Klaxon
Disclaimer: I dun own them... But I wish I did.
Summary: It's Christmas - what more can be said? Rated for language. RoyxEd EdxRoy
Author's note: The first Full Metal Alchemist story I posted only got one review, but I was not entirely pleased with the way it turned out. So now, I try my hand again at writing fluff. A bad combo, honestly. The last fic that was supposed to be fluffy went into total angst and shitte. It was baaad... xD Oh well. I imagine that - except for the very end - I did rather well this time. And, eh, hopefully, part two will be up tomorrow evening or tomorrow night.
Phase One: Black Out
"I'm not going."
A pair of sincere hazel eyes gazed back into furied ocher, "But, brother, you should go. You never get any time alone any more." The younger boy waggled blonde eyebrows suggestively, "Besides, you might finally find someone nice!"
Edward Elric, teen prodigy to the alchemic military service frowned darkly, aurum eyes glinting, "Alphonse, you spend way too much time with Alice." He turned, eyeing himself in the mirror.
The reflection was a surly-looking auricomous boy with still-damp hair and eyes that could pierce any armor of emotion.
"Besides, Al, I've already got someone."
Alphonse rolled his eyes, smiling bitterly. "Brother, you have the worst taste in men. He'll never like you back, you know..."
Ed grinned cheekily, "Yeah." There was no remorse in his voice as he added softly, "But you can't help who you are and whom you like."
The bitter grin melted and Al hugged his brother tight. "It'll turn out alright, brother. Just you wait."
"I know; I'll wait however long it take, Al. No matter what. I did it with you, didn't I? I'm still doing it, aren't I?" Ed raised his metal fist, grinning wryly.
They shared a brotherly grin as Al shoved the elder sibling out the door.
-·¤ † ¤·-
Auric eyes glimmered dully as Ed took another drink of the unknown alcoholic drink. Earlier, there'd been a girl beside him, watching with an amazed mein as he downed glass after glass of the liquid. Vaguely, he wondered where, exactly, she'd run off to.
She'd been pretty, sure. Eyes the color of melted onyx, hair the hue of a starless midnight. It had been long, hanging in curled tendrils around her thighs in damp locks much like his - but the night, not the sun.
Of course... She'd reminded him so severely of his unrequited love that Ed had broken down at first sight and had ordered drink after drink of this god-awful shit they called alcohol.
Maybe it would poison him - that was be interesting.
Anyway, they'd talked a bit. Mostly, she'd ranted about how her brother had been an ass, forcing her to come down and join the guests in the merriment. The other parts had been about how amazed she was that the obviously hammered teen was still standing.
Ed though, he'd merely answered that being in love was a bitch. And then, he drank some more. But the girl had been a wonderful confident. She'd listened to his rants, rarely ranting herself as he cried himself dry.
But now, she was gone, and Edward had the undeniable urge to throw-up everything he'd just downed.
He stumbled down the steps into the snow-covered ground, dropping to his knees in the chilling snow.
Seconds later, Ed's stomach heaved, and liquid splattered to the pavement below him.
Suddenly, the girl was back, running a thin hand through his hair, pulling damp bangs away from his face. Her eyes sight was wonderful at night, and even without the moon's light, she could tell that there was no solids in the liquidated snow below them.
Frowning darkly, the girl heaved the smaller male up onto his feet, unceremoniously dragging him back inside. Also, for a girl, she was very able-bodied at dodging unwanted blocks, and they seemed to make it up the stairs to a place where less people occupied the air with eye-rolling ease.
Ed groaned, dropping to his knees, heaving once more on the ground. The girl pulled back his hair a second time, tying back everything now, bangs and all, into a large scrunchi of sorts.
When he nodded slightly, she helped him back up and she dragged his the rest of the way to where a closed door stood, undisturbed and totally ignored by the few loverly couples that stood along the stair railing, watching the people below.
She turned the knob, resting her hand gently against the door frame before dragging the semi-conscious male inside. She kicked the door shut behind them, dropping the blonde on the bed.
Running a pale hand through long black locks, she bit her lip, pointing to another closed door, "Bathroom, you're welcome to use it. I'll check in here in a little bit, just in case. Want anything before I go chew out some people?"
