A/N- Haha, Annie is making me want to write this story faster -_- I'm so happy that you guys love Melissa so much! She's a big part of the story, not just in bringing Roy and Ed together actually ^_^ Wow, this might even have a plot. XD
Playlist:
Rocketeer - Far East Movement ft. Ryan Tedder
Fuckin' Perfect - P!nk
More - Usher
Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood
::.. deux ex machina ..::
.c h a p t e r four.
"Let's fly..."
"Where we stop nobody knows..."
Of course, Alphonse never questioned his older sister.
From when the day he was born, the first people he saw were his mother, and his sister, their beaming faces looking upon him and then he found his memory to prove him feeling his father's hand smooth out his forehead, and he remembered seeing his father after that.
But it was always them two first.
He wondered if that particular memory, him and his first memory, had any meaning.
When his father left, Edward sort of took over the role as the 'other parent'. When his mother died, the lines between mother, sister, and father blurred, and somehow she became one and all and his best friend. Even if he tried, Alphonse couldn't tell the seams apart. They mixed in effortlessly that he had just stopped trying to differentiate them all together.
No matter what the situation, he would never question Ed. He knew that he couldn't tell what goes on in his sister's head, and he knew that whatever she did may seem like it had no purpose - but whatever the assumptions were, they were all wrong. It was like science - everything had a cause, and then an effect, then an after effect. It was how his sister worked also - even it was a little bit unconsciously how she worked, it was still like that. Everything Edward did had a reason, a cause, and then she would see it through - whether it worked or not, and then accept the consequences.
Not many people saw this pattern. He did. He's seen it so many times that he could tell it through the back of his hand.
But there were times - like this one - where he didn't understand Edward at all. Like for the fact that he had no idea that she had snatched up a little girl from the clutches of abuse. The same little girl who now worshiped Edward so much since she was grateful, up to the point where she called her 'mommy'.
Jean had explained it, once he got it figured out himself.
Alphonse had to admit though, Melissa was cute. He couldn't help but hate the bastard who would hit such a sweet child.
When he had reached the doctor, he had to admit he was slightly ashamed of how the medical professional looked at him with dead-serious eyes and pointed to a room with a sigh; it had the words, 'Elric Only - Regular'. It made Alphonse blush tomato red.
Melissa wasn't in such a bad shape than he thought. Her ankle had healed already - which was rather fast, only a day, and even though it confused the doctors and him, they let it go. The injury must've been from a long time ago. Her arm was rubbed with rubbing alcohol and new bandages, and other than that she was fine, really.
"How was it?" Edward asked when Alphonse and Melissa came back and hour later. Melissa tugged on Edward's state issued pants, and with a slight eye roll, Edward picked her up. Alphonse noted the whole thing and tucked it away in his mind, but answered her anyways. "It wasn't bad, actually. Her ankle is almost healed."
Edward frowned. "Really?" she touched Melissa's ankle with her automail gently. "She sprained it on the night she was running. I saw. That's pretty quick." Melissa, who was hearing the whole thing, blushed in embarrassment and buried herself in Edward's neck, looking more like a three or two year old than a five year old. She was rather small.
"Did you give the Ba - Mustang the slip?" Alphonse almost smiled in amusement at how Edward was holding back her curses in front of Melissa. Maybe his sister wouldn't curse like a sailor so much anymore. But then his smile slipped when he recognized her question.
"Er...I forgot." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Another thing he and Edward shared in common. The side of the blonde woman's lip twitched upward in a smile, and she shook her head.
"Oh Al." she held out her hand expectantly and Alphonse placed the piece of paper in her hand. "I'll give it to him. I have to get over there to give Riza the last files anyways." Edward put Melissa down gently, who in turn popped her thumb in her mouth and clutched to Edward's pants still. "You should go home. I heard you have a test to study for to pass that exam."
Alphonse nodded, then he waved goodbye to his sister and left Central Command.
