Author's notes: Fairly clean chapter, all in all. No edits.
Chapter 8
Edward woke up feeling like he should be angry with someone or something. He still felt rather relaxed and cloudy-headed from sleep, so he had no idea why he would be annoyed. Slowly, he moved his legs to get up and grunted as his lower back hurt.
Lower back.
Edward came completely awake at that thought, remembering the night before. "Son of a...!" He stomped out to the kitchen, barely aware that he was actually in pajamas.
"Good morning, E-"
"What in the fucking world were you thinking, using a back rub to take advantage of me like that?! Pervert. How was it, huh, Lt. Colonel? Is a twelve year old to your tastes?!"
Mustang took a sip of his coffee, grimaced, and rubbed his forehead. "First, if you notice, you are in your pajamas. I massaged the muscles, saw you were asleep, and dressed you for bed. Second, if I had taken advantage of you while you slept, you would be even sorer. And third, you are not twelve."
Edward blinked. "Huh?"
"Happy Birthday, Edward."
"How the hell do you know when my birthday is?"
Another sip, another grimace. "I asked the elder Rockbell."
With a grumble, Edward served himself a bowl of porridge. "Granny Pinako. Of course." And the porridge was stone cold. "Why bother making me breakfast if it's going to be cold?"
"It's rather late in the day. I told my staff I would be late in." Sip. Grimace.
"Stop that! Geez, if you hate your coffee so much, why do you drink it?"
The Lt. Colonel chuckled, draining his cup in one gulp. "Caffeine. Keeps me awake through Second Lt. Hawkeye's reports."
"His reports are that boring?"
"A beautiful woman, to be certain, but she cannot put together a riveting report to save her life."
"You're a pervert, Lt. Colonel." That's right. He had heard that man... Hughes... call Hawkeye a woman.
"When I have such a lovely houseguest," Mustang purred, lashes lowered, "how can I resist such perverted thoughts?"
Edward looked away, blushing. "I..."
For some reason, without another taunt, Mustang stood up and left the kitchen. Edward watched him leave, confused. His obvious attraction had been the perfect opening for merciless teasing! So why... "Weird man," Edward muttered, clasping his hands together in thought.
Al used to tease him about his thinking stance, he remembered. "It looks like your praying, nii-chan," he would say in his high pitched, sweet voice. "You don't follow Mommy and Daddy's religion. So why are you praying?"
They had gotten in one hell of a fight over that, Edward had remembered. He had told their mother it had been because Al had said something rude about her (which had gotten both of them in a lot of trouble; Al because she thought he had said something rude, Edward when she found out it was a lie). But, looking back on it, the reason for the bloody noses and broken arm was bringing up their father.
His hands tightened as his eyes narrowed. It didn't matter what Al or their mother said. Their father had abandoned them. Left them completely. And refused to come home once their mother was ill.
His porridge wasn't getting any warmer just by sitting in the bowl. Ed sighed, reaching for the porcelain. In the back of his mind, he mused. If only he had some chalk. He could draw the array on the table (screw Mustang), and use it to heat up the porridge. Edward could clearly see the array in his head. It wasn't a hard one...
Blue light skittered across his hands as the porridge started to bubble, a particularly large one bursting to send bits of hot porridge onto his hands. Ed yanked his hands back, rubbing them in surprise. That light was from activating an array, but he hadn't...
Created a circle with his arms...
Pictured the array...
Understood how water molecules worked and if he sped them up, more heat would be released...
"Edward Elric." Mustang's voice was flat with surprise as he walked from the threshold of the kitchen in. "What did you just do?"
"I just... that is... I... I don't know," he stammered, noticing that Mustang was fully decked out in his uniform. "I just..." His eyes went wide in memory. "Oh."
Edward started to shiver, remembering that awful gate. And the knowledge that was forced into him. And the form of his brother, being guided away... "I... Al, he's..." Edward pulled on his hair, realizing what he could have done to bring his brother back. "I could have saved him if you hadn't shown up, you bastard!"
That surprised the Lt. Colonel completely. "What are you..." He knelt down, looking into Edward's face directly. "Edward. Edward. Would you have rather tried another human transformation, and created another monster while giving up your own life?"
"I..." And his mother's eyes, set within that disfigured face, that monstrous body...
"Look at me, Edward." Mustang put his fingers against Edward's jaw, forcing him to look up. "Would you have rather done that, or had the chance to find the Philosopher's Stone and do it right this time?"
