Chapter twenty-five
Roy sighed heavily as Ed pulled out of the hug right before Riza and Alphonse entered the room and closed the door behind them. Then he felt his face tighten as he went into his impassive mode. Right now he only had two options just like before. Namely stony or sobbing. And sobbing wasn't an option. The boys deserved better than Roy breaking down. "I'm taking the State Hunter exam within the next few days. Dick is sorting out the details with Führer Bradley as we speak, unless he's already on his way back. The official reason is that I want to make it clear that no one that I care about are to be messed with because they assume that I've gone soft. And so Lucas is at the centre of that because he's made himself a lot of enemies over the years and that makes it a bit too tempting for the vampires to try to exact some revenge. You boys will be receiving homeschooling and four of my most trusted subordinates back in East City are being transferred here to stay with you as additional security as you're more inclined to trust them."
The boys paled slightly and Riza looked like her fears had just been confirmed and that it was breaking her heart.
"I'm sorry, Roy," Ed said quietly, looking down. "I-if you hadn't done this for us..."
Roy actually rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Edward, no offence, but you're embarrassing yourself right now through your exceptionally misplaced sense of guilt. You're not at fault for any of this and if you take a moment to actually think for a bit, you'll see that your presence here is mostly a stressful blessing."
Ed paused, obviously not having been expecting that particular answer, and so Roy continued speaking. "Remember that Mother was pregnant before I met you two, meaning that what would happen is that I would be getting a phone call sometime within the next few weeks, possibly this week, just because perimenopause and hunting on her level isn't a good mix often and so it's usually kept a closer eye on so as to make it as comfortable a phase as possible for the hunter in question. And so I would be arriving here, soon attempting to strangle my father, then still end up becoming a State Hunter in an attempt at not having my parents put another of my siblings through that hell. And so the difference here is that you boys are providing me with one hell of an argument for keeping that kid innocent. And if you start worrying about getting caught, then what has actually happened here is that we now also have one hell of a reason for them to not hurt you should you be found out. Because you can be there to monitor both Mother and the baby and keep making sure that my new little sibling makes it after it's born. After all, there are a lot of health risks associated with a pregnancy like this. So you tell me exactly what reason you have to apologise to me for?"
Ed looked up at that, blushing, tears in his eyes and his fists clenched in determination. "I'm gonna train harder than ever to make sure that things turn out okay!"
"Thank you, Ed..." Roy said with a heavy sigh and ruffled his fringe twice. "Which means that it's probably time for us to go back inside. After all, I have a grandfather to growl at before dinner and I've drunk about seven and a half decilitres of water within a very short amount of time and could use a toilet."
"Sure. Do you want us to go up to our room while you're... uh... growling?"
Roy sighed again. "We found out that your standard range of hearing normal volume speaking is at about fifty metres, whispering at forty, shouting at a two hundred and screaming has yet to be determined, with walls and floors and all that included in those estimates, right?"
Ed nodded. "Yeah, something like that... Though outdoors, screams are probably gonna be well over a kilometre. And I haven't really been able to try it out because people smell and are too noisy for me to have done so... I prefer blocking it out, you know?"
Roy frowned. They couldn't exactly conduct tests unrestrainedly. "Well, sending you far away will seem a bit too suspicious, even if the house is, like you say, ridiculously large, and so privacy can easily be achieved... So I suppose going up to our room would be better than nothing."
The way that Ed's hearing was so advanced had been the reason for why he had been sending Ed and Al out into the garden when talking with Pops. He wasn't exactly going to ban Ed from coming within four hundred metres' range of the basement training room when the boys were inside the house. After all, though Roy didn't do it much, he wasn't trusting himself not to scream at his father, and now grandfather as well, in frustration with everything that was going on.
Then Ed suddenly grabbed his left hand in his right, surprising Roy more than a little, and he looked down at the young boy. Ed had been more hug-prone since Roy had found him in his bed after being attacked like that the previous morning.
And it made his stomach clench violently to see just how much fear there was in his eyes at the prospect of staying here in case it would happen again.
Roy couldn't imagine what it must truly have been like for the young boy. They had told both Al and Riza about it because it was still important that they knew, should something happen again. Ed was the only one that could be targeted like that because of his healing abilities. Everyone else would die because that was what happened when a bunch of tiny daggers shot into your neck and into your skull and then latched on to your brain. Ed was the only one that they could target untraceably.
And so Ed would most likely be spending his nights in the crook of Roy's arm.
"We'll walk ahead, the wheelchair slows our progress down so you'll catch up to us soon enough," Riza said gently and turned the wheelchair around and wheeled Al back out.
And so Roy knelt down and put his hands on Ed's shoulders. He remembered faintly Berthold having done the same when Roy had been sent out on his own to fight a nest for the first time. He wasn't completely sure just what the hell he was doing, but he knew that he had a duty to fulfil as the Elrics' guardian. "The beds are big enough for you to share with me for a long, long time, you know."
Tears began streaming down Edward's cheeks at that. "I-I just... I can't go through that again..."
Roy could understand that full well. "I know, and I will do everything I can to keep that from happening. If that means you secretly using my shoulder as a pillow into your forties, then I don't care."
There was a kind of fear in the boy's eyes that Roy had never seen before. The closest he had come to seeing it had been when he'd been serving as a bodyguard for a hunter during the duration of the man's stay in the hospital. Roy had been involved in a hunt when they had found the man that had gone missing and had been presumed dead for six days.
Instead they had found John Bartlett leaning against the wall of a derelict building, only being held up by the large nails in his shoulders. He had had his nails torn out, his toes cut off, and his right arm had literally been chewed off of him. The same thing had happened to his left ear and he had also been covered in cigarette burns and his teeth had been pulled out and his body had basically been reduced to a giant bruise. His ankles had been broken and because of the nails in his shoulders, he had been forced to stand on his abused limbs.
When the man had woken up in the hospital, he had been in significant amounts of agony.
...And then he had screamed as Roy had told him his name because he had interpreted it as him being an even bigger target than he had thought, and that there had therefore been a vast risk of him being put through even more agony.
