Before I start, let me just tell you one thing. If you were expecting some sentimental love story about two beautiful people who overcome all odds with the power of true love, then I can tell you right now that you're not going to get it. I promise that it won't end with a deep speech and epic kiss in the rain. There are no cheesy love songs in here either. This is real. As times it's not exactly pleasant, there's a lot of bullshit in here that some people might not like, or might find a little too much. But this is what happens when you love someone in the way I do. And if you don't like it, then you don't have to keep on reading. Go back to your Hollywood world of happy endings and pretty main characters if you just want something full of 'feels'. If not, read on. Anyways, I'm getting a little off topic. This is the story of me and Ed.
I looked out of the train window to see the rain beat down relentlessly, turning the landscapes that flashed by into a greyish blur. The sound of the water constantly pounding the glass was the sound heard in the silent compartment. Sitting across from me was none other than the Fullmetal pipsqueak, sorry Alchemist. I sighed to myself as I looked out at the blurred windows. Right now I would have given anything to work with someone who wasn't Fullmetal. This mission would be hard enough for me. The last thing I needed was for Fullmetal to come along with his perfect morals and golden ideals, leaving me in shame. The compartment had been filled with a heavy silence for the first half hour of the journey, and I had to admit that I liked it that way. We'd left each other to our thoughts, for there seemed to be a lot more of them than I'd expected. It was going to be hard to show my face there again, and I really didn't think that a 'useless' joke would pick up my mood right now
"The rain looks pretty bad out there." A voice said. The sudden sound made me jump a little before I realised that it was just Ed talking. He was looking out the window too, dressed in his usual outfit of all black paired with his much-loved long red jacket.
"Yeah." I responded, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"How useless do you think that'll make you on a scale of one to ten?" He joked, grinning widely. I glared at him. On a good day, I'd take a jibe at the pitfalls of my flame alchemy moderately well, only rolling my eyes or firing back a retort. But today was definitely not a good day, and I wasn't in the mood at all to put up with this shit.
"I am not going to deal with your crap right now shorty." I said coldly, emphasising the word shorty. Ed thought he could make a joke out of me? Well two could play at that game. It was always fun to watch Ed get angry when someone called him short, and then wait until you heard his ill-thought-up response. Childishly firing insults between the two of us seemed to be a norm. It was like a secret handshake, it was just how our relationship worked.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT YOU NEED A MICROSCOPE TO SEE? I CAN KICK YOUR ASS ANY DAY COLONEL USELESS!" He yelled angrily, jumping up from his seat, getting all hot and bothered. Unable to help myself, I smiled. It was funny how a kid so intelligent and talented got that mad at the use of one little word. Maybe it was the whole teenager thing, making him self-conscious about himself.
"Colonel Useless? I think that's a new one." I replied, not paying full attention to the conversation at hand. At that point, the train went through a tunnel, and the compartment we were in was instantly filled with darkness. All that I could see was the faint shadow of Ed, and then I decided to stop with the short jokes. And the milk jokes. And the Edward Cullen ones. (Those ones really piss him off). I needed to focus on the task we had been given. Getting this done successfully could easily mean a promotion. Failing just wasn't going to be an option.
"Listen, Fullmetal, we've got a lot of work to do here, so why don't we keep the annoying jokes and insults to a minimum and try and finish up as quickly as possible?" I said, sounding reasonable and strangely politician-like. Ed just looked at me for a second, surprised.
"Uh, sure?" He said, confused. The rest of the journey was much like the first half-hour of it. We didn't speak much. Now that I look back, I'm not too sure if it was because we had nothing to say, or we just didn't know how to say it.
Finally, the long train ride came to a halt and we got out. There was no station nearby, of course, so once we exited the small station, we had to hail a taxi. After loading everything into the car, it began to head down the dusty desert tracks.
"Mustang, you never fully explained what we're doing here." Ed said.
