Sorry for not posting for two days! My head came up with another story and I just had to write it down!
And thank you so much to all the readers, followers, favouriters and reviewers! You guys make my day!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Chapter Seven
The first morning at Mustang's house went pretty well. The redressing of his back hurt like hell, and having a grownup helping him to get dressed was fucking humiliating, but other than that, it wasn't that bad.
But Ed had to say he was sort of disappointed with the fact that he had to settle for a ponytail.
The research documents stacked in Mustang's cellar were incredibly tempting, especially after the Colonel's comment about him not being able to read them. He was itching to just take a tiny little peek at them, if just to prove the Colonel wrong.
But no, he was going to be a good houseguest, at least for the moment, if just to repay the Colonel for what he'd done for him and Al the last few days.
Then came the time to get back to work.
The uniform was a nightmare on his back, constantly pressing and rubbing against it. Each step he took would cause the seams to dig into his skin.
And so he was walking slower than usual through the halls of East HQ next to Al and Mustang.
"Brother, are you sure that you're okay?"
"Yeah, Al. It's just uncomfortable, that's all."
Which is exactly what Schiff wants.
"You should take some painkillers, Brother."
"I don't need it."
Ed had already decided that he wasn't going to take any painkillers for anything that Schiff put him through. He felt like he let the man win if he couldn't even bear the pain on his own.
"Really, Ed, you're being so stubborn!"
"Just drop it, Al. I'm not gonna take them and that's final!"
He left them outside Mustang's office, grumpily walking away and over to Schiff's office. Forgetting himself, he kicked the door open (which was thankfully left unnoticed by Schiff) and sat down at his desk. The fucking typewriter was still there.
Ed cursed as he saw the large stack of papers next to him. What was worse, though, was the description of what he was supposed to do with them.
Elric.
Seeing as how you are so lucky as to have a typewriter, you will write down the reports for the rest of the team. If you find any mistakes or areas where the writing can be improved, you will of course change this. You have until tomorrow afternoon to get this done.
No excuses.
Damn him!
Ed picked up the first report and set to work. It was dreadfully boring, working through each report, but then his eyes fell upon something interesting. It was a case from two weeks ago, a case that he and Al had solved on their own. And it had been signed by somebody else, presented as their own work.
Ed stood up on his chair and shouted to the room at large.
"OKAY! WHICH ONE OF YOU IS FIRST LIEUTENANT ADAM MILTON?!"
One of the soldiers raised a hand, looking cockily at him. "Why d'you want to know?"
Ed didn't recognise his face. "Get over here, right now!"
The soldier was tall and muscular, not wearing his uniform jacket, but had slung it over his left shoulder so that he was only wearing his undershirt. He had red-brown hair which formed a stupid curl at his forehead. The smug look on his face made Ed want to hit him.
"What's wrong?"
"Read for yourself, you wrote it!" Ed shoved the pieces of paper in question at his chest, unbalancing him slightly. The soldier looked at him darkly. He read the first few lines before he looked down at Ed. "Wha's'wrong?"
"You stole my case! That was my case and I solved it! AND I WROTE MY OWN DAMN REPORT ON IT TOO!"
"ELRIC!" It was Schiff. He was standing in the door of his office, looking livid. "What are you shouting for?!"
"Your subordinate has presented my work as his own!"
"Lieutenant Milton, is this true?"
"I have no idea what he's talking about, Uncle."
Ed felt his jaw drop.
"Elric, you have ten seconds to explain yourself! Why would you lie to me about my officer?"
"I'm not lying! I solved that case two weeks ago, as I stated in my report!"
"But as I do not have said report, I have no way to verify that, and so I choose to believe the word of my nephew who has worked under me for the last year! Now, unless you want another caning, I suggest you get back to your desk and write up my nephew's report!"
"I'm going for lunch, I'll be back in thirty minutes."
The man just grunted and then slammed the door to his office.
"Ha ha, better luck next time!" Milton said and slammed his hand on Ed's back, making him yelp and then he gave him the report back.
Ed crumpled it in his hand, turned on his heel and left the office, fuming.
Not giving a damn about his back while the pain only succeeded in infuriating him further, he stomped over to his old office, kicking the door open in full force.
"HAWKEYE! I NEED YOUR HELP!" Ed announced furiously.
"Brother?" Alphonse inquired.
"Oh, Edward, what's wrong?" Hawkeye said as she came out of the inner office.
"SCHIFF'S NEPHEW'S STEALING MY FUCKING CREDIT!"
"What?"
"THE BRAT HAS TAKEN THE CREDIT FOR A CASE I SOLVED TWO WEEKS AGO AND I'M NOT WRITING IT DOWN AGAIN WITH POOR WORDING ON SCHIFF'S FUCKING TYPEWRITER!"
