Chapter fourteen

Ed was slightly confused by how boring it was to spend his days at a police station. They had joined Riza to work since Wednesday. Today was Monday and it seemed that nothing was happening. It was all just paperwork and phone calls and interviews that Ed and Al weren't allowed to listen in on. Ed kept getting tired of the fact that he was a quicker reader than Al, so Ed always got half a minute of nothing for each double page before Alphonse was done reading. That gave Ed some time to study his surroundings, especially when Al had to go to the toilet, which he usually did twice a day while they were at work. Ed was noticing how the frustration was growing in the office. He guessed that they were out of leads or something.

At least, that was until the office door was flung wide open and a grinning man wearing glasses and a black suit strode into the office. "ROY! LONG TIME, NO SEE!" The stranger made a beeline for Mustang and threw his arm around his shoulders, taking in the room and grinning at them all. "How you been, Roy?"

"I've been doing very well, Hughes. I thought you weren't coming before tomorrow, though."

"There were a couple of landslides on the tracks, so we had to take a different route, skipping a total of three stations. Saved us a lot of time." Hughes turned around and his eyes fell upon Riza. "And I guess this means that you're Roy's new partner! Maes Hughes, it's a pleasure!" He went over and shook her hand enthusiastically. "Riza Hawkeye, wasn't it?"

"Yes, sir, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, at least call me Hughes! Everyone else does."

"Right."

He then turned towards Ed and Al and looked at them curiously. "And who are you two?"

"We haven't been arrested, if that's what you think," Ed said snidely.

"I'm their foster mother," Riza said.

Hughes's mouth formed an "O" of understanding as he took in Ed's arms, or lack thereof. He walked over to them and Ed scowled at him. He seemed like another one of these over-enthusiastic people that Ed had met plenty of at the Social Services centre. Always willing to help as long as they didn't make any trouble. Ed swore to himself that if the man decided to be "understanding" and put a hand on his shoulder because that would surely help the fact that Mom was dead, then Ed was going to bite him, cop or not.

"So what's your names, then?" Hughes asked, still enthusiastic, leaning down a bit so that they were more eye to eye.

"Why do you want to know? We're not important to your case," Ed said. Alphonse was looking scared up at the man. Ed didn't trust him. He was way too happy-go-lucky, which meant that he was probably hiding something. And people who hid stuff weren't to be trusted. "Besides, I'd have thought that they'd warned you about us."

He looked just a bit confused. "Actually they haven't. Is there a particular reason that they should warn me?"

"So goody two shoes over there didn't tell you about the one-armed freak with the homicidal stepfather? That's surprising." Ed was getting annoyed with this man. He'd rather just scare him away right now and be done with it.

"And exactly what is it that makes you a freak?"

"Are you joking?" Ed asked angrily. Did this man want to bully him that much? Ed was frankly surprised that Riza didn't try to stop this guy. Usually she would be there in a second. A part of him actually felt a bit hurt that she would just let him get trapped in this situation.

"No, I'm deadly serious. Tell me, why are you a freak?" Hughes asked him calmly.

"Well, I'm not! It's just what everyone thinks, isn't it?!"

"So what you're saying is that you're a freak because that's what you think that people are thinking? But you don't actually know that that's what they think? If you ask me, that's hardly enough evidence for such a damning sentence."

Ed looked at him. Why the hell was he still grinning? Was he making fun of him or was he actually being serious? "Just what the hell do you want?" Ed asked angrily.

"I'd like you to tell me your name as I certainly do not think you're a freak and we'll be working in the same office for a while."

"Then stop grinning like that." Ed found it creepy that he could be in such a good mood. Besides, the last person Ed had met that had been grinning that much had been his stepfather as he cut Mom to pieces.

The man looked at him as if he was reading what was going through his mind, then he assumed a much sterner expression. "Fine. Then let's try to get these introductions done properly. I'm Maes Hughes, I work in Internal Affairs and I'm also Roy's best friend. I am twenty-five years old. Now tell me who you are?"

"Why do you wanna know so badly?" Ed was getting annoyed with this man. Why didn't he understand that Ed didn't want to talk to him? Why did he care so much about getting him to answer? Riza and Mustang would most likely answer him right away. Even Al seemed to be willing to give their names to him if he just asked him. "Ask anyone else."

"But right now I'm asking you what your name is. After that I'll ask your brother what his is. So what's your name?"

"You didn't answer me! Why do you wanna know? What does it matter to you?"

"Because I like to know the people I surround myself with. I like to be friends with as many people as I can!" He began grinning again at that.

"Well, I don't wanna be your friend!"

He looked at Ed sternly, making him slightly afraid of having said something wrong. "Then I guess we'll have to change that," he said darkly.

Roy had made a calculated risk with not letting Maes know about the Elrics staying in the office. He knew him well enough to know that he'd be able to read the brothers enough not to start showing pictures of his wife and just rub the loss of their mother in their faces. What Roy was basically trying to accomplish was that the Elrics would meet an adult who had no idea of them or their history, and who still didn't see Ed as a freak.

Even better, a grownup who told Ed why he wasn't a freak, even when Ed would try to make him hate them and show them the same prejudice that Ed was used to. Maes was a good man, but he also had a good mind and was able to read people in a second. Roy had also known that the more Ed tried to close himself up, the more the man would dig. What was great about Maes, though, was that since this wasn't work related, he would not dig for the dark secrets but for the normal things about the boys. He basically just wanted to get to know them.

And it had worked out just as Roy had wanted.

Or nearly.

He had certainly not expected that Maes would decide to invite the boys, Hawkeye and himself to the East City Spring Fair in order to let the boys have some fun after "being stuck in that dreary old office for nearly a week already." And that that would be the way he chose to turn their opinion of him.

And he had certainly not expected to find himself being dragged by his sleeve towards the gigantic Ferris wheel by a grinning Maes Hughes.