Chapter 13-
As the outer office door flew open with a bang, Havoc considered the difference 15 months makes. Edward stomped his way in, pieces of papers crumbled in his hand, as he demanded to know if Mustang was here from the first person he made eye contact with. The teenager was covered in grime and blood and his hair was coming out of its braid. He looked super pissed off. Unfortunately, none of these things were considered alarming anymore. Except maybe the pissed off part. Ayala, Al and Chester filed through dutifully as Breda nodded his head in answer to Ed's question. Al was trying to get his brother to calm down before he reached Mustang's inner office door but to no avail. Chester and Ayala looked both resigned and amused as they followed their humans. Ayala had bit of blood in her fur and Havoc suspected the same with Chester but couldn't be certain thanks to the leopards colour. Hawkeye didn't even bother trying to intervene. She only did so when the nearly-14-year-old got really out of hand. Al had closed the door his brother had kicked open behind them but it did nothing to stop the raised voices from being heard.
Ed was exceptionally pissed off. Words couldn't describe the anger he felt right now. Honestly, it'd be a miracle if he found the stone before he strangled his commanding officer. Despite Al's protests, Ed hadn't stopped at their dorm to clean himself or the Animals up before coming here. He had a bone to pick with Mustang and he refused to leave it longer than strictly necessary. To his credit, Mustang barely flinched when his door was kicked open anymore these days. Nor did he flinch when he met the burning and infuriated gaze of his youngest subordinate.
"Good morning, Fullmetal. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Mustang admitted it was rather childish but he did so enjoy riling Ed up even more than he normally was when he came into his office. Ed threw the abused papers clutched in his fist onto Mustangs desk. Mustang smoothed the rumpled and slightly bloody papers out as much as possible and realised it was Ed's report. He'd recognise that chicken scratch anywhere.
"YOU'RE A RIGHT BASTARD, YOU KNOW THAT? I DON'T GIVE TWO FLYING FUCKS WHAT KINDS OF DANGER YOU SENT ME INTO UNPREPARED BUT IF YOU EVER HOLD BACK INFORMATION LIKE THIS AGAIN, I WILL SKIN YOU!" Ed's fury rolled off him in thick waves. Al was trying to get his brother to calm down but Ed was clearly not interested in listening. Nala had been fully awoken by the volume and was glaring at Mustang for whatever he'd done to make Ed so angry thus causing her nap to be interrupted. Mustang would've found this amusing but he was slightly confused by what the blonde had yelled at him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Fullmetal. I didn't withhold any information from you about your last mission." Ed snorted in disbelief and crossed his arms as he just looked at Mustang with an expression that screamed 'bullshit'.
"Seriously? You expect me to believe that you had no idea that not only was that lunatic an alchemist but that he was an alchemist who specifically targeted Animals?!" The black haired man's mask slipped as he looked at Ayala and the impressive amount of blood on her fur and put two and two together.
"You both survived so I don't really see the point of this tantrum." Mustang told him coolly. He'd honestly not known about the facts that he was an alchemist or that he targeted Animals. He would've told Ed if he had but the kid didn't need to know that. He'd be having a talk with Investigations though. Ed's anger intensified.
"The point is, that psycho had more information about us than we had about him! Ayala almost died because we didn't know to look for traps targeting Animals! She's only alive because Chester managed to knock her aside just enough that her wound was non fatal! Not to mention, I couldn't heal her until we'd dealt with him and the fact that he targeting the Animals meant I had to take him on solo while Al was protecting Ayala and Chester." Ed ranted at him. "Ayala almost died because I almost got taken down because we didn't have all the pertinent information. I don't care if that was your fault or the fault of whoever gave you the mission to give to me. Make sure it doesn't happen again." Ed's voice had grown quiet but no less angry. Even Nala was taken back by the intense emotion in his voice. Mustang looked at Ed and sighed.
"Look, Fullmetal, I didn't know that he used his alchemy that way. I assumed you would've heard he was an alchemist before you ran into him. Obviously I will be talking to the people who sent the request for an alchemist. That sort of information should've been made available to everyone, especially the alchemist assigned to the case. Had I have known, I would've told you. Even I'm not that much of a bastard." Ed's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Alphonse, Ayala and Chester had been trying to tell him the whole train ride that they din't believe Mustang would intentionally keep that sort of information from any of them. Even his gut was telling him Mustang was as clueless as he was. Ed had been so ropeable that he refused to believe and right now he was on the fence. So he asked the only person in the room who he knew would tell him the absolute truth.
"Nala?" He looked at the lioness, not even needing to ask the question.
"He's telling the truth, Ed. And even if he wasn't, I would've told you myself but neither of us knew." She spoke softly and truthfully. Ed visibly relaxed. Mustang watched the whole exchange with interest. There was something odd about Ed and Nala's relationship and Mustang was dying to figure it out. He wasn't sure when he first noticed but when he'd asked Nala all he got was a thoroughly amused feeling from her. When Ed relaxed, the whole room seemed to relax with him. Now, instead of looking excessively angry and close to murder, he just looked exhausted. A pang of worry ran through the older alchemist as he took in the young blonde's condition now that he wasn't on a rampage. Blood was matted in his hair and he was favouring his left side, indicating a bruised side at the very least. His red jacket was darker in some spots where blood and dirt had stained it. His clothing was torn in places and Mustang was sure that almost every tear would have an underlying scratch or cut to accompany it. He was sure there were more injuries he couldn't see, considering the blonde's past record of keeping injuries from himself and his brother, if at all possible.
"You said you were almost taken down. What are your injuries?" Mustang asked, eyes trying to decipher his subordinates report. He was sure Ed wrote like this on purpose.
"They're in the report." Meaning the injuries Al and Mustang could see or had witnessed were in the report. "Just make sure vital information isn't left out of my mission summaries. Come on, Al. We gotta get cleaned up and to the library. Miss Allysha has found some new books for us." Ed said as he headed towards the door.
"Fullmetal." Mustang called out, making the boy stop and turn around. "This isn't an acceptable report. I expect a clean copy by the end of tomorrow." He said as he held up the filthy original. Ed snarled and left the room. Mustang sighed. Maybe the kid would be a bit more open once he'd gotten some sleep. At the very least, he might not be able to hide all his injuries thus being forced to answer Mustang truthfully when he pressed the issue.
