Disclaimer: I do not own FMA... I only own Arturo... and if you want to count Mr. Momo, go a head. Lol.

Thicker Than Rain

Chapter 3: Into the Fire

"Sacrificing your happiness for the happiness of the one you love, is by far, the truest type of love."

~ Unknown

~O~O~O~O~O~

((Flashback))

She watched as the two boys grew up. They were so different, yet it was so apparent that they were related.

"Hey! Let it go! It's mine!"

"Shut up, Roy! I was here first! Stop being such a baby!"

"B-but, Mr. Momo is mine! Stop being such a meanie!"

Another usual day, and another usual argument had broken out in the tavern...except this time... neither of the parties were drunk.

She walked in, shaking her head as she watched the pointless bickering between the two boys.

"Dammit boys, stop making such a ruckus! Arturo, let your cousin have the monkey, please." she said, putting her hands on her broad hips.

The elder of the boys sighed and gave an undignified pout.

"You always take Roy's side..." he grumbled, his small arms over his chest, "It's not fair..."

Arturo stormed up the stairs to the room that he and Roy shared. Instantly, he went to his corner of the room, where a worn desk sat like a hunkered gremlin.

The boy pulled the chair out and plopped down in it. He opened up his books on elementary alchemy and began reading… trying to forget the argument.

He was so focused on his studies, that he didn't hear the footsteps of their adopted mother coming into the room.

She sighed, "It's Roy's monkey, you know..." she said, patting the boy on the shoulder about it.

"Yeah, but he's such a baby about it… Shouldn't he learn to share?" Arturo complained as he turned away from their adoptive mother, "I mean, I only wanted to see it!"

"Don't pick on Roy. Arturo, you know what you were doing." She said, "Treat him like he's your younger brother. You have to look after him. He looks up to you."

"I already did look after him!" Arturo shot back, "He has to stop being such a little BABY!"

Roy, who had been playing contentedly with the aforementioned stuffed, slightly singed, sock monkey in the corner, clumsily made his way over to the arguing pair.

"I'm not a baby!" Roy protested, a pout lining his young face, "You're the baby, Artie!"

The future Lieutenant General bristled at the nickname, clenching his hands into fists.

"Shut up! Go play with Mr. Momo and get a life!" he snarled, "Stupid baby!"

He then turned to fully face Roy, and leaning forward, he shouted in his cousin's face,

"AND DON'T CALL ME ARTIE!"

The younger boy stood startled for a moment and then burst into tears, still clinging to the monkey.

She glared at Arturo as she hit him in the back of the head. The ten-year-old gave a yelp as he looked up at her with tears in his own eyes.

"FINE! Be that way…" he muttered, making his way out of the tavern, slamming the door behind him.

"She likes Roy better anyway…" Arturo muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way down the street.

He wiped his eyes, refusing to shed tears as he wandered the lonely streets that he was all too familiar with. He wasn't kidding when he said that he had been looking after his younger cousin.

Pain filled his eyes and tears burned them.

He remembered the day when it started all too well…

~O~O~O~O~O~

"Mom? Dad?"

His eyes searched through the smoking remnants of the explosion that had gone off. They were only supposed to be having a small party before his parents went off to the Eastern Base again.

It was only supposed to be his parents, Roy's parents, him and, of course, Roy.

Someone else had come, but he didn't remember why, and he didn't care.

Cake… he remembered… there was going to be cake… one his mother had baked… cake that had won awards in countless military cooking competitions… but that wasn't important now.

He had to find them… to see if they were still alive.

He searched until he heard a familiar sound… a soft sound that was barely audible underneath the roar of the flames… it was crying.

Making his way through the thick smoke, he coughed and choked as he followed it like a beacon.

"ROY? ROY WHERE ARE YOU?"

Heat was coming from all directions and foreboding orange and yellow surrounded him.

"ROY ANSWER ME!"

He was growing upset now…truly upset…

The crying had started to fade…

Squinting, he spotted a small, cowering figure in the near distance: a dark-haired, three-year-old boy with ebony eyes staggering towards the silhouette of his older cousin.

Arturo's eyes widened and he reached forward, grabbing his cousin's wrist tightly.

"Come on, Roy… we gotta get out of here!" he demanded harshly.

The boy hesitated as Arturo tried to pull him.

"B-bu' wha'…wha' abou' Mr. Momo?" the boy begged, not wanting to leave his best friend behind.

Arturo stopped and gave a sigh.

"Not now, Roy! Come on!" Arturo growled, pulling his cousin's wrist harder.

Roy sniffled slightly, wiping his eyes.

Arturo's guilt finally got the best of him and he stopped dragging his cousin.

"I'll go back for him, okay?" he said, "I promise… we just gotta get outta here first."

Little Roy nodded, silent tears still pouring down his face.

"O-okay, Arturo…"

The older boy forced a smile and continued pulling the younger out of the ruined building.

The creaking of the burning wood sounded overhead, and Arturo rushed towards the front entrance of the building.

"Come on… come on…" he thought to himself, as the pair ran, "Just a little bit further…"

After several second that felt like forever, they cleared the front door.

