Metal Wings

Sorry for not updating in a while, I had a busy summer, and that the last chapter was so short. It looked a lot longer at first.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

The boy was missing both arms and his left leg…

Chapter 2: Name

Ed reached out to check the boy's pulse with his left hand. The dog behind him gave a light growl as if warning Ed that he better not hurt the kid. Al reached down and petted the dog lightly on the head to calm it down as Ed stood.

"Al, help me carry him to the inn. We need to take care of his wounds." Ed said gesturing to the boy.

"I agree that we can't just leave him here, but the colonel only listed a room for me and you. We can't take a third person in without paying and we don't have enough money to do that."

Ed thought for a moment before telling Al to open the front of his armor and gently putting the young boy inside. The dog barked in protest when the brothers started to walk away but quieted when Al told it that it was going to be okay and they weren't going to harm the boy.

The brothers walked into the inn. It was well furnished with wooden chairs around a fireplace and a small breakfast area in the far corner. The pair walked over to the man at the reception desk to check in.

"Name?" the clean-shaven man asked.

"Elric." Ed replied as the man looked through the alphabetized papers.

"Mr. Edward and Mr. Alphonse Elric?" the clerk questioned.

"Yep that's us."

"Okay, Mr. Elric. Your room is on the second floor number two zero two. Here is your key. And might I suggest your armored friend take a shower? He smells like he lives in the streets."

Al put a hand behind his head and let out a small uncertain laugh as Ed quickly came up with an excuse. "Well, you see….when we came into town…we, uh; we walked through a lot of farms and stuff…so…." 'God, that was lame!' Ed and Al both thought.

To their surprise the clerk just laughed and said it happens all the time. The brothers sweat dropped and walked toward the stairs leaving the still laughing man at the desk.

Once in their room, Al opened his armor and Ed gently lifted the boy onto the bed. Reaching into his bag, Ed brought out some bandages that Al had insisted he bring, claiming that Ed was always getting into trouble. Slipping off the boy's tattered shirt Ed saw that this boy must have been through quite a lot in his life. He had numerous scars across his chest and back. There were bruises and cuts ranging in size and severity all over. A few bigger and deeper cuts looked as though they might be infected.

"Alphonse, get a warm bath ready. It won't do much good to bandage him up with all this dirt and blood on him."

"Okay." Al replied and left right away. Ed studied the boy for a while. It was easy to tell that he was malnourished. His ribs and collarbone jutted out and his cheeks had a sunken look. The boy's eyes were shut tight and his brows were furrowed together. Even in sleep he was haunted by hardships and monsters created in his mind from events in the past. Ed knew this for he too experienced those occasionally. Ed was broken out of his musings when Al came out to say the bath was ready.

"Here." Ed said handing Al a small pouch of money. "Go buy some clothes for the boy….and food, too."

Turning around, Ed picked the small boy's body up and carried him to the bathroom. The boy whimpered a bit when he was stripped of the rest of his clothes and put into the steamy water. After a few seconds, the water had turned a murky brown from the dirt on the young boy's skin. Reaching for a cloth and some soap, Ed began to gently wash the boy's body, being careful of the large cuts on his body.

After Ed was done cleaning him, he leaned over to grab a small bottle to wash the boy's hair with. To his surprise, he found himself staring into a pair of half-closed grey blue eyes. The boy was staring blankly ahead as if in another world. Suddenly as Ed's hand hesitantly touched his head, the boy yelped and his shoulders jerked. Turning a pair of fearful eyes toward Ed he pushed himself back with one leg, pressing himself up against the bathroom wall.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please, don't hurt me!" the boy whined, tears starting to pool in his eyes.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold it. I'm not going to do anything to you." Ed said. "I just want to help you. You were unconscious in the street and we didn't want to just leave you. So we brought you to our room in the inn." The boy relaxed some, convinced that he was safe….for now.

"Do you want me to finish washing your hair?" Ed asked. The boy thought for a moment before nodding his head slightly. They sat in silence while Ed ran his hands through the other boy's hair, being careful of the large tangles so as not to pull his hair. Ed grimaced slightly when his hand ran over a dent in the boy's head.

When he was done, Ed grabbed a dry towel and lifted the boy out of the now brown water, dried him off and wrapped the boy in it. Picking him up again, Ed carried the boy out to the bedroom and laid him on the bed.

"Edward Elric."

"Huh?"

"That's my name. Edward Elric."

"Oh. I-I'm Hiro…"

Ed smiled. "Nice to meet you Hiro. Now…I'm going to bandage you up a bit. It might hurt so just bear with me."

Hiro nodded his head as Ed helped him into a sitting position. Starting with the more severe wounds, Ed treated the boy until he was satisfied with how he did his job. Al walked in a couple minutes after he was done and together they dressed the boy and laid him down again.

Al turned around to go make something to eat only to see Hiro staring at him. He moved his hand to wave at the boy but learned that was a bad idea when Hiro tensed up and clenched his eyes shut as if waiting for him to strike. Ed watched them in interest as every move Al made Hiro would follow with his eyes. Finally, Ed sighed and walked over to the bed.

"Hiro, he's not going to hurt you, either. He's my little brother, Alphonse. But you can call him Al."

"…Little…?"

Ed clenched his fists, trying to keep his temper checked. "Yes, little."

After one last glance at Al, Hiro closed his eyes and fell into another restless sleep.

Please review. I want to know what is good or bad about my story, and what I should work on.