Kym Rooker is my own character. Goober is based off of my own male cat, Huxley Goober. All other characters belong to Fullmetal Alchemist.

A dark chuckle was all she could hear in the darken remains of a building. The smell of burning flesh and copper blood burned her sinuses as she struggled to focus on the menacing person before her. "Never in my life would I imagine to come across a half Ishvalan rat," the voice commented, a glimmer of military buttons coming into view as the man took a few steps closer. "Thought for a minute the soldier was going to follow orders, but to actually try and protect two Ishvalans? Man, it must be my lucky day."

She kept quiet as anger rose within her body, listening to his cold yet calm voice talking. She pulled at the rope restrains behind her and a pale hand smacked against her shoulder, shoving her closer to the crumbling wall. "Don't do it," he muttered coldly. "I can destroy you right here and right now if I wanted to."

"Fuck you," she murmured, her teeth clenched tightly together as his fingers dug into her shoulder.

He leaned forward, a glimmer of long black hair making it difficult for her to see his face. "What did you say?"

The young woman spat in his face, watching him flinch back. "I said 'fuck you'!" A fist made contact with her jaw and she groaned, tasting blood against her tongue, her split lip starting to instantly sting.

"A young woman like you shouldn't use such language," he darkly whispered, cupping her chin firmly and raising her head. "I should teach you how to use that mouth properly." His pale thumb traced the outline of her dark bottom lip, a sadistic grin on his lips.

A train whistled jostled Kym awake, thankfully cutting off the dark memories that clouded her mind. Beside her, Jean Havoc - her newly married husband and best friend - was taking his time reading over paperwork, a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. "We almost there?"

"Sounds like it," he responded, not looking up as he wrote something down on his paperwork. Sitting in the bag at his feet was his partner-in-crime, Goober, the cat he had discovered several months ago, cold and alone on a military weapon transport train Jean was in charge off. "You okay? Looked like something was disturbing you as you slept."

The Blizzard Alchemist shook her head as she ran her dark fingers through her hair, attempting to rid her mind of the cold voice. "I'm okay. The closer we get to Ishval, the more memories come back."

On orders from her Commanding Officer, General Major Olivier Armstrong, Kym and Jean were to observe how Roy Mustang's mission with rebuilding Ishval and mending tensions between Amestris and Ishval. Since it was work-related, their three year old son - Izaak - was left in the care of Jean's parents, yet Kym could not get Jean to leave Goober the cat behind.

Jean pulled the remains of the cigarette from his lips and snubbed it out with the heel of his black boots, pocketing it for the rubbish later. "Don't let those thoughts take over, 'kay? This is work and we are here to focus." He nodded his head in seriousness, yet Rooker didn't notice the seriousness in his tone. "Although I'm hoping this will go better than what Miles had told me."

Rooker raised a dark brow and asked, "What did Miles scare you with this time?"

"He said something along the line of you needing to be my bodyguard," he muttered, tapping another cigarette out its box. "He said all of this with a rather sadistic, serious look on his face."

Kym huffed softly and patted Jean's hand before linking their fingers together. "Miles is just scaring you. According the Roy, the Ishvalans are more relieved than anything about their land being rebuilt, reclaiming the lives they had lost and willing to work with Amestris." She watched him glance over, a blond brow rising. "Not everyone is happy, however. Some want nothing to do with Amestris and think Mustang's efforts are useless."

"Even with Major Miles and Scar adding in an extra hand to help?" He gave her fingers a squeeze, taking note of the uncertainty on her dark face.

She nodded her head and rested her head against his shoulder, watching as the familiar desert sand started coming into view. "Here we go."

"It'll be okay," he whispered, burying his pale nose into her dark hair. His eyes closed as he inhaled her familiar scent, glad he came along after all. "I'll protect you, you know."

"I know you will, just promise me you want make it too obvious?"

He chuckled softly. "I won't."

They sat together and enjoyed the closeness until the train's slowing speed disturbed them. They left the train in silence as they wove through the departing train crowds, keeping a low profile until they headed out of the train station and were greeted by a waiting vehicle. "Major Kym Rooker to Roy Mustang?" The military soldier asked, giving them both a salute.

"Yes, sir," she smiled, returning the salute. "Would it be possible to relax for a moment before our meeting?"

"I believe we do have extra time," he responded, glancing at his watch. "Yes, we do. A couple of hours, actually."

A sigh of relief beside her was exactly what she was thinking. "Good. That's exactly what we need."

