Author's note: Alright, I know there are a lot of these things floating around, but I managed to challenge myself to make one. It is still in progress (as obvious) but I hope you all like it. It was meant to be more of a Parental story than anything else, but I just so happened to want to mix it in with Chimera as well. The second chapter is much better than the first (to those of you who don't know how much I hate writing introduction chapters), but I hope you like it all of the same. Please be patient with me because I am also finishing up my Sorcerer's Skill as well. I vow to finish that first before I make this a full commitment. But I will definitely stick with this. Already got a few chapters in my queue to post so i am excited to start writing. Hope you all enjoy, and here is The Tales and Tails of Elric

The Tales and Tails of Elric

CHAPTER 1

Unexpected Visitors

Thunder crackled through the sky as the world was lit up with a blinding light. Edward flinched as the echoing sound reverberated off of his ears as he dashed down through the water drenched streets. His bare feet splashed through the ankle deep puddles as he scrambled away, running as fast as he could. The rain pounded his shaken shoulders as he pulled his hood tighter over his head concealing it from the suicidal droplets pounding his skull. It was his last fading glimmer of hope to stay dry even though the ocean of water already drenched him to the core.

There was a sudden shout from behind him, nearly freezing him in his place. Shadows started to erect out of the dully lit streets as he looked behind him. Kicking his tired feet into gear, Edward picked up his pace and jetted forward through the rain. He didn't know how long he was running for, an hour? Maybe several? But he frankly didn't care how long it took, as long as it would lead him anywhere but back where he came from. He spun down through several streets of central city trying to evade the crying men behind him, their footsteps drawing ever nearer. Edward's heart felt like it was going to bounce out of his chest as it was pumping so hard almost in fright. He wished Alphonse were there, hell he wished anyone was there, but the streets were empty as the people all hid inside from the storm. He couldn't cry out for anyone to help, he couldn't wait around to find someone, he was alone and at the mercy of the beasts behind him. He remembered how cold and murderous they looked, how they eyed him as if wanting to slit his throat. A silent curse rattled his body. Wasn't anyone looking for him? It has been nearly six months, to the best of his knowledge, yet he was still on his own.

His legs started to slow down though he tried with all of his might to keep them going forward. Come on legs work…. Please don't give out on me now! He pleaded with himself as he spun down a deserted alley. His automail foot hit a particularly slick set of cobblestones and he went skidding to the ground. Mud flew up and splattered his face as his soaking wet green hospital clothes attempted to absorb even more water, weighing him down. They were thin and provided not warmth, no protection against the elements. At least he had his coat, no matter how drenched it already was. Shivers wracked his aching body as he tried to stumble up to his feet, pushing off the ground with all his might. How nice it would have been to just lay there and stop running for a while, but Edward couldn't.

"It turned down this way! You two corner it off!" another order shot out, the deep man's angered cries coming just from around the corner. Edward's breath caught in his throat as he scrambled up out of the puddle he was in and stumbled down the alley. His body whined and he knew that he wouldn't be able to out run a herd of large, fully grown men. He searched frantically for somewhere to hide but the alley's walls were all bare of doors or crevices where he could hide. He just wanted to get out of there. He didn't want to be taken back. Suddenly, Edward's eyes flicked upwards and he caught sight of a small window just out of his reach. It was propped open with what looked like a cooking ladle and sweet smelling food was floating out of it. Whether it was a kitchen or some one's apartment, Edward needed to hide. He took a staggering leap up to the sill, his hands just grabbing the frame. He hurriedly pulled himself up and thrust his good leg through the window.

