Chapter 8: Happily Never After
Author's note: So here it is finally…The final chapter. I want to thank you all for your patience. I just got my cord back on Friday last week and have been scrambling to catch up with EVERYTHING on my plate. Because of your patience I was able to make this the longest chapter yet . And also please take note of this…Please don't hate me for the ending n.n; I will accept any criticisms and such forth for it but know there IS more to the story if anyone wants it. This is where you have to pay attention: IF you want more of this story please review and say so! Cause if there's no demand for it, I won't post it n.n; I'm lazy that way. Thank you all for your continued support and without further ado…The final chapter
Alphonse was worried. He was also bored. Ed had been gone longer than he'd ever been before and it was disheartening to the younger that he'd been left behind. When Ed hadn't returned as planned Al had gone to headquarters and got the whole story. He was concerned his brother had been headstrong, and was about to take off after him but was stopped. So instead, he waited impatiently, and every day trekked from his shared apartment, to headquarters and then to the library. This day was no different; he was taking the familiar route thinking about how much he missed having his brother to talk to. He was so lost in his thoughts that when he first heard his brother's voice, he thought he was imagining it. However there was no mistaking that the voice he heard yelling was his brother, and he sounded pissed. Alphonse listened more carefully and was able to make out what his brother was shouting: "Bastard!! Open up this door right now and tell me what's going on!!" Following the sound of bangs Al was led to Colonel Mustang's house. Taking the stairs two at a time he ran to investigate.
He found Ed in front of the second floor bathroom, banging his right fist against the door. This wasn't too out of place, because Ed got mad at the drop of a hat. What was strange was Edward wasn't wearing any clothing. "BROTHER!!" Alphonse squealed, tossing the nearest material at his brother, a sheet that had been folded on a chair in front of a bedroom. "It's no wonder he's locked himself in there, with you parading around naked and all!! What's going on?" Embarrassed he quickly turned away from his nude brother, and for once was glad of the armor he was trapped in, had he a real body he was sure right now he'd be bright red. No matter what he thought of, he couldn't think of a good reason his brother was naked in the Colonel's house, pounding down his bathroom door.
Edward did blush and gathered the thin white material around his small frame. 'Shit shit…What is Al doing here??' he thought to himself, and believed Al must either be psychic or have the worst timing in the history of mankind. He stammered for a moment, trying to think of an adequate reason for all this without telling Al straight out what he'd been up to. When he couldn't come up with anything he pushed past his brother, running downstairs for his clothing. Alphonse followed shortly after, waiting for Ed to hurriedly pull on his pants and a tank top. "So, are you going to explain??" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. Edward sighed and shook his head.
"Never mind, you don't want the details." He said dismissively, dressing at lightning speed. "Listen, Roy is acting weird. You have to help me get him out of the bathroom. He's locked himself in." Ed hoped this was enough to get his brother to help. Usually Alphonse was more than happy to help with his hot headed, reckless plans. How was he supposed to explain to his younger, more innocent brother that he was intimately involved with the person he routinely called a bastard?
Al stared blankly at Ed, confused at his pigheadedness. "Ed, I can't just help without knowing anything. What if there's a good reason he's locked in there? What if he's sick?" Ed shook his head. "Maybe he just wants some time alone then Ed, this is his house…You should just come home with me and let him rest." Edward shook his head again furiously, annoyed by the suggestion.
"Well if you won't take my suggestions then maybe you should go back up there and talk to him." He said and sighed. "I don't understand what's going on but it's between you and him. You made the mess, you work it out." He said gently, pushing Edward towards the stairs. Ed didn't resist but stared back at Al with an uncertain expression. Alphonse chuckled, Edward though older than his years could look so childlike sometimes. He waved him towards the stairs again. "I'll wait down here." He said patiently.
