Welcome back to 'Fallen Angel's Fire'! Enjoy the last chapter? I really hope you did but enough of my ranting. The poll's still wide open even as our story goes on with the latest installment. Instead of wasting any more time, I'll just get right to it: I don't own FMA in any shape or form, even though I'm dying for a Roy plushie. Enjoy!!
"Iii" speech
Iii thought
Chapter 2: Hangovers & Strangers
He expected to still be lying on hard concrete and black tar, the light of a street lamp filling his vision as he woke up. What he didn't expect was to be lying in his own bed, looking up at his own apartment ceiling as if he'd come home without encountering anything or anyone unusual. The first thing Roy Mustang did was freeze. Eyes of onyx cautiously looked left, and then right. He recognized his own bedroom when he saw it, especially since one of the drawers on his bureau still had an old tie hanging off of one of the handles. An old tie he'd been meaning to toss out. From the obviously bright light coming from the window through both the blinds and the curtains, Roy knew it to be Saturday morning.
Reassured no one was in the room with him, Roy decided to try and sit up only to instantly regret it. His ribs felt like they'd been pummeled with a hammer. Wait… my ribs?! Ignoring the stabbing pain, Roy sat up to find that both of his knuckles were wrapped, his left forearm was bandaged, and that his shirt was gone. Officially confused by the changes he never made himself, getting up and looking around became the first priority. This task in itself didn't prove as easy as he'd hoped.
After a few minutes of struggling with the pain in his ribs and the pain in his head, Roy finally made it to his bedroom door, finding that his shirt, jacket and gun holster had been placed on the chair that went to his small desk. Not really sure what to expect to be waiting beyond the wooden barrier that was his bedroom door, he didn't hesitate to grab his weapon before quietly easing the door open. The quiet of the place was a bit eerie, the only normal sounds coming from the window as cars and birds made their presences known to his bleary mind. Not to mention his ringing ears.
By now the slight buzz from his weekly session of 'single drunk man' was acting like a bee trapped in his head, a tiny thing he ignored as he peeked into the shadowy hallway in search of any possibly unwanted guests. Finding no one, Roy slowly pushed the door open, allowing the light from his bedroom window fill the dark space. Once into the hall and against the wall, he just as slowly closed it, keeping his gun aimed at the floor and away from his feet in case of a misfire. The last thing he wanted to do was commit murder of the second degree. Much less lose a toe or two.
The silence stretched, leaving Roy to cling to the wall, stepping as quietly as his wood floor and day old socks would allow. Apparently his mystery helper was nice enough to take his shoes off for him before somehow getting home after a strange night of monster fighting. It was a clinking noise, metal on plastic, which broke the unusual silence of the apartment, putting Roy on edge. Using both hands to grip the gun now, he used one of his fingers to switch off the safety as he used as much speed and stealth to reach the end of the hallway. Between the sounds of plastic scrapping against metal came the sound and scent of bacon and eggs. A tempting set of sensations he chose to ignore in favor of seeing just exactly who was moving around his home without his consent. Easing into the living room, he picked up speed to plant himself against the wall again just outside the kitchen door.
Almost immediately he heard footsteps, fairly heavy shoes calmly walking on wood now and again. Completely oblivious to the impending threat that Roy he knew he possessed, hoping to get a glimpse of the would-be intruder. Dark clothes, slim but fairly muscular build and golden blonde hair met his weary eyes, making him blink. As the blonde turned around in search of something, Roy barely managed to get back behind the safety of the wall.
I don't get it! Why would that kid bring me home after something like that? Hell, how did he know where I lived?! Is he just like that thing from last night? No. That thing wasn't even close to human but that kid…. There's something about that arm of his. I have to know. I need to know what the hell's going on! Steeling himself against any more unwanted emotions and thoughts, Roy waited a moment or two to calm himself, and then stepped into the kitchen with his gun pointed and ready to fire.
--With Ed—
God dammit all! My shoulder's killing me! Just how hard did that stupid demon hit me anyway? Ed thought as he walked around the cop's kitchen, making himself breakfast after sleeping on the guy's couch all night. The stiffness in his shoulders was mostly from sleeping in the wrong position, as well as getting the shit beat out of him by a level 3 demon.