"I am sorry for his behaviour, Colonel." Al apologised, pausing before he followed his brother, both Animals having gone ahead. Both alchemists could hear Ed reassuring the others that he was perfectly fine and answer any questions they had about why he was yelling.
"Don't worry about it. I'm giving him a pass this time. I think my reaction would've been similar if our places had been traded. How badly hurt is he?" Mustang asked the armoured boy. Al hesitated, weighing up the pros and cons of answering.
"I don't know for sure. I was too busy guarding the Animals and trying to disarm the traps that were around us before Chester got caught in one. I know Ed was thrown into a wall at one point. That's how he got the head injury. By the time I'd disabled the traps, Ed was done with him. I didn't get to ask him anything until after he'd healed Ayala and Chester and by that time, he claimed he was just tired from healing them both." He sighed.
"Wait, he healed Ayala and Chester?" Mustang was dumbfounded. He certainly hadn't expected that. Al shifted guiltily.
"Yeah. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that ever." Mustang was extremely curious now. He was about to ask when Ed popped his head back through the door.
"Al, what're you waiting for? Let's go!" With a quiet thank you for Ed's excellent accidental diversion and a quick goodbye to Mustang, Ed and Al headed for their dorms. While Ed had been all for heading to the library as soon as he was done yelling at Mustang, Al pointed out that he might not be allowed in considering how filthy he was. Not to mention the fact that the blood might cause some people to panic a little. Once they made it to the dorms, Al handed Ed the first aid kit they'd ended up putting together the third time Ed had gotten himself injured and refused to go see a doctor about it. Al had been very argumentative about it but Ed placated him by agreeing to read all the medical books they could find, preparing several first aid kits and agreeing that if he ever lost consciousness or broke a bone or the injury was beyond either of their capabilities, Ed would go to a hospital with no complaining. Once he'd shut the bathroom door, he stripped and took a good look at his injuries in the mirror. The alchemist they'd gone up against had only been armed with a common boning knife but he was rather efficient at using it. Ed had a downward gash running from the mid of his rib cage down to just below his belly button on his right side. The jackets had done a good job at hiding that injury. He also knew he was going to be some pretty colours tomorrow once the bruising set in properly. Aside from the gash, the cut on his head from it connecting forcibly with a brick wall and some cracked ribs, he only had minor scrapes. He quickly showered, shampooed the blood out of his hair, cleaned and patched his wounds before changing clothes and letting Ayala and Chester in so they could get a bath. Once clean and finished assuring Al he was completely fine, Ed was finally on his way to the library. Ayala accompanied him but Al and Chester had decided they all needed food so they went to find some lunch.
Al entered the library only half an hour later, carrying four bags of food. He always bought food for himself to avoid Miss Allysha asking questions. There was only so many times someone could say they'd already eaten or weren't hungry before people got suspicious of never seeing them with food. He found Edward at their usual table with more books than what they'd left before. The librarians had decided to save the boys trouble and reserved the table for them so it was always available to them considering they spent every spare moment in the library. This also meant they could leave their books out and know they'd still be there when they got back. Ed was happy to see his brother and the food. Train food really wasn't that good. Once they'd all eaten and the rubbish had been disposed of, they dug into their research. A few hours into it, Al interrupted Ed and made him re-write his report, like Mustang had instructed. Ed did so with immense complaining. Al tuned it out. He'd had a lot of practise at doing that this past year. His brother had been required to rewrite his report more often than not and Al was convinced he was doing it to annoy Mustang on purpose. Ed scrawled out a new report and turned his attention back to the book sitting in front of him. Over a year of access to one of the biggest and best libraries in Amestris and they'd only learned trivial things about the stone. Nothing about how to find or make one for themselves and Ed would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He hadn't expected to find an answer straight away or even within a year but he had hoped they'd have made more process than this. The frustration at the lack of readily available information and the rumours that always amounted to nothing had resulted in a few bouts of doubt but Al, Chester and Ayala had always brought his hopes back up. They weren't disturbed by any librarians until the next day when Miss Allysha had interrupted them with a message from Colonel Mustang's office, reminding Ed that he needed to hand his report in before the end of the work day. Ed asked Nala to pass along a message telling Mustang to go fuck himself, something Nala did even if she did change the wording to something a little nicer. She sent back an image of him smirking and Ed growled. It was a dream of his to punch that smirk off of Mustang's face. Maybe he'd do that after the headache that had been getting steadily worse since yesterday disappeared.
Half an hour before Mustang normally knocked off, Ed and Ayala made their way to his office. Al wanted to go with him, mainly to ensure his brother didn't do something stupid, but Ed told him there was no point in both of them going. The benefit of going to the office so close to knock off time meant that Ed wasn't likely to be forced to stay long since Mustang would be eager to escape the invisible chains of his desk. The less time Mustang and Ed were in each others company, the better. Havoc and Hawkeye were the only other members of the team left in the office. With a quick glance at the clock, Ed was satisfied to find there were just 10 minutes left in the work day so he was definitely not late. With a quick hello to the remaining humans and Animals in the office, he went straight into Mustang's inner office with his usual style. Mustang looked up at his entrance, as did Nala.
"Cutting it rather short there, aren't you, Fullmetal?" Mustang drawled. Nala shot him a flat look, something Ed mimicked. While he ordinarily would've blown up at the not-so-subtle short joke, right now his head hurt far too much to do so. Instead, he put his report on Mustang's desk and sprawled himself out on the unoccupied couch.
"How long did it take you to think of that one? Maybe I should tell Miss Riza you've got time on your hands." Ed quipped back, effectively causing Mustang to blanch. Nala laughed as she made her way over to her favourite blonde's side. Ayala, knowing exactly where her human hurt, which was pretty much everywhere, decided to curl up above his head since he was resting his feet on the armrest, something he knew irked Mustang to no end. Nala settled for sitting next to his head and taking careful inventory of his behaviour. He distracted her momentarily by scratching her beind her ear where she liked it best.
"That bruise looks nasty." She pointed out when he placed his hand a little carefully on his gut. He glanced at her, amusement causing his eyes to twinkle.
"Which one?" He half-joked. Neither Animal was amused. Mustang was used to hearing these one-side conversations and continued perusing the report in front of him.
