On a side not, Kib is now my fiancee. We will make plot babies and they shall grow up strong and beautiful and cuddly and will no longer be illegitamate bastards.

And Kib says one of us has to stay in the house to make sure Ed doesn't escape from his chains in the basement. O.o This I did not know. *Goes to check out basement*

Ed could finally get to sleep that night. He lay on his mattress, sighing contentedly as he buried his nose into the pillow. He was glad Winry had given him the good medication that really took the pain away, despite making him drowsy. The only reason he couldn't take it every night was because most raids and emergency runs happened late at night. But tonight he was going to leave it to his guys, take the night off and relax.Even Kevin and Jeremy had told him to take the night off, noticing him grimacing at the pain in his re-booted automail as his system adapted to the metalwork once more. They knew how rare sleep could be; many of the highest-ranking members got around two hours every night, if they were lucky.

That was why it felt so good as he wrapped his huge comforter around him, letting the meds pull his mind into submission. He was beginning to float in a comfortable, clouded dreamland when he thought he heard the door click open from what felt like a long, long way away. He listened for a moment, pulling himself back to wakefulness. He knew a guard was always positioned at the end of the hallway, eliminating a break-in. Treason, perhaps? Or maybe someone came to wake him for an emergency. It better be a real damn good one if they dare wake me up when they all know its my night off, he thought angrily, hoping they'd leave. A fight wasn't looking good for him, since he was drugged almost out of consciousness, but then, he still had his automail –

"Boss?" came the small whisper, making Ed groan and bury his head further into the pillow. He knew the source of the disruption now – that one little whine had told him everything.

Aphid.

A small finger prodding at his spine made him jerk up and glare over his shoulder at the small boy. Two wide blue eyes stared down at him, dirty blond hair looking shaggy from its lack of grooming and cutting.

He growled, laying his head back down, trying to ignore the small boy. Aphid was one of the first kids that had come to the hotel, originally because of Al's empathetic streak. Al had had to fight and scream back and forth with Ed to let the kid stay, but eventually Al had won the argument. He usually did. And soon, the others picked up on Al's traits and braved the Fullmetal's wrath to bring more street kids to their new home. It didn't take long before Ed didn't give a shit. In fact, he had actually brought home one or two in the past few years. He could understand the others' reasoning – the children were just so helpless in the streets, getting picked off by soldiers or starving to death.

This one was probably the closest to Ed, despite all the gang leader's attempts to ward him off. Aphid's real name was Albert, originally known as Al by his friends and family, but with another Al already residing the home, they had named him Aphid, due to the boy's small size. Any of Aphid's protests had been thrown back in his face by Ed, who hypocritically delighted in mocking the kid's height… or lack of it.

"Boss," the boy whined again, tugging at a strand of Ed's hair and further pissing the leader off.

He finally snapped and glared back at Aphid. "What do you want?!" he hissed angrily, hoping to scare the kid off with his glare, despite knowing the kid wouldn't even flinch under his fearsome stare. Damn kid was too trusting.

"I gotta go, Boss," he whispered back, bending his knees awkwardly and shifting back and forth on both feet, fisting his little hands in his pant legs and grimacing. Ed recognized that little dance all too well from Al when they were younger.

"Then go. You know where the bathroom is," Ed groaned, flopping back down on his pillow when another whine met his ears.

"But Boooossss, the monster!" The boy sounded terrified, still buying into the jokes the other gangsters pulled on the little ones. The clanging heater in the bathroom sounding like a growling beast and always scared the hell out of the young kids. He remembered coming home one time only to have five or six kids come screaming down the first flight of stairs, barreling into him, crying about the monster in the bathroom trying to eat them. Apparently a few brave ones had created a little team and adventured out to attack the monster while it was sleeping,but as soon as it started up and gave a particularly loud screech, their fears had been confirmed and they were sent fleeing from the battlefield.

Ed honestly didn't know how the kids found a heater more scary then him when he was the one that yelled, swore, and even looked scary with his metal limbs and furious looks. But all the same they latched onto him like strange little ticks, draining the life out of him. Especially Aphid. He would even swear they liked him more then Alphonse, this made him smirk to himself, a little happy that he wasn't all that freakish and scary. Anyone who could possibly look more friendly than Al must look like a saint… which he certainly didn't.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Ed mumbled, playing along with the kid's antics.