Poking the bacon strips a little with a spatula he'd managed to locate in the kitchen's many drawers, Ed cursed under his breath at the twinge of pain now coming from his lower back. Up until now it'd just been his shoulders and arms. The fact that it was now coming from his back was really saying something about the fight. Holding back violent curses to avoid waking the cop too early, Ed could only endure the pain in favor of eating the first good meal in hours. Maybe I should find some ice when I'm done eating.
Leaving the search for ice for later, he could only ponder in as to why a demon would go after such a random target. Why go after someone who has no previous contact with the supernatural when there are plenty of other people to choose from? He could've easily started a fight with one of the clans downtown. So why here? Was he some new guy that decided to go hunting? Deciding it was best to leave such thoughts for later, Ed could only let the previous night's events come flooding back.
--The Night Before—
Letting the stranger fight the demon by himself was one thing, but watching him get tossed aside then left fend for himself was something completely different. It was apparent that it wasn't very smart, just strong enough to cause some serious damage to get what it wanted. And it was very obvious that he was like none of the other demons Ed had encountered before. It was strong, fast, and not to mention extremely ugly. Which meant it wasn't too concerned about being caught. Or getting killed.
As proven when Ed had finally gotten past its burly arms to get it in the stomach before pulling back and striking in-between its ribs. He had to lean back a little to avoid being spit on when it started choking on its own blood. But he could feel the hot liquid drip onto his hand, quickly going cold, one of its hands meant to crush his neck falling limp to dangle before he finally let the thing's corpse fall to the ground. Upon meeting the manmade earth did the creature begin to shrink and curl into itself, breaking apart enough to become nothing more than sand.
I can easily let that blow away. But I'll need to dump the clothes somewhere after I clean up. Speaking of clean up…. Turning around, he saw the drunken man lying on the ground, unmoving but still very much alive. He hasn't thrown up yet so it's safe to say he's not a complete alcoholic. Just who the hell is this guy anyhow?
Knowing no one would be coming out of nowhere, Ed didn't hesitate in walking up to the unconscious man and began searching his pockets. After a few minutes of searching he found the man's wallet, and his shield. Staring down at the silver badge that was one with the man's wallet, Ed scowled mainly at himself for not realizing just in as to why the man had been so defensive. Damn. He really is a cop! What the fuck should I do now? I know for a fact that I can't just leave him here! No choice then….
Even if no one was around, Ed looking anyway in case of a random car or late night pedestrian as he used what was left of his strength to lift the man off of the cold, hard ground. He almost regretted it when he smelled the beer on the other man's breath waft right into his face. Ignoring the unsavory scent that was now assaulting his keen sense of smell, Ed concentrated on figuring out where the address in the wallet just so happened to be and started walking.
--The Present—
He shut the stovetop off and removed the pan from the burner to cool, the greasy liquid left behind already beginning to quiet down. Ed didn't have to look at a clock to know it was close to 9 o'clock in the morning. Even after being there for several hours, Ed couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about how… empty the apartment appeared when he managed to get them there the night before. The sound of a car speeding by came and went, leaving him in the silence. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking of the man down the hall, oblivious to everything. His name… his name is Detective Roy Mustang of the NYC 82nd precinct. Was he coming home from the bar alone? It's pretty obvious from the looks of this place that he lives alone. There didn't seem to be any other people there, not to mention he didn't try to tell me about anyone who could've been with him last night. Probably the result of a dimension-warping spell or something. I wonder if he'll be okay after all this. I can only hope now that he's still asleep. Who knows what he'll do if he finds out I'm still here.
Not a moment too soon did Ed think along these lines did he hear the oddly loud click of a gun's hammer being pulled back, a deep, almost silky voice sounding off from behind him. The very essence of this truly adult voice coming from behind him, though tired but unusually commanding and undeniable authority, made Ed's spine shiver for a reason he couldn't explain. The man he knew to be called Roy Mustang didn't waste any time. "Turn around. Slowly."
Having dealt with people and their guns, Ed knew better than to try anything that could alert the rest of the building and get him seriously wounded. Which wasn't really possible for him, but some have been known to try just a little too hard. So, upon the command of his would-be host, Ed slowly and carefully turned with his hands raised, right into the imposing barrel of a 9-mm. police issue firearm.
--With Roy—
He'd been sure to get the blonde with his back turned, facing the stove and oblivious to his approach. The teen looked about 18, if not a little older, and was just a good four or so inches shorter than he was. But even if he wasn't even facing the older man, Roy could tell by his stance that the blonde was accustomed to having the upper hand now and again. Only now did Roy know that he didn't. Knowing better than to let the teen discover him before he could act, Roy pulled back the gun's hammer, and spoke as calmly as his weary mind would allow. "Turn around. Slowly."
