Well hi everyone! Well sorry for the late update, but it's faster than the last one right? I'm finally done with finals and everything! I'm not a junior! Yay me!

I have to thank someone! ike1440, for always helping me whenever I have a problem with the chapter and otherwise! Thanks for being a great beta and telling me when something is completely wacko(like that one story). Also if you're a Gargoyle fan check out a fic called Legacy!

Also just saying I do not own Full Metal Alchemist. If I did Ed would not be with Winry, Al would, and I'd be hugging all the free Ed, Al, and Envy plushies I would get! Haha!

Word Count: 8,493 without author's note

Date of Completion:June 23rd, 2010(at like 4:44 in the morning)

Also please look at the author's note at the bottom. It's rather important, kinda, maybe, yeah sorta. Please?


Aria walked along the street, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her system. Her blood felt like it was on fire, she wanted to punch something with all her might. Her anger was still there, but it was slowly fading. The anger in the young blonde was slowly being replaced with hurt. Edward's comment had bothered her.

"I WISH SHE DIDN'T TRAVEL WITH US. I WISH WE WOULD HAVE NEVER SAVED HER LIFE! I WISH SHE WAS DEAD! I'M GONNA KILL HER!"

The words echoed through her head over and over. The fight was nothing like they were normally. She could handle the normal fights, they were playful and entertaining. But this? This was hatred, pure hatred. She had just gotten so angry at him for asking about her past. It was a subject that she had never really discussed. Aria chose to talk to no one about it. She didn't think of it, she thought about other things. There was a wall around those memories. She kept them out of her mind, never remembering them.

"That damn Shorty doesn't even need to know about my past. He doesn't trust me anyway." She muttered, thinking over it. Ed didn't trust her, so why should she trust him. He didn't want her knowing anything. He never told her their secrets, Al did that. Maybe she would tell Al but then he would tell Ed, so she couldn't trust Al on that one. Why should I trust someone who doesn't trust me? Aria thought.

A part of it was that, Ed had broken through the wall. When he had began asking, the memories had started to come through. Not much, but all of the things she kept hidden were starting to show. Her feelings toward the man that had killed her family had flowed into her veins and she had taken them out on the person who made her remember: Ed. When he fought back with such viciousness, it had only encouraged her hatred.

"I wish we would have never saved her life! I wish she was dead!"

Those words got to her the most. Edward wished she were dead? He regretted saving her life? Sure they didn't get along, but did he really hate her that much? Why did it even matter what he said, did, or thought? Her mind was full of questions. She felt like she hadn't slept for days. Her body ached and her mind was confused. She hadn't even got to finish her breakfast.

"I bet I even look like I haven't slept for days." Aria muttered, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. Where in the world had she been heading? She was on the outskirts of town, opposite of Lauren's house. The busiest part of the town was in the middle and she had somehow walked through it subconsciously. Now around her there were few buildings, more homes than shops. The female alchemist noticed that she was close to the woods and to her house. After all those years her feet still pulled her in the direction of home.

Yet Aria didn't consider it home anymore. It had been so long since she had even been in the town, let alone the house. What had happened? She wondered if the people even remembered her anymore. Did they know who the dirty blonde was as she walked down the street? She was just probably another nobody to the people of the town, a passer through.

Aria shook her head, clearing her mind of all the nagging thoughts. After another look around, Aria wondered what she was going to do. She could go to the stables and help out. She could go to her family's graves. She wondered if that was appropriate. It had been several years. Aria decided to figure it out later when the idea to practice her aim with her gun entered her mind. As she entered the woods to practice, a part of her mind wondered why she hadn't pulled the concealed gun on Ed.


Ed wandered the streets looking for Aria, Alphonse close behind. After Aria had stormed off they had decided to give her a few minutes to calm down and then go after her. Now as they were walking, they could find no sign of their super strong companion.

Ed wandered why he had to be such an idiot. The alchemist blamed it on the fact that he wanted to know everything. Ed wanted to know, he craved knowledge. There had never been a time when he didn't want to know how something worked. That's why he loved alchemy so much. It was an absolute science, no ams, ifs, or buts. Either it could be done or not, either you knew or you didn't.

Ed counted the different times he had done something like this. He had wanted to know how to bring his mother back to life and cost his little brother his body. The young alchemist had also had tried to find a way to bring his brother back and inspired another alchemist to blend his own dog and daughter together into one creature. It had always gotten him in trouble all those times and this time was no exception. He had wanted to know what was going on with Aria and now it had cost him. She probably hated him.

Ed wasn't even sure why he and Aria had fought that bad. The desire to know had burned through him. The realization that Aria wanted revenge had angered him. She would really abandon people who cared for her, just to find that one thing? And then when he had tackled her and she still hadn't given her answers, his temper had flared again. Then as she said that her life was none of his business, hatred at began to fill him-not at her, he could never hate her-, but at the fact that he had no right to know about her life. What she had said was true, but it made him feel angrier. And then she had punched him and any self control he had went flying out the window. He said those words in anger and in hatred.

