A lot of plot bunnies hit me at once, I hope you enjoy! Please tell me if anything seems forced.

Breaking the Mold

Chapter 1: Roommate

"So Ed, who's you're roommate?" the junior, Russell asked him. Ed was a freshman who had just transferred in. It was a month since school started.

"According to the paper they gave me it's a guy named Roy Mustang" Ed responded. They were sitting in their first period AP calculus class. Sure Edward Elric was only a freshman, but he was a genius. He was mostly in junior and senior classes because he had scored so high on his placement tests.

Russell hissed, "Sorry man. That sucks. That guy is a delinquent. The school had made it so he had no roommates since the middle of his freshman year! All the rooms must be full."

"Geeze! He's that bad?!"

"Yeah apparently he beat the shit out of his last roommate. You better watch your back. Tell me if he lays even one finger on you and I'll set him straight!" he said holding up a fist.

"Haha thanks, it's good to have someone to depend on." Ed said thankfully. He was glad he had asked this boy where the classroom was, it seemed like they could be good friends.

Roy paused at the door of his room. He could hear a beautiful voice coming from inside and the sound of a guitar. "— I just want you to know who I am. And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand…" A roommate? This is strange, they haven't let me have one since Riza beat that first one up. Well hopefully this one isn't so bad. At least he sings like an angel. Roy shook his head at the thought and turned the key.

Edward froze mid-strum as the door opened and he watched as the tall boy walked in. He took in the jet-black hair, startlingly dark eyes, and pale complexion complete with a black eye and a few cuts on his face. It seemed the rumors were true, he was a fighter. But until he did something, Ed was not going to worry… much.

"Don't stop," Roy said, "I don't mind."

Ed blushed, "Oh well I was pretty much done with that song anyway… gets kind of repetitive you know?" he opened the guitar case.

"Then play another" he said. The suggestion seemed almost like a command.

"Uhm… if you insist…" Ed lifted the guitar back into the right position and hesitantly began to play. "I'll lose this feeling of being so helpless because my whole life is ahead of me, and the things I once abandoned I want to try and find again. I will pursue this dream because I know it's expected that I be serene…"

Roy sat on his bed and listened as he examined his new roommate. The boy was short, his hair a stunning shade of gold that he'd never seen on a person before held back in a braid. He wore a white glove on the hand that was holding the pick, the other glove sat on the bed next to him. Odd, but of course I wear gloves.. though mine have an alchemical array on the back and are made of ignition cloth…

Before long the song was over. Roy stretched out on his bed and started dozing off as the strange gold boy sang a new song softly, the words a blur in his mind.

Ed looked at Roy and realized he hadn't introduced himself. He was about to go about doing that when he realized his roommate was asleep. Oh well, later then. At least he didn't beat me up. We started on a good foot right? He put his guitar away carefully and settled down on his own bed thinking about his day and drifted into a light sleep himself.

The bathroom door slammed open waking Edward with a start. He looked up to see a steamy sight in more ways than one. Roy was walking out with a towel wrapped around his waist. His chest was bare and muscled with a few bruises on it. His hair was slick and in his face. Roy swiped it out of his eyes and then seemingly noticed Ed startled. "oh sorry, not used to having a roommate…" he started shuffling through his drawers to find clean clothes. Ed watched with mild interest, trying not to wonder what he would look like without the towel.

Suddenly the door to the dorm burst open and Edward jumped in surprise as he saw a young woman, (her presence was too… impassive to be considered just a girl) at the door with a stack of papers in her hand. She marched in closing the door behind her. Her hair was a light shade of blond, and clipped up in the back. She wore her uniform well, perfectly unwrinkled green plaid skirt, well fitted white blouse buttoned all the way up with a stiff collar. She was taller than Ed, he noticed unhappily. She walked right up to Roy unaffected by his half naked glory.

"I brought your homework!" She stated, "You are doing this whether you want to or not." It was an order.

"Come off it Riza." He said, completely unsurprised at her appearance as if it happened every day. Ed wondered how she got in, he knew the door locked automatically.

"Here, I'll be back in an hour and I expect it done."

Edward gave a small snort of laughter. Her eyes whipped towards him, immediately taking him in. "A roommate? When did you get a roommate? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Today." Roy said simply.

"Whats his name?"

"I don't know, ask the shrimp." Ed stiffened as she looked at him questioningly.

"Edward Elric" he said reigning his temper.

"Well he looks harmless enough…"

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE LOOKS LIKE HE WOULDN'T HURT A FLY?!"

She looked surprised then laughed, "Nobody said that Edward… Ed?"

"Uh… sure"

"His last roommate wasn't to… nice. He needed to be… dealt with." Dealt with? It almost sounded like she had "dealt with" the guy.

"So what's your name?" He tried conversationally.

"Riza Hawkeye"

"Nice to meet you."

"Anyway Roy, I'll be back and that better be finished." She ordered dropping the papers on his bed and turning on her heels she left. The door clicked behind her and Roy gave a sigh.

"You gunna do it?" Ed asked curiously.

Roy looked at him. "No choice." he stated seriously. He grabbed his clothes and put them on in the bathroom. Then he sat at the desk on his side of the room and started on the homework.

