Alphonse continued to lean on the back wall, the cold from it seeping into his shirt and his feet were starting to feel like blocks of ice. He resisted the urge to swap from foot to foot and held himself as solid and still as a statue; he was soon to be an ice sculpture if he didn't get back under the blanket soon.
The sound of voice murmuring slightly and then the sound of keys sliding into the lock.
A guard shifted himself in first, he was a broad man (all of his bulk muscles rather then fat) so he struggled to ease himself past the bed Al peered forward trying to get a glimpse of his new room mate.
The guard glanced at him and conversed with the others in their alien native tongue. Their skin was extremely pale paler then anybody in state had every had, they always had eerie blue eyes and deep brown hair as well. The vast majority tattooed a symbol under their eyes in blue ink. Watching them walked around was like watching a sprit summoning, if anything could have happened.
Then they spoke in Alphonse's native language, their heavy accent oozing over the words making him gag. "He is a feisty one. You should do well to keep an eye on him." Another guard laughed and told him, they hoped that he and Nii san got on well. Al didn't understand, he thought Nii san sounded more like one of their words then a name and watched the laughing guards leave.
The door was slammed shut with unnecessary force Al winced knowing the clang would have woken someone up. A few shouted profanities confirmed that thought. He stood in the same spot for a few more minutes, intending to ignore the new comer. Now the guards had gone it was like they hadn't even been, aside from the light breathing from the bed. He hopped onto one foot then swapped, shifted and ran to the bed. He jumped in the opposite end to the other boy slipped himself under the duvet, still partially dressed.
Once warm and cosy thanks to the body heat he now shared with the other boy, he took his courage to look at the other boy.
Golden hair, young face, too small, long hair. Al froze again. He had grown a little but not much, he looked healthy, if the slimness was his natural psyche, but a little tired, a hint of an adults face had started to appear under the face he knew.
He mouthed the name softly, and then his title "Edward? Brother?" he sat for another moment, and then let out a banshee shriek and dived for the boy. He shook him violently, gripping him hard enough to leave bruises he even hit him across the face at some point but he didn't wake up. He calmed slightly and saw a pin prick in the boy's neck.
Edward was in a drugged sleep. Al heard a few voices telling him to shut the fuck up. and He pressed his lips together a fought the urge to cry, he was no coward he would not cry over this. He put his hand over his eyes, grabbed a little of his hair and pulled in an attempt to distract himself. The tears didn't spill. He removed his hands to poke Edward's nose like a child. And then realised how idiotic he looked and fell back down and burrowed under covers.
His dreams filled of the day their mother exploded in the kitchen and the day Edward turned away. Those boys weren't Ed or brother, they were Edward.
He woke to a hairy guard shouting at him the door was flung wide open and he was forced to change underneath the blankets. The guard heaved him out of the cell and he was sent to the dinner hall. Where breakfast, which was always a Victorian-esque gruel like porridge. There was nothing added to it, because that cost money but it was made with milk which added some flavour. Al allowed a sardonic smile to cross his lips, Ed would really love this milk and oats for breakfast and they were punished for not eating.
Each level ate at a time so by the time the top level, ten floors up, it was almost time for dinner and they had to work until it was time for them to eat, making Al glad for a cold bottom floor room.
They worked here, did basic chores or simple jobs. They weren't let near anything sharp which made life hard work for the cooks. The guards ate separately so there would be no attempted poisonings.
Al was currently a dishwasher. One of the easiest jobs he had ever done the worst two being made to push a flour grinder, shortly after his arrival aged eleven and ¾ when he was in the old renkinjutsu (the guards were trying to save money). And being made to give food to the solitary confinement people. He had got unlucky as a slightly deranged boy had been in confinement while he doing his duty there and was chained to the wall so he had to literally hand feed the boy and the boy showed his gratitude by spitting into his face and trying to bite his hands. A bitter part of him was glad when the boy was shot. The rest was shocked at that part of his nature.
He ate slowly until a guard barked at him to get a move on. He sped up slightly but was genuinely struggling to get the stuff down his throat. A tall dark haired boy who looked like he had never had a decent meal landed besides him.
"Alphonse, I saw your room mate. Long hair bad idea, there's that lot who are just" he whistled at the end of his sentence. Al balked slightly, he didn't really want to know.
Now while it was a fact, that while, the teenage boys were kept away from female company. A few of the older ones would often do things to each other. He didn't want to hear about it over breakfast, or any other time to be honest.
"Shut up Michel."
The boy growled in irritation, he didn't take kindly to being bossed around by someone two years younger then him. "Fine, I'm just telling you, your son of bastard mate Russell is in solitary again, for pestering the guards about his lil bro'." The boy laughed. "Should have seen it kid. He really screamed this time, I reckon they kicked his balls." Al clenched and automatically shielded himself, he really hated this boy he didn't know how Russell could spend the night in the same room, but then he was in the same situation now. He downed the rest of his food as quickly as he could to get away from him and left, feeling sick and covering himself with one hand. He received a backhand across the face for being late to the kitchens he almost passed out with the force she hit with.
"Sorry, that was a little harder then I intended it to be." He looked up a woman with cool brown eyes and lightly tanned skin her blonde hair in a clip at the back of her head, clearly from the state. He felt like screaming and running away, but that would be pathetic. A guard from the state didn't see that a lot. And a guard who apologised, well that just never happened. She clearly realised that and lifted him onto his feet and shouted at him to start on his sink he began to work quickly the others around him gathered the bowls he put to dry and threw the porridge substance into them which looked increasingly like sick. He learnt the female guard's name; it was her first day after one of the guards came down with a case of sudden death Riza Hawkeye and how apt her surname was she seemed to notice every misbehaviour.
Edward slept from 6-8 in the morning in narcotic haze while Al had eaten and begun work, he spent until half nine throwing up into a bucket and until ten having a shower with a gun placed by his head and a slowly fading headache. Still a little out of it, still feeling half asleep and occasionally walking into walls, he was dragged to the kitchen he was to take of Russell's job while he was in confinement.
A/N:Review if I should keep this up
A/N2: I am very shocked people read this (and am now also worried I'll disappoint) because it seemed like weird idea people would just dismiss as mental. Btw about the brief kinda yaoi mention, this isn't going to be a yaoi story I just thought, in terms of kinda realism. That, that many teenage boys all crammed up together, odds are (like in prisons) some are that way and some are just...experimenting. So for those who don't really like yaoi it's not happening and won't really be mentioned. Just so everybody knows. And for those who do like yaoi I guess...fanfic fanfiction? *(as if you care at all XP)
Something to note: Like I hope you can tell in this chap 'They' aren't japanese, they speak it and use Kana and Kanji ect but that's the only thing about them that's based on the japanese.