"I WISH SHE DIDN'T TRAVEL WITH US. I WISH WE WOULD HAVE NEVER SAVED HER LIFE! I WISH SHE WAS DEAD! I'M GONNA KILL HER!"

Why had he said those words? The moment he had said them, she seemed to stop. It froze her. He couldn't tell why, but he regretted that he had said them. He didn't wish Aria was dead, he didn't regret saving her, and he would never kill Aria. The very thought of her being dead scared him and for that he didn't know why. He just wanted her trust.

Why wouldn't she trust him? Sure they fought, a lot, but did she really not trust him? He had even saved her life those few times. He had never done anything that would make her not trust him. Ed thought they were friends and don't friends trust each other? The whole situation was confusing.

"What have I done to make her not trust me?" The elder Elric muttered, annoyed. The whole thing was confusing him and he hated being confused.

"Do you trust her brother?" Al asked, making the older brother jump. He had forgotten all about his brother's presence. Al knew his brother didn't mean what he had said. He also knew that the two fighting teens would make up eventually. He just figured that he'd help them make up faster.

The question made Edward stop in his tracks. Did he trust Aria? He felt that she was a friend; he didn't think she would attack them. But did he really trust her? The older Elric realized that he had never been really forth coming with information, Al had provided it all. She basically knew nothing about their past, besides the incident with their failed human transmutation and that was because of Al. Ed wasn't so sure if he trusted Aria.

"I'm not sure." Ed sighed, sitting down on a bench he had noticed.

"What do you mean, Brother?" Al asked, joining his older brother on the bench. The two sat in a moment of silence before the Fullmetal alchemist said anything.

"I mean I know she won't attack us. Can I trust her not to tell our secrets? I'm not so sure about that part." Ed felt like a hypocrite, if he couldn't trust Aria, how could she trust him?

"Brother, Aria wouldn't tell our secrets. Also you should trust her more and she might trust you more. Also stop pushing her about her family, she'll tell us eventually." Al said, watching his brother. Ed's eyebrows were twitched together, his face etched in concentration.

"Why do you think she'll tell us eventually?" Ed asked, after a moment of thought.

"Because she's like Brother." Al concluded getting up. He began to walk off in the direction of the stable, wondering if Aria had decided to go there.

"What do you mean by that?" Ed yelled, following after the suit of armor. "WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!" Al chuckled, before taking off running. His brother was mad now and he decided it was best not to get caught. He might become a metal figurine.


It had taken a while but eventually Aria had found the clearing she had used to play in as a child. As she had entered it, she had almost dashed right back out. The place held memories of when she was a child, playing with Leroy, learning alchemy, and horseback riding. She remembered all the times her mother had taken her there to show her alchemy, even allowing her to practice there. It made her smile, but sadly. A tear even leaked down her face at the sight of the beautiful place. She remembered all the times she had ran through the tall grass, Leroy chasing her. At that time the grass had been as tall as she was; now it reached a little above her waist. She missed riding on a horse. Her father had always said that she had a natural talent with horses.

Aria sighed before falling back into the grass. She had originally decided to have target practice, but for some reason, she couldn't stand to damage the trees around the place. It would have damaged the memories of this place. Her mind was filled with memories of her time spent in the small town.

"Aria slow down, I can't keep up!" Leroy called to her, as she ran through the tall grass, her hair blowing behind her. The two small children were running back to town for dinner.

"Keep up; I don't want to be late for dinner! I want apple cobbler!" The blonde girl yelled over her shoulder, increasing her pace. She could still hear Leroy's laughter at her attitude towards cobbler even when they reached the house.

"Daddy, I bet we can beat you back to the house." Aria sat on to top of a chestnut colored mare, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. Her father was riding a tall bay mare, smiling at his young daughter.

"Sweetheart, your mother said that we can't race through the woods." He said, sternly. His attitude changed when his daughter pouted. "How about we race to the edge of the woods? That way mommy, won't know? Just promise not to tell her, it's our little secret, okay?" Aria shook her head quickly before, making her mare gallop off, her bell like laugher floating through the woods.

"Mommy I want to have the tattoo put on my neck like you!" Ten year old Aria, exclaimed. They were standing in the middle of the meadow, the elder Renaldie shaking her head.

"No. You are not ready for it. Why don't you just use transmutation circles?" Her mother asked. The woman sat down and began to absentmindly trace transmutation circles in the ground.

"I want to get stronger than mommy." Aria said, looking her mother in the eyes. Pure determination shown in her blue-green eyes, her hands were clasped in fists. She wasn't going to give up.

"Why?" Her mother asked.

"So I can help everyone." Aria exclaimed, smiling. Aria's mother took on a look of pure shock, before she began laughing. The little girl also looked stunned but at her mother's laughter. The woman pulled her daughter into a hug before telling her:

"You are just like me when I was your age. Don't ever change Aria." She allowed her daughter to move away, getting up. "Now come one. We need to give you a tattoo of the transmutation circle." Both of them headed back to the house, giggling and smiling the whole way.

