Needed but not Approved
Rating - PG13
Pairing - Ling/Ed, some Ed/Winry
Disclaimer - I do not own.
Summary - After a hard mission, Edward gets bombarded by a Xing Prince, the Colonel Bastard and his own little brother, how can he survive this with a wratchet-weilding-mad-woman on his heels as well?
Chapter 1 - Snow
"A-choo!" a sniffle swiftly followed and the red fabric raced across his red, sore nose. Edward hated several things in life, being in the mountains of some backwater place of his home country; in the middle of a snow storm, and getting a cold on top of that wasn't very fun. He felt sluggish and he wished he could get out of the snow bank country and into the other parts of Amestris where it was nice and warm. Since the snow storm had started, what seemed like days ago - he couldn't quite remember when - he hadn't been able to sleep, or start a fire.
He sneezed again and for a moment he felt like stopping for a good cry, then he reminded himself that he had no place for weeping and he needed to move on. His mission was done and he had to report in. Thankfully, he'd been able to call Colonel Bastard at the Alchemists laboratory. He had been several days late but Edward had given Mustang the details. Kidnapped and almost used for an experiment - omitting the beating - had made him late to report.
It was a good thing that Mustang took him at his word, no matter what Ed may thought about his Commanding Officer, he was never late to report/phone into the office and give a report.
Shivering violently, Edward stepped through the tress, head bent low. It wasn't till he tripped over and unseen rock, tumbled down the snow bank - about a thousand feet, or so his aching head told him later - and found himself covered in ice cold mud that he finally realized the he was out of the storm and surrounded by a field of grass.
Sighing in relief, Edward got to his feet and started to walk, a bit more swiftly despite his cold. But he didn't care, the sooner he got to Central the sooner he could see Alphonse and tell him of the book he had required on this particular mission.
- - -
Central City,
10 days later.
- - -
Ling sloughed about Roy's office quite happily, a book in his face and Ran Fan standing guard while Colonel Mustang went about business as always. Alphonse was able to help Hawkeye with some of the paper work, he was good at organizing files; at first it had been weird, the way the Elric brother's did their research was their own secret and somehow Al thought that others would understand but it had taken several days till Hawkeye said it was easier to find thing this way. So, whatever it was - Mustang actually had Al to thank for it, it made his job much easier. He wondered vaguely if he could use it to hold above the older brother's head.
He had just put pen to paper and started to sign the paper before him when the wail of: "BROTHER!" wracked through the office and the pen jumped, leaving a rather huge ink stain and a long line where the Y was supposed to be finished but went on. He tried to fix it with a hurriedly scribbled 'Mustang' as the door opened, much subdued and Edward ambled in. Covered in mud, hair undone, eyes red, and limping.
"Mustang," Edward muttered. Roy gave him a rather worried look, where was the "Hello there Colonel Bastard! Got any more shit for me to do?" or "What the hell do you want now? I'm busy!"
Nope. This had to be the first time Roy saw the child - for Edward looked like a child - sick and hurt. Maybe he should have sent Alphonse along, but, it would have made the mission much more complicated. He blinked.
"Fullmetal, what happened to you?" Roy asked.
"Nothing, here's the report, can I go now?" Edward asked, he had completely missing Ling Yao and Ran Fan who occupied the room, quietly, with him and this made Roy worry even more.
"Oi, Pipsqueak, its all muddy? Don't you know how to write a proper report?" Roy asked, trying to see just how sick and hurt the boy was.
"I'm not…" but Edward didn't finish his sentence. He shakily stood there, glaring at the floor. Finally he looked up, the glare wasn't as hot as normal either.
"Not today, Colonel," Edward said. Not today. Roy nodded.
"All right then," Roy stood and went to the door.
"Men! Stations! This is a level 1! Hawkeye, go get a doctor up here, stat! Falman, Hot water and tea, Breda, get some blankets, the rest of you, run interference, no one gets into this office! Alphonse, get your Amory arse in here!" Roy ordered. It was surprising to see how these orders were so quickly followed. The chaos seemed random but in actuality it was quite orderly, for they were army personnel, they were always in order.
"Colonel Mustang, what's Level 1?" Al asked as he entered the inner office. The site of Edward resting on the floor made him run to his brother and take him up into cold steal arms; "Ed!?"
"I'm fine Al, just tired," Edward was able to mumble. He tired to get out of his younger brother's grip, but Al was much stronger than Ed, anyway, so really there wasn't any way he could get away. No matter how much he tried.
"Oh! Pretty Alchemist! What have you done now?" Ling Yao asked, introducing his presence. Roy glared at the boy but the Prince really didn't care. Edward gave a glare too.
"Don't you have something to do? Other than annoy me, that is?" Edward asked. Ling did this odd dance thing of swinging his hips and swerving this way and that, his hands facing up as an 'I don't know' dance. Edward huffed.
