Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Keeping up with the Elrics, Searching for Love ❯ Hughes' Discovery ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 1: Hughes' Discovery

"Great work men." Maes Hughes said when he and his group of men caught the criminal they were after.

"Thanks sir, you too", was the general reply.

Hughes grinned. "For doing such great work… you wanna see some pictures of my new wife?" He said as he reached for his pictures that he always carried with him in his wallet to show people. They all grumble, annoyed with Hughes' constant picture flow, and started heading for the cars. "Aw, come on guys. Isn't she hot?" Hughes sighed and admired his wife's picture. "I guess that means she's all mine!" he said gleefully and started heading for his car himself when a noise in the alley to his right caught his attention.

Curious, he slowly walked toward the dark alley. "Hello, what have we got here? A cat?" the creature hissed and swatted at him. Hughes took a step back. The claws where far too large to be a common house cat's, and then there was the fact that the paw and arm didn't look all fur. In fact for a brief moment it looked almost human. 'Whoa! That is one huge cat! Unless it's a…' Hughes suddenly felt very excited, he had figured out what this creature was. "Come here little one. I won't hurt you, I promise. I only want to help." With a little more coaxing he got the cat creature to come out of the shadows. "You… you are a chimera!"

The creature hissed and spat at him once again. "I am not a chimera!" It cried resentfully in a little girl's voice.

"A talking chimera?!" Hughes said surprised.

"I told you I'm not a chimera!" the voice protested again.

"Alright, I believe you. I'm just not sure what could have happened to you." Hughes said calmly, trying to coax the little cat creature out further. The cat shriveled into the shadows again. "It's alright sweetheart. I won't hurt you. You look cold sitting here in this dank alley way. How about I take you home and get you something warm to eat."

"Your not gonna bring me to your military boss as a chimera?" She asked timidly, in a cat like squeak, noticing his military uniform.

Hughes smiled lovingly at the tragic little girl. "No, I promise. I'll take good care of you." Thinking quickly Hughes formulated an unfinished plan in which he decided would be least offensive. To bring this- this lonely little creature back to his home and keep her as his own in secret.

Hughes knelt down just outside the shadows to speak with her at eye level. "If you wait here, I'll be right back before you know it. I need something from my car, okay?" He plastered a large, fatherly smile on his face, or rather; he hoped he smiled like a father. She made a small, cat like noise in which Hughes took as an agreement. Still smiling he walked to his car.

'He's going to leave me.' The little cat girl thought depressingly. 'That man can't stand me. No human can. He's just going to leave me here, or sell me over to the military!' She convinced herself and watched in amazement as Hughes popped his trunk open and lifted a big blanket out. She was stunned. He was actually coming back to get her with a true, kind smile on his face.

Hughes knelt down again, not intruding the shadows for fear she'd run away if he got to close. "I can only assume that you have not lived out here very long. But you look cold and as frigid as the nights have been lately I'm surprised you haven't frozen to death. So I thought you'd like to keep warm with this blanket. I keep it in my car in case of emergencies." He unfolded the blanket and held it out to her almost like a peace offering.

The cat creature was still unsure but slowly came out of the shadows to let Hughes wrap her in the big, warm blanket. He was surprised though, for being some kind of cat creature she was very young and quite cute. What the poor thing must have gone through. Hughes hoped it wasn't some alchemy experiment done on her that had gone horribly wrong. She was such a sweet thing after all. Something about her face told him she wasn't lying about not being a chimera. True she had cat like features such as cat ears, a long brown tail, soft sandy brown hair, and piercing green-gold eyes; but no chimera has ever talked before and that childlike face was still so human.

Hughes smiled at the girl. "You're such a cute thing. Would you like to ride up front with me in the car?" He said in a pleasant voice.

The girl blinked in surprise. He was speaking to her as if she were a friend or a member of his family. He seemed so trustworthy and so friendly, she found herself nodding in agreement. He quickly escorted her to the passenger side of the car before she had a chance to realize what was going on. The cat girl did note later how quick Hughes was to get her in the car. Although it was dusk and quite dark already, there were still people about.

'He doesn't want to be seen with me.' She thought dejectedly. 'He's ashamed. Everyone's ashamed of me.'