Aria smiled at the memories, sadly. Everything had changed so much since then; she no longer had those tender moments with parents. Her mother no longer taught her alchemy and her father no longer raced her through the forest on horses. Those were some of the memories that she would always treasure, even if they made her sad to think of them. Her mind began to think of other things.

Aria was running down the street, late for work. She had to become stuck in this town all because she had seen the murders that were happening. Aria briefly wondered again of a way to help the people of the town get from under the alchemist's spell, before CRASH! The teen ran into something and was knocked backwards, flat onto her butt. She rubbed her head, looking around for the person that had ran into her.

A blonde guy was in front of her. The guy had long bright blond bangs that came to his chin; the rest was put back into a braid that looked like it came to past his shoulder blades. He seemed to about her age, sixteen. He had golden eyes that were so strange to her. They made her want to stare; she had never met anyone with gold eyes. He had on tight black pants on with black boots. A red jacket was all you saw of his top. She actually thought he was pretty good looking until she noticed how short he was. It ruined the whole image for her. Plus he looked fun to annoy.

"Hey Shorty, what the hell? Why weren't you looking where you were going?" She got up dusting herself off, wondering what the guy was going to do.

"WHO YOU CALLING SHORT YOU OVERSIZED GORILLA GIRL?" That jackass did not just compare me to a gorilla. Aria thought.

"Who are you calling an oversized gorilla girl, you shrimp?" Right back at ya Shorty. Aria thought.

Aria let out a laugh at her first encounter with the Fullmetal Alchemist. Looking back on it, it was really a simple misunderstanding, but at the time it had been the biggest thing in the world. She didn't know why she had thought about the short alchemist. The dirty blonde looked up at the clouds as they moved across the sky. It had been a habit since she was little. The girl could feel her eye lids drops as she stared upwards, maybe she'd just take a short nap….

….Or that was her plan until she felt the rustling of grass beside her. She silently hoped it wasn't Edward or Leroy. She could handle Alphonse; the boy always had a knack for making her feel better. Edward well just seeing him would start another fight, since he hated her. And then there was the possibility of Leroy being there. He had a normal life, everything he wanted, so he didn't need to make judgments on her own life. He had no right to talk about what she did.

"Don't worry it's just me." Aria opened her eyes to discover Lauren looming over her. Aria watched as the doctor set herself down in the tall grass next to her, laying back next to her. They sat in silence for a moment before Aria decided to speak.

"What are you doing out here?" Aria asked, not quite sure what Lauren was doing. She watched Lauren from the corner of her to see the woman with her eyes completely closed.

"I came to enjoy the breeze." Lauren answered. The wind bellowed through the grass. "What do you feel about him?" The question was sudden and unexpected.

"Who?" Aria asked, turning her head towards the doctor. "Do you mean Leroy?"

"No. I mean the blonde alchemist who you travel with." Lauren wasn't being sarcastic.

"I think he's an asshole." Aria spat.

"No you don't." Aria turned her head completely to look at Lauren, surprised. She thought Edward Elric was the biggest asshole on the face of the planet.

"Yes I do! He hates me!" Aria shouted, sadly. For some reason, Ed hating her made her sad.

"Why do you say that?" Aria bolted up into a sitting position. Who could Lauren think that Ed didn't hate her?

"Because he said that he wished I was dead. He regrets saving me." Aria watched as Lauren finally opened her eyes, looking at her.

"He was angry. You know he didn't mean it Aria." Lauren looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"So? The damn shrimp has always hated me. If it hadn't been for Al I would have never traveled with them. It's only because of Al that I know anything about their past. Ed simply doesn't trust me, because he hates me." Aria explained, ranting about Edward. Lauren could tell that the girl was deeply upset about the words the Elric boy had spoken.

"Well do you trust him?" Lauren asked, seeing Aria stop. She could see the problem between the two. They didn't trust each other. Or they only trusted a little bit but not enough to really have a relationship. Lauren also knew that the two teens had conflicting personalities. They often argued because they both had the same personal issues and they both aggravated the other's issues.

"He doesn't trust me." Aria answered, she wasn't going to turn this back on her. Lauren sighed, why was the girl so damn stubborn?

"To get trust you have to trust in the other person, or they will never trust you." Lauren counted. She knew that she could win this if only she could appeal to Aria's beliefs. "It's like equivalent exchange. You give him your trust, he trusts you." Aria closed her mouth; she had begun to start a counter argument until Lauren had mentioned the equivalent exchange.

"That is not fair." Aria groaned. She knew that Lauren was right. She would have to begin trusting Edward more, if she wanted to be trusted. She flopped back into the grass, her arm covering her arms.

"My job is not to be fair, but to help. And sometimes to help I have to be unfair." Lauren laughed, smiling. The girl was just like her mother.