.
.
By the time it was three o'clock, Edward had already managed to finish half her work for the day. If this was the amount Mustang had to do - she definitely found it karma now that it was coming back to bite her in the ass. But Breda had informed her that he didn't receive as much as she did, a lot less actually. Then she figured out that she was getting extra papers because of her status as the Head of the State Alchemist department.
She fingered the upon slip of paper in her hand, still not delivered to Mustang. She decided that now was as good as ever.
The Major General's office was wide and opening; Breda and Falman were both out, but everyone else was there. Jean's lazily guarded eyes regarded her carefully, almost as if he wasn't sure who she was anymore, but smiled nonetheless.
"Yo, Chief."
Ed gave a half-smile. "Hey. I have a message from the Fuhrer." she held up the small, almost unimportant looking piece of paper in between her slender fingers. Eyes turned to stare at the misgiving item. "Mustang. Don't open it." she flicked it to Hawkeye's desk, where Riza stared at it before nodded pliantly.
"Yes, sir." Edward's lip twitched at the respect. Riza knew better than to call her 'ma'am' - after all, she was still getting used to the whole idea of everyone getting used to her gender.
"So, what'cha guys doing?" she asked, flopping down on Breda's chair unceremoniously.
"Paperwork." Fuery shrugged. "It's mind-numbing." Edward chuckled. She grabbed the forms that Fuery was doing from under his nose, and raised an eyebrow at the contents, ignoring his red-faced caught look.
"So paperwork is based on betting pools now, huh?" The blonde asked, noticing Riza look over sharply, hands fingering her gun. Jean laughed nervously.
"W-well..."
"Edward, I would rather appreciate it if you stepped out of the room for a second," Riza said, bringing up her Revolver with a small, sinister smile. "I believe this is something that you should not see."
Edward blinked, Jean and Fuery gaped, and then she shrugged. As the door closed behind her, she could hear the cries of "Why did she get to leave?" from behind her in the office. Odd. Riza must've planned something in advance for this kind of thing.
Without nothing else to do, Edward decided to take her official break now. It was about three-thirty anyways, and she didn't get off until five. Shrugging on her black coat (Alphonse still refused to let her wear her red jacket with the uniform) and walking toward the Central Park a few blocks off, she noticed that she didn't get there until the sky was starting to color pink and light red. She checked her pocketwatch - it was near four, but not much.
She plopped down on a bench, leaning back and looking up toward the sky.
Her eyes roamed across the blood-colored sky. Odd, how there was nothing more to hold her back and yet there was - she was free, free to make her choices and shape her life the way she wanted, and yet she found herself on edge, paranoid, every nerve on alert.
She was jerked out of her trance by a loud shuffle by her side. Looking over, she saw a girl with short cut bleached blonde hair as white as snow looking at her with hollowed eyes. "Want one?" she held out a cigarette from manicured nails. Her eyes were large, round, and an odd pale hazel.
Edward suspected she would've been very pretty if she fixed herself up with makeup, but there was something about the bags under eyes, the sunken cheeks that made her look attractive. Not to Edward personally, but to other people - by the way eyes were drawn her way.
"I'm good." she replied. The girl shrugged and took out a lighter, a bright flame dancing in front of their eyes before a quick flick of the wrist sent it away and on the cigarette.
There was a silence. Not exactly comfortable, not exactly awkward, either.
"You know, you're a grade A. The first I've seen in a long time. I can tell by that sour expression on your face." the bleach blonde commented. Edward's eyes slowly looked at her through her peripheral vision. The question wasn't asked, but her body tensed up. "A real grade A bitch, that is." she finished.
A muscle in Edward's jaw tightened.
"But that's okay, because I'm one too." she said, looking completely indifferent while saying so.
Edward laid back on the bench, eyes toward the sky again as if searching for something endlessly... again. "Alright. Does that have to make us anything?" Edward didn't look at her when she said this, but the obvious answer was given.