"I'm sorry." Hughes said as they began their little trip. "I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Maes Hughes. You can call me Maes, or you can call me Hughes, heck you can call me daddy if you prefer.” Hughes ended up chuckling at himself, telling some girl he just met to call him daddy was rather strange.

"I'm… I'm Lorali Wesscott. But you can call me Roary." Roary said quietly. Hughes thought her surname sounded strangely familiar.

Roary felt herself question the sanity of this Hughes character and she was disappointed in herself for ever trusting him. 'I knew it! It was a trap! He's leading me straight to the military boss guy.' She thought as they drove past some houses she noticed were designed for higher ranking military personal.

"I'm glad we met." Hughes said sincerely with a smile and thought again how cute the little cat girl was. "Oh my, I can't believe I haven't showed you!" Hughes exclaimed suddenly and reached into a pocket. "Ta da!" He cried, flourishing several pictures under Roary's nose. “Take a look at my new wife! Isn't Gracia just picture perfect?!"

Roary took the pictures and looked at them. Hughes, a bit touched, and realized that he was doing the right thing. Roary flipped through the pictures as Hughes commentated on them as if he knew them by heart. Gracia was a very beautiful woman.

Hughes sighed and became very serious. "Let me be frank with you, Roary. Gracia can't know about you. Don't get the wrong idea." He said as if he knew what Roary was thinking. "She just wouldn't like the idea of raising a child as of yet. In fact, we only recently wed; the notion of children is a little way down the road. For now, I'll take care of you and Gracia will be none the wiser." 'I'm sorry little one; I just don't think she'd understand.' Hughes frowned slightly.

Roary nodded sadly and Hughes noted that she was a very quiet, sad, scared girl. 'Who wouldn't be?! Who knows what she's been through?!' "I'm sorry Roary. Please don't take it the wrong way. I thought about it and I think it's the best thing to do. Do you understand?" Roary slowly nodded as Hughes went on. "Plus it'll give me a chance to work on my parenting skills." Hughes grinned at her with a silly face, making Roary smile the faintest of smiles.

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They arrived at the house without incident and Hughes still hadn't asked. Roary felt on pins and needles. She knew he was just itching to ask about her past. She did find this man trustworthy enough, she just didn't know if she was ready to tell a complete stranger what happened to her. Roary knew he worked for the military and she assumed he knew what alchemy was, even if he did not understand it. However she did not know how he would receive her story. Even though Hughes believed Roary when she said she was not a chimera without evidence, she still did not know whether or not Hughes would believe the rest of her story.

Hughes quietly, so not to wake his wife, guided Roary to an old den in the basement. It was musty but it was warmer then than the cold streets she was accustom to. Old, mismatched furniture surrounded a stained coffee table with rickety legs.

"I bet you're hungry." Hughes said. Roary glanced at him. He had a kind face and didn't sound ashamed or angry with her. He had brought her to his home without question had he not? She nodded as her stomach growled; she was hungrier than she thought. "I'll go fix you something and bring it down for you then ok?" Roary nodded again and Hughes smiled warmly at her before going back up the stairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen smelled of freshly picked fruit, thanks to Gracia. The cupboards were filled with clean dishes and food, which again, was on Gracia's part. Before marriage, he was used to barren food pantries save his favorite dishes, which were five minute fixings. The nice, clean, food filled kitchen was something Hughes was slowly adjusting to.

These were the foods Hughes sought out: hot food cooked in minutes flat. Ramen, that would do for now. As the water boiled, Hughes went to the linen closet upstairs. He pulled down fresh pillows and blankets for Roary, but made sure they were ones Gracia would not miss. Meaning, the blankets were thin and the pillows were flat. As Hughes stepped on a creak, there was a false alarm when Gracia stirred but didn't wake up. He sighed and went quickly and quietly back to the kitchen.

When Hughes got back down to the kitchen he poured the ramen noodles into the water and leaned against the counter. What had happened to the little girl in his basement? She only looked to be about seven or eight. What had caused her body to resemble a chimera? Where were her parents? His heart went out to her. From this day on I promise to protect you little one. Hughes thought and decided on this.

