Gold and Charcoal

Gold and Charcoal
Chapter 3
Ties

The books on alchemy were absolutely fascinating. Roy spent the whole morning and half the afternoon sitting down by the window, flipping through old volumes with dry pages, careful not to rip anything. There were arrays every few pages, explanations and theories in between. It was complicated and hard to understand, but Mustang was up to it. The basic facts were easy to catch at least. Equivalent trade: you could only gain or create something from something of equal value. Logical. Rebound: term used to describe damage inflicted on the alchemist who made a mistake or tried something too complicated for them. Had the Elric boys attempted something above their level? What could it have been? Maybe he would find answers in these volumes. It was an obsession of his, to know. Roy would not be satisfied until he had answers.

Roy also came across a section that explained, in obscure terms, why only blondies could do alchemy. He barely paid attention to it. So fine, he wasn’t blond. Didn’t mean he couldn’t pick up the knowledge and enjoy the theory.

It was about mid-afternoon when Edward returned from ‘work’ – whatever it was – and said something to Al, who had been engrossed in a similar volume himself. The younger boy nodded enthusiastically and fetched his coat and boots.

“Come on Roy, we’re going out.”

It took a great deal of self-control for the pet not to display his displeasure too openly. He could take a lot of unpleasant things - he could even stand the bothersome collar - but was a leash necessary? Honestly! To the very least, he had better come back with some sort of knowledge of where he was. Up to now all he’d seen was the corridor between the hospital wing and the Elrics’s quarters and what was visible from their window.

The man fought not to square his shoulders or stiffen as he heard the collar and leash click together. Edward gave an experimental tug and was satisfied when Roy had no choice but to bend down a little. Today the amused glint was in the yellow gaze and the unhappy one in the black eyes.

“Come on, Niisan,” urged Al, waiting in the doorway. Roy didn’t know where they were going, but the shorthaired boy looked eager to get there. There was a good chance the mongrel would not hate it either then. So, it was with no apprehension, only curiosity, that the pet followed his master. Edward held the leash in his right hand, tight between the automail fingers. Was the blond afraid his wild pet would attempt to run away? It would not happen; Roy didn’t fancy the idea of getting lost in a palace full of enemies. He would probably be tracked down before he could find the door of this building, let alone the way out of the inner city. Escaping would have to wait a little longer.

From what Roy had seen, the inner city was mainly constituted of five large buildings linked together. High ranked blondies lived in here, their quarters alone taking three of the buildings. More buildings surrounded this activity center, hosting the rest of the blondies as well as the high classes of the ‘normal’ people: rich merchants, soldiers and servants. There would also be shops, a market place, theaters and certainly other things Mustang did not know about.

As they made their way through long white corridors pierced with windows opening on gardens, Roy noted it seemed common practice to keep pets leashed. Several were not though, following their masters closely like well- trained dogs. Okay, so maybe a leash wasn’t that bad. It was still better than having to walk like them, eyes lowered like a beaten creature. Which they might have been too. A few more seemed alone, diving swiftly through the crowd toward their destinations. Messengers, assumed the black-haired slave, noticing the packages, plates and letters they carried. He saw no other mongrels. As the only one around, Roy attracted much attention, blondies and pets peering at him with equal curiosity. He didn’t spare them more than a bored glance, keeping his stance relaxed.

Nobody noticed how closely the dark man observed certain people, the ones clad in blue uniforms. Soldiers. There were several ‘normal’ people in the lot, people with brown, white or red hair. They were always of lower ranks than blondies officers, of course. The slave wondered if there were always this many soldiers infesting the hallways. They were everywhere! No wonder nobody had ever escaped alive. Mustang wasn’t scared of them however; he wasn’t just anybody. Once he’d found an escape route, he’d be out in a nick of time.

They crossed an open garden, their footsteps quiet on the moss-covered path, to reach another building. They walked past a gym and turned right to find several small tables. A bar occupied a corner and servants came and went through a large white door, carrying a variety of dishes. A restaurant.

