Gold and Charcoal

Gold and Charcoal
Chapter 7
Allies and Enemies

“We’re here to take custody of one mongrel called Roy Mustang.”

“Let me handle it,” said Havoc, making his way to the door in a few strong strides. He placed himself between Edward and the other soldiers. “I’m in charge here. Who sent you?”

“General Thores, sir.” The ‘sir’ came reluctantly, as they were not excessively content to have to pay respect to him. Many normal soldiers resented blond majors. Blondies started out as majors in the military, it was their lowest rank. So obviously when the normal people saw them, they saw rookies who had not climbed their way to the top the hard way like themselves had to. Even worse, for them major was the highest they could aspire to. They worked hard to end where a blondie started. It easily bred resentment. Roy had known these things before coming here - the way the military worked was no secret - he just hadn’t actually seen this bitterness in person until now. Was Havoc truly a rookie? Roy would have bet he wasn’t. The blond was too at ease in his uniform, like he’d been living in it for years. It probably was the case.

“I take my orders from Colonel Hawkeye, who answers to General Armstrong,” drawled Havoc, leaning in the doorway. “You are very welcome to go and discuss this issue with either of them. I’m sure they’ll listen to what you have to say with great interest. Until I receive new orders, I will remain here and guard the suspect.”

The second man stepped forward, perhaps attempting to intimidate the major with his extra inches and the muscles that filled his uniform so much it looked too small for him. “Sir, our orders are strict and overrule any previous orders, no matter from who. Please hand the pet over so that we may lead him to detention, sir.”

“Go tell that to Armstrong,” snapped Edward, nudging Havoc out of the way. Roy almost wanted to say something to the effect that Ed could have just walked under Havoc’s raised arm. It had been unnecessary to nudge the man aside. It would not have been wise to upset the boy at the moment though, so Mustang kept his lips sealed.

The mongrel wasn’t actually concerned about this situation; he knew Edward well enough to know he’d go berserk quick easily to defend his ‘property’. As long as it meant protection, Roy wasn’t going to complain.

Either the big man was new, or he was stupid. He looked down – way down – at Edward, and said, “Let the adults take care of the situation.”

Alphonse’s warning cry of ‘Niisan’ did nothing to deter the boy. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT YOUR FEET TO SEE HIM?”

Roy was pulled forward and he followed Alphonse with a smirk. The first soldier, much smarter, had backed up immediately. His teammate though was graced with several pounds of angry Edward Elric. By the time Al yanked his brother off his prey, the man had a broken nose and blood running down his chin.

“Be off,” Al told the soldiers icily. “Go talk to General Armstrong if you’d like. We’re doing fine on our own.”

Roy graciously lent a hand and they were able to haul the nonsense screeching blond back inside. Edward’s strength multiplied when he was enraged, it was a verified fact. The door was closed and locked with a flash. Edward growled low, causing everybody to direct their attention to him and notice something that made them all smile.

“What’s so funny?” asked Ed though clenched teeth. His gaze dared anyone to laugh.

“Niisan,” said Al on a tone that wanted to be stern but came out chocked with amusement. He reached and pulled a piece of blue uniform out of his brother’s mouth. “Please don’t bite people.”

Roy’s made a show of raising an eyebrow, with affected dignity. “One may wonder who is the dog around here.”

“Next time it’s you they’ll come for, Edward,” added Jean, much amused. “Have you had all your shots?”

“Shut up! It’s not funny!” The boy coughed, and when another blue piece was expelled, Havoc and Mustang looked at each other and right out laughed. Al was left to bite his lip in a desperate effort not to join in, with his shoulders shaking just enough to betray him. “SHUT UP!”

There wasn’t much place to go hide to, so Ed marched to the bathroom to sulk for an undetermined amount of time. Probably until his stomach extracted him from there, mused Roy, hilarity back under his control.

Havoc sobered up quickly. “Alphonse, I better call the General to inform him. You do have a phone?”

“I think so.” The blond glanced around helplessly. “I’m sure somebody used it this year…”

“On the desk, behind the pile of books,” pointed out Roy.

They listened quietly to Havoc’s recollection of the recent incident, watched as he nodded and replied ‘yes, sir, we’ll do that’ to whatever he was told. He was done then, and relayed the orders. General Armstrong’s opinion was that they shouldn’t keep to themselves tonight, but join the party in the main restaurant. He was afraid their enemies might attempt to carry out an operation against them while there were few witnesses. On top of that, tonight would be a good night for a murderer, as several men would head back home drunk and weak. They all agreed it made sense and they should follow this recommendation.

Havoc pulled on his cigarette, either annoyed or worried. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d ever do that. I mean, I know he doesn’t like you two, but attacking you? It feels a bit farfetched to me.”

“You don’t know him like we do.”

“I suppose I don’t. I haven’t lived with him.”