The girl smiled. "Dee."
"Ed."
At random intervals, there were puffs of smoke that came out of Dee's mouth. Edward watched quietly until the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon, before getting up and simply walking away. She didn't say goodbye to Dee, and Dee didn't ask for one in return.
.
.
When she was back, she realized that she only had half-an-hour left of work, Mustang was in a meeting with the Fuhrer like she had, and Melissa was practically crying to bits. Jean Havoc had stared at her with haunted, blank stare, took the little girl's hand, and placed it in Ed's, walking away promptly. Waving off Havoc's unusual behavior, Edward knelt down to the girl's height.
"Hey, why're you crying?" she asked, not being gentle but not being demanding either. Melissa sniffed and looked down, twiddling her fingers, apparently thinking about something.
"Mommy, are you going to leave me again?" Edward internally grimaced at the girl's tone - lost, paranoid, almost like her when she was ten and missing two limbs. "Please don't leave me again. I got scared."
Edward sighed. "Mel, I won't leave you, but sometimes I won't be there. Mommy - " she forced herself to say this part, " - has work to do, you know. Or else, you wouldn't have food." Edward eyed the girl's thin body, then noticed her clothes. "You could use a new shirt and a pair of trousers too."
Melissa simply looked confused, staring at her with those doe eyes before looking down again and thinking about what Edward said.
Sighing, Edward mumbled under her breath and grabbed Melissa's hand, a little roughly, but the girl simply jerked out of her trance and looked up curiously at Edward. The blonde woman started to walk out of the building, forcing herself not to look at the people staring at her and stick her tongue out childishly at them.
"Mommy? Why aren't you going to work?"
"It's Ed," she said almost instinctively, and didn't notice the hurt look that passed the little girl's face. "And we're going to get you some clothes. I'll just tell Mustang to piss off later."
Melissa didn't reply.
At exactly fifteen minutes later, Edward stood satisfied as Melissa came out garbed in a set of jeans, new shoes, and a pink shirt (ugh) that the little girl had picked out herself. Edward wasn't exactly big on fashion, all those makeup things, but she had a faint grasp on bargaining and was able to get through it just fine. She did, however, walk home with three bags hanging off her arms, which caused many to look her way - especially since she was still wearing her uniform, previously covered by her black coat. She missed her red one.
She went straight home, deciding that if she took a little bit of time off (it was only fifteen minutes until her shift ended, really) then she could make up for it tomorrow. Gracia could take care of Melissa for the hours she was gone.
Melissa ran off into the living room, sitting down with the new coloring book that she had insisted Edward to buy for her. The blonde did so just to keep the brunette occupied.
Changing out of her uniform - damn itchy thing, hadn't broken it in yet - she sighed in relief when the linen fabric of her large loose shirt touched her skin. She made her way to the phone, punching in the number and tapping her fingers on the counter top impatiently at the dial tone rang.
"Hello?"
Edward twisted the cord between her finger. "Gracia?"
"Edward?"
The alchemist gave a small smile, even though she knew the older woman couldn't see her; just hearing Gracia's voice made her warm inside. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now. How's Elysia?"
There was a warm chuckle. "She's been asking about her pretty big sister."
"I'll visit soon," Ed grinned. "In fact, tomorrow." A pause shifted in as Edward tried to find a way to word it. Gracia must've noticed the atmosphere, because her voice came in a second later. "Edward? Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
"What? Oh, no. I just...I wondered if Elysia would like a playmate. You see, I found this little girl on the street two days ago, and she's...become very fond of me," she said, not finding any other words to put it in. "I'm not going to be around much, so I wondered if you could take her in. She's five - the same age as Elysia, I'm guessing?"
"Why...yes. That is true. I'd be happy to take her in for you, Ed."
"Thanks, Gracia."
Edward pulled down her shirt further and made her way to the living room, where she found Melissa on the floor, working intently on a piece of semi-white paper and crayons at her fingertips.
