Sorry for the near five-month wait, everyone. Really. Ehehehe.

Disclaimer~

Chapter Two - Unusual Introduction

Roy blinked with wide eyes. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, unsure of how he should react in a situation such as the one he was currently stuck in. "I didn't mean to, uh, eavesdrop."

"Um, don't worry about it..." Al assured with a small smile. "It wasn't your fault... was it?" he asked unsurely.

Roy shook his head. "No, I just came round here for some quiet fresh air, and I didn't want to interrupt you, and..." He trailed off.

The older boy grunted, standing up straight, apparently recovered, before taking another long drag on the cigarette hanging from between two automail fingers. "Get outta here."

"Brother! Don't be rude!" Al chided, before sighing. "Well, you're here now, so we may as well introduce ourselves. I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother, Edward Elric. We're The Fallen Angels," Al said with a smile, holding his hand out. At Roy's wary expression, he laughed, a high, chiming sound. "Don't worry; Brother and I may be in a death metal band, but we're not bad people." He added after his breath, slightly quieter, "At least, I'm not."

'Edward' scowled. "I heard that."

Al stuck his tongue out.

Oh well, Roy thought, mentally sighing. At least I'll have something to make Hughes jealous with. He gently took Al's hand, shaking it lightly. "Roy Mustang. My best friend's a huge fan of yours," he chuckled.

Al smiled. "I take it you were dragged along for the ride?"

Roy grinned sheepishly. "Pretty much."

Al broke eye contact, turning around to face his brother, before hissing, "Brother, introduce yourself!"

Edward didn't even glance up from the patch of ground he was currently staring at. "I though' you already introduced me."

Al scowled. "Introduce yourself. It's rude not to."

Edward rolled his eyes, sauntering over to stand next to his brother. "Yo." He held out his hand, still holding the cigarette, which Roy hesitantly took, careful not to burn himself. The metal was warm, to his surprise - he'd expected it to be cold and icy to the touch, but it felt a bit like a radiator. "Call me Ed."

Roy blinked, diverting his attention from the boy's hand to his face. "Uh... Sure, Ed."

Ed smirked, releasing his grip. "Nice to finally meet someone who doesn't drool on my shoes."

"Brother!" Al scolded again, hitting him on the head this time. Ed laughed, wincing slightly from the pain.

Roy glanced off-handedly at his watch, wondering how long he'd been 'accidentally overhearing' their conversation. He choked on a gasp as the hand struck eleven - it'd been an hour since the concert had ended, and that meant Maes was probably being kicked out of the pub for being too drunk right that second. Roy groaned. He was going to have to drive home, with no directions.

"What's the matter, Mr. Mustang?" Al asked, noticing his sudden change in demeanor.

"You remember that best friend I told you about?"

Al and Ed nodded in sync.

Roy sighed heavily. "He's been at this pub for about an hour now, and he was pissed even before he got there. He's probably unconscious in an alley somewhere right now. The thing is, he was the one who drove us here, and I have no directions for getting home."

Ed and Al exchanged a glance. Apparently, they were the type of siblings who could tell what the other was thinking with only a small smile or a dip of the eyebrows.

"I mean," Roy continued, slightly embarrassed, "it's only a fifteen minute drive away, but... Let's just say that the only time I was ever in charge of finding the way to somewhere, I ended up in a car park, fifty miles in the opposite direction."

Al gave a nervous chuckle. "Where do you live? I have a driving licence; I might be able to get you there."

"South Keller District."

"Never heard of it," Ed muttered.

"Me neither, unfortunately," Al apologised, before an idea seemed to pop out of nowhere, and he smiled a little too nicely at his older brother, who scowled, but made no objection to whatever it was. "Um..." Al continued, "It might not be much, Mr. Mustang, but we have some sofas in our apartment, if you want to spend the night and wait for your best friend to drive you home."

Roy blinked, hardly able to believe the offer standing in front of him. His best friend's idols were asking if he wanted to stay the night. How happy Hughes would be... Roy's face grew wicked as he imagined how much Maes would owe him if he went through with it.

