InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "/me is going out to lunch."

Ruth Ann Meier (horse_charmer) wrote in elric_apts,
@ 2011-07-22 19:47:00

Current location:	Outside on the grounds
Entry tags:	bringontherain, darkinsidenight, deathbehindthem, horse_charmer

Dinnertime
Ruth Ann checked the casserole in the oven, and looked at the time. Another fifteen minutes before it was done. She dumped a frozen bag of broccoli into a strainer setting in a pot of boiling water, and covered it with a lid. Now to go find her son, which would probably take him as long as it took for the food to finish cooking, and for her to get it set out on the table before he was back, washed up, and ready to eat.

"Abigail, I'm going outside to get Josiah," she told her daughter. "If I'm not back up here by the time the buzzer goes off, would you go get your Aunt Riza to take care of the food for me, please?"

The ten-year-old looked up from her book and nodded.

With that taken care of, Ruth Ann hurried down the flight of stairs and stepped outside of the building, looking around. "Josiah!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth, then put her fists on her hips. If he wasn't out on the grounds, then he was likely inside next door.

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bringontherain
2011-07-25 04:31 am UTC (link)

Roy took up the rear, letting Al half-drag his brother home while his brother reluctantly went along with it. Roy decided being in the rear to keep Edward from pulling something sneaky and running away again was probably for the best.

He heard a familiar voice as they got to the front door of the apartments and stopped, looking around.

"Boys, hold up a second," he said, looking towards the second building. She was far enough away that it took him a few seconds to recognize her. "Ruth Ann?"

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	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 04:32 am UTC (link)
	Al stopped in confusion and looked back at Roy, then glanced up at his brother, wondering who that was. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 04:33 am UTC (link)
	She looked over at his voice, momentarily confused, then blinked, and a slow smirk formed on her lips. "Wha-? Oh. You must be the alternate of Squirt I've heard has been staying at the other building," Ruth Ann replied. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 04:36 am UTC (link)
	Roy got a look of profound suffering only a younger brother could've perfected. "Good to see you haven't changed," he said. "But yes, I am." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 04:38 am UTC (link)
	Edward looked over at the woman, then to Al, raising an eyebrow. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 04:39 am UTC (link)
	She hesitated slightly, then the smirk became something more akin to a wry smile. "Not where you're concerned, no." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 04:40 am UTC (link)
	Squirt? Al mouthed at his brother. He had heard that a long time ago, Roy used to cultivate a womanizer image, and had been known to date a good number of society women. He sincerely doubted that this could be one of them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 04:42 am UTC (link)
	Roy caught that change in her expression, and he frowned. "Boys, go on inside, I'll be up in a minute." Not waiting to make sure the boys obeyed his order, he walked towards Ruth Ann. "What've I missed these last few years?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 04:44 am UTC (link)
	Wide-eyed, Al watched Roy, then looked at Ed and shrugged. Your guess is as good as mine. "Come on, Brother. Mom's probably pacing a hole in the carpet." He tugged Ed along and punched in the door's access code. "We're on the fourth floor." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 04:47 am UTC (link)
	She pretended to misunderstand him, a reflexive feeling of unease, compounded by the leftover guilt and shame, the instinct to hide what went on, and pretend everything was fine. "Well, your nephew has become best friends with younger alternates of those two, so you've missed out on some very creative getting-into-troubles from them." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 04:48 am UTC (link)
	Roy raised an eyebrow. "Nephew? You had kids? How many?" Something wasn't right, and he didn't like it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 04:50 am UTC (link)
	Edward took note of the access code, not that he thought he'd need it much, since weren't they going home? And Roy still wore the uniform, so home clearly had to be in Amestris. He sighed. "She's probably worried herself into a puddle by now," he said grumpily. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 04:51 am UTC (link)
	"Two," she answered. "Josiah, he's fifteen now, almost sixteen, and Abigail's ten." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 04:55 am UTC (link)
	Roy frowned. "Two, huh? I'll have to meet them sometime. Where can I find your alternate in my world?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 05:01 am UTC (link)
	She hesitated, her hands clasped together with her left fingers rubbing up and down the back of her right hand. "Ah. There's... it's a ranch, well, more of a farm, really, about two miles northish of Andover. It's... it's a small town to the northeast." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 05:05 am UTC (link)
	He recognized that body language in his sister- in many ways, it was like going back in time, and all her old habits were familiar again. "Ruth Ann? What aren't you telling me?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 05:08 am UTC (link)
	Ruth Ann tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, tugging on it a little harder than necessary in the process, not quite looking at him. "You- you might want to go there, but um. If you do... you might want to... be prepared to have your older sister moving in with you. Or something." Her lips briefly twitched in a tense flicker of a smile at that. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 05:10 am UTC (link)
	Roy tensed. "Not that my house can't handle it, and if it can't, Edward and I can transmute it, but why? This dodging the subject isn't like you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

horse_charmer
2011-07-25 05:13 am UTC (link)

