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You Belong to Me	By : squallstorm Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 9883 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Disclaimer:� I don't
own Sabrina or Fullmetal Alchemist.

One of the last chapters to be beta�d by ZaKai.� I�ll soon be without a beta�

(1) A made up name/company.

Chapter 20

�Does Winry know yet?� asked Roy when the silence became long and
thick.� He didn�t look up from his lap as
his mother shifted in her chair.�

�She doesn�t know.�

�Good,� said Roy,
getting up out of his chair.� �If you�ll
excuse me then, I have a conference call soon.��
Roy held
out his hand, indicating that he would walk his mother to his office door.� �I would appreciate it if you don�t say
anything to her,� added Roy
as Pinako rose from the chair.

�Roy,
darling, you can�t��

�For now,� amended Roy.� That seemed to stall his mother�s protests,
but he knew that it wasn�t over.� He idly
wondered what sort of reaction his sister would have to his news, but figured
that being as fickle as he knew her to be, she wouldn�t care other then maybe
that he might take some of her flings away.�
Now, that struck him as funny.�

He watched Pinako walk past Alex�s desk and towards her own
then looked over at the man seated at his desk.�

�This came for you,� said Alex, his massive hand holding out
a couriered box.� Raising an eyebrow
curiously, Roy
took the surprisingly heavy package with both hands and retreated back into his
office.� Placing the box on top of his
desk, he rooted through his desk drawer looking for scissors, his letter opener�something
that would cut through the tape.

�The Environmental
call is on line three,� came Alex�s voice through the intercom, startling Roy slightly.�

�Alright,� said Roy,
depressing the button so that Alex would hear him.� He abandoned the box and lifted the phone.

--

�Oh dear,� said Patricia, making Edward�s stomach feel like
it had just fell onto the floor where she stomped on it.� Hohenheim stared at him blankly causing Edward�s
vision to go blurry.� This wasn�t how it
was supposed to go�� They were supposed
to not care.� They were supposed to be
okay with this.� That was why he hadn�t
considered that he would get a negative reaction, because he knew that they
would be fine��

He could feel the blood leave his face, leaving him feeling
lightheaded and slightly sick to his stomach.�
He swallowed stiffly�numbly�as he blankly looked over at the two adults
still seated on the couch.� Patricia had
one hand pressed against her lips, looking at him like he was some sort of
freak.� He was a freak��

And his da�he seemed like he was still waiting for him to
say something.� Like maybe, �ha, ha, da,
it was all a joke, wasn�t that funny?�, but�his tongue was wooden in his mouth.� They were looking at him with accusatory eyes
that pinned Edward to the floor and made him silent. ��

And now they didn�t like him anymore.� They were going to get rid of him, make him
leave the house.� He had heard tons of
horror stories about people coming out and getting all sorts of shit because of
it.� They were going to yell at him�

�Oh�no, dear,� said Patricia, quickly getting out of her
seat and rushing to his side where he was enveloped in a tight hug.� �You misunderstand, please don�t look like
that, honey,� crooned Patricia, pushing his head down over her shoulder and patting
his head.

Too stunned to react to her, Edward just stood there numbly
while he was held and rocked slightly.�
He stared at his father over Patricia�s shoulder.� He had yet to move or seemingly react to his
confession.� His father had always been
so gentle and understanding; this silence was very unusual.� Usually, his da would be the one holding him,
letting him know that he was there for him while murmuring encouraging
words.� Without his da�s support, he
would have never made it through school in one piece.� He needed that now.

And what would he think of him when he said that he might be
in love with Roy Mustang?

�Da?� asked Edward, his voice small and unsure
sounding.� Hohenheim blinked, seeming to
come out of his trance.� He just wanted
his father to tell him it was okay; that it didn�t matter.

�Hohenheim, please; your son needs you,� said Patricia,
breaking the hug to look at his father, but keeping him close with the arm
around his shoulders.

�Russell was�er�my first boyfriend,� said Edward in that
same tiny voice.� Patricia turned and
looked at him while he spoke, rubbing her hand across his shoulder blade.� His father continued to watch him quietly.� Why he was telling him this when it was
obvious that it was already too much, he wasn�t sure.� But he knew that he had to explain this
somehow.