"Hey kiddo, what'cha doin'?" Edward sat down cross legged next to Melissa, who started a little and looked up at the blonde. She smiled brightly and hurried to scramble up, hands fumbling and face red.
She held in the piece of paper in front of her face, toward Edward's. "I made this for you, Momma!"
Edward blinked, completely ignoring the 'mamma' part as she stared at the paper in front of her. Using different colors, Melissa had managed to create a picture of her face; almost like hers, except without such shading. It wasn't realistic, but it wasn't in the style of stick figures five year old usually did. Sort of mesmerized, she reached out and took it, looking surprised and feeling the rough paper's indention with her fingers.
"It's...really beautiful." she breathed, noting how it was a picture of how she smiled; the one where she had put atop her dresser, with her and Al and Winry together. Ed wondered how Melissa managed to see that picture. "Do you like...drawing, Mel?"
Melissa nodded enthusiastically.
"It's my fav'rite thing to do! This is for you, momma!" she smiled brightly, looking proud of herself and her little chubby hands. Edward almost laughed to herself of the irony; she was in no way a mother, and she didn't think she ever could be. But Melissa was special - this was a talent that was raw, in it's most purest form, beautiful. Edward never thought she'd see a real prodigy, but it was somehow fate that this girl came under her care.
But she wasn't going to be like Mustang. She wouldn't use Melissa's gift for her own goals. She would let the girl blossom in her own time; and who knows? Perhaps she would be one of the most famous people in the world, like her 'momma'. And that was another thing; Ed had no idea what to do. Melissa insisted on calling her mom, and she couldn'y do anything about it.
It gave her mixed emotions; she didn't know if she could handle this.
But she was Edward Elric; and Edward Elric was strong, stronger than any male, and she was stubborn. She certainly was not a mess of female hormones and feelings; she had the passion of a man, and that was evident at how no one could ever catch on to her true gender, back in the day.
The clock chimed, and Edward spared a glance at it before setting down the drawing. "I love it kiddo, really. But it's six and we're gonna find something for you to do, got it?" Melissa nodded.
Dinner was simple and flew by in a breeze; by six-thirty, Edward was actually done arguing with Hawkeye about how she'd gone home early, and by six forty-five, a sudden thought came to her.
"Oh shit!" Edward shot up, running past Melissa (who had her attention on her make-shift mother) and grabbing the closest coat she could find before realizing that she would have to take Melissa with her. "Oh god, she's gonna kill me..." Ed groaned, practically grimacing at the thought of Winry's arrival. And then she quickly put the girl in her most thickest set of clothes (a dark green long-sleeved shirt with bows on the front and jeans that matched) and transmuted what she estimated to be a sweater from her old red one, and quickly pulled it on Melissa's head.
"Momma? What's going on?" Mel asked, curious.
"Sorry kiddo. We're going out, okay? Just for a little while."
When she was done, Melissa looked like a Christmas bundle - which was sort of appropriate, considering the day they were on, but it was not the time to be thinking of such things. Al had said seven o'clock sharp, and Winry was, if not anything, punctual.
Grabbing Melissa in her arms once more, she went out the door and locked it behind her as Mel made herself comfortable in Ed's arms, burying her head in the crook of the older woman's neck and popping a thumb in her mouth.
Edward had made it to the train station in ten minutes, and it was already 7:13 PM when she got there. Winry wasn't that vindictive, of course, but neither her nor Alphonse knew the area of Central much. When Al told Edward what time his girlfriend was coming, he meant it as 'could you please come to make sure we don't get horribly lost?' Because if she knew her brother, Alphonse was rather scatterbrained in a 1:1,000,000 ratio. Usually around Winry.
"Al! Al! Win!"
She flailed her automail arm, keeping the little girl in her arms steady with her flesh one only. It wasn't hard; Melissa wasn't that heavy.
