Orphaned

I know I was going to say something here...but I can't remember what...*cries* I hate my memory!

Juna: Heh, that was funny with Ed not knowing Roy's name. It seemed very like him, too. That must have been horrible for Ed to have to clean up the milk...poor kid, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Pepp: I only love being evil when the occasion calls for it, and in fic writing, that is very often. I hate milk, too...nasty stuff. Lol, Roy just loves torturing him, I suppose. I think he loves being evil even more than I do. I think we all know the answer to the bipolar question *cough*absolutely*cough*. Heh, I'm sure that huge line will come into play more than once in this fic, lol. Heh, I'm right there with you in the gutters, I actually have a shack built there. It's my home away from home. Or perhaps it is my home and everywhere else is away...who knows? Lol, you need to keep control of that plushie! Thanks for reviewing!

creamybluebluebaby: Heh, don't tell, but I'm only 17, too. Well, 17 1/2...either way, I'm old enough (if only mentally) to write and read anything on this site. Thanks for reviewing!

Kai: *updates out of fear for her life* There...happy? *starts writing more immediately* Don't kill me! Lol, thanks for reviewing!
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Hectic couldn't even come close to describing the rest of the day for Roy. He made the mistake of taking Ed shopping with a nearly unlimited amount of money. Of course, he could have limited the boy's funds, but he didn't want to make a bad impression. However, he also didn't want to go bankrupt, and at the rate Ed had been going (buying whatever he saw that interested him for even a moment) that possibility was becoming more and more of a reality. He knew he had to put a stop to the chaos, but didn't want to ruin the almost happy look he saw on the older brother's face. Ed still hadn't smiled much since he'd been there. Perhaps a sarcastic grin or two, but no real smiling. Roy idly wondered if Ed had ever smiled much before; he didn't seem like the kind of kid to smile. He was always so depressed and withdrawn, though shopping did seem to take him out of that state. Maybe it was just spending money (Roy's money, that is) that he enjoyed.

Al was there as well, of course, but unless you looked for him, he might as well have not been. Compared to Ed's erratic shopping (there was no other word for it), Al seemed nonexistant. He only asked for things he really wanted or needed, and even then he was always hesitant and quiet about it. Roy supposed the two brothers were a perfect compliment to each other. Ed's almost psychotic behavior to Al's almost catatonic behavior. It's true, the two could swap personalities in the blink of an eye, but Al seemed to be the level headed one overall. Roy's thoughts were interrupted as Ed bounded up to him, "I want this." he stated, holding up his prize. They were currently in a toy store (big mistake), and Ed had been thus far mia. Of course, he was just looking for the most useless (and therefore most expensive) toy he could find. That was another thing about shopping with Ed and Al. Ed always said something along the lines of 'I want this.' or 'I have to have this.' whereas Al always asked politely 'Can I have this?' or 'This isn't too expensive, is it?'. Right now, the younger one was a blessing to Roy's wallet, counterbalancing Ed's ability to spend a hole in said wallet.

Roy decided enough was enough of the usless wasting of his hard earned money, "Do you even know what that is?" he asked, looking the...thing over. He sure as hell didn't know what it was.

Ed hesitated, "Sure...it's a whatchamicallit."

Roy smirked, "Of course, how foolish of me. What is it's purpose exactly?"

"Well, you see, the thingamadoober and the flackfracker work together to...No, I don't know what it does." he admitted, looking away.

Roy laughed, tossing the whatchamathingadoober aside, "How about we go check out the bookstore?" Roy suggested, jumping out of the way of a speeding bullet, a.k.a. Ed. He grinned as Al followed much more calmly behind, Roy himself bringing up the rear.

The bookstore. Ed's home away from home, now that he finally had one. He glanced to Al as he went off to browse books under the new release section, but quickly turned his attention back to his kingdom. Taking a deep breath, he took one step foward...and felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He turned, startled, to see Roy looking down at him, "Yeah?" he asked, wanting to desperately just go and look at books. He knew that he had spent a lot of money, but he would be damned if this is the place where Roy decided to cut his funds.

Roy was about to do just that, too, but knew how much Ed loved books. If Roy was going to take anything away from him, it would be all the useless junk he had bought previous to this; certainly not something that could actually be useful. So, he released Ed and smirked, "Go crazy." he finally said, wondering if that was the wisest thing to do. Of course, he realized it wasn't as soon as Ed bolted into the deepest and darkest parts of the store. Roy just pulled out his wallet, "I'm going to need more money." he commented to himself.

Two hours later, Ed finally reappeared. Well, a stack of books with two Ed-like legs protruding from underneath appeared. Roy picked the book off the top and looked at the cover, "Alchemy?" he asked, "You do know this stuff isn't real."

Ed peered around from the stack of books, "Of course it is, and I'm going to learn how to become an alchemist!" he objected.

Roy sighed, 'And here I thought my money was going to go into something useful.' he thought, chuckling, "I should have known better." He looked back up to see that Al had appeared by Ed's side, a couple of thin books in his hand as well, "I take it you're trying to become an alchemist as well?" he asked, almost sarcastically.

Al shook his head, "I don't have the skill, but Ed does." he informed Roy, "I'm just hoping once he gets good enough, he'll teach me something."

Ed looked to his brother, "Of course I will, Al. Besides, you just need to practice more; practice makes perfect!"

"Skill?" Roy repeated, "So, you've actually performed alchemy before?"