The look in his eyes at that point had been similar to Ed's. But even that paled in comparison. Because, unlike Bartlett, Edward wouldn't die. He wouldn't run out of limbs. He would keep producing whatever they were to cut off.
And Ed had had something take control of his nerves themselves. He had been pushed to his limit in a way that had left him trapped within his own mind long after the anguish had gone away.
And Edward Elric was twelve.
He was a child that had been put through torture provided by the Alphas themselves.
And so Roy wiped away the boy's tears with his thumbs and pulled Ed to him and hugged him tightly.
Roy re-emerged from the en-suite bathroom, having changed his clothes once more. Ed had got snot and tears on Roy's clothes in addition to the sweat that came with mutilating targets and showing the punching bag who was the better fighter. And so it was less suspicious if Roy's clothes weren't transmuted as it wouldn't make sense for Roy not to be sweaty after those things, and especially as he wasn't the one who did the laundry in this house.
And so Roy was now wearing a black shirt and a pale blue waistcoat with matching trousers.
He had rolled up his sleeves so as to have regained some casualness, but fact still was that having a waistcoat to hide weapons inside when he was back to training with his parents, was simply common sense. Which meant surprise attacks from people who had hidden weapons on them. Plus, although it was unlikely, he wanted to be prepared for any potential attacks, even if there was nothing to be gained by attacking them now. Having an Alpha sneak into their house would frankly be idiotic. There would be nothing to be gained by it, other than making the fact that an Alpha had sneaked into their home and put everyone on high alert. A group of Power-Wielders might cause some trouble, but Bradley would obviously not exactly be recommending that they do that. And Roy actually preferred wearing a waistcoat anyways. He enjoyed the slight pressure around his torso.
And it reminded him of all those times that Berthold had helped dress him with one.
He wanted to punch things. He wanted to shout with frustration.
But instead he just straightened out his waistcoat and sighed heavily as he walked over to the door and loaded himself with the usual assortment of weapons. "Ed, please don't tell me where he is, it's probably better that I don't know where to find that bastard. I'll come fetch you three in time for dinner."
"Good luck," Ed and Al said at the same time, and Riza just gave him one of those smiles that showed how much she cared and without her needong to say anything.
And so Roy just nodded at the three of them. "Trust me, if he pisses me off, then he's the one that needs that 'good luck,'" he said as he opened the door and left the room, closing it with his foot. He was beginning to love those special soles that he had bought earlier today when he had found those clothes for the boys.
And he was feeling nervous. Because Mother scared him somewhat. Not in a murderous way.
...But because she was a lot more playful than he had ever imagined.
...And his forty-nine-year-old mother sometimes indulged herself by jumping on the bed as she waited for her husband to finish in the bathroom.
Roy had a lump growing in his stomach at the thought. Because these past two days had showed him just why his parents had had no problem with still staying together. And just how human they actually were underneath all those layers of hunting and pushing everything away.
But he just had to meet Lucas after only about fifty metres of walking. His grandfather came out of one of the thirty-four bedrooms that this house had to offer, not counting the residential building for the staff that was connected to the house. There would have been plenty more of the former, had it not been for the way that there were different training and exercise rooms as this was a hunters' mansion. Plus, what with the importance of the building, it wasn't exactly nice not to be able to offer all of the guests a room with a window.
Also, they actually had a surgery theatre. A classroom too. And a lecture room. And it all had to do with the fact that sometimes they needed to offer other important hunters somewhere to live in case there should be need for it until a better and more permanent solution could be provided. After all, it was the safest building in the country, what with how they couldn't exactly have the Presidential Estate serve as witness protection. Also, with important political figures, not only from Amestris, this building was significantly suited to host those guests, along with the Armstrong mansion.
The estate in East City had originally had twenty-eight bedrooms, but Roy had used fifteen of them for actually useful purposes, leaving Riza and Roy with a bedroom each and eleven spare guest rooms. Meaning that the rest of them had been turned into something that he had found much more worthwhile. And so he had taken eight of them which had all been in a row, and had turned them into a library. An actual library stuffed mostly with fiction. Another bedroom had been turned into his hedgehog rescue centre management office. The remaining six of them, which had also been in a row, had been turned into a highly satisfactory minigolf course. He was swearing inwardly at the fact that he would have to leave it all behind. He might be allowed to build another minigolf course in the garden here, though. The ones back home would be able to manage the hedgehog rescue centre. And it appeared to be the case that they now had three pet hedgehogs, which was cheering him up just slightly.
Roy gave Lucas a spiteful glare, not really in the mood for interacting with the old bastard, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets. "And here I thought you didn't possess much of a sense of humour."
"Nice to see you too, Roy," Lucas replied calmly, looking slightly surprised at his first words after such a long while.
"Dick said that you came here, wishing to improve our relationship, which is fairly ironic when it was at its best when I had cut off all contact with you," Roy said coldly. Then he just began walking towards the the stairs to the entrance hall, leaving Lucas to either follow him or leave him be.
"I tried calling you, you know," Lucas said as he began walking with him.
"Yes, I noticed, but I didn't answer, which suited me just fine," Roy told him with bitter casualness and sped up his strides so that Lucas would hopefully get the message about leaving him alone.
His grandfather stopped walking all together, unlike Roy. Then he suddenly spoke up, his voice firm. "One billion."
Roy paused and turned towards him, caught completely off guard by the odd statement. "What?"
"Riza's account. I went to the bank before the tournament."
Roy froze, eyes widening. "...What?"
Lucas just sighed. "You're obviously not getting a wife, meaning that she's the closest thing you'll have to one. And she's helping you raise your kids. Five hundred million for each child she's helping you with, in other words."
"You're saying that after all those times where you have stubbornly refused to give her anything, you're now giving her a billion cens?" Roy asked, stunned and having a lot of problems with actually getting himself to comprehend his grandfather's words.
Lucas sighed again. "That's hardly something that I would joke about, would it? It's family tradition for the whatever heirs there are to receive a significant financial gift upon the time that they have a child. You'll be receiving five billion yourself."