�We�never�not all the way�but, I like Winry�she�s a girl�so
maybe I�m not all gay.� Bi�or�I don�t
know.�� His father sat there
unmoving.� Edward stepped out of
Patricia�s protective hold and moved towards Hohenheim, stopping a few feet
away to look down at him.

�I�m still me.� I
haven�t changed, really.� I�m still me.�� His hand fisted at his side in his
nervousness.� ��

Finally his da rose from his chair and stood before him,
looking down from his height into Edward�s slightly upturned face, his gaze
roaming across his face.� �I�m very
disappointed in you,� said his father, so low that he almost didn�t hear
it.� Edward�s eyes went wide, tearing up
upon hearing that.� �I need to wash the
Benz.�

His father walked past him without another word and headed
outside.�

How could this be happening?�
His father was supposed to be understanding and loving.� They were all they had, and he was just going
to walk out the front door without any sort of response other then he was
disappointing?�

�Don�t worry,� murmured Patricia.� Edward was numb to her touch as the tears
slipped down his pale cheeks and dropped to the floor.� �He�s just shocked, I�m sure he didn�t mean
it like it sounded.� I�ll talk to him,
honey, don�t cry now.�

This really was a
horrible week.� He came home; it was all
good and then Roy
ruined it by revealing his identity to Winry.�
But Winry liked him anyway and then he punched Roy in the face after being treated so
horribly.� Roy
had ambushed him and took him to L.A., but he
then got to spend time with Roy.� But now he had to be realistic and face the
fact that despite what he was feeling for Roy, Roy might not feel anything for him.� Scar assaulted him and called him derogatory
names.� He got silver, not the gold he
had planned on, but then he was given all sorts of happy, proud comments when
he showed off his trophy.� He had come to
terms with the fact that he was gay, and as soon as he came out to his father,
he was rejected.�

Cold.�

It was too much, too fast.�
He really didn�t like all this change all at once.� There was only so much he could deal with at
one time.� And having all this thrust
upon him�god, he wanted Roy
to be with him right now, but he knew that would never happen.� Roy
was so good at making his worries disappear.�
He needed him to make this go away; he wanted Roy to hold him. �Patricia was kind and soothing, but she wasn�t
touching him in the way that Roy
could.� Fuck, he wanted a kiss.

--

The stillness of the room wasn�t unheard of.� Many a time, even occupied, the room enjoyed
a serene quiet that remained undisturbed for hours.� But today, Edward wished that he wasn�t being
left to his own devices.� He wished his
father would come talk to him instead of avoiding him whenever he wandered
through the kitchen or when he�d happened to be downstairs shortly after his
confession to get a breath of fresh air.�
Both times he had run into his da, his father had dropped his gaze to
the floor and left.

It hurt.

So, he had retreated to his room to sulk and feel horrible
for telling.� He wished he could take it
back and make it so it had never happened.�
He had always been so sure
that his da wouldn�t bat an eye at his orientation.� He hadn�t even worried about his snap
decision to tell his da and Patricia about his preference.� If only he had known that it would go down
like this, he would have kept his mouth shut and let his da think whatever he
wanted to.�

Listlessly, Edward stared up at the ceiling from his
position on the floor.� He lay between
the dresser and the small space from it to the far wall.� As a child, he had often spent his time in
this corner reading with a pillow and his favorite stuffed bear.� As a teenager, it had turned into his
homework and daydream about Winry nook until he had left for Paris.

�Fuck�� muttered Edward peevishly.� He knew that he should go down there and force da to face him.� But, in this, he didn�t want a confrontation.

The phone broke through his swirl of unsettled thoughts,
forcing him to get to his feet; groaning over how stiff his body had become
from laying on the floor for so long.� He
picked up the receiver on his bed side table and mumbled an unintelligible
hello.

�Edward; good
afternoon,� said Roy.� Edward�s spirits lifted immediately upon
hearing his voice.�

�Roy.�� A grin of happiness spread across his face.� His crappy day made a one-eighty.� But, even knowing how his father had reacted
to his news; it didn�t stop from feeling glad to hear Roy�s voice again.� �I wondered if I would get to hear from you
today.� How are you?� he asked, and felt
a twinge of guilt that dialed back his happiness a bit.� His father would be very upset if�when�he
knew who he liked.