It was still early for supper and barely a fifth of the seats were taken. Al and Ed did not need to consult each other; they went for a deserted corner, away from everybody else. The brothers sat face to face in one of the few boots along the wall while Roy was tugged down to the ground. He went, kneeling with as much dignity he could. He rested on his heels, face carefully blank as he took a long look around. There wasn’t much of interest to see from his point of view. He settled for watching the women interact with their slaves, when they had one. They were gentle and not afraid to dispense affection to the creatures they had leashed. The pets in questions did not look too unhappy either. Why couldn’t Roy at least end up with one of these lovely ladies? He just didn’t have much luck.

There was one shorthaired blonde woman that was alone, eyes lowered to her food plate with a melancholic expression. She looked just like any other lonely woman Roy had even seen. Only, if she had been one of those other women, he would have been free to walk up to her and offer a charming smile to win his way at her side for a moment or two. It never really clicked with any of them, but it was nice to spend a little time with a girl sometimes. He often found himself approaching older women, just to talk. He had little memory of ever having a mother beside a vague memory of being held once by a crying female. Roy liked to think his mother had been one of those wise women with a kind smile and gentle temper.

Mustang knew absolutely nothing of his origins. It was hard to tell where somebody like him came from; mongrels were treated so badly that normal families did not have any qualms about throwing out a young child who had been unfortunate enough to grow up with raven hair. For all he knew, Roy could have been born here, in the inner city. But it didn’t matter. He’d found his own home, his own place. He was quite bent on going back to it, too. Maes would be waiting. With some luck, the note had made its way to him, bearing the short message that, Roy hoped, clearly said what had happened.

I found somebody stronger than me. See you.

Six words to explain his first defeat, his enslavement (Not that he really felt like a slave, but he knew he was one. The collar at his throat was proof enough.) and two words to say he would come back, eventually. Maes would understand. He wouldn’t even look surprised when Roy would return, be it in five days or five years. Roy could imagine his friend glancing up, grinning as he commented on how late Mustang was and how ashamed he ought to be for letting the dinner go cold - didn’t Roy know how hard he’d worked to fix decent food? The newcomer would smirk back and find something insulting to say about Hughes and his ‘cooking skills’. Surely, by ‘working hard’, Maes meant pestering Fury to make dinner in his place?

A smirk bloomed on Roy’s face and lingered there long moments before be caught himself and suppressed it. A pair of legs had come and gone while he mused to himself, taking the Elrics’ order for something or other.

A finger poked him in the neck. Mustang glance up to Edward, face expressing a clear ‘what is it?’.

“Still alive down there?”

“Do I look dead to you, Shokun?”

“Half.” Ed eyed him critically. “You’re pale.”

“And you care because?”

“What would I look like, dragging around a dying pet? I have a reputation to think about.”

“Not a very tall reputation I’m sure.”

Edward managed to limit himself to a furious hiss that sounded suspiciously like ‘behave!’ and giving a thwack to the back of Roy’s head.

The hit had the surprising effect to lift the pet’s mood greatly. There was just something terribly amusing in winning a rise out of the short boy. Or maybe ‘winning’ wasn’t the right word. It was too easy.

Alphonse was distinctly unsure of whether he should have smiled or sighed at the pair. In the end he did both, a weak smile following a resigned sigh. Soon after, he tried to distract his brother. “Niisan, the man at the bar...I’ve never seen somebody like him.”

Edward glanced toward the counter, as did Roy. The man standing behind it was tall and broad with strangely tanned skin and scars that formed a cross on his face, running over his eyes. His sand-colored shirt did not hide the glint of his collar. He couldn’t see from this far, but Roy knew this man had red eyes.

“That’s one of the Isvarith they brought back...”

“You mean the rebels?”

“Yeah...they believe in some stupid god or other. A god that apparently forbids alchemy. So they wouldn’t submit to us. At first nobody cared, but they had the nerves to build cities and start trading. So there you go, a war. We crushed them. They must have taken back some of the survivors here. They’re tough guys after all, good workers.”

“That’s not very nice. They might have family. That man looks old enough to have children.”

“They probably died,” shrugged Edward.

“Niisan, that’s not what I wanted to hear!”

“Aa, sorry. But you know how they are. Probably killed a bunch of people.”

“Taking prisoners like that is wrong.”

Roy had half a mind to reply that the whole city was only a large prison. But he managed to hold those bitter words back.