"Publicity. We help out, make friends with the locals, reassure them that the military is on their side. Make them feel comfortable." I responded, wondering if he could hear the slight note of pride in my voice. It was actually my idea to do this. I thought that after everything the Ishbalians had been through, they probably wouldn't be too kind towards military officials. I reckoned that if we could make them feel like we'd be there for them, they'd have a better relationship with us. Otherwise things would get a little hairy, especially if they refused soldiers on their soil. Then, the defenceless Ishbal would be prey to an attack from nearby Aerugo. I got a few brownie points for explaining my theory to the people in high command, and if it all went down well, I could have just been joining them pretty soon.
"So this is just you smiling for a bunch of pictures," Ed said harshly, "Not actually trying to make life better for these people." I didn't have a response to that. So I simply busied myself with getting out of the crowded station and into our hotel.
Our 'hotel' turned out to be a small little inn run by a kindly old woman. It was small and slightly dilapidated, but it seemed to have fared better than every other building we'd passed. The walls were cracked and the paint on the sign outside was peeling. Usually this would have been the kind of place I would have stayed a mile away from, not even considering entering without being equipped with litres of disinfectant and insect killer. But then again, desperate times called for desperate measures. The few people we saw on the way gave us looks of hatred as they saw my crisp blue uniform. This was going to be a challenge. Entering the inn, it seemed worse on the inside than on the exterior. The old wallpaper was peeling and in places I could see cracks and spots of damp. The old woman who owned it was sitting behind a small wooden desk that looked like it had seen better days. In fact, everything in the room looked like it had seen better days, even the old woman herself. Next to her was a wilting green plant which was clearly half-dead. It didn't look like this was going to a pleasant stay.
"Hello," I said, pulling off my classic charming smile at the old woman sitting at the front desk. "Roy Mustang and Edward Elric. I believe we have two rooms booked." The woman smiled over the counter at me as she flicked through a stack of papers which had been neatly laid on her desk. I sensed Ed rolling his eyes from behind me, obviously annoyed by my skills of communicating with the other gender.
The old woman gave me the keys and smiled. She seemed nice enough. It was a short walk to our rooms. Ed entered his without a word, and I entered mine and closed the door behind me.
It's not that I was expecting five-star luxury, but I can't say that it was exactly satisfactory. It was rather small. The walls were covered in so much filth it was hard to tell if they were originally white or cream. Against one, there was a small, uncomfortable-looking bed without any sheets. There was a broken fan hanging precariously from the ceiling. The only light came from one small window which was dirty and cracked. The desk below it was small and crooked. It looked as if it couldn't hold a single sheet of paper. I dropped my bag down on the dusty floor and opened the closet. The doorknob fell off in my hand, and I found myself staring at a small space with a broken rail. I shuddered as I looked at the large spider which had made a dark corner its home. At least someone here was feeling welcome.
After spending several minutes trying unsuccessfully to make the room resemble something habitable, I decided that it was best to get started. I knocked on Ed's door and waited impatiently for him to answer. He opened the door and I saw that his room was about as terrible as mine, although he seemed to have no problem with it.
The rain still poured down on us as we headed out. Everywhere I looked, I saw ruins, mess, and misery. No matter how bad I was expecting it to be, I was still shocked to see it. Here I was, thinking that the war had left me scarred because I the things that happened haunted me. But at least I had shelter, food, clothes and all these things that I take for granted. I'd taken these away from all these helpless people
"Hero of Ishbal" I thought to myself "Some kind of hero I am"
Hey! This is the re-re-rebooted Wrongful Hearts! *YAY FOR SUCKY WRITING!* Hopefully, I got it right this time! Anyways, I want you all to PLEASE tell me what you think! I want ALL the constructive criticism you can possibly give. And since Roy's here, I can't exactly say no to flames! (That's right. FLAME AS MUCH AS YOU WANT! IT'LL ONLY MAKE ME A BETTER WRITER!)
Anyways! Enjoy and review! And tell me in your reviews… Do you want me to update chapter 16 or reboot chapter 2 first?