Chapter 9: Sneaking Around

"You need me to what?"

Edward's gaze didn't falter for a moment as he repeated the request, "I need you to sneak me down to see Alphonse."

Roy stared at the boy, trying to convince himself that Edward was joking or perhaps he'd just misunderstood. But no, he knew the blonde better than that. He carefully rested his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers as he put back on his calm mask. "Might I ask what this is about, Edward?"

"You may ask, doesn't mean I'm gonna answer."

Mustang almost smirked. "You realize the danger of what you're asking me, don't you?"

Edward just rolled his eyes and turned to lean back against the man's desk. "Yeah, well it's not like they can expel me or anything. They'll just throw me back down there for another few weeks if they find out, big deal."

"With the way you talk, Edward, one might almost suspect that you enjoy it in solitary confinement."

Edward couldn't see the frown on his teacher's face, but he could imagine it. "I can't really complain," the blonde shrugged, "It gives me time to think without having someone looking over my shoulder all the time."

"Perhaps not all the time," Roy muttered, and Edward was too angered by the statement to notice the bitter tone in the man's voice.

The boy whirled back around and glared at Mustang who only regarded him coldly. Edward snorted and shook his bangs out of his eyes. "So are you going to help me or not? If not I'll just find another way to get down there myself."

Roy scowled but nodded, "I will speak to Lust; but understand that this is not going to be as simple as smuggling notes and food back and forth. You'll have to give us some time to figure something out, a plan of action." The man lifted his gaze back to Edward to make sure he was truly listening as he added, "If Lust says there is no way, then there is no way and you are not to try it on your own. Do you understand me, Edward?"

"Yeah sure, whatever," Edward shrugged and plucked his lateness excuse note from Roy's desk on his way out without another word, leaving his teacher wondering just what the hell he was going to do about this.

Not a word of the plan was spoken to anyone else since neither Edward nor Roy could be certain when someone else might be listening in. They didn't even speak to each other about it until a few days later when Roy came to Edward with Lust's decision.

"So she'll do it?" the blonde asked impatiently once the door to Roy's office was closed. He wouldn't have taken them in there if she wasn't going to do it.

"The only way to get you down there is for you to be punished as well," the man explained, not bothering to actually answer the question. This didn't seem to surprise Edward so Roy just continued, "Tomorrow morning, Lust is going to be doing the rounds on the boy's floors of the dormitory."

"So I harass her and get myself sent down. Simple enough. Anything else? She got any preferences or anything?"

Mustang gave the blonde a look that wiped the smirk off of his face. Once he was sure he was being taken seriously again he continued, "When you are taken down to the isolation rooms, she'll place you in the room with Alphonse and then take you out once your punishment is up. Whatever do to Lust, don't overdo it. It should be something that will send you down there for about a day; anything more and she can't guarantee that no one else will get involved."

This all made sense and Edward nodded but there was something more pressing on his mind. "What about Envy?"

Roy knew exactly why Edward was concerned about the Guardian and Lust had as well. The man hadn't even needed to mention it to her before she'd assured him, "Lust says she can keep him away, but only for a certain amount of time. That's why you must be out of there within two days at the most."

The blonde gave one last nod and let his arms uncross. "That it?"

"That's it." Roy watched as his student turned to leave. Suddenly, though, he was just a bit worried about the blonde leaving and following the ridiculous plan. "Edward, wait."

The young man turned around to see Mustang standing behind his desk and he raised an eyebrow at the man.

Roy knew that whatever warnings he had to give the blonde would just be laughed off so he cut it down as much as possible. "Don't do anything stupid."

Edward just snorted, rolled his eyes, and walked out of the office, leaving Roy to his thoughts.

This was a completely dangerous business, far more than the other stunts that Edward had pulled before. To not only break the solitary confinement of another student, thereby risking himself, but to risk also the Headmistress discovering that he'd been helped by a teacher and one of her own Guardians? Roy wasn't certain what Dante would do if they were discovered but he knew it wouldn't be good for he and Lust, at the very least. What he was really worried about, though, was what would happen to Edward without he and Lust covering for him.