"He still hates me though." Aria concluded after a minute. She didn't think he liked her at all. Lauren sighed, what would it take to get it through her stubborn god-daughter's thick skull? A lightning bolt? Divine Intervention?

"I told you, he was just angry. Edward Elric likes you, more than both of you realize." Lauren said, smiling. It was true; the two of them didn't realize each other's feelings. Aria shot up quickly, her eyes snapping towards the older woman's face.

"And what does that mean?" Aria growled out, her eyes were glittering dangerously. Lauren stood up unafraid. The woman looked at Aria like she was a cute little kitten that could do no harm, while anybody else would have thought she was a lion ready to attack them.

"Nothing, now come on. We need to get you some new clothes. I have the feeling like you haven't gone shopping in years." Lauren said, leaving. She gave no way to say no to the shopping, so Aria followed behind, all the while wondering what Lauren had meant.


"Alphonse get your ass back here!" Ed yelled, as he chased the younger alchemist towards a big wooden stable. The pair of alchemist was making quite a pair, with a large suit of armor running away from a short teen who kept screaming insults at the suit of armor, with the suit of armor's response being something akin to no. They two were attracting a lot of attention among the town's people.

Al continued running towards the stable, hoping to find Aria there. The place itself looked quite large. There was a large meadow of to each side of the rectangular building. The whole thing seemed to have a long entrance that spanned from both ends of the building. On each entrance there were large barn style doors. The horse stalls seem to open up into either meadow depending on which side the stall was located.

"No Brother!" Al called over his shoulder, nearly reaching the stables. He might need to find someplace to hide as well. Al spotted Leroy brushing a horse and decided to head for him.

"Why not? It's not like I'm gonna do anything?" Ed yelled, starting to catch up to his brother. The horses had begun to pick up their heads and look at the pair. Leroy had noticed them by now as well, and was watching them.

"You're going to turn me into a metal figurine!" Al shouted, he could tell that his brother was catching up to him. He prepared to duck behind Leroy and the horse as soon as he got close enough.

"No I'm not!" Ed yelled, only a foot behind his younger brother. Al put on an extra burst of speed, mortified when his brother did the same thing. His brother really did excel when he was angry.

"Yes you are!" Al yelled as he ducked behind Leroy and the horse. All he heard after that was a large crash as his brother rammed right into the horse, knocking himself over. The horse seemed to get an evil aura around it, as it kicked Ed in the head sending him flying. Al ran from behind the horse to see if his brother was okay. "Brother are you okay?" He asked, frantically. His brother was laying on his back with his hand on a bloody gash on his head. The blood was already running down the side of his head and mixing with his hair.

"Why do I always end up getting hit? Better yet why do I always seem to get a concussion when I'm not even fighting?" Ed groaned, taking his hand away from his head to see all the blood on his hand. Al kneeled down to examine his brother's gash. It was from the hairline on the left side of his head to a little bellow his temple and it seemed to be about half an inch thick. It would scar.

"Because you're not careful." Al scolded, anxiously. The short alchemist was losing a lot of blood, way more than he should. Ed sat up and tried to wipe the blood from his eyes. "Brother you should lay down." He tried to reason with his brother but noticed that his brother's attention was on Leroy and the horse that had kicked him.

"How is it my fault that animals like to bite or kick me? I still think Winry hits harder with her damn wrench." Ed muttered, thinking of the evil wrench that had given him many concussions over the years. "At least Aria doesn't hit me with metal over the head until I black out."

"Good horse. You did a good job kicking that idiot." Leroy was rubbing the horse's head, and feeding it carrots, smirking. Ed was alternating between send glares towards Leroy and the horse.

"You could offer a towel or something, asshole." Ed said, glaring at Leroy. He had finally decided to settle his glare on the boy whose smirk wouldn't go away and was praising the horse that had kicked him.

"Why would I help a shrimp like you?" Leroy asked, smirking. Al silently counted down. Three… Two… One…

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP SO SMALL HE CAN'T EVEN LIFT HIS CLAW?" Ed yelled, jumping up. Al grabbed his brother, as he leaped for black haired stable hand. The youth's smirk seemed to grow larger when the short alchemist had been caught by his brother.

"Brother, please calm down!" Al exclaimed. He knew that Ed really would do some damage to Leroy if given the chance. After a few moments, Ed finally calmed down, enough to the point that Al trusted him enough not to attack Leroy. As soon as he had let Ed go he asked, "Leroy do you have a cloth of some kind? Brother needs to clean the blood off his head."

"Yeah, I guess I can spare something for him." Leroy sneered the word him. He didn't seem happy to help Ed in any way, shape, and/or form. Leroy walked back into the stable, after tying the horse to a fence post.

"Brother, you should really be more careful." Al scolded, lightly. He wished he could have smiled when he saw his brother's look. It seemed like he was brushing it off.