"The one that's surrounding that cut on your head." Nala deadpanned. Ed snorted.
"That's what happens when a nutbag throws you into a wall instead of cooperating." Ed stated curtly. Nala winced.
"How bad?" Nala asked. Ed cracked an eye open to look at her and she decided to elaborate. "How badly were you all hurt?"
"Ah. Well, Al got out of it fine, obviously. Chester got his shoulder sliced open but it was relatively shallow. Ayala coped the worst. She got impaled through the shoulder. It took forever for it to heal. We got lucky no arteries got hit. I just got the head injury and a couple cracked ribs." She rolled her eyes. He coulda been talking about the weather instead of injuries he suffered.
"So how are you feeling? You musta spent a fair amount of energy healing them both." She asked, ignoring the obvious downplay of his injuries. Ed frowned at her.
"Both of them?" He didn't remember telling her that he had to heal Chester whenever he got injured instead of Al.
"Whoops. Al accidentally let it slip yesterday that you healed both of them." She told him and he groaned.
"So Mustang knows?" Said man lifted his head up when he heard his name. He'd been following the conversation, at least the part he could hear, as well as reading the report, which he was now done with. Nala must've confirmed he knew. "Fuck. Does he know why or how yet?"
"No. I think he was going to ask but you interrupted." She left out the part where Mustang planned to corner the younger Elric and demand answers.
"Thank fuck. I've gotta talk to Al before he makes that mistake again. I can't have anything like that becoming public knowledge." He rubbed his flesh hand over his face and sighed, wincing when he accidentally touched the sensitive bruise. Ayala whined in sympathy and licked his cheek, something he grumbled at but didn't actually mind. He knew it was basically her mothering instincts at work.
"Back to my original question; how are your energy levels?" She asked. This was important to know. If he was too exhausted from healing Chester and Ayala, Mustang couldn't send him on missions. It'd be way too dangerous.
"I'm fine. Like I said, Chester's injury wasn't that big and I have an abnormally large amount of Ayala's energy stored in me for some reason. Healing that wound barely made a dent." He was being 100% truthful but Nala still looked at Ayala for confirmation, which she got. Mustang and Nala both sighed in relief. Mustang was about to speak for the first time since he greeted Ed but a knock at his door diverted his attention.
"Enter." Hawkeye and Havoc both stepped through the door and saluted the Colonel. Ed couldn't actually see this from where he was laying on the couch but he knew the routine by now. "Leaving, Lieutenants?"
"Yes, sir. Do you need anything before we go?" Hawkeye was the one to answer but Ed could hear a set of footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes to see Havoc peering at him from over the back of the couch.
"How's it going, Chief?" Ed grinned up at the nickname. He still wasn't sure why the guys called him that and they refused to explain when he asked.
"Not much. Waiting for Colonel Bastard to be finished with my report so I can go back to the library and Al." Ed said loud enough for Mustang to hear.
"Maybe if it didn't look like it was written by a three year old, I would've been done sooner." Mustang shot back, unable to resist.
"I could've typed that shit up and you'd still be taking forever to read it. Anything to get out of paperwork, isn't that right?" Ed knew he won by the way Havoc was laughing. If his head didn't hurt, he would've sat up to look at both Hawkeye and Mustang's faces. He settled for silently fist-bumping Havoc, slightly wincing at the pull on his ribs. Havoc noticed.
"You okay, chief? Do you want me to take a look at your head?" Ed raised a brow in a silent question. "I've got medical training." Havoc answered the unspoken question. Ed looked impressed. He debated and eventually nodded. If anything, it'd get Al off his back when he tells him Havoc had a look and is qualified to do so. Said blonde moved around to the front of the couch, prompting Nala to move out of the way, and crouched so he was eye level with Ed, who proceeded to carefully sit himself up. He pulled his small tool kit out of his pocket and grabbed out the little penlight in it. Both blondes didn't notice Mustang and Hawkeye stop their argument, which Mustang was losing, so they could see what Havoc had to say.
"Have you got a headache?" Nod. "Do you feel dizzy?" Shake. "Nauseous?" Another shake. "Have you cleaned it out properly?" Nod. "Have you eaten today?" Nod. "Any other injuries you want me to look at?" Ed smirked at him. Points for trying.
"Nope. I'm fine." Ed smiled at Havoc, who didn't look convinced but didn't push the issue.
"Okay. You didn't lose consciousness with the head injury?" He asked.
"No. I was a bit dizzy but I was fine after we stopped the guy." Ed said honestly.
"Okay. You don't have a concussion, which is good. Take some painkillers for that headache and keep the wound clean but open so it heals properly. And make sure you bind those ribs properly." He added, making Ed look a tad stunned. "I noticed the way you held them when you sat up." He grinned, which Ed returned somewhat sheepishly.
"Thanks Havoc." Havoc ruffled his hair, carefully avoiding the cut, and causing Ed to glare at him and Havoc to laugh at the reaction. Both Hawkeye and Havoc soon left, Ed having called out goodbyes and Mustang quietly thanking Havoc and getting threats from Hawkeye about the paperwork still on his desk. Nala took up a new spot on the other side of Ed now that he was sitting up.
"Are you done yet?" Ed couldn't quite keep the whine out of his voice. He knew Mustang did this on purpose because he never seemed to take this long with his reports when Al was with him.
"Well even though this has to be one of your shorter reports, it still took a while to decipher your handwriting. But yes, I am done." Mustang was nice enough to not mention the childish tone Ed had used.
"Fantastic. Let's go, Aya." He said as he stood up. A little too quickly it seemed when he stumbled a bit from the head spin he got. "I'm good." He said in response to Ayala's whine.
"I didn't say you could go." Mustang pointed out. Ed shot him a look that said 'are you fucking serious?' and groaned when he realised that Mustang was.
"What's the problem?" He asked exasperatedly, crossing his arms defiantly and winced when his automail accidentally pressed up against the gash on his side. And, just because his luck was that good, Mustang noticed.
"For starters, you've left information out of your report. No mention of how you managed to get the upper hand in that fight. Also, you're hiding injuries. Don't bother denying it." He saw Ed open his mouth to deny he was. "So you're not leaving until you tell me the truth."
"There's nothing to tell! That's why it's not in the report!" Ed complained.
