Chapter 3, Friends

"Brother, this is Winry, Havoc, and Roy." Al introduced his friends after closing the door.

"Hi, nice to meet you, Edward." Winry spoke first to the older Elric when the group stood to greet him. He smiled shyly and shook her hand then moved to Havoc.

"Wow, you two almost look like twins." Havoc joked. "Except Al's a little taller." Ed's face immediately fell and he spoke with an eerie calm voice.

"Are you calling me short?" Havoc was confused at Ed's sudden angry toward him and looked at Al.

"Brother, he's not calling you anything. Take it easy." Al grabbed his brother's backpack and luggage.

"He's kind of sensitive about his height...or lack there of." Al told Havoc quietly on his way down the hallway. Ed calmed himself and looked at the last friend of Al's that he was to meet.

"Hey. So you're Al's brother? For the longest, we didn't even know that he had any siblings." Roy smiled at Ed and he shook the older man's hand.

"That's surprising that he never said anything. I've talked to him on the phone at least twice a week since he's been living here." Ed told him.

"Well, Al's a little quiet." Winry said. "It is good to finally meet a family member of his, though." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Thanks. I'm glad he's doing good by himself. You all seem cool."

"Why don't you sit down and tell us a little about yourself." Havoc asked him as he stuffed his face with more chips.

"Sounds like you're interviewing him." Roy joked. They all sat down as Al walked back in.

"I ordered some pizza. Hope you guys don't mind." He sat next to his brother on the couch.

"Of course not! I can finally eat some real food in here." Havoc spoke, still eating. Roy's phone started to ring as he was just getting comfortable again.

"Damn..." He stood up and excused himself. "I'll be back."

"The old ball and chain, again." Havoc said when Roy left. "You know that they broke up a couple of days ago and now they're back together. It's crazy!"

"Jean, stop talking about the guy behind his back. Besides, he said that he loves her. Maybe they worked it out." Winry told her brother.

"Yeah, so they can break up next week. He's wasting his time."

"Why are you so worried about his business, anyway?" She asked curiously.

"The guys like family to me and I'm tired of him complaining about all the problems they have." Ed sat and listened silently as they talked about Roy. He liked the guy as soon as he layed eyes on him. Roy seemed nice and it didn't hurt that the man was attractive.

"Hey, Al. Where's your bathroom?" Ed quietly asked him.

"Down the hall and to the right." Ed walked toward the bathroom as the others continued to talk about Roy's love life. It did seem kind of tacky to talk about the guy like that, but Ed had just met these people. He knew nothing about their friendship with each other.

"What? Who told you that? Now you're listening to other people?" Ed stopped in his tracks when he heard the voice. He peeked into one of the open doors, but found only an empty bedroom.

"I thought we cleared this up?" Ed could now tell that Roy must have been in the restroom. He heard a sigh then the door swung open before he could excape.

"Sorry. I just needed to wash my hands." 'Great response, Ed! You could've done that in the kitchen!' Roy looked surprised then it faded and he sighed again.

"No, I'm sorry. I just have a little...situation." He forced a smile and stuck his phone in his pocket.

"You don't have to explain anything." Ed politely walked around Roy and started washing his hands in the sink.

"I bet you and your girl are best friends. I swear I have the worst luck." Roy ran a hand through his jet black hair. Ed chuckled a bit. He would like to tell Roy that he preferred men, but he did just meet the guy.

"You'd be surprised." Edward smiled at Roy through the mirror.

"She just drives me crazy so much but..." Ed finished and stood in front of Roy in the hallway. "You could probably care less about this."

"Hey, if you're a friend of Al's, then you're a friend of mine. I don't mind lending people an ear so they can vent a little. It's healthy." Ed smiled with his bright golden-like eyes looking up at Roy, and he suddenly realized how small the hallway was and...how pretty Al's older brother was. 'What the hell?'

"Well, come on, friend. We don't want to keep everyone waiting." Ed said, snapping Roy out of his strange thoughts and they both joined the rest of the group.

(groans) I really don't like how this chapter turned out, but whatever. Got the job done. Please review!