*K*K*K*K*K*K*

The military dorms near the Ishvalan Military building were not much, but it was comfortable enough. As soon as the door was closed, Jean opened his bag and Goober jumped out, stretching his long orange and white legs out before scouting out the room. "I still can't believe you brought that cat along. I told you he would have been taken care of at the fort." Kym hung up her military jacket and slacks in the closet, shaking her head as Goober hopped onto the windowsill, his green eyes scanning the outdoor world.

"Even if I had left him behind, he would have found a way to sneak into my bags," Jean explained lightly, not really in the mood to listen. He wanted to lie down and rest his eyes for a while, his body and mind exhausted from the early morning and long day they had. He kicked off his boots and collapsed on the bed face-up, watching Rooker unpack. "Come lie down with me," he suggested, raising an arm to wave her over.

Glancing over, Kym gave him a warm smile and he returned it. "Remember this isn't a vacation, Jean. This is an assignment I have orders to do." She hung up his shirts carefully.

"I know," he replied softly, watching her carefully. He could tell she was exhausted from her movements. "Just come lie down. You can't focus on your meeting with Mustang when you're tired."

"I'm not tired," Rooker muttered, unpacking Jean's bags and noticing an unusual tin. "What is this?"

Havoc grinned, wiggling his brows. "You'll see later!" He got up from the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist, taking the tin from her hands. "You will certainly see later and you will be in for a surprise." He grinned secretively, cupping her face and caressing her cheek with callused fingers. "Come lie down with me."

"Just keep your hands to yourself, 'kay?" Rooker pulled from his arms and walked backwards toward the bed, hand pulling him toward her. "And you have to behave yourself, too."

Jean whined as they laid down together, hovering his upper body over hers. "We're going to be here for a week. You expect me to not indulge in my favorite addiction?"

Kym tilted her head slightly to the left, her brows disappearing into her bangs. "'Favorite addiction'? I thought smoking was your choice of addiction?"

"No," he answered, slipping a leg between hers and shifting to rest on his elbows. "You're my addiction. It was hard to explain that to my smokes, but I think they'll understand." She laughed loudly under him as Havoc settled down, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Hopefully they won't take it too hard."

The alchemist continued to laugh until tears started rolling down her dark cheeks, wiping them away with the back of her hand. "You're such a smart ass," she whispered, using several fingers to caress his face softly. Jean closed his eyes contently from the contact, his trademark smile still on his lips. "I'm not saying we can't have sex for the entire week, Jean. I'm just saying we can't now or I'll end up meeting with Mustang with wrinkled and ruffled clothes, messy hair and smelling of sex and tobacco."

"I do not give you that after sex smell!" Havoc's voice rose a few notches, looking rather surprised of her description. "Smelling of sex - yes, but not of tobacco."

"Keep telling yourself that, dear," she sighed, lazily resting her arm around his neck, forcing him to lie his head back down. "Either way, Roy will know we did the deed and he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face for the entire time we're here."

Jean sighed comfortably against her chest, hearing her heartbeat under his head. "Yeah, well...he and Riza procreated as well, you know." Kym snorted and combed her fingers through his hair. "On a serious note, I've never been in or around Ishval before. I was still in the academy when the war ended. I don't know...well," He paused for a moment, taking a hold of the hand in his hair and tracing the alchemy tattoos imprinted in her palm. "I don't want to seem ignorant if I give off that vibe."

"Don't worry around it. Before coming in, I was constant contact with Mustang and a lot of the soldiers posted here have never seen war or even their own blood. I'd be more worried about them and their ignorance." She calmly reminded him of the fight with Drachma a year ago, chaos that started thanks to Kimblee and his attempt to paint the ground with blood before the horrific Promise day. "You have finally seen war and your own blood, as have I. I'm not worried about you."

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Havoc's mind rattled off the commands Major General Armstrong had given them to accomplish while at the temporary Amestrian Military base in Ishval. Updates, detailed instructions of Mustang's future goals, detailed reports on the rebuilding of the country, detailed reports on how the residing Ishvalan civilians are being treated. It sounded like a huge load for Olivier to give Rooker and himself, but reports wasn't new. "Do we really have to give detailed reports?" He asked softly, disturbing Kym as she had drifted off for a moment. "I mean, she demanded extremely detailed reports."

"Yes, she did. I'll take care of the reports," she murmured, her dark fingers lightly caressing his spine. "Just so long as you can gather the information, I'll do the reports. It'll save you the migraine." Kym took a few deep, slow breaths as she attempted to stay awake. "I can sense you're tense, Jean."