Ed trudged back upstairs, thoughts heavy. He didn't share his brother's confidence that he'd be able to set things right. For one, he had no clue what he'd done wrong. One minute they'd been close, intimate and Edward had really felt a connection between them. The next, well...It had felt as though suddenly the wall had given away, sending him sprawling onto the ground. He played back the scene on the way up the stairs, half preoccupied by counting each stair as he stepped on it. He remembered the look in the Colonel's eyes before he'd retreated...something between anger and pain. By the tenth stair it suddenly made sense…It wasn't anything he did, it was what he had said. His stomach lurched; those words had seemed so natural, so right…So why did they bother Roy? Could he not feel the same? The stairs suddenly ended and Edward found himself again staring at the door. 'I wonder if he regrets what happened….." he thought to himself as he gently rapped on the door.
"Roy...Please, I'm tired of pounding on the door. I want to talk..." He said desperately. His sentence cutting off sharply as he pitched foreword into the room as the door was yanked open. Looking up from where he'd so ungracefully landed he was greeted by a solemn Roy, who offered a hand out to Ed apologetically.
Ed accepted the help and was pulled to his feet by strong hands. As soon as Roy knew he was steady he closed the door behind him. The teen stood silently, the air around him almost crackling with nervous energy. Unsure of how to breech the subject of the doubts he had, he waited for Roy to make the first move, frightened that if he were to break the silence somehow whatever had triggered the others earlier coldness may return. On Roy's part, he silently stared, a serious expression in his eyes. Gesturing, he offered Ed a seat.
"I'm sorry…" He said softly. "I over-reacted. I convinced myself that I was doing you wrong, or that I was somehow forcing you into everything." He looked away; as though there was more he couldn't bear to speak.
Ed shrugged, pulling together words that might make everything right again. "I was just as guilty then. I didn't say no...Didn't push you away. So you didn't force me. I said yes of my own free will." He hugged the other gently. "You can't take all the blame, if there is any sin to it, it's shared. Though I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It certainly didn't feel wrong..." He said with a small blush. Roy smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, hands trailing slowly over him. Tilting Ed's head upwards he kissed him passionately, reaching behind him to turn the faucet on the bathtub, filling the basin with water.
"What would you say to a relaxing bath, hmmmm?" He asked, smirking. He reached into the stream of water then flicked a small amount of the warm water onto the other's face. Ed flinched, getting a hand up just is time to keep the water from its destination.
Laughing Ed shook his head. "No, as awesome as that sounds, my brother is waiting downstairs and I haven't seen him in forever! I should go talk to him for awhile, catch up...you know." He shrugged, eyes wandering towards the door, thoughts already straying to what he and his brother would talk about. Roy pouted dramatically, gesturing again to the rapidly filling tub. When Ed again shook his head and headed towards the door Roy's pout turned to a snarl and with a growl deep in his throat he caught the younger around the waist, spun him off his feet and dropped him, fully clothed, into the steaming water. He smirked victoriously as the younger pulled himself up from under the water gasping and spluttering, his clothing sticking wetly to his frame, trapping him. Blinded by bangs that clung to his face he tried desperately to find the edge of the tub. Mustang chuckled lowly and got into the bath after his young lover, wiping away the wet hair from the other's eyes.
"When are you going to learn to recognize a command, Fullmetal?" He said coyly, still chuckling and kissed him roughly before he could reply.
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Downstairs Alphonse waited with baited breath. Every so often his gaze wandered upstairs. He was glad there was no yelling, a sign that things were remaining civil. This was good, because Ed was particularly volatile when it came to the Colonel, something he'd wondered about often in the years the two had known each other. Something about the Colonel always seemed to push his headstrong brother the wrong way, causing the sparks to fly whenever they were together. He heard soft murmurs of the two chatting upstairs and unconsciously strained to hear what they were saying, snapping back guiltily for doing so. Al had to remind himself that it was consciously that he had excluded himself from his brother, and therefore could wait to find out what was happening. Try as he might his curiosity got the better of him. He thought he had heard the word 'sorry' and a few minutes later was happy to hear the two laughing.
