Orphaned

"Alchemy?" Winry wondered, looking at the cover of Ed's book, "You're still into that?"

"Alchemy isn't something you just get into and then lose interest in." the older brother informed her, "If you're lucky enough to be able to master the skill, you don't just give it up."

Winry smiled a little, "So, you can actually perform it?"

"Of course I can." Ed replied, though surprisingly not as cockily as the words may have suggested, "I wouldn't be trying to do something I had no chance at succeeding with."

Al nodded, "Ed's really good and he's been getting even better." he said, "I still can't do much, though."

"It's just because you don't try." the older brother told the younger, frowning, "Besides, it's not like I can practice it anymore with the Underground constantly watching us."

Winry sat up at the name, "The...Underground?" She wondered what Ed knew. Kanone hadn't told her much that was going on, so she leaned in, interested.

Ed raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Yeah, it's...was the place Roy worked at."

"Oh? What exactly does he do there? Or...did...he got fired?"

"Something like that." Ed muttered, "He did what everyone else there does. You're telling me he didn't tell you what he did for a living before you let him adopt someone?"

The oldest blond shook her head, cursing Ed for his observantness, "Not at all, he just didn't give me the details of his job, I was hoping you could."

"Well, what exactly did he tell you?" the older brother challenged. Winry was hiding something, and he wanted to find out what.

'It wouldn't matter what he told me.' she thought, 'It was a lie anyway; who would tell the truth about their job to an adoption agency?' Of course she had known he was feeding her bullshit about working in some government office in a well-paying position. It hadn't mattered what he had told her, though, it was all according to plan, and whether either of them knew it or not, Ed and Roy were predestined to be together. She realized that she hadn't spoken and smiled a little, "He only told me that he worked for the government." she said, "An office job."

"And you accepted that?" Ed wondered, "Weren't you concerned that it was a lie or something? Did you ask for a pay stub or documentation or anything?"

"To tell you the truth, I had other sources that confirmed Roy's occupation."

"Well, those sources lied. The Underground might be a government owned business, I don't know, but he certainly didn't work in some office, and he hated the paperwork had to do."

Winry blinked a few times, dumbfounded, "Well, it all worked out for the best, right?"

"That's your answer?" Ed asked, "What if he had been some serial killer or a child rapist?" he asked, now in full-glare, "You should have checked it out better."

Al wanted to jump to Winry's defense, but thought over his brother's words, 'Ed makes a good point, wasn't she worried at all?'

These same thoughts would have been running through Ed's head as well, and he would have felt hurt and betrayed. Of course, he knew better; he knew Winry was hiding something, 'But what?' he wondered. It was driving him crazy not knowing, and what was the best way to get that information? He stood suddenly, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Winry tilted her head to the side, "Weren't we already?" she wondered.

"Alone." he clarified, smiling at Al, "It'll just take a second."

Confused, the younger brother nodded, "Alright."

Ed jerked his head towards the kitchen and Winry followed. When they reached the privacy of another room, the shorter blond turned, "You're hiding something." It wasn't a question but a statement; Winry was hiding something.

That now-fake smile stayed plastered on her face, "What do you mean?" she asked, all too innocently.

"You know damn straight what I mean." he told her, "What do you know that you're not telling me? I know you, and I know you wouldn't have just authorized his adoption of us if you weren't completely sure of him."

Winry looked down, perhaps a little ashamed that she had been found out by a kid, "You're right." she admitted, "But I can't tell you anything."

"Yes, you can." Ed told her, "What are you hiding? What have you been planning?" A million questions were flying through his head, all of which he wanted answered, but knew that she would most likely stay silent. Whoever she answered to, she wasn't about to defy. Still, once question lingered in his mind; one that he had to have answered, "How much of my life have you planned?" he asked. He knew at least everything that had happened in the orphanage was probably under her and her boss' control. Anything beyond that...Ed shook his head, that wasn't possible.

"I..." Winry looked away again, "I can't tell you anything." She sighed, cursing Kanone for his secrecy. If they could just be open with Roy and Ed, wouldn't things be so much easier? That was Kanone, though, always keeping secrets and hiding things. He could never be forward with his true intentions, only his false promises and deceptions.

Al, who had remained in the living room, sighed, "I wonder what they're talking about." he thought out loud. He jumped slightly as the door opened and Roy appeared in the entrance to the room he was currently occupying, "Oh, hi, Roy." he greeted, smiling.