Ed shook his head, "No. Thanks." His voice was scratchy, hoarse, and painful to hear.
Nodding slightly, the girl hurried to the door and was ready to leave when she turned. "My name's Talon Mustang, by the way. It's nice to finally meet you, Edward."
The door was shut with a soft click.
-·¤ † ¤·-
Talon grimaced, stomping down the hallway, watching through narrowed eyes the lucky people who saw the imminent storm and dearly wished their heads to stay attached to their shoulders. The unlucky people were nearly shoved over the balcony as the girl seemingly made entirely of darkness - attitude currently included - searched for a soon-to-die brother.
She pulled on a pair of icy blue gloves with a black array etched onto them as a familiar black headed male came into view.
"Roy Mustang, I'm going to kick your freaking ass." Oh, a joyous way to end on the eve of Christmas, threatening a dumbass sibling with no moral rights.
Said male turned, still laughing with his current date.
"Oh, Talon." He smirked at her, "Meet Laura. Laura, my sister, Talon."
Laura giggled like a school girl, fluttering a hand childishly. "Hello, dear." The older woman hiccuped loudly then giggled, flushing a faint red.
Talon rolled her eyes. "Roy Mustang, I'm going to kick your freaking ass."
Roy frowned, letting go of his current woman. "Do tell, sister. I'm listening."
She yanked down on the scruff of his shirt, bringing the man down a couple inches to her height, "I know you saw who I was sitting by earlier. You passed beside us, what, nearly a dozen times? You were watching and listening just as much as I. I'm sure you saw him get up and run outside earlier - I sure did."
Roy seemed to darken just a bit, "Fullmetal? So you have something for him? Go get him then, I certainly don't care. Besides, you're both short, it'll work out."
Talon kneed him once in the gut. "You're a complete oaf, you rotten dumbass!! Next time, I'll freeze that stupid thing you care so much about."
And it was only then, lying on the ground, groaning in pain, that Roy saw his sister's utter distress. She'd known all along, and her chat earlier with Edward had only reinforced her suspicions about the two of them...
That, and he also carefully noted the pair of gloves that clothed her delicate hands.
For once, Talon was serious. So, maybe Roy could be now.
Talon sneered at him, "Have fun with your play toy, Brother-mine. I'm done with this charade."
Flipping him the bird, she stalked back up the stairs, leaving startlement and confusion in her wake. And as the door to her room slammed behind her, people turned to Roy for an explanation.
"It's complicated," he muttered, sliding over to a vacant chair in the corner.
-·¤ † ¤·-
Ed groaned, sitting up slowly, clutching his head in pain. The God of Hangovers seemed to have visited him in the night. For a moment, he wondered why he'd woken up in a dark room, one that wasn't his and Al's room.
And then, Edward remembered the night before when he'd been sick, when Talon had been there to listen, when the noise downstairs had loudened, and when Talon came storming in, mumbling angrily about idiodic siblings.
In the corner, Talon slept, cuddled up in a chair made for someone of Elysia's size. It seemed to him that she'd been watching him, or watching the door, and had dozed off.
But as he sat there, watching her, she blinked wearily and then grinned. "You live."
She didn't sound all that great herself, and at the look at the blond's face, Talon grinned wider. "I'm fine. Go downstairs. I left blankets on the couch. Everyone's gone home, and I'm pretty sure my brother's still asleep. Besides, I want my bed."
Ed grinned wryly, and slipped onto the floor, motioning to the room in general, "Thanks, uhh, Talon."
"You're welcome, Edward," she said softly, already curling up beneath the warmed sheets. She gave a yawn, burrowing her face in the crook of the pillow and mattress. "Close the door behind you. Good night, again. Sleep well."
Edward nodded, silently slipping out of the room.
She watched him exit the room through squinted eyes.
As Talon had promised, the downstairs was empty, and he settled upon the couch, watching the tree's flickering lights with amusement. It seemed, oddly, that fake spider webs were strung along the limbs as tinsel might have been, and the lights danced through them in cadence to a lovely pattern.