"It's going through the window!" the gruff voice shouted the obvious as the squelching footsteps drew nearer. Edward's head shot up quickly to see the heavy set man racing forward with lightning speed, eyeing him down with devilishly evil eyes. That man wanted his skin. That is what everyone seemed to be after now. How could an investigation go so terribly wrong? Edward panicked as he tried to pull the rest of himself in through the window but a hand reached out behind him and caught a hold of his coat sleeve. Edward yelped feeling his balance start to tip in the other direction. He grasped onto the widow to try and pull himself back in but the man who snuck up behind him had a firm grasp on his sleeve. As even more footsteps drew nearer Edward frantically tore his arm out of his coat sleeve making the fabric go slack. The coat was ripped off of his shoulders and he was sent tumbling into the lone window with the force. The clattering of pots and pans surrounded him as he fell to the ground of the kitchen tipping over a few tables. The noise hurt and tortured his ears and vibrated off of the walls. He clumsily caught himself on the ground slipping up a bit on the scattered cooking ware. His soaking wet automail foot sent him sprawling to the ground as it connected with the sleek tiles of the kitchen floor. A dull mumbling of voices rang through the walls that surrounded him as he tried to pull himself together. He grasped his aching head as he looked around the abandoned kitchen. A few pots of stew seemed to be boiling over as the chefs must have left for break. The counters and stations were made out of a sleek chrome and glistened from the overhanging lights. A trail of disgusting mud led from the window all the way to where Edward was sitting destroying the cleanliness of the room. He heard a few angered shouts from the window and winced as the men outside cursed at each other. This was a restaurant, obviously full, Edward hoped that they didn't have the guts to try anything. Whatever they were trying to do, Edward needed to get somewhere more populated. He quickly looked around for somewhere to run, for somewhere to hide and he caught a glance at the swinging doors that undoubtedly lead to the serving area. As he moved to get off the floor something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly spun around ready to lash out at the unknown being, trying to get away from it. All he wanted to do was get home, be safe and away from the crazy people trying to tackle him and suffocate him. But he froze he came face to face with one of the shiny kitchen cabinets.

…

A muffled shot of thunder crackled through the bar that Roy glumly sat in. It has been raining nails since the early morning, drenching everything in sight. Flash flood warnings rang across every radio station that the city provided as the puddles turned to seas in the streets. It was days like this that Roy felt terrible. The fact that he was completely useless in the rain seemed to stem off of the guilt that rainy days brought him. Sometimes it would force him to look back, way back to the time of ishval and wish that it had been raining those days. But right now, Roy was begging for the rain to stop, for the streets to dry up, or for him to have advanced alchemic skill in something else that wasn't fire. If he was useful, if he knew how to do something except for setting off blazing infernos, he might have been able to go on the mission that his subordinates left him behind on that morning. It was all his fault that he was even sulking there in that bar to begin with. If he had just known what was really entail for his smallest subordinate, maybe they wouldn't be running off on so many failed rescue missions trying to find him. Twenty three so far in the past six months, that was how many times they sent troops out to find the missing alchemist and that was how many times they failed to find him. It was dead end after dead end, after dead end. Roy's stomach dropped like rocks the more he thought about it. He really was useless. He couldn't even protect his own subordinate. It was only a simple investigation, that was all Fullmetal had to do. It was an hour in, and done. Roy expected him to be hauling his angry ass back into his office with a report in his hands before the day was done. Yet he was waiting half a year for any sign of the kid. Not only the guilt getting to him of sending the youngest of their group on a mission by himself, but Alphonse's constant presence in their office was really paying a toll. He just sat there waiting like a statue, only moving when the case on his brother was pulled up in a conversation. It was like their office has gained a piece of furniture only to remind him of his terrible orders to send the Fullmetal alchemist on that mission. Roy groaned to himself and massaged his hands into his face trying to calm himself down, but the rocks in his stomach weren't lifted.

"If you worry yourself anymore, you are going to get sick and I am not making you any soup," Madam Christmas's burly voice scolded him. He looked up through a crack between his fingers at his large menacing foster mother. She was polishing a couple glasses with a clean white rag. It was sparkling clean but she was looking at it with disgust. Roy sighed deeply under his breath as he shoved his empty glass to the side and pulled out his wallet to pay for his drink.

"I am not worrying, that kid can take care of himself. I have seen it before," Roy told her as he slapped to money on the table. Madam Christmas glared at the green even more than she was at the cup. She didn't even touch it as she set the glass back down on one of the racks.

"You can take care of yourself, but you come here whenever it rains. That's not really reassuring, kid," she scoffed at him as she picked up another already glimmering glass and went to polishing it. Roy sank a bit in his chair. He didn't know why he always dragged himself here whenever things went wrong. Madam Christmas's tough love always seemed to make him feel worse, yet for some reason the guilt in his stomach made his foster mother seem like a Christmas present. She was right though, what if Fullmetal couldn't take care of himself for once? He guessed he should have known that since the report on the mission was due several weeks ago, but he didn't want to believe it. Maybe the kid went haywire after finding a clue on the philosopher's stone and didn't bother to turn in his report. He would have told his brother though. The more Roy thought of it, the more likely he thought he would find Fullmetal lying dead in a ditch. He quickly shook that thought from his mind. Madam Christmas noticed his frustration and rolled her eyes.

