Orphaned

Ugh, have I mentioned that exams suck? Well, if I haven't then let me do it now... exams suck. Today was actually pretty easy, but tomorrow and friday... nevermind I don't even wanna think about it. Enjoy!

happyona: Heh, that would have been funny; Ed beating Roy up. He wouldn't even have been able to do anything about it either, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

kit master: How could Ed not get along with anyone? Lol, impossible! Well, they'll get along eventually... no saying what will happen until then, though. Thanks for reviewing!

Pepp: Lol, you can do whatever you please with Jimmy, I'm done with him *turns her back as reviewers start kicking Jimmy and stabbing him with pitchforks*. Lol, I'll try not to take too long in updating, but I've had exams this week (at least that's what I'm using as my excuse, I really have none. Even if I did, I wouldn't use it because I hate excuses...). Anyhow, four days isn't horribly long...I think. Oh well, I'm updating now. Thanks for reviewing!

PockyFille: Heh, sorry if I snapped, I tend to do that. I don't know why, I'm very mentally unstable (they just haven't thought of a name for my disease yet). I have done that whole suspend disbelief beyond reason thing before, and I'm trying to avoid it as much as possible. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Juna: Hmm, actual acceptance might take a while, but yep, he's going home with him. Al's quite excited as well, I bet, to be getting a home.Thanks for reviewing!

Lilitha: If you're feeling sorry for them, then I'm doing at least part of my job. Thanks for reviewing!

*huggles reviewers* You guys rock! No real reason for saying that besides I love you all!

A/N: In the interest of getting this story to move along, we're going to skip right to when Ed and Al are about to leave. Forget all that paper-signing and packing crap.
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"So, are you sure you two have everything?" Winry asked for about the billionth time.

Ed just looked annoyed while Al smiled, "Yes, Miss Winry, we're ready."

"Okay..." Winry said, hesitantly. As much as she knew that the two would be okay with Roy, she always hated whenever any of the children left. After they became accustomed to the ways of life around the orphanage, the children really started to become like a family, and Winry hated losing family members, "I'm not losing them." she reminded herself once more.

Ed saw that this was getting them no where, "Look, if there's a problem, we have the number and can call here anytime." he reminded her, "We'll be fine."

Winry smiled, "You're right." she admitted, "I expect you two to stop by and visit though, got it?"

"Of course!" Al agreed, "We'd be crazy not to."

Winry now turned her attention to Roy, "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call."

Roy smirked, "I don't think we'll have any problems." he assured her, looking down to the brothers for confirmation. Ed still looked annoyed, but Al nodded eargerly in agreement. It was clearly obvious he was excited about getting a new home. Roy turned to leave, "Well, we should get going, then." he suggested.

Ed nodded and followed him towards the door. Al turned back to Winry once more, "Bye!" he called before turning to follow his brother and new father out the door.

"Bye." Winry whispered, smiling sadly as Al disappeared from sight. Her attention was soon drawn to children calling her name, and the brothers were gone from her mind, if only for the moment.

Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a huge house that couldn't possibly be Roy's. Al gaped at the size, "Brother, look at this house!" he exclaimed.

Ed had had his eyes closed in an attempt to get some rest before the chaos of moving in unleashed itself upon him. He now turned his gaze to the building that had his brother awestruck, and his golden eyes widened, "It's...huge!" Ed said, mouth hanging open (A/N: No laughing at the huge comment...heh).

Roy smirked, finally getting a reaction out of the elder brother, "Welcome home." he announced as the car finally came to a stop at the gate that led to the walkway which in turn led to stepping stones crossing the yard, finally reaching the porch. If this house was anything, it would have to be classified at ginormous.

Suddenly, a thought sprung into Ed's head, "What do you do?" he asked, managing to rip his gaze from the house and equally spacious yard, "For a living, I mean."

Roy smirked once again, that was becoming a habit around the older Elric, "Things children have no business knowing about." he replied, having to restrain himself from laughing at the glare that comment recieved him.

"We're not children." Ed defended himself as well as his brother, "Children have a childhood, which we were deprived of."