�Very fine,
considering.� You?�

�Meh,� grunted Edward.�
He didn�t want to unload on Roy.� It was enough that Roy had called.� He wasn�t feeling too happy around here at
the moment.� �Are you busy?�

�A little bit.� But, I�ll make time for you,� said Roy.� The way Roy
put extra, subtle, emphasis on �you� made Edward grin wider and his guilt was
whisked away.� �I just wanted to know if you�re free this evening.�

�Yeah, sure.� What�ve
you got in mind?�� He could certainly use
any excuse to get out of the house and away from the tense atmosphere.� And maybe now, having Roy
to himself he could make Roy understand that he
didn�t want casual, he wanted more�much more from Roy.

�Oh, I don�t
know.� How about dinner for
starters?� I know this nice little
place��

�What about people seeing us?� Your career��

�Don�t be foolish,
Edward.� There is nothing for you to
worry about�can�t understand where you got that idea in the first place,� said
Roy with a
chuckle.�

�You sure?� asked Edward, not quite believing it.� Then why hadn�t he seen Roy with anyone before?� If Roy
didn�t care then he should have seen him with more people.� It didn�t make any sense to him.� But, maybe he could ask about it later.

�Can you get your
father to drive you in?� I was hoping to
meet for three.�

�Ah�sure,� said Edward, fidgeting the fabric of his t-shirt
through his unoccupied hand.� He�d take
the train or the bus�a cab even�but he wasn�t going to be asking his da for
anything right now.

�Good�oh!� There�s a package that came for you today,
but it was addressed to me.� You�ll want
to see this.�

�A package?� From
who?�

�Just wait until you
get here.� So�three alright?� asked Roy, suddenly sounding
uncharacteristically unsure.� Edward
blinked at his bedside table lamp, slightly dumbfounded.�

�Yeah, okay.�� Roy was nervous too?

�Great.� ��

--

Hohenheim watched from the corner of his eye as his son
headed down the external stairs to the pavement.� A pang of remorse stung his heart.�

His boy�his little, shy, clumsy, book-loving son�was gay.

As he watched surreptitiously from beside the car, he raked
his eyes down his son�s body, trying to pin-point what was gay about his son.� Dressed
as he was, in his new clothes�so different from those baggy things he used to
wear; a well tailored, pinstriped shirt with comfortable, but clean lined pants
that accentuated his lower body--Hohenheim couldn�t help but wonder, was being
well dressed a gay trait?

His gaze settled on his son�s long, deep golden hair; much
like his own, it was long and pulled back into a high ponytail.� He had always preferred wearing his long hair
pulled back at the nape of his neck.� If
long hair wasn�t gay�because Hohenheim certainly wasn�t gay�could the location
of the ponytail be an indicator of gay-ness?

Edward paused, looking back at him with a pained expression
on his face just before he went around the corner of the garage.� Hohenheim thought about his son�s involvement
in martial arts. �It was something that
he had encouraged his son to take up, thinking that it would be the proper
vehicle for his son to grow.� Would a gay
man take up a sport that was the very epitome male dominance and
testosterone?� Wouldn�t doing such a
thing make him more straight than gay?

With a slumping of his muscular shoulders, Edward turned
away and went around the corner of the building leaving Hohenheim to his
thoughts.�

From what Hohenheim knew of gay�and admittedly it wasn�t
much�they liked to dress in outrageous clothes and wax their bodies so that
they could look more feminine and pretty.�
His son wasn�t like that�or was he?�
Maybe he dressed up in private.�
That boy Russell might have shown Edward all sorts of things.� Why on earth did he think sending Edward away
to Paris would
be good for him?� Look at what has
happened because of it.� His son was gay.�

This made him incredibly uneasy.�

Patricia was giving him the cold shoulder ever since he had
walked out on them hours earlier.� He
felt especially upset for causing her grief, but he couldn�t yet bring himself
to change the situation.� He just
couldn�t wrap his head around this new and startling development.�

In time perhaps�but now, he needed to think about this.

