Chapter 2: A Reunion
Colonel Roy Mustang looked at the small photo of Alphonse Elric once again as he waited inside Central Station. The bright, intelligent, caring boy he saw in the photo seemed almost completely opposite from the imposing suit of armor Al's soul was trapped in for so many years.
"The 1:45 train from Eastburg will be arriving at Platform C. The 1:45 train from Eastburg will be arriving at Platform C," announced the public address system in an overly polite female voice.
That was the boy's train, Mustang thought, now to find him in the crowd of people getting off.
Being a soldier taught him to scan and identify large amounts of data at a time, thus it would have been easy for Mustang to pick out someone in a large crowd. However, after several minutes there was still no sign of Alphonse, and the train looked to be almost empty. He must be nervous if he's taking so long, Mustang reasoned, quite a difference from his older brother, who would've been one of the first people off the train. Finally he spotted a golden haired boy wearing a green coat and carrying a suitcase stepping off the train, looking around and looking a little lost.
"Alphonse Elric?" he said while approaching the boy. "I am Colonel Roy Mustang. I know you don't remember me, but I played a fairly important role in your life." He then gave him a small but genuine smile, something he hadn't done in a long, long while.
Al looked up and saw a man of about average height, with black hair and black eyes. He was wearing the standard blue uniform of the army, his shoulder insignia identifying his rank of Colonel. The thing Al noticed most, though, was the scar below Mustang's left eye. "You wrote to me saying you had information about my past and that you could help me find my brother," Al asked more than replied.
Mustang could hear the nervousness in Al's voice, despite the boy's attempt to hide it. "Yes, I can give you the information you want, but first let's head back to my office. I have a car waiting for us." He turned and began walking to the station exit, watching Al follow him from the corner of his eye.
First Lieutenant Hawkeye was waiting for them when they reached the car.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, this is Alphonse Elric. You remember him, don't you?" Mustang said as he gently pushed Al forward.
The woman bent down to get closer to eye level with the boy. "I'm pleased to meet you again. This body fits you a lot better than that imposing armor body you had last time I saw you." She smiled warmly to Al, and Mustang could see some of his nervousness fade.
The three then got into the car, with Al and Mustang in the backseat. As they were driving to Central Headquarters, Mustang felt a headache form, but tried his best to ignore it. Instead, he watched Al with some amusement as the boy looked out the windows, absorbing the city as it passed by them, his eyes filled with curiosity and amazement.
Once they got to Mustang's office, he introduced Al to the rest of his staff. There was Second Lieutenant Havoc, a tall man who always kept a cigarette in his mouth, Second Lieutenant Breda, a short stocky man with a slightly unkempt appearance, Warrant Officer Falman, an older man, and finally Sergeant Major Fury, who wore glasses and looked younger than he was. All of them said hello to Al, smiling and sometimes making a polite comment when they saw his restored body.
Mustang could see the confusion and even frustration begin to form on Al's face. Understandable, he thought, since the boy was meeting so many people that knew him, yet he didn't remember anything about them. He then ushered Al over to his desk, and the two sat down across from each other.
"About the information you said you could give me," Al began.
"Unfortunately it's not that simple, Alphonse," Mustang replied. "Yes, I could tell you what I remember about your past, and your brother, provided it doesn't fall under classified restriction. However, if you were willing to wait a while, you could gain access to not only everything I know, but everything your brother knew, too."
Al paused for a second before replying. "You want me to become a State Alchemist, like my brother, don't you?"
Mustang managed a smirk. "The decision is completely up to you, of course. If you were to take the test, however, I have full confidence that you would pass. You succeeded in the written segment of the test when you first took it with your brother."
"If I have to become a State Alchemist in order to find my brother, then that's what I'll do," Al immediately replied, his eyes full of determination.
"Then you better start studying, because the national exam is coming up in a few months. But first we must get you settled in the best place for your studies." He watched Al carefully and added, "You will be staying with me."
"You?" Al replied in shock. It took him a second to regain his composure before continuing. "I mean, um, thank you for letting me stay with you."
"I still have all my alchemy books from when I studied for the national exam, I'm sure you'll find them useful." He then stood up and said, "Come along, I will take you home so you can unpack and begin your studies immediately."
Lieutenant Hawkeye drove them the short distance to Mustang's house. Once there, she pulled up next to the house and stayed with the car while the two went inside.
Mustang was a bachelor living alone, and he did not have the time or patience to deal with space he didn't need. Therefore, having one of the smaller houses on the street suited him just fine. However, his reluctance for housekeeping also meant he never had a guest room. In its place he had a messy spare room filled with whatever junk he couldn't be bothered to deal with, hardly a place for a boy to stay in. Thus he went to considerable lengths to clean up and convert the room into a fairly comfortable bedroom Al would feel welcome in. Not that he would ever admit this to anyone.
As soon as Al got settled in the spare room-turned-guest room, Mustang showed him the library.