What seemed hours later, there was a small creak from the top of the stairway, but the lights were riveting in their dance, and Ed didn't glance away whether to affirm if Talon was coming to check on him, or if her older brother was coming down to see what scrap of human his sister had saved.
"Fullmetal."
Awww, fuck.
Edward tore his eyes from the partying lights, "Mustang."
Roy coughed politely, slowly descending the rest of the steps, "My sister and I had a talk."
His sister? Aww, mother fucker.
Of course, Edward realized now... Roy Mustang. Talon Mustang. Obvious, no?
"Yeah, thanks to her for letting me stay, but I'll be going home now. Thanks."
"You can't." Roy blinked owlishly at him from his place by the kitchen doorway. "It was snowing when the party started earlier, and it got worse when she went upstairs. I think she decided to ground me, or something. We're snowed in..."
"WHAT!?"
Roy flinched slightly, rubbing at his ear. "When Talon's mad at people, the others around said person tend to suffer. You should be glad we have electricity currently. It was unstable for a short while after she went upstairs."
Ed groaned, running his metal hand through messy gold locks. He glanced at Roy, pleading, "Please tell me you're joking."
Roy shook his head.
"Aww, shit."
"Agreed."
Sighing softly, Roy walked over and plopping down on the couch, staring moodily at the joyous tree. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped, shook his head, and and leaned back, pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose.
Looks like the almighty Mustang had a hangover from the Gods.
Haha.
After a moment too long of the inexcusable silence, Edward jerked his head at the tree. "So, eh, Mustang. What the hell happened to your tree?"
"Talon."
"Really, now? She didn't look quite as crazy as you, at first glance." But now, she was looking - and sounding - infinitely insane. What kind of sane person put fake spider webs on a tree?
A crazy person, that was who.
Roy frowned, "Y'know, after a while, it grows on you."
"Uh huh," nodded Ed skeptically.
The silence once again ruled until Roy once more broke the stupor with his certain drunken asinine speech.
"She was reading this book sometime before we went to get the tree. It was mainly on Christmas legends and holiday stuff. Apparently, this one woman in Ukraine didn't have anything on her tree when she went to bed, and when she woke up, spiders had decorated her tree in their silky webs.
"It brought luck, and Talon insisted that we try it. But, spiders are in short supply in the winter, so we settled with the fake snow from her nativity display from last year."
Ed glanced at the older man. Holy crap, they were both nuts.
"And you know, Fullmetal, she was right. It is lucky."
Ed blinked, "Yeah? How so?"
"I threw the party that got her mad at me."
And honestly, Edward couldn't decide if Roy really meant it was lucky, or if her was just being a pompous asshole. Probably the latter.
Frowning slightly, Edward stood, shakily walking to the atomic tree. The lights continued to flicker, but it held a quality of peace now, and Edward was certain it hadn't been there before. That, and everything seemed more surreal.
Tentatively, the flaxen teen reached out, touching a lovely red ornament hanging precariously above a silver bell trimmed in the hue of aurum.
"You know," continued Roy, "ornaments were once apples. So said the strange book that Talon got the Ukranian story from. Can you believe that?"
"Yeah..." muttered Ed softly, eyeballing the decadent red ornament. He could imagine how that ball of glass had once been an apple. His eyes once more fell to the bell, and upon total instinct, he flicked a flesh finger at it, listening to the beautiful harmony it created in the strobing room of color.
Roy blinked sleepily, looking almost ready to doze then and there.
"You know what my mom always said?" It was painful to talk about Trisha Elric, and this time was no different, but being in a warm house that achingly reminded him of his currently burnt home in Risembol, and suddenly, he could speak.
Crazy, eh?
"Every time a bell rings, and angel gets it's wings."
Roy sat up abruptly, studying Edward with a sudden fascination. "Yes."
Ed blinked, "Wha?"
Agreement was not the answer he'd expected from Roy.
Roy Mustang lurched to his feet, unsteadily shuffling to the smaller boy's side. "You know something, Fullmetal? You're right."
Ed huffed softly, "I'm always right, bastard!"
A pair of onyx eyes rolled. "Don't push it, shrimp."
Ocher eyes narrowed in ferociousness, "Shrimp!? WHO THE F-"
Roy stared at Ed, a ghost dancing within the depth less orbs as the taller male, backed the younger teen against the wall.
