A/N: Hey, everyone. I'm back! My internet probably won't be working for very long, but I'm going to try my hardest to fix the problem.
In the meantime, I've decided to write this little tidbit, though I have no idea where I'm going with this story. At all. Whatsoever.
I hope you enjoy it. It's not very action-y, but hey, it's 2:30 in the morning. What do you want from me? D: I feel like death; leave me alone. :[
It was the dead of night, and Central seemed to be fast asleep, all except for Brigadier General Roy Mustang, who was still reading over the details of an assignment. The words he read slipped through his mind without leaving a trace of any significant meaning. With an exasperated sigh, he leaned back on his black leather couch and ran a hand through his hair, leaving the midnight locks sticking up at very odd angles.
"Damn you, Full Metal," he whispered, closing the manila folder with the flick of a gloveless finger.
Yes, his spitfire of a subordinate had written quite the report, glossing over the…finer details of the assignment with statements such as "only two buildings were blown up in the process". Only two buildings. Only. Roy wasn't sure how much more of these mishaps the military's financing account could take.
If the Fuhrer was notified…Roy didn't want to think about the possible consequences. He already had enough to worry about without adding that to his list. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, trying to somehow control the incessant pounding in his head. It was as if his head was throbbing to the constant beat of a drum; no - scratch that. It was as if someone was using his head as a drum.
Across his living room, the phone rang, breaking the buzzing silence around him. An image of his brain rattling around in his head to the telephone's rings flashed through his mind as he rose to his feet, crossing the room in three strides. He snatched the phone off of its cradle and barked into it.
"Roy Mustang speaking, and this better be urgent," he said, listening to the crackling connection. An all-too-familiar voice filled his ears as the other person spoke up.
"Hey, Roy, it's me," Maes Hughes replied. Roy pulled his pocket watch out of his blue, military-issued pants and flipped it open with his thumb. It was eleven o'clock - an hour before midnight.
"Maes," Roy's eyebrow twitched as he pocketed his watch, desperately trying to keep a leash on his anger, "do you know what time it is?"
Silence for a heartbeat, and then a quiet apology.
"Sorry, Roy, but we've got a bit of a situation on our hands. You might want to come down to Headquarters," the voice he used was serious, which was never good news when it came to Hughes. It meant that something had gone very wrong.
"What kind of situation?" Roy pressed for details, already knowing that he wouldn't be able to get much out of his friend.
"You'll see when you get down here. Be ready when Jean comes. He should be at your place within ten minutes. Bring your gloves."
The line went dead. Returning the phone to its place on the cradle, Roy cursed quietly and grabbed his gloves off of the coffee table in front of the couch. He pulled them on quickly and walked into the foyer to get his military coat. Pulling the coat on over his white-collared work shirt, he scanned the small room for his boots.
He stepped into his shoes, securing them as quickly as possible. His mind was already reeling with possibilities, many of them having to do with Ed and his recently restored younger brother, Al. Worry gnawed at his insides, worming its way into his stomach and coiling like a snake as he shut off all the lights and seized his house key off of the kitchen counter. He had a bad feeling about what was to come.
Headlights flashed in his kitchen window, and that was all the signal Roy needed. He made a dash for the front door, slamming and locking it behind him as he rushed to the honking car. He fumbled for the handle and clambered, not into the backseat, but into the front seat of the car. He plopped down beside Havoc and they were off.
Tires squealed miserably as they peeled out of the narrow driveway and sped down the street. Roy glanced at Havoc; his subordinate looked visibly shaken. Pale fingers trembled as they held a lit cigarette, blue eyes nervously watching the road as they drove the dark street.
"What's wrong, Lieutenant?" Mustang asked, trying to get an answer or some information out of his subordinate.
"There's been…It's…" Havoc gulped, almost missing the turn he needed to take. He jerked the steering wheel to the right and slowed down, taking deep breaths.
"I need to know the situation, so that when I get there, I know what I need to do," Roy tried to soften his tone, but anxiety had gripped his vocal chords, strangling his deep voice with its cold fingers.
Havoc took another deep, shaky breath. "Somebody set fire to the Elric brothers' dorm."
They sat in silence for a short moment before Mustang gave his orders.
"Lieutenant," he said quietly, his voice shaking with unleashed fury, "I don't give a damn about the speed limits or any damned animal crossing the road. I want you to get us there in less than two minutes. Floor it."
Indeed, less than two minutes later, they found themselves outside the burning remains of the Elric brothers' military dorm. Orange flames licked the midnight-black sky, and smoke wafted through the air, up to the shimmering stars.
A group of people already stood outside, shivering in the unforgiving cold of the night. Ed and Al, blond hair shining brightly amongst the gloom, stood around Hughes, Hawkeye, Fuery, Breda, and Falman. The brothers stood side-by-side, and the similarity was almost apparent, at least as far as hair and faces went.
As for their posture, the way they carried themselves, that was radically different. Alphonse stood in his sky-blue pajamas, the long sleeves draping over his hands as he hugged himself around the middle, shivering slightly. Edward, however, stood with his hip cocked to one side, arms crossed, and face pinched with fury. All he wore was a black tank top and blue boxers. His frame trembled either with barely contained anger or coldness; Roy couldn't tell which, though it was probably a deadly combination of both.
As soon as the car stopped, Roy flew out of it, approaching the house ablaze. Seizing concentration, despite the chill of the night, he snapped his fingers, but not to set anything aflame. Instead, he focused his energy on manipulating the oxygen level of the air around the house. He brought the oxygen level down as low as possible without making his and everyone else's breathing terribly labored.