"Look kid, whatever happens happens. You're just kicking your ass now when you can save your energy and kick it later…. When you aren't in my bar cluttering it with this green shit," she scoffed at him giving a pointed glare at the money he set on the counter. Roy glumly nodded and picked up the money to put it back in his pocket. Madam Christmas hated it when he paid for his own drinks when he was having his rainy days. Any other time she would have forced him to pay double. He knew she thought of it as pity money and didn't want to touch it as if the feeling of guilt would wash off on her. Suddenly there was a loud clatter that came from the kitchens. His head jerked up along with half of the other people in the place. Madam Christmas growled something under her breath, the scowl that was always present on her face growing even bigger. She angrily slammed the glass on the counter so hard Roy half expected it to break.

"Damn cooks, always slacking off and making a mess," she huffed as she tossed her rag down on the counter. She started to head back towards the double swinging doors in the kitchen. She paused for a second to grab a small broom from underneath the bar before resuming to head back towards the kitchen. Roy felt slightly bad for the cooks. When Madam Christmas brought out the broom, he knew from experience to high tail it out of there.

…..

Edward stared pathetically at his grimy reflection in the chrome counter side plating. He always wished that he was hallucinating back in the lab where the guys held him captive for so long, but deep down he knew he wasn't. He had covered them up with his coat hood as if he and no one else could see them, maybe they didn't exist but he could feel them twitching on his head to the slightest sound or breath of air. Every noise amplified as they swiveled around trying to identify every little thing. Edward carefully reached up past his mud covered face and gingerly grasped one. The furry ear twitched and sent a slight shock down through his system as his cold hand made contact with it. He felt some tears welt up in his eyes. Those scientists were cruel bastards who made him into… this. After all of the failed and bloodied experiments that Edward caught sight of through his 'investigation' they managed to turn him into a freak. Two large golden cat ears sat on top of his head, warm and alive, replacing the ears he and every other human used to have. They were connected to him and were part of him. His wet, muddy golden hair carefully fell down around them as if they had always been a natural part of his anatomy. Edward gave a light pitiful groan to himself as he massaged his new fluffy appendages on his head. They stung and hurt from all of the constant tugging. The scientists called him a success but he wished he could just tear them off or cover them back up with his now missing coat. How could he step back outside looking like this? Suddenly the doors to the kitchen swung open aggressively and someone stormed in.

"Alright, where are you yah creeps? Bloody chefs. I should just fire them," he heard a grumpy man growl out to the empty kitchen. The footsteps crossed the floor and started to come closer to the small space he was in. The only barrier separating the man and the intruder was a small cooking station. Edward looked around frantically to find somewhere to hide or to cover up with. If someone caught him, if they saw, they would undoubtedly ship him off to the lab or even the hospital. He would be a sitting duck for the next big science experiment. He searched around for something to hide in but there wasn't enough time to do anything. He quickly picked up a large cooking pot off of the ground and slammed it over his head just as the man rounded the corner. Edward stared up at the person in complete shock, his eyes wide and frozen. He even felt his ears press down against his head in fear as he came across the scowl he was getting. It wasn't a man, though the gangly voice told him differently. A large angry, heavy set woman glared down at him with complete disgust. Edward felt belittled even beyond comparative size to the woman. All of a sudden the lady pulled out a broom and smacked him across the head with it. Edward kept a tight hold of the cooking pot to make sure it didn't pop off in her rampage, but also to protect his hurting head. The lady continued to smack him crazy as he tried to scramble up to get away from her.

"Get out of my kitchen you bum! Making a mess everywhere! Ruining my cooking ware! Interrupting bonding time with my son! Get out of here you animal! If you want food get it in the restaurant! Out!" The woman's cries rang out. Edward scampered out through the swinging doors as fast as he could his bare feet slipping a bit in his haste. His heart was in his throat as he tried to avoid the swining pain of the broom. Why couldn't anyone leave him alone? He raced past a couple tables narrowly missing a couple customers who were standing up to leave. The heavy woman behind him screamed and raged at him as she plowed through. Suddenly a man came out of nowhere and Edward collided with him harshly, sending them both to the ground. He groaned in pain as he tried to get up but his bare feet couldn't keep traction on the hard wood floors. He slipped and slid, managing to fall over several more times during his pathetic attempt to stand. He heard footsteps come up behind him and the broom smacked him against the head one more time, making a ringing noise sound through his pot hat.

