Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Shonen-ai (possibly yaoi), spoilers
Pairings: Roy x Ed, one-sided Russell x Ed, possible Envy x Ed, implied Al x Winry
Genre: Angst, Romance, Alternate Ending to the Series!
Summary: After receiving a call from a worried Al, Roy goes to investigate Ed's disappearance in Xenotime. Meanwhile, Fullmetal has come down with a nasty illness and is found by Russell Tringham. Romance ensues. RussellxEd, RoyxEd, and others. Alternate ending to the TV series.
AN: Hello everyone! This is my first FMA fic, and hopefully, it won't be my last! The title, Freeze My Love, is actually the title of a song by the Japanese band Glay. Hughes will still be alive just because he's a loveable character that everyone should like. -nods- Anyways, this story will be loosely based on the anime, and it pretty much ignores the real ending of the series. For the record, the DVDs I own are in Japanese, and the subtitles could definitely be better. So, if you see any mistakes concerning names of characters or towns, please point them out. Oh! I'm also trying not to use any Japanese terms (eg: taisa, -kun, -san, niisan) in this story, so I apologize if this annoys you. Be sure to comment if you read the story! n.n
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, Funimation, and others. Is my name anywhere on that list? No.
Freeze My Love
Chapter One
by Abyssinian003
Dark eyes briefly glanced at the stacks of paper cluttering the top of a large, wooden desk. Almost immediately, after sweating nervously as thoughts about what Riza Hawkeye would have done had she been there to see him slacking off, Roy Mustang returned to his self-given duty of washing the windows. Physical labor beat paperwork any day in his honest opinion.
Wiping the soapy water from a section of the glass pane, the Flame Alchemist sighed in boredom. There was nothing to do! His staff, including Hawkeye, was on a short vacation for the time being, and Fullmetal was in Resembool with Alphonse.
The brothers had been successful in restoring the younger Elric's body, but Ed's automail limbs remained. The short alchemist didn't seem to mind, but no one really knew why. Whenever someone would ask him, he always told them the same thing, "I'd feel weird without them." Then he would grin brightly, erasing everyone's doubts.
That is, everyone's doubts except Roy's. Over the year, the colonel had learned to read between the lines with Fullmetal. Mustang had the feeling what Ed was actually thinking was, "This is my punishment."
Suddenly, the phone rang, and Roy jumped, startled for a brief moment. Finally, something to do! He quickly dropped the soapy towel and grabbed the phone. He would even be happy to listen to Hughes talk about Elysia for hours on end! Bringing the receiver to his ear, he answered, "Roy Mustang."
"Hello, Colonel Mustang, this is Alphonse," a young voice sounded through the phone. Mustang eased himself into his chair as Alphonse Elric continued. "By chance, have you seen Brother? He left yesterday for Xenotime, but he apparently never showed up. I thought he might have gone to Central instead."
Roy raised an eyebrow at Al's assumption, "He hasn't been here, Alphonse." A hint of frustration crept into the younger Elric's voice, "I swear, when I find him..." The boy trailed off, and a worried silence ensued. "Is something else going on?" Roy ventured almost hesitantly.
"It's nothing, really! It's just that Brother was coming down with a cold when he left for Xenotime. Maybe he got sidetracked and forgot to call me. That must be it! Don't you think so, Colonel Mustang?" Roy was amazed at how easily Al could convince himself that his brother was fine and made an affirmative noise. The youthful Elric thanked him for listening and hung up.
Roy folded his gloved hands under his chin as he thought. No one was here, and he didn't really want to do his paperwork. He eyed the stack wearily. It would take all day. Plus, if he went to Xenotime and found Fullmetal, he'd be able to hold the incident over the short alchemist's head. Though, he smirked to himself, it's not as though that was a difficult feat in the first place considering the older Elric brother's height.
Placing his hands on the desk and pushing himself to his feet, the Flame Alchemist declared to the empty room, "Alright! I've decided that I'm going." He shrugged his blue military jacket over his white-clothed shoulders and stalked out of the office like a man on a mission, which, technically, he was, however self-given the mission may have been.
"Hey! Wait, Elisa! Don't run off by yourself!" Russell Tringham, a blond-haired, gray-eyed teenage boy ran after the small, brown-haired girl. He paused, put his hands on his knees, took a few deep breaths, and began chasing the giggling child again. How could someone so short run so fast? His mental question brought up a memory of a short, albeit older, boy with a blond braid, golden eyes, and a violent temper. A smirk tugged at his handsome features. Ed was very fast for someone of his stature.