"Sister! Oh, I knew you were just late..." Alphonse's voice breached through the other voices in the station, and Edward could spot his head among the crowd. She saw Winry's figure soon after, not screaming, not angry, just staring at her with wide, expressive eyes.
"E-Ed..." she whispered, running forward to the girl just as Edward put Melissa down on the ground. The blonde alchemist stumbled back a little, a little stunned at the unexpected greeting. "Hey, Winry. Long time no see."
When the lemon-blonde pulled back, there were tears sparkling in her blue eyes. "Oh, I can't believe this day's finally come! You see, I knew you'd tell everyone one day, and here you are and I'm so happy - who's this?"
Winry's voice wasn't vindictive; rather, it was curious and a little adoring. Edward opened and closed her mouth at the beginning of the rant and looked down to see Melissa clutching on her pants, something she'd been doing often.
"This is Melissa. I picked her up off the streets; she was under a bad situation."
The tone in which Ed spoke in was lofty and grave, and Winry knew better than to comment on it. Those Elrics never told her anything, but this sounded more for the sake of Melissa than Edward's. She instead knelt down, smiling gently. "Hello. I'm Winry; a friend of Ed's."
"You're a friend of momma's?" Mel mumbled, looking shy.
Winry blinked and raised an eyebrow at the last part, looking up at Ed who simply shrugged in a 'what can you do?' manner. "Yeah. You can call me Auntie Winry."
"Auntie Winry."
The blonde squealed, immediately gathering the girl in a crushing hug. "She's adorable. Ed, you better be taking care of her properly." Edward gave a grunt that meant somewhere along the lines of 'yeah'. Alphonse had somehow caught up to them, and was smiling amusedly.
"Yeah, yeah. The kid's gotta go to sleep soon, so can we go where ever you wanna go and get this over with?" Ed was grumbling, but her cheeks were touched with red and she wouldn't look either of them in the face; embarrassed.
"Well, I did want to go to the apartment you two talked about," Winry said. "But I sorta want to visit Gracia-san first. I have a new toy to give to Elysia for her birthday which I missed."
Ed rolled her eyes but complied, taking Melissa's hand and tugging her forward gently, talking with Alphonse and Winry all the way to the aforementioned woman's house.
When they got there, however, Edward left them with a goodbye and another promise to visit them tomorrow after work, and since Melissa was falling asleep ("She goes to sleep at seven? What're you disciplining her with, Ed? I know I didn't sleep at seven when I was five." "That's because you slept at eight.") so she had said goodbye.
Setting Melissa in bed and throwing the cover over her small body, Edward smiled in a hopeless way before dropping down on the side of the bed herself, sliding down to the floor and setting her head on her knees.
Looking up briefly, she stared at herself in the mirror across the wall, so fully woman and she didn't feel like it; more of a man in a woman's body. She'd even think she was a man sometimes if she didn't remember who she really was - a 'she'. But that wouldn't stop her, and she wouldn't let it drag her down. Winry, Izumi, they were strong - Izumi had more strength than most of the male population, and so did she.
Just because she didn't know who she was yet, didn't mean she would let it get to her so easily.
.
.
Gracia sat down on her seat, setting down the tray full of teacups and saucers, accompanied by sandwiches on little platters. "Well, it certainly is a treat to see you again, Winry. I'm sorry Elysia isn't awake; she's had a party today at school, and was a little overboard on the sugar." Gracia laughed. "She's on a crash right now."
Winry giggled. "Oh, it's fine, Gracia-san. I actually came to see how you are doing."
Alphonse had made his way to the apartment that he would currently share with Winry, apparently tired after a little 'small talk' with the two women. Obviously, he didn't want to be caught up in the awkward talking. "Me? Well, I feel honored."
