Child's Play
Prompted by the end of Chapter 25
Havoc: Y'see, I just got a new girlfriend…
Mustang: Dump her. You can find a new girl in Central.
Post-Manga/Brotherhood
A/N: Just something I wrote in rehearsals one day while the cast were mucking about... er *cough* practising for the Panto. Just a bit of fun really :) (I don't own FMA)
Please be aware this fic has a OC Alert. If you are annoyed by OCs, please look away... now. If you do like OCs, see if you can guess who it is first ;)
It was useless to try and argue with General Mustang, Havoc knew that. But when was he going to be normal again? He let out a sigh. Mustang was giving him a year to walk again. It was impossible. No one in that amount of time would be able to walk once again. It was true, Mustang usually knew what was best for him, or so he came to believe over the years, but this seemed pointless. He would never walk again. Havoc let out another sigh,
There was a knock at the door. Havoc raised an eyebrow before steering his wheelchair to face the doorway.
"Come in," he said, feeling like a teenager once again.
"I have a guest for you," he heard his mother say, "Are you decent?"
"Decent enough," was his reply. Slowly the door opened and Havoc was greeted by his mother.
"Please don't be alarmed," she was telling the guest, "He may be in a wheelchair but he's still my Jean."
Havoc watched as his mother stepped out of the way of his guest. Revealed was a slender woman with long brown hair. She was wearing the state uniform but she was holding her jacket under her right arm. She looked at Havoc before turning to smile at his mother.
"Thank you, Mrs Havoc," the woman said in a soft voice.
"Don't tire him out," Mrs Havoc told the brunette, "He gets sleepy easily."
"I'll bear that in mind," the woman said as Mrs Havoc left the room. They waited until they heard Mrs Havoc's footsteps disappear down the stairs. Slowly the woman turned back to Havoc.
"Sorry I didn't come sooner," she said. Havoc merely smiled at her.
"I'm just happy you came," he replied. She walked across the room to a small stool. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor. She picked the stool up and carried it towards Havoc, placing it in front of him before sitting down on it.
"So how have you been?" she asked, "All things considered?"
"Fine," he replied, "All things considered."
There was a brief pause where the brunette looked around the room. She noted how little it had changed over the years. It still looked like an adolescent's room with the posters on the walls and the slightly childish covers on the bed.
"Your mother hasn't changed," she stated.
"They never do," he commented. They caught each other's eye, before smirking as they both knew just what he was insinuating.
"I don't think she remembered me," she went on.
"I'm not surprised," Havoc said, "You used to be a dirty little tomboy with mud on your face and fire crackers in your back pocket. Look at you now. You're beautiful."
"Thank you," she said, bowing her head, "I'm glad I'm aesthetically pleasing."
"Look, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Havoc started, but she raised a hand to silence him.
"It doesn't matter, OK?" she waved off, "We're both soldiers. I understand perfectly why you did what you had to."
"And I'm paying for it now, eh?" Havoc said jokingly, but the brunette only glared at him.
"I wouldn't mean you any harm," she said. She paused for a minute before adding: "Unless it was me causing the harm of course."
"Naturally," Havoc said before he began laughing.
"It was worth it, I gather?" she asked looking at him oddly.
"I suppose," he let out a long sigh, "In the long run, I guess so."
"I know the feeling," she agreed, "We lost a few good people on the promised day. My friends, mostly. Buccaneer, also passed away. Did you hear?"
"I heard," Havoc said, "I didn't know you knew him."
"I was stationed up North not long after you left for Central," she explained, "I was working directly under him for a while."
"Oh," Havoc said, "Up North? That's a bit harsh, right?"
"Grumman wanted people he could trust up there. Naturally I was shipped off," she went on. Havoc nodded. "I had no idea you'd been hurt, otherwise I'd been down in Central like a shot."
"Don't sweat it," Havoc said, "I'm rather glad you didn't show up. I was in a bit of a state. Fortunately I directed my attention on other ways of helping."
"You did alright," she told him, "For a guy with no legs."
"I'm working on it," Havoc said, "Mustang's giving me a year to get back into the game."
"Is he recruiting?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Havoc replied, "But when you see him, remind him of his situation. I'm sure Hawkeye will find it amusing."
"She always did," she agreed. Havoc watched her for a second before looking round the room.
"I really do regret it, you know," he said, "But an order's an order."
"That's why I'm here," she said, "I got a note from Breda. He said that Mustang was pushing you to get back walking. He asked me to come and have a word with you."
"Oh?" Havoc asked, "Working for Breda, I see?"
"Not really," she snapped, "But I did want to talk to you."
"What about?" Havoc asked.
"About you," she said, "About what you want. I mean, you have a choice, right? You can't be forced into doing one thing if you don't want. If you want to walk, you'll walk, but if you don't then why should you be pushed?"
"I guess I've never really asked that," Havoc admitted, "Trust you to see beyond the obvious."
"I know you, Jean," she said with a smile.
"I know," he replied, "And I guess you're right. I have to live with the choice so I may as well make it."
"So what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Well, first of all, I'm going to phone up Mustang and tell him two years," Havoc said, rubbing his chin, "Then I think I'm going to grab some lunch."
"How adventurous," the brunette commented, her tone thick with sarcasm.
"You care to grab my coat?" he asked before wheeling himself to the phone. The brunette nodded and walked over to his wardrobe. She heard him dial a number and wait for a reply. After telling some operator who he wanted to talk to, he was ready to talk to Mustang.
"Yo Chief, it's Havoc," he said, "Listen I wanted a word with you. You know since I've been working for you for so long and even when I retired I still managed to save your ass? Well, I've decided that I'm going to rehab and learning how to walk again, but it'll be two years before you'll have me back. In the mean time, I've got a replacement for you. Remember when we transferred to Central and I said I had a girlfriend? Yeah, and you told me to dump her? Yeah, well, she's looking for a job and I've said she can have mine until I get back to you… No, I'm not joking. She's a Second Lieutenant, goes by the name of George Churchill… Yeah, that's her. Well, she says she's looking forwards to meeting you."
"I see you've learnt something from me," the brunette said, handing Havoc his coat.
"I always learn from the best," he told her before returning to his phone call, "So, I'll see you next week then? Say hi to Hawkeye for me."
He put the phone down and looked at the woman with a smile on his face.
"The Chief is looking forwards to seeing you," he said.
"I'm going to have to chase him aren't I?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip, "Until then, where are we going for lunch?"
"Somewhere in the village?" Havoc suggested, "Oh, but after we drop by the jewellers. I want Mustang to really brick himself. You think you could manage it?"
"Child's play, Jean," she told him as they left the room.
Hope that wasn't too painful. Yes, George is now one of my Canon Characters. Sorry if you don't like OCs but I love George :)
RSx