"Russell!" The teen's head snapped up, and he looked around until his line of sight rested on Belsio's niece. "Russell!" she exclaimed again, and this time the blonde noticed that she was pointing to something at the bottom of the hill she was standing on. He forced his long legs to take quick strides, and soon he was next to the girl, softly scolding, "Don't run off again, Elisa. Now, what are you pointing at?"
Stormy eyes spotted a patch of crimson on the emerald green grass. "Is that it?" Russell asked the girl. Elisa nodded, "Yeah!" Hesitating only for a moment, Russell knelt down and looked into the girl's brown eyes, "Stay here and be good, okay?"
After Elisa nodded, Russell slowly made his way down the steep hill. He slipped a few times on the dew-damp grass, but he managed to keep his balance each time. As he got closer to the crimson mass, Russell noticed that it was actually thick red fabric. With each step he took, a new detail appeared. When he saw the person's golden head of hair, something in his mind clicked, and he ran forward as quickly as he could.
He dropped to his knees next to the person's body and slowly murmured prayers under his breath. With a shaking hand, he reached out to touch the person's shoulder and carefully turned the blonde onto his back. Recognizing the stunning features anywhere, Russell gasped, "Ed!"
The older boy didn't respond, and it was then that Russell noticed his flushed cheeks, pale face, and harsh breathing. Stray, golden strands of hair clung to his sweat-soaked skin, curling slightly. The younger blonde placed his hand against Ed's forehead and frowned. The Fullmetal Alchemist definitely had a fever, but Russell wasn't sure how bad it was.
Deciding to take the elder blonde to Belsio's house, the tall alchemist carefully gathered Ed's small form into his arms and rose to his feet. He glanced along the length of the steep incline before spotting a less dangerous route than the one he used to come down. He called to Elisa and nodded over to where he was going to head up. As the girl nodded and ran over to meet him, Russell made his way up the slick, crumbling rock path.
"Is that Mr. Ed? Is he okay?" Elisa asked with worry shining in her innocent brown eyes. Russell began walking toward Belsio's lemon orchard, "Yes, it's Ed, and I don't think he's doing too well." Elisa trailed behind the tall teenager quietly as they made their way to her uncle's house.
As they arrived at the front door, Elisa opened it for Russell, and he gave a grateful nod. "Could you get your uncle for me, Elisa?" the tall alchemist asked as he made his way to his room, the one which, now that he thought about it, Ed must have stayed in before.
He gently lowered the unconscious alchemist's body onto his bed and worriedly bit his lip. He really shouldn't let Ed sleep in his wet clothes. A light pink hue of embarrassment dusted his pale cheeks as he set about undressing the other alchemist.
Lemon-colored hair hid his right eye from sight as he determinedly pulled off the older teenager's boots and set them on the floor. The gray-eyed young man tugged Ed's damp crimson coat from his shoulders with a bit of difficulty, but when he succeeded in his task, he draped the jacket on the back of a nearby chair to dry. He eyed the shorter boy for a moment before he decided that the alchemist was still wearing too many damp articles of clothing.
Russell hesitated to take off Ed's black over shirt, suddenly feeling a bit hot under the collar. He tugged a bit at his shirt in hopes to cool himself down a bit. He wasn't quite sure why he felt so flustered, but he had his suspicions.
Getting over his nervousness, he undid the clasp on the black shirt and, with even more difficulty than the jacket, he finally wrestled the jacket from the small body. "Alright. Just a little more, Russell," he cheered himself on. Mentally, he noted that it was not a good sign for a person to talk to himself.
Russell's stormy-hued eyes drifted over the figure on the bed after removing Ed's black tank top which he promptly added to the growing pile of clothes on the chair, pausing at the leather pants the other was wearing. Should he? His heart raced, and his cheeks burned as his eyes continued to wander over Ed's muscled torso, taking in the scars both from battles and automail surgery.
He once again tugged at his collar as he turned to leave the room to get a bowl of water and a washcloth to help the short alchemist's fever. He'd leave Ed's pants on. He wasn't sure he could handle taking them off without dying of... some emotion. Russell shook his head and walked out the door into the hall.
Was it really hot in that room, or was it just him?
End Chapter One
AN: Please remember to review!