Ed might have been entertaining similar thoughts, because all he said was an unconvinced ‘I guess.’

Shortly after, the dinner came around. Mustang blinked at the plate; what the heck were those things? They were creatures of some sort, of a vivid red color with hard skin and spikes.

“What are those?”

Edward grinned, smug. “Right, right, a mongrel like you wouldn’t know. You probably ate more rats than lobsters out there.”

Lobsters. It was a word Roy knew. It was seafood. Wasn’t that horribly expensive? Trust blondies to have some of that here. He gave a nod to show he understood and continued his look-over. These lobsters had two large pincers, a tail and several small legs. Everything well covered in a hard shell. How were they planning to eat it?

“I love sea food,” commented Alphonse, snatching one of the four creatures. Roy couldn’t see his face from the floor but he must have been smiling. “Too bad we rarely get any.”

“You better enjoy this then. Especially since it’s so damn expensive.”

“I can pay.”

“No way,” firmly retorted Edward. “I’m paying.”

Alphonse did not argue, busy breaking his lobster into two. Al held it high enough in the air that Roy saw the gesture. A sort of white flesh came into view, dangling sickly from the broken body. The adult twitched and gazed away. He wasn’t exactly interested in how they were going to eat this anymore. It didn’t look good at all.

Alphonse’s content hums brought Roy to reconsider his first opinion; he really seemed to be enjoying fighting to pull out chunks of white and red flesh. Maybe the fun of this meal was to battle with it. Mustang watched Edward use his bare automail – the white gloves had been discarded- to crush the pincers and pull out the inside. He also looked like he was having fun.

Alphonse wasn’t long to notice Roy’s stare. Mistaking his attitude for hidden hunger, he murmured something to his brother’s ear. Strangely, Edward’s face lit up at whatever the younger boy was saying. He nodded and gestured, pulling on the leash for good measure, for Roy to sit beside him on the bench.

Edward pushed a lobster in front of his leashed pet. “Have fun.”

Mustang knew perfectly well where this was going. Ed was in a good mood because he expected Roy to be disgusted and have a hard time figuring out how to eat this. Shesh. It couldn’t be that complicated. Just had to take it firmly in your hand – like this – and pull, tearing it open. The man glanced down at the two halves he held, wondering what to do now. He went for the tail first, attempting to simply pull the meat out with his fingers. The boys had returned to their own food but kept watching him, fairly amused. Noticing the Elrics’ lobster tails lay split open, Roy decided to use his fist to crack it. Something cracked all right, but he wasn’t sure it had been the lobster. Even Alphonse stifled a giggle at his grimace and Roy gave him a mildly irritated look, a look that said ‘come on, help me out here, you traitor!’

If he hadn’t been so focused on getting the better of the lobster, the mongrel might have been amused by his instinctive reaction to expect help from the younger Elric. Nice as always, Al mimicked the correct way to crack it open. First Roy wrapped his hand around and crushed the tail on itself, then he pulled the sides apart. This time it opened up and he was able to retrieve the food inside. He considered it seriously before taking a bite, controlling his expression. He would not make a face or spit it out, no matter the taste. Certainly not.

Apparently Roy did make a face, a pleased one, because Edward and Alphonse laughed again. The elder was licking the juice off his human hand with a sardonic smile. “Look at him, got the face of a guy asked to swallow a bomb. Poor little mongrel. Is it too sophisticated for you?”

“As you pointed out before, I am used to eating things that crawl. I didn’t know it’s considered fancy when they crawl in water instead of on land.”

It was true it was good. Much better than rats or cats. Not that Roy wanted to admit he’d eaten those things before. The grey-eyed Elric suddenly waved at him. “Wait, wait, don’t eat that-oh. Never mind.”

Suspicious dark eyes glanced at Al. “What?”

“Oh, you’re supposed to take the black line off. But it won’t kill you.”

“...What was it?” Mustang just knew he didn’t really want to know.

“Um, his waste.”

“...” Roy glared. Edward laughed. Alphonse rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Is there...anything else I might want to keep away from?”

“Oh, just the black thing inside, near the head.”