With a sound that could only be labelled as a sigh of relief Al headed to the door. Al sensed that this was one moment in his brother's life he couldn't in good faith intrude on. He was just happy that his brother was getting along with the other man. The Colonel was always helping them, going out of his way to find out things that would help them. Al saw him as something of a father, and truthfully it was probably the closest thing he'd experienced. Unlike Ed, Al remembered nothing of the man who they called dad. Giggling happily to himself he thought it was great that Ed was beginning to respect the Colonel the same way he himself always had.
The walk back to the apartment went by as quickly as ever. Al was greeted by silence, but this didn't bother him the way it had the whole time Ed had been away. He sat at the small study and pulled out the notes his brother had left behind before he went to Xing. He had made little progress, his brother's form of shorthand proving difficult to crack.
He had been at work a few hours when the phone suddenly pulled him from the garbled equations and difficult theories he was deciphering. A quick glance outside told him it was early evening. The streetlights were flickering softly already, somewhere between his studies the man had come and lit the oil lamps. He watched the thin flame following it upward looking at the sky. It was a deep blue and the sun was slipping low, painting the horizon crimson. Somehow tonight the red bathed sky made Alphonse nervous, like it was a promise of something sinister to come. Quickly he picked up the phone and put it to his ear.
"Hello, Alphonse?" said a crisp, female voice on the other end that he recognized as First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. "I was wondering if your brother was around…" There was barely camouflaged worry in her voice which instantly put Al on edge.
"No…." Al began tentatively. "But I know where he is and could pass on a message." He prodded gently, his curiosity taking hold. Hawkeye usually didn't usually call for Edward directly and certainly not when he was off duty. Not to mention the late hour..Most everyone at Headquarters was on their way home.
"Yes, you could tell him that he should come to the military hospital as soon as possible. We have Colonel Mustang here with us, he was found early this morning. Tell him not to worry, besides some dehydration and bruises he's fine." Riza continued though Alphonse seized listening. Panic and confusion was running through him. Mustang was in the hospital…Since this morning? That made no sense, not when Edward had clearly said he'd been with him all day. So what was going on? Did he get hurt after...No that didn't make sense if they'd found him in the morning? Nor was Edward talking to himself, and he'd never be at the Colonel's house if he didn't think he was there as well. He realized he had let the receiver drop from his ear and numbly replaced it, trying to focus on what the Lieutenant was saying.
"..en we brought him in he was beside himself, very distraught. He babbled a long time before the nurse finally had to give him a sedative. He kept saying the very same thing over and over again…" She paused, and Alphonse wished she would hurry up and spit it out. "He said he wasn't the target of the attack and that he had to get to Fullmetal, that someone had to protect him. He said he wasn't safe alone. That's why I was so glad you said you've been in contact Alphonse."
"I----I have to go." Al said nervously, his mind running a mile a minute. It took him a moment to catch up but suddenly it all clicked together. If Mustang was in the hospital with Hawkeye and the others, that only left one person who could be with his brother. Terror swept through his body as he realized the peril his brother could be in. "Hold on Ed…" he muttered to himself as the receiver clattered to the ground, the younger Elric out the door before he could hear the crash.
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The dark haired man stared down at the now sleeping blonde thoughtfully. He watched the slow rise and fall of the boy's chest and mused on the unfairness of life. In mere seconds a life could be erased, destroyed or changed. Lonely he wrapped an arm possessively around the boy, pulling the fair-haired youth over with ease so that he was draped over his chest. Though never waking up, Edward nuzzled into the other, wrapping his arms tenderly around the elder's neck. Smiling gently at the unconscious gesture he marvelled that this small, beautiful creature fit into his arms perfectly and for now was all his…No one to share with or lose him to. Darkness crept into his eyes, as reality reared its ugly head. It would be perfect….If he was actually the one the boy loved.