"You can beat him uuup." The boy let out another little whimper, stamping his feet. "Come on, Boss! I know you're not scared of him!"

"Who told you that? I'm scared of him too, y'know?" Ed grinned as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes, looking tiredly over at Aphid, still bouncing from foot to foot. Right now, if it lets me stay in bed, I'm willing to admit to being scared shitless of a heater, he thought wearily. Geez. How the great Fullmetal has fallen.

"No, you're not," Aphid beamed, calling his bluff with full confidence in his Boss's valour and bravery. "You're not scared of nothin', Boss! Pleeeeease beat him up? I'm gonna have an accident!"

Scratching his nose, he yawned, stood up and stretched languidly, covering a smile as the kid's face lit up with excitement and he scampered off out the door. Ed followed reluctantly, staggering slightly from the strength of the pills.

Aphid flew down the hallway, holding onto his pants as he rounded the corner and disappeared down the flight of stairs. Ed, Al, and Winry all had their rooms on the third floor, along with a few others – Jeremy, Kevin and the kids. It was convenient for the highest-ranking members to all claim one floor and be able to have important discussions without anyone walking past on the stairs at untimely moments. The only drawback was the fact that the only working bathroom was on the second floor. Sure, his bedroom had originally had its own ensuite, but it was drier than the Lioran Desert. Another thing his trusty mechanic wouldn't do – plumbing. And he didn't blame her.

Stepping around the corner with his hands in his pockets, he looked lazily down at his supposed watch guard, sitting on the first top stair, head leant against the wall… snoring. Suppressing a roll of his eyes, he stepped silently down the stairs until he was right behind the man, then pulled his metal arm out of his pocket and gave the guard a good whack in the back of the head, earning a yelp of surprise and stuttered apologies. He was scared, as he should be. No one wanted to be caught sleeping on the job, especially by the Fullmetal himself.

"F-fuck, s-s-sorry, Boss! I was just dozing! It's my fault, forgive me!" he said, scrambling up and standing so he was above Ed, standing on the third stair down.

Ed stood there, giving him a half-lidded look, grinding his jaw in annoyance, too tired and drugged to even think of a proper punishment. Normally, the man's apologies would have been no match for his anger, but all he could seem to summon was a kind of… sullen irritation. "You do realize a sorry wouldn't have brought me back to life," he growled after a moment. "I could have been assassinated and it would have been all because my bodyguard was too tired to keep an eye out for me while I was in a drug-induced sleep."

The guard flinched, looking down at his feet and trembling helplessly in the presence of the fabled leader, whom he had seen on rare occasions.

Ed grinned to himself inside, making sure not to let any of his amusement show on his face. Of course, he didn't need the guard. For all he knew, the guard could be his killer. He always made sure he could defend himself, asleep or not. No, the guard was just pressed onto him by his brother. As he refused to let a guard in his bedroom, or even outside the door, the stairs was the only place Al had been able to make him agree to.

"You tell me what I should do to punish you," Ed finally growled, looking away and scratching at his burning ear. The piercing's pain did not help with his mood. "You're probably hoping I don't kill you for this."

"P-Please, Fullmetal, sir! Forgive me… I'll do anything!"

Ed smiled lazily, loving the helpless position he could put anyone in. He practically had the country in the palm of his hand, and not even the state itself could do anything about it. "You have perimeter watch for the next month," he ordered, shutting up the man's spineless apologies. "All night. And no dozing or I will have you wishing I killed you here on the spot. Got it?"

The man nodded, a trickle of sweat slipping down the side of his face, not daring to look Ed in the face.

"Now beat it. Before I change my mind," Ed snapped, nearly laughing as the man practically tripped over himself and ran down the stairs. Rolling his eyes, he continued his walk down the stairs, heading to the bathroom where the little boy would undoubtedly be wondering where he was and how he was supposed to brave the monster by himself.

