A/N: I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted. Not only that, but this chapter is so pathetic that I almost want to shoot myself for it. Finishing has given me some insight though. If anyone has read my most recent LJ post, please disregard it because I have changed my mind. I'll write another amending things after I've posted this. I am officially going on hiatus! I just don't have the passion for this story right now and you guys don't deserve to get second-rate chapters because of that. If you want a full-blown list of excuses and apologies, check out my LJ. Thank you all for reading and reviewing what I have written, and I hope that if I ever find the passion for writing again you will return.
Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist I wouldn't be allowed to stop in the middle of a story like this.
Chapter 21: Rocket Fuel and Strangers' Apartments
"This is Science." I was about to object to his words, but at that moment he threw the door open and it revealed a laboratory more elaborate and with more equipment than I had ever seen before. My eyes widened as I entered.
"How did you afford this equipment?" I asked in awe. "I've only seen things of this quality in the labs at Central Headquarters!"
He smirked at me, closing the door and leaning against it. "Government grants, mostly. The older pieces I bought myself though." He pushed off from the door and came over to where I was reverently fingering test tubes and beakers. He selected a vial and held it up to the light. "This is one of my latest experiments. I'm trying to find a better formula for rocket fuel."
I raised an eyebrow at him and then returned my gaze to the liquid in the test tube. "Rocket fuel? What is that?"
He sighed exasperatedly and murmured, "You're taking this 'different world' thing a bit far. I don't think there is a single person in England who does not know what rocket fuel is."
I shook my head. "I'm not from England. Now what is rocket fuel?"
His explanation was long, and I won't repeat it all right now. Perhaps in the future. Somehow, during his lecture, I found myself sitting down on a lab stool, still listening intently but incredibly tired from standing for such a time. He seemed to just keep going, though. Maybe I was just exhausted from whatever had happened that had brought me here. When he was finally finished, I started spouting questions, though I felt as if I could sleep for a week. Eventually he seemed to realize that I was dead on my feet, and he led me to a set of stairs I hadn't noticed on the far side of the room.
Upstairs were living quarters. A cozy sitting room, a small kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms, and one room that looked like it had once been a library but was now just a mess. There were books scattered everywhere, and not just in the library, but throughout the house. He offered me tea, and I gratefully accepted. He motioned to the small sofa in the sitting room and I sat down as he bustled around the adjoining kitchen boiling water for tea. "Sorry the place is such a mess, I do not have much time to clean." He called to me as he began to wash dishes that I was sure had been in the sink for a few days at least.
"No problem," I called back, "I've seen worse." I thought of my dorm back in Central. The beds were unmade and there were books and take-out boxes everywhere. I'd left in a hurry. Trying to get my mind off of home, I looked around. There was a book on the coffee table in front of me (There were books everywhere, but this one caught my eye) and for lack of anything better to do I picked it up and started to look through it. It happened to be about the same subject we had just been discussing, and I began reading with interest.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a strange bed.
What did I tell you? Crappiest chapter I've ever written. I hope you'll review anyway, if only to rag on me for giving up. Thanks again, so much, to everyone who has supported me in this venture. I really hope I'll be able to return to it someday. I especially want to thank Pure_Shikon, who spent hours upon hours emailing back and forth with me and let me bounce ideas off her, as well as giving me quite a few ideas. Selim being Roy's son came from her, as well as a bunch of other stuff that I can't name. Thank you so much, I love you!
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