Roy’s stomach had woken up, asking for more, so he attacked the upper half of his victim, dismissing the previous incident. He quickly found out how to pull apart the ‘chest’. Inside, he found a little more white meat along with red and green stuff. He gave a look to the boys, waiting for somebody to inform him if this was edible.

The elder showed some mercy. “Go on. The red stuff is just eggs.”

“And the green?”

“No idea. But it’s good,” shrugged the boy.

Roy kept a guarded expression as he tested it, but it was indeed edible. Next, pincers. The first thing he did was to squirt juice in his eyes. Needless to say, Edward thought it very funny. He found it a little less funny when Mustang used his red coat to dab at his poor eyes.

“Hey! Don’t touch that!” Ed snagged his coat back.

“You just put your sticky automail on it Niisan,” observed Al, the corner of his mouth twitching.

The mongrel ignored the cursing boy beside him. Okay. Stupid pincers. He’d get them. He managed to break one into pieces, but as he tried to pull open the pincer itself, he ran his hand over one of the spikes and his hand jerked back against the cutting edge of the broken shell. He gave an irritated growl and jammed his bleeding hand in his mouth like any kid would have.

Edward jammed his own arm into his mouth to stifle his howl of laughter. Roy twitched. “I don’t see what’s amusing. Is this going to get infected?” He peered at the cut, a little worried. He’d seen smaller injuries turn into gangrene and eat away whole limbs. And in the lower city, a missing limb was almost certain death. No fancy fake limbs there. “I don’t need an automail hand, thank you.”

Alphonse gave in and laughed too, earning a less-than-pleased look from the man. Really, it wasn’t funny at all! It stung! Perhaps feeling a little sorry, Al reached and proceeded to smash down the shell completely with his automail. “There you go.”

Roy nodded his thanks and ate in between licking his hand. Some salt water had fallen on the injury, and it did not do any good. “You might want to go wash that,” pointed out Edward once he was done laughing at his pet’s pain. “Go ask the guy, he’ll let you use the sink.”

The mongrel wandered away to do just that. The only good thing in all of this was that he hadn’t thought about his ribs at all today. Pain always receded when you were too busy to pay attention to it.

The man – the Isvarith – turned blood red eyes to him. Roy shrugged, showing his hand, and he was pushed in the back to wash. The scarred man even handed him a strip of fresh cloth to wrap his wounded limb.

“Thank you.”

The man did not answer, only looking at Roy’s collar a moment before turning away. Mustang wasn’t mad to get away. That guy was creepy. The mongrel’s sixth sense told him this was somebody he did not want to get on his back. He couldn’t quite tell why, but he trusted his instinct to keep him safe. When he listened to it.

Roy was just walking along the counter when he saw a lady walking toward him, eyes fixed on him. He paused, surprised. She had black hair, yet no collar ornate her pale neck. She was dressed in a black dress that showed quite a bit of cleavage, on which you could see a strange tattoo. Mustang had never seen something like it. It was like a snake eating it’s own tail. An alchemical sign? He searched his memory but couldn’t recall seeing anything like it in the books. It was true he had only glimpsed a little of this science known as alchemy; he could simply be unaware of this sign’s meaning as of yet. The important point here was - who was this woman? Even more than the man from Ishbal, this woman set off his mental alarms. Back away, they told him.

The dark man remained, standing his ground like a guard dog, barely refraining from baring his teeth. She came up to him, paused and smiled. It was sexy, lustful even, but he did not trust it. Still, he smiled back with good grace.

“Good evening.”

“You’re Edward’s new toy?”

Mustang’s smile eased into his usual smirk, if a little guarded. “You can wonder who is toying with who. But yes. I would be his new pet.”

“He has good taste...” She raised a hand and Mustang saw her long gloves did not cover her palms. She touched his chest, running her fingers and hard nails on his bare skin in a way that made him shudder a little from he didn’t know what. A little desire, a little fear. She was a bit too cold to be healthy. He knew he should have excused himself and walked away, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so. She had interesting eyes, not quite normal. In fact, they reminded him of a snake’s eyes. It was just...

A voice rose to their right, sharp and tensed. “Roy, get over here, now.”