"M-mustang?"
There was a glint of something - fear, perhaps? - flickering nervously in the orbs of sunlight. "Mustang, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Paranoia and unmistakable dread overtook the teen's posture as Roy Mustang stepped ever closer, filling the surrounding air with labored breath.
"What the rules demand, Edward." And with a pale hand, Roy pointed to the ceiling where, unbelievably, a sprig of mistletoe was nestled, a brilliant green among the confusing darkness of the unpainted off-white ceiling.
Awww, mother fucker.
"Holy fuck, what!?"
But before Edward could do much else but curse, a pair of soft lips pressed themselves to his..
Now, for all those people who don't understand how electrifying a kiss like that is, imagine licking a cord plugged into an electric socket. The jolt you feel tingling throughout your body it almost exactly what Edward felt as Roy's lips touched his.
It was... Dare he say... Pure bliss.
But, all too soon, it was over.
Ed blinked weakly, staring at a emotionless Roy.
Damn reality. That man never lost his cool, even after something that had nearly shattered the blond alchemist's mind.
Edward blinked once or twice more, examining the lines that hardened Roy's face.
But, without warning, dizziness overtook him, and Edward found himself collapsing backwards into total oblivion. Above him, Roy's face broke into puzzled bewilderment, and then into fearful despair as he finally noted the flaxen boy's troubles.
"Ed?"
Edward blinked sluggishly, reaching his metal hand up for Roy. He wanted to say something - anything! But the darkness of what Sleep's blade promised was much more satisfying.
Darkness covered his vision like blood one snow, blotting out everything in a mere matter of seconds.
Black out...
And above him, Roy still called in a frantic voice. "Ed! Edward!!"
Author's Note: First off, I had a class last year and as a project for ther last day of school, we took a quiz to see how much we knew about Christmas Time's history. I did okay with my quiz partner, but I mean... I didn't know much of it. We guessed a lot. Anyways! I found a couple interesting things, so I wrote thema ll down. One was the Ukranian thing on the spider webs. That is absolutely true! Also, the thing on how ornaments originated from apples hung in Christmas trees is also very true. And, just for your information, a klaxon is german for shriek. xD Interesting, no?
By the way!! It might not be snowing, but the ground is white here outside my home. It's a white Christmas afetr all... :D!!
Silver: Merry Christmas, all!! -:flings luff and pumpkin desert to all, 'cause someone took all the cookies...:-
Ed: Dude... Why the hell did I faint?
Roy: 'Cause you were caught off guard by my wonderful kissing skills!
Talon: -:cough, hack, hack:- LIES! -:cough, cough, hack, hack:- xD
Ed: -:hugs Talon:- Dude, Roy, shut the hell up. Talon, thank you for existing:D 3
Silver: -:rolls eyes:- Children, stop. Ed, you won't die. Maybe. And fainting was from the alcohol. Mostly.
Roy: Haha!
Ed: Maybe!? MOSTLY?!?
Talon: .;;
Silver: Don't spaz, Bean. Or I won't make you 'king' later.
Ed: ... Wait, did you just insult me?
Silver: Uhhh, no? Can I though?
Roy: Dude! I AM KING! Screw Ed!! I am king!!
Talon: Roy! Shaddup! You're scaring away all the nice people...
Silver: Man... It's days like this that I staring imagining how a Bishi hunting skit would go over...
'Santa': Then why not do it? Ho ho ho!
All: O.O
Silver: -:squeal:- BITCH! YOU ATE MY COOKIES!! DIE! -:beats the 'Santa':-
Ed: Dude. That's Jaden.
Silver: Ohhh... What? o.o What's he doin' here?
Jaden: -:passed out:- -.-
All: -:shrugs:-
Silver: Eh. Oh well. Sucks for him. Ed! Pass the egg nog! Talon, get the cookies and pumpkin desert! Roy, help me get the presents.
Talon: -:dubious:- What about that thing there?
Silver: -:blinks, looking at Jaden:- Leave him there. It won't kill him.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Agent Silver, signing out."
Dec. 25, 2007 1:07 AM
9 pages / 3177 words