Roy's mind was numb with shock and he could hardly think, let alone speak. Then came a fresh wave of anger and frustration. "Where's Mother?!"
"In your parents' bedroom. She was getting dressed for dinner."
Roy stared at him. Pops hadn't told him about how his grandfather was really like because, just like with Roy's knowledge of him, Lucas had been gone for so long that he might have changed more than they would have thought. And so they had decided that it was probably better that Roy got to find out once they actually could do so in private, also because it made it easier for Roy to maintain his strained relationship with his grandfather as genuine as possible. And Roy's annoyance with it all would help him keep up his act. "I'm not going to express my gratitude, at least not yet. Not until I've checked with Mother that that is even a thing in the Pembroke family! I'm not just going to tell my little sister that she's a damned billionaire without at least a bit of proof!" And with that, Roy strode off down the corridor, his parents' bedroom being about two hundred metres away from his own. He had a feeling that his words had made it clear to Ed that he wanted to tell Riza himself.
And so he hammered his right hand three times against the right one of the double doors to his parents' bedroom. "MOTHER! I WOULD LIKE A WORD WITH YOU RIGHT THIS DAMNED MINUTE!"
Ten seconds later, Mother opened the door to his left, looking up at him with worried surprise. She was wearing an elegant, slim, deep red wrapped dress that went down to her ankles, and had a single strap that went across her shoulder.
...However, her hair wasn't yet done, and was still wrapped in a towel. She was also still barefoot and had only just finished putting on her makeup, save the lipstick, making her look a bit odd.
He was struck by an overwhelming amount of conflicting emotions, because his anger was fading somewhat at the look in her eyes. And at the thought that he had a little sibling forming inside her stomach. And though she was keeping up the act, she was also doing what Ed had told his parents to by being a bit nicer to him. "Roy? What's going on?"
"Is it true what Lucas just told me about Riza receiving a billion cens because she's helping me raise Ed and Al?" he asked through clenched teeth, barely even noticing the way that his nails were digging into his palms.
Mother sighed at that and nodded. "Yes. We were her guardians, after all."
Roy felt like his stomach was being torn apart from the inside. "So five years ago, the old sod refused to give her anything for her eighteenth birthday, but she receives a billion for helping me with a couple of bumpkins?"
"Yes. You need to understand that you've actually brought a couple of children into our family when that was supposed to never happen after that night. When she is helping you raise them, she becomes something like their mother. But as she isn't so, she's still receiving less than yourself."
"And you? Have you got any other surprise billions to reveal?"
"As I said, she is our ward, and that means that a child that was in our care and still lives as our son's sister, she is receiving double the amount that Father is giving her."
Roy froze, he couldn't get himself to actually believe what he was hearing. "So she's receiving two billion out of the blue? Just like that?"
She shook her head, and he felt his heart sink. "As in she received twenty per cent of the amount that you received yourself. Which means forty per cent of the ten billion that you get. Meaning that you get a total of fifteen billion, while she gets five."
Roy stood there, speechless for about three seconds.
Then it all just became too much for him to keep his emotions in check, and he lifted his right hand with a roar of frustration, aiming to hit the door.
However, Mother had obviously been able to read him well enough to pull the door open, removing his target before his fist could connect with the hard wood and possibly break his knuckles.
"TO HELL WITH YOU! ALL OF YOU!" Roy bellowed.
Then he just sunk to his knees and began sobbing as he leant forwards, his hands over his head. "I CAN'T DO THIS! IT'S TOO MUCH ALL AT ONCE JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER TIME THAT THINGS HAVE GONE TO HELL! IT'S ALWAYS EITHER/OR WITH THIS DAMNED PLACE! EITHER THINGS ARE NORMAL, OR EVERYTHING COMES CRASHING DOWN AROUND ME AND I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT! NOT ANY MORE! I HATE THIS PLACE! I HATE BEING A MUSTANG AND I CAN'T EVER CATCH A BREAK WHEN I'M IN THIS BLOODY HOUSE!"
He suddenly felt Mother's hands on his shoulders, her voice soft, alarmed and actually a bit shaky. "Let's take this inside, the staff really doesn't need to listen to this."
It became apparent that he wasn't the only one who had reached their breaking point. And so he let her guide him inside the bedroom and sit him down on the bed and he knew that she couldn't hug him because of Ed. Which made it so much worse. Too much so.
Because she wanted to and she couldn't do it.
And it reminded him far too much of how his entire life had been up till yesterday. Of how she would never take that step of actually comforting him with anything other than a brief hand on his arm. And he just needed to make it all right for her to ease up on her act. Because it was all just too much at once and he needed her to be his mother right now more than ever before and he couldn't just keep it to himself. Not when he knew the truth.
"CAN'T YOU JUST HUG ME FOR ONCE?! YOU'RE BEING NICER TO A PAIR OF STRANGERS THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO ME! AND I'VE SEEN IT IN YOUR EYES! ALL THROUGHOUT MY CHILDHOOD, IT HAS BEEN THERE! THAT TINY SPECK OF WANTING TO ACTUALLY REACH OUT AND BE MY MOTHER! SO CAN YOU PLEASE DO IT JUST THIS ONCE?! CAN YOU JUST PICK UP THE COURAGE AND STOP LIVING IN THE COMFORTABLE WORLD OF NOT BEING EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE?! JUST THIS ONCE?! CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING OTHER THAN EMOTIONAL SCARRING?! CAN YOU JUST SHOW ME THAT YOU ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT ME?! JUST THIS ONCE?! BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HELL! I'M BECOMING A STATE HUNTER, I'M MOVING BACK HERE AND WILL BE RAISING A PAIR OF KIDS IN THIS DAMNED BUILDING! AND ED TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED! TOLD ME ABOUT HOW YOU GAVE THEM A CHOICE TO ACTUALLY BE TREATED WITH AT LEAST SOME LEVEL OF KINDNESS! AND MY OWN PARENTS WOULDN'T HAVE TREATED ME WITH THE SAME IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE FACT THAT ED MANAGED TO APPEAL TO THAT TINY FRACTION OF DECENCY THAT YOU TWO POSSESS! JUST SO THAT YOU COULD AT LEAST REALISE THAT IT WOULD MAKE YOU TWO EVEN MORE MORALLY CORRUPT IF YOU DIDN'T TREAT ME WITH SOME KINDNESS TOO! SO CAN YOU PLEASE JUST SHOW ME THAT YOU CARE?! CAN YOU JUST REACH OUT AND FUCKING HUG ME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY L-"
He never got any further before Mother was kneeling on the bed to his right and pulling him towards her. She rested her chin on top of his right shoulder, pressing her tear-stained cheek to his own. "I-I'm so sorry, Roy..." she told him shakily, before pressing her lips to his cheek and then pulling him even tighter to her, her left hand pressing on the back of his head, her right stroking up and down his back. "So, so sorry..."
