A/N: I'd like to thank anyone who 1) read this story and 2) bothered to leave a review. They gave me warm fuzzies. :3
MadamMandarinPear - Thank you! 3
aimninja - Thank you, and I agree with you. My writing is a bit amateur. I still do have a lot to learn, after all. ;) And I do plan on trying to make my chapters longer, because I know I love reading stories that have long chapters. I'll most likely make the scenes longer, since I feel like those are too short. But I don't want the chapters to feel drawn out and forced... :/
Let's clear a couple things up, this is nonyaoi. So no RoyEd. Parental!RoyEd all the way. Also, in this story, Mustang and the rest of the crew are already in Central. I know they don't leave East City until Edward's fifteen. But this is my story, so my rules.
To the story!
Alphonse sat in the long, lush grass, flowers the color of the rainbow dotted the expansive countryside. He was home, back in Resembool with Winry and Granny. He missed Edward everyday, but Al felt like a horrible younger brother. He couldn't remember what his older brother looked like. Did he have brown hair, like their mother? Or did he have golden blond hair like their father? What color eyes did he have? What did his voice sound like? Was he kind? Or was he abrasive?
Al sighed, his life was just full of questions, wasn't it? Ever since he and Ed had performed the taboo and his older brother sacrificed his life to bring back Alphonse's soul, Al couldn't tell if life was just playing a cruel trick on him or not.
Winry and Granny were devastated when a large suit of armor came clambering into their home, claiming to be Alphonse, the younger of the Elric brothers.
"Where's Ed?" Al remembered Winry asking that night.
"Dead," he had replied, then he stumbled over towards the dull orange couch and plopped down, cradling his head between his hands.
"What happened?" Granny'd asked gently.
"W-we just wanted t-to see Mom again!" The small, frail voice had cried. "I l-lost my whole b-body and E-Ed gave h-his l-l-l-life to bring b-back my soul and a-attach it to this suit of a-armor Dad h-had left lying a-around."
At that point, Al was a mess, his ten year old mind still couldn't comprehend why Edward would do such a thing- give his life away like it was nothing. Even two years later, even through all the nights he had to undergo by himself, Alphonse still couldn't figure it out.
"You know, Al, if you refuse to talk to anyone, how will we help you?" A familiar voice asked, sitting down beside the young Elric.
"I- What if Ed is still alive? What if he's still out there somewhere, Winry?"
The blonde girl leaned against him, not caring if the armor was nearly scalding hot after sitting in the sun most of the day. "That can't be possible, Al," she said, but a thoughtful look entered her sky blue eyes. "If he were, wouldn't he have come home by now?"
"But what home?" Alphonse asked in distress. "The house burned down from the alchemic reaction!"
Winry jerked up angrily and smacked Al with her wrench. "What home?" She repeated, a dangerous lilt in her voice. "WHAT HOME?! Our home! Granny's home! My home! Your home! Ed's home!" The girl screamed, tears threatening to fall.
Recovering from the blow, Alphonse was introduced to the sight of a very, very furious Winry. Hands firmly set on her hips, an angry glare stared him down, a slight flush dusting her cheeks.
She was right, Al realized. He did have a home, even if it wasn't the one he was raised in. The Rockbell's house was where he went after the incident. It was where he went when he needed someone to talk to that wasn't some stray cat who'd just look at him, eyes pleading for some TLC.
Somewhere out there, maybe Edward was out there, trying to find a way home. Al considered the possibility of such a prospect. They were low, yes. But it would be enough to keep Alphonse going, for now.
Over in Central, Edward was racing from one corner of the city to the other in search of his younger brother. From the moment he woke up Ed had asked around the metropolis if someone had seen a large suit of armor walking around. But to no avail. It was already past noon by the time the thirteen year old finally decided to take a break.
Alphonse is out there somewhere, the boy reassured himself. He's just waiting to be found, that's all. But who was he kidding, Al would've found Ed by now knowing his older brother's tendency to worry a bit too much sometimes.
Ed strolled into the nearby café, and he took a seat next to the window facing the street. Releasing a heavy sigh, the boy stared out the window, watching the passing traffic.
The café itself was a quaint little shop. Round tables were set in no particular arrangement and a bar was on the other side of the room. Paintings and pictures hung at random on the walls, adding color to the plain yellow paint that normally remained barren.
"Can I get you something?" The waitress asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Ed started in surprise and realized that the woman had been there for awhile. "Yea, sure, sorry about that... I'll just have some water. Thanks."
"Mhm," she grunted, turning to service another table.