--

�Sir, the Hugheses are here for their meeting,� said Alex,
after he�d closed the door behind him.�
Usually, the large man would use the intercom, but seeing as Roy wasn�t scheduled to
meet with them, Alex was trying to be diplomatic.� ��

�All of them?� asked Roy
warily, letting his quarterly report land on his desktop with a flop.� Alex nodded.�
Looking past the bulk of his aid, he could just see Maes, his arm around
his wife�s shoulders and pointing to the floor to ceiling piece of art work
that lined the hall directly across from his office.� �Find my mother.� Escort them into Winry�s office in the mean time;
God knows it�s not used for anything else.�

Alex nodded his massive head and closed the door behind
him.� Roy hurriedly tidied up his desktop, feeling
annoyed that he was having yet another distraction to interrupt his day.� At least he had gotten Edward to agree to
meet him this evening.� He glanced at the
large box resting on the low console table behind his desk.� He wasn�t too sure what he felt about its
contents.� But it was a very touching
gesture on their part.�

Pulling his suit coat off the back of his chair, Roy slipped his arms into
the sleeves as he made for the door.� He
met his mother in the hallway.

�What does he want now,�
wondered Pinako, her tone showing how trying this was to her.� Roy
felt the same.�

�I�m sure I don�t know.�
You�ve seen some of the things he�s been faxing me?� mumbled Roy as they neared
Winry�s office.

�Goodness, yes.�
You�ve been very good to deal with him all this while,� said
Pinako.� Roy grunted and reached out to pull the door
to Winry�s office open, allowing his mother to precede him.

�Ah, there they are,� said Maes, a huge grin spreading
across his face when he turned from the window.�
Gracia was seated in one of the large, over stuffed chairs that dotted
the floor.� The whole office was
decorated with modern furniture and geometric patterned fabrics.� Tall bamboo, reaching up to the ceiling sat
next to the window next to Maes, and a large desk sat unused at the back of the
room.

Another floor to ceiling painting took up the wall to Roy�s right, before it
was a long, low bench on which his mother took a seat.� Pinako leaned to the side to great Gracia,
placing a hand over the other woman�s forearm.�
As his mother entertained Gracia, Roy
approached Maes, nodding a greeting.

�Maes, good of you to come in,� said Roy amiably.

�Roy, my boy; how are you?� asked Maes, slapping a jovial
hand into his shoulder.� Roy grit his teeth.

�Can I offer you a seat; coffee�a sedative?� grunted Roy allowing a bit of his
annoyance to show through.

Maes chuckled.� Roy looked over at his
mother but she was being dragged into a conversation about wedding invitation
paper and what the best style would be.�
No help there.

�No, Roy.� I�m just
here to ask you about Winry.�

�My sister?�� This
time, Pinako did meet his eyes with a worried tilt to her head.� �Was there something the matter?�

�Oh, don�t mind him,� Gracia said, waving a hand in
dismissal at her husband.

�It�s just that we��

�Just you, dear,� Gracia interrupted.

�I feel that our
future daughter-in-law isn�t paying our son the proper amount of attention for
someone about to be married.� I�ve been
checking around about that boy with the long hair, it seems that she told the
whole emergency staff about her intentions towards him.�� Maes�s green eyes became sharp and intense as
they watch Roy�s
face.

And Roy
felt himself become angry at the way Maes subtly inflected the word �boy� with
just enough scorn to insinuate something more then what was said.� No one talked about Edward that way.

�I would hate for our business merger to be affected by your
sister�s flighty ways��

�Are you threatening me?� asked Roy, his voice turning hard against his
wishes.� He knew that Maes was, of
course, but he wanted to drive the point home, and all Maes did was shrug.

�The Todiko (1) Corporation has approached me about a
buyout.� Seems like a very good offer,� said Maes, looking
smug and smiling at Roy.

�He�s threatening me,� Roy
said, looking over at his mother.� She
raised an eyebrow at him.

�Roy, dear�?�

Roy
turned away from her and turned back to Maes.�
�Now look here,� growled Roy,
his patience all but used up.� �The
merger between our companies will go
through and you needn�t worry about my sister.�
She�ll marry Alphonse; I�m making sure of that.�

�Oh?�� Maes looked at
him with new interest.� �Is that so?� I wonder if that�s true.� Just where did you run off to this week?� What was so important that you had to leave?� You�ve been very vague about the whole thing.� Your aide mentioned something about a
tournament.� If you have time to waste on
that, you should be working on the merger instead and not off playing with the
chauffeur�s son.�

�Now; Maes, Gracia; how about I take you out for an early
lunch?� his mother rose from the low bench and placed a warm hand over Roy�s bicep and squeezed.