Then she pressed her mouth to his shoulder to muffle the sound as she began sobbing herself.
Roy's eyes were still puffy and his face still red as he headed back to his bedroom. In fact, his eyes were still stinging slightly with tears. He hadn't really had the time to be hugged for long.
In fact, it had only been fifteen minutes since his meltdown. But he hadn't told Mother about the fact that she was pregnant and he knew that he had a couple of kids to care for, one of which had heard everything that he had been shouting. And so he had received that hug and had just sat there for a few minutes before they had headed for the en-suite bathroom. He had washed his face and he had blown his nose repeatedly, before he had left Mother to redo her make-up, while he would be changing his clothes yet again.
And he had a nagging feeling that Edward had locked himself inside the bathroom, and was now sitting in the bath, possibly crying, waiting for Roy to return.
He quickened his strides, feeling even more tears building in his eyes, cursing himself inwardly. Especially at the fact that Ed had undoubtedly heard Roy's shouts about having to raise the Elrics in the house that was causing him so much torment.
And so he bowed his head to hide his face as he passed one of the maids, before he finally reached his room. He kept looking down at his feet as he walked inside, not bothering to shut the door, almost breaking down into sobs just at knowing that Riza was inside the room. "Riza, can you just please get me a pair of denims, a white T-shirt and my yellow shirt?" he asked urgently, noticing just how shaky and choked his voice was, making everything a lot harder to contain.
"Roy? What hap-" Al began, sounding unsure and scared.
"Not now, Alphonse!" he snapped before slamming the bathroom door open and turning around and shutting it just as hard. Then he just stood there, panting, as he leant his elbows and fists on the door, his back to Ed. "You heard everything, didn't you?" he asked quietly, feeling tears begin to run down his cheeks again.
"I-I didn't tell them about anything," Ed answered weakly, proving Roy's theories about him crying to be correct. "I'm s-sorry, R-"
"Don't you dare start apologising! You have done nothing wrong, and I'm really not in the mood to listen to you apologising for something that's got nothing to do with you!" His words came out as a shaky bark. "And before you get scared, no, I don't have a bad tendency to turn violent when things like these happen." He took a deep breath, speaking quietly. "I should have told you more about just how messed up I truly am, and especially before bringing you boys here. I'm the one who brought you two into this family and while I was saying all those kind things about my parents, I neglected to tell you what it did to me and just what this house thereby represents. But I didn't, because I was stupid enough to think that I would be able to keep staying calm and collected, and that's on me. I was lying in that bed that Al is now, so heavily injured that I needed my father to help me every damn time I went to the bathroom because of all the cuts and the risk of infection that followed them. I was lying in that bed, knowing that Riza was receiving her first training sessions, and I couldn't stop it. I was given a deal after that night, one that meant that I could voluntarily get kicked out of this house once I came of age, and by not complaining, I was allowed to bring Riza with me. We were able to escape this damned building, and I could get to hate my parents in peace..." He was so desperately wanting to just run to his parents. To actually stop this stupid act. To just receive a hug. He damned well just wanted to sit sideways on his father's lap and be a small kid as he pressed himself into his chest and got rocked back and forth.
And the worst part was that he could actually get just that if it hadn't been for Ed potentially getting possessed again and constitute a major danger to everyone and everything. And it wasn't even Ed's fault. Ed was a damned victim, and Roy wasn't angry at him for it.
His voice rose a pitch as he kept speaking. "And now I've gone and taken advantage of my mother's mood swings and tendency to cry easier because she's pregnant and I actually got a damned hug for the first time in my life that I can remember. I guilt-tripped my overemotional mother due to biological factors just so that I could get a hug. A hug that she would not have given me had it not been for her being pregnant which is the reason that I'm becoming the thing that I have wanted the least for as long as I can remember!" He was both inventing stories while also telling the truth. Because all of it was true when it came to how he would be living most of his time. Because Pops didn't exist. His parents barely cared about how he felt.
He found himself turning around and sliding down the wall and then hugged his knees to his chest just like the equally crying boy in the bath before him. Though Ed was also looking at Roy with fear. Not like he thought that Roy would hurt him. Just fear at seeing Roy breaking down like this. "And I want you to know that you getting them to behave kinder to you, isn't the main reason for me begging Mother for a hug... It's because I'm getting a little sibling and I'm damned well jealous."
"Because it might not have to get turned into a hunter?" Ed asked quietly.
Roy shook his head. "No. Because I'll have to be there as I watch my parents constantly hug that little sibling because it's more beneficial for the baby!" He gripped his hair, bowing his head to the point that he wasn't looking at Ed. "Wet nurses aren't common in elite hunter families because of the way that it requires just about every acquaintance that the wet nurse in question has, because of them being at high risk of being targeted. It saves a hell of a lot of time and reduces risks drastically of someone being taken hostage to make the wet nurse harm the child. Which means that I will be in this house as my parents care for a child in a way that it won't remember just like myself. And I'll be inclined to throw up every damn minute for that entire time!"
Roy looked back up at Ed. "So please don't blame yourself... I was just..." He sighed heavily and shakily, before speaking in something barely more than a whisper. "I don't even know... But just please don't think that I don't want to keep you boys around."