"Okay, Edward, what case was it?" Hawkeye said calmly, gesturing for him to follow her into the inner office.
Mustang was looking curiously up at them from behind his desk as they walked over to one of the many filing cabinets that lined the office walls.
"The Ziffon-Burns case. The one with the transmuted signs."
"Ah." She began working her way through the documents until she found a thick folder. She then opened it and riffled through the pages expertly, before she opened the clasps and brought out the correct file.
"Here are all the documents concerning your case, including the officers in charge and your report."
"Thank you, Hawkeye."
"No problem, Edward."
Ed had never been so happy with Hawkeye's insistence on keeping the paperwork both done properly but also filed efficiently so that it was easy to access.
Ed knew it wasn't really that big a deal, but he was not going to write more than necessary down on that damned typewriter. And he also hated Milton's smug attitude so much. Ed did actually deserve some respect after all.
"Will you be joining us for lunch?" Mustang said.
"Yeah, I need a break from all that clacking from that damned typewriter. By the way, Colonel, could we add it to the list of things that you'll torch when I'm back here?"
"Sure, Fullmetal."
"Great. And then after lunch I'm gonna slam that stupid file on Schiff's desk and make him and his nephew eat their words."
Mustang looked thoughtful for some reason. "You know what, I'll come with you to back you up. I am an eyewitness to it being your case after all."
Ed's eyebrows shot up. "Really, Colonel? Great!"
Roy followed Fullmetal to the office as they walked through the halls. The kid opened the door and then knocked twice upon the door to the inner office.
"Enter."
The kid pushed the door open triumphantly.
"What is it now, Elric?"
"Proof." He slammed the file down on the desk. "I even brought an eyewitness. Your nephew is a liar. It was my case and no one else's and that's a fact."
The man looked at the papers, studying them, comparing them, then he sighed. "Fine, send my nephew in here for me."
Fullmetal turned on his heel an was back within fifteen seconds dragging a man in his early twenties by his right ear. Roy felt his stomach twist with anger as he recognised him as one of the soldiers that had said that the kid deserved the flogging.
"Elric has brought proof about his claims, what do you say to that, Lieutenant?"
"Sorry, Uncle, just wanted to impress you."
"Very well, you're dismissed."
Roy hardly believed it. So the man actually had a soft spot and it was that brat?!
The kid was two seconds away from a tantrum, and Roy put a calming hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but that hardly seems fair. You caned my subordinate for a lot less," Roy barely kept the anger out of his voice.
"How I choose to punish my subordinates is up to me. And remember, Mustang, Elric is my subordinate now, not yours. Now kindly leave my office."
Roy turned the fuming teen around and they left.
"Sorry, Fullmetal." Roy bent down to his ear. "But at least we now know that he has a weakness," he whispered, an evil grin forming on his face.
Roy was going to get back at that brat for this.
Ed was seething. His back was aching and he just wanted to go home and sleep. This day had been lousy, but at least he was out of that damned office. He had never been so happy to get off work before.
His fuming temper was enough for him not to notice the person coming round the corner before he had a fist connecting with his jaw and he landed painfully on his back. Dazed from the blow, he hardly recognised Milton as he stood over him, dragging him by the front of his uniform.
"You son of a bitch, you got me into deep trouble with my uncle! I swear that I'm going to make your life hell, kid. And if you retaliate, I'll tell him, and you'll find yourself before a court-martial before you know it, I swear."
He slammed Ed against the wall, face first.
Ed was fighting to stay conscious, the brat had one hell of a right hook.
He felt blood streaming from his nose as his head smashed against the wall again. Then Milton opened a door into a broom closet and threw Ed inside.
The last thing he heard was the click of the lock and then he succumbed to the black spots that had been pulling him towards unconsciousness for the last minute.
Ed's head was hurting like hell, so was his face and his back. He opened his eyes only to find himself inside the broom closet from before. He had no idea how long he had been there.
Dammit!
And that dick Milton was getting on Ed's nerves even more than his uncle.
Ed stood up shakily. He was dizzy and felt sick because of the pain in his body. He tried the door, but it was locked.
Ed just clapped his hands and used his alchemy to open the door. Milton obviously wasn't that smart, thinking that there would be a point in locking him in.
Ed swayed on his feet. It obviously wasn't a very good idea to perform transmutations when he was only half-conscious. His ears were ringing now and the hallway around him was spinning.
He licked the dried blood off his lips and leaned against the wall as he walked forwards in what he hoped was the direction of Mustang's office. Then they could get to the car and Ed could get a good night's rest and he would feel a lot better.
Ed walked for about two minutes until he saw someone turning the corner ahead of him. His vision was blurry, but it sounded like Mustang.
"EDWARD! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!?" The Colonel ran forwards as he shouted, stopping in front of him, which was when Ed's legs buckled beneath him and he gave up on staying awake.