Authour's Note: As I didn't say this before in the first chapter, I would like to say this now. The word processor in which I am typing does not have autocorret, spell check, or grammar check, so I have to go through it all by hand. No body is perfect so I obviously miss a few details here and there.
Here is the second chapter of the story. I hope you all enjoy it well. Thank you for the reviews. I would like to note that I don't and won't normally update this fast. I have been writing this story for a while during my writers block on my other story. I will be updating a bit fast because I already wrote a few chapters and they are all ready to go. However, Once I run out of already written chapters this story will have to slow down on the updates because I will begin having to write them weekly or however often. But until then, Enjoy!
The Tales and Tails of Elric
CHAPTER 2
Exposed
Edward stared up at the giant building in disbelief. It was practically a mansion; not an Armstrong mansion, but close. He always expected the bastard to live somewhere more suiting to his needs, like a cardboard box. That way he could burn it in the winter to stay warm. But no, Sparky had to live in a mansion. Pillars framed the large double door entrance of the two story palace. It looked almost to be nearly two and a half apartment buildings wide. In their argument in the car, Edward didn't even realize that the colonel had taken a turn down towards the ritzy part of town where there were actual houses on the street; not just houses, but giant houses. Roy pulled out the keys to the house and opened the small iron barred gate and started to walk up the pathway to the house. The place was so big, he was almost scared to go near it, but he forced himself to follow. It was better being in an overly priced house than out on the street with those lunatics. After looking over his shoulder Edward stumbled up after him, eyes wide as he tried to take in everything. When they reached the steps, he looked down to notice that it was actual marble, kept clean by what seemed constant attendance.
"You got to be fucking kidding me," Edward whispered under his breath as the Colonel slid the key into the lock. He turned around and gave him one of his stupid cocky smirks as he opened the large oak door. The inside was almost as exciting as the outside. The sparkling white carpet flowed into an open living room with a baby grand piano in the front and small book cases lining the walls. A Grand staircase lead up from the main floor to the second while there was a large dining room to the left with a table Edward could have guessed to seat fifteen. He half expected there to be red carpet flowing and rose pedals adorning the place but it was a simple plain old mansion, sparkling clean with good care and taste in furniture. Edward shook his head trying to make sure this wasn't a trick, the pot sliding slightly on his head.
"Make sure you take your boots off, I don't want Benjamin to have to clean up your mud," the Colonel commented as he tossed the keys into a small dish beside the entrance and closed the door.
"What the hell Colonel? You have a butler?" Edward gasped as he slid his dirty feet out of the dinky boots. He didn't see what difference it made since they were both completely trashed anyhow. Whoever this Benjamin guy was, he was going to have a mess to clean up either way. He froze a bit as his foot hit the cold floor. He hated cold.
"He isn't my butler, he is a friend. He just so happens to be a professional butler as well. Works in one of the fine dining restaurants down the way. He helps me out here too," Roy told him like everyone already knew who this Benjamin Butler was. Edward glanced down at the shiny floors and then over to the absolute stainless carpet.
"He definitely helps you a lot more than you think," Edward muttered but the man shot him a nasty look. Edward felt ashamed as he subconsciously flinched at the look the man gave him. Roy must have noticed and gave a sigh and shuffled his way over to the dining room and then through a small set of swinging doors to what was undoubtedly the kitchen. Edward waited for him to return, slightly afraid to step all over the freakishly white house. It took a while but Roy came back with a fluffy yellow towel and tossed it to Edward.
"Third door on the left. Benjamin went up to lay out some extra clothes for you since those are practically rags. Take a shower, then we will see about bandaging your foot," Roy sighed tiredly.
"A-a shower?" Edward stuttered. It sounded like he almost forgot what a shower was but he didn't, unfortunately. Roy looked at him as if he was crazy and nodded his head.
"Yes Fullmetal. We don't want those cuts to get infected. Now go take a shower, and take that damn pot off of your head," he ordered. Edward took the towel cautiously and started to wipe his feet off with it so that he could walk through the house without disturbing it. Mustang looked too comfortable in his own home for Edward to handle. He still couldn't believe that the bastard lived in a place like this. What was this world coming to?