The Lt. Colonel's fingers were so warm. "Don't make me choose," he choked out. "I want my brother back... my mother..." Damn it, why wasn't Mustang doing anything? "I want my leg back. I want things to go back to normal!" That stupid attraction to guys with pale skin and dark hair... "I want to get away from you and stop worrying about my next assignment!" He wanted Mustang to take his fingers away or kiss him. Either one.
Mustang stood, pulling his hand back. "I see. Get dressed."
"I'm getting tired of this," Edward said, crossly. "A little information would be nice."
"Get dressed. My staff has mentioned several times that they would like to know who is giving me my information."
"Okay, Daddy. I'll go to work with you."
Mustang shuddered. "I will thank you if you never say that again, childish voice or not."
Edward chuckled as he went to get dressed. Obviously, the Lt. Colonel was not a child person. It was interesting though, because he took Edward in, and he wasn't that much past a child...
Then again, even his mother had said that he and Al didn't act much like children. Edward looked down at his hands, wondering why he had to lose both of them. "Alchemy is supposed to help," he whispered. "But..."
"Edward, hurry up or I will drag you out now!"
Threat enough. Edward got dressed quickly, making completely sure not to pick anything blue. He was searching for a hair tie when Mustang burst in. "Come along," he growled, latching onto the boy's collar.
"Braid..."
"Leave it down. You look better that way."
"Stop that," Edward muttered as Mustang released his collar. "Not like I asked for your perverted comments."
Surprisingly enough, as they walked towards Central Headquarters, Mustang did not reply to that. Ed looked up at his face, then blinked at the slightly guilty look. "Are you actually... ew!"
The look smoothed over and hardened into a blank mask. "I did not ask for any comments."
"You're actually attracted to me. A twelve, excuse me, thirteen year old. You're, what, thirty?"
That made the Lt. Colonel's spine snap up straighter. "Twenty-seven, Edward."
"That's still gross."
"Again, I did not ask for any comments."
With a few quick steps, Edward moved in front of the Lt. Colonel and stopped. "Yeah, well, I'm the object of lust here. I think I should have a say about the twenty-seven year old I live with that wants to screw me."
Mustang continued walking, eyes narrowed slightly. "Come along, Edward."
"I'm not done," Edward said calmly. "What in the world is supposed to make me believe you won't jump me in my sleep?"
"The fact you are thirteen and that you would enjoy it."
"Guh?" That was not what he was expecting.
"Second Lieutenant Hawkeye will be chewing me out for taking the morning off. Please keep your laughter to yourself."
Ed smirked as they entered the office, greatly looking forward to this.
"Yo, boss."
"Lt. Colonel."
"Hawkeye's on the warpath. Watch out."
"Porn and beer are safe, though."
"Thank you, Havoc, Breda," Mustang said finally as he picked up a file.
Ed watched as the staff didn't even look up from their paperwork as they talked. "Okay, Mustang, is this normal?"
"Whoa!" The blond man looked up, a toothpick firmly between his lips. "Cute kid, boss. Girlfriend asking you to take care of him?"
Twitch.
"No." Mustang started towards a door, most likely his private office. "This is Edward Elric."
"That's the Elric kid?" The blond moved the toothpick around like it was a cigarette. "I expected someone legal."
That one hurt, but Edward couldn't deny that it was true. "Yeah, yeah. So..."
"Uh, Lt. Colonel..." An overweight, sloppily dressed redhead stood, nervous. "You don't want to..."
The door opened, a very angry blonde woman storming out. "Lt. Colonel, you do not have the luxury to take off whenever you want, leaving us..." She blinked a few times, focusing on Edward. Then, her voice low and careful, "He looks to be about ten years old, Lt. Colonel. Information is nice, but do not use a child to get it."
"Uh..."
"I'm thirteen," Edward said, twitching. "You must be Second Lt. Hawkeye."
She was actually very pretty with very short blonde hair and rich brown eyes. Her face thawed a bit as she glanced back over to Edward. "And you must be Edward Elric." She turned her attention back to Mustang. "Do not give him any more sexual assignments, sir." With that, she started back to the file cabinet. "I will have a report for you shortly."
Mustang deflated visibly, looking disappointed. "You can wipe that smile off your face," he snapped back at Edward.
"I like her," Ed told him, grinning harder.