�Oh, Pinako, that sounds lovely; doesn�t it, Maes?� said
Gracia, a hard note to her voice when she turned to glare at him.� Faced with his wife�s ire, Maes�s quickly turned
his attitude around.

�Well, it was a nice visit.�
I think we�ll take you up on that offer, Pinako.� Roy,� said
Maes, nodding at Roy, the calculating gaze gone from his eyes, but it still saw
everything Roy
couldn�t seem to hide.� Roy nodded back.

He watched them leave, his mother guiding them out with
impromptu plans for a lunch venue in the works.�
Roy was
shaking with anger.� As soon as the door
to Winry�s office closed, cutting off the jovial conversation, Roy slumped down into one of Winry�s polka
doted chairs and noticing that his hands were tightly fisted.� He forced his hands to open and grip the arms
of the chair.

He couldn�t even say for sure where this anger came from,
but as soon as Maes had insinuated that he was inappropriately spending his
time with Edward he had the intense urge to punch Maes�s lights out.� Even now, with him gone, Roy was still quite angry.� He watched as his hands re-curled into tight
fists making the knuckles white.

And his mother had seen right through him, too.

--

Edward took a cab into town; and, from there, he took the
train into the city.� It had been some
time since he�d last taken this method to get to the city.� It was sort of nice.� He could look out at the passing scenery and
the homes and just let his mind wander.

Over and over, Roy
and his shared passion played itself out in his mind�s eye interspaced with
this father reaction to his sexuality.�
The two events playing off one another to the point that when the train
stopped in the heart of Manhattan, Edward was
very unsure of whether he should go see Roy
or not.

He knew, almost viscerally, that something was going to
happen and whatever this thing coming turned out to be it was going to happen
soon�and he might not like the outcome.�
It made him hesitate to make his way towards Mustang Inc. and he drifted
around the shops in an effort to give himself more time to decide.� As he shuffled his way through numerous over
priced store fronts, he found that he was at an impasse.� Should he meet with Roy tonight?�
Or should he just go home?

Going home meant having to face that tense atmosphere and
maybe confronting his father again.� While
he knew that he had to sit down with his father, it wasn�t like he wanted to do
it right now.� The time apart might
actually be good for da to sort out his reactions and be calmer about the whole
thing.� He hoped.� Just thinking about those words coming from
his father�s mouth�� I�m very
disappointed in you.�� He could hear it
reverberating in his skull.

But�

Staying in the city meant facing Roy
and whatever Roy
would say to him when he asked about where �they� stood�if anywhere at all.� And after seeing how his da reacted to him,
did he even want to let Roy
know that he wanted more than just a fling.�
If telling da that he was gay did this
then why make things even worse?

Edward found that choosing between these two crappy options
made him procrastinate.� It was well past
the three o�clock time he was supposed to meet up with Roy and now going on six.� He knew he needed to make a decision.� He couldn�t stay in the city forever.� The train home would stop at some point, and
he didn�t have enough money to tide him over with a hotel room, dinner, and so
on.� He really should just head to the
office and meet with Roy.� Even if nothing came of the meeting at least
he could go home with Roy.

And as Edward finally decided that he would see Roy, he found that his feet had already taken him to the Mustang Tower.�
He had stopped one street away from the large sixty-seven floor building
and had to crane his neck back to be able to see the whole thing.� Edward�s stomach fluttered with apprehension,
but he dropped his gaze to street level and forced his feet to cross the to the
other side.

In the foyer, Edward stared at the company logo which
consisted of a large stylized �M� surrounded by a circle in brass.� There was a promotional commercial playing on
a large, flat screen TV, advertising the industries that Mustang Inc. was part
of.� And they were many.�

Oh, what was he thinking?�
He shouldn�t be here!� He was a
lowly chauffeur�s son.� He was a fucking
man!� What was going on here?� What did Roy want
from him?� What could he even offer to someone like Roy, who had everything?�

Edward turned and looked through the glass doors at the
street beyond�and hesitated.� But�he did want something from Roy.

Ed turned back to face the interior of the building and took
one step towards the elevators.� People
dressed much better then he was, in suits and carrying briefcases or holding
phones to their ears and looking important, brushed past him.� Some stared at him curiously, others paid him
no mind.� He was used to the latter.�

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Edward waded through
the exiting workers towards the elevator.�
He didn�t need to check what floor Roy�s
office was on.� He knew from his da that
his office was on the top floor.� So,
when the doors slid shut behind him silently, he pressed the sixty-seventh
button with a shaking finger.