….
Edward carefully stared in the mirror and took a deep breath. He knew what that ridiculous pot on his head was hiding, but he still was afraid to take it off. He was grateful that the Colonel didn't do something stupid like order him to take it off at that very instant or something like that. It seemed the man still didn't suspect that anything was out of the ordinary. Edward winced a bit as he took the heavy pot off of his head. The thing weighed a ton and it hurt to have it on his head for so long, but there was no other way to cover up the abomination that he had turned into. Edward heard footsteps slowly approach the door and he quickly slammed the pot back over his head. There was a light knock on the door and Edward stumbled over to open it. He looked out of the crack in the door and spotted a middle aged man with naturally brown grey hair and a clean shaved face. He was wearing a simple white button down and some relaxed cargo pants. Edward was slightly frightened to not find the Colonel there but then remembered that it must have been Benjamin.
"Sir… Elric?" The man asked slightly confused. Edward opened the door only a few centimeters wider to catch the man staring awkwardly at the pot he had over his head.
"Yes?"
"I have your clothes for you, sir. The master is getting the first aid kit ready. I heard that you hurt yourself. Is everything alright?" the nice man asked, concerned for him. Edward could have puked when he called Mustang 'master', but he wasn't about to tell him that. He quickly shook his head and reached out for the soft pile of clothes in the man's hand. He turned around and quickly set them on the closed toilet seat near the shower.
"Alright then. When you are done, just head down to the kitchen," Benjamin told him. It looked like he was about to turn away but he stopped and then added, "Might I also advise you to leave the cooking ware?" Edward quickly nodded his head as the man left and slammed the door shut. He flipped the lock, much to his relief and quickly pulled the pot off of his head. What was he going to do? The golden ears slanted off to the side in dread as he tried to think of possible ways to either cover up what happened in the lab or to reverse it. The colonel expected a report, but he couldn't tell him that those freaks were performing chimera, super human experiments on him. They would ship him off to a lab the instant he sent the report in if Roy didn't already do it himself. There had to be a way to reverse it. Big brother, ed? He heard his subconscious whisper to him. He froze instantly as he looked back into the mirror, his golden fluffy ears pinned tightly down to his head. It was like with Nina. What if it can't be reversed? He couldn't save her from the tragedy that befell her, what if he couldn't save himself? Edward felt tears welt up in his eyes as he slowly sank to the floor, the complete impact hitting him as hard as a brick wall.
"Those bastards," he huffed under his shaky breath. All they wanted to do was create a new species of super human. It was obvious they were trying for immortality in the long run but heightened animal senses were enough to start with for them. They picked him up and now made him less than human, a freak in the outside world. He felt a soft, warm twitch from something around his abdomen. Edward slowly lifted his shirt and tossed it carelessly aside, letting the furry snake like appendage uncurl itself from his chest where he had kept it so carefully hidden. The golden fur on his tail was matted down from all of the rain that pounding it from his chase. It flicked carefully too and thro as he stared at it, like it had a mind of its own, but he knew it didn't. Edward shook his head to himself as he slowly stood up off of the ground, walking over and stared determingly at the water faucet. Maybe he could wash all of his worries away. Maybe when he was done, clean, and warm, he might not have these things anymore. It could have just been one long and terrifying dream.
….
Water sprayed his face with burning force. He tried to breath but the water was coming out, straight for him, pounding him down into the back wall. He held up his hands to try and break the stream from his face but it always seemed to move dodging his every attack. Edward was drowning, and it hurt. He didn't even know if he was crying from the pain at all because the water was whipping so fast across him he couldn't do a thing but let it beat him. He curled up defensively as to try and hide from the jetting stream, but there was nothing to hide behind. He wanted Alphonse, he wanted Winry, he wanted someone to turn the damn water off and save him. Suddenly, the pressure that was suffocating him, beating his ribcage to bits, was turned off, leaving a stream of dripping wet concrete in its wake. Edward shivered, his arms wrapped around himself to try and to find some warmth in the soaking wet world around him. He heard footsteps hammer across the floors, tearing his sensitive ears to shreds. He winced slightly as the man crouched down in front of him.
