Chapter Ten: Missing...?
I stood in the doorway clutching my backpack to my chest and examined the room before me. It was a mess. There were magazines, books, clothing, and who knows what else spread all over the place. The only clear spot in the entire room was the coffee table, which had an empty coffee mug and a half full ash tray set in the center. The whole apartment smelled like cigarette smoke, which I didn't mind, although it wasn't the most pleasant smell in the world.
"I don't have guests much," Havoc confessed, accompanied by a nervous laugh.
"It's fine," I took a step towards him, attempting not to step on anything that looked important. "My place wasn't that clean, either."
We stood in silence looking at everything and anything but one another. The hug outside the hospital had been followed by a very silent and awkward car ride. Everything in a relationship was new to me, and I couldn't bring myself to bring it up. It was almost like it hadn't happened.
"So, um," I began, trying to find a subject to discuss, "Where will I be sleeping?" I looked over at him for an answer.
"You can have my bed," Havoc told me, looking past me at a semi-open door. I turned and tried to look through the opening, which only revealed more clutter on the floor.
"Where will you sleep then?" I turned around the room slowly and noted that there was only one other door, behind which was most likely the bathroom.
"On the couch I guess."
I turned and looked at him. "But it's your house 2nd Lt. I'll sleep on the couch." In truth, I really didn't feel comfortable sleeping in somebody else's bed if I could avoid it, especially if they weren't going to be sleeping in a bed. That simple fact would have kept me up most of the night with guilt.
"If you're sure that's not a problem. Despite the erm… circumstances… you're still my guest. And please, call me Jean." Havoc told me, looking at the clutter ridden couch that would serve as my bed for who knows how long.
"It's not a problem," I assured him, and set my backpack down on the coffee table. I picked up some of the magazines and set them in a neat pile. "We'll just have to clean this place up a little bit, first."
Jean nodded, "I'm sorry it's such a mess." He helped me to turn the clutter into somewhat manageable piles over the course of the day. It wasn't easy going for me in a cast, but it still worked.
-
My stomach let out a horrible groan as I sat on the couch reading. It was the first day since I'd left the hospital, and I'd been left to my own devices. Jean had gone to work like a good employee and had told me to help myself to whatever I felt like.
So, I'd cleaned the bathroom, which had been horribly disgusting. I didn't understand how somebody could go without cleaning their bathroom. I'd followed that with doing the dishes, and then lost myself in a random book from Jean's measly collection.
I stood and went to the kitchen. I pulled the refrigerator door open and discovered an expired bottle of milk, and nothing else. How some people can live in total chaos without food was beyond me, but it obviously worked. I checked the pantry for similar results, and sighed.
"I guess I'm going grocery shopping," I mumbled, pulling my wallet out of my backpack and the spare key from the coffee table where Jean had left it. I didn't know exactly where a market was, but there obviously had to be something around there somewhere.
Looking back on the decision, it wasn't very smart with the potential that somebody was still looking for me, but I stopped in the closest shop and asked about the market.
The market was HUGE. Not only were there several indoor places, but local vendors lined the streets. I'd never seen anything like it in Central myself, and still don't know where the farmers' farms are, but it was impressive. Anything you could possibly want in terms of produce was available. I must have spent hours going through all of the little tents, my hunger forgotten.
I ended up with an armful of bags full of fruits and vegetables. I smiled happily as I bit into an apple. My stomach accepted the food and wanted more. By the time I had gotten back to the apartment building no apples remained. They'd just been so juicy and tender that I couldn't stop eating them, and I'd begun in on the carrots as well.
A bread cart out of the corner of my eye distracted me mid bite and I felt in my wallet to see if I had any money left. It wasn't much, but I brightened at the sight of the sign. I had just enough for a loaf.
~*~
Havoc stuck the key in the deadbolt and turned. The soft 'click' told him it had unlocked. He swung the door open, expecting to find Amunet sitting on the couch looking bored. He was alarmed when nobody was in the main room.
"Amunet?" He called, closing the door behind him and placing his hand on the handle of his gun. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but he could never be too careful.
He checked his bedroom, even though he knew she wouldn't be in there even if she was home, and wasn't surprised to find it empty. The kitchen was empty, too, but the dishes had been done and were neatly stacked next to the sink. Next, Havoc knocked on the bathroom door and when there was no response, he opened it slowly. Nobody was in the bathroom either!
Where had she gone?! Jean returned to the main room in a bit of a panic. If something had happened to Amunet while he had been at work... He would kill himself. Not to mention Mustang would kill him, too!
Mustang had sent him home early to make sure that Amunet was safe, after of course, the Flame Alchemist had chewed him out for leaving his charge unattended.
"Amunet?" Havoc called again to the empty apartment, biting back the sinking feeling in his stomach. He noted now, in a desperate hope that Amunet wasn't kidnapped or dead, that the spare key was gone. Hopefully that meant she was okay, wherever she had disappeared to.
Havoc ran back into the hall and proceeded down one flight of stairs, hoping to find Amunet somewhere within the building. As the door to the stairs shut behind him, the other staircase door on the other side of the hallway opened, and a very happy looking Amunet appeared, carrying several large bags. She used the key and was surprised to find the deadbolt unlocked already.
"Huh. I thought I locked it," She mumbled to herself as she pushed the door open and entered.
~*~
I set the heavy bags on the counter and proceeded to empty the contents into the refrigerator. I left the bread on the counter on a plate and put the bags under the sink. You never know when bags will come in handy.
I pulled a knife out of a drawer and sliced off a piece of bread. I fished around the cabinets again and came up with a jar of peanut butter that hadn't expired yet. Satisfied, I began to spread the peanut butter over the bread slice when the front door opened.
"Mustang is going to kill me," A voice said. I had to stifle a laugh. I'd only known Jean for two weeks, and already he'd managed to use that sentence on three occasions.
I picked up my peanut butter bread and walked into the other room where Jean was slumped forward on the couch, a fresh cigarette in his mouth.
"What'd you do this time?" I asked, sitting down next to him.
Jean just turned and stared at me in amazement.
"What?" I asked, looking away. I set my bread down on the table and leaned back, eyes closed, trying to ignore the stare.
Two arms wrapped around me and pulled me into Havoc. "Thank god! I thought something happened to you!" My eyes popped open and a looked at Jean in disbelief.
"Why would you think that?" I asked, trying to hide my face as my ears and cheeks started to heat up.
"I came home and you weren't here. If you'd been kidnapped while I was supposed to be protecting you..." He trailed off, looking away and releasing his hold on me.
"Oh... I was out grocery shopping," I smiled, the majority of me ignoring the seriousness in his voice.
Jean chuckled without humor and looked at me again, "I forgot about food."
Okey-Dokey People, we're into what I consider the sequel on Luna. I'm writing, but not quickly. However it's more quickly than it was. So hopefully I can update every two weeks. :) Or maybe even every week, depending on how fast I end up writing the stuff. Right now I'm trying to extend the storyline somehow to make the whole Havoc romance factor larger. So there may be a few more twists before the end... And then again, it may be another LCIS and end unsatisfactorily...
We'll just have to wait and see. Peace -Z