Havoc sat up and hung his legs over the side of the bed, gripping the comforter. "I know you tell me not to worry, but I'm concerned for you. You're half Ishvalan around both Amestrian and Ishvalan people who hold a grudge against what happened those years ago."

"Jean, I was born among pure blooded Ishvalans. I went to school with them, too. An Ishvalan taught me Alchemy when I was ten, two years before the war started," she explained with an exhausted sigh. "Like I've said in the past, I have taken care of myself. I managed to be around all sorts of people before we met." Rooker rolled over and pulled at the hem of Jean's shirt. "Go take a shower and clear your head. You've got to stop worrying and being all protective and shit. I'm proud that you are protective of me and Izaak, but you need to keep a level head."

Pressing his thin lips together and exhaling sharply, Jean Havoc's eyes rested on her face. Her dark Ishvalan complexion glowed from the ceiling lights and her red eyes squinted when she warmly smiled at him. He couldn't love her anymore than he already did. "Okay," he responded softly, leaning down to kiss her softly before standing. "You get some rest, then."

"I'm trying, but some handsome blond gentleman keeps distracting me," Kym shot back with a grin, reaching a hand out to playfully smack Jean's ass as he headed toward the bathroom.

*K*K*K*K*K*K*

Stepping out of the hot shower and wrapping a towel around his waist, Jean Havoc braced his hands against the sink counter and stared at his blurred self in the mirror. "You can do this," he muttered, giving himself a pep-talk. "Anyone who gives Kym a nasty look, give them a look in return." Nodding to himself, Havoc walked out and paused to stop to smile warmly at Rooker. She was splayed out on the bed, fast asleep with hands tucked under the pillow. "So content," he whispered softly, moving to sit next to her. A quick glance at the clock told him they still had enough time.

Rooker sighed in her sleep and turned her head in the direction Jean was, the scent of his body soap unconsciously grabbing her attention. The smoker chuckled and reached a hand out to stroke her cheek lovingly, taking in how comfortable and relaxed she looked. Licking his lips slightly, he leaned down and kissed her softly against her warm, dark lips. Exhaling through his nostrils when she returned the kiss in her sleep, Havoc felt a hand slip out from under the pillow and slide up his arm to his shoulder, firmly holding him. "You waking up?" He murmured gently against her lips.

Kym opened her eyes slowly and hummed with a smile, slipping her second hand from under the pillow to drape over the back of his neck, playing with the short hairs at the base of his neck. "Sure feels like it," she answered softly, lazily kissing him back. "You do smell good, too."

"Glad you noticed. Better than smelling like earlier of train and sweat." He made a goofy face and Rooker laughed softly. "You're beautiful when you laugh," he whispered, tapping the tip of her nose with his index finger. "We do have some free time-"

"We're not having sex," she murmured with a sigh, draping her arm over her eyes. "When was the last time we had sex?"

Jean raised a brow as he stood, dropping the towel from around his waist to get dressed. "Two days ago." He paused mid-dressing and chuckled to himself. "That's a new record for us."

"Sure is," Kym gradually sat up and watched Jean get dressed with a playful smirk on her lips. "We'll have to fix that later." Havoc turned around has he started buckling up his belt, a blond brow raised curiously. "I said later, Jean."

Exhaling with a disappointed expression on his face, Havoc pulled on a shirt, using the longer length to cover the holster and sidearm he was carrying. "What are we going to do before the meeting then?"

"I'm hoping to get a view of how Ishval is doing. Last time I saw it, it was a desert of rubble, blood and chaos." She inhaled and exhaled slowly to calm her nerves, pocketing her alchemist watch to get past security. "May see some familiar faces who may or may not want to see me."

"Then don't do it," Jean commented. "Don't go out there and face the world you left-"

Kym shook her head, cutting him off. "I can't, Jean. There are things I need to put to rest and...I need to visit my parents and Mron."

Moving quietly through newly built homes and businesses, the pair was ignored by the majority of the settled Ishvalan population. The closer they got to what remained of the 'original' Ishval town, the colder the expressions got. Jean moved closer to Kym and kept a close eye on the slightest movement, almost wanting to wrap his arm around her waist protectively. Kym was dressed in her military blues and him in his military weapon transport uniform of beige shirt, brown Jacket and black work slacks with matching brown boots. The badge variation of the State Flag was stitched to the front of his jacket.