"It's...been hard after Mister Hughes's death, hasn't it?" Winry set down her cup on the saucer. She smiled sadly. "Gracia, I know that you won't pry. I know you won't ask any questions if it would hurt someone. And I know that you would never purposely get in the way, because that's how you are." she sighed as the older woman looked taken aback. "But you are Maes's wife, and I know that you're curious. I know Ed better than anyone - and when I saw her on the train, I knew that you would be the first person I would tell, because you would never ask."
A pause. Then, "Ask what, Winry dear?" she said gently.
Winry set down her teacup on the table. She looked Gracia in the eye. "What happened. With Ed, with her decisions in life. I'll tell you first, because Edward would never tell herself."
Gracia was silent for a moment, looking stunned, then she smiled slightly. "Well, I would be lying if I didn't say I was curious."
Winry laughed. "I would think you were lying if you said you weren't."
"But...when have you got so perceptive?"
She smiled sadly. "You learn to see right through people when you've lived with those Elric's for such a long time." she took a deep breath. "Gracia, I'd tell you everything that I can. I can't tell you everything, because Ed...she has to do that herself."
Gracia looked a little troubled, but nodded. "Of course. I trust you, and I trust Edward too. Please tell me."
"Gladly."
.
.
It was eight at night, and Jean Havoc was standing out in the sidewalk alone, smoking a cigarette. The night was slightly chilly, and the snow underfoot cracked when pedestrians stepped on it.
His eyes followed lazily the figures of possible candidates of what could be his future girlfriend, but he knew it was a fruitless chase; for over two years now, his heart and eyes had been set on one woman only, and she was currently (possibly) in love with his boss.
Sometimes, he really hated Mustang.
"Jean?" A familiar voice froze him in his tracks. "Jean? What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be home?" Riza Hawkeye frowned. Her hair was down and she had a bag of groceries in her arms, but it still took Jean away breathless.
"Nah," he said. "Just out for some fresh air."
There was a silence between them two that seemed to stretch on for a long while. Him with his back against the wall, heart beating painfully against his chest, and her standing there awkwardly with her purchases and both staring off in the distance.
"Well," she started. "I'd better get home. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Jean nodded. "Yeah. 'Night."
She flashed a brilliant smile at him, and he stared wistfully at her retreating back, wishing that he'd have the guts to just keep her close for once.
.
.
Gracia settled back into her chair with a look of sad awe on her face. "So that's what...oh. Poor Ed. That girl..."
"I know." Winry looked like she might cry if it weren't for the fact that Gracia was right there. "I know. And it's been so hard on her. She's still not recovered from it completely, I just know it. And I hope I can get her over it - you know, I...I think of Ed as my sister, my best friend. I hate it when she's so..."
"I understand." Gracia reached over and patted the blonde girl's knee in comfort.
Winry gave a watery smile. "Thank you. I'll have to leave now - and Gracia-san, I'd be really grateful if you didn't repeat this to anyone else."
.
.
In the morning, Edward woke up with the weight of a little girl on her chest - again, as usual. Lately, Melissa had taken a liking to sleeping on her, and it usually resulted in back aches or sometimes she couldn't move her arm or leg for a few moments. But she didn't have the heart to wake up that little peaceful face; who knew when was the last time she slept without nightmares?
Melissa's family reports had to be found, she had thought. And she would find the man and woman who did this to their little girl and beat them to a pulp.
"Hey kiddo, time to wake up," she said softly, shaking the brunette slightly. "Kid? Mel?"
Once Edward had managed to wake up Melissa had feed her a quick breakfast - she swore, the kid had the appetite that might've matched her own - she gathered up her things and made for the door. "Paperwork, keys, coat...what else..." she mumbled.
Melissa walked up beside Ed and tugged on her hand, and Edward snapped out of her reverie to see the brunette looking down at her with a smile. Ed smiled back, and decided that she didn't really forget anything.
Taking Melissa's hand, she made her way to Gracia's house without any dilemma.
On the way there, many people stopped and stared at her, a woman who looked just like the Fullmetal Alchemist with a small child at her side, and the small child jumping up and down in joy continuously.