There, another piece of the puzzle. Roy caught it, examined it briefly and locked it in his mind for later reference. Right now he could only guess at its meaning. He needed more evidence.

Rubbing his neck, Al declared he was going to talk to Edward and try to convince him to come along. “If he doesn’t want to, we’ll go anyway. He’ll follow. Not in a very good mood but…”

“You have unnatural patience to deal with that brother of yours,” remarked Havoc.

Roy thought he saw Al’s smile waver. “I guess.”

“Good luck.”

“Ha ha, thanks.” Alphonse mutely clapped his hands, unhooking the shackle for the moment. It had mostly been for Havoc’s benefit, but the major didn’t seem to care anymore, deeming Roy was not a menace, at least during the day. “Be right back…”

Discreetly, Roy backed up to stand beside Havoc. They both kept their gaze to Al’s back as the boy knocked at the bathroom door and began negotiations.

“How long have they been alone?”

“Just the two of them? Let’s see…Edward is sixteen so…five. Almost five years without adults.”

“…you let a pair of ten and eleven years old live alone?” Roy carefully kept his disapproval out of his voice. He wasn’t supposed to care.

“They’re smart.”

“They’re children. They barely pay attention to what’s around them. It’s dangerous. It’s not because they ignore their enemies that their enemies will ignore them.”

Havoc stopped talking down to the dark men then, hit by the revelation the mongrel could reason. (Roy was going to start keeping tabs if it kept up.) To answer back, Havoc had a darker tone, “We noticed. We’ve been watching their backs for them. We can’t do much else about it.” He pulled on his cigarette again. It seemed to be something he did when something was on his mind. “What a mess.”

No matter if the man was talking about this situation, the boys or the society in general, Mustang agreed. The short conversation had been enough for him to decide Havoc had probably spoken the truth in the morning. Caring for abandoned children did give the right to the title of ‘good guy’. There were more exceptions to the blondie stereotype than Roy had first thought. Now he actually counted them on his fingers instead of his hands.

Alphonse came back, eyes clouded. Despite his overall gentle nature, he had a temper too. Only, where Edward’s flared at any and every provocation, his seemed to only appear when dealing with his older brother’s crisis. “Oh, he can rot there. I need to go shop. Now that there’s somebody here who can cook without casualties, we can keep the fridge full.”

“It’s a bad idea to split up,” said the major. “Make a list, I’ll send Breda to take care of it. He’s not a blondie but Hawkeye trusts him.”

Alphonse pouted like any child who’d been told no, but he was still a very reasonable teenager. “All right then. Roy? We can look for what’s missing in the kitchen.”

“That’s easy, everything.” They left to do just that, leaving Havoc to scrutinize the garden outside the windows. Roy would have liked to be sure the soldier was just paranoid.

“There’s brown sugar left. And milk. There’s enough flour for a good week I think.”

Alphonse was listing what there was to salvage, throwing away a few more boxes and containers. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt and climbed on the counter to look everywhere. Unlike his brother, he accepted the fact he wasn’t all that tall and didn’t mind climbing on things to gain access to high places. Roy was leaning against the counter, notepad in hand to scribble what they had and what they needed.

“Hum, there’s this baking powder thing here. And maple syrup. We still have seven bottles of that.”

“Where did you get all of them?”

“Special import. Only comes once a year so we made reserves. We used to like cooking eggs in it. We got sick of it after a few months though.”

“You tried to live eating just that, didn’t you?” Roy shook his head, repeating what he’d said in the beginning. “It’s a miracle you two survived so long. I’m amazed.”

“Thanks.”

The dark man spent several minutes jotting down what he wanted. It was nice not to have to think about how much these things cost. The brothers had more than enough money to pay for it all, so he jolted down the best he knew of. Like meat, real meat you didn’t have to chew on for half an hour. After a moment he added ‘cooking book’ with a question mark. This mongrel was not above following recipes in books. Cooking was a valuable skill after all. First it meant you could feed yourself properly, secondly it always amazed the ladies that you could exchange tips with them. They all loved a man who appreciated these things. There was a reason Roy was such a ladykiller: he had everything to please them. Too bad none of them could quite satisfy him.

Women were nice to talk to, nice to flirt with. They were pretty, sexy, interesting in bed. But they weren’t perfect. There was always something missing. They were…weak. Most of the time they could not fend for themselves in the worst situations. They would count on a man to defend them. Roy could not guarantee their safety, could not be there all the time. He truly hated to worry, hated to get attached and fear it would be taken away the moment he glanced away. He wanted somebody with a soft body, narrow waist and beautiful face, but also a good health, a solid will and the strength to watch his back while he watched theirs. Oh, he’d found somebody close enough already, but he didn’t love Maes. He couldn’t say why really. He’d assumed it was because they were both straight and aware of it, nothing more than two close friends having a good time. He wasn’t so sure he was all that straight anymore, he reflected, his wandering gaze drifting along the smooth curve of an automail arm.