Two perfectly human hands, both composed of flesh and blood, were raised slowly into the air as the blonde turned at the same speed. His face was just as he remembered from the night before: sharp, vibrant eyes of pure gold, practically close to matching his hair. The teen's skin seemed to have a bit of a tanned look to it, if not fairly pale in comparison to his own ghostly pale coloring. His features were just as puzzling, mature and defined look to them since they appeared almost as sharp as his eyes. For nearly a minute, Roy couldn't help but wonder if the person in front of him was even human or not.
Keeping his grip firm and his aim steady, Roy had to focus on the teen's oddly colored eyes to keep from letting his thoughts wander too much from his primary objective: to get the information the ol' fashioned way. "Who are you? And how did we get here?"
If the blonde was nervous about the gun being pointed at him, he didn't show it as he spoke in an equally calm voice. The sound of it was just as Roy remembered it to be: mature but a little on the rough side. "Just stay calm okay? If I wanted to hurt you, I probably would've done it by now."
"Don't avoid the question: who are you? What was that… thing that attacked me last night?" Roy tried not to stammer, to keep from shifting in place. But the thought of more of the creatures popping out of nowhere wasn't helping his nerves that much.
"I'm not a doctor but I have a friend coming over to see about your injuries. Now just put the gun do--." The blonde began to say before Roy finally let last night's suppressed panic come rushing back in the form of confused anger.
"Stop avoiding the question!"
The teen seemed to wince at the sound of his raised voice, the angry snap the hid the heartfelt confusion under the surface. "Okay. If you really want to know, will you put it down?"
"Why should I trust you? I saw what you did." Roy let his eyes take a glance at the blonde's right arm, where it was plainly not composed of metal like it had been the night before. Almost as if there was nothing all that different about it from any other arm in the world. "Your arm. It changes somehow. I saw it change. How do I know you won't try to kill me like you did that thing?"
"I already told you--." The blonde growled, rolling his eyes.
He didn't get to say more when Roy stepped closer, the gun's barrel fairly close to be considered almost point blank range as he snapped angrily again. "DON'T! Avoid. The question."
"We'll talk, but only after you put the gun down. Okay?" the teen said calmly, his tone oddly soothing but didn't lose its unusual calmness. Roy couldn't help but wonder why the blonde teen would remain so perfectly still while on the edge of being shot. "I know you're confused and disoriented. I've been there. But pointing that thing at me isn't going to get you answers any faster than it will food."
Naturally this left Roy a little confused despite the reassurance that there was nothing wrong about the situation. "Y-you're not like… that thing?"
This time, the blonde teen gave him a little smirk of amusement at that almost childlike question as he shook his head. "No. No I'm not. I'm human. Like you are. And from what I remember, bullets really hurt. Do you want to put that down and get some food now?"
The pain in his head was almost unbearable, but Roy wasn't willing to give in to the silent agony. No matter how much the room spun like a top. But accidentally killing the blonde wouldn't get him any answers. Finally, he let himself relax a bit, nodding as he pointed the gun's barrel at the floor. "Y-yeah. I guess so."
"Okay then. Can you sit down?" he heard the blonde ask as his vision began to go blurry again.
Roy just nodded, barely able to suppress a groan of pain. "I probably should. I don't feel so good."
"What do you mean? As in 'I'm gonna throw up' or 'painful all over'?" the blonde asked, sounding a bit on the worried side.
"The second one sounds more like it."
He thought he heard the blonde chuckle. What a beautiful sound…. Roy thought absently as the blonde kept talking. "Yeah I figured as much. But as I told you! I've got a friend on the way who can check us out."
This left Roy a little confused, trying his best to focus on the blonde's face, and not really getting anywhere. "Us?"
"You're not the only one who feels it." Again came the soft chuckle, the feel of warm and gentle hands turning him around and towards the door. "I can barely move my shoulders, that thing tried to get me pretty bad."
"Then why are you up and about, making food?" he had to ask, his tone almost incredulous.
The blonde just scoffed. "Because I'm hungry! Not to mention I crashed on your couch so that didn't really help all that much."
"It's a futon." Roy corrected after a moment.
Naturally, this left the blonde confused. "What?"