That made her close her eyes, her cheeks darkening somewhat. "I'm sorry. It's just... still habit, really, when people start asking questions. I spent so long doing anything but answering them, that now..." She trailed off and shrugged, taking a deep breath before raking her hand through her hair, not looking at him. "Fred wasn't a good man, but then, I think you knew that. I wish I'd have listened to you, to tell Mom to have Dad call it off."

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	bringontherain 2011-07-25 05:14 am UTC (link)
	Roy felt his temper rising like a building thunderstorm. "What did he do to you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

horse_charmer
2011-07-25 05:19 am UTC (link)

Ruth Ann rarely saw her brother's temper, and this alternate, she could already see that it burned far closer to the surface anyway than her own brother's did. She knew it wasn't directed at her, but it still made her nervous, a reflexive tension, bracing for the explosion.

"He hit me," she replied, her voice quiet, her words a hurried rush before she could think too much about what she just said, looking at a place somewhere beyond him, instinctively tuned in with her peripheral vision for any sudden movement.

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bringontherain
2011-07-25 05:26 am UTC (link)

Roy's fingers twitched with the urge to snap and set something on fire, so he clenched them into useless fists instead, feeling the pyrotex crackle under his skin.

"I see," he said in a barely controlled tone. "Thank you, Ruth Ann, for being honest. I'll leave you to finding your son. I have to go rescue my sister now."

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder briefly, then turned and practically sprinted up the stairs.

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	horse_charmer 2011-07-25 06:38 am UTC (link)
	She saw his hands clench into fists, but quelled the instinct to flinch, even when he raised his hand to place it on her shoulder. But she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when he turned and left. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 06:42 am UTC (link)
	Meanwhile, Al hauled his brother up the stairs, bursting into the apartment. "Mom! Look who I found!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rundeep
2011-07-25 06:47 am UTC (link)

Sloth's head snapped up and she stared at her eldest son for a long moment, tears forming in her eyes before she smiled and got up from her place by Riza and walked over.

She looked at Edward, trying to decide if a hug would be welcome, then decided that it had better be welcome from his own mother and pulled him into a tight hug. She smacked the back of his head. "That's for worrying us," she said quietly, not letting go. "Welcome home, Edward."

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	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 06:48 am UTC (link)
	Edward submitted to the hug uncomfortably, having spent the last year out of contact with anybody. "Sorry," he said quietly, somewhat contritely, then hugged her back. "I'm home now." For all the good it'd do, but whatever. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

a_long_look
2011-07-25 06:53 am UTC (link)

Riza jumped when the door swung open, then blinked a few times, and a tiny smile crept over her lips as she saw Edward, his brother, and his mother all together again.

Then it sunk in that Roy was nowhere to be seen. He'd gone there first, Van had come back to get Al, so where was he?

The anxiety began to eat away at her as her stubby fingernails dug hard into her palms, and her breathing became shallow and unsteady. She kept her eyes fixed on the now-closed door, silently begging it to open again, her nails digging in all the harder with each passing second.

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deathbehindthem
2011-07-25 06:58 am UTC (link)

After several seconds, Edward squirmed out of his mother's grip. "Mom," he protested. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere without the family, you can stop fussing."

He looked over at Riza, and a myriad of emotions played across his heart. How he'd missed her, but how much he felt sick at the sight of her, the reminder of what he'd done to her, what had nearly happened to her had he not seen those medicines.

He gave her an awkward smile. "The general will be up in a moment," he said. "He stopped to talk to someone named Ruth Ann." He hoped that name would be familiar to Riza.

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a_long_look
2011-07-25 07:01 am UTC (link)

Like a spooked deer, her gaze snapped to him. One corner of her mouth twitched in an upward direction as she gave a short jerky nod, then frowned, looking to Sloth. She didn't think that name sounded familiar, but maybe her memory wasn't the best anymore. Sloth did have holes in her memory of her life as Trisha, but not really since her transmutation was completed, so she might have heard it somewhere.