"Get up and clean up the mess you made! Tracking dirt through my place like this! Get up you little shit," she scolded him.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE YOU POMPOUS WOMAN?" Edward shouted at her in anger against his better judgment. The broom came down and nailed him on the head one more time. He clinged to the pot on his head for protection, his ears pinned tightly to his head as he tried to figure out what to do next. All he wanted to do was to get out of there, away from his persuers, away from the crazy lady with cleaning ware, and back to his dorm with Alphonse where he knew it was safe and secluded. The broom continued to pulverize him as his feet slipped on the floor. He held the pot on his head protectively as if it was his only life link. Out of the mess he was in, Edward heard a light unbelieving voice wrack through the noise of the woman's shouting.

"F-Fullmetal?"

….

Roy's side flared up as he collided harshly with the ground. All he saw was Madam Christmas chasing some poor bum out of her kitchen and then he found himself on the floor staring at his poor soaking wet subordinate. Edward was slipping around on the floor as the broom of doom smacked against the cooking pot he held tightly against his head. His usually black clothes were swapped out for soaking wet, thin green hospital pajamas. Roy panicked for a second. Was he hurt? He looked beaten, he looked tired, but the thing that caught Roy's attention the most was the slight, disturbing flicker that ran through the kid's eyes. He was scared. If he had been an animal, Roy would have expected him to charge out of there with his tail between his legs. The growing pit in his stomach seemed to break open into a never ending abyss. Madam Christmas was right, Fullmetal did have his rainy days. The broom came down towards his subordinate one more time but Roy quickly reached out and snatched it from the woman. Madam Christmas glared down at him in disgust like she normally did, but it was obvious to him that she was just as much shocked as he was. Roy tossed the broom back behind the bar and quickly turned back to where Edward was desperately scrambling across the floor, trying to find traction beneath his bare wet feet. They were covered in mud and painful bloodied scratches as if he ran a mile on a bed of nails. They weren't too bad, he obviously could still walk on them but it wasn't a light jog in the park.

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked as if still wondering if that really was him. At the sound of his title, the blond head perked up suddenly in alert and he turned his golden eyes towards him. His face was blanched out, pale and sickly white as he stared at him in shock. It looked as if he was trying to figure out if it was really him or not.

"Colonel?" Edward said surprised only after his frozen wide golden eyes met with his black ones. A shot of relief seemed to splash through him, but it didn't calm the boy down enough.

"You know him?" Madam Christmas ruffed in a skeptical voice. Roy nodded his head, eyes still watching his subordinate in disbelieve. The kid was missing for six whole months. He had a rescue mission out on the look for him, and the one place that he finds him was in the kitchen of his foster mother's bar.

"Fullmetal, are you hurt? What happened? Where are your shoes?" Mustang asked him as the kid attempted to stand up one more time. He clinged to the bar stool next to him to help prop him up as the puddles of water he dragged in were flooding the floors making them slippery. From outward inspection, other than his cut up foot and looking like he was thrown into a marsh, the kid looked fine. He didn't have any gaping wounds in his sides or bleeding profusely to the extent of death. But he was wearing hospital clothes. Was he sick? It was a lot better to find him making a fool of himself in the restaurant with a cooking pot clamped tight over his head than to find him dead in a ditch like he expected. After watching his subordinate struggle for a bit, trying to get up, Roy rolled his eyes and lifted the kid up onto the stool. Edward twisted and tried to shove him off of him as he set him on the stool, eyes widening in sudden flash of fear. He kept forgetting that Fullmetal didn't like to be touched. He didn't quite understand the boy's problem with it, maybe it was a fear linked to when he lost his limbs, but Roy never pushed him on it. He backed away a bit and Edward's dripping wet body sagged on the stool as if it couldn't hold its own weight up. The kid looked tired and bent as if he went through a war. Yet, the kid didn't give him an answer to any of his questions, his mouth was frozen shut as his golden eyes quickly darted around the room as if trying to find all of the shadows that would come out and jump him. Roy placed a hand on the kid's shoulder and shook him a bit. The golden eyes snapped to him, wide and defensive. He shoved his hand off of him like it was ridden with disease.