Well, there was a first for everything. Roy was currently glad to hear Edward’s voice order him back, and twice as glad to obey. He tried to give the lady his best apologetic smile, but his face had a bit of a dreamy glaze that ruined the effect. “If you’ll excuse me.” He forced himself to walk calmly, even though he wanted to check over his shoulder in case she was about to stab him in the back and through the heart. He just had the feeling she was that kind of woman. If you could call her a woman, with those eyes...

To Roy’s dismay, the lady had followed him. He hadn’t perceived her footsteps at all... Mustang stood by Edward, face neutral. Let the short one deal with her. The boy seemed to know who she was.

“Hello, Edward, Alphonse.”

“Hello, Lust,” greeted back Ed through clenched teeth. “You were admiring my pet?” Roy noted the emphasis put on the ‘my’. Possessive or worried? He didn’t care.

“I was. I told him you had great taste.” She reached for him again, touched his chest with her nails, and scratched. It was so sudden Mustang did not really feel the sting. But Ed growled and almost jumped to his feet as the woman smiled strangely, eyes almost shining in the dim light. “Very nice indeed.”

It was then something hard slammed against the back of the dark-haired man’s knees. He found himself falling, knees hitting the ground painfully. The shock echoed through his body and he almost moaned in pain. The ribs! Watch the goddamned ribs! A hand came to rest on his head, twisting in his short wild hair and pulling him to rest his cheek against something warm. Roy blinked up but carefully remained motionless, cheek still pillowed against Edward’s thigh. His owner wasn’t looking at him, eyes glued to the scary lady.

“Yes, he’s a nice one. A little too tall though,” replied the blond, doing his best to speak coolly. Roy could see it was just a mask, an attempt to hide his fear. Lust couldn’t possibly be fooled but it, but Edward clung to the mask anyway.

The lady named Lust smiled again – how could somebody so sexy be so creepy? – and started to move away. “I’ll leave you now, I have things to attend to. Good evening boys.”

A shaky breath escaped Edward. Roy craned his neck to look at him and protested unhappily; “You didn’t have to kick that hard.”

The golden gaze dipped down to him. “Your chest.”

Roy looked down and saw blood. “Sharp nails,” he said, mildly surprised. How could mere nails cut this deep? It was like if a lion had tested his claws on his chest. It didn’t really hurt, yet. It probably would, in a little while.

“Niisan...” Al’s voice wasn’t very steady either.

“I know Al. We have to wash him.” The boys stood up, pushing the man to go back to the kitchen. They stopped dead in their tracks before they were even halfway there. A new dark-haired woman had appeared in their path. Her hair was not black but brown and she wore not a dress but a suit. Yet, she had the same aura of danger around her.

Suddenly, Roy was pulled in a different direction, somebody’s small hand hooked at the waist of his pants. They left the restaurant in a rush, and ran back ‘home’. Edward kept tugging on the leash, urging the man to go faster even though he kept up with them perfectly. People gave them wondering glances, but they ignored them. Roy had trouble figuring out which door was theirs, but the Elrics knew where home was. Edward locked the door behind them, a brief blue glow the sign of the mechanism’s activation, while Al fled to the bathroom, emerging back with towels, wraps and a bottle of something bluish. Mustang was pushed down on the couch and Ed knelt between his legs, brows very low. He caught the wet towel his younger brother handed him and began to wipe the blood off, in a less-than- gentle manner. It wasn’t just the blood he wanted to clear; he wanted to clean into the cuts if possible. Al closed his left hand on Roy’s shoulder, just in time to hold him back. The man jerked and cursed, protesting as the wounds were scrubbed. It hurt!

“What’s the panic about?!” Nobody acknowledged his question.

“Al, the bottle.” The second Elric boy handed it over. Edward twisted the cap and sprayed the liquid on the wounds. It burned and made Roy hiss furiously. There was silence for a long moment, the boys looking at the adult as if expecting him to melt on the spot. Finally the brothers seemed satisfied, the tension easing from their young bodies.

“She was just toying with us,” quietly commented Alphonse.

“Yeah.” Edward sighed and his head dropped, resting a moment against Roy’s knee. The older male had the strange envy to run his hand in the luscious blond hair. He admired the way the light reflected on it, making it seem paler than it was. Alphonse did not have this shade of pale hair; it was a little darker, perhaps another hint one of their parents had not been blond.