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	rundeep 2011-07-25 07:04 am UTC (link)
	Sloth blinked at Edward, then looked at Riza. Seeing the questioning look on Riza's face, Sloth shook her head. "I'm afraid I've not heard of her," she said. "Perhaps a friend? Or maybe a relative? I'm afraid I don't know much about the general's past." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	a_long_look 2011-07-25 07:10 am UTC (link)
	She shook her head slightly to indicate she had no idea either. But. He would be coming up soon. He was okay. He was coming home too. Riza shut her eyes briefly as her palms stung, protesting the realization of how hard her nails had been digging in as she relaxed her fingers. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 07:13 am UTC (link)
	Al nodded. "He told us to go on ahead, he should be here soon, Riza." He grinned up at his family again, getting wet-eyed as he looked at his mother and brother there, with him again, like they'd wanted for so long. Sure, all three of them were worse for the wear, but it was okay. They were back together again. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 07:15 am UTC (link)
	((E-Carriage Return)) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 07:15 am UTC (link)
	That was when Roy came storming in, slamming the door open and slamming it shut equally hard, his fists still clenched tightly and fire blazing in his eyes. "Fullmetal!" he barked, looking for where Ed had gotten to. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 07:16 am UTC (link)
	At the anger rolling off Roy in waves, Edward immediately snapped ramrod straight, hand up in a salute, hoping and praying that anger would not be directed at him. When Roy called Edward by his title, and not his name, he felt the blood drain from his face and he swallowed hard. "Yes, sir?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 07:17 am UTC (link)
	Seeing Edward's frightened, conditioned reaction put another edge on Roy's temper. He regretted now not doing more to Archer than just shooting his damn dick off. "Unclench, Fullmetal," he said through clenched teeth. "I want to hire you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 07:19 am UTC (link)
	Slowly, Edward relaxed, his hand dropping as he processed those words and what they meant. Hire him. Hire Fullmetal. He didn't know who that Ruth Ann person was, but she'd obviously reported some activity to Roy that had pissed the man off mightily. He pulled the mask of Fullmetal on like a welcome lover, eyes hardening into pure murder. "Who needs killing?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 07:23 am UTC (link)
	"His name is Fred Meier," Roy said, moving to grab the PIN off the table. "We're leaving. Now. We'll come back and get our stuff and settle things with the landlord after Ruth Ann and the children are safe." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 07:25 am UTC (link)
	Al looked between the two of them. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be welcome, but on the other hand, he really didn't want to let his brother out of his sight so soon. "Roy?" he asked quietly. "Can I go with you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rundeep
2011-07-25 07:27 am UTC (link)

Sloth jumped in before Roy could say anything one way or another. "I think it will be best if we all go," she said. "You and Edward will be too angry to drive safely, and if there are children involved, then perhaps it would be best if Alphonse and I were along to keep them calm. Riza can drive. We'll need to requisition a personnel truck to fit everybody. Now, General, I can see you're quite angry, but perhaps you had better explain what exactly is going on?"

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bringontherain
2011-07-25 07:30 am UTC (link)

Sloth clearly had a much more level head on her shoulders. Roy had planned on just PINing in and murdering the sonuvabitch and PINing back out. "Ruth Ann is my sister," he explained, forcibly yanking control over his temper back into his hands. "And her husband apparently thinks it's a grand old time to hit her. I don't know if the children are in any danger, but with those types, they probably are."

He looked at Riza. "Are you up for helping me with this?" he asked her, forcing more gentleness to his tone than he really felt at that moment.

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a_long_look
2011-07-25 07:39 am UTC (link)

She stared at him, casting a brief, quick look at Sloth for a moment before looking back at him,

Riza wasn't entirely certain how she felt about going with, not with the expression on Ed's face, or the way Roy's temper was at the explosion point. But neither did she want to be left alone the way she was feeling. After a moment, she forced a nod, getting to her feet.

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	darkinsidenight 2011-07-25 07:40 am UTC (link)
	Al, meanwhile, wasn't as perturbed by the tempers as Riza. And he did catch the full implication of what Roy said. Raising an eyebrow, he looked up at his brother. Since when did Roy have siblings? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	deathbehindthem 2011-07-25 07:43 am UTC (link)
	Sorry, Al, Edward was riding the killing edge, running hot and cold at the same time. To put it bluntly, there was no Edward, only Fullmetal. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bringontherain 2011-07-25 07:48 am UTC (link)
	"Edward, do you have a PIN?" When Edward nodded and dug the contraption out of his pocket, Roy stepped over. "I'll give you the coordinates to my office in what we have set up for Central HQ. We'll get a truck and a map there, figure out where this Andover is." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	a_long_look 2011-07-25 07:50 am UTC (link)
	Riza stepped over to Sloth, waiting by her and studying the floor as the coordinates were exchanged. (Reply to this) (Parent)