"Fullmetal, tell me what is going on. What is your report?" he asked him, hating how demanding his voice sounded. He didn't want to boss the boy around like his commanding officer, which he was, but he needed to grasp the boy's wandering attention. Adrenaline was obviously still present in the kid's system. What happened to him?

"I-it'll be on your desk tomorrow," Edward halfheartedly scolded him, his eyes darting nervously towards the door. "I-I just want to go back to my dorm. I am not working overtime for a bastard like you," he said as if trying to act casual, but the boy just sounded like a scared kitten afraid of a storm. Thunder rolled and Edward looked like he flinched slightly but Roy just took it as another shiver, the boy was soaking wet and freezing. Roy took a quick glance out the window. It was still pouring buckets of rain outside. A few people were gathered underneath the restaurant's canopy as if sheltering themselves from the storm. They looked like common loiterers but Roy caught a couple of their grim eyes dart around through the restaurant window as if trying to find someone. A single splash of red fabric was tucked underneath one of the men's arms and he knew instantly who they were looking for. Roy glanced down curiously at Fullmetal who was curling slightly in on himself as if to suck grasp every last ounce of body heat from inside him to warm up his shivering body. He needed to get him out of there.

"Madam Christmas, I can't believe you almost let a customer leave without his coat and shoes," Roy said stiffly as he watched his subordinate look up at him in confusion. The old ghastly woman behind him scoffed at him.

"It was his fault he forgot them in the first place. I'll have one of the girls fetch them for the idiot," she replied as she hobbled off to the back where her employees liked to work. Edward watched her leave almost with a sigh of relief. Roy knew that his foster mother was frightening, but he didn't think that the broom of doom was enough to offset the Fullmetal.

"Colonel, I don't have-" Edward shakily began but Roy shot him a stiff glare.

"I can't believe those girls allowed you to drink so much, even at all. You can't even remember where you put your things. They must have done a good job on you," he said not giving the kid any lee way to retort. Suddenly a young girl came out of the back hallway, her shirt and hair slightly skewed, carrying a small bundle of cloth and boots. Though the weather was slightly cold with the rain, she was wearing a short mini skirt, much to Roy's liking.

"Oh, Ro~oy! Here are the young lad's clothes! I can't believe he forgot them! Running out of there in such a rush! Madam Christmas must have given him a heart attack!" she said in her cheery money making pout. Roy smiled thankfully to the girl as she set the clothes down on the bar next to them. She collapsed in one of the vacant chairs crossing her legs over each other at the knee drastically. Roy looked away and focused on the bundle of fabric. Geraldine was one of the new employees to Madam Christmas's establishment so like all of the girls before her, she liked to lay the dramatics on thick. Roy caught Edward staring at the woman in complete utter shock, his golden eyes wide.

"Thank you Geraldine, I am sure the kid had a great time playing cards with you, but we couldn't go anywhere without his shoes. It's a storm out there! The people outside might think he was crazy to leave here looking like that! You're a life saver," Roy told her happily. Geraldine's green eyes looked at him questionably before glancing over to the window, her dark lips crooking into a knowing smirk.

"Well, they must just be jealous that pumpkin over here had such a great time with me tonight. Those stakes the boy bet at the poker game were definitely worth the hassle," she said winking at the kid.

"I-I-I what?" Edward stuttered in complete disbelief. His face was turning absolutely pale. Roy would have loved to rub his embarrassment around and taunt him with it but now wasn't the time. He would just have to save that for later. Geraldine gave Fullmetal a sweet grin, making the kid squirm away slightly in his seat.

"I would go relieve them of their envy but… Golden goose over here really tired me out, with his iron grip on all of those royal flushes," she said playfully touching the boy's automail arm. Edward quickly retracted his hand away from the woman, pulling the pot down tighter over his head as if to try and to hide his embarrassment more. Geraldine pouted a bit and pulled away, sighing heavily to herself. "But, I think the other girls might like to see how they fair out. I will go get them to test the waters."

"Yes, I think that would be great, just make sure there aren't any sharks in them," Roy chuckled heavily as Geraldine stood up to leave. She let out a shrill snort as she turned on her heel to go back to the dark, incense filled hallway where she came from.