But that sort of thinking was completely unproductive and wouldn't do Edward, Roy, or Lust any good. Of course, neither would merely hoping that things went along as planned, but Mustang had already done his part and that was all that was left for him to do.

There was a certain air about Edward when he was up to something, though Russell was sure that he was the only one that noticed it that morning. That could have been because Fletcher was the only other with them, though, and he rarely noticed things like that.

The older blonde was tense, though, seeming to be waiting for something while still remaining fairly cocky. That wasn't unusual since the shorter boy always seemed to be cocky, but this time, or whenever he was up to something, it was seemingly focused on whatever Edward was waiting for. Which turned out to be the Guardian, Lust.

"Going to breakfast, boys?" the woman asked, surprising all three of them when she seemed to materialize out of nowhere behind them. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

Russell, wanting to just get his brother away from the woman, was cut off by his former roommate.

"Only if it's true that you were once a man."

Lust's gaze snapped to the oldest of the group, her eyebrow merely raised in challenge. "Is that so?" she asked calmly. "That's interesting, considering what I've learned about you."

Edward's face turned bright red and Russell watched as the gears worked in his head. What in the world was the little shrimp up to? And why did he have to get Russell and Fletcher involved? The taller boy had half a mind to just take his brother and leave Edward to whatever scheme he'd thought up this time. Unfortunately, he had this annoying sense of responsibility towards his former roommate.

"Edward," he warned quietly, "let's just go to breakfast."

"No can do," the shorter boy replied and he stepped away from the brothers towards Lust. "So, how exactly is that any business of yours?" he asked the Sin.

"You should know better than that, Edward. Everything is our business."

"Is that so?" he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Then that has to go both ways, doesn't it? After all, it's not really fair to us not knowing anything about our guards, is it? So tell me, Lust, were you really that bad of an alchemist that you caused a rebound that cut your dick off?"

Russell watched the Guardian carefully as his former roommate spoke, noting that the moment her expression turned positively livid, Fletcher ducked behind him. He didn't blame the younger boy with the Lust was glaring at Edward and, without another word she surged forward and grabbed the short blonde by the arm and disappeared down the hallway with him. Russell and Fletcher stared after them both but it was the older brother that voiced what they were both thinking, "What the hell was that all about? And what's he up to now?"

Of course, by the time the bell had rung signaling the end of breakfast and the beginning of classes, nearly everyone in the school was talking about what had happened between Lust and Edward. Well, various versions of it anyway, and most of them centering on the very last question the blonde had asked Lust before she'd taken him away.

Edward, however, wasn't there to enjoy the rekindling of his popularity since, as usual, he was being escorted down to the isolation rooms for his punishment. The only difference, of course, was that the isolation room wasn't isolated this time.

Alphonse wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been down there since it was hard to tell time when the only light you had was a dim hanging lamp instead of a window. Even if he could tell by when he got tired, all of the days just seemed to melt together anyway. Besides, with nothing to do but think, Alphonse found himself getting tired more often than just at bedtime. Or, at least, he thought it was. He just wasn't sure anymore.

However long it had been though, Alphonse was almost positive that the time hadn't come yet for him to be released. This was why he found himself watching the heavy metal door when he heard it unlock. His punishment wasn't over yet -- it couldn't be over yet -- so there should have been no need for anyone to unlock that door. Not unless something was wrong. But what on Earth could be wrong enough that they break his solitary confinement?

Alphonse wasn't really sure who it was he'd been expecting to see once the door opened, but the person that was there surprised him.

Lust held the heavy door open with one hand with the other resting on her hip as she gazed into the small room at the boy. She didn't say anything and Alphonse was far too uncertain of what was even going on to say anything. Finally, still without a word, Lust stepped aside towards the door to reveal . . . his roommate.

