Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the two characters I torture for my own enjoyment.

Chapter two: The Elric Brothers

I don't know what just happened except that Alphonse Elric was looking directly at us in the middle of an alley. An alley that appears to be a spot for cats to roam…that would mean the orange kitten was a stray.

I must have been thinking too deep because Alphonse was giving a fearful look towards my direction with his shoulders raised. "U-umm…excuse me miss? Why are you staring at me like that? Is this your kitten? I'm sorry I will return her right away!"

I tried to soften my expression, but I could feel my face twitch from the shock. "N-no that's not my kitten."

Alphonse slowly sank his shoulders back down as he sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness…I-I mean no I don't mean it like that it's just!…"

His armored body started to turn in multiple directions in a worrisome pattern. It was then I just remembered I didn't come here alone.

"H-hey you! Where the hell are we?!"

Alphonse stopped turning and stared at Tech with a confused expression. "What?"

He finally released his grip on my arm. Damn him, now it's sore! I was rubbing the sore spot until he quickly stood up and yanked my wrist along with him. "Do you have some sick pleasure in hurting me or something?! I'm not a doll I can get up myself!"

I was ignored and Tech was glaring daggers at Alphonse. Poor Alphonse… he has to stand face to face with a thoughtless moron. "Excuse me mister are you alright?"

Tech's hand showed no mercy to my wrist. "The hell I'm alright! That light came out of that book with your picture on it! You did something to me!"

Now Alphonse shouted back, puzzled by Tech's sudden outburst. "What are you talking about?! What light?!"

"Don't be stupid! That light that brought me and this thing here!"

With that, I swiftly lifted my left foot and directed it at his right shin. His hands quickly wrapped around the new bruise I gave him, giving me the time to rub the new sore spot he gave me.

Alphonse's sweat drop expressed his confusion. "Who are you guys?"

I gave an apologetic bow to Alphonse and ignored the colorful vocabulary of the boy hopping on one leg. "I'm sorry about that sir, my name is Mel and the idiot on my left is Tech. We just happened to end up in this alley and lost our way. If it's too much trouble can you help us?"

Alphonse gave a beam of kindness and an armored smile. "Sure I don't mind! By the way my name is Alphonse Elric. It's nice to meet you Mel."

I slowly approached Alphonse and extended my arm for a handshake. During our shake Alphonse raised his head with multiple question marks. "So is your friend going to come along or is he going to continue to give us that glare."

I curved my lips into a genuine smile. "I don't consider him as a friend. He's more like a nuisance I have to bring along."

Alphonse added additional question marks while rubbing the back of his head. "I see. If you guys don't have a place to go, I'll ask my brother if you guys can stay with us at Central until the rain stops."

I gave a thankful nod and grabbed the overdramatic boy by his arm. "We are going to a dry place and if you argue with me please enjoy your time in the rain alone."

Tech was being cooperative at the words "dry place" and didn't complain the whole time we were walking with Alphonse. I was happy with this arrangement, this should happen more often. The rain was pouring down at a consistent rate and it felt nice despite not being dressed in the right season. In the middle of our walk, we were reminded that Alphonse hid the tiny kitten into a convenient space inside his armor during the moment I grabbed Tech's arm in the alley. He also emphasized that both of us should not tell his brother about it. I promised not to tell and purposely overlooked Alphonse's gestures when he told both of us about how he hid the kitten. After the reminder, all three of us continued walking until we were walking alongside a huge gray wall.

"Brother! I'm sorry I'm late!"

We were several feet away from a blond boy dressed in red and black, glaring at the huge gate in front of him. I followed his glare and I saw this huge building that contrasted with the sky's color. I ran along with Alphonse dragging Tech along with me. The blond "badass" turned his head at Alphonse and gave a wave of acknowledgement until he shifted his gaze at Tech and me.

"Al…..who are these people? I said you couldn't keep cats, but that doesn't mean you can bring people either."

Tech, whose hair looked like a brown mop from the rainwater, gave several blinks until he burst into laughter while clutching his stomach. "Ha! This is the blond "badass"!? What the hell?! He's just this small kid!"

The blond "badass" aka. Edward Elric gritted his teeth and fists. "Who are you calling a midget who can't be seen without a magnifying glass?!"

Well Tech is about 5'7 and I'm about 5'4 so Edward is literally shorter than us. I had no room for argument there even though Tech was going overboard. Tech's confidence was rising at the sight of Edward as well as his laughter. "Well excuse me little boy, I don't have a magnifying glass. I have a lollipop instead! You can have one!"

Alphonse was about to stop Edward until I grabbed his hand. I gave a shake of my head while Alphonse gave a worried glance at the two bickering boys.

"I'll teach you who's little!"

Edward lifted his automail leg and planted his boot to Tech's face in a quick motion. I brought out my right hand and gave a thumbs up to the Fullmetal alchemist. "Nice one!"

Edward was huffing out his frustration while giving me a glare. "Who the hell is this bastard?"

Said bastard was kissing the floor. "He is just someone who deserved it. Judging by the way Alphonse called you out, I assume you're his brother?"

The alchemist's rage was all out of his system and he calmed down. He gave a trademark smile and placed both of his hands on his hips. "Yep that's me, Edward Elric."

I smiled at the boy's confidant introductory. "Nice to meet you Edward, my name is Mel and the "bastard" is Tech. Thanks for giving him the boot to the face for me. Even if this still happened, will it be alright if we can stay indoors until the rain stops?"

Edward's smile formed into a heated scowl. "I don't know, I would have to ask the Colonel." I swore I heard bastard after he said Colonel. "You can come in but he has to stay out!"

Alphonse spoke out using a persuading tone. "Brother! We shouldn't leave him out here! He will catch a cold! You wouldn't want that right?"

Edward scratched his chin and closed his golden eyes until he stopped and crossed his arms against his chest. "Fine! He can come in too…but he better shut his mouth."

I gave a grateful bow and tapped Tech in the stomach with my foot. "Hey boy wonder, get up we're going in."

Tech gave a groan and clutched the gate bars to stand up. His face had a beautiful shoeprint pattern from his forehead to his chin. "You know, I like this look on you. Makes me appreciate your face more."

His face heated up making the pink shoeprint glow red. "S-shut up! When you did ever appreciate me?!"

I stifled a small giggle. "You should really learn how to read sarcasm. Girls must compliment and worship you all the time. Is a compliment coming from a "non-human" being so effective on you?"

Tech gave a stuttered incoherent reply and fisted his hands at his sides. Alphonse and Edward made a little sound with their throats and both Tech and I turned our heads toward them.

"Sorry for interrupting but at this rate we would be staying out in the rain all day. Let's go see the Colonel so you both can rest up, follow us!"

The two brothers walked through the now opened gate towards the big flight of stairs to the intimidating doors. Tech and I cautiously followed, taking in the scenery before us. Taking a secretive glance at Tech during our walk, I saw his face cool down from the rain and his eyes absorbing the scenery with fascination.

It's nice that he became quiet again…but…I still don't get why we both ended up here. It was a coincidence that we met up with characters that I already knew but something in my mind was making me nervous. What are we going to do after the rain stops?

A/N: I wasn't confident with my old stories so I deleted them and wanted to start fresh along with the new username. So yep, I just wanted to tell my good friend after a long absence. Thank you all for reading!