"Don't worry bout them, I think they're all guppies anyway," she commented before she disappeared. Roy let out an exhausted sigh and turned back to where his subordinate was finding every shade of red he could possibly muster up. He reached out and pulled the fluffy grey coat off of the pile. It was rabbit fur, obviously from one of the girls' rich older customers. He quickly slid it over the boy's shoulders. The boy didn't even move, still shocked from what happened. Roy snapped his bare fingers in front of the kid's face causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. Edward tried to scramble back away from the nonexistent fire but only managed to topple off of his chair and onto the floor. He let out a yip as he collided with the ground, the cooking pot rattling around on his head. He clamped down on it to try and stop the metallic ringing noise that was coming off of it. Roy rolled his eyes and picked up the boots off of the counter and tossed them to him.

"Fullmetal, get up and lose the cooking pot. We are leaving," Roy ordered him. Edward shook his head and kept a tight grip on the cooking ware as he plowed his feet into the yellow rubber galoshes. He winced a bit as his ginger right foot pressed against the stiff rubber of the shoe. Roy thought he looked utterly ridiculous in that outfit but there wasn't much more they could do. It was kind of a drastic situation and Edward needed at least something to wear. If you never sent him on that mission, maybe you wouldn't be worrying about the kid's pride being washed away with those ugly yellow rain boots. Roy quickly shoved that ugly subconscious comment aside. He wasn't going to ruin this all with self-loathing and pity. Whatever happened to Fullmetal six months ago, obviously is still following him now. He just needs to get him back somewhere safe. If those goons outside really are what's scaring his subordinate so much, then they are smart enough to stay out of public situations. Roy caught Edward take another nervous glance out the door as he tightened the pot around his head. For some reason the kid didn't want to get rid of it. He looked almost like a little child with that on, playing knights at the round table with soup spoon swords and cookie sheet armour. Roy groaned to himself as he massaged his tired face. The boy looked pathetic. He couldn't force the kid to take it off, not now. Knowing the Fullmetal's obnoxious behavior, it would create a scene and definitely alert the men outside.

Suddenly there was a large bustle of giggles as a few girls stepped out of the back, their hair fluffed and lips red with smiles. Edward turned his head and caught sight of them all, his face returning back to the previous red hue it had taken. Roy rolled his eyes and grabbed Edward by the shoulders, steering him towards the door following the crowd of lovely Christmas girls a safe few feet away.

"C-Colonel, what the hell are we-"

"Shh!" Roy hushed him up. One of the girls in front of them, a nice blond with perky blue eyes heard the boy's comment and quickly gave him a reassuring wink. As soon as they made it to the door, the women were out and shuffling to the side where the group of menacing men were loitering. They made constant coos and calls to try and grab the mens' attention. As distraction of several beautiful women went forth, Roy quickly shoved his subordinate out of the door and spun him down towards where he parked his model T outside of the restaurant. They walked as briskly as possible to the car, Edward limping a bit almost at a jog to keep up with him. Roy flung the car door open and basically shoved the blonde into the passenger's seat. The kid tumbled in, his make shift helmet rattling around in protest. Roy leaned over and grabbed the buckle for him but Edward quickly shoved him angrily out of the door.

"I am not a bloody child!" he snapped ripping the seat belt out of his grasp and fumbling to shove it into the lock. Strangely enough though, there was a slight snip of fear and adrenaline in the boy's voice. Roy tried his best to take it how the kid meant it and huffed some bland retort under his breath as he slammed the car door in the kid's face. As he rounded the car he looked up and caught sight of the men hastily trying to shove the beyond desperate girls off of them. They didn't seem to notice anyone left at all. He quickly flung himself in the driver's seat and started the engine. He would have to remember to thank them all later.

Roy drove as carefully as possible out through the rain storm. The thunder seemed to be off in the distant now as the rain started to lighten up with the ending storm. Edward's body was tense, his hands gripping the seat as if desperately trying to ground himself into the situation. With every block they drove away from the place, the more the kid seemed to relax. By the time they were on Twenty third street, the bar being on 10th, Edward was leaning tiredly against the window with his arms crossed in defiance to the storm around him. Roy took a glance in the rear view mirror as to make sure they weren't being followed but the road was clear except for the million puddles of water that drenched them. He let out a sigh of relief as he focused back on the road.

"Fullmetal, I need your report," he said trying to break the icy silence that filled their car. The rain drops on the window shield started to torment him slightly, calling him useless whenever they impacted the glass. He just needed to make sure his subordinate was alright. Maybe then some of the guilt that filled his stomach might finally be digested and rid of. Fullmetal turned over in his seat and stared out of the foggy window with a scowl planted on his face.