Roy frowned, and Al sighed, "Brother, he didn't mean anything by it."

Ed shot one more glare at Roy before sliding out of the car, "Whatever." was his only response as he grabbed the suitcase he brought with him.

Al looked to Roy, "Ed's probably just a little worked up from moving." he offered.

Roy nodded, though they both knew what it was. Ed simply didn't like Roy. He might tolerate him, but they weren't going to be drinking buddies anytime soon, "Other than the fact that he's only 11." Roy thought, realizing a lot about his daily life was going to change now that he had children around. Despite what Ed claimed, at least the younger one was still too naive and innocent for most of the things that Roy did. He sighed, "I'll have to keep the drinking and bringing women home to a limit, too." he thought, rethinking his decision momentarily. Shaking it off, he saw that Al had exited the car, too, and was now running to catch up with Ed.

Reaching the front door first, Ed yanked on the handle, "Locked." he informed Al as the younger one reached him, "Of course."

"Well, if I had a house like this, I'd lock it, too." Al noted, staring up the height of the house, "How many rooms do you think are in here?"

"42." Roy informed them as he pulled out his key and unlocked the door, "3 bathrooms as well."

Al looked to him, "Don't you ever get lonely?" he wondered, following the other two inside.

Roy grinned to himself, "No, I have company over a lot." he said, trying to phrase it delicately enough for the two minors.

Ed looked around, seeing that the place was a lot neater than he would have given Roy credit for, "You have a maid or something?" he asked, seeing that even the floors had been swept, mopped, or vaccumed.

Roy shook his head, leading the two upstairs, "No, I never really felt comfortable with other people cleaning my things." he replied, finally stopping at the top of the stairs, "Alright, there's a bathroom up here and one downstairs. The other one only has a sink and toilet, it's downstairs by the front door." he pointed to a door near the top of the staris where the bathroom was, "You can have any of the rooms you want up here, they're all the same."

"Where's your room?" Ed asked, heading to the first door he saw.

"Downstairs." Roy informed him, then shrugged at the quizzical look he recieved, "I don't like sleeping upstairs. Besides, the coffee is downstairs."

Ed scoffed, "Figures." he muttered, sticking his head in the room, "It's as good as any, I guess." he said, mostly to himself, then threw his suitcase onto the bed.

Al walked in behind him and gasped, "Brother, this room is huge!" Indeed it was significantly bigger than any room either boy had ever lived in. The king-size bed was pushed against the wall opposite the door, seeming to be the center of the room. Dark blue sheets covered it, matching the heavy curtains that covered the large window, which looked out over the side yard. Ed also noticed that they effectively blocked out the sun, which he was thankful for. Besides the bed, there wasn't much furniture in the room; a desk and chair, though much nicer than the one at the orphanage, a bookcase (once again, much fancier and able ot hold many more books than Ed's previous one), and a couple dressers finished off the room. The lack of things in it gave it an open feeling, which Ed liked. He hated always being cramped up and liked to spread out sometimes. All in all, this place wasn't shaping up to be too bad.

Roy smirked at the two once more before turning, "I'm guessing you two have had breakfast already?" he asked.

"If you could call it that." Ed muttered, rummaging through his suitcase, pulling out a few ratty, torn books that he had managed to get away with.

Roy raised an eyebrow at the condition, "I'll have to take you two shopping soon, too." he noted.

Ed glanced at him, "For what?" he wondered. Obviously, they'd need more than the two outfits they each had, but he also hoped he could go shopping for some new books.

Roy shrugged, "Whatever you want, as long as it's legal." he informed the older one, "So, did that comment mean you wanted breakfast or not?"

"I guess it depends." Ed replied, giving up on the horrid clothes he'd been forced to wear and shoving them back in the suitcase, "Can you cook?"
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Jeez, Ed'll probably fall for him just because he can cook a decent meal. As long as there's no milk on the breakfast table, that is...I know this chapter wasn't incredibly exciting, but I'm planning for Roy and Ed to have a real heart to heart sometime soon, and maybe get Ed out of this pissy mood. That'll do us all a world of good, I'm sure!