Turning back to the window, Ed watched in boredom until he heard the bell ring and a group of laughing men enter the shop.
Mustang's unit, Edward noted in surprise as he watched them sit down at a table right next to his.
How he longed to join them in their antics. But he couldn't, they wouldn't remember him, so for now, he could suffice with just watching them and knowing they were okay.
"Hey, kid, aren't you a bit young to be by yourself?" Havoc asked when he noticed the young boy eyeing them warily.
Edward's eye began twitching violently. "I'm thirteen, I think I can take care of myself," he said, his voice hitching dangerously.
"Where are your parents, shouldn't they be at least keeping an eye on you?" Breda wondered.
"That's for me to know and for you to leave me alone on the subject," Ed retorted, signifying the end of the conversation.
The two men just shrugged. Didn't come here to bug the kid, might as well just leave him alone. Going back to their original conversation, the blond-haired boy eavesdropped on their conversation. After all, Havoc always was privy to some of Mustang's more serious problems. Aside from Hawkeye, of course. She was, more or less, the Colonel's nanny. And Edward wasn't the only to come up with that notion. Some of the other soldiers believed it to be true also.
"Did you hear? Some kid down in a small country town performed Human Transmutation," Breda murmured.
Ed's head perked up slightly at that. Human Transmutation? Who'd be stupid enough to even think of committing the taboo...? Oh, yeah...him...
"I heard that it was two brothers," Falman frowned.
"But one of them is dead and the other is missing, at least according to the report, that is. For all we know, they could both be dead," Havoc remarked.
"But," Breda continued,"why are we hearing about now, when, apparently, it happened over two years ago?"
Wait, three years ago? Two brothers? Edward's mind began to fill in the blanks. Could they be talking about...him and Alphonse?
Havoc shrugged. "Dunno, you'd have to ask Hughes about that. But he's probably too caught up with gushing about his daughter and wife. It's a miracle that he's even in Investigations."
Hughes? Ed racked his brain. He didn't know anyone by the name of Hughes, but from Havoc's short description, he was positive he didn't want to meet this man anytime soon.
"Someone broke into Colonel Mustang's office earlier this week, did you hear?" Fuery said. "The culprit was muttering something about a person named Alphonse, at least from what the Colonel could tell."
Edward had heard enough, quietly, so he wouldn't alert the soldiers, he got up and left the café, tipping the waitress before he went. Stepping outside, he made a beeline for the park. It was a large place and would shelter him for the time being.
"The culprit had blond hair, golden eyes, wearing a obnoxiously bright red coat, and short," Fuery finished.
"Didn't the kid sitting next to us...," Havoc trailed off as he turned around and the aforementioned character was gone. "...fit that description?... Where'd he go?"
"When did he leave? That's the better question," Falman said, a tight frown curving his lips.
"Perhaps we should find out," Havoc suggested, rolling his eyes.
"Oh. Yea."
Havoc called over the waitress who had been serving the young boy. She was a good-looking lady, that's for sure. Her black hair was tied up in a loose ponytail and she wore the obligatory uniform required by all staff. She had a good body too, the soldier noticed. Maybe he should ask her out later. But for now, he had to focus on finding that boy.
"Ma'am, do you know where a boy- about this tall," Havoc held his right hand near his midriff hoping it was close to the boy's height, "went?"
"Hmm, I saw him head towards the park, but I don't know why he'd go there of all places."
The smoker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You mean you don't know?" The woman raised both of her eyebrows. "Well, apparently, there's been murders happening around that area."
"Is the Colonel keeping information from us?" Falman panted as he and the rest of the unit sprinted to the park in hopes of finding and stopping the kid.
"I don't know!" Havoc answered. The frown on his face deepened as he thought over the possibilities. The Colonel was usually trusted his crew. So why start hiding information now?
"There he is!" Breda cried out, pointing at the small figure of the child they met at the café.
"We're too late...," Fuery murmured.
And the Sergeant Major was indeed correct. The blond was staring down at the young boy's deceased body. Blood painted the concrete pathway and a rusted, dagger laid tossed aside in the grass.
"I couldn't stop it...," the crew heard the boy whisper as they drew closer to the scene. "DANGIT!" He yelled, punching the ground with his right hand, leaving a small dent on the path. "He was right there... He was right there..."
"Hey, kid, are you okay?" Havoc asked, a bit worried.
"My name's Edward," the blond corrected. "And no, I'm not fine. A helpless man just died in front of my eyes. Tell me, why would I be fine when I could've done something?"
"How old are you again?" Breda asked skeptically.