After having to mock-search the bathroom several times and then wait for Aphid to do his business, they both headed back up the stairs. Aphid was ranting on and on about how the monster must have heard the Boss was coming and ran away, 'cause he sure as hell hadn't seen any monsters in that bathroom. "Strange, that," Ed couldn't help murmuring, again hiding his grin behind a fake yawn that soon turned into a real one.

When Ed finally made it back to his room, he immediately crossed to his bed and flopped down face first. But the presence of another still prodded at him, making him glare over his shoulder again at the little boy.

"What the fuck, Aphid. Go back to bed," Ed mumbled, laying his head back down on the pillow.

Aphid seemed to fumble a bit with the hem of his shirt (that was Ed's old one, he noticed) and his voice, still hoarse from a cold, broke the silence again. "Can I stay here, Boss?"

This time Ed did growl at the kid, but the way that bottom lip pouted and those big eyes that could compete with Alphonse's shined… he couldn't win. "Whatever," he mumbled, giving up. "Just stay the hell over on your side."

Aphid bounced joyfully onto the bed and crawled under the blanket that Ed hadn't bother covering himself with. Within the next few minutes, they both fell asleep.

~*~

Yawning loudly into her hand, Winry lugged her tool box down the hallway, ready to wake Ed up and tighten the nerve wires back up and reconnect the smaller ones. After the previous night's incident, she had loosened them and clipped a few minor nerve wires. Of course, that had resulted in an argument about taking the day and night off from any strenuous physical activity… including any subsequent fights. Of course, that would be when a new guy had to come butting his nose in. Winry, watching from behind a curtain on the third floor, could tell even from so far away that Ed was itching to give the guy a go, but he had remembered her threats and wisely stayed put.

Still, after a good night's rest, he ought to be recovered enough for her to finish the job. She knocked on the door with a little more force then she should, remembering that Ed could be a heavy sleeper after he had three good doses of Clerindine. After hearing the muffled, 'come in', she swung the door open and nearly burst out in a fit of giggles at the sight she saw.

Little lumps surrounded the big one in the middle, all cocooned inside the threadbare blanket. A tangled blond head hung off one side of the mattress, face down with his legs hanging off the other side of the bed. A pair of little feet stuck out by his head and three other heads huddled on the other side of the mattress near the wall. While two little arms hugged onto Ed's flesh leg on the other side, a small leg belonging to the kid stuck out and barely went off the side of the bed. Winry grinned. She wasn't sure they could have managed more comical positions even if it had been choreographed.

"Well, Fullmetal, looks like the monster decided to scare the kids again, huh?" she laughed out loud. Winry hated calling Ed Fullmetal, but she knew any one of the kids could hear and, even if they didn't mean to, could slip it to someone. And that wouldn't end well if it got into the wrong hands. It still felt a little weird to call her childhood friend by such a tough-sounding codename, but there was no way in hell she was going to call him boss.

A mumbled curse and an aggravated groan met her ears, making her roll her eyes as Ed reached out blindly towards the head of the bed. The searching hand skimmed over a foot, briefly ruffled a fluffy brown head and skirted around a drool-covered teddy before finally grabbing a pillow and slamming it over his head.

"Come on, its time for an overhaul – "

A muffled "Mnnmmgh" interrupted her and Ed waved her away with the hand not pressing the makeshift shield to his head. "Lemme sleeeep, Win. Damn brats… up all night… Fuck, they whine so muuuch…"

Sighing, Winry set her tool box down and started taking out the necessary tools and equipment to reconnect the minor nerves. Leaving them too long could result in a seizure and even if it didn't hurt him too much at present, with Ed's general health… that would only create long-term problems. She glanced up at the bed with a small smile as she saw one of the kids curl closer to the warm body in the middle of the bed, prompting a half-moan, half-sigh from Ed. She'd always noticed how the kids seemed to cling to Ed the most out of anyone in the whole building. It was strange how younger children always seemed to love him, despite his grumpy nature and how much fuss he made about their 'whining'. When the children had first arrived, she was certain Al would be the mother hen, or at least a few of them would cling to her, since she was the closest mother figure in the area that would even look at the kids without sneering. None of the gang had ever expected Fullmetal to become their guardian, of all people. Whatever it was that drew them to him, Winry was glad. Ed needed a little reminder that he was loved and not hated by all members of society… though that number was rather high.