Richie had only just left through the door to Bradley's office, when the Alpha's secretary almost crashed into him to the point that Richie had to grab her upper arms to keep her on her feet.
Understandably enough, the brunette blushed violently as she regained her balance and looked up at him, and more importantly, the scars covering the right side of his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Lieutenant General, thank you." She quickly regained her composure, though, but she had always been a very adaptable and professional woman. "Actually, your wife is on the phone, enquiring if you're still here and if the two of you could speak with His Excellency. So if you could just wait here, sir, until I've found out whether Führer Bradley is available?"
Richie paused, but nodded and stepped back. "Yes, of course, Foster."
He received a nod, and so Richie was re-entering Bradley's office about a minute later, still receiving a small smile from the man before him, the Alpha seeming just a bit amused by the abrupt change of plans. "Well, General, how have you been since I last saw you?"
It was obvious that they were very much off duty by now, and resuming the camaraderie that they had had for the past few decades. It was odd just how false it had become after what the laws had forced him to have done to Bertie. Because Richie had actually liked Bradley at some point. He had been an interesting man to talk to, they had trained together, had even gone on a few double dates once Mrs Bradley had come into the picture. The Alpha before him had actually come to Richie for advice on how to woo the then Evelyn Saunders after having been literally lovestruck, seeing as how he had had very little talent in not semi-insulting women, and Evelyn had actually slapped him. And so, what with how Richie had been somewhat similar to him, and had actually been able to have married out of love, rather than duty, he had been a good choice.
And yet it had all been an act on the Alpha's side and somewhat on Richie's even before that night with Bertie. Because it had always been built on the persona that was Richard and not Richie. And knowing now that the two of them obviously inwardly detested each other, really proved to Richie that both him and Bradley were formidable actors. "Surprised and slightly curious, I think would be the best description, sir," he told the Alpha, looking into the green and far too human eyes.
Richie was getting an odd feeling that Bradley was actually having fun with his role because of the way that he was fooling so many people. After all, just speaking with Richie must be seen as a constant praise of his acting talents. He got to see how the foolish humans that were nothing but pawns and food to them.
And so the man chuckled before returning to a more serious expression. "Well, your wife didn't sound like something was particularly wrong, so it probably has to do with your son becoming a State Hunter. It seemed more precaution-oriented."
They gave each other a look that said that they both doubted it rather a lot, and Richie couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
However, they still made friendly small talk until there came a knock on the door twenty-five minutes later, and soon enough, Augusta was standing there in the doorway. She was wearing a black skirt that reached her knees and that had a hidden zipper at the front in case of an attack or a running-worthy situation. Basically, there were a pair of training shorts inside the skirt that people didn't really know about. She also had a white blouse with a shiny, dark blue waistcoat and her hair was in a bun at the back of her head. She looked very stylish all in all. Stylish and beautiful.
...And within the next few months, that skirt would hopefully be too tight, and it was filling Richie with dread.
"Thank you for waiting, Your Excellency, but I felt that this was such an urgent matter that it would be better to do it now, especially considering what I found out while Richard was here."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Dr Mustang, you wouldn't have requested something like this if you thought it to be unimportant. Now please have a seat and I could ask Foster to bring you something to drink if you'd like?"
Augusta shook her head as she sat down next to Richie. "That's not necessary, sir, but thank you."
Bradley smiled and nodded, before taking on a more serious manner once the secretary closed the door. "Now, what is it that is so urgent, Dr Mustang?" he asked with a kind of pleasant seriousness.
As in answer, she pulled out a sheet of paper that had been folded twice from the pocket inside of her waistcoat next to where she usually kept her penknife. "I didn't think that there would be anything to it because it seemed so extremely impossible, but I still thought that the signs were a bit too clear for my liking. So I went to my gynaecologist yesterday and I went by the clinic earlier this afternoon and got the test results back..." She took a deep breath, obviously struggling against tears. "...And it turns out that I was right and that it wasn't just a part of my perimenopause."
She turned towards Richie and handed him the sheet, leaving it to him to open. "And so I think we're about to have a nationwide scandal on our hands soon enough, because people are bound to start doubting that Richard is actually the real father."
Richie couldn't help but feel more than a little relieved at the way that Augusta had written proof of her pregnancy, because now there would be no suspicions about Roy having let his parents know if her pregnancy was proved in a few weeks because of an 'innocent' visit to her gynaecologist for something completely unlikely. Still, as he read through the sheet, dread began sinking more and more into him. Especially at the term 'high-risk pregnancy'. There was just something about it that made his stomach churn.
And right now, he didn't really know what to say, because even if he had known about her for a few hours now, there was still something about getting it in writing as he sat with Augusta, that left him feeling numb. "I... I see, Augusta. I certainly wasn't expecting this... Do you know how far along you are?" he asked, keeping his voice level.
She shook her head. "Not really, no, but I am fairly certain that Roy knows, considering how he just had a meltdown unlike any he's had before after I told him about how Riza is receiving money too for helping to raise the Elrics..." Augusta then sighed and looked down. "And at the fact that he started begging me to be his mother just for once and just give him a hug... And so it probably means that the heart began pumping blood only today or that there is something else that triggered him to find out... Which would actually suggest that he's jealous and will be extremely embarrassed and not ask for something like that again."
Richie was grateful that Bradley had enough tact to just be a silent spectator, while Richie knew just what it was that Augusta was up to. Just like him, she wanted to have an excuse for telling the boys what was going on so that they could have Ed monitor the baby and Augusta herself as soon as possible.
And so he sighed and placed the sheet on the table before taking her left hand in his right, looking at her, finding fear and hurt in her eyes, silently telling her that he didn't believe for one second that she had been cheating on him. "Well, we were trapped in a conversation with the losing team where the wife was explaining in detail about how her pregnancy worked. I would believe that being hit by the same scent of hormones upon their arrival back here would have triggered it. It fits with how angry Roy was and how he decided to become a State Hunter."
