Fandom:Fullmetal Alchemist
Title: After School Special
Pairing: RoyxEd overall; will also include mentions of MaesxRoy and hints of JeanxRoy as well
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Timeline: Present AU
Summary: Principal Roy Mustang finds himself strangely drawn to the school's newest student, a quiet social outcast with a metal arm and leg...
AN: Last time- Distraught over Jean Havoc's threatening suggestions, Ed runs away in an effort to protect Roy...


After School Special

Chapter 7

"Homecoming"




"So how long will it take you to get there?"

After spending a long, restless night at Winry's house, Ed stood with his best friend inside of a bus terminal which bore a familiar canine logo, amid other travelers coming from and going to a variety of locations across the country. Ed had a small bag filled with a change of clothing strapped to his back; he left the rest of his things at Winry's. He hadn't wanted to take them- he didn't even want to look at them- because it hurt him to do so.

He stared down at the ticket, calculating his travel time.

"About ten hours," he said.

Winry Rockbell gazed down at her friend with open concern. "Ed, are you sure about this?"

The young man sighed sadly. "This is something I needed to do anyway. May as well do it now."

"What about school?" she countered.

Ed winced slightly at the word; the mere mention of it brought him to mind.

"I don't know," he said softly. "And to tell you the truth, right now, I don't care. I just can't go back there."

"Ed-"

"Thank you for the money," Ed interrupted her, not wanting to talk about the matter further. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

The young blond shook her head. "You know I don't care about that. I just want you to be careful."

"I'll be alright," he said, not too convincingly.

Ed turned away from her painfully maternal gaze and stared out of the window, watching for his bus. Winry watched him eagerly, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly as she struggled with the things she wanted to say.

"You look like a fish," Ed said quietly.

Winry beamed. It wasn't much of the Ed she knew so well, but she would take it. "Big words coming from a shrimp," she joked back.

A small, sad smile breached Ed's lips. Still looking out of the window, Ed held out his hand to his friend.

They stood together, hand in hand, until the loud rumbling of an approachingbus alerted them that it was time. Winry took no measures to hide the tears that fell from her large, blue eyes.She grabbed Ed in a tight embrace.

"Call me as soon as you get settled. I mean it."

"I will," he promised. He pulled away and looked up into her eyes.

They had met only a month ago, on a cool, dark night when Izumi's fists had been particularly brutal and Ed left the house to escape her wrath. When he happened upon an old, broken down car and a distraught young woman, the mechanically uninclined teenager could only offer to walk her home, knowing that he could rely on his automail to protect her in a worst case scenario... and not for the first time wondering to himself why he had never bothered using that same automail to protect himself. He reluctantly accepted her offer for a soda and four hours later left her house, having made one of the few, true friends he would ever have in his life.

"I'll be alright, Winry," he said, more convincingly this time, not wanting to worry her.

She smiled through her tears and bonked him on the head."You better be... Squirt."


He waved goodbye to her from a window seat of the bus until it backed out of its spot and pulled away.

As the bus began to make its long journey to various destinations, Ed Elric rested his head against the back of his seat and closed his eyes.

I'll be alright...

It was a lie of course. Ed had no idea on earth what the next twenty four hours would bring, let alone if he would be alright. All he could do was hope...

... and think about Roy. A wave of heartache spread throughout his chest as he wondered what the man was doing at that exact moment.

Ed pushed him from his mind, as far as he would go. Focusing instead on his destination, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his well-worn, well-used wallet. Opening it, he snuck his fingers into a secret compartment, one he hadn't touched in almost two years. He fished out a folded piece of paper and opened it, reading the address he had neatly scribed when he was sixteen.

10310 Central Terrace.

It was an address he was never sure that he had wanted and, when he received it, one that he was never sure he would use. And even though he had written it down, it was one that he had never forgotten.

Ed turned to look at the passing buildings as the bus sped away from his current life and into an unknown future.


Roy Mustang had spent his entire day in a haze.

He coasted his way through meetings, including a particularly crucial conference call with other area high school principals, contributing next to nothing; he even let classroom offenders off with a slap on the wrist that day, a far cry from the Principal Mustang whose reputation usually inspired fear in delinquent students.