Alphonse caught Roy staring, a slightly dreamy air on his features. The boy flexed his automail and smiled. “You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?”

“I would,” simply answered Roy.

“Maybe I’ll tell you, one day.”

Roy nodded. That was alright. He wasn’t expecting to get all the answers so easily. It was part of the game to search. But while they were speaking of the automail, there were other things he wanted to know. “May I ask about what you can feel through it?”

Alphonse seriously considered the question, now sitting on the edge of the counter a mere few inches from the man. He answered slowly, gaze unfocused. “Pressure, mostly. I know I’m touching things. I’m aware of cold and hot, but I don’t really feel them. No pain either, unless you try to pull on the wires. They’re connected to my nerves.”

“What about texture? Moisture?”

“Well…”

Roy caught Al’s left hand and brought it to his lips, sucking in a single digit. He rolled his tongue around it, tasting metal. It wasn’t such a bad taste. Al gave a slight shiver, but the mongrel wasn’t sure if it was from feeling his action or just watching him. He had that effect on a lot of people. He couldn’t help it if he was unbelievably sexy.

“Feel that?” he asked curiously.

“Sort of. I can tell its wet and soft. Felt your tongue and stuff.” Alphonse was reddening and fighting to hide it.

“Mn, interesting creation.” Roy touched the automail hand, ran a finger along its curves and made the fingers curls back, comparing it to the way his own limb moved. “Your friend must be good.”

“She is. Winry is very talented. She works hard for us. Niisan should be more grateful to her.”

“Your brother ‘should’ a lot of things.”

“I suppose so.” The blond shook his head. “He wasn’t like that before.” He only offered a sad smile to Roy’s quizzical expression. “You like knowing about everything, don’t you?”

“It’s very useful to know everything that’s going on around you.”

“Maybe for you. We tend to try to ignore everything.”

The mongrel told him what he’d told Havoc. “That’s dangerous. You do have enemies here.”

“Why does it matter? We can’t do anything against them.”

“You have allies as well. People willing to help you.”

“But you don’t trust their motives.”

“I don’t trust anyone,” corrected Roy. He didn’t admit he’d revised his opinion on Havoc.

Alphonse was starting to know how to read him a little, noted Roy, because the boy wasn’t fooled by his answer. “Is that the truth?”

“Almost.”

Roy was still playing with the automail, running his fingers along the curves and bumps. He noticed the slight tension when his hand reached the shoulder and did not linger there overlong. It was natural that Al would dislike people touching around what was an obvious weak point, the wires. Connected to his nerves he’d said. Wasn’t it stupid then, to keep them exposed like that? What if you got tangled somewhere? Well, it wasn’t like he knew anything about automail. There surely was a good reason for it. Winry would be the one to ask for that one.

He turned the automail hand around, tilted his head at the faint sign engraved on the top. Was this how the brothers make alchemy by just clapping their hands? By now Mustang knew enough about arrays to be aware you couldn’t do just anything from any array. Arrays were mostly specialized, each with their purpose.

“Metal work,” he said after a while. “Is this your excuse for making alchemy with just a clap?”

“The official reason, yes.”

“And the real reason beneath it?” Alphonse smiled of that smile that said ‘I won’t tell’. Ah, alright. He’d figure it out. All he had to do was to listen and pick up the puzzle pieces dropped.

The boy put his automail on Roy’s shoulder and used this support point to swing himself from the counter and to the ground. “Hand the list to Havoc, please. I’ll go see if Niisan is more reasonable.”

While they were chatting in the kitchen, the major had called the soldier named Breda and the two officers were currently speaking in low tones at the door. Roy caught something about security measures for the night before they interrupted themselves.

“Here’s the list. We won’t lock the door, you’ll be able to drop the bags inside.”

The major took the piece of paper and transferred it to the other soldier. “Well, there you go, Breda. Sorry for the extra hours. We’ll go for a drink sometime, okay?”

Roy sat on one of the couches and watched Alphonse lose patience. From ‘Niisan, please open the door.’ to ‘Niisan, you’re being immature!’ to ‘Niisan, I’m sick of this!’ At this point, Al transmuted the door open to go bicker face to face. Or not. Since he heard nothing, Roy assumed Al was using his beaten ‘why are you mean to me?’ puppy-look, possibly with tears of rage in his eyes. It was a powerful weapon that, once more, brought victory.

“Okay, let’s go. The place must be filling up and we don’t really want to share a table with anybody else,” announced Al when he emerged, as collected as ever. “Oh, and sorry about that Roy.” Snagging the chain, he hooked it back to his automail before moving the other end from Roy’s wrist to his collar.

“Are you sure you don’t want to add a muzzle?” asked Havoc.

“I could bite somebody,” added Mustang, just as serious.

Edward twitched and glowered at them. “I swear I’ll chew your hearts out if either of you make ONE MORE COMMENT ABOUT THAT. Am I clear?” It was a shame to pass up this joke. He’d said ‘chew’. But the men behaved.