"I'm sure I've said this before but you can't pick what goes in your report. Everything has to be in the report. So, what happened?" Mustang asked as he propped his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his folded hands, watching his youngest subordinate with eagle eyes. Said subordinate sighed and sat back down. "As much as I'd like to go home, Fullmetal, I will sit here until you decide to tell me what I want to know. I'm sure Al would like you back sooner rather than later as well." Ed really hated the fact that Mustang had no problem using Al against him. Another reason 'Colonel Bastard' was such an accurate nickname for the Flame Alchemist. He sighed before turning to Ayala.
"Tell Chester what's going on so Al doesn't panic. We've already been here forever. I'm surprised Chester already hasn't contacted us." Ed rubbed her behind the ears before turning his attention to his CO. "What do you wanna know?" He glared at Mustang, ya know, just to make sure the arsehole knew he wasn't happy.
"How you managed to turn the fight to your favour and arrest him. You mentioned before that you were almost taken down. That's pretty much written in your report but then it simply goes on to say that you managed to knock him down and alchemically bind his hands with something that you obviously wrote in code." Mustang relaxed into his chair and waited.
"Get some glasses or some shit, old man. I clearly wrote that I alchemised some of the flooring over his wrists." Ed snarked. Mustang didn't rise to the jab about his age and gestured for him to continue. Ed was kind of disappointed at the lack of response but continued. "I was already hurt. I was trying to defend myself and stop him attacking the Animals at the same time. Al was too busy trying to disarm the surrounding traps so Chester and Ayala didn't get hurt more than they had already and he couldn't do that and stop oncoming attacks. That's how he'd been fighting since Ayala got injured at the start so I was caught off guard when he aimed an actual attack at me. It threw me into a wall and I was disorientated for a few moments. He managed to get the knife against my throat. Ayala was going crazy and I think he looked away from me to make sure she couldn't do anything to protect me. I grabbed the wrist of the arm that was holding the knife with my automail arm and squeezed. When I broke his wrist, he automatically dropped his knife and I managed to land a punch. I knocked him out and secured him." Ed finished his telling of events and leaned back into the couch.
"Why didn't you just put that in your report?" Mustang had though he'd done something illegal or something for it to not be in the report.
"Because that meant extra writing. I figured what I'd put would be good enough. Shoulda known better." Ed sighed before his attention was captured by something only he could hear. "Nah I'll get dinner once Mustang realises he still has a tower of paperwork he promised to finish and lets me go so he can get it done asap." Mustang was about to say something back but Ed frowned a little before talking again. "Well what would you like for dinner and I'll get that." Suddenly, the way Ed worded that seemed to spark an idea in Mustang's head. He was going to have to talk to Nala once they got home to confirm his suspicions. He pulled himself out of that train of thought to catch the last of Ed's question. "any other questions?"
"Yes. The full extent of your injuries, Fullmetal." He used his 'this isn't a debate' voice. Ed groaned for the umpteenth time this afternoon.
"Why? I'm not going to drop dead from them." Ed argued. "It's not like you care anyway." He muttered. Mustang kept his mask in check. He did care. He really did. He just couldn't show it and he knew Ed would never believe him if he did tell him.
"I need to know what injuries you've suffered so I don't send you on a mission that could get you killed because you couldn't defend yourself properly. You aren't worth the paperwork I'd get if you died and I'm sure reaching your goal would become infinitely harder if you are dead." Another thing Ed hated about Mustang? His ability to point out things Ed couldn't argue against.
"Ugh, fine. A fair amount of bruising, some minor cuts, the head injury, two or three cracked ribs and I've got a decent cut on my arm." Mustang looked at him for a moment.
"What side are your cracked ribs on?" Ed was happy that Mustang hadn't realised he'd only told him most of his injuries so he answered without a fuss.
"Left." Mustang nodded and Ed had though that'd be the end of it before...
"So what injury are you hiding on your right side?" Fuck.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ed denied as he stood up to once again try and leave. Mustang stood to block his escape.
"Really? So why'd you flinch when your automail put pressure on that side when you crossed your arms before?" Mustang hadn't forgotten. Ed knew he wouldn't be fooled but Ed was no quitter.
"I did mention bruises. I just forgot about them." Mustang's eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"Except you never reported any injuries on that side. And," he pressed his hand on Ed's right side suddenly. His thumb hit the gash on Ed's gut, causing Ed to hiss in pain and stumble back a couple steps to escape the pain. Mustang was also forced to back up when Ayala launched herself across the couch, snarling and snapping, making herself eye level with the older man by standing with her front paws on the arm rest. Mustang had to admit that being on the receiving end of the golden wolf's feral expression again was not something he'd actively seek out. Even Nala was surprised by the intensity of the wolf's protectiveness, although Nala also didn't expect her human to do what he did.
"Easy, Aya. I'm alright." Ed gasped out as he pressed his flesh hand against the reopened wound. Mustang had reopened only a small part of the wound but Ed's reflexive retreat had caused more of the gash to open. It took a moment but he eventually got his pained breathing under control and straightened up. He pulled away the hand clamped over the wound and check the white glove for the amount of blood. He silently thanked his past self for bandaging the wound as well as he did because he only had a small amount of blood on the glove. Although, the fact he'd bled through the bandage was not a good sign. Ayala had stopped outright snarling and had even leapt down from the couch so she could fuss over him. That didn't stop the wolf from growling when Mustang or Nala tried to approach her human. Her growling did remind Ed why he was bleeding. "What the actual fuck, Mustang?!" He did a pretty good job at mimicking Ayala's snarl.
"Just bruising, huh?" Mustang wasn't impressed. He did regret causing the teenager more pain however he wasn't happy with the fact the blonde had tried to hide an injury as serious as that one seemed even after Mustang having pointed out why it was important he knew all injuries the blonde suffered. Ed at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed.
"I said it was nothing major." The blonde said angrily. Mustang sighed, annoyed.