"So it used to be the Fullmetal Alchemist right? The boy who got Shou Tucker?" he asked to some unknown person behind him. The man must have nodded since he heard no response from anyone. Edward's body shivered causing his automail ports to ache and rattle. He felt the man's eyes burn back down on him as if studying him for another test, taking in his completely distorted sub human anatomy. He still felt the burning pain in his spine from where the strange animal tail had grown out of. His cranium felt like a cracked egg as the sensitive feline ears were practically glued onto his head, making the slightest pin drop like a loud thunderstorm. A hand reached down and softly patted his hammering head, and tussling his soaking golden locks in a mess.
"How ironic, him to just arrest the Sewing Life Alchemist and then get stitched up himself," the man commented as he continued to stroke Edward's hair like he was some strange house pet. Edward would have smacked him away, he could have cut the man's arm off, clawed out his eyes for even touching him at all. He hated being touched, he hated being stroked. But his body couldn't seem to move. He was frozen, shivering wet, as the man treated him like an animal. But you are an animal. A grim smile reached the scientist's face as he stood up and looked down at the pathetic abomination. "I don't think it will be any more trouble. Give him one more go."
…
Edward practically fell out of the shower gasping for air as he quickly as he got in, falling over the spiket and accidentally slamming his elbow into it, turning the water off. His foot stung from all of the cuts being washed clean forcefully from the water. As soon as he turned the water on he wished he hadn't. Edward stumbled to grab one of the towels off of the counter to dry himself off with. No, it wasn't just a dream. He couldn't seem to remember how much he hated water. He had endured the strenuous hours in the rain, the mud, the dirt simply out of survival. He had a choice, water or pain. Edward ran out in the storm that morning because he had to, but in reality, he was scared shitless that he might just drown in his own race for freedom. It was all too real, like a nightmare coming back to life. The water that was forced down upon him it was cold, it was powerful. He could almost feel it dripping down through his skin, the iciness of it all reaching his inner bones. It suffocated him. Edward shivered as he tried to rub himself dry, getting all of the water off of him. He needed to get it off. He hated the sound and the sight of the running water. After a few minutes, Edward was forced to stop seeing as his skin was rubbed red from the towel. The cloth didn't seem so soft anymore. It was covered in all of the dirt that the short five second shower didn't wipe off of him. He was still extremely dirty, but he didn't care. A little dirt never hurt anybody, but a shower did. The towel was tossed forcefully to the side as Edward quickly scrambled about trying to put some clothes on; dry warm clothes. Taking a shower used to be so natural, but now he couldn't even stand it. He hated the sound, the feel, the sight of water. Edward slipped the button down shirt on over his shoulders and pulled the pants over his legs. They were warm and comforting, almost like a blanket. He slowly stood up, making sure his automail foot was planted safely on the bath rug before he could fall and stared in the mirror. His ears were reluctantly still there, twitching to the freezing cold air around him. They were soaking wet just like his hair. The smooth sleek tail shivered behind him, almost tucked between his legs in fright. He couldn't take it. He couldn't even take a shower anymore like a human being. Edward reached down and picked it up. The warm touch of his flesh hand seemed to settle it down, loosening the stiff muscles in his joints. It curled slightly and he carefully wrapped it around his torso, the heat from his abdomen warming it even further. Edward buttoned his shirt down over top of it concealing it from sight. He looked up at his ears. How was he ever going to cover those up?