“Yes, boss.”

“Yes, Shokun.”

Green coat held over his shoulder – they really didn’t go anywhere without them - Alphonse headed after his brother, himself followed by the taller males.

Al jogged up to his brother’s side, trying to make small talk. “Do you think Winry will be there, Niisan?”

“Probably not. She finds these things boring. Of course, according to her, anything devoid of metal is boring. Hawkeye doesn’t like that stuff either.”

“General Armstrong will be there. His family is always at every important gathering.”

Edward nodded. “And we will be staying far, faaar away from their table.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“You’re welcome to sit beside him if you want.”

“…I’ll stay with you, Niisan.” Roy was glad for that answer, because wherever Al went, he had to go. Far away from the Armstrongs sounded good. He knew they were good people, but it didn’t make them any less spooky.

It was the same restaurant as last time, only tonight it was already three quarters filled with chatting blondies, several with a pet waiting on them. Servants fluidly walked amidst the crowd, bearing soups and light collations. The night was just starting.

“Table for four,” said Havoc to the nearest woman in uniform.

“Wait, wait, make it six,” spoke Al, looking back. “There’s Gracia. Let’s invite her.” He waved to catch her attention and she came up to them, Rose in tow.

“Oh, hello boys. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“We didn’t plan to, but why not,” eluded Alphonse. “Would you like to join us?”

“Of course. Thank you for offering.”

“Table for six…”

The woman in charge of seating looked at her notebook and led them to the north wall to a long table with three chairs on one side and a banquette on the other. Havoc stole a chair, inviting Gracia to sit beside him, and the boys slipped on the bench, Roy at Al’s left side. Rose sat in front of the mongrel and he smiled to her, which brought a blush to her round face. Roy knew two different ways to curl his lips. One was a smirk, often meant to mock whoever it was directed to, and the other was a charming smile for the purpose of making ladies swoon at his feet. It rarely failed.

“Rose, was it? A perfect name for a pretty girl. Your bangs are a wonderful touch, of the color of rose petals.”

He watched the predictable blush spread. “Thank you.” He simply looked at her for a moment, and she grew redder. “And um, I wanted to thank you for helping me.”

“I take it for granted it’s much better where you are now?”

“Oh, of course. Lady Gracia is wonderful. Did you know she takes care of orphans?”

A real tinge of curiosity tainted his voice. “Orphans?”

“The children of soldiers who died in their duties mostly. It’s a lot of work but I’m glad to help.”

“You are as lovely inside as you are outside then, Rose.”

Alphonse nudged Roy, but didn’t say anything, continuing his own conversation with the others. A girl finally made it to their table to take their order, repeating for the hundredth time what was on the menu. She informed them the meals themselves would not be served for another hour or so, but soups and light snacks were currently available.

Gracia was frowning lightly at the menu sheet and Roy only understood when Ed suddenly announced he would pay for everybody. Gracia didn’t have a real job. Here, she was considered a poor woman. The prices of food must have been extravagant in regards to her earnings. Edward had considered this fact and made his offer on his own. Strange, that he would show such concern, but Roy approved entirely. It was the proper, polite thing to do - when you could afford it.

“Take what you want,” the boy insisted.

“Oh no, Edward dear, you can’t.”

“I earn more than all of you. It’s fine.” He turned to the waitress. “Put it on the Fullmetal alchemists’ tab. The elder.”

The girl blinked at him and Al, but merely nodded before taking their orders and wandering to the next table.

The soldier tipped his chair back, stretching and crossing his arms behind his head with a smug smile. “Hey, thanks. I’ll be sure to eat your entire salary.”

“Maybe you can eat your entire salary, but you can’t eat mine.”

“You’re not paid that much.”

“Oh yes we are.”

Alphonse nudged his brother just like he’d done with Roy earlier. ‘Niisan, stop bragging. And exaggerating.”

“But we are paid lots more than him.”

“Yes, and they pay us to shut up. So please do.” It seemed to remind Ed of a few unpleasant things. He dropped the issue.

“Sooo,” drawled Havoc around a puff of smoke. “Tell me about your work then. I heard you busted a few kids’ asses lately.” He made a sad face as Gracia took his cigarette away, saying something about not smoking around food, but he didn’t complain.

“They’re the ones to start. I don’t see why they make me work with such utter morons. They can’t even explain the symbolism of my coat or how you interconnect arrays.”

“You can’t blame them for the coat,” mused Havoc in a way that didn’t quite reveal if he himself knew of it or not. “They’re not allowed to know that, are they?”

“Well they should find out for themselves anyway.”

Gracia gave a fond smile. “Not everybody is as curious as you two are, Edward.”

It didn’t convince him one bit. “That’s because they’re intellectually lazy.”

“Maybe, but at least they have all their limbs.” The tone suggested it was a low hit, but still a valid one.

“Major, shut up.”