His orders rang clearly in his head. He's become a nuisance…They'd said. Eliminate the older Elric, they'd ordered. At the time this would have been an easy mission, he'd hated the little fucker. Yet, he always had to up the stakes, make a game out of the hunt. This time, it had backfired and he'd let everything go too far. He'd developed feelings for the one condemned…and that made it all the more difficult. He hated that now it was more than a simple lynching but a betrayal so deep that it could destroy them both before the alchemist took his final breath. The closeness he felt was such a cruelty...Especially to Ed, something he regretted deeply. It had all started as a curiosity, just a spark of impishness that had formulated this most fiendish of plans. It started a few weeks before Ed had left on the mission he was never supposed to return from. He'd taken to following Ed around, noting routines, habits and weaknesses. What he'd noticed is that the boy had definitely seemed less tightly-wound with the Colonel around, and small kindnesses that Ed would bestow on the man when he thought he wasn't looking. He never meant to explore this, to find out anything more…But the desire was there. He never meant to make the boy love him….Or worse to return the feeling. He wished he could just walk away now and save the boy some pain…but of course that was out of the question. Dolefully, he ran over the past few months with Edward. Truthfully he couldn't think of a better time in his life. He sighed heavily when he remembered that every action, smile and kiss had actually been for another. Though this whole thing was one sided and false, and the feelings he felt would be purely one sided, he couldn't help but love him.
"Well…All good things must come to an end..." He said softly, resigned to the fate of the boy softly stirring beside him. Steeling him towards the violence of this whole matter he closed off his mind to the horror rushing around it. Hearing the other speak Ed opened up his eyes, sleepily rubbing his eyes. Looking over at Roy, confusion in his eyes at being woken up, trying to figure out what was going on. He pulled Ed closer, so that he was underneath him and kissed him passionately, relishing these final moments. When he let him up for air he regarded him sadly.
"Then…This is goodbye…" he whispered to the blonde, crushing him against his chest, breathing deeply…Committing his scent to memory. Ed stiffened against him, not understand what was going on. He tried to pull away to look at Roy's face but the other held him tighter, restricting his movement.
"Are you worried about before Roy? You're not forcing me into anything, you know that right?" He said desperately, trying to understand why he's all of a sudden was so cold towards him, and wouldn't look him in the eye. Roy slowly shook his head, willing his expression to become impassive. Ed clung to him helplessly, wanting for the clock to turn back and bring back the Roy he had come to love. "If you were just messing around, if you weren't serious about this…then why did you start this!!?" He said trying not to cry. "What was this?? Some sort of sick joke, just another conquest? Don't my feelings count?? I LOVE you damnit! You made me love you….If you'd never followed me to Xing none of this would have happened." He tried to kiss him, to bring back the spark they'd shared not even a day ago, but Roy pushed him back.
"You misunderstood Hagane, I said its goodbye...Not that I was leaving you. What I'm saying is this is a lie." He said dropping his disguise. "So you see chibi-chan...Maybe you shouldn't have fallen in love. Don't worry though, you won't suffer long...I intend to take very good care of you." He watched with some satisfaction as his expression changed, becoming shocked, then angry and finally heartbroken. Feeling a bit bad he gave a small smile promising himself he'd make it quick. "That's right chibi; your precious Colonel was never here. It was all me…You fell in love with me!" Long slender fingers closed around his neck and then began to squeeze. Ed made no move to stop him, shocked into submission by the betrayal. Tears he'd held back until now began to run down his cheeks, falling onto the pillow.
Envy closed his eyes, trying to block out the other's pain. He continued to strangle the young alchemist with shaking hands. 'I don't want this...It's not my fault…Quit looking at me like that....' he thought in anguish. Images rushed through him, feelings and moments in the last few months tortured him. He saw Ed that first night...So sweet, innocent and cautious. Felt his small body against his, heavy in sleep, peacefully resting within his arms, the molten eyes that had greeted him that morning, still soft with sleep. Surprise in his features that everything had been real and not a dream. That's when he'd first started to care…His hands dug sharply into flawless skin, drawing blood. He heard his laugh, felt his warmth...The passion with which he loved and was engulfed by all that was Ed.
Ed…..The hot headed brat who never did things half way. With him it was all or nothing. He didn't ever leave anyone to suffer. Quick to anger…But also quick to forgive. He was kind, good and brave. He loved…Loved his brother enough to sacrifice his own innocence by becoming a dog, loved people enough to try to save them from their own foolishness, loved the Colonel both as a comrade in arms, a friend and most recently had tasted what true love could feel like….