…
Roy hummed nervously to himself as he waited in the kitchen for Edward to finish his shower. The whistle from the water running hit his hears as he tapped his fingers across the table impatiently. Benjamin had turned in for the night after giving Edward his spare change of clothes. He was a little offset from how strange the kid was, and Roy didn't blame him. Fullmetal was acting jumpy, either snapping at everything he said, or dazing off into the distance as if trying to figure out some hard alchemic equation. It wasn't like Fullmetal to be so paranoid. His large house seemed to distract the kid long enough for him to act even slightly normal, but the instant Roy told him to take a bath, he went scampering off like a frightened cat. Roy thought that the kid would have calmed down a bit after they were away from those creeps at the restaurant for a while, but for some reason the he was still on edge. He looked guilty, as if he was a little kid hiding his wet sheets from his parents. Why wouldn't he give him the report? He hoped the kid didn't blame himself for what happened, whatever did happen? It looked like he was afraid of him as if scared he would send him back on another mission. He should never have sent him at all. Now the kid was hurting, probably mentally wounded from being kidnapped or something and it was his entire fault.
Roy shook his head to himself. He was probably still over reacting. The boy was alive right? There was no sense in babying him over such little things. Little? He was missing for six whole bloody months! A guilt trap in his stomach flipped down again and he felt like he was going to be sick. Roy placed his head in his hands as he took a few stiff breaths trying to calm himself down. He should have known how dangerous it could have been. It was just a stupid research mission, a simple inspection but as he went over the facts in his mind all notes pointed to trouble. A couple military officers from different branches have gone missing and Edward was just supposed to look into it for him a bit. All he had to do was inspect a simple bar for any suspicious signs. Edward was a soldier, no matter how defiant and young the kid might be, he was still a part of the military. It should have been obvious that sending a single person in alone to inspect a place where their own kind have gone missing from was a terrible idea.
That was it. Instead of just wasting the kid's afternoon on the stupid mission, Roy took half a year of that kid's life that he couldn't give back. Something happened to the boy, something so bad he doesn't want to talk about it. Fullmetal was placing up all of these barriers around him as if he was afraid to let anyone near him. Roy didn't know whether he should just break down the walls the kid set up and demand his report from him, or try to press the kid into opening them up for him. Whichever he did, he couldn't just let Edward suffer by himself. He has done enough of that through the years, having to fend for himself and his brother without any mother or father. Roy at least had Madam Christmas and the girls at the bar to help raise him. He never actually knew what it meant to be alone. Maybe that was why he invited him to his house, to give the boy company for once. No, it was a simple matter of protection. Roy wouldn't have let Edward crawl back into his dorm just to get captured again. Those men were after him. They were the ones who did this to him. Roy gritted his teeth as he tried to remember the clear ugly look in those bastards' faces. They were going to pay for what they did to his subordinate.
Roy heard a dull clanking sound as Fullmetal's unmistakable footsteps came down the steps. Only a few moments later the swiveling wood door to the kitchen was propped open and the boy entered carrying the large cooking pot in his hands. He looked a little off in the clothes that he gave him, probably because they weren't black or that gaudy red. He sat down in a chair opposite of him at the kitchen countertop and slowly massaged his head with a fluffy towel that was draped over it. Roy wondered why the boy kept his hair so long if it was just a hassle to take care of. He noticed that the kid was still quite dirty and his long hair was still slightly matted as if he didn't care about washing them at pot clanked on the counter top as Fullmetal carelessly tossed it to the side. They both flinched a bit at the loud noise that it made but Edward didn't seem to pay it anymore heed. Roy thought it slightly strange that the boy absolutely refused to take the stupid thing off of his head at one moment and the next he was tossing it across the room like it was nothing more than a cooking pot, which it was. Roy rolled his eyes as he grabbed the small medical kit that was in front of him and scooted around the table to a space only a few inches away from his subordinate. The kid seemed to stiffen and eye him warily only relaxing when he saw that he was only armed with a medical kit.
"Come on, foot up on the table," Roy commanded him. Edward rolled his eyes and propped his foot up on the counter top. Roy had already pulled out the cotton swabs and disinfectant before he realized that the kid jokingly placed his metal leg up instead of his flesh one. He shot the kid a glare and shoved the metal thing away from him. "Ha, ha, very funny. Now, put your right foot up here," Roy said sarcastically. Edward grumbled to himself as he lifted his injured foot up on top of the table. It had several long thin gashes on the toes and ankles probably from where Edward tripped or fell. It looked bruised and battered, but thankfully nothing that needed anything more than a couple bandaids. Roy quietly thanked the lord at that since he only knew how to sear wounds shut with fire in cases of extreme emergency.