Ed nodded, "Well, kind of. It wasn't very good." he admitted, "That's why I'm going to study up, though. If I learn everything there is to know about alchemy, I'll get good at it in no time."

"Well, at least you're confident about it." Roy commented. He had heard of alchemy before, but had always thought it was just gossip; nothing real. He looked down at Ed, who was talking to his brother, and smirked. If anyone could be an alchemist, it would be him, "You two ready?" Roy asked.

Al and Ed both nodded, "Right behind you." the former replied. The three exited the bookstore, and the mall, and headed home.

'That trip took longer than I thought.' Roy thought, looking out the window of his car, 'It's already dark.' It hadn't even been noon before they left for the mall, and now it was almost 8. Of course, an hour or so in each store would do that. Ed was busy looking through his new books while Al was sorting through his clothes, which both of the boys had needed desperately. Roy was glad that Ed at least had enough sense to request clothes shopping first, though that was where his wallet was hit the hardest. He just shook his head, it really didn't matter as long as it made the boys happy.

Soon enough, the three were back inside their house. Al and Ed immediately retired to their room, saying they were going to look through their new things until they fell asleep, "Thank you again, Mr....umm, Roy." Al said, smiling up at said man, remembering that Roy had told him not to call him Mr. Mustang.

Roy smirked and patted Al's head, "You're welcome." he said, "Good night."

"Good night!" Al called, following his brother up the stairs, who had neither said good night nor thanked him. Of course, Roy really hadn't expected him to. He could see, though, how greatful Ed was by the look in his eyes, and just assumed the boy's pride kept him from saying anything.

Sighing, he turned back to his kitchen where he started a cup of coffee. He disappeared into his bedroom for a moment only to reappear with a stack of papers in hand. He sat down at his kithen table, glancing over the papers and sighing once more, 'Time to get down to business.' he thought, rearranging papers and setting some aside. He studied the photographs his boss had given him, and had to admit the woman was very pretty, even if that wasn't his cup of tea, so to speak. He looked over his orders once more, not that they were ever any different, and started to sort the research out. He had everything he needed to complete his task; the woman's home and work adress, any phone number that could be traced to her, a run down of her daily schedule, and other miscellanous facts about her that might have proved useful. One thing Roy was greatful for was that she lived alone, though she did live in an apartment on the other side of town. The neighbors could prove to be a hassle, but he could work around that. After all, he was the best at what he did.

A sound near the fridge startled him, he had been quite immersed in his work, and he looked up to see Ed rummaging for some sort of snack, "Don't you have anything that doesn't require cooking?" he asked, head burried in the fridge.

Roy quickly gathered up his papers and set them aside, they weren't the type of thing that Ed needed to see. He turned his attention back to the young boy, "I'm sure there's some ice cream in the freezer." he suggested, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring out a cup of the heaven-sent stuff into a mug. He thought of offering Ed some, but shuttered at the thought of Ed on coffee with the added sugar of ice cream.

Ed rummaged through the freezer before pulling out a gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream, "You sure do know how to pick ice cream." he said, approvingly, as he grabbed a bowl and a spoon as well as the ice cream scoop, and scooped some ice cream into his bowl. He put the ice cream back, and glanced at the coffee, "Coffee at this time of night?" he asked, looking to Roy.

"Long night." he said, tapping his papers, "Work."

Ed joined him at the table, "What do you do?" he asked, "And don't tell me it's something children have no business knowing about."

"Sorry, if I told you, I'd have to kill you." Roy said, realizing how close to the truth that was. He frowned at Ed's glare, "I can tell you how I came about this house, though."

Ed raised an eyebrow, "You didn't buy it yourself?"

Roy chuckled, "No, not at all. I, personally, wouldn't have bought such a big house. It was my parent's house, though, and when they died, they left it to me."

Ed's eyes widened, "Died? Both of them?" he asked.

Roy nodded, "A car accident." he whispered, "One night, when they were coming home from work, a drunk driver..." he trailed off, swallowing hard at the memories.

Ed was all but speechless, "I...didn't know." he said, "I'm sorry."

Roy smiled faintly, "I've dealt with it." he replied, "It doesn't control my life anymore, but after it happened, I was a lot like you; withdraw and always with my guard up. I didn't trust a single person in this world."

"What changed?" Ed wondered, fascinated with Roy's story.

"To tell you the truth, not much has changed." the older one told Ed, "I still don't trust many people, and certainly not anyone enough to get close to them."

"Sounds lonely." Ed commented, realizing he was the exact same way, "It is lonely." he corrected himself.

Roy nodded, "I never had anyone like you and Al have each other. After my parents were gone, I was left all alone in the world."

Ed tried to imagine what it would be like without Al by his side everywhere he went, "That's horrible." he said, closing his eyes.

The raven-haired man stood, walking over to where Ed was sitting. He sat down next to him and put a hesitant arm around the younger one's shoulders. Ed's eyes snapped open as he glanced up to Roy, "Whatever happens, though, you'll always have Al." Roy told him, "And you'll always have me." he added.

Ed studied Roy's eyes for a moment, then felt a small smile turn the edges of his lips upwards. He leaned into the embrace, "Thanks." he whispered, "For everything."
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Aw, gotta love the fluff. So, what do you think Roy does for a living? I wonder... At least the two have something that they can bond over now...how sweet. Mmm, mint chocolate chip ice cream...(runs off to buy more ice cream than she needs). Heh...I love food!