"It's not a couch. It's a futon."
The teen was quiet for a moment, as if thinking it over. "That explains the weird angle then. C'mon then."
Roy was no longer aware of much except the pain in his head, the blonde somehow easing the gun out of his hand as he was guided out of the kitchen and into the living room. It wasn't long before he felt the soft material of said futon when he was eased into a sitting position, not hesitating to lean backwards. After that he just seemed to zone in and out, not sure if the blonde was even in the room or not. It wasn't until the slightly too loud sound of footsteps brought him back to reality as the blonde spoke from somewhere to his far right before coming closer again to head to his left.
"Hope you like your eggs scrambled. I'm actually surprised I found bacon in your freezer though. You're the first person I've had to drag home who actually had bacon in stock." The blonde said in what sounded like approval, but he couldn't tell for sure.
But then something about the blonde's statement clicked home, somehow having the sense to turn his unfocused eyes in the teen's general direction. "Drag home? You mean you dragged me here? How the hell did you even know where I lived?"
"Oh yeah! I kinda had to snitch your wallet. But don't worry. I've got my own income so I'd have no real reason to steal anythin' anyhow." Came the practically casual response as the left side of the futon inclined to say the blonde had sat down beside him.
Roy stayed quiet for a few minutes or so, his mind still attempting to process all the now confused and jumbled thoughts before a question jumped out at him. "When is your… friend… going to get here?"
"Hm…. Let's see… I called him about eight hours ago after I took care of you upon getting here so…. If the traffic's as good as it is now, he'll be here in the next half hour since he said he needed some sleep of his own."
He heard some more footsteps, this time getting closer before they stopped and something extremely cold was placed on his head.
"What the--?" onyx eyes darted, vision blurring probably even more than before as he tried to fend off the strange item that had tried to make itself at home on top of his throbbing head.
Almost immediately, the freezing cold whatever-it-was vanished, leaving Roy very confused and the blonde in a state of surprise. "Whoa! Calm down! It's just an ice pack I put together okay? You probably need it for your hangover."
This was enough to convince the raven-haired man to stop moving and sit back once again, instantly regretting moving at all. "R-right."
"You should probably think of showering too. You reek of beer." The blonde grumbled, once again placing the plastic bag, it seemed, full of ice cubes onto Roy's aching head.
"Sorry." He managed to say through the calming bliss of cold taking away pain and unwanted heat. Before his mind drifted too far, Roy managed to refocus on his previous task. "Hey."
The blonde's response was almost immediate. "Hm?"
"You never did tell me your name." He managed to say in his pain filled daze, onyx eyes trying to focus once again on the face he now knew to be a friendly one.
"Oh yeah. I'm Ed." The blonde said between bites, sounding almost bored in the silence that filled the room. "And according to your wallet, you're Roy."
"Glad to know we're getting somewhere."
Silence followed once more, the sound of metal poking at ceramic plate was the only real noise that filled the room other than their breathing. Finally Ed simply had to ask the one thing he just had to think of. "How many beers did you have last night?"
"What? Why?" Roy had to ask, purely confused at the inquiry.
Ed merely seemed to scoff at the older man. "For all I know, you could've down a whole keg. But since you haven't thrown up yet, that in itself is enough to get me wondering."
"Four… five maybe." The raven-haired man grumbled, finally closing his eyes in the hopes of shielding them from the bright morning light that was coming in through the windows he knew to be to his far left. "I'll need to drop by and get my keys."
"Your keys? As in a car?" the blonde sounded a bit surprised.
Roy nodded but then figured that the teen wasn't really looking at him. "Yeah. Wait… you took my keys too?"
Ed seemed to shrug at this, even though Roy couldn't see him that well. "Well, I figured you'd be pissed over a broken window."
The older of the two didn't take long to think this statement over. "I probably would."
A brief silence fell over them, almost giving Roy a good reason to fall asleep until Ed suddenly spoke up again. "Do you hurt anywhere?"
Roy merely scoffed at the question, barely able to maintain consciousness from the throbbing pain in his head. Among other places. "Other than everywhere?"
"Okay… um… where does it hurt more than anywhere else?"
He dared not move, knowing that if he did, something would sting like fuckin' hell that he didn't know could even feel painful. "Kinda hurts to breathe. And my head… makin' it hard to stay awake."
The amused chuckle came again, the blonde's voice sounding not the least surprised by his words. "I figured. Do you think you can eat?"