The ride, though most likely fast, was eons to Edward.� And god,
when the doors opened to a deserted floor, he almost turned back.� But, his body had other intentions and it
pulled him from the car.� He wandered
hesitatingly through the vast, high ceiling office until he found a large, bald
man seated behind a desk, working diligently.

Edward had moved so silently though the office, that the man
wasn�t aware of his presence.� He knew
that no matter what he did, he would most likely startle the large man.

�Um�� murmured Edward, inching forward slightly.� As he knew it would, the muscular man�s head
snapped upwards in fright.�

�Edward Elric?� the man asked.� Edward blinked that his name was known, but
then, of course this man would, Roy
would have told him that he was coming.�
�He�s been expecting you.�� The
burly man rose with surprising grace from his chair and rounded the desk
towards him.� �This way, please.�

Feeling strange to have these formalities directed at him,
Edward moved towards a heavy wooden door at the man�s bidding.�

�Edward Elric is here to see you, sir,� said the man upon
opening the door.� He then stepped to the
side, allowing Edward to enter.

Edward�s eyes landed on Roy�s face just as he was pulling his gaze
back from the many miles he had travelled.�
He couldn�t help it.� Roy�s face was so open and
free of anything�� Hi,� he said, rather
then letting his thoughts wonder more then they should.

�Edward,� said Roy,
his voice turning stern.� �I didn�t hear
from you.� I was getting worried.�

�Sorry �bout that,� said Edward, moving towards the center
of the room before he lost his nerve.� Roy stood from his chair
and came around the desk towards him.�
Without hesitation, Roy
took hold of his shoulders and gently pulled him forward to place a tender kiss
on to his forehead.�

�Please let me know next time.� You don�t know what that did to me,� murmured
Roy as he was
enveloped by slightly faltering arms.

�Sorry,� said Edward again, wrapping his own arms around Roy�s waist and
sighing.� This�actually felt more right then from before.� It was stupid to think that he didn�t belong
here, in Roy�s
arms, when it felt like this.

�Do I dare ask what kept you?� Roy�s voice rumbled.�

�Nothing�much,� Edward said, just catching himself before he
spilled everything.� �I was just
thinking,� he explained, because he needed to say something to cover his slip
and it wasn�t wrong.

�Deep thoughts,� said Roy,
pulling Edward back so that he could stare into his eyes.� It sounded like a question, so Edward just
smiled vaguely.� �Are you hungry?� We could still go out.�

�Yeah, I�m pretty hungry.�
Is this a date?� blurted Edward, half fearful that it was and that would
mean�a lot actually.� He knew that for
�this� to have the label of date would mean very much to him right now.�

�Of course it is.� Now,
don�t be getting those foolish ideas again that people will see us, because I
don�t care if they do,� teased Roy,
tapping his nose and smiling that wonderfully sexy smile of his.

�Right,� said Edward, laughing to cover his mix of happy and
nervous emotions.� Yes! he shouted in his mind.�
He had to hold his body still because he wanted to drop to his knees and
pump the air in giddy triumph.

�Well, let me just get my jacket, and we�ll head out,� said Roy.� When Roy
turned, Edward quickly punched the air, grinning like a fool.� �Oh, yes.�
Take a look at this,� said Roy.

Edward snapped his body back to his original standing
position when Roy
looked over his shoulder at him.� His
eyes were drawn to the large white box resting behind Roy�s chair.�
Curious, Edward moved towards Roy,
seeing him in the corner of his eye as he slipped his arms into his
jacket.�

The box flaps were folded over, hiding the contents and
Edward studied the label with interest.�
It was addressed to him care of Roy�s
office.� Which�seemed really
strange.� Who would even think to send
him something via Roy?� Why would they even bother?� The return address was from somewhere in the
mid-west and fuck knows he didn�t know anyone who lived out there.� Blinking in confusion, Edward reached out and
opened the flaps.� He was presented with
a box full of packing peanuts.

Shooting a curious glance at Roy, Edward reached up and dug his hands into
the foam forms, feeling about for the contents.�
After a moment of fumbling, his left hand caught on a hard and unusual
object.� He lifted the item up, peanuts
dropping haphazardly all over Roy�s
cabinet and floor.

