Sorry for the wait! Thank you to all my readers, you inspire me to want to write! Here's an early Christmas gift to you. Hope you enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful Christmas!
Hawkeye looked away from the window and sighed. She'd always had a feeling Roy would someday find himself in trouble he couldn't handle and he'd get hurt.
He was always chasing the most dangerous criminal Central had to offer. She smiled to herself as she thought of how Roy had stepped up and taken in an orphaned boy. Something he would have never done had she not said she wanted him to be more compassionate towards people in need.
"Whatcha thinking about?"
She glanced over at the blond boy who had interrupted her thoughts and smiled. She was glad Roy had taken Ed in. She would get her chance to be a mother, even if for a short while.
"Just about how happy I am that Roy's starting to help people who are in need." She explained as she squeezed her warm mug of hot chocolate tighter, sending its warmth through her hands. She knew Roy had a warm heart just by that rare smile he'd give her and the loving look in his eyes.
"I thought he already did help people?" Ed frowned, "Isn't that his job?" He looked up at her with curious golden eyes.
"Yes but he usually only helps people who have already passed on. Like that woman who was murdered a few days ago by The Shadow." She said, feeling her heart clench in sadness for the family that woman had left behind.
Ed seemed to understand as he stopped asking questions and instead went to dump his mug into the sink, he had to stand tippy toed just to reach it.
She watched him with muted interest. Ed was just a small child and he'd already had such a hard life with his family being taken from him at such an early age.
She recalled how hard it had been to watch the light dwindle from her fathers brown eyes as he took his last breath. It broke her heart thinking of all the hardships Ed must have been through wandering the streets of Central and how he had no family to call upon in times of need.
Ed silently watched Hawkeye's face sadden and he frowned. He hated seeing people sad. He looked at the floor and thought for a moment.
Hawkeye raised a brow at his sullen expression before Ed looked up from the floor and caught her eye.
"Why are you staring at me?" Ed frowned at Hawkeye and crossed his arms against his chest as a huffy expression came on.
She couldn't help the smile that shun when he did that and she covered it with the back of her hand. "Sorry." She took a breath and let it out. "Just your facial expression." She held back a giggle as Ed's face became a brighter shade of red.
"What's so funny about my face?" He frowned at her. "Huh?" He raised a brow.
At that, Hawkeye started laughing as Ed tried to maintain the weird expression before giving up. All anger drained from his face as his arms fell to his sides and he cracked a smile. "Was it that funny looking?" He asked.
She nodded as she tried to calm herself down, she couldn't speak without laughing.
"So, is this funny then?" Ed's eyes became bigger and they nearly popped out of his skull while he stuck his tongue out.
Hawkeye's eyes closed in another spew of laughter. Her cheeks hurt from the big grin that spread across her normally serious face. Her stomach clenched in protest to her laughing and she bent over, holding her stomach as each wave of laughter overtook her.
"How 'bout this?" Ed grabbed his cheeks and pulled them upwards in a cheesy grin before dropping them and broke out laughing.
Hawkeye took heaving breaths. The pains in her stomach were fading as she wiped a tear that had been squeezed out. "Oh Ed, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time." She breathed out and sighed. She wished she could be this carefree all the time.
A loud sound flooded in from outside, echoing through the house and into their ears. Hawkeye jerked her head around towards the door. Her hand went to her holster. All previous humor now gone.
She stood and drew her gun as her face became serious. She walked towards the door, her footsteps creaked against the floorboards as she swung her gun around. Her eyes alert and her finger on the trigger, she knew that sound from anywhere.
Ed watched her with wide eyes as he tailed behind her, trying to keep quiet.
Hawkeye glanced back at him, wishing he would stay in the kitchen where it was save but she didn't dare break the looming silence that befell the house. She crept to the door and took a deep breath, calming her rising nerves, before she yanked open the door.
Her chocolate eyes fell on the bloody scene on the sidewalk just as a figure in red caught her attention. She set her sights on the retreating figure. Her heart was racing as she gripped her gun tighter. "Stop or I'll shoot you!" She shouted through the pelting rain.
The man froze and turned half his face to her. A smirk overtook him before he resumed running again.
"Hold it!" Hawkeye yelled.
The man kept running. His red cloak bellowing out behind him.
Hawkeye took a deep breath and held it as she squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed through the air as the bullet hit its target. The man pressed his hand against his leg and hobbled down an alley, out of sight.
She lowered her gun and sighed. Her one chance to stop him failed. She turned her eyes back on the bloody scene on the sidewalk. She heard Ed gasp behind her and she turned to look at him. "Ed, go wait in the house." She said grimly.