"That reaction tells me different. The fact that it caused you to pull away like that, Ayala's reaction and the fact that you're bleeding through the bandage tells me it's a serious injury you should've had Havoc, if not a proper doctor, look at it." Mustang wasn't accepting any of the usual crap Ed would normally pull. He was too angry at his subordinate. Yes, the short-tempered alchemist already had an impressive medical record built up from his year and a bit in the military but he always tried everything to get out of even going. Being unconscious or Al and/or Ayala begging him to go were the only ways he stepped foot inside the building. If the injury could be hidden easily or no one had noticed him getting it, he'd do his absolute best to pretend it was nothing and Mustang was sick of it. He was going to get himself killed because he underestimated the severity of an injury. Ed was refusing to meet his eyes. Mustang rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Show me." That got Ed's attention.
"Wh-what?" Even Ayala looked stunned. Though the stunned look didn't quite override her pissed off look.
"Let me take a look at it." Mustang said slowly, as though speaking to a child. Ed didn't appreciate the attitude.
"Gee, let me think about that. No." He looked at Mustang like he was crazy for even asking.
"Don't make me make it an order, Fullmetal. Let me look at that injury." Ed faltered at the threat. If Mustang made it an order, he could get court-martialled for disobeying it and that wouldn't end well. Ed stayed defiant though.
"Why should I?" It was a good question. As far as he was concerned, someone he didn't like, who'd already reopened the wound and had no medical training was asking him to let him near it. Mustang almost growled at the stubbornness he continued to show.
"Because someone other than you needs to look at it and make sure it's okay. I may not have as much medical training as Havoc but I do still have training." The main reason he wanted to this though was simply to show the blonde teenager that he could trust him. Trust was not something the Elric brothers gave freely. He knew the brothers trusted everyone on the team, including himself, to some degree but not a single person outside of each other, their Animals or the Rockbell women earned their complete trust. Ed looked at Nala for something. The lioness must've said something to remove any doubt because the blonde relented.
"Fine. Ayala, you'll need to move out of his way." His eyes locked with those of his wolf and Mustang could see the reluctance she felt but she did as she was asked, even though she did send him a warning glare. Mustang realised he'd have to apologise to her as well. Ed carefully removed his two jackets and placed them on the armrest before Mustang finished approaching him.
"Lift up your shirt." The Colonel instructed and Ed did so. Carefully, Mustang removed the blood soaked bandage and winced in sympathy as he got a good look at it. "Nala, can you go grab the first aid kit?" As she padded out of the room to do so, Mustang manourvered the two of them so the light actually shone on the wound. Nala soon returned and, with a thank you, Mustang relieved her of her burden. Rifling through it, he produced some alcohol swabs and proper bandages. Opening the alcohol swabs up, he turned to the waiting blonde. "I need to clean it out before I put new bandages on it. You're lucky it doesn't need stitches and it never got infected."
"Whatever. Just do it." Edward was really not in the mood to be lectured. He was still annoyed at himself for even agreeing to let Mustang do this. Damned persuasive lionesses. He twitched when the first alcohol swab made contact with the exposed muscle but he didn't show any other signs of discomfort. Mustang knew how much pain the kid was actually in but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be thorough. 20 swabs later, he was finally ready to bandage it back up. He placed two lots of gauze over it before wrapping it up and letting Ed pull his shirt back down and pull his jackets back on.
"Next time you get an injury like that, tell me or Havoc. That's an order. Here's some painkillers for that headache you told Havoc about." He watched the blonde accept the pills and dry swallow them. "That's all, Fullmetal. You're dismissed." The way Ed's shoulders slumped told Roy just how tense he'd been. He wondered if the boy had been expecting a lecture or something. The blonde wasted no time in rushing to the door, saying goodbye to Nala as he went, Ayala close by him. Mustang busied himself with cleaning up the used medical supplies when he noticed Ed stop just before he went through the door.
"Thanks, Mustang." Was all Roy heard before the blonde was gone and he heard slightly mis-matched footsteps racing through the empty halls. Well, thanks from Fullmetal? Maybe staying after hours wasn't so bad after all. He finished cleaning up and headed back to his desk with renewed vigour. Nala curled up at his side and that's when he remembered something.
"Say, Nala?" His lioness lifted her eyes to look at him. "How long have you and Fullmetal been able to talk to one another?" Her expression and the mix of surprise, disbelief and general 'busted' feelings he got from her were all the confirmation he needed.
After a side trip to grab dinner, Ed and Ayala made it back to the library. They greeted the librarian on duty, a lovely woman named Cassie who had a beautiful Palamino named Tonka as her Animal, and found his brother and leopard at their usual table. Once he'd fed everyone, eaten his own dinner and expertly dodged Al's questions, he threw himself back into their research and tuned everything and everyone, excluding the Animals, out. He devoured page after page, book after book until he was brought back to the present by the delicious smell that was wafting from somewhere nearby. His stomach growled in anger at the lack of food being in it and he looked up to find his brother approaching with breakfast, if the clock on the wall behind Al was accurate.
"This is why you're my favourite brother." Ed drooled as Al handed him his and Ayala's share. Ayala whole heartedly supported that statement.
"I'm your only brother, Ed." Al said, amused at his brother's lack of manners as he dug through the food Al bought him. Alphonse shifted nervously as he prepared himself to ask his brother something he'd been thinking about for a while. Ed noticed.
"What's wrong?" Ed asked, after swallowing the mouthful of food he was chewing through.
"Um, there's something I want to ask you. A favour, really." Al said, still nervous. Ed frowned.
"Okay. Spit it out than." Ed paused in his eating to look at his brother curiously. He didn't understand why his brother seemed so nervous.
"Well, I was wondering if we could go back to Resembool and see Granny and Winry? We haven't seen them in forever and I know they want to see us. Winry sounded really excited about something when I spoke to her last but she didn't want to tell me over the phone." Al was nearly stumbling over his words in his rush to get them out.
"Al, if you want to go visit Granny and Winry, you can go anytime you want. You know that." Ed was confused. They'd had this argument alreay, nearly a month after they completed their first mission and were halfway through their third, when Al complained about missing Resembool. Ed had pointed out that since he wasn't a member of the military he could go back to Resembool whenever he wanted. Al had argued that he didn't want to without Ed and Ed argued back that unless he had a problem with his automail or they had a mission near Resembool, he couldn't go back whenever he wanted. He told Al he didn't mind if he went back and visited in between missions but Al had said it wouldn't be right if Ed wasn't with him and he'd be too busy worrying if his older brother actually ate and slept if he left him alone for a couple of days or more. Ed hadn't been impressed with that argument, no matter how much Ayala assured him it was true.