When the noodles finished, Hughes prepared a tray and carried it, the pillows, and blankets down stairs. Hughes put the tray on the table first and left the linen on the couch. In the dim light, he barely saw Roary stir in the farthest corner of the room. The blanket from the car still wrapped around her protectively.

Roary had been quiet when Hughes was driving her to his house except for the occasional questions he'd ask. She let Hughes drone on and on, predicting what would happen when they arrived at the house. He would ponder, ask a question, and listen. She would answer, after all, he invited her to stay and he deserved an explanation.

“You'll want to eat before it gets cold.” His voice was light, not demanding or strict, father-like really.

Roary stepped forward, cloaked by the blanket and sat in the squashy chair closest to her. The ramen, no matter how grateful she was to have them, were bland. He had added absolutely nothing but a bit of seasoning.

Hughes sat on a collapsed, moth-eaten chair and watched Roary finish the noodles. She waited as he searched for just the right words. “Roary,” Hughes began. “I will need to know what happened to you. I would like to try and help you in any way possible, if I can. You don't have to tell me just yet. Today, just take it easy, Roary. Relax. This is now your home little one.” He said in a sweet voice.

She did not expect this and was struck dumb by his kind words. She bent her head over the plate, her bangs concealing her face entirely in shadows to hide her eyes that were quickly filling with tears.

”I'll make your bed and then head for the sack myself. Tomorrow I'll see what I can do with finding you some play things.” Hughes offered.

Roary felt the tears burn her eyes. His generosity seemed unending, and yet, she thought he did not want to be alone with her. He was forcing himself. She couldn't help but think these thoughts. She knew she should think more positively but she just couldn't help but doubt.

Hughes smiled softly at her and looked at his watch. It really was late, later then normal for him to get home. Gracia might get suspicious. “Hey, Roary, I'm sure you're tired. Why don't you lay on the couch and I'll tuck you in for the night.”

Roary nodded though she really wasn't tired. She was part cat after all and cats are naturally nocturnal. Hughes gently tucked Roary into bed on the couch and tenderly kissed her on the forehead. Again Roary was surprised by his loving personality and couldn't help but let the tears flow. She threw herself on him and left all the pain and sorrow she'd been through surge out of her. Hughes just gently cradled her as she cried, smiling sorrowfully at the poor creature in his arms.

“There, there, now.” Hughes said soothingly. “It's alright, kitten. I promise I'll take care of you. I want to protect you Roary.

“Y-you really mean it?” Roary looked up at him with a hint of hope in her green-gold eyes.

“Yes, I'll make sure you're loved and cared for, for the rest of your life Roary. No more tears now ok, kitten?” Hughes smiled lovingly at her and tried to cheer her up. Roary also seemed to like the new pet name he had given her. “Tomorrow I'll go shopping for you and get you some nice pretty things ok?”

Roary smiled a bit and nodded. This man was becoming like a doting father with her, much like her real father whom she still missed terribly. Ever since her parents died a few months ago people had treated her like a monster, tired to hunt her down and kill her. But maybe, with this man's help, she could feel the love she once had when her parents were still living.

After Roary had a good cry and exhausted herself into sleeping Hughes gently laid her back down on the old rotting couch, tucked her in once more, and kissed her good night again. He then made his way up the basement stairs and left the door open a crack, just in case.

By the time Hughes had taken a shower and gotten into bed with his wife it was almost two in the morning. He thought he had been pretty quiet but sure enough Gracia was awoken. “A little late coming home tonight dear aren't we?” Her groggy yet stern voice came from the other side of the bed.

“Oh, Honey! You're awake! Sorry, was I too loud coming in?” Hughes tired to sound innocent.

Gracia turned and glared at him. “You don't normally work this late? What's the deal?”

“Well you see it's a long story . . .” Hughes trailed off.

“Come now, spill it!”

“Well see, this case was harder then anyone thought and then I still had to get the paper work done tonight once the guy was caught, so . . . sorry I was late dear. I knew I should have called.” Hughes prayed that his cover up would work.

“Remember to called next time, so I'm not so worried.” Gracia said with a yawn.

“Yes dear!” Hughes smiled at his wife. Gracia smiled back and gestured for him to snuggle into bed.