"Of course." Mustang straightened, fixing his collar. "Well, I suppose that Second Lt. Hawkeye will need some help. Why don't you help her?"
"Repeat after me. Major Hughes and Second Lieutenant Hawkeye still remember what happened when Roy got drunk."
Edward felt the innocent grin cross his lips. "Of course, Lt. Colonel."
For some reason, Hawkeye was smiling as well. This boded well for Edward. "If you could hold these files," she asked as the door to Mustang's office closed.
"Uh, sure." He started to take the small stack of folders from her. "Hey, uh... who's Armstrong, anyway?"
That caused a sudden rash of laughter from the blond man. Hawkeye gave him a disapproving look that caused him to stop quickly. "I suppose that woman told you to ask," she mused, a slight smile lurking around the corners of her lips. "One night, when the Lt. Colonel was particularly intoxicated, he announced that he could find beauty in anything. To prove his point, he kissed Major Alex-Louis Armstrong."
"And...?"
"The Major is an almost bald man with too many muscles," the blond man interjected. "And I swear he nearly sparkles at you."
"If he did, they would be pink," the redhead snickered.
"And they would be a family tradition. 'An attack passed down through the Armstrong family for generations! Pink Sparkles of Doom!'"
"Havoc! Breda!" Hawkeye interrupted.
The men shut up.
"I like you, Second Lieutenant Hawkeye."
Hawkeye smiled slightly. "Thank you, Edward Elric."
---
"Edward."
He refused to look up. It was weird enough knowing that he was attracted to the Lt. Colonel. Knowing, for certain, that the Lt. Colonel was attracted to him in return was just creepy. Though, it might actually be good blackmail material, Edward mused.
"There is another assignment for you."
"Didn't Hawkeye tell you not to give any more sexual assignments?" Edward asked mildly.
"Perhaps, but she is not the one here, is she?" Mustang pulled the pan out of the oven, looking over the reheated food critically.
"I could take that more seriously if you weren't being domestic. Who sends these meals to us, anyway?" Edward knew that Mustang didn't eat out of the cafeteria, and nor did he cook. Which meant there was this invisible chef that made food in advance, or one of the Lt. Colonel's many admirers sent the food.
"Gracia Hughes."
"Hughes... oh, don't tell me she's..."
"Major Hughes' wife? Most certainly." Mustang placed the meal on the table, smirking as Edward put aside the book to dig heartily into the food.
"Dating a married woman," the boy said around the food. "Isn't that kind of, I don't know, wrong?"
"Ashley Evans is married."
Edward didn't spit out the precious food, but only barely. "Damn it, Lt. Colonel, I'm still a growing boy! I don't need that kind of shock." He looked down at his meal, a little worried. "Does that mean...?"
"Sarah West was divorced three years ago after it was proven she was unable to produce children," Mustang replied, amused.
"Unable to..." Edward rubbed his forehead, certain aspects starting to make sense. "You really do screen for everything."
Mustang smirked, sitting down to his own dinner. "Gracia is a long time friend of both myself and Hughes. As it turned out, she fell in love with him instead of myself, and married him."
"Oh."
"And your client's name is Nina Tucker. I will going with you to Tucker's house to set up some rules."
"That doesn't fill me with confidence, Lt. Colonel," Edward mumbled. "Hey, Tucker... is that...?"
"You are too intelligent for you own good."
---
Edward ran a brush through his hair, grunting slightly as the bristles caught tangles. Just braid his hair, and he would be ready to meet this Nina Tucker. His hands started the usual movement of dividing his hair into three sections, then paused.
He didn't look better with his hair down. In fact, he looked a little like a wet rat. So what was it that Mustang saw? "Whatever," Edward muttered, brushing his hair again. He'd just put it up in a normal braid if his arm ever decided to stop throbbing like that...
"Are you finished, Edward?"
With a sigh, Edward quickly pulled his hair up in a ponytail. "Fine, fine." He turned, fixing the cuffs on the dark red shirt. "I know you're going to judge me before I go. So, what? Anything that isn't to your pedophilic tastes?"
"Would you stop that?" Mustang snapped. "You are a little overdressed, but it will do. Shut up and get in the car."
"You're in a bad mood. Frustrated?"
Mustang gave him a glare that screamed, "Get in the car now or else." And with his hands going towards his pockets, the "or else" was pretty obvious. Edward matched his glare steadily, trying not to show the sudden fear he had about those gloves. Instead of sliding his hands into his gloves, Mustang grabbed the young boy suddenly and dragged him outside.