Augusta nodded, frowning just slightly. "That would make sense." They then turned towards Bradley in unison, before Augusta addressed the Alpha directly. "Your Excellency, I know that I am asking about something that is extremely unconventional and more or less illegal, but could we please tell Edward that we know what he is and have him act as a constant scan for something wrong? I... I believe that as a half-Alpha, he should be able to both sense, and with training, also heal any abnormalities that could prove themselves to be harmful to either me or the baby that I am carrying, or both. It would already look suspicious if we were oblivious to Roy's outburst right before he should logically have known of me being pregnant again." She sighed heavily. "Also, as the Elrics will be meeting Lieutenant Colonel Kimblee on an almost daily basis, he will be a lot more interested in the Elrics when learning of my pregnancy. He carries a grudge towards my marriage to Richard, and with another child on the way, it is only going to intensify. The Elrics will therefore be a lot more stressed about him and probably have it compromise their matches as well as overdoing their innocent behaviour to the point that it becomes highly suspicious. By knowing that Richard isn't going to torture them for the same reasons, they will be able to regain some sense of safety and act as normally as they usually would."
Bradley frowned, looking very displeased, but also appearing to see her point. "I do not particularly like the idea, but there is also a lot of political significance in what has happened. And I have no right to tell you to terminate your pregnancy against your will." He gave them a stern look. "I will allow it, also because it gives us an opportunity to get a much clearer grasp of just how powerful the Alphas are."
Richie inwardly sighed with relief. "Thank you, Your Excellency."
Bradley didn't really seem pleased about any of this. "But I want to make it absolutely clear that the only people that can know about this are the Elrics, yourselves, and General Pembroke. You will tell them the same. And take into account that I am only allowing you to ask Edward Elric for medical assistance and monitoring, but if you regret your decision in doing so, then you are by no means bound to trust a vampire to do that. You are putting yourself at risk, and you are mostly basing this on Edward Elric's fear of the consequences and his general level of sentiment. I will take no responsibility for your choices, but if you are comfortable with trusting a vampire that you have only known for three days, then that is up to you. I trust your judgement as it is usually correct, and if we achieve the desired results, then that would be the best possible outcome."
"Sir, I do believe that Edward Elric can be trusted due to one simple thing," Augusta began. "Because judging from what I have seen of his behaviour, he does not want to see Roy lose his mother when he could have done something to stop it, considering how he carries an extreme grudge towards his father and his mother died from getting ill. It will remind him far too much of what happened to him, and most likely feel like he's letting Roy down in the same way as his father did with their mother." She then bowed her head. "And so I thank you for allowing me to do this, because the chances of miscarriage are extremely high, especially during this first trimester... And I just don't want to risk losing our child when we could have done something to stop it."
Bradley assumed a bit of softness to his features. "You have both contributed to this country's safety far more than most, I suppose that this could serve as a repayment and a show of trust in your judgement. After all, your families have lost a lot to serve this country, and you are also doing it through accepting to have a half-Alpha living in your home. And so you have my congratulations upon the child that will hopefully be born healthy through your decisions..."
Richie could tell that the Alpha was acting so softly because it was in accordance with his guise of not being able to have children of his own. But, as it was an Alpha, Richie decided to discretely make it clear that the deal still stood. "The only problem is that training it to become a hunter will most likely put the Elrics and everyone that are associated with Roy at risk of being targeted. Which is most likely the true reason behind Roy's decision in moving back here and becoming a State Hunter. Besides, once we're gone or just too old to hunt as efficiently as possible, then another attack like the one thirteen years ago will end up with Edward Elric being too soft to kill his own kind, and then most likely find himself with someone that he cares deeply about being taken hostage. And that means that we'll have an extremely powerful half-Alpha being forced to team up with the vampire population and the result of such an event is far worse than us raising a child without turning them into a hunter. Though we'll give them some training in not having angry civilians shoot them, or similar, of course."
His words received a nod and a frown. "Well, that is indeed a very good point, General..."
Then he abruptly returned to an extremely stern demeanour as he focused his attention upon Augusta and her alone. "But, as you said, Dr Mustang, you're about to face a nationwide scandal with accusations of you having been unfaithful to your husband. Which means that so as to retain your credibility, I need you to be completely honest with me. You're undoubtedly going to have people claim to be the father or supposedly know that you're seeing someone and sell the stories to magazines and newspapers. And so I ask you if you have in fact been having an affair? We can make quick arrangements if so, but understandably enough, doing a DNA test to confirm who the father is once the time comes is probably wise no matter what. We could say that it was actually an arranged process because of General Mustang's age and that you had wanted another child before it had been too late. The real father would most likely be far happier if so if they were to receive a consistent sum for years, rather than resorting to blackmailing you a-" Bradley began without much prejudice, but Augusta cut him off.
"No!" she exclaimed, her voice rising a pitch, actually near tears. Then she obviously realised what she had just done, and she spoke a bit more quickly to cover for her outburst. "I am sorry to interrupt you, Your Excellency, but I have certainly never cheated on my husband, and I never ever will."
Bradley seemed just a bit surprised at her reaction, but then he gave her a small nod, most likely being a bit more lenient at the way that being pregnant usually came with a lot more emotional responses than usual, and especially when she had only found out today. "I didn't mean to offend you, Dr Mustang, I merely needed to know for certain before giving you my full support should questions and accusations arise during your hopefully successful pregnancy. After all, needing to know the true identity of the father means that I can order any blackmailers or opportunists to be imprisoned for spreading false rumours by intentionally trying to discredit you or demand any money."