"I thought putting feet up on the table was bad manners," Edward smirked lightly to him as he poured some peroxide onto a cotton swab and started to wipe down the kid's wounds with it. He let out a silent hiss in pain as the solutions started to sting but nothing more came from him. Silence filled the house as the clock started to tick away towards twelve. Roy finished cleaning the boy's foot up and pulled out the gauze wrap and the ace bandage. Edward shifted around uncomfortable as he continued to dry his hair with the towel. It was obvious something was bothering him, but he didn't know what. It was like the boy was begging for a distraction as if to rip his mind from something. Roy waited patiently for the kid to do anything and that answer soon came in the form of a conversation.
"Colonel, I have one question. How the hell can you afford this kind of house under a military pay? I mean, I don't think the Fuhrer could even manage a house like this," Edward said quietly as he watched with interested eyes as he began to wrap his foot. He writhed around a bit, something still obviously bother him but the conversation seemed to be helping.
"Fullmetal, I think that is a bit of an overstatement," Roy chuckled lightly, mostly to himself. If he was going to break down the barriers, he might as well keep a light conversation with the kid and make him less queasy. It still scared him though that the strong kid he saw at the office a few months a go, was acting like a squirming, frightened cat in his kitchen. "I got this house with my inheritance from my parents. Madam Christmas gives me some money sometimes from the girls at the bar but that's only for some pocket money. She thinks it's her duty to make sure I don't fall to the dumps."
"I thought that was Hawkeyes job," Edward taunted. Roy gave him a threatening glare as he tied off the gauze on the kid's foot. "Why does she do that? I mean, no offense, but you're not really the first person I'd go to if I was giving away a butt ton of money." Roy grabbed the ace bandage and started to stiffly wrap the kid's foot up. He didn't really like talking about his family like it was some afternoon coffee hour, but the kid was curious. Roy already knew the basis of Edward's drastic life story, not in great detail, but enough. The kid also lived by the rule of equivalent exchange, though it was naive, it was fair right? He let out a sigh as he pinned the thing in place and shoved all of the equipment back into the medical kit.
"She's my foster mother," Roy muttered. The kid's eyes grew wide in surprise as a thick smile spread across his face, completely forgetting about the problems that were wracking his mind earlier. However, Roy knew that the boy just had a new weapon against him.
"No, way," he started. Roy shot him a warning glare but the kid didn't bay it any attention.
"Don't start."
"You, the great Flame Colonel-"
"Fullmetal-"
"Was raised by hookers?" Edward asked. Roy grumpily shoved the kid's foot off of the table. Edward started laughing as if he heard the world's funniest joke, he might as well have. "I can't believe it! What? I wasn't expecting that! I can't believe- this is crazy. I always thought you were a bum, but you turn out to be this stinking rich bastard with a butler, who was raise by women of the night!"
"Nice to know you think so highly of me," Roy growled at him. Edward snorted, obviously letting his imagination drag him along with the story. After a few moments of listening to Edward try to contain himself, Roy sighed heavily under his breath. This was why he didn't tell anyone. If Havoc got ear of this, he wouldn't hear the end of it. "Well, you got your question. Let me ask mine," he huffed hping to change the subject. "Is this really how well you take a shower?"
Edward suddenly fell silent, his smile wiping off imediately from his face. Roy stared at his subordinate a little unsettled by how fast the kid changed demeanors. What happened to him? Edward shifted around uncomfortably in his chair. He was slightly inching away from him like what he said could kill. Roy didn't even know what was the matter. The boy was probably still riled up from the events of that evening. Roy mentally slapped himself. He shoud have known that asking questions would have made the boy defensive, but what was so bad about what he said? He thought that he was avoiding the knew the kid didn't want to talk about anything related to the events that evening. In fact, that was what he was trying to avoid in the first place. The room was sent in utter silence as Roy cursed himself out with all his might silently. He was terrible at this stuff. He just wanted to help the kid out and lift the guilt off his shoulders from sending him into that mission in the first place. Now he felt like he was making it worse. The barriers were rapidly rebuilding themselves. Roy noticed that the kid pulled the towel tighter around his head as he trying to protect himself from something. What was with the kid and covering his head? It was like he was an animal hiding a wound from a predator. The kid squirmed in his seat uncomfortably.