"No idea."
"Well it won't hurt to try. I'll be back in a sec."
Roy felt the left side of the couch slowly rise as weight was removed from it, leaving him to try and remain conscious enough to actually think over what was normal about everything and what wasn't. He didn't really notice how he started to slide down into a sleeping position, oblivious to the ice pack simply rolling off his head as his still slightly drunk and bleary mind gave in to the abyss of unconsciousness.
--With Ed—
After being out of the room for more than two minutes, Ed didn't expect to come back to find an unconscious Roy having somehow slumped on the futon. What he had expected was for the older man to react a bit violently to being 'attacked' by a makeshift icepack when it was obvious he couldn't even see straight. But something about the earlier encounter with the older man left Ed feeling oddly disoriented. He hadn't expected the man's eyes to be so sharp, his voice to be so harsh. The raven-haired man didn't seem to hesitate. Even when he looked like hell, smelled like beer, he still had an air of authority, a commanding aura with an almost graceful element to it.
Holding back a sigh, Ed merely turned back into the kitchen, set the plate of food on the counter before going back into the living room again. Seeing that there was no point in trying to get the older man to wake up, Ed merely lifted the man's legs up onto the remaining space on the futon. He didn't even have to look very far for a blanket since he'd already snagged one from a linen closet down the hall during the night before. Quickly covering the older man with the blanket, Ed snatched up his own plate from the coffee table and silently walked back to the kitchen to finish it. This only took a few moments, the remains only being a few bites of egg and one last strip of bacon.
Practically as if on cue, the doorbell sounded off from the very front of the apartment, leaving the blonde with no choice but to finish the bacon strip on his way to answering the door.
He didn't even need to look through the peephole in the door to know who it was on the other side. For some reason, Ed never did wonder why he could see the auras of other people. Even through solid objects, the blonde could tell who was beyond his line of sight, almost like x-ray vision. Though he found it became faulty when the person was actually something else, most likely the side effect of the being in question trying to hide their mental essence from those who could see or feel it. Mostly, Ed knew he could see it from even the longest of distances. But he could only feel it when he concentrated hard enough. Something he was very determined to work on.
Fighting the need to blink against the bright artificial light the inner hallway was providing, Ed just smirked warmly at the man before him. "Mornin' Jean. Get here well enough?"
"Yeah, thanks to you Boss." The man said in a lazy tone of voice, his light grey eyes and demeanor equally lacking concern, as he calmly stepping inside when the younger blonde made way for him. From the way his spiky blonde hair looked, as well as the slightly wrinkled look his clothes had, Ed could tell he'd only been up for close to two hours. Ed was used to seeing the other man in casual attire, his messenger bag and cigarette his finishing features. Though the younger male never could understand why the top of his head was spiky and blonde, when everywhere else was short, straight and dark brown. Ignoring any and all odd looks, Jean merely shuffled his way down the small hallway as he spoke. "How's our patient?"
Looking at him now, Ed could swear he had completely changed from the useless bum of four years ago. Though he refused to remain clean-shaven for more than 24 hours at a time, Jean Havoc was the kind of guy you expected to see sleeping on the bar floor after a long night of strong drinks and constant moping. Or at least until Ed and the rest of their group found him trying to fend off what he, at the time, believed to be some idiot who just wanted to start something. Due to his extremely drunken stupor, Havoc had little to no idea that who he was really fighting was actually a bird demon in disguise.
The demon apparently thought that if it killed Havoc and absorbed whatever untapped power he had, it would become stronger and smarter. At least that's what its plan was to start. Up until the point where they managed to take the fight into the street, and Havoc somehow got the concrete to suck the thing chest deep into the ground. One could definitely say that the demon was far from happy. It screeched and cursed until Ed and friends showed up, took its head off and dragged Havoc away in order to dunk his head enough to help them get the rest of the creature out of the street.
Pushing away the memory, Ed just shrugged, the smirk still on his lips. "Well he tried to shoot me right after waking up. Apparently he's still trying to get over being attacked by something inhuman last night."
Havoc winced, giving Ed a quick once-over. "Youch. He didn't pull the trigger did he?"
"No. I managed to talk him out of it." The younger blonde said coolly, walking past the older man to lead him into the main area. "You hungry?"
The older man just grunted before actually speaking English. "Nah. Since I knew you wouldn't expect for almost half an hour or so, I stopped at a local diner on the way here. Pretty good sausage."