Straightening back up, she stepped over to the bed and snatched up the pillow, grinning. A brief, half-hearted tug of war ensued before she managed to pry it out of Ed's hand and yank it away from him, drawing a pained mew from him as he stubbornly buried his face in the mattress. Gold hair spilled over the edge of the bed and she resisted the urge to grab it and pull him out of the bed by it. She eyed him with a helpless smirk for a minute, and settled with sweeping the hair back off his face and shaking his flesh shoulder, snapping loudly in his ear, "Get up, now."

"Noooo…"

"Fullmetal, I swear to God if you don't get up I'll beat the ever-living hell out of you."

"…… Do it."

The response was muffled, but the smug undertone wasn't. Huffing out a breath, she crossed her arms, realizing Ed had finally caught on that she would never hurt him after a night of heavy drugs. That was just asking for brain damage or automail rejection. The pain would not react too well with the special chemicals made only for automail users. Still… that didn't mean she was defeated. Violence wasn't always the answer.

"Okay then, fine," she said with mock annoyance. "Sleep in. While you're at it, I'll go see the new guy. … He's actually pretty cute. I wonder if I could hit it up with a date – "

That line was cut off when Ed practically shot off the bed and stumbled to his feet, golden eyes flashing angrily. "I don't want you fucking near him? Got it? I don't even trust that guy with a plastic knife – !"

"You don't trust anyone," Winry replied, rolling her eyes and grabbing Ed's arm while he was off-guard. She forced him to sit on the wooden chair and knelt beside him, grinning. "Besides, I couldn't get a date with anyone with you around. You've scared off all potential bachelors," she joked, but the way Ed's mouth turned down in a frown shot guilt through her. "… What's wrong?"

"… You really feel that way?" he asked, keeping his gaze down at the wooden floorboards as Winry helped him lift his shirt off.

Rolling her eyes, she picked up her screw driver and got to work removing the plate on his side, placed where his right ribs should have been. "Don't be an idiot. I was just kidding around. All the men around this city are sleazebags anyway. All you've done is protect me from them."

"So… no-one's been bothering you?"

"Of course not. No one would dare. Especially after what you did to Jeremy. I can't believe you! He wasn't being perverted about it! He was being a complete and utter gentlem– "

"How would you know, Win?" he interrupted, rolling his eyes. A hiss escaped from between his teeth as she popped the plate off, placed the screw driver down and grabbed her flashlight and tweezers. Placing the small flashlight between her teeth and pointing it into the compartment, she carefully reached in and set to work putting the wires back in place.

"I know pervs when I see them," she mumbled around the flashlight, rather used to talking this way without any problems. "He was fine. You just assumed."

"Whatever… I don't like it – AH!"

She watched the wire automatically cling like a magnet to the little port and fuse with a blue spark. She didn't like the wires that were installed. They were too weak to withstand the pressures Ed put on his metal systems every day. Perhaps the scientists had thought they would do for a trial, for a test subject who would never leave the laboratory, but for an overactive gang leader, they just wouldn't do. She knew all this… but she was too afraid to replace them. She couldn't disconnect them all and fuse new, stronger ones without the threat of Ed's death looming over her and forcing her to submit to an anxiety attack.

"Win-win?"

Winry smiled and looked over her shoulder at the little boy, hair messed up and eyes peering at her through sleep-heavy lids. "What's the matter, Aphid?" she asked, after taking the flashlight out of her mouth and placing it down, grabbing the plate cover and wiping the dirt off on her jeans, preparing to put it back in place in Ed's side.

"Are you beating up the Boss again?" he asked, crawling out from the bed and shuffling over to her side.

"No, I'm helping him. … Does he tell you I beat him up?"

Aphid bowed his head a little before nodding shyly, selling Ed out. She glared up at Ed and started screwing the plate back in place, her frosty silence speaking volumes.