"Everything alright?" Roy asked distantly under his breath. It was almost like he was asking that to everyone in the room, but only Edward sat there. Edward gave him a soft, halfhearted smile as if to assure him it was okay, but it was so distant Roy could barely see it. Roy sighed to himself as he stood up from his chair and picked up the medical kit.
"Alright shrimp, is there anything else that I need to know about before I put this away?" Roy said quickly changing the subject and giving the kit a good tap with his hand. Edward looked up and shook his head silently, with drawing even farther into his blanket. He didn't even yell at him for calling him short. Something was obviously up. Why was the boy covering his head like that? He knew the kid was prideful and didn't like to show himself in pain. Maybe he hit his head one too many times. Roy knew he was probably over reacting, but if the kid really did have something wrong with him, Roy would be stupid for letting it go and probably hurting the boy more. He slowly sat back down in the chair and stared at his shivering subordinate. He never noticed how cold he looked before.
"Fullmetal, let me look at your head," Roy ordered softly. Edward shook his head again and tightened his hold on the towel.
"No."
"You could have a serious concussion, Edward. I saw how many times you fell in the bar alone, plus the fact that you are sensitive to loud noises. Now let me see your head."
"I am not sensiti-"
CLAP! Edward flinched and covered his head in pain as Roy clapped his hands loudly. He felt bad for it, but he needed to make sure. The boy was doubled over in his chair clutching his head as the concussion obviously was wracking his brain. Roy waited for the boy to recover before he asked him one more time. Yet the boy still persisted.
"Colonel, I will just sleep it off-"
"You know that is even worse for a concussion, Fullmetal. Now. Give. Me. That. Towel. Or else I am going to rip it from your head myself," Roy demanded the kid. The boys eyes widened in fright as he realized Roy's determination to make sure his subordinate was alright. Roy saw his muscles stiffen as if he was going to bolt and he quickly reached his and out as the boy was racing to stand up. As Edward shot away from the kitchen counter, Roy snatched the towel from the kid's head and yanked it off. Edward, tumbled to the floor, frightened from the sudden change in elements and his arms flew over his head to try and do what the towel was doing before hand, cover something up. Roy was able to catch a small glimpse of a couple strange lumps protruding from his subordinate's head. They definitely weren't goose eggs. Everyone and everything in the room seemed to freeze. Roy stared at his subordinate, eyes wide as he tried to process everything. Edward was crouching on the ground with his head covered like he was trying to protect himself from a tornado. However, Roy was going to unleash an earthquake.
….
Edward's ears still rang from the loud clap that Mustang performed right next to him. He still wasn't used to this whole sensitive hearing and his ears seemed to like to amplify everything he did. He could hear his heart thump in his chest so loud it felt like the bass drum in a marching band. He could hear his automail clacking around as he trembled a bit in fear on the cold floor. Worse of all, he could hear the silence that spread through the room, only separated by their raspy breaths. Edward closed his eyes tight as if maybe the Colonel didn't see anything. Maybe if he acted like he wasn't there, the Colonel wouldn't see him and his freakish ears. His arms stayed clamped down around his head even as he heard the loud and thunderous footsteps of the Colonel slink over him. Edward didn't want to move.
"F-Fullmetal…. What was that?" Roy asked him. He could feel the fear, the shock, the guilt, flutter off of him even though his voice was trying to act professional. Edward clamped his hands tighter to his head, hurting his ears as they were smashed down into his skull. He didn't move. He refused to.
"Edward. Stand up," the man ordered him. Edward shook his head pitifully. He wouldn't let the man look at him. He knew he was acting childish, but what was one to do in a situation like this? Edward could just see the floating image of white men in lab coats glaring down at him. If anyone found out, there was nothing stopping him from going back there. He couldn't let anyone see him so pathetic. The Colonel bent down knelt down next to him.