A small cluster of Ishaval civilians turned their heads and frowned, one particular male recognizing Rooker and motioned his head for the others to leave. "Well, well. Rooker. Coming to see what remains of the mess your military buddies did?"

"Stan," Kym stopped in her tracks and kept a good distance between them. "You know I had nothing to do with what happened during the extermination. I lost family and friends, just like you did." Keeping her defense up, Kym kept her tone calm and collected, using her military training and own knowledge to keep herself level-headed.

The dark skinned man tsked and snarled, yelling back. "Only to disappear with one of them! The one who killed our people!" He pulled a knife from his pocket and jabbed it at them threatening. Neither Kym nor Jean faltered where they stood. "You lost your family. You lost your lover and then you abandoned us for them." He motioned the knife toward Havoc and the pale man frowned at the motion. "You love 'em, fuck 'em, and then leave like a coward, huh?"

Rooker shook her head in disappointment. "Stan, you were a good kid, trying to help those who were injured. What happened to you?"

The man pressed his lips together and frowned even more. "It was you. I wanted to help you after Mron died and you turned me away, following that military man instead. What? I wasn't good enough for you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked, confusion over her face. "You wanted to give me sympathy sex and I didn't roll with that. I was moaning the death of the people I knew and you were too busy grabbing locations where you shouldn't have been grabbing." A slow chill started surround her and Jean took a few steps back, sensing Kym was getting pissed. "You are delusional, Stan and out of control. Put that knife down or I will have to take drastic measures."

The Ishvalan man took a step back, but raised the knife even higher. "I dare you, Ishvalan traitor. I fucking dare you." He braced himself and charged at the pair, anger raging in his red irises. Jean reached for his sidearm, but Kym moved faster. Once Stan was close enough, the state alchemist took a hold of the extended arm and flipped him over onto his back. The impact knocked the air out of the man's lungs and the knife flew from his hand. He cracked an eye open just enough to see a long spear-like weapon aimed at his throat. "Bitch," he hoarsely gasped.

"I told you and I'm saying it one more time, you are delusional and out of control. You need help, Stan, and I don't care where you get that help. Seek out the elders, go to the temple and pray to Ishvala...I don't care." The spear evaporated into the already dry air and she straightened up, retrieving the gloves from her pockets. "Make another advance toward myself or my companion and I will have you imprisoned. Got it?" She turned toward Havoc and motioned to the knife laying on the desert ground for him to retrieve.

"I need that knife back," he started, attempting to sit up and wincing in pain. "It's my only defense."

"You don't need to defend yourself. You need to help yourself," Jean explained, wrapping the sharp weapon in fabric and pocketing it in his jacket. As they headed away from the fallen man, Jean walked backwards to watch the man until they were out of his sight, jogging to catch up with Kym. "You kept your cool there," he commented with a smile, pulling a cigarette and lighter from his pockets. "You knew him growing up?"

Rooker nodded her head and raised her head to the cloudless sky, the burning sun reminding her of her younger years. "He was a good kid and always helping people. After the extermination, he would run from one tent to another, trying to help as many as he could. He was one of the few who wanted me to stay behind when Roy Mustang came to pick me up to give me a better chance of survival."

"And what he was talking about? About 'love 'em, fuck 'em'?" He asked curiously. Jean knew all of Kym's casual sexual encounters and who the men were, but the man's words bugged him.

Kym stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily. "He was talking about Mron. Mron was my first sexual experience and Stan was jealous. When Mron died and I buried him by myself, he kept making advances toward me. I didn't tell Mustang about Stan's advances when he was offering me a chance to have a real life, but Stan's persistence was part of why I wanted to get out of here." She raised her head and gazed toward Jean's concerned posture. "Anyway, let's keep going forward. I'm sure you want to meet my parents and the man who introduced me to the wonderful world of sex." She cracked a smile and Jean followed suite.

Havoc's smile turned into laughing until he wasn't able to laugh anymore. "Well, you have that right." His posture relaxed and he followed her as they entered the still standing remains of the extermination and they walked in silence. Subconsciously, Kym slowed and walked closer to Jean, her darker hand grazing against his paler one. "You going to be okay?"

"I'll be all right. I've walked through these many times." She muttered in a hushed tone, her face free of expression. "We buried the dead over here," she motioned with her left hand as they turned down an overgrown path, desert weeds and dried animal carcasses laid scattered the former walkway. Nearing a clearing, Kym flashed a smile and jogged up ahead of Havoc, her heart pounding as she neared the still standing markers of the post-extermination grave site. "They're still here." She cracked a tearful smile, wiping them away with the back of her hand.