"Do you have to smoke that thing around me?" Ed inquired, scowling at the thin white cigarette sticking out of the older man's mouth, a small trickle of grey smoke rising towards the ceiling. The very end was a chaotic mix of black and orange as Havoc took the hint, taking one last drag before taking it out and using the bottom of his shoe. He almost looked like a kid who'd done something wrong when he handed the crushed remains to the younger blonde.
"Sorry Boss. I trust I can smoke when I leave right?"
Accepting the smushed cigarette, Ed merely nodded. "Yeah. You should take a look at him first. I think his ribs might've taken a pretty serious beating. I just hope he doesn't have internal bleeding."
Just when they'd gone in about ten feet, Havoc stopped, first looking confused before it gave way to surprise. Like Ed, Jean could sense the energies of others, but only if they were being extremely emotional. Now seemed to be one of those times as he continued to feel a strongly tingling sensation. "Whoa. You feel that?"
Ed merely nodded. "I've been feeling it ever since I first saw the guy. But I don't know why it's comin' from a guy like him. He's too normal."
"Yeah but… to feel it from here? This guy's packin'! Why didn't we notice him before?" Havoc practically exclaimed, his voice seeming to ask how the blonde could possibly stand such a strong energy.
"I don't know. Maybe the attack was the trigger." Ed said just as calmly, deciding to just keep walking, with Havoc in tow.
"Maybe. It's pretty strong. Almost too strong."
The younger blonde merely shrugged as they paused once again, this time a good ten to fifteen feet away from the futon where Roy lay sleeping. He leaned into the kitchen to dispose of the cigarette butt before coming to lean against the wall before he started to speak once again. "My only theory is stress and fatigue. Not to mention a whole lot of big-time confusion. That's all I can really come up with right now."
Havoc blinked in his honest surprise. "You mean it's been like this the whole time?"
"Not really. From what I've been able to tell, this is only the result of it going down at least 3 percent."
At first the older man looked surprised, then concerned. "Just three? Why not twenty? Or 50? Hell even a 65 percent drop would've been a pretty normal thing, but just 3 percent? You're sure?"
Ed nodded, his golden eyes glancing at the sleeping figure not too far away from them. "He was on high alert when I caught up with him. My guess is that he's still trying to figure out what's happened to him. I don't think he even notices it."
Havoc scratched his chin, his own light grey eyes taking a peak at the raven-haired cop oblivious to their conversation. "Hm. Well… it's obvious he can't heal himself just yet. Not that he really knows how anyway."
That said he turned his attention back towards Ed, giving the blonde a quick once-over before slipping the strap of his messenger bag over his head and onto the coffee table. "You seem pretty okay but I'll leave you some pain pills. All you need to do is check up with me if you feel differently. Otherwise… you look like shit."
The younger male shrugged off the comment as he nodded towards Roy lying on the futon/couch. "Don't I know it. But what about him?"
"If I start now, he could be up and walking by early evening at best." The older man muttered lazily, stepping away from Ed to kneel next to the unconscious man.
Ed didn't waste any time in asking for answers. "And at worst?"
Havoc shrugged, scratching the back of his head as he stood up straight again to look the blonde in the eye. "Probably late afternoon tomorrow. But this shouldn't be a problem. His injuries just seem to be nothing more than a few cracked bones and plenty of extreme bruising."
Ed was quiet for a while, seeming to accept the answer he'd been given by his long time comrade. "Anything you can do about it?"
"I can mix up a good liquor for him to drink which should reverse the more serious damage. We can just let his immune system do the rest." Havoc said as he sat down in one of the available chairs, pulling his bag towards him to move the protective flap to better access the contents.
"Sounds about right to me. Do you have everything you need to get started?" Ed asked before turning around so to head for the apartment's main hallway.
"Yeah." after a few seconds, Havoc spoke again. "Ed?"
Said blonde stopped in his tracks, not turning around. "What?"
"Why does he smell like a bar?"
This was enough to make the blonde turn and face the older man, obviously trying to think of a good way of explaining it. "I think last night was his night off."
Havoc's bored expression didn't change, though a smirk decided to make itself at home on his lips for a little while. "Huh. So much for that."
Ed just shrugged as he continued on his way. "Maybe when he wakes up, he'll take a shower."
"Gods I hope so." He heard the older man mutter softly before calling to him from the distance that now separated them.