"It was the horses fault." Ed said, leaning against a fence, far away from the horse that had kicked him. Al chuckled at his brother's behavior.

"You were the one who ran headfirst into it. I think anyone would want to hurt you, if you did that." Al said, chuckling still as a horse that Ed hadn't noticed snuck up behind him.

"Shut up." Ed sulked; his own brother had taken up for the horse! Al carefully watched the scene before him. His brother was leaning against a fence, one side of his head covered in blood, with a horse looming over him. The suit of armor all out laughed when the horse blew into Ed's hair causing the teen to jump. Ed whirled right around, his left hand raised in surprise, facing the golden colored mare. She stared him in the eyes before nudging his upraised hand. Ed petted her head, carefully, making sure she wouldn't bite him. When she didn't bite him, he used his automail hand to rub her neck.

"I think she likes you." Leroy called to Ed, appearing next to Alphonse. Leroy had watched the mare interact with Ed, surprised. May never ever interacted with anyone, except Aria. The mare had barely liked Aria's dad and now it was suddenly taking to this stranger? Ed jumped away from the horse when he noticed that Leroy was watching.

"Here." Leroy tossed the towel he had to Ed, who caught it effortlessly. Leroy walked towards the female horse, raising his hand to it. Maybe it would allow someone to get close now. Leroy figured he was doing pretty good; he was four feet away from the mare. Normally she'd have already run. Leroy managed to get to the fence and reach over, ready to pet the mare, before it went wrong. "Damn it!" He ended up, yelling.

Ed watched Leroy make his way carefully towards the mare. What was the big deal that the mare had allowed him to touch her? The guy was making a really big full of himself in his opinion. Al was sharing the same opinion of Leroy as his brother. That was until they saw the mare bite Leroy on the right hand, hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. The mare decided to take off running after that.

"Not so smug now?" Ed half smirked half laughed in the direction of Leroy, who scowled at him. The black haired youth had his bleeding hand held against his chest.

"At least I didn't get kicked in the head by a horse." Leroy spat back, angry. His hand really hurt, he should have known that the horse would go let him get close enough to bite him. He wanted to take back the towel, Ed had on his gash. He silently wished he had never gotten it for the blonde anyway. Ed stopped laughing, deciding to glare at the other boy. Al shook his head at the pair; they would never get along, never.

"At least I didn't get bitten on the hand by a horse." Ed shot back, quickly. Ed pressed slightly harder on his wound, it was still oozing blood. The two seemed to glare at each other for a few minutes. Al watched the air between them heat up, a silent battle of wills. The whole scene reminded him of the Aria and Ed's fights, except this one paled in comparison.

"Leroy where are the rags?" Al asked, deciding to help the stable hand. It was also an effective way to help dissipate the tension in the air. It didn't completely get rid of the tension but it helped greatly. The two teen boys were still glaring at each other.

"They're in the tack room. It should be about the last room on the left side." Leroy said, never taking his eyes off Ed. Al groaned. Could he even trust the two alone? Would he come back to find them fighting? Why couldn't they just get along? Oh right they were both jealous over Aria. At least that's what Al thought it was. Both of them seemed to not like the other one because of Aria. Leroy saw Edward as a threat to his relationship with Aria. He at least knew why he was that way. Edward in Al's opinion just didn't like Leroy anywhere near Aria. He knew his brother wasn't sure why, he just didn't like it.

"Just go get him something to wrap around his hand Al. We won't fight; promise." Ed said, knowing what his younger brother was thinking. He hadn't taken his eyes off Leroy. Ed wondered if he could get answers out of Leroy, but a part of him said it was wrong. He wanted Aria's trust right? He knew that getting information about her past from Leroy would probably be the worst way to go about it.

"Yes Brother." Al headed off to find a rag to help put pressure on Leroy's hand, leaving the alchemist and stable hand all alone.

For a few minutes both of them just glared at each other, while leaning against the fence post. After a few minutes, Ed decided that he could glare at his enemy and be able to be comfortable. Never once did his eyes leave Leroy's as he hauled himself onto the fence, sitting there. It wasn't long until Leroy had came to the same decision, sitting on the fence as well, to Ed's right.

"You know I could kick you off the property, right?" Leroy sneered at Ed. He had raised his eyebrow and looked rather proud with his threat. Ed snorted, rolling his eyes. He really wanted to punch the day lights out of the doctor's son, but he figured that would really land him in trouble.

"You know that this is Aria's stable. You can't kick me off the property, only Aria can do that." Ed retorted, smug. He enjoyed when Leroy's smug face fell, it was almost as good as if he could have punched him-almost. The two once again sat in silence. All of a sudden Ed felt a tuff of air hit the back of neck, turning his head he saw the golden mare from earlier standing beside him. Using his automail hand he rubbed the mare's snout, before turning himself so he faced her. "Hello."

Most people would say that Edward Elric didn't like animals and that was partially true. He just didn't like the small ones that liked to bite him. He didn't mind dogs or horses or other animals the same size. But since he had grown up in a small town that used horses to pull carts, do farm work, and other things, he had grew up around horses.