“Yes, boss.” This time, it was said quietly, without humor.

Roy would have liked to know what they were referring to. As smart, clever and perceptive as he was, he couldn’t figure out everything on his own. Too bad Hughes wasn’t there. That sneaky guy understood what was under somebody’s words better than anyone else. He’d taught Roy more than a few tricks in that field, pretending it was in return for how Roy had shown him what he needed to know to survive in the street: how to steal, how to escape and how to hide. Perhaps Maes had wanted Roy to understand he did not need to take his debt too serious. Yes, Hughes had saved Mustang’s life, but it didn’t matter to him. The newcomer hadn’t wanted Roy’s gratitude; he’d wanted his friendship.

‘It took me long enough to understand,’ thought Roy as he took a sip of water, eyes darting to his right just long enough to catch a glimpse of short golden hair. He smirked faintly in his glass. ‘Yeah, long enough. But I learn fast.’

“Does it hurt?” Roy’s mind left the wistful musing aside to pay attention to the young lady in front of him. Rose pointed and explained, “Your chest.”

Roy had entirely removed the bandages, deeming he did not need them any longer, leaving the nail marks very visible on his otherwise perfect chest. If you asked him, they looked rather sexy and they apparently were a source of curiosity for females, which was also a good thing in his eyes. He smiled and raised a hand to touch the marks. “These? Not at all. I had a knife to the side once. Now that was pain. These are just scratches.”

“What happened?”

“Not much. Lust decided to grace me with a touch. You might know her? She has a strange tattoo on her chest and is colder than an ice cube.” Roy made a dismissive hand gesture and finished on a seductive note. “ Entirely not my type. I enjoy fresh ladies with gentle smiles, pretty eyes and colorful long hair.”

Rose did not pick up the compliment. “I know who she is,” she said quietly. “You’re brave.”

“Nobody I’ve ever met can scare me.” Alphonse elbowed him again and Roy took the time to scowl at the boy with irritation. “Armstrong does not count.”

Rose giggled at that, raising a hand to her mouth. “Alex Louis Armstrong is a kind man, despite his appearance.”

“I know.”

“It must be the sparkles,” slipped in Al. Roy elbowed him back discreetly. It was immature, but Alphonse had started it. Okay, that was immature too.

In such good company, the hour was gone in a blink and the main dishes were served and eaten in the same content atmosphere. The boys put their gloves away – they only did this to eat and sleep - and as he watched their automail hands reflect light, Roy wondered if their only purpose wasn’t to hide the metal. The brothers seemed much more ashamed then proud to bear these artificial limbs. Again, what had they done to lose them?

Everybody was chatting; blondies keeping to their own and affecting to ignore their pets were talking among themselves as well. No normal people here tonight but for the waitresses; they didn’t have collars, so they were not slaves.

“Niisan,” said Alphonse as he was just finishing his dish. “Can I leave Roy to you for a minute? I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Al didn’t look convinced. Gracia smiled at him and promised she would make sure everybody behaved. Upon consideration, this seemed acceptable. The boy moved the end of the chain from his automail to Ed’s real arm. He stood and ducked into the crowd. Despite the fact Gracia was watching them, anybody knew better than leaving Roy and Edward together for too long.

Roy had a good view on the bar from his seat. He noted the man serving drinks was still that Ishvarith with red eyes. He didn’t look content. Even from several feet away, Roy could tell he was tense, jaw set in a hard line and shoulders squared in an irritated or aggressive manner. It might have had something to do with the woman Mustang noticed standing a few paces away from him. That inhuman one again, with the claws that had marked him.

Roy thought he would have been upset too if he had to serve drinks to these annoying blondies all day, and on top of that had to support the presence of that weird Lust woman, creature, thing. She didn’t even have to do anything but exist to make people uncomfortable and tense all around. Blondies were no exception; they too tried to keep away.

His dark eyes traveling back to the bar, Mustang witnessed the dark bartender break a glass from holding it too tight. Indeed, the man was in a foul mood. Roy had always been of the opinion anger was unhealthy and he never hesitated to smoothly blow it away with a few piques. It did earn him a fight now and then, but that too was good to relax.

There were two candles on the table, one of which was just in front of Roy. A waitress paused near him the time to lit them both. Roy idly extended a hand, teasing the newborn flame. He’d always had a bit of a pyromaniac side. Playing with fire was something he did much too often for a grown man.

Edward spoke to him for the first time since they’d arrived. “Roy, you idiot, stop that. You’re going to burn yourself.”

“Don’t worry Shokun. I know fire.”

“Fine, hurt yourself. Like I care.” The blond shrugged moodily, flipped his braid over his shoulder and went back to pretending there was no annoying mongrel besides him.

With two fingers, Roy extinguished the flame. He felt a vague tinge of regret as it vanished, leaving only a trail of rising smoke.