The flames died down a bit and gradually transformed into something more domestic and manageable. His body trembled with effort as he continued to manipulate the gases in the atmosphere. Without oxygen, the fire would die, and soon.
Finally, the flames were nothing more than glowing embers, and soon, not even that. All that remained of the Elric brothers' dorm was blackened, smoking remains of possessions, some twisted scrap metal, and black ash.
Roy dropped his outstretched arm and cuffed at the sweat that had formed across his brow and at his hairline. Hughes walked up to him and slung an arm around his shoulders, kindly lending support as they approached the rest of the group. Havoc had already joined them, and Riza had fetched a blanket for Edward, who was sharing the blue comforter with his brother.
"How did this happen?" Mustang demanded as soon as he stood directly in front of the eldest Elric. Ed pinned him with a look of the purest annoyance as he began to explain.
"How am I supposed to know? I woke up and my room was on fire. I got Al up and we bolted. Whoever did it was probably long gone before we even got out," he said, glancing sideways at his brother, who remained silent.
Roy turned to Hughes. "You have no idea who it could have been?"
"We don't have any clues so far," Hughes sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His face was pale in the moonlight, and behind his spectacles, his green eyes shone with fierce determination. "We'll catch whoever it was and put him behind bars after we question him."
Roy's nod was almost nonexistent as he tried to put together a theory in his head, but he found that he couldn't. Why would someone go out of their way to harm the Elric brothers? Ed may have pissed a lot of people off, but no one could be that bitter towards him that they would try to blow up his residence, could they?
"I've already tried to think of who it could be, but I've got nothin', Mustang," Ed spoke up in an edged voice.
"You've no idea? At all?" Roy's tone was disbelieving, but he knew that Ed was speaking the truth.
"Someone who wants me dead. That's the only lead I've got," Ed's voice was tinged with dark humor, but it was gone before he spoke again. "Got my pocket watch though."
He held up the glimmering pocket watch in his flesh hand, clutching the blanket tightly in his automail hand. Roy sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Alright. Someone's going to need to check the guardhouses outside the front and back gates and see who was keeping watch. If they noticed anything suspicious, they should be able to tell us. That would help our investigation," Mustang rolled the orders off of the tip of his tongue, mind already a hive of activity, buzzing with new ideas and theories.
"My men have got it covered," Hughes said firmly. Of course; only Intelligence would have an investigation going full-blast not even ten minutes after something happened. Roy nodded and looked over at Havoc, who was helping Breda, Falman, and Fuery go through the mess that was the remains of Ed and Al's dorm room. Havoc caught Roy's gaze and shrugged, cigarette dangling precariously from his lips.
"Haven't found anything salvageable yet, sir," the blond smoker lifted up a blackened object and flinched when it broke in half, ashes falling to the ground.
"Keep looking," Roy ordered, his headache already returning to its steady throbbing beat.
"Why? There's nothing important in there," Ed grumbled.
"You can never be sure, Full Metal," was Roy's answer. The blond subordinate rolled his eyes and huddled closer to his shivering brother. Seeing Alphonse like that made something in Roy's chest soften a fraction.
"Are you two alright?" he asked in a low voice. Hawkeye and Hughes promptly started searching through the rubble and debris, and Roy was grateful for their discretion.
Ed looked as if he was biting down a smartass comment as he nodded his head minutely.
"I just hope we catch the bastard that did this," he snarled threateningly, golden eyes ablaze with fury. Al's eyes just seemed glazed over as he, too, nodded. Roy wanted to ask about the condition of the youngest Elric, but he felt that it wasn't his place to do such, so he didn't. If Ed hadn't noticed anything wrong, then Al was probably fine, perhaps shocked from the sudden disaster, but fine in the long run. Al was Ed's main concern; he always had been.
The eldest brother would have noticed if something was wrong, wouldn't he? Roy shook off the nagging concern and pinched the bridge of his nose with gloved fingers. He needed to sort out his main priorities. The investigation would continue for as long as necessary, but the biting cold of the night was seeping in through Roy's thick blue military coat; he knew that the Elric brothers were much worse off, even with their blanket. Before he could even so much as draw the breath to voice this thought, Maes had beaten him to it.
"You two need a place to stay for the night," said Hughes, looking at the brothers. He then turned to face Roy, raising an eyebrow as he did so.
"Well, count Lieutenant Havoc, Fuery, and Breda out. Military dorms," Mustang said, sighing as he looked at Hawkeye and Hughes.
"I would, sir, but I haven't got any more room with Black Hayate at my house," said Riza, looking apologetic and guilty.
"I have a couch that pulls out into a bed in the living room, but it only fits one," Maes offered, obviously trying his best to work out a plan.
"Well, that covers one person. I have a spare bedroom in my house. The bed only fits one but I suppose it sleeps well enough," Roy said, looking from one Elric brother to the other, then back at Hughes.
The bespectacled man nodded. "Actually, Roy, I think it's best if Ed spends the night at your place. Whoever did this obviously has a strong dislike for Ed, and if he knows him well enough to hate him, then he probably knows him well enough to know that your house is the last place anyone would expect to find him."
As factual as the statement had been, Roy was a bit offended. All the same, he nodded. He hated to separate the brothers, but it would be easier this way. With only Ed at his house, he wouldn't have to worry about Alphonse; he could let Hughes take care of the younger Elric. Roy knew that he would need to focus all of his energy and attention on keeping Ed from going ballistic, and, by the look on Full Metal's face, that task wasn't going to be an easy one.