"Oh grow up Havoc."
Ed didn't even look back to see if the older man gave him the bird or not. Not that he really cared. As he left he bent to get his bag from the chair near the door, almost regretting it altogether. His back was screaming at him to lie down somewhere but he knew full well that wouldn't matter if he didn't take a shower first. Havoc didn't even need to tell him that he was dangerously close to looking like hell. Not that wasn't already apparent in his overly exhausted mind. He already felt like it, so appearances didn't really matter to him that all much these days.
Before going to sleep the night before, Ed had already taken the time to scout out the apartment, quickly learning where everything was and why. Using his internal map to help him around, it didn't take long for Ed to find the bathroom before shutting and locking the door behind him. He knew he didn't need to lock the door since the only other two people in the place were both men, but old habits died hard for Ed. Especially when it came to where he used to live before being discovered. At first, he'd just thought he was just a regular kid that simply had a few psychic abilities at his disposal.
Man, how I was proven wrong. The blonde thought absently as he turned one of the faucets in the shower stall after dropping his bag near the shut door, testing the water's temperature with his hand before finally pulling his shirt off. When all his clothes were finally off and lying on the floor for later, Ed simply stepped into the shooting stream of hot water and left his thoughts to drift elsewhere. This was the first time in weeks that he could truly relax like a real person, be able to not think about what he had to do for his next catch. How to find his next target and search for more like him and Havoc. Especially how he could stop the flow of demons and other creatures without sending the rest of the world out of balance in the process.
But something like that might take months… maybe even years. Can I even accomplish such a thing? No… it can't be done. But at least I'll do my best to lower the numbers to where there's more of us, and less of them. Ed thought as he mechanically washed himself down before the water could turn cold on him. Quickly rinsing himself off, shutting the water off and snatching a towel from the metal rack attached to the wall directly to his left.
Wrapping the towel around him to hide his apparent nudity, Ed traveled the few paces it took to stand before the sink under the mirror, staring into the reflective fixture with eyes of golden yellow. Thinking it over now that Havoc's words rang true over his rugged appearance: he could almost barely see the dark bags under his eyes really starting to form, his skin dangerously close to losing all its color as his hair looked on edge of being mistaken for a cheap wig. It was apparent that a quick shower wasn't enough to shed him of his traveling dirt. Thinking about it now, it was obvious to him that a few short hours of sleep weren't enough to rid him of his bone-weary fatigue.
Ed was quickly brought out of his examination of himself by a slight knock on the bathroom door. Not too soon did Havoc's voice sound off from the other side. "Ed? I've finished with our friend in the living room. You ready to come out so I can take a look at you too?"
The blonde said coolly, kneeling down to open and search his bag for his extra set of clothes he always packed before a mission. "Just a sec."
"Yeah, alright. Just don't drown in the tub." The older man grumbled lazily as he shuffled away with his usual slothful gait.
"Shut up!" Ed snapped through the door, more likely making the older man jump at the sudden response before muttering to himself. "Jerk"
After a moment or two of drying off and getting dressed, Ed soon emerged from the bathroom fully clothed in clean attire. Sporting a rather loose pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the blonde teen entered the living room with an extra towel on his head to compensate for still damp hair. He saw that Roy was still lying unconscious on the futon, but Havoc had sat himself down in one of the chairs just opposite the futon with the bored expression still on his face.
Rising to face the blonde teen, Havoc wasted no time to change from bored to concerned seriousness. "Okay kid. Where's it hurt?"
Taken a little off guard by the question, Ed couldn't think of much else except answering the older male. "Uh… my back mostly. Other than my shoulders and certain parts of my arms… I'm perfectly fine. Why?"
"Huh. I thought so. Especially how your spine made that popping noise when you left for your shower. Just be glad I don't admit you to a real hospital instead of dealin' with this kind of crap myself." Havoc grumbled to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he mulled over what to do about the blonde's symptoms.
Ed couldn't help but stiffen at bit at the older man's response. "Are you trying to get a broken nose?"
"What? Oh. Oh! Sorry Ed. I was just--!" Havoc stammered nervously, knowing he'd made a mistake and it was a little too late to take it back.
"Just do what you need to do." Ed growled as he turned away from Havoc, trying to distract himself from what was just said to him by trying to dry his hair with the towel hiding the golden locks from view. "And I do know what you meant."
