it's easier to see what you have when you can see what your neighbor lacks
-hotel books
•••
Iris slept in. To her surprise, no one stopped her. It was about two hours until noon. She still felt so exhausted.
Throwing off the covers, she slipped on her boots and stumbled out of her door. She felt that one homunculus was nearby, but only one. It put her on edge. But for everyone else in the household, it was just another day. She would have to adapt to this type of lifestyle, no matter how strange it was.
After taking a quick trip to the bathroom and changing into a button up shirt and some jeans, she headed to the dining room, feeling presences there. Surely she could get some breakfast and be off. That was her plan, at least.
Iris met Mrs. Bradley in the dining hall, where she ushered the young lady to a chair to eat, explaining she thought it best not to wake her up.
"My husband left early this morning, but Selim is in the study with his teacher."
"Ah."
She eats in silence and alone, being the only one eating breakfast late. The scones were very delicious, though. Now pondering it, she hadn't had an actual meal in such a long time. It's as if everything had slowed down and she had all the time in the world in this house. She was usually always moving, making her sleeping and eating and anything else come after her tasks at hand.
She lets time drag on for a bit, thanking the servants and going to her room to write her thoughts in her journal from her suitcase. After though, she's so squirrelly she can't bear it.
Iris wonders to herself why she is so nervous to ask to go out. With Roy, it was different, even in the beginning. Mostly because they went to work together, came home together and, well, were connected to the hip for most of her early teen years. The more she approached into becoming a woman, she branched off into different things. She went on more expeditions across the country, where she eventually met Ed and Alphonse on one.
'That was the turning point into this entire adventure. Meeting the Elrics,' she realized.
"Those damn brothers," she said to herself then smirked. She knew it was just as much her nosy nature that got her into this as it was the Elric's pure nature to right any wrong they came across. They never give up no matter how futile things seem, and Iris could only hope that could rub off on her. If only she knew it was inside of her all this time, and that it was already unlocked.
•••
'I can do this.'
The teenager's hand was clenched into a fist near her temple, getting ready to knock on a certain queen of the country's door. She closes her eyes and gently taps twice. When the door opens, she's rigid.
"Hello dear. Did you need something?"
"I, uh, was wondering if I could go out?" She hated how her voice got higher and higher after every word.
The older woman put a hand on her shoulder. She relaxed instantly. (Was she really that starved of touch by a motherly figure?)
"Of course, that's fine."
"Thank you."
"Do you mind taking a guard, though, honey?"
Iris frowned. "I don't think that's necessary. I am a state alchemist after all." She subconsciously reached for her pocket watch.
"And Mr. Bradley is the most powerful man in the country. He has guards, too. This isn't about strength, Iris, this is about protection. You're a part of the royal family now. Unfortunately, that means you're more likely to be targeted."
'Being targeted by this family is more likely than anyone else, trust me,' she thinks maliciously.
"Please, Mrs. Bradley. I can handle myself!"
She sighs heavily, then looks to the guard next to her.
"Teenagers, right?"
The man chuckles out of respect.
"Will you stay in the city limits?" She takes on an assertive voice, one Iris didn't know such a sweet woman had.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Okay then. You're free to go."
The alchemist smiles in delight. "Thank you!" She darts off, more than ready to see her friends. And boy, did she have some news.
•••
Dr. Knox was less than pleased at her return, but she didn't mind. He was mean, but a pushover. His big heart was to a fault. Upon seeing Ed and Al she brightened until she remembered her priorities.
"There's something I need to tell you. It's not pleasant."
"What did you find out?"
"It's Selim. Selim Bradley."
•••
"I still can't wrap my head around it," Edward breathed out as he and Iris walked the streets of Central yet again. They were walking towards Lieutenant Hawkeye's apartment.
"I know what I felt! That on top of woman's intuition, I can't be wrong!" She lowered her voice. "He feels just like the Fuhrer, and all the other homunculi."
"But a kid?"
"I don't know what to say, Ed. He's one of them. Have I ever been wrong about this stuff?"
He quieted. "I can't imagine what Mrs. Bradley would feel if she knew. Her whole family, just a lie."
"I'm sure I can grasp what she might feel when we eventually have to tell her. The feeling of desperation, betrayal... And from your own family? That's something I won't - can't - ever forget.
"It's not understandable by many. And yeah, I have my adoptive mother, and my brother Roy, his team... Maes... even you guys and Winry, but no one of my own. It's different. You have your father, even though you don't want him, and most importantly, you still have your brother. I'd give an arm and a leg to have my sister back."
"Not funny."
She scoffs. "You know what I mean." There's a pause as she thinks. "I don't know, sometimes it just feels like my entire family was cursed with bad blood."
Edward has nothing to say to that. He knew she was right. Not that he ever took his brother for granted, but he was reminded by Iris that he was lucky to still have someone like that for him: a sibling.
She cuts off her friend's thoughts. "We're here."
Iris leads, having memorized the lieutenant's apartment number and all. She would frequently visit her, even after the team's move to Central. Sometimes with Roy, sometimes without. Riza was the one to go to when she wanted both comfort and straightforward answers.