"I know but I don't want to leave you by yourself while you're injured." Al started saying.
"I'm fine!" Ed interrupted.
"Sure you are. And Winry sounded really excited about whatever she wouldn't tell me. Like, really excited." Al said, leaving his brother to connect the dots. It took him a moment but understanding lit in Ed's eyes.
"You think her Animal's appeared?" Ed asked, not overly convinced. If Winry's Animal had appeared, they would've heard her excited screams all the way from Resembool. She'd been exceedingly excited about getting her Animal as soon as she'd met Ayala. When she didn't get her Animal but saw Al had, she had gotten rather upset though she did a valiant job hiding it. Ed knew she was getting frustrated that she was nearly 14 and she still hadn't had her indication dream. She never said anything but Ed would've had to have been blind to have missed the envious and sad looks she shot Ayala anytime she thought nobody could see her. Al was shaking his head.
"No. I don't think she'd have been able to keep it to herself if it had actually appeared. No, I think she'd started having her dreams. I spoke to her last night, while you were still with Mustang. She'd mentioned that she'd been sleeping longer than usual and you and I both know that she'll only sleep as long as she needs too. She's too busy with her automail orders now that people know the People's Alchemist has automail made by her." Ed rolled his eyes at his little brother's teasing. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that nickname he'd been given by the Amestrian citizens. The nickname meant that he was the only alchemist that everyday citizens were normally happy to cooperate with but it's also put several targets on his back. Al continued. "You and I both know that sometimes the dreams cause people to sleep longer than normal if their normal sleeping habits aren't long enough. You and I both got just enough sleep that we weren't affected by the dreams but she's been so busy that she's living off of four hours a night and cat naps during the day. Now she's getting a solid eight hours a night and she's super excited about it? I think something's up and it doesn't take a genius like us to put two and two together." Al finished explaining and Ed had to admit that his brother made a lot of sense. He'd honestly forgotten about that dream fact.
"I'll talk to Mustang. I'll see if we can go for a visit when I'm assigned my next mission. I'll say I need to go for maintenance or something like that after we complete the mission. It's been a few months so it'll be legit. Plus, even Mustang would have to think twice about denying me the leave. He'd be risking my automail possibly malfunctioning during a mission and then having to listen to me bitch about it." Ed smirked as he imagined that scene. He wondered...
"No." Ayala said, not even looking up from her post-breakfast nap.
"Spoilsport." Ed sent back, pouting slightly. Ayala just chuckled at him. Al didn't comment.
"Really, brother? You promise?" Al had expected Ed to say he'd think about it or that their research was more important at the moment. He knew his brother wanted to go back to Resembool as much he did but he also knew that their research and goal had to come first. It was why he was so hesitant to ask in the first place. He didn't want Ed to have to say that he couldn't go because he knew Ed would feel guilty when Al refused to go with him.
"Of course I do, Al. I'll talk to him when he calls me in for my next briefing." Ed promised. "Besides, I'll probably end up needing maintenance after my next mission. With the amount of beatings I've gotten since my last check-up, I'm surprised Winry hasn't sensed the damage and yelled at me." He swore that woman had some sort of magic ability to figure out when his automail was badly damaged. It was uncanny the way he'd get a phone call from the wrench-wielding nutbag whenever his automail got noticeable damage.
"By the way, brother. When is your next mission? Did the Colonel give you any indication?" Al asked after laughing at his brother's expression.
"Nah, you know that lazy bastard. He probably hasn't found the file he's meant to give me with all that paperwork on his desk." Ed said dismissively. "Best use what little time off we get wisely." Ed pointedly went back to the books. Al sighed and followed his lead until both Animals complained of boredom a few hours later.
"Come on, brother! Let's go for a walk! We could do with the fresh air." Al begged when Ed had said he'd hang back and keep studying. It took the added pressure of Chester and Ayala asking and Ayala using puppy-dog eyes for him to finally agree to go. They left their gear and headed for the park so Chester and Ayala could take advantage of the wide open space without fear of being hit by a car. Ed had to admit; it was nice just sitting on the grass, watching his wolf frolick like a puppy with Chester while Al was laughing at their antics. He was lying on the ground, happy to just relax and watch the sky and listen to the various noises around him when his sight was blocked by a pig. Startled by the unexpected sight, Ed sat up too quickly and jostled his ribs and bruises, causing him to gasp in pain and clutch his side reflexively.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" The pig, who he'd now identified as Breda's Animal, squealed in his head. Ayala had already started her race back to Ed's side when he'd startled and was already there, looking perplexed.
"I'm okay, Ayala and, Du, it's okay. I should've heard you. It's all good." He smiled down at the stricken pig, who was also eyeing Ayala a tad warily. All the Animals and most of the humans on Mustang's team knew how protective Ayala was over Ed. She was protective of Al and Chester too and she was even protective of them to a certain degree but she was downright terrifying when something happened to Ed. They'd never seen this side of her but they'd heard stories from Chester and that was scary enough. Ed distracted him from his thoughts. "Where's Breda?" He asked, looking around for the slightly chubby, red haired man.
"He's coming now. He didn't see me leave, actually." The pig added, sheepishly. Ed quirked a brow.
"So, for all he knows, you've run away?" Ed really did try to keep the amusement out of his voice, he really did.
"Well, not exactly. See, we stopped over there and I saw you, well I saw Ayala and knew you were near by 'cuz I could sense you, so I kinda just shouted your name at him before I took off so I think he knows what's happened but I'm not too sure." The spotted pig guiltily explained. Ed couldn't stop himself from laughing and neither could Ayala as they imagined the look on Breda's face when his pig suddenly took off after shouting Ed's name at full volume. Chester and Al had finally decided they were curious enough to find out what was going on but their approach was beaten by a puffing Breda.
"DUBUFFET! Don't ever take off like that again!" He lectured the pig when he could breath easily again. Dubuffet looked the epitome of ashamed and Ed could tell he was apologising to his worried human. Ed took the time to stand up and the movement caught Breda's eye. He looked at the golden haired boy in surprise. Even though Du had shouted Ed's name and he'd even seen Ed for himself, he had honestly not registered that the boy was even there until just now. "Chief! What a surprise to see you out and about! I thought you'd be holed up in the library for as long as possible." Breda remarked. Ed scratched the back of his neck and grinned.