“So?” prompted Roy to break his line of thoughts. “I’d like to know if I’m supposed to be worried.”

Ed shook his head and lifted it. “Nothing. We thought Lust was trying to kill you.”

“I thought you were trying to do the same.”

The shadow of hurt that settled in the bright eyes before him made Roy suddenly regret his words, just a little. What he had said wasn’t fair at all. It wasn’t like him to apologize or take back his words however, so instead he added a faint smile, passing off his remark for a joke. It worked some.

“Last time Lust scratched a man...” Alphonse had walked around the couch to drop beside Roy. “She had some sort of poison on her nails. At first nobody noticed, but then the guy started screaming...and screaming...we were there when it started but even when we left we still heard him. I don’t know, it was like acid. It was eating his flesh, making its way toward his organs. They tried to wash it off, but it was too late. They couldn’t do anything. He screamed for almost half an hour before somebody killed him.” Al shuddered and carefully reached to touch Roy’s chest, outlining a bleeding mark. “Does it burn unnaturally?”

“Not at all.” It stung, but it didn’t burn. No problem there. Hopefully.

“It’s fine,” said Edward, trying to convince everybody, including himself. He flopped on the couch between Roy and Al and sighed, leaning back. “I hate them,” he said.

“Who was she? She had black hair, but she didn’t have a collar,” mused the mongrel, hoping for some answers. “And it seems you have good reasons to be afraid of her.”

“Can’t do anything about her,” bitterly said Edward, eyes still shut. “She ... they... work for the fuhrer.”

“They? Many?”

“Five I think...maybe six or seven.”

“Was the other lady one of them too?”

Edward shuddered violently and even Al shivered, reaching to curl an arm around his brother’s chest and pull him closer, so that he could hide his face in the braid. Ed sighed and clutched his brother’s arm, saying nothing. They would not say any more after this point.

Questions, questions, questions. Never any answers. But, admitted Roy to himself, the whole thing was absolutely fascinating. A part of him just couldn’t wait to find out everything about this place, and who these scary women were, and why the brothers had automail limbs and – wait. What had happened to his escape plan?

‘It can wait,’ he told himself, shrugging. Roy dozed off, tired although he didn’t know why. He was vaguely aware of the boys murmuring to each other. He wondered what they were saying, just before he blacked out. He only came back to himself when he grew cold. A shirt that wouldn’t close wasn’t very useful to protect from cool temperature. He saw the forgotten bandages on the table and picked up the roll to wrap up his chest himself. He still hadn’t been eaten alive by acid. That was good.

They had spent a while at the restaurant, only heading back around...six, assumed Roy. And it seemed they had just spent three hours where they were. The boys were deep in slumber. Roy wondered if it was a habit of theirs, to fall asleep curled together on the couch. It was cute. Just kids...he looked at them and for a moment he saw others. Not blond hair, black hair. Two little boys trying to find some warmth in each other, lost and hungry in a world too big for them. The mongrel shook his head, chasing the image, and walked to the bed. He pulled the cover off and took it back to drop it on the brothers. After a little hesitation, he even tucked it around them comfortably. He gave a smirk when Edward made a happy noise, but this smirk was a little too wistful. He shook himself again. He was being ridiculous. There were kids everywhere, and they were not all the same. It wasn’t time to get sentimental because these two reminded him of his own ‘brother’, the one with whom he had once cuddled for warmth and comfort, because there was nobody else to give him - either of them in fact - those things.

Whatever. One pill and off to bed. Not literally. It was a carpet, not a bed. But it was his sleeping spot, and it wasn’t all that bad. It was quite warm, for a start. And comfy. He would certainly be awake much before the sun rose if he went to bed this early, but he figured he could snatch that big book Alphonse had been reading these past two days. He wanted to know what it spoke of. He was just about to lie down that a familiar voice hissed at him to stand up.

“Problem, Shokun?”

“Don’t go and stain it with your blood,” grumbled a sleepy Edward, only half an eye open. “That’s expensive. Take a blanket and get on the couch, easier to wash. Idiot.”

Roy shook his head, amused, and did as told without a protest.

