Chapter six

"Okay, boys, we need to talk about this," Riza began once they had finished their chocolate puddings.

Ed immediately scowled and Alphonse stiffened.

Riza needed to make sure that this didn't repeat itself, but she also had to tread carefully. "First of all, I want to understand why you blocked the door."

"None of your business," Ed mumbled, looking away grumpily. Al was back to staring at his lap.

"Edward, I want to know so that I can help you."

It seemed to trigger a reaction from Ed, although certainly not the one she had wished for. Ed stood up from his chair and pointed at her sternly. "GO TO HELL WITH YOUR HELP!" He then stepped away from his chair and ran for the door, but Riza was quick enough to catch him by the shoulders before he reached it. "LET GO OF ME!"

"Edward, I'm not going to let you just run off. I'm responsible for both of you and your well-being. Why are you so reluctant to accept my help?" Riza was speaking calmly, holding Ed in place while making sure not to hold him so tightly that it would hurt his shoulder. She knelt down in front of him.

"You're the detective, find out yourself."

"I have a theory, but I'd like you to tell me."

"Why? Why the hell should I tell you anything?!"

"Because you need to tell someone, and this way, it won't leave this flat. It will help me make your life here easier," Riza told him gently, but without any patronisation to her words.

Ed seemed outraged at that. "I DON'T WANNA HAVE A LIFE HERE! I WANT MOM! BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT! NOBODY DOES! ALL YOU WANNA DO IS HELP! SO WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? HELP US LIKE THE OTHER FAMILIES?! LIKE BARRY? NOTHING GOOD COMES OUT OF HELP FROM STRANGERS!"

Ed seemed to have a kind of meltdown that had been building up for the last few days. Maybe eating his mother's stew had made him reach his breaking point.

"AND YOU! YOU TRY TO ACT COOL AND OKAY AND TELL US TO THINK OF YOU AS OUR 'BIG SISTER,' BUT THEN YOU SAY STUFF JUST LIKE THE OTHER ONES! YOU JUST WANNA 'HELP' US JUST LIKE THEY DID! WHICH MEANS THAT THINGS SEEM LIKE THEY MIGHT JUST ACTUALLY WORK FOR THE FIRST DAY AND THEN YOU SEE HOW "'AMAGED' AND 'BROKEN' WE ARE, AND YOU BEGIN TO HATE US JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!"

"Edward, I don't consider you either of those things…"

"NO! BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE 'COOL' AND 'NICE!' WELL, YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE JUST A MANIPULATIVE BITCH! NO WONDER YOUR HUSBAND LEFT YOU!"

Riza froze. She didn't know what to say to that. She knew that he was trying to hurt her, but he was also succeeding. That was a low blow. It was also what had been going through her mind for the last month. Had there been something wrong with her? Was there something that she had done wrong?

Riza felt tears threatening in her eyes. "Go to your room," she said, trying to stay calm about it and without crying.

Ed seemed a bit confused, but did as he was told.

A few seconds later, Alphonse followed him without any prompting, although there was no click of the lock or the sound of a dresser being shoved in front of it this time.

Riza stood up and went over to the sofa and lay down, hugging a pillow to her chest, fighting back the tears.

Had she been at fault? She had already seen this happen a lot through her work, but she had never thought it would have happened to her. She had been so stupid, having believed Will about the business trips and everything. But the question still was, why? Why had he chosen to leave her that way? What had been the problem with her?

And she was angry with herself because a large part still loved him even with what he had done to her.

She had been working overtime a lot lately, but they had finally cracked the case and she had been ordered to go home early by Inspector Armstrong after receiving a bouquet of red roses from him.

"It is the International Women's Day, Constable Hawkeye! You need to know that you are very much appreciated for all your effort! You are a fine officer and will reach far one day!" the DI had said.

Riza appreciated the gesture. She was the only woman in their department, so to know that they thought so highly of her was very nice.

She was looking forward to telling Will about it. He would undoubtedly be happy. Maybe she would get another bouquet of flowers from him? He had given one to her the previous years after all.

And so she unlocked the door to their house, he obviously wasn't home yet. She prepared the flowers when she suddenly heard suspicious moaning from upstairs…

...

"I'm leaving you, Riza. We're just not working, you must have seen it? You don't love me, and I don't love you."

Riza let the pillow stifle her sobs. "But I did, Will, you just wouldn't let me."

"Brother, that wasn't nice of you," Al told him sternly.

Ed was lying on the camp bed, back facing the door. He was still angry with her, but he knew he had gone too far. The look in her face had told him that she was having many of the same feelings about her ex that Ed had about Barry and now he had gone and rubbed salt in the wound and then some.

"You really hurt her right now. She's only trying to be nice."

"But what if she turns out to be like the others?" Ed mumbled defensively.

Ed heard Al sit down on his own bed. "I don't think she is. She seems different. She knows how it is to hurt because of someone she trusted. It was in her eyes."