Arturo lugged his cousin forward, putting him a decent distance away from the burning building.

Instantly, Arturo remembered his promise to Roy, and he turned to his cousin.

"Now Roy… stay here..." he said, putting his hands on Roy's shoulders.

The young ebony-eyed boy nodded.

"Okay…" he mumbled nervously.

The older boy ran back into the building, trying to ignore the flames and the falling wood that enclosed him once more.

Sirens were heard from outside, but Arturo kept going… he had promised Roy after all.

It surprised him how difficult it was to find his way through his now unfamiliar home, but after struggling through the labyrinth of corridors, he found his cousin's guest room and grabbed the monkey that was lying flopped over on the floor.

Arturo coughed as he made his way out of the building once again.

The first thing he saw was Roy… his eyes glassy with concern and fear, but he brightened only for a second when Arturo handed him the stuffed animal.

After hugging it tightly to his chest, he looked up at Arturo again.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" he asked.

Arturo gave his cousin a sympathetic look as he swallowed the lump that was developing in his young throat.

"I-I don't know, Roy…" he stammered, "I really don't know…"

Through his distracted eyes, he didn't see what was going on… he was only vaguely aware of the crowds of people that came onto the scene and the firefighters that swarmed the area.

Two of them made their way over to the children.

"Let's get you boys into the truck…" one of them said, putting a hand on Arturo's shoulder.

The older boy instantly pulled away as though the man's touch had burned him.

His family was in there and even though he didn't see them in the blazing inferno, he didn't want to leave them.

"But… my parents! MOM! DAD!" he cried, struggling against the firefighter who was now trying to force him into the truck.

"Hey! Come on, kid! If they're alive, we'll find them!" the man shouted, "But they're probably dead, so don't be stupid!"

Tears poured down Arturo's face as he pulled out of the firefighter's grasp.

"Come on, Roy!" he said, grasping his cousin's wrist once again and running down the street.

Roy only followed, tears making their own salty paths down his cheeks.

The pair ran… they ran towards a future of uncertainty.

~O~O~O~O~

They came to a neighboring city where they stayed as street orphans for several years…

Arturo would steal when he could, always making sure his cousin was fed and taken care of. It was a tough life for both of them, but they adapted quickly.

Arturo watched as his cousin grew up. During those two long years, they were at the brink of reaching true happiness… but it was on that rainy day when Roy got sick that Arturo finally had to go back to the world of the adults… like a stray dog, carrying his younger sibling.

~O~O~O~O~O~

And that's how they came to the tavern.

Arturo sat down on the stoop with a sigh. He raised his head as he heard footsteps running towards him.

A tingle ran down his spine as he stood up cautiously.

"Wh-who's there?" he demanded as he dug through his pockets, hoping to find something to defend himself with… but he had nothing.

Drat!

He felt someone run into him and small arms were wrapped around his waist.

"Arturo!"

The pre-teen looked down to see Roy's smiling face beaming up at him.

"What are you doing here? Madame Christmas better know that you're here…" Arturo warned.

"She does, Arturo." the woman said, following behind the boy, her heels clicking against the cobblestones.

Arturo's expression instantly turned to one of anger and he pulled out of his younger cousin's grasp.

"What do you want?" he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Madame Christmas gave a sigh, pulling the boy unwillingly into an embrace.

"You're really stupid for running off like that," she said, "But Roy had to find you."

Arturo looked down at his younger cousin shocked.

"H-he did?" he asked, not knowing how else to respond.

Roy looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah…" he said, and then stopped to pause hesitantly.

"You can see Mr. Momo if you really want to…"

Roy handed his cousin the stuffed monkey.

"Here you go…"

Arturo was about to reach out to take the monkey, but he pulled back.

"Nah, you keep it… It's your monkey after all…" he said, "I'm too old for toys anyway…Little Roy…"

Roy pouted,

"That was mean!" the younger boy huffed, "I'm not a baby!"

Arturo laughed, ruffling his cousin's hair,

"I didn't say that." He said, "I just said that I'm too old for toys… I'm like an old man!"

Roy giggled, "Artie is a grandpa! Artie is a grandpa!" he sang, running circles around his older cousin.

He was still holding the sock monkey.

Madame Christmas only looked on, smirking with amusement.

"All right, boys… let's get back home…" she said, herding the boys down the road.

Roy and Arturo just followed her, as Roy continued singing and giggling with his own self-made entertainment.

When they made their way back to the tavern, the boys got ready for bed.

Roy raced up the stairs with Mr. Momo, and as Arturo was about to follow, he paused.

Turning back to his adoptive mother, he wore a sudden look of serious determination, a look that his cousin would wear in a decade or two.

"What is it, Arturo?" she asked, glancing up at him from her pack of cigarettes.

"I just wanted to tell you that I don't really mind looking after Roy…" he answered, "He'll always be a big baby after all."

The Madame glanced up at the teenager as he walked up the stairs, and she smirked.

He had learned his lesson well…very well indeed.

((A/N: Thanks everyone for the positive reveiws, the faves and reviews! I'm really glad and really suprised that you're enjoying this story! :) ))