"Yeah, you'd have been right but these three convinced me fresh air might actually do me some good so here we are." He admitted. "What are you doing here anyway? I didn't realise you two liked the park."
"Ah well, you see, that cart over there," he indicated in the general direction, "serves the best ice-cream in this city so we always go there when we're in this area." Breda explained. It was no secret that Breda loved his ice-cream and his Animal was the exact same way. Ed and Al chuckled as Breda grinned, a little embarrassed.
"How have you guys been going with your research? Your head's looking better too." He remarked as he looked at the healing cut on Ed's forehead. The bruising there was going down slowly as well.
"Brother's been researching since we got back. He hasn't even slept yet, which isn't doing his injuries any favours." Al answered before Ed could. Ed just rolled his eyes at his brother's mother-henning.
"Al, you know I'll sleep when I need it. And my injuries are healing perfectly fine." Ed pointed out, trying to stop this argument before his brother got worked up again. Honestly, you'd think after a year of this, he'd give it a rest. He turned to Breda with a sudden idea. "Where'd you say that ice-cream vendor was? I could really go for some." If Al could've, he would've bristled at Ed using Breda as a way to avoid this perfectly legitimate and needed argument. Breda and Du both agreed they'd rather Al's wrath than Ed's.
"It's up over there. I can show you if you'd like?" Breda offered, a tad cautious. Ed's grateful grin was almost worth the righteous anger coming from the suit of armour. All three Animals had decided this was something they didn't need to be involved in. Ed gestured for him to lead the way and Du and him did just that. Soon they were laughing at Ed and Al's reactions at seeing all of the ice-cream varieties available. Ed decided to go with Breda's favourite; rocky road.
"What're you going to get, Al?" Breda asked kindly, not expecting the sudden stiff postures of the Elric brothers he got in response. There was an almost nervous panic that zipped through the air before Ed responded.
"He's lactose-intolerant." He blurted out. Breda looked at him, concerned by his reaction.
"You okay, chief?" He asked and Du did the same thing, sensing Ed's discomfort.
"Yup! Totally fine!" Ed said, a little too enthusiastically as he paid for his ice-cream and gave it a try. "Wow, Breda! You were right! This is great!" Ed praised, hoping it would also make the man forget his odd behaviour just now. It seemed to work.
"I'm glad. Anyway, I would love to hang with you guys more but I'm due back in the office soon and Hawkeye was not in a happy mood when I left." He winced as he remembered the sharpshooter's stormy behaviour.
"Lemme guess? Colonel Lazy tried hiding his paperwork again?" Ed asked around his ice-cream.
"You got it. I'll see you guys later." Breda chuckled.
"See you, Ed!" Du said at the same time. Ed and Al called out their own goodbyes as they watched the pair head back towards the Base. Ed kinda felt sorry for whoever decided to annoy Hawkeye next. Once he finished his ice-cream, all of them decided to mimic Breda and head back to work, or in their case, the library. Ed was granted the small mercy of not having his brother have a go at him for his sleeping habits or lack there of.
It was nearly a week after his last visit with Mustang that he was summoned back to the office. Al was excited since it meant Ed was forced to go outside of the library for more than an hour, something he hadn't done since the park. Truthfully, Ed was almost grateful for the break. They'd been studying every book they or the librarians could get their hands on that evenly loosely pertained to the Stone. They weren't any closer to answers now than they were six months ago and Ed was starting to get a tad frustrated at that fact. He really hoped the bastard had another lead for them. Al and Chester decided to tag along this time. They entered Mustang's outer office and were noisily greeted, as usual. Ed had it a little louder thanks to the Animals but he didn't mind. They spent a few minutes with the men, catching up and trying to be sympathetic when they learnt Havoc was dumped again. Ed and Al helped Fuery with a problem he hadn't been able to solve. They honestly didn't even suggest anything, just listened and somehow figured out the solution. Breda wasn't there, which explained why it was a tad quieter than normal. Falman was quiet as always, asking about their research and how it was progressing. He must've sensed the slightly pessimistic tone behind Ed's look because he gave him an encouraging clap on the shoulder before going back to work just before Hawkeye started shooting threatening glares. They knew that that look would soon be followed by a bullet and no one wanted to patch the newest bullet hole up. Ed had been showcasing his talent at being able to speak to both human and Animal at the same time with the human being none the wiser. He was sure that no one on the team, with the exception of maybe Hawkeye, knew about his other abilities but if she knew, she was doing an amazing job of keeping it a secret, something he was grateful for. Said woman had just finished whatever she was working on and had beckoned them over to her.
"Hello, Miss Riza, Soren. How're you guys?" Ed asked as he came to a stop in front of the blonde and owl. She gave Ed and Ayala a small smile. Al had apparently decided to chat with Fuery for a moment and hadn't caught up yet.
"We're good, thank you. How are your injuries?" She asked, a little concern showing in her voice. "Including the one on you side, the one you didn't tell Havoc or myself about." She didn't look impressed he hadn't either. Ed was only a little surprised she knew.
"I'm fine. My head's healed up nicely, the gash is healing at a good speed and my ribs only hurt a little now." He told her. It was true. His head injury was almost gone and the gash was healing at a really good pace. His ribs still caned like a bitch though but he could handle that pain anyway. Hawkeye looked a tad placated by his answer. That's when Al finally joined up to them, Chester a few steps behind.
"I'm glad to hear you're recovering well, sir. Please follow me and I'll show you through to Colonel Mustang." Ed winced at the formal address. He'd tried banning them all from calling him anything other than 'Ed', 'Edward' or 'Fullmetal'. It didn't really work as well as he'd hoped. Hawkeye knocked and entered once Mustang permitted it. "The Fullmetal Alchemist here at your request, sir." She announced as Ed, Al and the two Animals walked through the door and passed Hawkeye.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Mustang dismissed her and she left, shutting the door with a soft click behind her.
"Hey, Nala! How you going?" Ed greeted the lioness who was lounging on the couch, ignoring Mustang. The lioness grinned at him. Only Ed could get away with the lack of respect or courtesy he shows Mustang. Well, he could get away with it if not for his brother.
"Brother! That's rude!" Al scolded him. Mustang almost grinned but managed to keep a straight face, his amusement only being shown by his eyes.