�Oops,� muttered Edward, smiling lopsidedly at Roy.� The answering grin he got begged to be kissed
off, but Edward caught sight of the box�s contents.� �What the�what is this?� asked Edward,
shocked.� He looked at the base and read,
�First place winner, World Open Mixed Martial Arts Tournament.�

�Its first place,� said Roy.�
He reached into the box and dug around for a moment, spilling more peanuts
onto the floor.� Edward blinked at the
trophy in his hands in wonder.� Why�why
did he have this?

�Here it is,� said Roy,
pulling another package wrapped very poorly, as if by a child and a thick
letter.� �I didn�t open anything further
once I found these,� he said and handed him the present.

Edward carefully placed the trophy on the counter and took
the items from Roy�s
hand.� Printed across the envelope in a
shaky child�s hand was his name in bright pink crayon.� Wanting an explanation more then anything,
Edward flipped the envelope over and pulled out the yellow lined paper.�

Roy
shuffled behind him, looking over his shoulder.�
Edward didn�t mind, but since Roy
was sneaking a not-so-secret peek, Edward thought it fair that he get to lean
on him. �A warm hand settled on his hip
and a chin on the side of his head, and he began to read.

Dear EDward,

Thank yu for leting my
daddy win the contess.� Becose of that I
was aloud to get my opuration that will help me brethe.� Nana is also vury happy that i will be able
to go outside again

here is a drawng of my
dog.

Edward traced his hand over the childish drawing of a black
dog sitting under the green tree.�
Standing beside the dog was a girl, supposedly the writer of the letter
and she was smiling.� He flipped the
page.� There was another letter addressed
to him, written in a flowing hand that Edward supposed was a woman�s.

Kind Sir,

I thank you with my
deepest love for allowing my son to help my granddaughter.� For most of her short life, Nina has been
afflicted with a deadly heart condition that would have been terminal if not
for her recent operation.�

When she was born we
knew that this little ray of light was in dire trouble.� Her mother, bless her soul, was a drug addict
and gave her up to Islam right away.� But
she was underdeveloped and we didn�t have health care insurance.� Many of her firsts happened at the
hospital.� Her first word, her first
steps, her first medical emergency.� Let
me tell you, it was a very tense time for all of us.� We did what we could.

Islam worked four jobs
to make sure she was taken care of and still he pursued his dream of
fighting.� Little Nina and Islam were
inseparable when she was well enough to leave the hospital.� She went with him during his deliveries and
watched as he trained himself hard in the gym.�
If not for Islam�s over seas travels, she would have followed him there
as well.�

I know my son has been
behaving badly, and don�t you worry none, he�s been put in his place.� Though there is no excuse for his behavior,
he did it to make sure our little angel would make it.�

I hope you can forgive
him his transgressions and I pray for you and your family.

With much love and
gratitude,

Nana.

And still there was one more letter.� Edward flipped the page and read.

Edward,

I write to you in
acknowledgment.� You are a very good
fighter.

Scar.

Edward snorted and checked the back of the page for
more.� But that was it.� He supposed that was all he was about to get,
too.� Still�

�Interesting,� said Roy,
his jaw moving against Edward�s head as he spoke.

�I�m not sure what to feel about this,� mumbled Edward,
flipping back through the papers to look at the little girl�s picture.

�Open this,� directed Roy,
pulling the package from Edward�s hands and placing it atop the letters.

With a shrug, Edward pulled apart the wrapping paper, which
was really only colored construction paper to find a nicely framed picture of
Edward, Rick and Leo at the tournament during their weapons fight.� Edward was mid-air, Leo was lunging forward
and Rick was just about to move as he looked up at Edward.� It was a fantastic shot and done with a
high-speed camera.

�Wow,� said Edward appreciatively.

�I think that almost makes up for how Scar treated us,� said
Roy, finally
moving away from his back.�

Edward placed the frame and the letter beside the trophy and
let his eyes travel across the award.�
And felt nothing.� �Let�s get that
food, I�m hungry,� said Edward, turning to give Roy a grin.�
He might not have earned first place at the tournament, but he was
certainly going to win Roy�s
heart.

--To Be Continued--��

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time.� I�m very thankful for every single comment
that you leave me :D
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