"Edward, I command you to stand up," he said strictly, yet his voice quivered slightly. Edward shook his head again.
"What are you going to do? Court martial me?" he muttered pitifully into the floor. He felt a hand grab him on his shoulder. It wasn't rough, but it definitely was something that Edward couldn't handle. He shook trying to make the man let go. He hated being touched. He hated being handled. That was all the men in the lab did and he couldn't stand it. When the man's grip refused to falter, Edward felt the pressure nearly choke him. Why couldn't the man leave him alone? All he wanted to do was go back to his dorm. He wanted to get away from all of this. He wanted to be safe. He wanted Alphonse. Edward desperately squirmed around and sent a kick into his commanding officer's thigh. The man let out a groan and his hand slipped a bit allowing him enough time to scurry up to his feet and high tail it to the door. He needed to get out of there. He shoved his way through the kitchen door and started towards the entrance, but something shoved him from behind forcing him to the ground in a tackle. The man was on top of him, trying to pin him down. Edward couldn't stand it. He tried to claw his way out from underneath the man. His breaths came short and staggering as he knew he lost the battle. His ears folded down against his head in fear as he saw the large black eyes of his commanding officer stare down at him with a blank expression. Was he shocked? Was he disgusted? Was he terrified? Edward couldn't tell, all he could tell was that he suffocating himself, hyperventilating in a small self-inflicted panic attack. Everything started to swirl a bit as Edward's breaths came in deep and dramatic. Roy seemed to be snapped out of his trance at the sound of his subordinate suffocating and quickly stood up letting Edward take the personal space he so desperately needed. Edward pitifully pushed himself a few feet away from the man as if he was going to tackle him again. He was pathetic, but he couldn't help it. Roy simply stood there watching him pitifully fight off himself, gradually calming his erratic breathing.
"Edward-"
"No," he choked sending the man a desperate glare but the man didn't want to listen to him.
"Edward, please tell me there isn't a tail to match," Roy muttered. Edward winced at how desperate the man sounded. He looked down pitifully to the ground, not ready to admit what happened in those labs. If he did, the colonel might just send him back. Roy seemed to sway a bit and soon he was brought down to his knees by no other force but gravity. The loud thump that came from the floors rattled his ears and made him wince slightly as they twitched to throw the heavy sound away. He heard a low growl rise in the Colonel's throat. It was almost animalistic, but Edward didn't have much of a say in that part.
"Fullmetal….. what happened?" Roy's cold voice came out. He sounded cold, blood thirsty, but Edward couldn't tell for whom.
"N-no. Colonel, I don't want to go back," Edward stumbled over himself as he tried to bring himself to his feet. He was trembling so much that the world seemed to be tipping around him. He could just barely keep his balance. Roy noticed that he was moving and suddenly stood up after him, trying to get on the same level. Edward took a step backwards away from the man, all muscles in his being flexing. "Don't send me back there."
"Fullmetal," Roy's low, deep voice growled. He looked angry as if he could rip some one's head off. If he had his gloves Edward was sure that he would snap his finger at something, probably him. "I don't know how poorly you think of me, but how could you even think that I would send you back to those bastards? Now give me your report!" Edward froze as he stared back at his commanding officer. The man's dark eyes burned with absolute fury, anger, fear. He was angry, not at him, but at what happened to him. Edward looked away. He should have known that that man wouldn't have been so cruel as to send him back, but he just didn't know what to do. Something warm and soft flicked around his chest and he looked down at the long shirt that covered his torso. He sighed, upsettedly to himself as he gingerly lifted it up. His tail uncurled itself from his chest and fell down, swinging gently behind him. He felt Roy's eyes widen in shock, but the man wouldn't say anything. Edward hated the silence. He hated how the man stared at him like a freak. But you are a freak. Edward shook his head and stared down at the floor pathetically. His body let out a sad shiver and his tail gave a hard flick.
"I-It was always a trap," Edward muttered.
…..