Ed didn't know what to say. He was angry at her for forcing him out of the bedroom earlier, but Al was right too. She was hurting.

And Ed had practically punched her in the gut with it.

"She doesn't have it easy. She was just being nice to us."

"I know. It's just that …"

"I know, Brother. But you still need to apologise."

Ed just grunted, but his stomach was filled with a lump that just kept growing. After having been lying there for a few hours, the feeling had just intensified and Ed got out of the bed and walked into the living room, hearing a few steady breaths that were indicating that Riza was asleep.

Maybe it would be better if he did this tomorrow instead.

But then she might be angry with him. Maybe it was best to do it now.

Besides, Ed wasn't sure that he could muster up the courage if he waited any more.

And so he went over to the sleeping form on the couch. Ed turned around as he reached her feet, however. He couldn't do it. What if she hated him now? What if Al was right and she was different and Ed had just destroyed everything and so she would send them back tomorrow?"

"Edward?" a groggy voice said, and Ed knew that he had made her cry earlier.

Dammit.

Ed turned around towards her, unable to look her in the eyes or at her face in general. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I-I didn't mean it. That's all." Ed turned to leave again, when a hand reached out and grabbed his.

"Thank you, Edward. That means a lot. I'm sorry if I you feel like I have been manipulating you."

"It's fine. Good night." Ed felt odd. He wasn't used to apologising.

Riza squeezed his hand a bit. "Good night, Edward."

She released his hand and Ed went quickly back to the bedroom.

Riza didn't know exactly what had changed, but Edward seemed to be giving her a chance. He didn't talk about his experiences or his nightmares, he still scowled and scoffed at her being nice to him, but he didn't shout at her any more.

Alphonse was still as timid as always when they went to buy clothes for them the day before Riza's first day at CID here in East City.

Edward was constantly scowling at anyone for looking at him funnily. When Riza offered to help him pick out clothes, he said he could do it himself and walked further down the rows of clothes.

"What do you think of this, Alphonse?" Riza picked out a yellow sweater and showed it to him.

Alphonse looked at it and nodded slightly.

And so Riza and Alphonse found their way through the shop, until Riza sent Alphonse into one of the many changing rooms to try out the new outfits.

While waiting for Alphonse, she heard a kid talking to his father and a few words caught her attention.

"Did you see that one-armed freak?"

Riza expected that the father would reprimand him for saying something like that, but instead he just laughed. "He should be locked up in some sort of institution, he's obviously not right in the head, massaging his shoulder like that."

Riza did not take kindly to that. Not at all. She marched up to them, not caring that the father was tall, fat and could probably crush her by landing on her. The two of them were wearing fancy clothes and stupid grins.

She stopped right in front of the man, he was towering above her, looking down at her curiously. "Is there something wrong, sweetheart?"

So sexist as well.

"I was just wondering why you would be teaching your son such appalling manners?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you let your son call him a freak."

"Well he is, isn't he? Rubbing his shoulder like that. Looks funny you know."

"So you think it's funny to watch kids be in pain, is that it?"

"Well, of course not…"

"But you just said looked funny as he rubbed his shoulder against the phantom limb pains caused by the amputation, did you not?" Riza was speaking calmly, out to teach this guy a lesson.

"I-is that what it was, huh?" He scratched his head slightly before assuming his braindead smirk again. "So how did he loose it, then? He was probably being stupid."

"Actually he lost it protecting his brother from being killed."

The man was quiet for a while, turning red with embarrassment and anger at being bested by her. "Listen, lady, just who the hell do you think you are, anyway?"

"I'm his foster mother."

"So the little lady is trying to protect her brat, is that it?" He was leaning down so that they were eye to eye. The man had a disgusting breath. "Well, beat it, doll, you belong in the kitchen anyway."

"Actually, sir, I don't."

"I'm getting tired of you." His face had reached a violently red colour, which meant that the man would just need one final push before he would learn the lesson of a lifetime.

"The feeling is mutual."

The man moved to punch her, but Riza bent down instead and tripped him, making him land on his back where he lay wheezing on the floor.

Riza stood over him, arms crossed. "And Mister, just a friendly reminder for later, you really should make sure not to hit police officers. If you try anything again, I'll arrest you, got it?"

The man wheezed as he got to his feet and then ran away from the shop along with his son.

Edward came up to her, smiling for the first time. It suited him very well. "That guy got his ass handed to him! Could you teach me?!"

Then Ed froze, realising what he had said. He blushed, looked down and ran for a booth and shut the door behind him.

Riza smiled, realising that there might be a way for Ed to vent his anger without feeling like a fool.

This might just work after all.

If anybody think I was being harsh and cruel with the whole International Women's Day, then that's based on the fact that my father decided to tell my Mum he'd found another woman on that day a few years ago.

I don't really like him much these days...