Last night at midnight, he had finally broken down and gone to see Izumi and Sig, hoping and praying that Ed had made the terrible decision to return there. But he hadn't. He was so disappointed that he didn't even care about the smug look of victory on Sig's face as if Ed's leaving somehow vindicated him.

That evening, he returned home to the deafening silence of a house which, twice now, had become a haven of grief. He prepared himself a dinner he would not eat and sat down to watch a television show he would not recall. And just when he'd had enough and was ready to retire for another sleepless night, the phone rang…

Roy had considered letting it ring; he couldn't stomach the thought of having a conversation with anyone. But after a glance at the caller ID revealed the number he'd dare not hoped would call, he clicked the 'talk' button with shaking fingers and a thundering heartbeat.

"Hello?" Roy was amazed that he managed to sound so casual.

He was met with silence. He was about to open his mouth to repeat himself when he heard the faint sound of breathing into the phone.

Roy squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on the sound; his entire body resonated with sadness and longing and at that moment he would have given anything to be able to reach through the line and touch him.

They sat that way for a full minute; each listening to the other breathe. Then, when Roy could stand it no longer, he spoke up.

"Edward, just… just tell me that you're okay," he said gently.

He heard a long, shuddering sigh on the other end of the line and could tell the boy was trying valiantly not to break down.

"I'm okay, Roy," Ed said. He cleared his voice and repeated, "I'm okay."

"Edward…"

"I gotta go-" the boy's voice cracked before the connection was broken.

Roy waited for a very long time before hanging up the phone.

As he made his way up the stairs, a strange sense of calm began to come over him.

He was still sad, very much so. And he would be for a long time to come.

But for reasons he had yet to know, this was what Ed wanted. Roy doubted anything he said could have brought him back.

Ed wanted… to be somewhere else.

Away from him.

Roy thought that if he could just hold on to that knowledge, then maybe…

… he could begin to let him go.


Ed shoved the cell phone back into his pocket and leaned his arm against the door, closing his eyes and rubbing them with one hand.

"You alright there, kid?"

He opened his eyes and met the suspicious glance of the cab driver through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, thank you."

He turned away and peered out of the window at his surroundings. The neighborhood was impressive. Very impressive. Large homes lined both sides of the street and the landscaping, as much as he could tell in the night sky, was flawless.

"Here you go, 10310 Central Terrace."

The driver pulled alongside the curb and Ed paid him. He got out and stared at the huge house in front of him.

As the cab left, Ed began a slow, timid walk up the driveway, past two luxury cars parked side by side. In the distance, he heard a dog barking loudly.

A voice of warning cried in his head as he approached the door and Ed had to stop himself from turning around and running away. He actually might have, if he felt he had a home to return to.

No. This was all that was left to him now. He was hardly expecting a warm welcome; he just wanted one night. The least they owed him was that. And after that… well… he would worry about tomorrow when it came.

Ed stood at the door, hesitating, trying to think of every reason to avoid ringing the bell.

Fear and doubt began to overcome him and he took a step backward. And then another. His heart began to pound in his chest and he felt dizzy and lightheaded. He began to hyperventilate. This was a bad idea, showing up on the doorstep of people who had never wanted him to begin with…

Ed turned to walk away.

The door opened.

"Hi." The voice behind him was pleasant and inquisitive.

And young.

Ed stopped and turned aroud, his eyes widening in betrayed shock.

They... had... another...


The sweet and innocent face of a smiling young teenaged boy was the last thing he saw before the darkness.

"Mom!"

The young boy ran over to the fallen stranger who had passed out on their front steps.

"Mom!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. What's wr-"

The woman stepped out of the doorway and walked over to her son, staring with wide eyes at the body on the ground.

The young man was wearing a red coat which, in his fall, had been pushed back to reveal his arm…

… or at least, what would have been his arm.

She gasped aloud.

"Mom? What is it?"

"Go get your father," she said.

"But what-"

"Alphonse," she said gently but firmly. "Go get your father."

The young boy took one last look at the mysterious stranger before running into the house.

The woman hesitantly knelt down next to the boy on the ground, her face a whirlwind of shock, surprise... and regret.

"Oh… Edward," she whispered.

Trisha Elric looked down into the familiar face of her lost son as he laid there, for the moment, none the wiser.