The man drifted off again while Rose nipped at her desert, a large slice of chocolate cake. He wondered what the others were up to, what Maes could possibly be doing. Now that Roy was gone, who did Hughes harass with his pictures? Fury, probably. Poor boy. He’d never learned how to fend off Hughes’ sneaky picture attacks.

Like was his habit, Mustang slipped out of his reverie as soon as a potentially dangerous situation caught his attention. He frowned and strained his neck to get a better view of what was going on. All he could gather right then was that some men were bothering the Ishvarith at the bar. Roy could tell it would get ugly; that scarred slave was not one to be intimidated by anybody. Roy would have kept out of it, if he hadn’t picked out a green coat making its way toward the center of disturbance. Figures.

“Shokun,” the pet said urgently, tugging on the chain to catch his owner’s attention. “There are men after the red-eyed man at the counter. Your brother is heading straight for them.”

Edward’s gaze swept over the crowd urgently. “What? Where?”

“Just past the pillar there.”

Edward cursed and jumped off the bench. Roy had not been expecting such a brutal movement; he was yanked up and forward, while Ed tumbled back. They fell to the ground, the taller man instinctively holding the smaller body to his bare chest to protect him.

“Ow.” It was a sound made more out of reflex than real pain, the shock already gone. “You all right, Shokun?”

Edward pushed himself up violently. “Fine! Come on, hurry up!”

They were on their feet and back on their way immediately. But as he followed the movement, a hand to his poor throat – unlike the fall, the yank had hurt - Roy wondered if that redness in Edward’s face had been anger or an embarrassed blush. His experience told him it was the latter, but it hardly made any sense.

As they approached, elbowing their way through the crowd, they first heard a young female voice protesting. “Oh, leave him alone! Leave him alone I say!”

It was joined by a second voice, still young, but male and not distressed in the least. “Please stand back. Your behavior is unacceptable.”

Men rudely answered and Edward shoved at the crowd harder, cursing profusely at everybody in his way. The crowd shifted and Roy, from his height, saw that a circular space had been freed. This usually meant a fight was just about to occur.

“They’re going to fight.” He hadn’t thought Ed had heard, but he had since he paused just long enough to transmute his automail. Now Roy saw what the array etched on it was for. It allowed the brothers to quickly transmute the extra metal into a blade that extended over the hand. Now people scurried back of their own initiative, smart enough to realize it wasn’t a good idea to provoke this kid with a mean knife and the will – almost the urge – to use it. Maybe some even knew who he was.

They got through the crowd just as a man went flying over their heads. They stared at the young lady that had just made this insane throw. Edward suddenly laughed, and it was a relieved sound. He looked at the remaining troublemakers smugly, all trace of concern evaporating. “Well, suckers, care to try your luck against both the Fullmetal Brothers and Catherine Elle Armstrong?”

At first glance, you had two bulky men against two short boys and a delicate girl. But then, these two short boys were experienced alchemists - and both armed with an automail arm currently sporting a mean-looking blade - while the lady had just flung a man over the crowd effortlessly. It wasn’t very difficult to guess why the men slunk away mutely.

“Losers,” snorted Ed, but he relaxed another notch. He didn’t speak very vehemently to his brother, which surprised Roy a little, since he had grown to expect irrational tantrums from Edward. But this time, it was more of a ‘what am I going to do with you’ thing. “Al, you moron, why are you always getting in trouble?”

“They were harassing somebody.” Al looked a little offended at the accusation. “And I don’t usually get in trouble, you do, Niisan. I’m the one who always has to fix it.”

Before Edward could continue his ranting, the young girl bowed to Al. “Thank you Alphonse. It was very kind of you to come to my aid.”

“Oh, Catherine, you know you could have flung them all out the window on your own, just like that first man.”

“Violence is bad. What will Father say?”

“He’ll certainly be pleased to hear you defended both a pet and your own honor.” Alphonse could be very pleasant to the female gender it seemed. Roy approved. Too bad the elder Elric couldn’t take a clue and behave more like Al.

She smiled, timidly. “Thank you.” She turned back her attention to the Ishvarith. He was picking up what appeared to be bones and putting them back into a leather purse. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” The man stood and his shadow alone draped over the girl loosely.

“Are you missing anything?” Catherine politely inquired to camouflage her uneasiness.

Roy curiosity’s was awaken as he wondered what the heck was up with these bones, which the rude men had seemed to be trying to take from the slave. As far as he could tell, these were human bones.

“They’re the bones of my deceased relatives,” said the man in answer to all of their wondering looks, like deciding they deserved to know what it had been about. “It is custom for my people to keep a bone each time a loved one dies. So when you yourself die, no matter where you meet your end, you will rest in peace and find your way back to them.”

“I see. That’s a good thought. Did you lose many relatives?”

The scarred man didn’t look like he wanted to answer, but the pretty innocent eyes leveled at him were hard to resist. “My parents. My brother and his wife. Everybody.”