"This is the library, where you will be spending most of your time in," Mustang said as he opened the door and turned on the lights.
The lights revealed a room crowded with books. The walls were covered with bookshelves that ran to the ceiling, and two more were in the center of the room, on both sides of a desk. The bookcases themselves were loaded, some books even stored on top of the usual row of books. There were also stacks of books that littered the room, and even the desk had books piled on top of it.
"Excuse the clutter, but there should be enough here to keep you busy for a while. If you need any other books, tell me and I will pick them up at the Central Library." Mustang looked over at Al, and saw him wide-eyed in amazement. It only lasted a moment, however, and soon Al walked over to the desk, picked up the first book he saw, and began reading with intensity.
"I will be back in a few hours." Mustang continued. "If you get hungry, help yourself to whatever you find in the kitchen."
"Okay," Al absentmindedly replied, still focusing on his book.
Mustang then left the boy to study, closing the door behind him. He knew Al would study long and hard for the exam, and that he would pass without much problem. However, that issue was perhaps the furthest from his mind.
"They say living with someone is the best way to find out about them," Mustang mused to himself as he left his house. "If that is true, the next few months with Alphonse should be very interesting."
"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?" Hawkeye asked on the way back to Headquarters.
"We all know what happened last time I entrusted the Elric brothers to someone else, and I will not repeat that mistake," Mustang replied, referring to when the Elric brothers stayed with Tucker, a desperate and deranged man who turned his own wife and daughter into chimeras. "Besides," he continued, his voice now softer, "He no longer has his brother for support."
Mustang went straight home once his business at the office was done. He was thankful he didn't have a date that night, and even if he did he would've sent Havoc in his place. Generally speaking, Mustang would rather read about prehistoric mold than go on dates, which usually involved watching a god awful romantic comedy play with some girl he really didn't care for. But he had an image to keep up, and there was always the small chance of finding an interesting girl, so he usually accepted any request for a date.
Now that he had Alphonse living with him, however, he had the perfect excuse to decline going out. Sitting through dates was hard enough as it is; there was no way he'd be able to do it knowing Al was already home alone for most of the day.
When Mustang did get home, Al was still sitting at the desk, reading a book. The only thing different was the larger amount of books scattered around him, and notes were now taking up whatever space was left.
"I'm back," Mustang said once he finished a quick survey of the room.
Al looked a little startled as he raised his head. "Oh, um, hello."
"I see you made some progress. You may continue studying while I make dinner. I'll call you when it's ready." He then left, keeping the door open.
The last time Mustang cooked for two was several years ago, when his best friend Maes Hughes, still a bachelor back then, would sometimes come over, usually for no reason at all. Then Maes got married, a daughter soon followed, and it was Mustang who would come over to the Hughes house for a visit and a meal.
But that was long ago. Maes was dead, and Mustang could rarely bring himself to visit the Hughes residence long enough for dinner. And right now Mustang figured Al was starving, since the boy was probably way to engrossed in his studies to remember to eat anything while he was gone.
"So, what did you study today?" Mustang asked when the two sat down for dinner.
Al looked up from his food. "Oh, um, first I started on general oxygen mutation theory, but that soon led to water particle transmutation study. After a while that led to basic crystal formation and decomposition, and I studied that until you came home."
"Sounds like you made some progress," Mustang replied with little interest, and made no motion to further the discussion.
After a few moments of silence Al spoke up again. "How did you get that scar?" he said, referring to the scar below the Colonel's left eye.
"Do not concern yourself with such matters until after you complete the exam," he replied coldly, not looking at him.
Al looked a little shocked by the harshness, and they finished the meal in silence.
After dinner, Mustang instructed Al to study for a few more hours before bed. Once the boy was back in the library, he sat down in the living room and began reading his own book, this one the latest fiction title. It wasn't the most intelligent thing he could be reading, and there were other, more productive things he could be doing, but at this point in the day Mustang usually just wanted to be entertained.
It was after ten when Mustang finally put away his book, and Al still had not emerged from the library. He figured this would be the case, since he knew Al was incredibly tenacious when it came to alchemy. The boy would study until he fell asleep on the book he was reading if Mustang would let him.
"That's enough for today," Mustang said as he stood in the doorway to the library. "You can continue what you're working on first thing in the morning."
"Okay," he replied as he put down his book and stood to stretch.
"I usually have breakfast at seven thirty, right before I leave for the day. Try not to be late."
Al nodded, and Mustang left the doorway, listening to the library door close, then the guest room door close. He wanted to make sure Al went to bed, at least for the first night.
As he went to his own bedroom, Mustang figured he and Al got along fairly well, considering it was the first time the boy ever remembered seeing him. When Al was still in his armor body, Mustang never directly talked with him much, instead using Edward as a go between of sorts. It wasn't until Ed was gone that he realized what a mistake that was. Now, however, they would be living together for at least a few months, and Mustang figured that would be plenty of time to correct that mistake.