Then again, Roy had only just met them - who knew what their ulterior motives were? And even if they had none, their apartment could still be someplace worse than sleeping on the streets. Who knew with people like this.

Still, Roy was a brown belt in judo, not to mention a good eight inches taller than even the taller of the two - he was sure he'd be able to get himself out of a troublesome situation if need be.

He smiled. "Thank you. I'd really appreciate that."

"So," Ed grumbled, not very happy with the outcome of the situation and making sure everyone knew it, "why, exactly, am I following a stranger down the street to fuck-knows-where wearing his coat?"

"Because, Brother," Al answered, exasperated with his older brother's immature behaviour, "if you didn't wear his coat, you might get spotted - it is just after our concert, after all, and there might still be fans wandering around."

"Then why aren't you wearing his jacket?"

"Because I'm wearing yours."

Roy listened to the incessant complaining and explaining from four feet in front of them - it was a pretty quiet street, luckily, so there weren't many people or cars around. It also, however, had the effect of letting Roy hear exactly what was being said about him.

"I don't like him."

"Why not, Brother? He seems nice enough to me."

"Because... Because... Because he's too fucking tall."

"... That's no reason to hate someone."

"Yes it is! It's a perfectly good reason!"

"No it isn't- Brother, don't you dare take out another cigarette!"

"Why not?"

"Because I said so, and because you had one half an hour ago!"

"Yeah, but I didn't finish that one."

Roy had to restrain himself from laughing. He was almost certain that Edward the Smoker was the older one, yet with Alphonse as a younger brother, he wasn't quite sure.

He turned a familiar turn into a backstreet - thank god the route to the pub was simple - and showed the pair the gold 'The Black Diamond' embossed above the entrance, just in case Ed still thought he was kidnapping them.

"Would you two mind staying outside?" Roy asked politely. "I don't want Hughes recognizing you or anything."

"Sure," Al replied, smiling and pulling his brother out of the way of a passing car.

Roy nodded in thanks, before mentally bracing himself and stepping inside.

The pub looked the same at night as it did in the evening. High schoolers out drinking over study work, middle-aged men sitting at the counter. And, just like last time, a very, very drunk Hughes flirting with the pretty waitress.

Roy sighed. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered.

"Maes?" he called as he approached the table.

Hughes's head whipped round, and the ridiculous grin on his face made Roy honestly wonder how that woman could still stand to be seen with him - it must've been the goofiest, most idiotic grin Roy had ever seen. "Hughes, we need to go home now," he said slowly, as if he was talking to a four-year-old. "It's late."

"Reeeeeeaaaaaallaay?" Hughes slurred, his tongue lolling around in his mouth.

"Yes," Roy insisted firmly, before turning to the waitress with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry you've had to put up with him. I'll be taking him out of your hands now."

She giggled. "Don't worry about it. I was actually quite enjoying his story of the time he went scuba diving and he nearly got his leg bitten off by a shark."

Roy stared, awed. What woman on this earth would honestly enjoy Hughes's company when he was completely stoned?

Well, apparently this one.

"Bye, Gracia!" Hughes yelled at the woman as Roy dragged him out of the pub.

She waved at him.

"Finally," Ed muttered as Roy finally emerged. "I was starting to think you'd been harassed or somethin'," he teased with a grin. "Wish ya had," he added under his breath, though it was obvious it was a joke.

Probably.

"Yo, ma mates!" Maes sung at Ed and Al, him arm slung over Roy's shoulder for support. "Long see no time!"

"Hughes," Roy asked, ignoring the stifled laughter of Edward and the awkward smile on Al's face. "Where are your glasses?"

"Ma glassesh?" Hughes slurred, blinking confusedly. "I wear glassesh?"

"Yes," Roy sighed, "you do."

"Oh." Hughes looked around the street for a few seconds before forming a reply. "I guess I musta lost 'em."

Roy groaned.

Al chuckled. "The apartment is this way," he said, gesturing vaguely behind him.

Roy nodded, and followed obediently as the two boys took their turn to lead.

"He really is completely pissed," Roy heard Ed chuckle from in front. "I don't think there's any chance he'll recognize us in that state."

"Me neither," Al laughed. "No offense, uh...?"