"… Well... you do beat me up, Win…"

~*~

Roy wrinkled his nose in disgust, staring down at the bowl of "food" he had been given. He wasn't sure what it actually was, or if it was even edible without giving him food poisoning or some sort of incurable disease. He'd known the fare wouldn't be brilliant in an illegal street gang, but still, he'd thought the infamous Brat'ja could have done a little better than… this.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Al reassured him weakly, sitting at his side with his spoon already hovering over his own bowl.

"Don't lie, Al! This stuff is shit!" a kid on the other side of the table laughed, pointing at the bowl. He was around Fullmetal's age, Roy would guess, sitting across the table with others at his sides and a confident, arrogant air that was almost stifling in its intensity. "But hey, it's the best when you're starved for a good two weeks."

Roy gave the kid a disgusted look as he dug into the bowl, unafraid of the squishy-looking gray muck. It had perhaps a hint of brown in the murky shade, and maybe the odd stringy-looking chunk under the thick coating of grease on the top. Beef stew, he decided eventually. Or rather, stew that might possibly have seen some beef.

Another man, roughly Roy's age, elbowed him in the ribs and said, "You better eat it, before the Boss sees you turning it down. He usually doesn't let newbs eat for at least one week." He grinned, an evil smirk that could easily rival Fullmetal's. Roy was beginning to see some similarities between the gang leader and the rest of his rag-tag bunch. The question was, did Fullmetal take after the Brats, or did the Brats emulate their illustrious leader? Because if the kid had all these guys eating out the palm of his hand enough to even act like him… he had better re-evaluate the man he was here to investigate.

"Why would he do that?" Roy asked, pulling his mind back to the conversation at hand. He couldn't let himself get distracted, or he would blow his cover… especially if the Fullmetal really was as good as he seemed.

"Toughen you up," the guy replied without missing a beat. "We're lucky to be eating at all. Sometimes we go two weeks before getting something to eat, so I'd best eat what you can, pretty boy, before Fullmetal drives your face into the bowl."

Something in the man's voice told him that this had happened before… commonly. He stared around the room, filled with people in their twenties, some younger. They were at all the tables, crowding and trying to get their fill before someone else got it. There was a hunger in their eyes and their faces, and he suddenly understood what refusing the food would mean to them. They weren't just giving food to him. He was yet another mouth that they had to split their life-saving supplies for, which might be yet another day they didn't have enough to go round. Turning down all they had… that would be unforgivable.

Ignoring the involuntary squirming of his stomach, he reached forward and grabbed a hunk of bread. He stared at it, swallowed down his nausea and bit into it.

Something squished and he let out a loud noise of exclamation while spitting the bread out, gagging. Staring down at the bread he immediately dropped it, feeling his stomach clenching in protest as he stared at the little maggots, wriggling around, disturbed from their rest in the roll of bread. He had somehow missed the little holes in the side of the damn thing, and now… He spat again, wishing he could wash his mouth out.

Looking up sheepishly, he found Al covering his mouth, trying not to laugh… but the others at the table of six thought differently. They burst out laughing, shouting names at him like 'pretty boy', 'wuss' and 'pansy gut'. Roy knew he was good looking, but he was most certainly not pretty. He glared up at the kid laughing across from him, who simply grinned, picking up the bread and looking at the wiggling white worms in Roy's bite mark.

"What's the matter, pretty boy? It's full of protein!"

Roy nearly puked on the spot as the kid dug out three or four worms and popped them into his mouth, sticking his tongue out at Roy before swallowing them. He saw a flash of writhing white bugs before the mouth closed.

Averting his eyes and covering his mouth he tried swallowing the bile rising in his throat. He heard Al's voice cut through the laughing.

"You guys aren't being very fair to him. Kevin, don't eat the maggots in front of him, he's not used to it like us. He was probably eating normal before the military fired him, we can't just pick on him for having a weaker stomach then us." Al scolded, making the laughs quiet into sniggers.

"Aw, don't be such a nag, Al. You always have to ruin our fun with the newbs – "

"Who's calling Al a nag?"