"What?" He asked, noticing that Leroy was staring at him. Was the idiot staring at him, because he had stopped their little glaring war? Ed really didn't care.

"She's letting you pet her." Leroy said, watching the two of them together. He didn't understand why she was letting him touch her.

"So?" Ed frankly didn't see the significance of it. The female horse blew into his bangs, rustling it.

"May never let's anyone come near her, let alone touch her. She used to let Aria's dad but barely. The only one who she was ever really nice with was Aria." Leroy said. Ed noticed that there was sadness in his voice as he talked about Aria's dad. He must have really known him.

The young alchemist wondered what they were like to leave such an impact on all the people who had known them. He had never really known his dad, he was just simply too young to really remember him and now he couldn't even stand to see the bastard. So he really had nothing to compare Aria's dad to. But his mind wondered what if Aria was like his mom? Kind, sweet, caring, the kind of mom who's always there when you need her. Aria had a little brother-Al had once told him-what if they had been as close as he and Al were? Aria had lost so much, maybe more than they had. All in all he figured that they were great people.

"What were they like?" The question just slipped out of the blonde alchemist's mouth, without his permission. He didn't really expect an answer, so it surprised him when he got one.

"They were really great people. Mrs. Claire was always ready to do whatever any one needed. She and mom were the town doctors. Her medical and super strength alchemy was a big help to the town. Aria's dad was always ready to work well into the night if need be to help a neighbor. He owned the stables and loaned horses out to people all the time. Leon was so young, he never really had a chance to live, you know?" Leon answered, surprised. He couldn't believe that question had been asked and he was even more surprised that he had answered.

"I wish I could have met them." Ed murmured, his hand was now absentmindingly petting May. The female horse didn't seem to mind at all and just stood there. Ed really did mean it; he wished he could have met Aria's family. The surreal atmosphere that had gathered around them disappeared quickly though.

"Brother, do be careful! That horse bite Leroy, it might bite you!" A suit of armor called as it approached him. Al had been in such a hurry to get back before any fights or bad things-because where there was Ed, there was always trouble-happened, that he didn't notice the calm mood around the two normally arguing teens. All he noticed was the horse that liked to bite people was right next to his brother.

"She's not going to bite me, Alphonse!" Ed shouted, all traces of the surreal mood leaving. Ed turned towards his brother, so quickly that he nearly fell off the fence post.

"Be more careful! And how do you know she's not going to bite?" Al asked, ready to grab his brother, if he was going to fall. The elder Elric looked like he was a little woozy.

"Stop worrying all the time!" Ed said, watching as Al handed Leroy the cloth. Al turned his worried gaze on his brother, causing the Fullmetal Alchemist to shoot him a dirty look.

"She bite Leroy! She'll bite me if I put my hand close enough to her." The suit of armor exclaimed, letting his hand get close to May's snout. When she did nothing, he seemed surprised.

"See she's not a problem." Ed rubbed in his little brother's face. And then crunch. The female horse had bite Al on the hand.

"See!" Al exclaimed, jerking his hand back, even though he couldn't feel any pain, he really didn't need Leroy to know that.

"I didn't get bite." Trisha's oldest son muttered, knowing he had lost the little battle with his brother. But then it wasn't very often that he won a battle against his younger brother.

Leroy watched the pair argue back and forth and decided that the two weren't that bad. He actually liked Al and Ed wasn't as bad as he seemed when you first met him. But they were hurting her. The two alchemist weren't hurting Aria physically, but mentally. They allowed her to keep following her goal to get revenge on the murderer who had killed her family. Eventually she would get hurt or worse if she stayed on that path. By allowing her to stay with them, they gave her hope. He could see how close Aria was to the two brothers, even if they did not. Aria couldn't keep traveling with them, they needed to leave her.

"You have to leave." Leroy said, getting the two's attention. Ed snapped his head around towards the doctor's son. So now he was kicking them off the property.

"Like I said earlier, you can't do that." Ed snapped. They had been getting along and now this. Al groaned, why couldn't they get along? But for some reason he felt there was more to that statement than a simple order to get off the property.

"I mean you need to leave and leave Aria here." Leroy sighed; really he should have made it clearer the first time.

Both sons of Trisha stopped. What did he mean by that? Why would they leave Aria behind? Did he think that the fight they had had been really serious? Ed felt a something inside him rebel at the thought of leaving the dirty blonde alchemist behind. There was no way in fucking hell that was going to happen. Al didn't like the idea of leaving Aria behind either. She was a sister to him and there was no way he was leaving his sister behind when she wanted to go with them, even though at the moment she was probably still upset about the fight earlier.

"Why?" Al asked, turning his gaze on Leroy. He could feel his brother's temper rising. When had his brother began to be so protective of the girl? He doubted even his brother knew. Ed had been ready to say no, but his brother had cut him off.