"Maes," Roy supplied. "Maes Hughes."

"Right." Al turned back momentarily to give Roy a sympathetic smile as he dragged Hughes along beside him.

"'M not pished!" Hughes yelled, far too loudly in the quiet, downtown street.

Roy shushed him, before calling ahead, "Thank you so much, you two. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't offered me the night."

"Don't worry about it," Al replied. "After all, it wouldn't be good for our image if we were nasty to fans, now, would it?" he joked.

Roy smirked. "I guess not."

"Y'know," Hughes groaned from beside him, "I coul' really do with a fan righ' now. It's just so hot, righ'?"

"Sure."

Twenty minutes later, they arrived outside a surprisingly up-market block of flats.

"C'mon," Ed gestured towards the side of the building. "It's late, so we should use the back entrance."

Roy nodded, following the pair into a dim alleyway. He knew that, to outsiders (or possibly himself three hours ago), this probably looked like the most obvious trap known to mankind. But, he reassured himself, even if something bad does happen, I don't have these muscles for nothing.

The keys jingled loudly in Ed's metal palm as he opened the back entrance, and Al lifted a finger to his lips as a sign to keep as quiet as possible.

Roy followed them up four flights of stairs, mindful of the fact that Maes was slipping in and out of consciousness in his arms.

"This way," Al whispered, gesturing down a narrow corridor. Roy paused beside them just as Ed pushed open a door with three shiny number twos embossed on the front.

Al shut the door after Roy had hobbled in, and fumbled around for the light switch for a moment before the room was bathed in dim, atmospheric light.

Roy raised an eyebrow at it, and Al seemed to have noticed, as he chuckled and said quietly, so Ed couldn't hear, "Brother doesn't like light."

"Oh."

Al grinned. "Come on, there are two sofas through here..."

Roy trailed down the narrow entrance hall, turning right into a large, open-plan room that seemed to be a living room, a dining room and a kitchen all combined. There were light floorboards underfoot, and the walls were painted as though one brother had each been given reign of two walls each. Two opposite walls - the walls behind and in front of Roy - were painted with messy red and black stripes, nowhere near straight or even, some of the paint running haphazardly onto the white skirting boards below it. The two other walls were a cold white, plain and a severe contrast to the other, rather morbid colour scheme.

It appeared to be the only room apart from the bathroom and bedroom - Roy assumed they shared a room, as there were only two doors - and it was easily the size of a small town hall.

The furniture also appeared to be picked by both brothers - the sofas were black leather, lazing in front of a blue glass coffee table separating them from a surprisingly small TV. The kitchen cabinets were ordinary pine, though the dining table was black and the dining chairs were padded with red leather seats. There was an odd painting of a creature, half-man, half-dragon, with black scales, pointed horns and menacing-looking eyes above a mouth filled with jagged teeth that appeared to be shooting blood-red fire at the onlooker, on the furthest wall, right next to a calming painting of the ocean.

All in all, it was an interesting flat.

"Here," Al gestured to the two leather sofas perpendicular to one another, "You can lay Mr. Hughes down there - Brother, you shouldn't be drinking coffee at this time of night - and I'll go get some spare blankets from Winry, okay?"

Roy nodded. "Thank you very much for all this."

Al waved him off as he made for the door. "Don't worry about it, Mr. Mustang." He left the room before Roy could object, leaving Roy alone with his temperamental brother.

There was a moment of tense silence, interrupted by a loud slurp of coffee. Roy stared. Who on earth drinks coffee at midnight?

"Uh... Who's Winry?"

"Why'd it any of your business?"

Roy would've flinched at the bristly comment if it didn't seem to be intended to be entirely casual. "Just curious."

Ed shrugged, leaning back and propping his elbows up on the jet black counter top behind him. "Old friend. Lives a couple of stories down."

Roy nodded, before readjusting his best friend on the comfortable-looking leather sofa. A spark of jealousy erupted in his aching joints, and he quickly flopped into the adjacent sofa.

He heard a dark chuckle from his right, and he glanced at Ed, who had a wry smirk on his face. "Make yourself a home, then."