"Edward?" the younger blonde gaped and started at the dry, cracked sound of his own voice. Had it really been that long since he'd even spoken?

Edward didn't answer except to lift a silencing finger to his lips as he stepped past the threshold and Lust. He shared a glance with the Guardian and she merely said that she'd be back tomorrow morning before shutting and locking both boys in. The older boy waited at the door listening to the fading sound of Lust's footsteps until it was completely silent outside. Then, he turned to Alphonse.

The younger boy just sat in the corner of his little isolation room, staring at his roommate and wondering if he was hallucinating or dreaming or something.

"You look like Hughes when I told him that Gracia was married."

"Ms. Gracia's married?"

"No," Edward smirked and crossed the room to sit down beside the younger boy. "But you look like him when I told him that."

Alphonse blushed as he watched Edward lean back against the wall behind them, crossing his arms behind his head. How could he be so casual? He'd just walked into Alphonse's isolation room, escorted by Lust, and all he could do was make fun of him? Well, maybe things hadn't changed as much as he'd thought. The younger blonde was too confused about what exactly was going on to worry about how well they were or weren't getting along anyway.

"Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously. "How are you here? What's going on?"

Well, Edward supposed that he couldn't really blame his roommate for being curious about all of that. After all, it wasn't everyday that a student broke another student's solitary confinement, let alone one of the students with the help of a Sin.

"I figured you were getting kinda bored," he replied with a shrug which was at least partly the truth. Even for him there was only so much sitting and thinking someone could take. Apparently Alphonse wasn't buying it, though, raising his eyebrow at the older boy. Edward sighed and kicked his feet out in front of him. "There was something bothering me," he admitted instead.

The other boy was still just staring almost blankly at him and it was making Edward uncomfortable. Why didn't he say anything? Or at least move.

"What?" the older blonde snapped finally.

Alphonse didn't seem phased at all, but he did answer, "You still haven't told me how you got here."

Oh. Right. That.

Edward hesitated -- for a long time -- because . . . well, he just wasn't sure if he could trust his roommate with that kind of information. If it had been his old roommate . . . Well, actually, he wasn't sure he would have trusted him either. There was a major problem with trust in the school though Edward at least had to admit that may have been because there were very few chances for anyone to prove their trustworthiness. Alphonse, though . . . Well, Alphonse had had a few chances to prove himself and he hadn't really given the older boy much reason not to trust him. Except that he didn't really know Alphonse that well. Of course, that was really partly his own fault.

"Edward?"

The older boy blinked up as he realized that he'd zoned out without meaning to. He just shook his head and slouched back against the wall. "You saw," he answered simply, "Lust brought me down."

"No, really?" Alphonse drawled. "Why did she bring you here though?"

Edward gave his roommate a pointed look. "'Cause I asked her to."

The other boy looked at him in bewilderment and he wasn't sure if that was because he'd asked Lust to bring him down there or because he'd asked Lust to bring him down there or because she had. Probably both. He didn't ask any further though, so Edward didn't need to come up with any stories.

"So," Alphonse asked after a long silence, "have I missed anything interesting while I've been down here?"

Edward shrugged, "Not unless you like listening to stupid rumors about yourself."

"Rumors? About me? Like what?"

Edward couldn't believe that his roommate didn't realize that there would be rumors all over the place about what had happened. Especially since it had to do with Envy.

"You didn't really think that you could do something like that in front of an entire floor of girls without the entire place hearing about it, did you?" The shorter boy smirked at his roommate. "Everyone's heard at least some version of what happened by now."

"What do you mean 'some version of what happened'?"

That actually made him laugh. Was Alphonse really that naive? "You can't be serious. Come on, Al. By now, only you, me Russell, Winry, and Panina know what really happened."

"And Envy."

"Yeah, him too."