Everyone fell dead silent and Al clapped a hand on his forehead, letting out a noise of exasperation. Every head turned as one and Roy followed suit, looking up to see the Fullmetal, arms crossed and looking as deadly as ever. There was something even more bright and lethal about his sharp gaze as his eyes sought out Kevin across the table and fixed him with a harsh glare. There was more life in his face, and he had lost that weary look that had so reminded Roy of an old man the previous night. But something else caught his eyes this time. Another blonde stood behind him, mouth moving with words he could not hear. She was almost as tall as the leader, perhaps an inch shorter, with slightly lighter blonde hair than the leader's yellow braid and beautiful blue eyes. She really was a pretty girl.

Then it slammed into him hard. That was Winry! Shit!

He cursed lowly, turning away from the blonde girl before Fullmetal could notice. Al was already kicking him in the leg repeatedly, trying to get him to stop bent his head back down to the bowl in front of him, swirling his spoon in it, trying to not draw attention to himself, but the hairs on his neck rose as boot steps walked and stopped behind him. Roy frowned. It must be that limp again – one footstep was a lot heavier than the other.

"Hey, I never got your name yesterday," Fullmetal told him, making him cringe slightly. Should he go with a fake name, or tell them his real one? Surely it couldn't hurt to tell them when he really had been fired from the military… A sharp kick met the back of his chair and he fought down a start of surprise. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, or do you want a replay of yesterday? I'd be happy to kick your ass."

Roy took a deep breath and turned in his seat, staring up at the volatile teen.

Those sharp eyes glared down at him. "What the hell is your name?"

First rule of going undercover. Never hesitate. He made a split-second decision. "Roy Mustang."

Fullmetal rose an eyebrow, seemingly trying to deduce Roy all down with just his stare. They held each other's gazes for a moment, and the whole room held its breath. Nobody ever tested Fullmetal's patience. Ever. Suddenly, a wicked smirk widened the kid's mouth, taking Roy aback. "I think it's time for your first mission. I want you to meet me in the lobby in five minutes, got it?"

Swallowing Roy nodded, relieved as Fullmetal walked off to sit at a table at the other end of the room, Winry close behind him. What were these missions, he wondered? Would they be difficult? Physically? Mentally? Would his life be in danger? Or… were they just child's play?

"I don't like the look on his face. I think he's got something nasty planned for you, "Al said, making Roy turn back around so he could face the younger boy.

"Like what?"

Al shrugged, taking another bite of the vile stuff, making Roy cringe discreetly, "I don't know, but whatever it is..." Al made a face, whether it was from the food or his thought Roy didn't know. "Have fun. It looks like he'll enjoy it."

~*~

A dirty rag and an old plastic bucket clattered to the floor in front of him, barely missing his toes as they were thrown down before him. The knowing smirk never left Fullmetal's face, but Roy didn't return it. He just gave him a questioning look, refusing to believe that this was really what he thought it was.

"I want this whole lobby floor scrubbed clean today," Fullmetal declared, with the unmistakable air of a man who knows his word is law. "If it's not done and I can't see my reflection in the floor, then its punishment time."

Roy felt his masks slip away in his shock and horror, and he found himself shooting the legendary Fullmetal a fearless scowl. "You want me to play house maid?" he demanded incredulously.

Fullmetal's smirk widened as he lifted his hands and shrugged. "Someone's gotta do it and it's sure as hell not going to be me. Besides, you're useless on missions. If you can't even lay a hand on Al, there's no way I'm taking you on a raid."

"I didn't want to hurt a little kid half my size!" Roy spat back, defensive. He'd taken enough insults without comment this morning. 'Useless' was one he wouldn't just lie down and take.

Fullmetal's eyes narrowed. "… Are you calling me short?"

Recalling what Al told him the day before, Roy blanched. The number one rule. How could he have forgot– but wait, he hadn't even said anything about his height! "No," he replied quickly, trying to sound reassuring. "I was talking about Al – "

The blond stamped over to him, glowering as he jabbed a metal finger in his face. "If I hear you say one more fucking thing about how freakishly tall you are, then I'll make surethe Chimeras get you, asshole!"

Roy nodded obediently, furrowing his brow as he dared to ask the next question, not quite able to catch it as it slipped from his mouth. "What are Chimeras?"