Roy smirked a little in embarrassment, but it was obvious the boy didn't mind. Feeling far more relaxed now that he was sitting in a comfortable position, he asked a question that would've had any normal late-night coffee-drinker spewing up their drink all over the lovely wooden floor. "How can I be sure you two haven't just kidnapped us to rape us in your sleep?"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Well, for a start, Al's underage." He gave Roy a once-over, before concluding with a mocking snort, "And who would want to rape you?"

Roy shot a mild glare at the teen. "Well, it's nice to know I'm safe," he deadpanned, much to Ed's amusement.

There was a polite knock on the door, to which Ed called, "It's open."

Al kicked open the door, stumbling inside as gracefully as possible with his arms tangled in blankets and pillows. He kicked the door closed behind him, wincing as it slammed. "Here you go, Mr. Mustang." He unceremoniously dumped them beside Roy, before yawning widely and blinking back tears. "I think I'm going to go to bed. Don't make too much noise, you two. And for god's sake, stop drinking that, Brother, or you're never going to get to sleep!"

Ed winked, smirking at his younger brother's exasperated expression. "Not planning on going to sleep."
"... Huh?" Al responded intelligently.

"I'm going to stay up all night and watch Roy-Boy sleep."

There was a moment of silence, before Ed broke it with a raspy laugh. "Kidding, kidding! Geez, you're all so fucking gullible. Actually, I was planning on catching up on that text you made me abandon this morning."

Al raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious, Brother? I mean, I know you love your studies and all, but seriously?"

Ed smirked.

"'Studies?'" Roy asked. These two had clearly dropped out of school a while back, so why were they studying?

Al grinned. "Brother can explain," he said through a yawn, before heading for a shiny silver door. "Night."

"Night, Al."

Al closed the door quietly behind him, and Ed and Roy were once again left alone (well, they may as well have been, for everything Maes was contributing to the conversation).

"So?" Roy asked conversationally.

Ed shrugged. "I may be in a band, but that doesn't mean I'm dumb, you know. So what if I like studying?"

Roy raised an eyebrow as Ed refilled his coffee from the coffee machine with practiced ease. "You study for fun?"
Ed flushed, his face screwing up in embarrassment. "Is that so strange?" he mumbled.

Roy smirked. "Not really. I mean, I study sometimes, too, even though I'm way past university age... I suppose it's just surprising that someone so... I don't know, you would like studying."

Ed scoffed. "Don't be so stereotypical, bastard."

Roy's smirk grew. "So, were you the nerdy type at school?"

Ed's face grew red again, though out of anger or embarrassment, Roy couldn't tell. "No, I wasn't!"

Roy nodded. "Of course," he said seriously, ducking as a plastic cup flew straight over his head.

"Shut up!"

Roy chuckled. "I'm going to attempt to go to sleep now, okay? So don't go all stalker-ish on me while I'm sleeping, or I swear I'll get Maes to take his hangover out on you tomorrow morning."

Ed scowled, still irritated. "Yeah, yeah."

Roy flopped down onto his side and tucked his feet up onto the soft leather, remembering to kick off his shoes. His eyes closed almost instantly, though it took him a while longer to actually drift into oblivion.

Ed hadn't realised that, obviously.

Roy listened intently to the sounds of refilling coffee cups and light footsteps on wood. He heard a rustle of papers and a muffled curse about something like 'freakishly tall bookshelves'. He stifled a smile as he heard Ed move something - presumably, to climb onto - and hiss in delight as he found the book he was looking for. Ed then proceeded to wander near his sofa, and Roy heard the horrid sound of metal against wood as a metal chair he vaguely remembered seeing was dragged closer. So close, in fact, that Roy could swear it was right next to his head.

So close he could hear Ed breathing.

It was this steady, slightly raspy sound that Roy finally drifted off to - perhaps it was the lack of distracting noises, but Roy couldn't help but admit to himself that he liked the sound of Ed's breathing. True, he liked the sound of Riza's breathing, too, and the sound of Havoc's breathing when he was smoking - so maybe it was just him being weird.

His train of thoughts led him down stranger and stranger paths and before he knew it, he was dead to the world.

Man, I wish I lived in a flat like that :D