Ed….Rough around the edges. Full of spunk and fire and ice. Scathing in his insults and passionate in his pursuit. He remembered the feel of him, how once he got past his embarrassment there was a furious fire lit. That he had been the cause of that fire, that he could give him that much pleasure. Then after the physical there was that innate tenderness within the teen that would leave the other breathless. What could the boy have done to deserve this…What had he himself done to deserve this loathsome task. He squeezed his eyes tight, and tried to forget about the lump that had mysteriously appeared in his throat. He heard a sound then and his eyes opened, startled as he realized they were coming from him…That he was sobbing, his own tears mixing with Ed's. He gave a cry of pure anguish.
"God damnit!!" He screamed at the boy lying prone against the mattress. "Why….Why??! Why love him. Why did you have to love him Edward??! This could have been so much easier…On the both of us." He choked out, watching as the other's startling eyes began to darken. Coming alive suddenly Edward attempted to claw at the hands around his neck, frantically trying to get the air his body needed to stay alive. His movements however were weak and futile, barely even affecting the Homunculus. As the seconds passed his movements became weaker and more sluggish, his body shutting down, dying.
Suddenly one memory made the sin stop cold. Ed brushing a hand against his face, with a smile so gentle and serene it seemed out of place on the boy, and a whispered confession that even then had been so bittersweet. Those three little words, full of implication and most of all sincerity. In that one moment, he did love the one in front of him….Regardless of what would happen. That moment, was everything…Was the truth. Ed unknowingly had given him the greatest gift he'd ever received….Love freely given. He froze, and the grip he had around the other loosed. Ed drew in a long shuddering breath, coughing painfully.
"I can't do it….I can't fucking kill you!!" Envy raged, dropping his hands altogether from the boy's neck. He studied the vicious red marks he'd left on the other's skin and got up, towering over the still gasping boy.
"I'm leaving….Consider it a gift from me." He said angrily. "But, before I do, let me tell you something. This…Is as close as you'll get." He said cruelly. "Remember that, the Colonel you love, the one you wanted so desperately that even I noticed….He only likes woman. You'll never have this with him. He loves you yes…But as a son." He smirked as the other flinched. "This is the closest you'll ever get to the real thing, so I hope you enjoyed it." His mirthless cackle echoed around the room even long after he'd jumped out the window, leaving Ed alone.
Edward climbed weakly out of the bed. He made it as far as the window before his strength ran out and collapsed to the floor. A hand went up and grazed against his neck, shocked to find they were still painful and beginning to bruise. His face crumpled and he doubled over upon himself, his body wracked with silent sobs as everything finally hit home.
"He wasn't here…He wasn't here…" He murmured to himself, trying to block out the heartbreak he felt at being abandoned after being used so. He continued to cry, curling up into a ball, trying to keep himself from tearing in half with the hot stabbing pain in his heart…Everything else was minor.
It was in this position his brother found him. Al looked into the dark room and noticed his brother sitting still against the wall, his head bent forward. Fearing the worst he ran forward but Ed looked up at him as he approached. Al gasped, Ed wasn't dead but his eyes were impassive and without their usual spark. It was like just after their attempt at human transmutation…A time Ed had wished he were dead. Al noisily dropped down beside his brother.
"Brother...Where's Roy?" He asked worriedly, taking in the wounds on his brother's neck. His brother looked momentarily confused, shoulders sagging in despair.
"Roy??..." he whispered painfully and self consciously pulled up the collar of his shirt. He clutched at his chest in pain and hid his face, trying not to break into tears in front of his brother. "He was never here…" he answered bitterly.
Al nodded and hugged him as carefully as he could before helping him up. It was times like this the younger brother wished he could take away all the pain his brother dealt with. "I know…" he started gently. "But I know where he is..." Pulling his brother by the hand he headed towards the hospital. 'Quickly…' he thought to himself. 'Help me to heal him once more…."
~Owari~