Alphonse's interest seemed to have been piqued and he leaned forward slightly. "So what's everyone been saying about it?"

"Oh, the usual," Edward replied casually. "They're pretty much split down the middle trying to figure out if you were being heroic or just trying to show off."

Hearing that, Alphonse just stared at him. "Why would I do something like that just to show off?"

That was a very good question and one only those idiots that had come up with the theory could have answered. "Don't ask me. I'm not the one that came up with any of it."

"I didn't say you did."

The two boys just stared at each other for a few moments, Alphonse wondering why the other was there and Edward just trying to figure his roommate out. It was the younger boy who finally looked away, his cheeks a bit red but Edward wasn't sure if he might have been imagining it -- the light wasn't great in the little room.

"Why do you think I did it?"

The question was asked so quietly that Edward might have missed it if the entire place hadn't been so quiet. He'd actually been pondering that very same question since it had happened, never really coming to an answer. It had been obvious, at least to him, that Alphonse hadn't been trying to show off and he couldn't imagine that anyone who knew the younger boy would actually believe that either. But the only other options were that either Alphonse had done it to get back at Envy for something (which didn't seem right either) or that he had done it simply to help Winry and Panina. But why would he do something like that? Why would he risk himself like that for two girls he hadn't even known for a year? It hadn't been as if they'd really been in trouble, they were just getting new room assignments -- no reason to dress the most notorious Guardian of them all in drag. No reason to get yourself sent down to solitary confinement for a month and a half.

"I'm not sure," he answered finally. "I haven't really been able to figure that out. Guess that was part of the reason I came down here."

Alphonse raised an eyebrow at him. "To find out why I did it?" The older boy nodded and he just shook his head. That was why he'd gone through all of that trouble to get down there? Edward was even stranger than he'd thought.

"So why did you?"

Well, it wasn't as if it was a dangerous question, really, so there was no real harm in answering. "Why wouldn't I have? I mean, Envy was harassing them and it's not like anyone ever cared before that they shared a room. The only reason he did now was because of what Headmistress Dante did to us and Russell."

"You figured that out too, huh?"

Alphonse gave him a Look. "Y'know, I may not be as intelligent as you, but it only takes a bit of common sense to figure that out. And that they didn't have any reason to move us but there's not much can do about it now."

"You didn't want to be moved?" Edward asked curiously.

"You didn't either. And I liked rooming with Fletcher."

"Guess I can't blame you for that. He's really not that difficult to get along with."

"No, he's not."

There was something the younger boy's tone, a slight emphasis on the word "he," that told Edward something was being implied about him. He smirked. "You saying I am?"

"Are you saying you're not?"

Well . . . there was really nothing that Edward could say to that. Even if he didn't think that he was difficult to get along with, there was no way that he could deny that other people thought he was difficult to get along with and, since the blonde just didn't have to get alone with himself, he really had to take other people's words for it.

"I guess not."

Alphonse seemed satisfied with this response so Edward let the topic drop. Unfortunately, the younger boy seemed to still be curious. Well, he knew that he'd brought it upon himself, really.

"So," the other boy began, his voice somewhat hesitant, "you seem to really get along with Russell and Winry and everyone but . . . Well, I just don't get it. Why not anyone else? I mean, you don't seem to ever give anyone else a chance."

That had been completely unexpected and, once again, Edward found himself without an answer except for an indignant stutter, "I-I give people chances! What're you talking about?"

"I thought it was pretty straightforward but fine, let's just go with the idea that you do give people besides Winry, Panina, Russell, and Fletcher chances. I'm willing to believe it, really. I guess what I'm really asking, then, is why you don't give me chances."

The look the younger boy was giving him made Edward squirm, especially considering the question he'd just been asked. Well, he supposed he hadn't really been asked a question so much as Alphonse had just demanded an answer from him. An answer that he wasn't sure he was ready to give.

"What are you talking about?" he asked finally, deciding to feel the younger boy out first. "I've given you chances. We're lab partners, aren't we?"