"I said I will turn it in tomorrow. I just want to sleep this off in my dorm-"

"we aren't going to your dorm, Fullmetal," Roy stated plainly. The kid quickly turned his head and glared at him in abnormal hatred. Roy was used to it. The boy had anger problems beyond belief, but something just seemed off. That flicker of fear still hung in the kid's eyes. What happened to him to have caused that?

"What do you mean I am not going back? Where the hell are you taking me you bastard?" Edward demanded fully defensive, his fists clenching as if ready to punch something. Roy kept his face as straight as possible even though he knew that the kid could break his jaw in one swipe. He was the commanding officer, as much as he hated it; he couldn't show any emotions towards his subordinates, even the little ones.

"Well, that depends," Roy started slowly trying to make the kid calm down as they approached a stop sign. "With those men after you we can't risk sending you back to your dorm. They will probably check there first for you if they are that desperate. We don't have absolute identification so we can't take any solid steps at the moment, that is unless you are willing to turn in your report right now," he said giving the kid a sideways glance as he let off the brake and continued down the road. Edward's golden eyes pierced with defiance as if they were screaming 'No' to him all over again. Taking that as his answer, he continued.

"Very well, that leaves two places. I can take you to the hospital since I don't know the full extent of your injuries, or, much as it pains me, I can take you to my house. It is secluded and away from the military dorms so they definitely won't think of looking there," Roy finished.

"No! I am not- No! Just take me back to my dorm! If you are so worried about me all of a sudden, I can have Al look after me. You know he doesn't sleep!" Edward complained sitting up in his seat so fast the cooking pot on his head banged off of the roof of the car. Roy didn't dare look at his subordinate while he cursed silently to himself because he blew his eardrums out from the noise. The commanding officer sighed to himself as he pulled the car to a stop along the side of the rode and turned the engine off making the entire vehicle fall into silence.

"Edward, there is a rescue mission out looking for you right now. They are trying to find your body in a ditch somewhere. Alphonse, since he wasn't allowed to be on the team, went out looking on his own. I will call everyone to say that I found you but I don't know when they will be back. Alphonse is all the way out of town. He won't be back tonight," Roy told him. Edward frowned to himself as he stared blankly at him. Roy waited patiently for the kid to do something but he just sat there contemplating. There must have been a lot going in that kid's head. Roy suspected he just escaped a kidnapping or something of the sort, ran for his life for who knows how long, and came back to this place just to find that people thought the worse.

"Th-they thought I was dead?" he muttered to himself. Roy let out a heaving sigh and rubbed his brow with his hand. He didn't know how else to break it to the kid.

"Not necessarily, we obviously hoped that we were wrong, Alphonse knows in his gut that you were alright, but six months is a long time to be missing Fullmetal, especially as a state alchemist."

"Why weren't you out looking for me?" Edward turned and asked him with sudden agitation. Roy would have told him the truth, but he knew the kid wouldn't have let it go. He would have taunted him forever about not being able to go looking for him because it was raining. They were up against an unknown enemy and Hawkeye said that having him around would just be an extra body bag to carry out if anything goes wrong. Roy scowled to himself and muttered something under his breath. The kid frowned at him, but strangely didn't press any farther. Was he not even expecting him to be out looking for him? He was probably fending for himself the entire time with no one to help. Did he lose faith? What type of commanding officer did he think he was? Roy shook the thoughts from his head and took a deep breath, trying to put on a cool headed façade.

"Alright, so what is it? Hospital or-"

"The bastard's house," Edward said a little too quickly for Roy's taste. He noticed that the boy subconsciously reached up to his head and pulled the helmet down tighter over himself. It was obvious to everyone who knew him that Fullmetal didn't like hospitals. On several occasions, Roy had seen Alphonse or even Havoc do patch work on the boy since he refused to go to the white cabinet of disinfectant and noisy nurses. Roy made a mental note to check Fullmetal for any serious injuries once they got inside his house just to make sure they weren't making a big mistake. He was already wearing the hospital clothes, how much worse could he be? Ignoring how uncomfortable they both were with the situation, Roy unbuckled his seat belt and started to open the door to the car.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked questionably. There was a slight glimmer in his eyes as if pleading for him to stay, but Roy shook his head. It must have just been a mistake. It was late, he was off.

"I live here," he stated before slamming the door closed.

…