“So you have a bone for each of them?”

“A few extra ones for my brother. We were close.”

“What happened?”

“Your people,” was the simple answer. The man gave a nod of thanks to Alphonse and Catherine and returned to his work.

Catherine stood there with her ands knotted, pensive and sad. Al walked up to the girl and gently steered her away. “You should go back to your seat. Your family must be wondering where you are. Say hello to your brother, and thank him for us. We owe him one.”

“Of course. Thank you and have a good evening.” Her gracious and deceptively frail-looking form disappeared.

“Back to the dessert now, I hope.” Edward gave an expectant ‘are you done yet?’ look to his younger sibling.

“I think we should order two desserts each tonight, Niisan,” mused Al, looking around. “Everybody else is having a great time drinking, so we might as well enjoy something too.”

“That’s a good idea,” brightened Ed. “I want a pie.” Knowing Edward, he meant the whole pie, not a slice of it.

The blades dissolved and the trio went back to the others. The extra desserts were ordered and they filled the waiting by explaining to the others what had transpired. Although, they did not speak of the bones or the dead brother. It felt too personal and it wasn’t the kind of thing you told to entertain ladies.

Two hours passed, the crowd thinning as the children were ushered home and the elders left on their own. Only remained those who wished to drink and party late in the night. Apparently Alphonse and Edward were not considered children. They were the only ones of their age left – if you excluded a few pets - but nobody said a word. Well, if they were old enough to live on their own, they probably were old enough to stay up late and drink. Or at least Alphonse was. Edward was not exactly the responsible type.

An unexpected guest arrived shortly after, a blonde girl with a bandana, a black tube top and baggy pants. “Hi boys, having fun?”

Alphonse brightened at her view. “Winry! Didn’t think you’d come here.”

“I was bored.”

Roy felt an alarm go off. He examined the girl right in front of him. The way she smiled was a little…weird. And she held herself…well, like a whore really. Not like the tomboy he had met earlier. The man was not the only one to realize this. Alphonse frowned at his brother, who caught on and frowned as well.

“That’s odd, are you here by yourself?”

“And where’s your wrench?” Alphonse took a face that was dangerously close to Edward’s angry one. “Winry never leaves without her wrench.”

“Oh? I’ll remember than next time.” Roy tried not to gasp or fall off his chair as ‘Winry’ disappeared. That creature from before, Envy, appeared in her place. It planted a hand on their table. Rose flinched and leaned toward Gracia but Roy didn’t move. “So, having fun?” the thing repeated.

“Well, we were until you showed up.”

“Aw, Fullmetal shrimp, don’t be so cruel. I’m only saying hi.”

Well this was odd. Edward barely twitched at being called a ‘shrimp’ and neither started to rant or tried to attack the speaker. Maybe Roy ought to be afraid of her, him, it, or whatever Envy was.

“Well then, hi and bye. You may go now.”

The creature straightened and brought a finger to its chin, looking up at the ceiling pensively. “Oh wait, I have something else to tell you.”

“Really.”

It was hard to tell if it was Edward or Alphonse who replied. They spoke in the same tense voice, with the same edgy tone.

“Spill it out then, Envy.”

“He just wanted you two to know he doesn’t like arguing. When he says something, he wants people to listen. Catch my drift?”

Edward half stood up and leaned over the table, probably annoyed at being so far below the creature’s level. “Look, you can turn around and go tell that bastard if he wants to talk, he can come over here himself. We know our pet hasn’t done anything, and we’re not letting you guys put him down. He’s ours to deal with however we damn please. As you can see, he’s shackled. He’s not going anywhere. People will know you’re only picking on us. Now go away.”

“That’s dangerous talk, shrimp.”

“Shut up.”

Out of nowhere, Roy raised his voice. “So, Envy, are you male or female?”

This made everybody blink at him and the tension broke, at least for a moment. Envy smiled down wickedly. “Like what you see?”

“Not particularly,” answered Roy, entirely truthful. “I’ve seen prettier.” He would have liked to say ‘I see prettier right here’, but it would have been too daring. He met Envy’s purple gaze and fought to hold it. These creatures were so creepy, it was unbearable. He felt light headed already. These evil eyes narrowed, as if the creature was pondering just how it was going to kill him.

This stand off could have gone wrong as well if a familiar soldier hadn’t scrambled to Havoc, hurriedly whispering something in his ear.

“You’re sure, Breda?” Havoc stood and cleared his voice. “It seems the mongrel Roy Mustang is innocent. There has been a new murder. Same method as last time. Now, several people saw the corpse, and several more saw that Roy did not leave this room tonight. Do you persist in your accusations?”

Envy smiled, not taken aback in the least. He – Roy was currently of the opinion it was male - almost seemed to have been expecting it. Maybe he had. Roy couldn’t read a thing from this thing. “Of course not. I was just playing. I’ll leave you be then. Have a nice evening.” He shimmered and transformed, leaving as a woman.