Roy was awake before the boys, just in time to watch the rising sun chase shadows back away bit by bit. When the sunlight reached his face, blinding him, he pulled himself to his feet, stretching his back slowly. His chest ached a little, and so did his ribs, but everything else was fine. He resolutely kept his gaze away from the sleeping siblings and slid to the bathroom for his morning business. He thought of changing his bandages, for his chest and his hand. Both looked fine. Finding himself hungry, he next moved to the kitchen. He stared into the fridge; there were eggs left, some cheese, but little else. Damn. With some milk he might have been able to make omelets at least. Oh, there was bread too, forgotten on the counter. Fine then. He would have to settle for eggs and toast.

For no apparent reason the mongrel found himself humming as he cooked food. He was...in a good mood? Well, it was almost nice to hang around here when Ed wasn’t in a rotten mood or throwing a fit. It sure beat living in the streets, hiding in dangerous crumbled buildings and catching rats to live. He’d been about their age at that time. Barely fourteen, not yet able to land a job to support himself and find a real home. He could have done well by becoming a prostitute, but he preferred to go hungry than sell himself like that. It was his business to who he gave affection, and it would never be for money.

There was quite a large difference between his childhood and the Elrics’. Or maybe not. Growing up without parents, check. Having to work to feed yourself, check. Nobody but another lost boy to rely upon, check. Perhaps they were more alike than he’d first thought after all.

Roy also thought of preparing coffee. It seemed Edward’s brain didn’t work without some caffeine. And if he happened to have something insulting or sarcastic to say, he would like Ed to be aware enough to register it.

The man looked over his shoulder, hearing light footsteps. Alphonse blinked at him, still a hint of sleepiness shadowing his eyes. “Either you’re very quiet or I’m a heavier sleeper than I thought.”

“Compared to the log you sleep with, anybody is a light sleeper.”

Al smiled sheepishly. “True,” he admitted. He dismissed the issue for something more urgent. “You’re cooking?”

“Eggs and toast. I recall you telling your brother you’d rather not have any of that again, but it’s all I could find in here. It’s time to shop.”

Alphonse gave a distracted nod, trying to tame his hair with his fingers. “All right. Try not to burst them. We never manage to keep the yellow intact.”

“I wonder how you two managed to stay alive so long.”

“So do I.” Al leaned against the wall, idly watching the eggs sizzle in the frying pan. His dark cloths were rumpled, his coat hanging from one of his shoulders and his gloves peeking from the green coat’s pocket. He spoke again after a while, to fill the odd quietness of the apartment. “You don’t act very much like a pet.”

“I’m not much of a submissive person.”

“I noticed. The way you ended up here says enough.”

“You want to know what exactly I said to anger your brother.”

The teenager blinked, taken off guards. “How did you guess?”

“I’m just that good.” The smugness was back.

“So I do. Going to tell me?”

“Sure.” Roy moved the cooked eggs to a waiting plate and placed more in the pan. The transparent goo immediately started to turn white. Then he stepped back some, standing closer to Al. Several inches separated their heads, but Roy did not feel like he was addressing a child so much. “Like you guessed, I made a comment regarding his need for taller shoes, and for a ladder to climb in them. I also said he was too short to be out there without his mother. It was inconsiderate of me I suppose.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“Niisan tends to over react.”

“That’s a way to say it,” mildly replied Roy. Trying to profit from Al’s talkative mood, he inquired; “Can I ask what happened exactly? I’ve been wondered where your parents are. I assume your mother was a sex slave herself?”

It was a second first time for something unheard off in less than twenty- four hours. Alphonse had curled his hand and landed one solid punch on Roy’s jaw with no warning whatsoever. Stars bloomed in the man’s head. He staggered back, a hand to his chin and the other flung behind him to find support. It would have been hard to tell which of them was the most surprised of the two; Al was looking at his hand like he couldn’t believe he’d just done that.

“Excuse me.” He did not look at Roy. The man couldn’t help but note this too. It hadn’t been ‘please excuse me’ or ‘I’m sorry’. No, Alphonse wasn’t asking to be forgiven, he was ordering Mustang to forgive him.

“As long as you have the kindness to use your right hand,” was the reply that came as soon as he was sure his jaw wasn’t broken. “My jaw can take your right better than it can take your left.” The boy didn’t look like he felt any better. Roy shook his head a little. “I may not act quite like a pet, but you don’t act much like a master either, Shokun.”