"What? He's got enough people kissing his arse. I'm sure he'll live if I don't." Ed shrugged as he sat next to Nala, Ayala jumping up to settle on his other side. She lay her head in his lap and glared at Mustang. She still hadn't forgiven him for hurting Ed last time they were here, even if he did help patch him up. Petty? yes. Did she care? No.
"Nice to see that blow to your head didn't knock some manners into you." Mustang quipped. Al decided to just sit on the other couch and hope for the best.
"Ha ha, Mustang. Real hilarious. Why'd you drag us down here?" Ed snapped.
"He figured out what you can do." Nala said quietly. Ed and Ayala barely hid their surprise at the statement.
"Are you sure?" Ed asked telepathically, while looking at Mustang like he was still waiting for an answer. Now that Nala mentioned it, Ed could see Mustang scrutinising his every move.
"Yeah but he won't confront you about it until he catches you in the act. He tried that with me and I denied it but I don't think he fully believes me." Nala explained. They'd both known it'd be a matter of time but Ed had suspected Mustang to be confrontational when he did figure it out.
"How are your injuries?" Mustang asked after a moment. Ed quirked a brow.
"Careful, Mustang. People might think you actually care." He snarked. Al mentally face-palmed. Sometimes his brother was a completely oblivious idiot. He was the only person on Mustang's team who thought Mustang hated him. The other's had seen through that facade ages ago. Mustang simply stared at him, clearly waiting for an answer. Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. My injuries are practically healed."
"Glad to hear it. I've got a mission for you." Mustang didn't believe him, considering he knew first hand ribs healed slowly but he didn't argue. Instead he held out a folder. Ed crossed over to his desk to grab it. "I'm sending you to Liore. There have been rumours of a priest performing miracles. They say these miracles occur in a flash of red energy." Ed grinned as he gave the file a once over before handing it over to Al, who'd joined him as soon as he heard what the rumours said.
"When do we leave?" Ed asked, the fire in his eyes brighter thanks to the fresh lead. Mustang was glad to see that. He'd been concerned when he saw the blondes golden gaze damper than it normally is.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye has procured tickets for the both of you. I believe your train leaves in two days. It'll take you a couple of days to get there." Mustang told them. Ed nodded absentmindedly as he paid more attention to the file in his brother's hands. The information looked promising. The priest was apparently claiming his ability was a gift from some god neither boy had ever heard of. Some of the stuff the information claimed he'd done seemed impossible.
"Maybe this will get us closer to the answers we need, brother." Al said excitedly. Ed looked back up at him and smiled softly.
"Hopefully it will, Al." He answered softly. Hopefully this will be the piece of the puzzle they needed. Mustang hoped so as well. Even if it wasn't the answer to their problems, he really hoped this would lead them in the right direction. He hated seeing how dull Ed's eyes got when he'd all but given up.
"That'll be all, Fullmetal. I suggest you gather the needed information off of the Lieutenant and get some rest." Mustang dismissed him. Al hadn't been the only one to notice the lack of insults this visit and was quick to drag his brother out of the office before that could change. Ed barely had time to call out a goodbye to Nala before he was suddenly back out with the team. Ed was going to ask what Al was doing when he was distracted by Hawkeye.
"Here you go, boys. There's train tickets in there for both of you. You'll leave the day after tomorrow at 8am. You'll be stopping in New Optain for a couple of hours before continuing through to Posterim. Once there, you'll need to swap trains. You should arrive in Liore by midnight. I've arranged a hotel room for you both. The name and information is in with the tickets. Have a safe trip." She explained as she handed them an envelope.
"Thanks, Miss Riza. We'll see you when we get back." Ed smiled at her before they said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door and back to the library. Once there, Ed asked for any newspaper articles or information they had on Liore from the last two years. While he was sure Mustang had given the people who gathered information for missions a piece of his mind, Ed didn't trust them. Not after the last mission. So he planned to study every article he could get his hands on, just to make sure no important information was missing.
The night before they left, Al, Chester and Ayala ganged up on him and they spent the night in their dorm room. Ed was finally getting the sleep he needed, something they were all grateful for. Ed had gotten a grand total of 24 hours sleep in the last week, including cat naps, and the three of them were concerned. It wasn't unusual for him to go long periods with not much sleep but that didn't mean they didn't worry. Al spent the night packing the things his brother would need in his suitcase and reading something that didn't pertain to alchemy or the stone.
Ed was still tired when Ayala woke him the next morning so they could catch the train on time. He grumbled through breakfast and was only slightly less grumpy when Al said he could sleep on the train. They made it to the station with a quarter of an hour to spare and Ed claimed the first empty bench he could see. Al sat opposite him and Chester sat next to Al. Ayala claimed her usual spot, stretched out next to Ed with her head resting on his chest. Ed didn't end up falling back asleep until an hour into the trip when the other passengers had settled down and there was only a low hum of chatter in the cabin. He woke up when they stopped over in New Optain so they could get something to eat that wasn't train food and soon they were back on the train, heading towards Posterim. Ed had gotten enough sleep so they passed the time playing cards until Al discovered his brother was cheating. That's when Ed decided that reading would probably be the best way to spent the rest of their time. Al muttered something about getting him back. They reached Posterim after a few hours and were pleased to find they only had to wait 45 minutes to get their connecting train to Liore. Ed had taken to watching out the window, even though the sun had long since set. The twinkling lights of the town they were approaching caught his attention and he watched them grow steadily closer.
"Hey, Al?" He kept his flesh hand busy, stroking Ayala's fur.
"Yeah, brother?" Al looked up to see what Ed wanted. Ed's eyes locked with what passed as his own.
"I've got a good feeling about this place." Ed smiled.
"Me too, brother." Al grinned, optimism shining in his voice. Ayala and Chester both hummed their agreement as Ed turned back to watch the approaching lights.
A/N- Another chapter done and dusted! I apologise if the ending seems a bit rushed but I really wanted to get to the Liore scene so this story could get a move on. I'm sorry if it seems to be going slowly. The next chapter will hopefully be a bit longer than this one so that means it'll take longer to write so I apologise if it takes a while for it to be posted. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed already! Please comment any critiques or praises you have! Every comment helps! Thanks to everyone who is still reading this story!