Ed is the one to knock, and soon enough is met by a dog to his face, giving him wet kisses on the floor that he's been tackled onto.
"Hayate!" Iris cheers, bending over to pluck him from her friend's face. "I missed you!"
Hawkeye was a bit surprised by the visit from the teenagers but welcomed them in.
"What's this about?"
Ed looks sheepish, then reaches into his pants pocket. "I wanted to give you back your gun." He pulls out said object.
"I just wanted to see you. And talk about our... current situation."
The woman nods in understanding.
They sit at her dinner table while she washes her gun. Iris is quiet while Ed explains its impact. After, Riza decides that light conversation is needed, and mentions, "Your hair looks familiar."
Iris reaches up to the top of her head, chuckling self-consciously.
"It looks quite like mine when I first enlisted in the military."
"You were serving in the war when you looked like this, didn't you?" the girl comments.
"We also wanted to ask you about that, what it was like. I-if that's okay," Ed adds.
The sniper's face becomes hard, and she begins.
"Ishval is a country to the east of Amestris. Its people were hard working and kind, but most did not like us and our country's ethics. They've found it hard to trust us. Soon enough they deemed their suspicions justifiable... when an Amestrian soldier-"
"-shot an Ishvalan child." Iris finished for her, almost shuddering at how sickening the memory she never lived through felt. While her father was in the war as a soldier, she never heard of stories from him - he had never returned from the battlefield. Instead, she would tap into Roy's thoughts and memories and see through them. These were mostly presented to her on the nights that he would wake up screaming from the terror of dreams of that hell of a war. Eventually, he had told her everything about Ishval. Needless to say, it haunted her as well, despite having no participation in it whatsoever.
Even as a child she had confusing emotions about the war. Amestris versus Ishval… The two races that she was equally a part of were at each other's throats. Even now, the tension between them still runs high.
"This was the start of the war, a war that lasted seven long years. King Bradley was the man who had all the power of this country at the time, as he does now, and decided that genocide was the only way to stop this madness.
"The Ishvalan War of Extermination. Soldiers and State Alchemists alike were recruited to wipe out Ishval and it's citizens. As a sniper, I always knew who I was killing; my aim would be directly on them. I could never have the morbid comfort like the others who did not have to see each individual person's corpse of who they had killed."
Iris looks to Ed. He's got a look on his face like he's about to be sick. She doesn't know why, but this pains her. She doesn't know why, but she acts on impulse. She doesn't know why, but she reaches under the table and puts a hand on Edward's automail wrist. He doesn't respond to it, probably too engulfed in the lieutenant's story. If it wasn't for his comfort, it was for hers. She felt safe, despite being in no danger in the first place.
"There was a particular man who played a big role in these mass murders. He is an alchemist named Solf J. Kimblee."
"He used a Philosopher's Stone-" Ed grimaced at the words- "to kill all those innocent people."
"Yes," Riza concurred. "After that, what was left of the Ishvalans had no choice but to surrender. Soon, the war ended and we were all discharged, off searching for some type of peace. I'll speak for myself - I still haven't found it. I don't know if I ever will, but I feel it is my responsibility to serve penance.
"After the war, Mustang assigned me to be his lieutenant and gave me his trust. But now, he wants to change the entire country. As his subordinate, I plan to follow him."
"You swore some kind of life-oath to Mustang?" Ed asks, baffled. "I pity you."
Hawkeye gives a smile, but it doesn't exactly meet her eyes.
"Well, it seems I may not be by his side for some time."
"Roy told me your new job position." Iris bites her lip. "Is it really true? You're the Fuhrer's assistant?"
"I'm afraid so, yes."
"I guess I'll be seeing you more often, then."
"Where have you been stationed?"
"Nowhere. I've been..." She swallows hard, "Re-adopted." She sees the confusion on the woman's face but shakes her head. "I don't really want to talk about it. There's something else much more important that needs to be addressed."
"And what is that?"
"You're already aware that the Fuhrer is a homunculus," Ed speaks in a hushed tone.
"But now, the prince of Amestris, Selim Bradley…" Iris finishes, "It's him, too. He's also a homunculus."
"You both need to be careful when you're around that family," the boy warned. Iris clenched her hand around his wrist tightly. That's when he finally noticed the contact. His face was full of confusion, and hers of embarrassment.
"Sorry," she mumbled, then averted his eyes. She focused back on Riza. "Can you share this with Roy somehow? Who knows the next time I'll get to see him..."
"Of course, Iris."
The pair left soon after their meeting, thanking the lieutenant. Iris gave both her and Hayate a tight hug and a 'see you soon'.
Outside, the streetlights shine on the pavement. The atmosphere between the alchemists is awkward. They walk side by side, Ed's coat and hair blowing in the wind.
"Nice night," he comments quietly, then clears his throat.
Iris ignores his small talk and goes straight to the point. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"'S fine. It was just my automail." He subconsciously reaches for the place between where his flesh ends and his automail starts, then touches his wrist where Iris held him.
"Yeah," he says, more to himself. "It's fine."