"Thirteen."
"And you're not concerned with the blood or the fact there's a dead body in front of you. Most thirteen year olds would be scared out of their minds."
"I work for the m- I've seen worse," Ed amended quickly.
"You work for the what?" Falman questioned.
Edward's eyes narrowed. "That's not any of your business," he snapped.
"Mafia?" Fuery suggested.
"NO!" Ed protested vehemently. "I've never killed a person in my life and I don't plan on it either!"
"Then what?" Havoc pressed.
"I said it's not any of your business. And can you please get rid of those cancer sticks, Havoc? You'll die of lung cancer, good god" Edward snarled as he stormed off, leaving stunned soldiers in his wake.
Havoc blinked then broke the ensuing silence. "Anyone else wondering how he knew my name and that I had cigarettes on me?"
"How could I be so stupid?!" Ed berated himself. "You just had to go and tell Havoc to stop smoking, didn't you?" The boy slapped his head. "Good going, Ed! One slip up! One freaking slip up and now they're going to be suspicious of you!"
"You know, I don't think yelling at yourself is going to help," a smooth, unfortunately familiar voice called out.
"And what do you want, Mustang?" Ed growled. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
"If you think doing...whatever that was...can be called'in the middle of something' I don't know what kind of life you're leading," Roy gestured towards where a red bump was beginning to form on the boy's head.
"If you could tell me where my brother is, my life would be just great," Edward said sardonically.
"If you could stop being a bratty teenager, that'd be great."
"Oh shut up, you womanizing idiot. You're not my dad." The blond immaturely stuck his tongue out and sidestepped around Mustang, continuing down the mostly empty street.
But Mustang wasn't going to have any of it. Falling in step besides Ed, he followed the boy, wondering where he was headed. He had just finished going through all his paperwork and was making his way home when he ran into Edward. Though he was wondering what the boy was up to when Mustang found him reprimanding himself. And that perplexed him. What would a kid be walking around in the evening without any type of adult supervision be up to? Where were his parents? And why was he by himself in the first place? But, he should really be focusing on the murders that have been occurring around Central. There was something about Ed though that intrigued the Colonel. Yet there was that lingering notion telling Roy that there was more to Edward than what met the eye.
"So, where are you going?"
"Nowhere."
"Come on, tell me, where are you going. I am military, it's kind of my job to know what goes on in this city," Mustang snorted at Ed's seeming ignorance of the older man's position.
"So I've noticed. And I told you, I'm going nowhere."
Roy sighed. The kid seemed serious enough, and he looked like an honest enough kid. "Fine," he finally said, "where do you live?"
"Resembool."
A frown appeared on the Colonel's face. "Where's that?" He asked dumbly.
"It's in the country, near Ishval," Ed muttered. "Well, close enough that the war reached us."
"Oh," Mustang said. What else could he say? Sorry that he was probably part of the destruction of the kid's home?
"Don't bother apologizing, I already know you were a part of the war. Along with pretty much every other soldier in the military," Edward chuckled darkly. "And have you always been this nosy?"
"Oh," Roy repeated, "sorry about that."
"Yeah, whatever. Could you just go away? You know, before I punch you in the face?"
The older man raised an eyebrow. "Punch me in the face? A military officer? You're certainly a gutsy one."
"I'm serious."
"Colonel! Colonel! We need to talk!" A distant voice that sounded suspiciously like Havoc's shouted. As the motley group drew closer, they froze at the sight of Edward. "What's he doing with you, Colonel? Didn't he break into your office?"
"Hey! I resent that!" Ed protested. "I didn't break in, I showed them my w-w-watch..."
"You should them your watch?" Breda inquired. "You showed military soldiers a wristwatch, and they let you in?"
"It's not a wristwatch," the blond grumbled. "H-hey, look at the time! I really should be getting home now!"
"But you told me you don't live in this city," Mustang pointed out.
Edward laughed nervously. "Later!" And he immediately sprinted off, turning the corner hiding himself in the overly large city he'd grown to know before his pursuers could catch up to him. That's what they get for sitting at a desk all day long, Ed grinned evilly.
A/N: I feel like some of those scenes are forced. But, alas, there's not much I can do to fix it without deleting over half of the chapter and then having the rest make no sense. :3 And I'm too lazy to go and fix it. Totally professional.
Constructive criticism is wanted! Are Roy and the other's too OOC for your liking? Is there anything I should fix? Etc. Etc.
Thanks for reading! And if you're in the mood, drop a review! Reading what you guys have to say is always fun! Well, see you later! ~ Ace