i figured they can still order stuff over the phone but instead of being delivered by car, it was on bikes in a basket or something. and bento boxes are usually 1, 2, 3 tiered. figured that one tier would have rice, then sushi, then veggies or meats. whatevs...

"…rd… …ard… …ward… Edward… Edward, can you hear me? Edward… Wake up, kid…"

Edward opened his eyes a little, swimming through darkness, and finding himself face to face with Roy. He was still woozy and felt off kilter.

"You alright? You hit that wall pretty hard." He heard him ask.

"Do you think we need to take him to the hospital?" he heard another person say.

Edward turned swiftly at the new voice, but he only hurt his head and he felt his eyes begin to roll as he lifted his heavy hand to his forehead.

"Slow down, kid… Can you see me clearly?" Edward nodded a little. "Got any nausea or hearing problems?"

Edward shook his head no, although he did have a huge knot on his head. He looked around and could tell he was no longer at the restaurant and that he wasn't at the hospital. No one would care for him even if they had taken him to the hospital. His eyes finally settled on another man, a little bit older than Roy and sporting a stubbly beard, that sitting next to Roy at the table. Edward made a face and looked back at Roy, moving his eyes to insinuate he wanted to know what the other guy was doing there.

"Oh, this is Lieutenant Maes Hughes, a friend of mine at headquarters."

Maes gave a small wave and Edward waved back shyly.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He feels strongly about you as much as I do. He was there with me all the other times as well."

Edward nodded a little and then looked around, confused.

"Oh, this is my house. I live in some military apartments close to headquarters… it's… never mind, you don't know what I'm talking about." He said with a small laugh. "Anyway, you're safe here."

Edward turned his head at the word. Safe? What is safe? he thought. Maes got up and brushed off his blue uniform.

"Well, if everything is in order, I'll go ahead and send the report over to the police so they can apprehend the starter of the brawl. Should I let your superior know what happened? Does Colonel Hawkeye have our same views?"

"Yeah. She wished she could have done something about it too. I think she'll be happy to know he's safe. I'll be back in tomorrow, I just need to take care of him first."

"Sure thing. I'll let her know."

Edward realized then that Roy had gotten hurt, a large bruise forming on the side of his pale face.

"You know the Fuhrer's not going to like that you keep getting involved with civilian affairs."

"Well I can't help that all I was doing was trying to help a poor kid out by buying him some food so he could, I don't know, eat and our bat-shit crazy city went ballistic over a kid. I don't understand these Amestrians sometimes…"

"We play alchemists up highly in the military and they are regarded as heroes, so having one do unspeakable things to someone seems like something these people can't comprehend. They seem like they are rectifying the 'slander' of alchemists by blaming Edward or something."

"Because a harmless child getting kidnapped is cause for unorthodox experimentation? He's barely a teen and can't talk. Why the hell would he ask Tucker to do weird crap to him?"

"I'm just making a speculation. Anyway, I have to get going but I'll check back with you soon. I'm sure Hawkeye will call you in regards to this."

Roy waved his friend off and then looked at Edward.

"That man is sometimes a godsend. He's always been there for me… he helped get you out of that brawl and has connections with the police department so he can get some influence in there."

Edward nodded, understanding. "I'm really sorry about what happened at the restaurant. That wasn't supposed to happen."

Edward reached up and touched Roy's bruise.

"Oh that? Yeah, it's just where I got elbowed trying to get to you. You're pretty beaten up too, though."

Edward looked at his arms and could feel his cheek was a little swollen. He shrugged; there was nothing he could do at the moment since it was in the past. Roy touched Edward's bruise and tisked.

"I'm so sorry that that happened. I was hoping to just go and have a nice lunch with you."

Edward pointed at himself and Roy shook his head.

"It's not your fault. None of this is your fault in the slightest. You didn't ask to be kidnapped and you didn't ask to be experimented on. That crazy man did this and you were caught in the crossfire. I want you to feel safe and without fear… I want you to feel loved."

Edward turned his head a little and Roy smiled. He looked at Edward's stomach and then back at Edward.

"May I… may I feel?"

Edward was a little alarmed at the question and quickly shook his head. Roy seemed surprised and threw his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry! Sorry! I didn't know it was a sensitive subject."

Edward was embarrassed and turned away. He hadn't meant to react the way he did but no one, not even the doctors, had wanted to touch his stomach. He was afraid Roy would hurt him. But he hasn't so far… all he's done is protect me… Edward slowly reached out to Roy and grabbed his hand, pulling it to his stomach. He let it settle on the mass of flesh and Roy looked at him in amazement.