"Because you're hurting her." Leroy sighed, about to continue, before he was caught off by angry yelling by a certain blonde alchemist.

"HOW IN FUCK'S NAME ARE WE HURTING HER?" Ed yelled, jumping down from the fence. He was already in front of Leroy before Al could even try and stop him. Leroy gulped; maybe he had chosen the wrong words. Ed had his flesh arm, pulling Leroy towards him, supporting the taller boy's weight. His golden eyes looked like they were on fire; his face was serious and murderous. He short teen's anger rolled off in murderous waves. His automail arm was clenched in a fist and Al had no doubt his brother would use it to punch Leroy in the face if pushed enough. Leroy could actually say that he was afraid of the blonde at that moment.

"Brother, calm down!" Al shouted, choosing to try and get his brother to not kick the guy's ass. Al used his hand to wrap around his brother's flesh hand, hoping he'd be able to convince his brother to let go. "Let go, Brother! Please!" AL begged. He pulled harder on his brother's arm only to pull Leroy almost completely off the fence.

"Let go!" Leroy exclaimed, pushing at the brick wall that was Edward Elric, getting nowhere. No matter how much he shoved, he couldn't get the alchemist to let him. What the hell does this guy do, to get so much muscle? The stable hand asked himself.

"Answer me." Ed said, his voice deadly calm. He acted like this was not a big deal. Al knew that when his brother was like this nothing ever good came of it. He hoped he could pull his brother off of Leroy quickly enough.

"Put me down and I will!" Leroy shouted, rearing his hand back ready to punch the older Elric. Al could see that this was going to end so badly. Just as Al thought that, Leroy swung his fist at the oldest Elric, thinking it would get him off of him. Ed quickly brought up his automail arm to block, effectively taking the hit with the metal arm. Oh no. Please Brother don't retaliate. Please.

"Brother don't you dare!" Al shouted, wrapping his arms around his brother, pulling. He hoped he could pull his brother off the black haired teen.

Ed couldn't believe this guy had said that he had been hurting Aria. Sure they got into fights, but they were both hurt in those fights. He had a feeling that what Leroy meant was actually hurting her in another way, a more deadly dangerous way. He didn't like that the black haired boy had insinuated that he a danger to her.

"Tell me what you mean and I'll let you go." Ed said, looking straight into Leroy's eyes. Al tugged harder this time, hoping his brother would be made to let go. Leroy couldn't see any other option besides to tell him.

"You are hurting her because you give her hope! Now let me go, I told you!" Leroy shouted, giving Ed a good shove. And at the same time Al had tugged extra hard, causing Ed to be pulled away from the doctor's son.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Ed growled out, his eyes trained on Leroy. What in the hell did the guy mean? Al wondered the same thing as his brother.

"You let her travel with you. You're giving her hope of finding the man who killed her family." Leroy said, glaring at Ed. He was preparing to fight Ed if he had too.

"So Aria wants to find the man who killed her family." Al muttered, Aria had never really told them why she traveled, except that she had some goals that she had to complete. And now they knew why. Aria wanted revenge on the man who killed her family. But wasn't he locked up somewhere? "How are we giving her hope?" Al asked after a minute.

"Aria is close to the two of you. You give her hope to keep on going towards her goals." Leroy rolled her eyes. Were these two completely morons when it came to Aria? Al sometimes thought they were close to Aria, but at other times she seemed a million miles away from them.

Ed stopped, Aria wanted revenge? Didn't she know that revenge would get her nowhere? It would just land her in even more trouble? Wait Aria was close to them? What planet did this guy live on; he and Aria were barely considered friends. They never got along; they were more likely to throw punches at each other than to say hi in a nice way.

"You consider Aria and I close?" Ed actually let out laugh. "Maybe her and Al, but Aria and I close?" He was still angry that Leroy had claimed that they hurt Aria, but the idea than he and Aria were close was a funny idea. Even though the idea of the two of them being close to him did appeal to him for some reason he could not fathom.

"You are close! She talks to you; she even lets you carry her! When we were little she didn't like to let people help her and even more so after her family's murder, but she lets you help her! She'd rather spar with you than hang around the stables with me. When Aria was little, the stables were one of her favorite places to be. You're closer to her than I am and I've known her for years!" The stable hand exclaimed, throwing his good hand in the air. Really was this alchemist that dense?

"I think you're forgetting that Aria isn't little anymore. She can take care of herself." Al said, noticing the teen kept comparing Aria to how she was as a little kid.

"She's still close to you two, even if she herself doesn't realize it. My mom has even noticed it." Leroy sighed. He used his unbitten hand to rub his temples.

"So what if she's close to us?" Ed still couldn't wrap his head around the idea that Aria and him were close. He didn't even trust her and they were supposedly close! It just seemed so odd to the alchemist.

"Like I said you're giving her hope, you need to leave her here." Leroy said, hoping that it would get through the thick skulled short alchemist.