The chain rattled and Roy saw it was because Edward was shaking in rage, watching the creature walk away with the skin of..well, Mustang recognized this form as the same as the creature called ‘Sloth’, the woman with a suit, but he didn’t have a clue why it made Edward so angry and…afraid? “That scumbag! Making threats like that! And he…he….dares…to….”

“Niisan…” Alphonse was awfully pale himself. Damnit, what was going on here? It was like they’d seen a ghost or something even worse.

Havoc called a passing waitress. “Three bottles of wine. Whatever good stuff you have. Hurry.”

Neither of the boys complained when glasses of a deep red liquid were pressed into their hands. Even Gracia looked unsettled. She took a glass for herself, sipping slowly. The boys downed one, then two, then three glasses in rapid succession. A little of the liquid was spilled because they were shaking slightly. They paused to breathe, definitely drunk but still not enough to their tastes.

“More.”

“Edward, I think you had enough.”

“I’m still coherent,” argued Ed. He snagged a bottle on his own and filled the empty glass Al was staring at. On his fifth, Edward simply collapsed on Mustang’s lap, straight out of it. Too much too fast for somebody not used to alcohol. Alphonse managed to stay up a while longer, elbows on the table to steady himself.

“I hate him,” he was mumbling. “ I keep telling Niisan he shouldn’t, but I hate him too. I don’t care who he is. He’s not a good man. I hate him. I hate them all. ‘’Specially Envy. I hate him. Doing it on purpose. He’s sooo doing it on purpose. Hate him!” The boy was clutching an almost empty bottle in his left hand. And on those words he clamped so hard on it the bottle broke in his grasp, small pieces falling on his lap and on the ground. “I hate him!”

“It’s all right Alphonse.” Gracia reached to hold his hand a few moments while he calmed down, falling into a drunken stupor and then finally sliding down over his brother, also passed out.

Havoc emptied the second bottle into his and Roy’s glasses and they drank them in silence while Gracia said a few kind words to Rose. The young girl was yawning widely, worn out by all the night’s activity.

“We’ll go now. It’s late. Will you be alright?” She had concern for all of them in her gaze.

“Don’t worry,” grinned Havoc. “We’re strong men. We can carry away two small kids.”

“Don’t tell them that,” smiled Gracia, looking fondly at the boys a last time before leaving.

Havoc and Mustang found themselves alone in their corner, with only half a bottle of wine to busy themselves. When it was all gone, they spent some time looking at the crowd. Havoc offered a cigarette to Roy without a word. The dark man took it. The boys were heavy in his lap but he didn’t mind. He smoked and drank with his left hand, using the right to brush Edward’s bangs out of his face before it went to rest casually on Alphonse’s back.

“Does it really matter?” asked Roy. “What you are all doing? Won’t they just do whatever they want in the end?”

“You saw it. People are afraid of those creeps. But as long as everything looks fair and just, they don’t say a word. If it becomes obvious the monsters are picking on the boys out of cruelty, their fears will rise into aggressiveness. They have children themselves and most of them pity, sympathize with or owe the boys.” Havoc took a grim expression. “There’s no way the people would win though. Last time a small cell tried something…well, I think Gluttony ate well all week.”

Roy didn’t like the sound of that. There was a sin that ate people? Note to self; stay away from Gluttony. So far he had not seen him, and Roy hoped it would remain that way.

“The thing is,” explained the soldier, “the fuhrer doesn’t want a massacre. It would take too long to get everything back into order. With all the alchemists running around here, there could be heavy damage.”

“Wait, you said some people owe them?” Didn’t the soldier mean they owed Al? Mustang didn’t see what Edward would ever do for anybody he didn’t personally know.

“They’re well known for standing up to abusive officials,” grinned Havoc. “Are you surprised?”

Ah. That made sense. “Not really, no.”

On that, they fell quiet again, listening to everybody talking and laughing merrily like none of them had a single problem in their lives.

Funny how a blondie’s party was the same as anybody else’s, mused Roy. People ate, people drank, they got tipsy and fought. Kids drank too much and passed out. Where was the blondies’ so-called superiority? The pair of smoking men watched in silence for the whole time it took for their cigarettes to burn down.

Havoc played with a second cigarette, finally sticking it in his mouth unlit. From habit probably. ”Well then, ready to go?”

“Take Alphonse. I’m still shackled to Edward.”

The soldier lifted the younger Elric with a grunt, leaving Roy to pick up Edward and stand to follow him. The hallways were quiet, eerily so. Their footsteps echoed and Mustang wondered, briefly, if the murderer could still be out there. Not that he was personally in danger, he wasn’t a blondie. Far from it. But right then, as he strode back home with a miserably drunk child in his arms - more than a little tipsy himself - Roy thought that if anyone tried to harm either of the boys - even Edward - he’d defend them with his life.

Of course, it was nothing but drunken divagations.

Of course.