Ed nodded, peeling his eyes away from the scene. He went inside, staying at the door frame and watched Hawkeye with wide eyes.
Hawkeye shifted her gaze back to the sidewalk. She scanned the bloody body of a young man. He was laying awkwardly on his belly, showing the crimson on the back of his head.
The rain pattered against the mans shirt, turning it a deep blue as the rain soaked in. The blood ran down his throat and puddled with the rain.
She holstered her gun and squatted down, scanning the body. Her eyes fell on the single bullet hole in the back of the man's head. Blood seeped out, plastering the man's shaggy black hair to his scalp.
She noticed the knife wounds on his face, painting delicate lines of red over his cheeks. She frowned and stood up. She needed to report it and get the Crime Scene Investigators out there. She made her way back inside and saw Ed, who looked in horror at the body before she shut the door.
She rested her hand softly on Ed's shoulder and lightly smiled. "Come on, it'll be okay. I'm here, that man won't be back" She carefully guided him back into the kitchen where the phone rested. She knew Ed was probably in shock. He had probably never even seen a body in the papers, yet alone in person.
"Sit here," She said gently, "I'll make you more hot chocolate." She said as she pulled out a chair. "It'll help calm your nerves." She smiled at him. She knew from experience that a cup of hot chocolate wouldn't make you forget the blood leaking from a mans chest as his sightless eyes stare back at you.
Ed shook his head and held his hands over his mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick!" He mumbled, racing to the bathroom and skidded onto his knees to the toilet.
Hawkeye rushed after him as she heard sounds of him throwing up. She slowly walked in and frowned at the mess of blond hair hanging over the toilet. She remembered her first encounter of a body and how her stomach screamed in agony over what she had seen.
Ed heaved into the toilet, his stomach demanding that all memory be erased.
Hawkeye walked over to him and knelt down, she carefully grabbed up his loose hair and held in one hand. With her free hand, she rubbed his back in soothing circles, trying to calm him. It broke her heart to think someone as young as him had to see what he just did. The thought of two innocent peoples lives being changed forever enraged her.
Ed stopped throwing up and took deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. He wiped the vomit off his lips and closed his eyes with a shudder. "Why would someone do that to another human being?..." He whispered.
Hawkeye grimaced at the question, "There's a lot of evil in this world, Ed. Some of them feel it's their right to be able to take lives whenever they want." She looked down at him. "That's why people like Roy and I have these jobs, to protect people like you." She smiled lightly at him. She felt her heart clench in her lie. She had taken more lives than she had ever saved.
He looked up at her with his golden eyes and sighed. He pushed himself away from the toilet and fell into her lap. His face went red as he shoved himself away from her.
She smiled as she stood. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked softly. Noting his pale face and glazed eyes.
He nodded his head as he stood and stared at the floor. "Yeah, a little." He muttered quietly.
"Come on, lets go back into the kitchen. I'll make you that mug of hot chocolate after I report the murder." She gestured out of the bathroom. She walked back to the kitchen while Ed tailed silently behind her.
She pulled out a chair and smiled at him. "Come and sit here." She said. The look of shock on Ed's face was all too familiar to her.
Ed nodded and plopped down on the chair, staring at the table without a word.
Hawkeye sighed, she knew there was nothing she could do to erase the horror he had seen. She walked to the phone hanging on the wall and picked it up. She dialed Headquarters. A woman answered on the second ring.
"Hello, you've reached the Military. What's your emergency?" The woman asked quickly.
"This is Lieutenant Hawkeye, there's been a shooting. I suspect it was The Shadow..." She said darkly.
"What's the location, Ma'am?" The woman asked.
"Just outside of Colonel Roy Mustang's house." Hawkeye said, glancing at Ed who was still staring blankly at the table.
The woman clacked nosily on her keyboard. "Alright Ma'am, I'll send an Investigations Unit out. Do you also want me to contact the Colonel?" The woman asked.
"Yes. And hurry up before the rain washes away more evidence." She commanded.
"Yes Ma'am, I'm on it." The woman said and hung up.
Hawkeye stared at the phone with a scowl and hung it up. She looked back at Ed and walked over to him, resting her hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him.
Ed looked up at her momentarily before staring at the table again.
She frowned, knelling down to his level. ""We will find out who did this and we will catch him." She met his golden eyes. "We will find The Shadow." She promised.
Thank you for reading! Please let me know how this chapter was by leaving a review! Thank you again!
