you?"
Riza let out a small chuckle herself, he seemed friendly enough, but she really had to go. "No, you didn't, I'm fine, thanks. I'm Riza Hawkeye. I'm sorry, but I have to get to work now. It was nice to meet you, though."
"And you." Roy smiled. "I should let you get going then, sorry." He nodded pleasantly at her and walked off a bit, picking his hat off the ground and continuing on his way.
Riza watched him for a while but shook her head and took a step forward. Something glinted on the ground and she looked down, noticing a small piece of metal lying just in front of her. The man must have dropped it when he fell. She stepped towards it and bent down to pick it up, studying it with her amber eyes. A bronze carving snake with a ruby eye biting a tail? It looked to be broken, but she pocketed it anyway. She could leave it into the police station later on, in case the man had needed it.
For now, she had too much on her mind. What could Bradley want that it couldn't wait?
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Right, so it's short and probably not all that good, but there are some important things in it? I was considering making it longer, but I've got a set plan for each chapter and I didn't want to pull stuff from the next one...
No matter which world he's in, to me, Bradley will always be Wrath XD
Not much may have happened, but next chapter should be slightly longer ( hopefully ) .
Anyway, enjoy! ~