"Only because you came late to class and I was the only left who need a partner."

"Yeah, well, I told you about Tucker, didn't I?"

"While trying to convince me it was a rumor."

"I still told you, though! That shows a lot of trust! I never even told Russell about that."

Alphonse looked as if he'd been about to say something, but he stopped himself and, since they were the only ones in the room, Edward had no idea why. He was being stared at again, though, as if he were a faulty array that Alphonse was just figuring out how to make work.

"You really never told Russell about Tucker?"

Edward shook his head.

"So why'd you tell me?"

A shrug. "You asked."

"And Russell never did?" Alphonse seemed flabbergasted by this, but it was true.

"Russell hasn't asked questions in years."

"Why?"

"And sometimes you ask too many questions."

The younger boy flushed again and he turned away, leaving Edward feeling somewhat guilty.

"Look, it's not my story to tell. IF you really wanna know then ask him when you get outta here."

That was fair enough and Alphonse agreed silently. That didn't mean that the questioning was over, though.

Alphonse looked up at his roommate again and considered his words before he finally asked, "Edward? The thing about Tucker. That means that it really was true? He really did all of those things?"

"Yeah," Edward answered grimly, "Dante's got it all in her file on him. It probably would've been all over the newspapers but you know how they always try to cover up illegal chimera stories. This one was no different. Besides, Dante would've found a way to have the story buried or discredited anyway -- it wouldn't be very good publicity for everyone to know you have a murderer watching over kids, no matter how screwed up you claim they are."

The entire situation left a foul taste in Edward's mouth (though there was little about the school that didn't) and, from the look of things, Alphonse tasted it too. Edward couldn't blame him at all. It was a bad state of affairs to say the very least and he knew that if just one person, just one of the Headmistress' supporters knew about Tucker and Kimbley and Yoki and, even more importantly, the Guardians, then the Yock Island Correctional School would finally close its doors for good. the problem, of course, was getting all of this information not just to the right person, but getting out period.

Those contemplations were doomed to be repeated over and over again, though, so there was no need to dwell on them right at that moment. Alphonse was intent on not letting the older boy either.

"There's been something that's been bothering me," he said, staring out at his hands, "since that first time you came back from solitary confinement after I first came here." There was no answer so Alphonse took the silence as an okay to continue. "Why didn't you ever ask me why I was sent here?"

Edward decided that that had to have been the most random question he'd ever heard but, then again, who was he to talk? He'd just gone to visit someone in solitary confinement who everyone thought he hated.

"Why?" he replied. "Did you really want to tell me?"

"Not really."

"Well then what's the problem?"

That was a very good question. What's the problem? What was the problem? No, Alphonse hadn't really wanted to tell the older boy but . . . he did remember wanting him to at least ask. Why? "Because you just seemed like you didn't care at all. Like I was some smear of food on the table or something. It would've been nice if you'd shown some interest. It wasn't exactly a great first impression."

He really had seemed that cold, hadn't he? Edward looked back on his behavior and cringed, but he hadn't known if he could trust Alphonse enough!

"Alright," he replied, turning so that he was facing the younger boy. "Alphonse, why were you sent here?"

Now that was more like it, even though he had had to practically demand it. Now that the question had been asked, though, Alphonse was suddenly unsure if he actually wanted to answer it. Looking at Edward, though, he remembered that the older boy had been honest with him so far, so it was only fair that he be as well.

Taking a long, deep breath, Alphonse tried to relax and remember that no one could judge him since he'd already been tried and sentenced. Besides, it was just Edward and maybe the older boy might feel like sharing as well.

Finally he found it in him to speak for the first time about the sin that he had committed -- or nearly committed -- to get him sent to the school. "A few months ago, my mother died. My father had died when I was just a baby so the only person I had left was my Alchemy teacher. She was the one who found me before I nearly killed myself."

-To be continued