Ed picked up some clothes and a towel and walked into the bathroom. His shampoo, conditioner, and soap was waiting for him. He closed the door, set his stuff down, and stripped. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, surveying the old scars around where his right shoulder should be. Instead there was the shining silver gleam of a metal shoulder and arm. Though he couldn't see it in the mirror his left leg from just above the knee down was also metal. He ran his fingers along the scar tissue and sighed. Then he quickly took a shower. When he got out he left it running and carefully dried off, especially his metal limbs. Then he went about oiling and polishing the limbs before he turned off the water. He didn't want his roommate to think he was primping or something and he certainly wasn't going to let him know about the metal limbs if he could help it. He dressed in his thick long sleeved pajamas and matching long pajama pants. He put thick socks on his feet and put a fresh pair of white gloves on before going out brushing his hair.

Looking up from his homework Roy took in Ed's appearance. "Gloves? Are you some kind of clean freak?"

"Uh yeah… try not to touch me please?" This was the best way to keep him from learning Ed's secrets… even if he secretly wanted to be touched it would be better if his new roommate didn't think of him as a cripple.

"Whatever."

Sure enough not long after Roy closed his books and set the paper aside Riza came marching in. this time Ed looked as she came in and noticed her putting a key away in her pocket. He wondered how she had gotten hold of one but didn't question. Roy was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head.

"Is it done?"

"All of it."

"Alright." She threw him a bar of dark chocolate.

"…You do your homework for chocolate?" Ed said incredulously.

They both looked at him as if he were the one that was strange.

"No, I just felt like he deserved chocolate." Riza said.

Edward thought about the relationship they must have and thought it was pretty great, if odd. He would like to receive gifts from a lover for no reason.

"So how's it going with Jackie?" Riza asked sitting on the bed near Roy's feet. So she wasn't his girlfriend, Ed was surprised. They got along so well.

"Dumped her."

"Why did I even ask?"

"Beats me. You should know me by now." He opened the chocolate.

"Well I thought that one might have a chance. She was very pretty."

"She had no personality. Airheaded and probably just interested in my reputation."

"Hmm." She looked at Edward thoughtfully as she accepted a piece of chocolate Roy offered her. The boy was just sitting and looking uncomfortable. He didn't seem sure what to do. Roy looked at him and sat up.

"Here have some chocolate, Shorty. It's good for you" Ed looked about to refuse so he got up and put the chocolate in his mouth as it opened to refuse. "Don't want to get your gloves dirty. Or are you scared to eat it because I touched it?" he said with a smirk.

That bastard! He's trying to get under my skin! He chomped down on the chocolate and said "I'm not afraid of anything! And don't call me short!"

"Not afraid of anything Mr. Gloves?" He was still smirking as he poked fun at Ed.

Edward got up, took off his left glove, and slapped the smirk off Roy's face. Riza laughed heartily. "You deserved that one Roy." He rubbed his face; this pipsqueak was braver than he thought. Maybe the boy wouldn't just take shit from him. He smiled. This might turn out to be fun.

The next day Ed's first period was Alchemy. The whole rotating block schedule concept was a bit strange to him but it was nice not to have the same schedule every day, means some days will be better than others. Apparently they were let out an hour early of Fridays. That sounded awesome. But he wasn't sure why the fourth period block on Thursdays was blank. He guessed he'd find out eventually.

Entering the classroom he sat eagerly towards the front, but not wanting to be in the middle he chose the desk farthest to the left in the first row. Not long after he saw Riza walk into the room. She spotted him and sat down next to him. "Hey! I'm sorry I didn't say hello when I saw you in this class yesterday…"

"That's okay." he smiled at her.

Someone sat behind him. Ed turned to see a red head with a rather large tuft of hair in the front. "Hey" the guy said, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. "I'm Jean."

"Edward" the blond responded with a smile.

"Where you from kid? And why is someone your age in our class?"

"I'm from Risembool, and I'm not a kid! I'm 14! I'll be 15 come November." he defended.

Jean raised his eyebrow, "Let me see your schedule, you're in the wrong class."

"I am NOT! I am perfectly capable of finding classrooms." Ed didn't bother to dig out his schedule. Jean looked like he was in for a treat. He'd see later.

The teacher walked into class. "Good morning class!" there were a few scattered responses. " Today we will be studying the element of iron with flame. I have a class activity we will start in about 20 minutes." She flicked on the projector.

"Hey Ms. Curtis, I think this freshman is lost." Jean said pointing at Ed.

The teacher looked at Jean coolly. "No Havoc, he is in exactly the right place. You'd have known that had you been here yesterday. Mind your own business." The door opened. "Ah! Mr. Mustang, so nice of you to join us." Edward's eyes shot up, no way. He would know if he had seen Roy in his classes yesterday, the guy definitely hadn't been there. His uniform shirt was un-tucked and the buttons at the top were undone revealing his chest but the teacher said nothing about it.

The dark haired boy sauntered up to the teacher and handed her a pink slip without a care in the world. There was a new bruise on Roy's jaw. Then he looked around and spotted Ed and Riza and headed that way. He walked past Edward and Ed sighed in relief. The air caught in his throat as he heard "Get up, Jean." There was a clatter and shuffling and Ed winced as Roy occupied the seat behind him. Was there a particular reason he chose to sit there?

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