Al shuddered at the title. “Don’t call me that.”

“Alphonse-sama?”

“Stop mocking me.”

“I’m not. You tell me what I’m supposed to address you as then. I’m fairly sure using ‘Al’ or ‘Alphonse-kun’ would earn me more broken ribs.” The man made a slight face. He was banged up enough. Two broken ribs from Edward, a hand cut from the lobster, a slashed chest from Lust and now a throbbing jaw from Alphonse. Everybody just had to pick on him it seemed. Free for all on the mongrel.

Finally, there was a timid light of amusement in the lovely pair of grey eyes. “Alphonse is fine.”

Mustang faked suspicion. “Are you sure nobody is going to maul me for that?”

Al played along, placing a hand on his heart with fake solemnity. “I promise.”

“Promises are easier spoken than kept.”

It was the wrong thing to say apparently. Al stiffened. “I know.”

Roy took a few steps, and leaned down to be face to face with Alphonse. He had to lay a hand on the boy’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t trip down to the ground. “Don’t take my words too seriously, Shokun.” This time the word was spoken teasingly, enough so that Al didn’t react negatively to it. “ You’re not much like the other blondies, but I won’t be the one to complain. You’re the most humane of them. Only one who didn’t try to maul me. I’m duly impressed.”

Al shook his head, speaking bitterly; “I’m not. If anything, I’m inhumane. I don’t fit very well.” It was true, he explained. He was always lost and confused. He didn’t approve of the way blondies treated others, yet he had a hard time not to feel annoyed at Roy when he did harmless things like talk without permission. He always had to think twice about it, always had to calm his first impulsions. He didn’t fit anywhere. He wasn’t self-absorbed like most blondies, he wasn’t kind and steady like Armstrong or Gracia. All of this Alphonse rambled out angrily, without thinking, not unlike the way Edward did when upset. “I’m not even comfortable in my own damn head!”

Roy laughed, somehow touched. He squeezed the boy’s shoulder as he straightened up and impulsively pulled the blond against him, hand sliding down the shoulder and in Al’s back to dispense a light hug. His other hand went to ruffle the short hair, like one might do to a much younger sibling. “I’m not complaining,” he repeated. “Better to be yourself and different than a mindless sheep.” He stepped aside then, quickly returning to his cooking. The current egg was burned. Too bad. He’d have to throw that one out, even if he hated to waste food.

Al was utterly puzzled, it showed plainly on his face. “I don’t get you,” he said, sounding a little resentful. “You’re so damn proud and lively and sarcastic, smug, teasing, and, and… You act tough and strong, you-”

“I am tough and strong.” Roy stopped pretending to be offended. “So you’re saying I’m like your brother?”

“No, well…” Al thought about it. “Sorta like him, but still different.”

“I dare hope so.”

Abruptly, Al spilled. “Nobody’s ever touched me except my mother and my brother.” It was like he wasn’t sure if he should be mad about it or not.

“Did it bother you?”

Alphonse tried to answer several times, but his jaw would only hang in the air, with no words coming out. He shook his head and was quiet. Roy didn’t react but he thought that silence was clearer than any answer. Alphonse didn’t know what to say, because saying ‘no’ would make no sense to him, but saying ‘yes’ would be a lie. Poor boy would spend a lot of time being confused if he was to attempt to understand Roy Mustang.

A groggy voice interrupted their thoughts. “Am I smelling food?”

“Aa, yes Niisan,” Alphonse spun on his heels to greet his brother. “Roy made eggs. Hungry? There’s also coffee.”

“Coffee good,” nodded Ed. ‘Coffee’ was probably the only word he’d caught.

Roy was silent, his thoughtful dark eyes observing the pair of brothers drink their coffee and jump on the food like if they’d been famished. He definitely wanted to get at the bottom of this. He’d figure out who were Edward and Alphonse Elric yet.

---

Note: No Lust doesn\'t actually have poisonous nails. I figured she had dipped them in Gluttony\'s saliva or something, since it like burns through anything. >.> She was just having a bit of fun y\'know. Sounds boring to just roam around and look evil all day.