Both Edward and Melissa was jumped on by Elysia, whom had hugged their fiercely. Edward had laughed and introduced them, Elysia quickly taking Melissa's hand and leading her to the living room, where their voices could be heard - Elysia's, loud and rambunctious, and Melissa's timid and shy. Edward sighed and straightened out her shirt.
"Thank you, Gracia, for doing this." she said, smiling at the woman. Gracia sent the same smile back, but Ed couldn't help but notice the way the older woman's eyes lingered on her, looking painful.
"Of course, Edward," she replied. "Anything. I'll be there to help, okay?"
For some reason, Edward didn't think Gracia was talking about Melissa only.
.
.
In the morning, Edward found herself in a slight ambush before she could even take her coat off and say 'good morning'.
"Where's Mel?"
"Yeah, I was starting to like the girl."
"Ed, you didn't leave her alone, did you?"
Edward raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond to anything until she had made it past her desk and took a sip of her coffee. "You guys seem to have really adopted Melissa, huh?" Ed smirked, and for some reason, she felt a little victorious when it struck a chord with everyone in the office.
"What?" Jean asked, looking taken aback.
"Of - of course not. We're just worried." Breda stuttered. But of course, Ed smiled in that way of hers that showed that yes, she truly did this have fangs. There was laughter in her eyes, lightening it up. "I'm jerking your chains. She's with Gracia on a playdate with Elysia; jeez, you were worried."
Jean's face turned a shade of embarrassed red, and Breda looked away, scratching the back of his head. "Oh."
Edward was relieved; it would be much easier to bring Melissa in for work now, seeing as how her colleagues all seemed to adore the little girl to heights among her imagination. Gracia was also happy with Melissa and Elysia being friends; it seemed like with the arrival of this girl that Edward just picked up along the road, their lives had brightened up.
No more was the dark and sad face of Havoc whom always seemed to hide it carefully; now was the carefree man she once knew. But Edward, liked always, knew that there was something wrong - his glances toward Hawkeye when she was not looking was becoming increasingly more frequent and obvious. Or perhaps it was just Ed who was looking too hard.
Breda spent more time on chess and puzzles than scribbling down strategies to bring the enemy down. Fuery was on his way of inventing a new type of radio - something that Edward had not even thought of. Falman was probably on the brink of another promotion along with the key to the head of the Information Department. And Hawkeye...Hawkeye's future looked just as bright as the rest.
And with Ed's new enrollment into the 'new and improved' Brass, things were seeming to be brighter in the near time than ever.
"So, what's up for me today?" she asked her secretary, Lenny, as she set her feet on top of her desk.
"Almost nothing. But you do have that monthly report due to Major General Mustang, seeing as how it says here...that you haven't done so in...five months." Lenny said, looking incredulous at the mere fact of not handing in a report for a month alone. Then, looking at Ed's propped up feet, he made a displeasured face. "Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but..."
Ed rolled her eyes before complying to his unsaid wishes. "Alrighty, I'll go to that bastard. But don't expect the building to come back in one piece." she said flippantly over her shoulder as she made her way out. The Fullmetal Alchemist's hostility toward his - her superior officer was well-known around the people, but it was astounding to see it real life; not just was it a simple 'teasing' type of hate, Herald Lenny could hear the disdain that Fullmetal held in her speech; and yet, there was still respect and loyalty in between, something that was really not expected from Edward. And especially not to a man like Roy Mustang.
The Fullmetal Alchemist's feelings toward Roy Mustang was rather complex, and he wasn't sure that even Edward Elric herself could figure them out until she's sunken deep into her own hole.
.
.
"Whaddya want, bastard?" Edward Elric kicked the door closed behind her, crossing her arms and cocking a brow at her superior officer. Roy Mustang was currently sitting behind a stack of papers, looking as professional and as calm as ever, pen in hand and eyes locking on gold ones.
"Your late, Fullmetal," he stated.