"Right." Knowing better than to press further, Havoc wisely chose not to take the conversation any further than that. "Sorry."
Silently obeying Havoc's silent commands, Ed sat down in the vacant chair and endured the touch of the other man's hands. Traveling across his shoulders and their blades hidden under flesh, skin and cloth before traveling down his spine almost like a snail on a hot summer day, Havoc made his examination of Ed's back a quick one. He'd already made the mistake of mentioning the word 'hospital'. And all who knew Ed like Havoc did knew that saying such a word around the young blonde was kind of a really bad idea. Especially if one knew the consequences that Ed would unleash.
When about ten minutes went by, Havoc finally dared to speak again. "Well, it looks like you didn't get as banged up as the last couple of times. You've got to be gettin' pretty good at this job."
Ed merely grunted, almost as if skeptical of the remark. "Yeah, well. I told you that idiot over there decided to lend a hand."
"No. I'd say he was pretty brave. For a guy whose life is about to be turned upside down." Havoc grumbled, leaving Ed's turned back to kneel beside the coffee table to recollect his things into his bag, glancing at the blonde as he did so. "Let's just hope he doesn't try anything else truly heroic."
The blonde teen nodded, forcing his tired body to stand up again. "I second that. You headin' out?"
"Yeah. Hawkeye wanted me to stop by to give her an update on you."
Watching the older man as he completed his task, calmly strapping the bag strap to one of his shoulders in thoughtful silence, Ed could only give Havoc a rather surprised look of annoyance. "Seriously? Is that woman ever going to get me off her radar?"
Havoc merely shrugged at the question, smirking in mild amusement. "I doubt it. But you know Riza. She just has to be so motherly."
"Motherly? Dude! She's about as motherly as an A-bomb!" Ed snapped.
But Havoc merely rolled his eyes, turning away to head down the hall and towards the front door with the same laid back gait as before. "Tell her that and she'll have our asses in a sling until next year."
"See?" the blonde exclaimed, following the older man to the front door.
Pausing to turn more than halfway to the door to face the teen, Havoc looked him right in the eye. "Either way! You and our new friend back there need to rest up for the next few days. I'll inform the others and see if we can't set up some training programs for him. The faster he's up to speed the better."
"If he accepts."
Havoc simply grunted. "Let's hope he does. Our numbers are a little on the sho—I mean on the small side."
Ed pretended not to notice the quick change of words, knowing that now wasn't a good time to be angry. "Right. But you just as well as I do we've always been low on members."
"Yeah I know but… this guy just might be able to change that for us. We just might actually get the upper hand."
The blonde teen wasted no time in looking sternly at the older man. "Let's not rush it. The last thing we want is for him to get spooked and run."
Another grunt, the smirk returning only now with skepticism. "I doubt that. He has a life here. He has structure, normality."
Ed just shook his head. "Not anymore. That demon last night ruined it for him. Hell, my showing up to help probably made things even more confusing."
"Ha. Been there, done that, probably had a worse hangover than him." the smirk nearly vanished, replaced by a poorly constructed front to hide the older man's concern for the blonde teen as he spoke again. "Take care alright?"
The blonde didn't hesitate to put a fake smirk of his own on, nodding at him in the hopes of reassuring the man before he left. "Yeah. See ya."
With one last lazy sway of the arm, Havoc was out the door and into the early morning sunlight, leaving Ed to himself and a sleeping cop whose life had been literally turned upside down. Letting out a tired sigh before finally letting gravity kick in, the teenage blonde let himself fall backwards into the armchair. Undeniably tired and uncaring of how uncomfortable his position was, Ed didn't waste any time falling back to sleep after what'd felt like an eternity.
Done and done! Sorry for the delay everyone, but you know how it is. Brainstorming's killer when school's in full swing at the same time. Talk about bad timing!! But there's no time for such nonsense. I'll just get right to the preview for what's to come here on 'Fallen Angel's Fire'!!
Next chapter:
Chapter 3: Regrouping For Another Round
Roy's out and down for the count, and Ed's in need of some serious hours of sleep to pick up the pieces again. But what other people might be involved in what caused the creature to attack Roy? Can Ed and his mystery friends ever clear things up for their future hopeful? Will Roy try to shoot Ed again when he wakes up again? Or will things go a little smoother in the morning? Find out in the next all new installment for 'Fallen Angel's Fire' with:
Chapter 3: Regrouping For Another Round!!