Roy nodded, "Where's Ed?"

"In the kitchen with Winry." Al replied, frowning, "Did something happen?" Roy seemed more distant and distracted than usual.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." he assured the younger boy, "Winry's here, you said?"

The other one nodded, "Yeah, she just showed up out of the blue." He shrugged, "I'm not sure why."

Roy headed into the kitchen without another word, suspicious of Winry's sudden appearance. He paused, hearing the conversation, "You're the reason Al was taken, aren't you? The reason Roy comes home beaten up and bruised every other night?"

The man they were talking about frowned and furrowed his brow, "I should go." came Winry's nervous voice. She was about to crack, and knew that couldn't happen. If she messed up that bad, Kanone wouldn't forgive her. His last words floated through her mind, "Just be careful, and don't slip up." She couldn't fail, refused to fail.

"No, not until you tell me what's going on." Ed said, almost desperately.

"Ask Roy, he's meeting with my boss tonight. If he decided to say anything yet, then Roy will tell you."

"Not likely." the boy muttered, crossing his arms and looking away. Roy had a tendency to keep things from him, even when he asked him about it. He sighed, "So, why exactly did you stop by?"

A smile covered the older one's face, "I really did just want to see you two again." she said, "It's been too long."

"Right." Ed scoffed, skeptically. After a moment of Winry staring him down, he finally sighed and cracked. He looked up at her, a slight smile on his face, "It was good to see you again, and it made Al happy." he admitted.

Her blue eyes widened, "I've never seen you smile before." she said, somewhat in awe.

"Well, a lot has changed." he whispered, "Whether or not you planned to get Roy to adopt Al and I or not, I'm glad that it happened."

"I should get going." Winry said, suddenly, standing up. Kanone's warning to leave before Roy arrived lingered in her head.

"Alright, say 'bye to Al before you leave."

"Of course." she waved to the older brother, "Hopefully it won't be six years before we see each other again." she joked.

"Yeah." Ed half-heartedly waved back. After Winry was out of sight, he proceeded to bang his head into the table a couple of times, 'This is just great.' he thought, 'Why did I think things would get back to normal?' It seemed no matter how hard he tried, his life was doomed to be full of complications.

As Winry exited the kitchen, Roy ducked into the bathroom, out of sight. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but figured it was best to stay out of it. Though, from the part of the conversation he heard, it sounded like Winry was working for Kanone. Did that mean she was an alchemist as well? He waited until he heard her say goodbye to Al and the door close, and moved into the kitchen where Ed had, thankfully, stopped beating his head into the counter, "Hey." he said, startling the unaware boy.

"Roy? Did you just get back?"

"A couple minutes ago." he confirmed with a nod.

"Did you run into Winry?" he asked, finally sitting up straight.

"I was...in the bathroom." Well, it wasn't a complete lie, "What did she come here for?"

"That guy that called, you said you were meeting him." Another nod, "What exactly did he want?"

"His name is Kanone, he's the one who, as far as I can tell, single-handedly began the Underground."

"Single-handedly?" Ed repeated, "Is that even possible?" From what he had heard, it was a big place, big enough that there would have to be at least three or four co-founders.

"I don't know, but he didn't mention anyone else." he recalled, "Either way, he said that the Underground has become corrupted at the hands of his second-in-command and a few others. He wanted to take control back."

"And that's why he called you, because he saw that you had the skills to help him achieve that goal." the younger one concluded.

"Right." came the tired response as Roy took a seat next to Ed, head falling down to rest on the table with a thunk.

"And?" One eye opened to look at him inquisitively, "What did you say? Are you going to help him?"

"Why not? He said he'd pay me, and I've got my own reasons to get back at those bastards."

Ed nodded, understandingly, and smirked as the one brown eye closed in an attempt to get some sleep. He slid off his seat and slung Roy's arm over his shoulders, "Come on." he said, grunting with effort as he hoisted the older, and much heavier, man to his feet.

"Where are we going?" the sleepy voice asked.

"To bed." Ed suggested, "Unless you're up to cooking dinner." He smirked as an unamused eye glared down at him, "Fine." the blond pouted, thanking the heavens that Roy's room and bed was right near the kitchen. He plopped the black-haired man down onto his bed and let out a slight yelp as he was pulled down as well.

Roy pulled him closer, sighing softly, "Goodnight." he murmured.

"Uh..." Ed blinked as he tried to struggle from Roy's death hold, but found it to no avail, "'Night."