The younger man's face darkened as he crossed his arms, staring Roy down. After a moment, he spoke. "They're underground experiments," he said quietly, his stare deadly serious. His whole demeanor was wildly different from just five seconds before. Roy committed that to memory: Fullmetal – short, bad-tempered and ridiculously mercurial. "Illegal even to the state government. They're usually two animals fused together… but there's evidence of using humans as well."

Roy shuddered, trying not to imagine that.

Fullmetal paused and blinked at him, apparently startled at his show of emotion, before continuing in a harder voice. "You'll be trained on how to avoid them, since you're too weak to even attempt taking one down."

"What about a gun? That should be strong enough."

The blond laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his flesh fingers. He grinned, and shook his head to himself. "Two things," he snickered. "One: you're not trusted to have a gun. Two: they're too fast to shoot a vital area unless you're ridiculously lucky… and God help you if you don't get them in one shot. Only three have been killed by the Brat'ja gang," he said, looking back up and holding up three fingers.

"Who killed them?" Roy asked, wondering who these strong people were who could take down such a beast. Surely they had formed a group and taken out the Chimeras together using teamwork and strategy? That guy from last night… Jeremy, wasn't he? He was surely one of them. Sheer brute strength was a necessity when fighting savage beasts… but a creature too fast for even a skilled marksman to shoot? How could anyone be fast enough to keep up?

"I did," Fullmetal said, looking away and rubbing his forehead. The ex-soldier stared at him, eyes widening. "We already lost a dozen guys to the fuckers, so… you know, I had to take down the three running loose in Central. Damn military did shit all to help. They were just too scared and prideful to admit an illegal experiment went on under their noses. Those bastards already lost around twenty civilians to their own mistakes. They should be bowing at my feet for cleaning up their mess."

Roy's eyes automatically flickered down to the dirty floor when Fullmetal looked back up at him. Before he could continue speaking, Roy cut in, shaking his head. "I would have done something if I had known…" he murmured, "They must have… must have – "

"They covered it up and kept it within the circle of the higher-ups. You had nothing to do with it." The blond leant back against the wall, folding his arms loosely across his chest as he eyed the older man shrewdly. "… But still, you should know by now that the military is corrupt and ready to slit the throat of a child to save their own skins."

"That's not true!" Roy spat suddenly. Anger flickered in his chest as he stared back up into Fullmetal's rage-filled eyes. He knew he was giving himself away, but the denial had come out without his intention. Who was this criminal to sit down in here in his own little perfect world and judge the people who were just trying to keep the streets safe from violent kids like him?!

"Of course it is! Just you fucking wait!" Roy saw the metal fist clenching and unclenching, wanting to knock the snot out of Roy, and wondered briefly what was holding him flared again as he shouted, "A couple of weeks here and you'll realize all the things those bastards were hiding. We're not stupid. We know just about everything going on in the military, including the shit that they don't want anyone to know!"

Roy clenched his teeth, working his jaw as he braved up and stared back at Fullmetal, his eyes hard. "Then what about the H.A.E experiments?"

There was a loud screeching noise as Fullmetal clenched his fist so hard the metal started to give. The kid gave the steel limb a dirty look as he forced himself to release his grip, then turned and spat on the floor towards Roy's feet before turning around and walking off. "You're still a fucking newb," he threw back over his shoulder. "I'm not disclosing any information to you, so stop prying, you bastard. And get to work. … You've got dishes to do when you're done."

Roy was fuming as he watched the little blond prick walk out of the room. He stared down at his empty bucket, realizing he was going to have to search for a water spout to fill it. Bloody Fullmetal, he thought bitterly as he picked it up, throwing the rag into the bucket as if he were throwing it at Fullmetal's face. Who the hell does he think he is?

He set off outside, keeping his face neutral and calm, but on the inside he was raging and swearing loudly towards his new "leader". Fullmetal… thinks he sounds so tough. I bet his real name's Wilbert or something… Over-compensating. Ha. Over-compensating for everything.

He turned his head to glare in the direction he'd seen Fullmetal disappearing, and hissed, not quite loud enough to be heard inside, but loud enough to ring beautifully in the silence…

"Shrimp."