Edward snorted. "No duh. Did you expect anything less?"
Truthfully he didn't. But whatever he did just didn't seem to get on his - her nerves anymore. Roy sighed. "You have to give me your report...since you haven't for so long."
Ed looked thoughtful. "Okay...but here's the thing; what the hell do you want me to report on?" she asked, looking expectant. Roy felt the beginning of a headache come on - and if this continues, he feared he was going to snap at Edward, whom he had only a fragile relationship with. He didn't understand why, but he really didn't want to ruin what they had now; their old lifestyle of fighting and shouts were too much. Too much flair, drama, flamboyant. He didn't want it anymore.
And somehow, he looked for a relationship with Ed that wouldn't leave him hanging by his teeth. Why this was so important to him, he didn't know, but it was like when he first saw the bout of flame alchemy; that dancing fire upon his master's finger, mesmerizing him so much that he wanted to know more.
"On the events that have currently held you up so far. Your monthly report consists of - "
"Alright, alright," she interrupted. "I get it." Ed looked at him in an indecipherable way; he didn't know why those eyes suddenly softened when she gazed at him.
Edward sat down on the chair across from his desk, and she began to slowly tell him exactly what he needed. Roy, suffice to say, was stunned and a little pleased. Maybe working with Edward full time wouldn't be such a pessimistic problem as he thought. Maybe he could get through with actually being friends with him - her.
And that was another thing he needed to get right; her gender. For him, gender never mattered; people were people and they were based upon their personalities and that was the definition of them in general. But Edward was such an enigma, that he had feared to even touch. The kid was volatile, and incredibly mature for an age that didn't suit him; and Roy was scared of that.
But he was a she, and she was impressing him more than he'd like to think.
Edward proved to him that she was more than just a pretty face and flailing limbs; she was a genius, with a love for learning and a passion for alchemy. She was a mother of sorts and a sister of impeccable proportions. She was a best friend. And she was, perhaps, the most brilliant person he ever had the pleasure of meeting. It was sad that he had just figured this out recently, but only in the span of two weeks. Was that how the world saw her? Was that how his team saw her? Was that why he could never get along with her - because he simply didn't try? It was so mind-blowing, now that he thought about it. If he was friends with her, at least faint acquaintances, than a lot would've changed.
"That was...a good report, for once." he said finally after she finished. He looked at her expectant expression and answered it with his own. She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not going to ask you what you meant by that, bastard."
Roy smirked.
"Nothing at all, Edward. I meant nothing at all."
There was a silence as Edward's from became suddenly rigid and she turned around, eyes impossibly wide in shock, staring at him almost fish-mouthed. Roy could feel his own insides freezing up as he realized what he just did; Edward, not Fullmetal.
"I-I mean..." he felt hopelessly lost, but then something that stunned him for a few good hours happened. Instead of Edward, whom he expected to yell and scream and claw at him for even mentioning her name, gave him the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen, bid him a silent goodbye with the flicker of her hand and walked straight out his door.
There was a warm, squirming feeling in the inside of his stomach and chest. He felt uncomfortable, feeling this new found heat that spread to his face. His memory flashed him a image of Ed's smile again, bright, happy, filled with certain freedom; and he felt it again. God, her face was in his mind. What the hell was this...?
This was a foreign feeling, a feeling created by Edward Elric, and he wasn't sure that he knew what it was.
.
.
A/N - I'M SO SO SO SORRRY YADJKASJFHKLA THAT I DIDN'T UPDATE. GOSH I FEEL HORRIBLE. Kanna, I made your poor chapters sit in their box all week long, lonely, review deprived D: I'm so sorry. Well, here's the new chapter, so...yeah. XD Ed's actions at the end are sorta mysterious, seeing as how the last part was from Mustang's POV. In third person. :D
I wrote this in one day. I'm so proud of myself. :D
Ace, shut up. A future warning.
-Summer
.
.