Augusta nodded, but Richie knew what was coming as she gathered herself. "Actually, sir, I have already got significant proof of just who the father would be. After all, what with the age difference, we have received many a threat about people claiming to have had an affair with me. And so, when I turned twenty-five, Richard and I took some precautions, which means that I have a tattoo that he made himself between my pelvis and stomach. And I believe that you seeing for yourself just what the design is now, we can have solid proof verified be the Führer himself, as Richard has been doing a regular touch-up every five years. And so there are a very limited amount of people that have seen it, and all of those can easily be identified and charged with breaking their doctor-patient confidentiality." She unbuttoned her waistcoat and the top of her skirt and pulled out a bit of her blouse to reveal the tattoo. "After all, if someone were to actually have had an affair with me, they would most likely remember the fifteen centimetre, two-headed, winged turtle on their supposed 'lover's' abdomen. If they are unable to answer immediately upon that question, then we know that they are definitely lying as it would only have been a few months ago that they saw it, according to their claims. Especially as we have the backup question about where the large plaster was located at the time if they start saying that I had it covered up at the time."
Bradley paused, eyebrows rising in surprise. Then he began chuckling as Augusta started fixing her blouse, skirt and waistcoat. "Well, that certainly saves us a lot of trouble, Dr Mustang."
They exited the office and began walking through the corridors five minutes later, the explanation for Roy's decision now officially being that Augusta was pregnant, leaving the truth to be the actual cause.
But Richie had to say that he was worried about Augusta as she sighed. "I feel like a fool. I actually interrupted Führer Bradley mid-sentence," she said. "It's been a very long day and it's not yet over... Do you mind if I sit in the car with you and have someone else pick mine up? I could use a nap on the way back home. I've been exhausted like this for weeks now, but I thought it was just perimenopause. I just wanted to be absolutely sure because of the health risks involved."
Which was of course when the behemoth that was Major Armstrong came out of his office at Investigations with his six-year-old daughter in her wheelchair. Cordelia Constance Armstrong, the only daughter of Alex Louis Armstrong and Millicent Dora Armstrong, was one of the quintuplets that had been born six years ago. Because of the limited amount of space that had come with there being five of them, she had had pressure on her spinal cord during the pregnancy and had become a paraplegic as a result. They had been lucky enough for the quintuplets to have inherited Catherine's physique, meaning that when Millicent was almost two metres tall, there had been a lot less complications than there could have been. Which was why Catherine was able to date whomever she chose, regardless of stature, seeing as how there were a total of nine fit hunter heirs due to Amue and Strongine having given birth to a pair of children themselves.
And nobody seemed to be wanting to even suggest that Olivier should find herself a husband and have children of her own.
...Because even Richie found the thought of a pregnant Olivier Mira Armstrong with midnight cravings and mood swings terrifying.
And so the quintuplets had been the reason why Millicent had stayed at home during the party, what with five kids to look after, four of which had recently started training.
And so Cordelia was sitting in a fairly interesting wheelchair as the handles had a design similar to that of a telescope, what with how they were extendable to reach high enough for her parents to push her easily. But right now the girl was controlling the wheelchair of her own, and the handles were of normal height for a wheelchair her size.
And her father, of course, doted on her beyond words.
But upon seeing Richie, the man straightened up and saluted him, and so Richie saluted him back before they let their hands fall to their sides. "General Mustang, Dr Mustang, what a pleasure it is to see you again soon! I hope that everything is well?"
Richie exchanged a glance with Augusta, and they found that there really was no point in delaying the inevitable, as word of Roy's State Hunter exam would spread throughout the building and public tomorrow, and having people know about her pregnancy would make it far less suspicious. "The truth is, Major, that we have just had a meeting with Führer Bradley as Roy will be taking the State Hunter examination in two days and is moving back here to Central," Richie said. "Due to the fact that he feels that it will be putting the ones that he cares about at much greater risk if he were to stay in East City, as we found out earlier this afternoon that Augusta is pregnant again."
Understandably enough, Alex froze, his jaw dropping, obviously lost for words.
"Are you really, Dr Mustang?" Cordelia asked sweetly, looking up at them with childlike interest and innocence, her little Armstrong family forehead-curl bobbing slightly as she looked up at them. And Richie actually felt a little jolt of joy at the fact that they would get to raise a child without turning them into a hunter, just like with the young girl before them.
Augusta nodded, her voice softening due to Cordelia's age. "Yes, I am. I did a blood test yesterday and got the results back today. I'm obviously not far along, though."
"Oh, I see. I hope you have a really happy pregnancy, Dr Mustang!"
Predictably enough, Alex immediately scooped his daughter up in his arms with tears streaming down his cheeks. He too was obviously aware of the risks, and still dumbstruck at the news and afraid of saying something that would end in disaster within days because of the high chances of miscarriage. "You have my utmost profound congratulations! It is truly a great achievement and I wish from the bottom of my heart that it all goes well!"
"Yes, thank you, Major," Richie said.
...I hope so too.
Alphonse looked up from where Riza was hugging him, as Roy returned from the bathroom, looking much more informal than Al had seen him before, not counting pyjamas or training clothes. Because Roy was wearing jeans, and an open, bright yellow shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and with a T-shirt underneath. Said T-shirt was tucked in under his trousers with a dark brown belt.
Basically, he didn't look much like a Mustang at all where he stood in front of the bathroom door.
His face was red from tears and his eyes were puffy, and yet he kept his manner calm and as normal as usual, though his voice was slightly hoarse and shaky as he spoke. "Right... I-I suppose that you could say that I just had the biggest meltdown of my life and that I started out with speaking to Ed because it was within his hearing range when it happened," he explained quickly. Then he strode over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, right next to Al's left hip. It made it very clear that he was still fighting tears and his eyes were very bloodshot as he looked down at Al. "And so I would like to start out with apologising for snapping at you like that, Alphonse... You didn't do anything wrong and I'm not angry with you and I wasn't so when I did that either."
Al really had no idea about what he was supposed to say or do about it, but he had a large lump in his stomach and he felt tears beginning to form at the sight of Roy's face.
And so he did the only thing that he could think of, and sat up and reached forwards to hug him.