"Whoa…" Edward looked away, thoroughly embarrassed. "That's amazing… How many are in there? You look really far along." Edward held up three fingers. "Three?! Jesus, why that many?!" Edward shrugged. "Well… I wish I knew a doctor that would be nice enough to take a look at you, but you and I both know that's not going to happen… I hope they're all alright."

He moved his hand and Edward let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Roy stood up and went to the phone. He waited for a second and then started talking. Edward looked around the nice apartment, taking in the plain white walls with minimal pictures. They had some landscapes on them that seemed to make the walls less bare. The couch, coffee table, end tables, and accompanying chair were nothing alike and didn't match whatsoever. The couch was black, the end tables were faded light wood with glass stains, the chair had seen better days and was a rust color. It wasn't fancy but it seemed to suite Roy…

"Edward, what would you like in your bento?" he heard Roy ask.

Edward looked at him with a bewildered expression and Roy blinked. Edward turned his head.

"I said what would you like in your bento? Do you have a preference? Do you… know what gets put in a bento?... Do you even know what a bento is?" he trailed, realizing that Edward probably had never had the luxury of getting a bento, since the place he usually got them from was three tiered and Edward hadn't eaten in a month.

Edward did know what a bento was but the prospect ever having one was a dream he thought would never come true. He knew rice came with it and some sushi, sometimes vegetables or meat. He didn't know what he wanted since when he had seen the vendors make them, it all smelled so good. He didn't know what Roy would even let him have.

"Hold on one minute please, my son has a speech disability and can't talk." He grumbled over the phone.

"Well we have to pay three extra cent for every minute over three minutes so make it quick, sir." The man on the other end said.

"How about you hold on for a damned moment, I'm paying you."

Roy set the receiver down and found a piece of paper. He began to draw pictures and then went back over to Edward.

"Okay, point to what you want, alright?"

Edward was still reeling over the fact that Roy had told the man over the phone that he was his son. He would put that away as he looked at the piece of paper. He circled the things he wanted and Roy looked at it. He chuckled a little.

"Understandable…" he said, although Edward didn't really know what he meant by that.

He finished ordering and then hung up the phone.

"I hope he's not the guy delivering or I'll just knock him off his bike… Have you ever even eaten anything that you circled?" Edward shook his head no. Roy frowned. "Then how did you know what you wanted?"

Edward shrugged and motioned to his eyes and pointing.

"Oh, you've seen it and it looked good." Edward nodded. "Understandable. Well, you picked some great choices. Besides, you got some meats in there so you can feel a little fuller than you usually would. I got three since you haven't eaten in so long, one with veggies and the other with meats and one for me of course. I figured you could have a choice and pick at the other, or eat them both. Three kids can really sap the energy right out of ya."

Edward nodded and sat up, moving his legs from the length of the couch to sit properly. He wanted to ask Roy what possessed him to tell that man that he was his son but he didn't know how to get it across to him. He wished he could just talk! He licked his lips and tried to make a word but it only came out as a squeak of some sort… although it did get Roy's attention from the kitchen.

"You make a noise?" Edward nodded. "You alright? Did you need something?" Edward nodded. "What is it?"

Edward sighed and tried to figure out how to ask his question. Damn it, I wish I could write! he growled in his head. He then had an idea. Wait, I can draw! He motioned for a pen and Roy found a notepad for him to write on. He drew a picture and then used it to try and communicate what he was wanting to say. He pointed to the big stick figure and then at Roy and then the little stick figure with the circle stomach and then himself.

"That's me and that's you?" Edward nodded. "Okay… and you're pointing to your stomach…" Roy watched him as he pointed to him, then his stomach, then himself, then back at him. "I… don't get it."

Edward huffed and pointed at his real stomach. "Pregnant…" Edward shook his head and emphasized the pointing. "Baby?" Edward motioned for more details. "A girl… a boy?" Edward nodded. "Okay, a boy baby." He pointed to himself. "That would be your son." Edward nodded again and then pointed at his stomach again, himself, and then Roy. "Are you asking why I called you my son?"

Edward nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, well why not? You don't have parents that you know of, do you?"

Edward shook his head and then shrugged. He wasn't sure.

"Then what's the harm in it? I mean, unless that's going a bit far. I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Edward shook his head and his hands to indicate he was okay with it. "I mean, if you're alright with it, I don't mind calling you my son. You're just a kid and you haven't been treated with kindness in a long time, have you?" Edward shook his head. "I don't mind if you don't."