The door opened and in came Hawkeye with a doctor, Falman with hot water and tea, and Breda with fluffy blue blankets.
"What's the emergency?" the doctor asked. He was a tall man, with muscles and Edward felt that this was one situation he wouldn't be gotten out of by anyone in this room.
Roy pointed to Edward; "Fullmetal hates hospitals, can you check him out here?" Roy asked.
"I can, you!" the Doctor pointed to Alphonse, "Hold him, we'll have to strip him down and then I can do my job. The Doctor turned to the tub of water, he drew an alchemical array on the floor, then he set the tub of water and it. The light blue glow filled the room for a moment before disappearing. The tub had grown because of the array.
Meanwhile. Edward had started sneezing. Alphonse had a good grip on his brother while available and practiced hands stripped the boy down to his underwear. The Doctor then cleared the desk and started using it as a table. Hawkeye took the paper work out to her own desk till the Doctor was done.
"Fullmetal, what have you done?" Roy parroted Ling Yao's earlier question. Despite the dirt, Roy could clearly see the bruises of a rather organized beating.
"What?" Edward blinked. Slightly there but knowing that he had to be careful with is next answer. Roy's Eyebrow started to twitch, that was a dangerous sign. Edward decided that maybe the truth wouldn't be so bad this time around.
"Where did you get the bruises from?"
"Well, it was combination of Chimera's and Doctor Herald's body guards," Edward replied. Sheepish, once again, but Roy could tell that Edward was rather sorry for not telling him in the first place. Well, it wasn't that he could do anything for Edward. What with the boy being more than ten days away from Central at the time.
The Doctor didn't say anything as he finished cleaning a few scratches and cleaning up the boy before him. He then stepped back and sighed.
"You need to take it easy for a month," he said. He brought out some paper, signed it and handed it to Roy, who smirked down at it.
"No more missions for a month?" Edward blinked.
"No hard labor either, no long walks, no traveling, you're to stay stationary," The Doctor then turned and stalked out of the door. Edward muttered something horrible under his breath, looking to the floor while he did so.
"Well, Fullmetal, you do have a bit of vacation, I think that it'll be a good time to use it, but the Doctor is right, you have to stay somewhere and you don't have any barracks room or an apartment…." Roy trailed off.
"Oi!" Ling raised a hand, above his head Edward could swear he saw a light bulb go off.
"My Pretty Alchemist can stay with me! Your Emperor did provide me with a house!" he said delightedly. Ran Fan didn't object, but that wasn't unusual, she would normally back him no matter what he did.
"No, no, no, I can get a hotel room. It's fine," Edward shook his head quickly. He closed his eyes against a dizzy spell, and Alphonse picked him up, wrapped him in several blankets till he couldn't move and cradled him against his warm, metal chest. A heating array, Ed knew. It wasn't the first time.
"Ling, you wouldn't mind? Brother can get rather grump," Al replied to the young Prince. Ling did his dance once again and grinned.
"I love Edward! Why shouldn't I show this love?"
"You do not! You just want to use me! Like everyone else!" Edward wiggled and tried to get the anger up to punch the boy. All held him firm and the blankets trapped him enough that he'd have to wait for a later date.
Roy's sudden laughter distracted them all; "That would be great," he said to Ling. Who did his dance happily. Edward growled, but he knew that the decision had been made and he would have to deal with it for the moment. He squirmed needlessly.
"Al, put me down!" he demanded, looking up into the metal helmet and pouting. Ling climbed up behind Alphonse to look down on the love of his life. He sighed dreamily and plucked at a pouting cheek.
"Don't look so glum! Even if you do look cute while doing it! I'll take care of you!" Ling sing-songed. Edward glared.
"Go home, Edward, your off duty for the foreseeable future," Roy was smirking while Ling Yao monologued Edward's cute little habits.
"Bastard," Edward muttered. He sneezed, which ruined the growl and made Roy laugh again. However, Edward wasn't going to be carried around by his YOUNGER brother. No matter how awful he felt. It just wasn't right, somehow. This time, he managed to wiggle out. His Automail shone in the mid afternoon light that filtered in through the high window. The soaking mess of clothing on the floor look deplorable and Edward sighed.
He shrugged Ling Yao off of him as the boy tried to wrap him in a blanket, Xingian style. Clapping his hands once, he put them to the fabric. The light blue shone brightly for a second and the clothing was as good as new. He shrugged himself into them. Not caring that others were in the room. Hell Hawkeye had helped to undress him, he didn't care.