Catching up with his wife, Jean watched her walk straight toward three specific grave markers, the thick three branches still stood up among the growing mound of desert sand. "You sure these are them?" He asked with concern.

Rooker nodded her head, the tearful smile still on her face. "I wouldn't forget these markers. I wanted Mron buried next to my parents." She placed a hand on the first barely visible mound. "My father...I knew the military wasn't going to take the body of their own back, after he tried to save my mother and myself. When it started, he came into the city with the other soldiers but slipped away to our home and tried to sneak us out." Kym sniffled a few times and wiped her face once more with her hand. "We were so close, Jean. So close to being free."

Collapsing to her knees, Kym folded herself over the grave and openly cried, grasping fistfuls of the dirt and sand in her fingers. "We...w-were so...c-close." She didn't move when she felt a hand on her back and slowly sat up, still grasping the sand and dirt in her hands. "My father...dad...would have liked you," she softly commented, turning her tearful face toward Havoc and he smiled sadly. He pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped her face dry with it carefully. Once she was calmer, Rooker inhaled a deep breath and proceeded to continue. "A soldier caught us - a Major - and forced my mother and I into a vacant building, trying to force my dad to kill us as if this man thought my own dad was trying to steal us away for his own use, you know? Since no one knew he had an Ishvalan family."

"And he couldn't do it?" Jean asked, keep an arm around her shoulder firmly, his thumb rubbing comforting circles against her arm.

She shook her head, replying, "He aimed his rifle at the Major and said he couldn't and wouldn't do it. The soldier only laughed and...," she went silent, her red eyes closing as it all came flooding back. "He...clapped his hands together and collapsed the building on us, only using his weapon to give my parents fatal shots."

Havoc's brows furrowed and then he inhaled a quick breath. "Wait, the soldier was an Alchemist?" Kym nodded her head 'yes'. "No way...Kimblee." The deceased Alchemist's name slipped through his lips in a whisper. "Oh, Kym."

Kym shook her head violently, trying to shake an unspoken image from her head. Her hands rose to press against her temples as the traumatizing images flashed before her eyes. "It's okay. I've learned to deal with it."

Jean was taken aback by her sudden behavior, quickly noticing there was something she wasn't mentioning and didn't want to. "What about Mron?" He asked instead, trying to change the subject.

Lowering her hands, Rooker stood up and walked around her husband to kneel before another grave, balling her hands on her lap. "He tried to save people and the section of the city he was in was under orders to be destroyed by another Alchemist - Mustang." She swallowed heavily and licked her dry lips. "Mron barely survived the attack and had inhaled the fumes from Roy's flames, severely damaging his lungs. Took a year for him to die." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke, pain and grief clouding her beautiful red eyes. "He went in my arms, coughing red foam as his lungs filled with his own blood." She raised her head to look at Jean's face, now silent tears falling down her face. "Ever watched someone die in your arms like that? The smell of death mixing in with the copper of the red foam?" He could only shake his head as she turned her attention to the grave between her father's and Mron's. "And then there's my mother."

"She did an amazing job raising you, love," Havoc mentioned, placing a comforting hand over her balled fist. "None of these people died in vain. They died protecting you and - for Mron - he died protecting others. They died protecting you because they loved you."

The Blizzard Alchemist could only nod her head in agreement, gradually standing up while holding Jean's hand. "I know, but they didn't need to go the way they did." Her face remained blank as she spoke. "I saw many people die in ways they shouldn't have. Heard and saw soldiers taking advantage of confused and terrified women before killing them once they were done using them. Watching soldiers shoot children in the arms of their parents or observing men throw themselves on top of their loved ones only to be slaughtered together with a bayonet."

The former soldier stood and wrapped his arms around the darker woman, attempting to calm her from bringing everything back. "I'm here for you, Kym. With Chief taking control of relations between Amestris and Ishval, it won't happen again." He tucked a brown strain of hair behind an ear, warmly smiling at her. "Believe me, he won't and if by chance it does, he and others will make sure it's stopped before it gets to the this point," he motioned to the haunting graves of thousands of men, women and children.

Kym was silent for a moment as she rested against Jean's body, watching him motion toward the graves. Exhaling softly, she pulled away and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a soft kiss. "Let's go back, okay?"

"Okay."

To be continued...