Edward smiled and Roy smiled back.

"It's good to see you smiling. Now, I think I remember telling you I'd teach you how to read and write, didn't I?"

Edward smiled brighter, happy to be able to learn something and be able to communicate.

A couple weeks later there was a knock at the door and Roy got up, opening it. Maes was there and smiled, holding up a box.

"Gracia told me to bring leftovers."

"Thanks. Come on in."

Maes walked in and sat the box on the counter, taking things out of it.

"How was your date the other night?" Roy asked.

"It was good. I took her to a nice outdoor café and we had some coffee, talked for a bit. She insisted that I came over last night and cooked this huge feast. I told her that I'd like to bring the leftovers and she was happy to oblige. She even made you a fresh apple pie." He said, taking said pie out.

Maes felt something tug at his shirt and he turned around to see Edward.

"Hey, Edward." He beamed and held out a paper to him. "What's this?"

He took it and flipped it over, finding a crude drawing of the three of them labeled with childish handwriting.

"Thanks, kid."

Edward smiled wider and he bustled off to the table where he had been drawing.

Maes turned to Roy, who was opening the food up.

"Hey, have you taken him to get checked?"

"Checked for what?"

"Mental disabilities."

"You mean because he draws pictures and likes to give them out like a child?" Roy growled, glaring at his friend.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, Roy. Seriously, he's a great kid; I just meant so we can at least see what level he's on and work with him."

"He's smart, actually. Very smart. We only started this a week ago when that fiasco at the restaurant happened and he's been writing letters to me for half the week. I think his mental capacity is fine, he's just a little slow on the social curve. I mean he understands us just fine when we talk to him, I just don't think he knew how to spell them out and he was in a secret lab being tortured for ten years, so I think he has a pass for being socially behind."

"I guess that makes sense." Maes looked out at Edward as he drew at the table. "What about the uh, you know…" he said, motioning to his stomach.

"What do you mean?"

"How will they come out? I mean, will he birth them, will we have to cut them out… explode?"

"Really?"

"I'm not being funny."

"I don't know, in all honesty. Maybe Edward knows how they're supposed to come out. All I care about is that he's safe until they are born and then we can go from there. The kid can't express himself like he wants to and the city is… nothing to write home about. He can't function in society. Ever, I don't think."

"I'll agree with you on that. Even after he's had them, everyone will still know him and take advantage of his speech problem. I think the doctors said trauma, right?"

"That and from what Edward's been able to piece together for me, he did a lot of screaming and such."

"I can't even imagine…"

Roy shook his head a little. "I can't either. But he's safe, he's here, and nothing will happen to him as long as I'm around. I'll make sure of that… although…"

"What?"

"I know this is a bit dark and will probably jinx me to high heaven, but our line of work is a gamble on our lives… If something happens in the line of duty, will you take him in?"

"That is a jinx but of course I will. He's grown on me and I think Gracia will like him too. She likes to hear his status."

Roy nodded and picked up the two plates. He walked into the dining room and Edward looked up, turning his head at the food.

"Maes' girlfriend made some food for us. There's even a pie for afterword." Edward turned his head again. "Gracia's a really good cook. I know you'll like it."

Edward wrote on the paper and held it up.

IS HOT?

"You mean spicy hot or hot hot?" Edward pointed to his tongue. "Oh, spicy. Uh… depends, but I think this is pretty mild. It's not like the chili we had the other day. I promise you'll like it."

Edward nodded and put his fork in the rice as Maes came out and sat at the table with them. Edward scooted a piece of paper to him and Maes picked it up.

YOU VERY NICE. I HAPPY. I LIKE MAES. 3

"I like you too, kid. Have you ever listened to a radio drama?" Edward shook his head. "There's a really good one coming on later tonight. They're very fun and makes you use your imagination. Would you like that?"

Edward nodded and Roy made a face.

"What kind of radio drama? Nothing scary, right?" Roy asked with a look at his friend.

"It's just the one about dead people coming back to life." Roy made a face at him. "I'm kidding… It's the one about the kid who almost lost his brother but sealed him to a suit of armor and their travels on getting their bodies back. It's really interesting. Alchemy and homunculus…"

Roy looked at Edward. "Does that sound fun to you?" Edward nodded. "Alright then, we'll listen to it after dinner."

since this is an AU, i figure that if roy is a lieutenant then hawkeye can be his superior? hehe. and of course maes is dating gracia. and since this is an AU that radio drama seems highly interesting, doesn't it? in case anyone didn't catch on, alphonse is not anywhere near this story