He turned to glare at Ling, Al, Roy. Breda and Falman had disappeared. He gave one last seething look at Roy before stomping out, a loud sneeze interrupted his progress and that when Al and Ling pounced. Roy was laughing manically in the back ground while the Armor and the Xingian Prince wrapped Edward up, Xingian style, witch meant oddly folded corners and tight fabric. Some of the cloth was pulled about his mouth as well and Edward's pleas and threats were muffled.
He swore revenge though, on Ling and Al.
- - -
"Well, here we are!" Ling said brightly as he, Al and Ran Fan finally arrived at the home Ling was given for his stay in Amestris. It was rather large, not at all like Shou Tucker's. It was made out of brick, with large windows, a high stone fence and a wrought iron gate. They walked up the walkway, Edward still ensconced in blankets but threatened into violence by constant feeding of milk and Al's pleas of "but brother! Don't you want to find the stone to get our bodies back? How can you do that if you're sick?"
It was extremely unfair. Not that he could do anything about it. Ran Fan opened the front door. Ling beckoned Al upstairs. The home wasn't as fancy as Al had thought it would be, it was actually quite simple. A nice parlor to sit in, a study to the other side of that, down the hallway past the stairs was a half bathroom and the kitchen, which was bigger. Upstairs were several rooms, the one that Edward was put in was Ling's. The boy insisted, he wanted to take care of Edward and prove his Love. Al wasn't sure what to think of this, but he didn't want to give up the office job.
"Ed, what happened? While you were at Doctor Harold's laboratory?" Al asked, Ed wiggled in the blankets. A gloved hand took the cloth across his mouth away and Edward sigh and gave up the fight.
"Chimera's," Edward replied. "They were huge, nothing with humans though," he shook his head.
"What about the bruises," Al asked.
"Look, why don't you see if Hawkeye needs you, I bet you really liked working at the office," Edward changed the subject abruptly. Al sighed, knowing this distraction for what it was, but didn't want to push Edward.
"Listen to Ling and Ran Fan, okay?" Al asked.
"Yeah," Edward rolled his eyes, coughed and nodded. Al rose and left the room.
- - -
"Harold Bosky, Former Bio Blood Alchemist, looks like you've been busy while we've looked the other way," Edward said, he crouched on a window sill high above the Chimera lab. in the back ground he could hear the wild roars of the Chimera. He held back the memory of Nina that haunted him still.
"The Fullmetal Alchemist, the youngest in the army no less. I've heard of you, where is your brother? Aren't you a little short for a Stat Alchemist?" Harold looked up. He was dressed in a dark suit and a lab coat, smirking.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE NEEDS A STOOL JUST TO WASH HIS HANDS IN THE WASH ROOM!" Edward ranted, flailing his arms and legs as he did so.
"I didn't say that," Harold objected.
"You implied it. Same deal." Edward waved his hand in a off-handed sort of way.
"Now, are you going to calmly give up or are you going to make this hard?" Edward asked.
"I don't see how you can be the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Harold scratched the back of his head, "I've heard that it's the guy in the armor, after all, he's so tall!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALING SHORTER THAN A BEAN SPOURT FUSED WITH A SHRIP????"
Harold laughed. "You're small enough for my cages!"
"I'LL SHOW YOU SMALL! I'LL TEAR YOUR LEGS OFF AND STICK 'EM ON YOUR HEAD YOU JERK!"
With that, Edward fell to the floor, ready for a fight. The huge goons that leapt at him first were hardly a match. But when one adds a sticky tongue Chimera, that was more pet than wild animal, well, it wasn't a very good situation.
The bar clanked and the keys rattled in the lock. Edward clutched is Automail port. The nerve endings hurt from the rough treatment of the arm being yanked away.
"Sleep well, Fullmetal-runt,"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A RUNT YOU OLD BASTARD!????"
Harold laughed again.
- - -
He woke with a start.
This time to light and the smell of soup. His stomach grumbled and he found that he was free of the blankets. Ling sat beside him, humming as he ate his food.
"Is there any for me?" Edward asked and tried to sit up. Ling was quicker. His bowl set safely to the side he helped Edward to sit up. He handed another bowl to him, this one had a small portion in it but Edward didn't care, he doubted he'd be able to eat a lot. He sipped at it carefully, keeping tabs that he wouldn't throw it back up again.
"So, I wrote to my father, he thinks that'd you'd be a great acquisition to my harem, of course, you'd be my only male lover but…"
"Ling, shut up, I'm not going to become your lover or allow you to own me or any of that rubbish," Edward grumbled.
"You're in my bed, what does that say to you?" Ling looked smug.
"It wasn't my choice, that Bastard and Al made it for me, so this doesn't count," a quick glare and then he groaned, he should turn his head so quickly, he reminded himself. Ling took the bowl away as Edward sank into the covers.
"I'll take you home, anyway," Ling said. Edward gave him the one fingered salute and pulled the blankets up and over his head.