Roy paused for just a second, before he hugged Al back and rested his chin on top of his head. "I'm sorry about not telling you two about just how much being here affects me, which was frankly idiotic... And now it turns out that I'm actually messed up enough to manipulate my mother through her overemotional state brought on by her pregnancy... Which means that I broke down completely and started yelling at her to be my mother for once and hug me and she actually did. And all because I'm instinctively jealous of that unborn child as I will have to watch it get hugged as an infant. I will have to watch my new little sibling get fooled into loving at least my mother and I just wanted some of that for myself just once. And now I feel guilty and conflicted and I don't even know what to think or do about it, and I don't even know if I want another one because that hurts even more." His voice turned a lot shakier and Al could only guess that Roy was crying again. "It hurts because now I have it confirmed that my mother actually cares about me to some extent. She... She cares about me, and yet she didn't object to training me, and then my little sister. She doesn't care enough about me to break out of her safe shell of not being emotionally vulnerable, and I had to use her mood swings to get my first hug."
He suddenly swallowed hard as he hugged Al tighter to him, and it was obvious this time that he was crying. "And now it turns out that she obviously loves my father unconditionally, considering what has happened... Which all makes it clear that I have a father who doesn't seem to care that he has just made my life hell once more because I don't matter. He loves my mother and so I'm just a tool. And when I proved myself to be a faulty one that he couldn't control, he sent me away because he still didn't want me to get myself killed. He didn't even care about how much pain he's causing me and he was only seeing just how practical it was for me to become a State Hunter... And so I cracked when Lucas, who has been obstinately refusing to give Riza any money for as long as I can remember, has now decided that as I now have a couple of kids, she is entitled to get a monetary gift as well as she is helping me raise you boys. It's all according to traditions that nobody had told me about because of what happened thirteen years ago, concerning the way when one's kids get children of their own, they receive a vast financial gift. And so Riza is receiving a fifth of the amount that I get from Lucas, and forty per cent from my parents because she is their previous ward and she's technically getting children through you too..."
Al paused as Roy took a deep and shaky breath. "Which means that after thirteen years of continuous blackmailing and manipulation to make my parents give Riza at least some of the fortune that I receive myself... Getting kids that I raise here, means that she, without any blackmailing involved, is now a multibillionaire, because she gets five billion cens in total, while I get fifteen."
Shock surged through Alphonse and he had no idea what to say. He had a hard time believing what he had just heard.
It didn't sound true.
It couldn't be true.
Roy took another shaky breath. "Because it turns out that my family is even more wealthy than I had ever thought, and that when adding the Mustang and the Pembroke fortunes together, we have seventy-seven billion cens."
Ed had to admit that he wasn't used to having a three-course dinner at half past seven, or just having three-course dinners in general, really.
But here he was, getting a small bowl of fancy soup as starters, delivered to him by Tom, their dinner having been delayed by half an hour due to Augusta having found that she had needed to join her husband at HQ for apparently making some arrangements concerning additional protection for her colleagues.
Riza had been very quiet since she had learnt of the way that she was now a multibillionaire, which Ed didn't really blame her for. Edward had decided together with Al to wear some white shirts, though Ed still had his leather trousers. The reason was simple.
...Augusta's scary father was here and Roy would obviously be worried about Ed being found out now that there was another highly skilled hunter present in the house. And so Ed was showing a bit of respect through his clothes, even if he wasn't completely trusting of Lucas.
Riza was sitting there in a pretty white dress that reached knees and had a black belt matching the elbow-length sleeves, having gone with much more formal attire than Roy, Al and Ed because of the fact that she had been given such vast sums out of the blue. It was as a display of gratitude, in other words.
And Augusta was sitting there with Roy's future little sibling in her stomach whose survival probably depended upon Ed. The scent of hormones felt like they were filling the room with a thick fog, though only Ed could actually tell that it was there, and it was really disturbing.
"Well, first of all, I think that we should start with telling you a bit more of our family history," Richard began as the door closed behind the waiters, making the room seem even bigger and threatening as they were left completely on their own. "As Lucas so bluntly stated earlier today, and you then even more crudely asked just so as to make sure, Edward, yes, I did indeed have a 'crush' on Augusta when I was Roy's age, though we didn't get married before she came of age. It would be foolish to deny it, considering the fact that I was back then more than a little rash in my decisions, and there are eye witnesses to that. Though I think that you should get an overview on just why Solf J. Kimblee is behaving like he is, which is why I want you to keep away from him as much as possible."
Ed was more than a little alarmed and scared at the thought of Richard Mustang admitting to have had a crush. And so he only gave a weak nod as he had been addressed directly, and then began sipping his soup as Richard kept speaking. "And so, to take it from where it all started, my fiancée who died was Theresa Edith Pembroke, Augusta's older sister, who was one year my senior. The explosion that killed her and her mother, is also why Lucas now has an automail arm. Augusta and Lucas went to his sister's home in North City after it happened so that someone could look after Augusta whilst Lucas got his automail and needed to get back into fighting shape despite the unfeeling metal limb."
He then sighed. "Four years after that, Augusta came to me and her words left me more than a little irked by Lewis Kimblee's blatant disrespect for Augusta's right to be considered something other than an object for him to possess and then have children with. Which means that I became very quickly smitten by Augusta through her words and general appearance, and proposed the day after this happened to in many ways tell people to back off. And that was also when I was foolhardy enough to be so smitten and irked to want to discreetly slam the fact that Kimblee was an insolent brat into his face in front of his parents. Which also means that Lewis Kimblee remembers full well the way that I told them that Augusta was more or less my soulmate after less than twenty-four hours. My explanation as to why Augusta had been asking me for help, was also enough for Mrs Kimblee to stand up and hit her son square in the jaw, ask me to apologise to Augusta for them, and congratulate us upon our marriage."
Richard then swallowed a couple of spoonfuls of soup, before looking back up. "And so, as you can tell, I was in many ways far too reckless for it to be wise at the same age as Roy is now..." Then his eyes were locked on Ed's, reminding him about just how scary the guy was. "Though I have to say that feeding a newly turned vampire and making him your ward is a lot more reckless, wouldn't you agree, Edward?"
Hallowed Rogue: Thank you so much for your review, it really made my day! Getting it out of the blue like that really gave me a lot of inspiration, and so here is the result! I hope you'll keep enjoying the story! :D
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