"No." Al spoke up. The way he said it left no room for argument, in a quiet but firm tone. Al wasn't going to leave Aria unless she wanted to stay and he had a feeling that after her and Ed fixed things everything would be back to normal.

"I agree with my brother no." Ed confirmed, making sure Leroy knew their intentions. Aria was their friend, even if they always didn't act like friends, and they weren't just going to leave a friend.

"Why the hell not?" Leroy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because Aria's is our friend and I for one consider her to be like a sister. And we don't abandon friends." Al said, shocking Leroy. And Al meant every word of what he said. The way he said it made it a done deal.

"Plus gorilla girl's the stubborn one that won't leave us alone. Even if we did leave, she'd find us." Ed remarked, earning him a chuckle from his brother. Leroy glared at the two Elric brothers.

"You're going to get her hurt or worse, Shorty!" Leroy accused; anger in his voice. Ed looked like he was about to go off over being called Shorty and Al was about to argue that they wouldn't let Aria get hurt, but they didn't get the chance.


"Aria please pick something out." Lauren sighed. Aria had never really been a shopper and she understood that, but this? The girl was downright stubborn. She only wanted to wear clothes that she could fight in and that were practical. Lauren believed in wearing practical clothing as well, but she still didn't want to look downright horrible in what she wore. The girl was wearing a plain yellow t-shirt and black tight shorts, with a pair old shoes, it all looked like she had them for years.

"I don't need anything." Aria muttered, this trip reminded her of all shopping trips with her mom, except her mom made it fun. Aria's heart sank at being in this familiar place in this familiar situation without her mother. She was in it with Lauren and it made her feel like she was betraying her mother in a way.

"Yes you do. Winter is coming soon and most of what you have are summer clothes. You don't even have a proper coat!" Lauren countered, sighing. Her younger girls didn't even give her this much trouble when shopping!

"How do you know that?" Aria asked, suspiciously. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like this. Lauren looked up from the clothes rack. Her god-daughter had her arms crossed at her with an accusing look on her face.

"I went through your clothes when you were sleeping last night." Lauren answered simply, sorting through the rack. Aria felt her temper fly, today wasn't her day. And to top it off she really hated people going through her stuff.

"Why?" Aria asked, controlling her temper. She really didn't want to be there.

"I am your god-mother. I do need to know what you're up to." Lauren asked, finding a couple of pair of pants she knew would be tight on the girl. She would at least have new clothes. "Here go try them on." It was an order.

"For the last time I don't need new clothes!" Aria exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. Lauren sighed, the girl was being difficult.

"Aria you look like you haven't bought new clothes in years. And winter is coming; you need pants and a coat, instead of shorts."Lauren countered; her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. She was going to get her way no matter what or so she thought.

BOOM! CRASH!

The noise sounded like a rock had crashed into a building, but magnified. It reminded Aria of the time there was a mud slide when she was little and several houses had been destroyed. The sound that mud had made as it hit the houses and crashed through them was not something Aria had forgotten. Lauren and Aria ran out onto the streets to see what was going on. There hadn't been any rain in the region lately so Aria knew it couldn't be a mudslide. Other people were already out in the streets appearing at the large cloud of smoke and dust on the far side of the town, close to the stables. Shouts were already being yelled for people to go and check it out.

"Wasn't Leroy in that direction?" Lauren asked, worriedly. Her mind was running through what her son had said to her earlier. Yes indeed he had said he was going to the stables. He was fine wasn't he? The doctor went to make way towards the stables but was stopped.

"Lauren stay here!" Aria commanded, already taking off. She had a really bad feeling and she wanted Lauren nowhere near it. The teen alchemist had to make sure that Leroy was alright, even though she had a feeling that he was. A suspicion that Ed and Al were part of the reason for the explosion also plagued her.

"Aria what are going to do?" Lauren yelled over the people were yelling who were trying to figure out what was going on. Already people were running from the area the explosion had come from.

"I have to go help. I have a feeling that Shorty and Al are the cause of the explosion. I also have to make sure Leroy is okay." Aria shouted. Aria's mind was buzzing with several ideas about what had happened.

"Aria be careful, please?" Lauren yelled, knowing the teen was going to go and nothing she did or said was going to change that.

"Don't worry so much!" Aria shouted and with that she ran in the direction of the explosion. Alphonse you better be okay, you too Ed; I still need you two.


Well that's the new chapter for you all! So yeah I have two things I want to ask.

1.) Was anyone seriously out of character or Mary Sueish to you?

2.) Has my writing style changed from the beginning of this story?

Okay and maybe a third one, but this one isn't a big deal.

3.) Anyone who can draw? I want someone to draw Aria for me... ike1440 I know you do, but I kinda wanna see what anyone else thinks Aria looks like.

I should have the next chapter out sooner. I don't have school, even though I do have summer reading, so I might get occupied on that for awhile. Also please leave a review, even if it's just a "I liked this chapter." Okay?

-j.d.y.