"Fine," Edward sighed, climbing into car. "Didn't Lady say something about..."
"Shut. Up." Mustang's jaw flexed as his eyes flinched. "We suspect Tucker of human transmutation. Tucker's specialty is chimeras, specifically, making chimeras that are capable of human speech. I want you to find out how that is possible."
Edward frowned, all thoughts of needling the Lt. Colonel out of his head. "Very specific. And you didn't tell me what you were looking for before. What changed?"
That question was ignored.
"I don't know what put you in such a bad mood, but that was a valid question."
"Edward, I told you to shut up."
"Okay, so I'm looking for interesting alchemy notes. Anything else? If this Nina Tucker is my client, that might be hard to do. She might be suspicious."
The car came to a stop. "Get out."
"Yeesh. Would be nice if you stopped snapping at me," Edward said as he opened the door. And stopped, because something wasn't quite right.
The house was very cozy looking. Very much where a family would live. There was an obvious smell of dog. Remnants of colored chalk dotted the walkway.
"Lt. Colonel, if this is what I think it is, I'm going to hurt you."
Something amused Mustang to the point a smirk crossed his lips. "It isn't."
With a sigh, Edward started up to the front door. "You know, there are some times I..." The next words were driven out of him in a surprised breath as something large and furry landed on him. He looked up just in time to see friendly canine eyes and receive a big whiff of dog breath.
"Alexander! That's bad!" A small girl was peeking out from around the door, her young face disapproving. "Papa, Alexander is hurting him."
An older man, quite obviously her father, opened the door wider. "Oh, Lt. Colonel. I'm sorry, I lost track of the time." He looked over, and whistled once. "Alexander! Off."
Which caused Alexander to stand and walk over Edward, huge paws leaving muddy prints on his shirt. But the dog was off, and Edward was free to stand and plot revenge against the mutt.
"Papa, I want to play with Alexander," the girl whispered loudly.
"Nina, Papa doesn't want you to play alone."
Edward knew he was making funny faces, but the situation was perfect for them. He looked down at Nina, taking in her round face, large green eyes, and hair tightly bound up in twin braids. "I don't know what you have planned," he said mildly to Mustang, "but this can't be Nina Tucker. She's too young."
The father lifted an eyebrow. "Lt. Colonel, what were you telling the boy?"
Mustang was way too amused. "Edward Elric, this is Shou Tucker, the Life Sewing Alchemist, and his daughter, Nina. As I said, your next client is Nina Tucker. More specifically, watching over Nina while her father conducts research for his reevaluation."
Edward looked down at Nina's beaming face. "Watching over."
"Yes."
"In other words, babysitting."
There was suppressed laughter in the Lt. Colonel's voice. "Yes."
"Then why couldn't you just come out and say that?!"
Tucker coughed once, discreetly. Mustang allowed a small smirk to grow into a real smile. And Nina...
Nina tugged on Edward's shirt. "Don't be angry with Papa," she said seriously. "He just wanted someone to make sure I didn't hurt Alexander. Papa says I could hurt Alexander if I play too roughly."
Edward looked up to glare at Mustang. "You will explain later," he told him, his voice a threat. Then he turned his attention back to Nina. "I'm certain that your dad and the Lt. Colonel have a lot to talk about. Um..."
The girl's face lit up. "You can play with me and Alexander!"
Alexander's tail started wagging in anticipation. It was, Edward decided as the mutt pounced, the doggie way of saying "I accept the terms of engagement. This war is on."
---
"Alexander!"
It was almost a ritual, and it was only the third time Edward had come over to watch Nina. He spat out a mouthful of dirt, and stood up. "Hello, Mr. Tucker," he growled, still spitting. "Geez. It's not even that wet around here, and Alexander still picks up mud," he complained as he noticed the paw print on his sleeve.
Tucker laughed, closing the door behind him. "Nina is down for her nap right now," he started. "However, I'm glad you came by this early."
Edward lifted an eyebrow. "I don't think I want to know why you're glad."
"Very simple, Edward. Lt. Colonel Mustang spoke with me recently, and he believes my notes and books would help the most with your studies."
Notes and... books? The boy blinked, surprised. "I don't think... oh. He told you... y'know, about..." Edward made the motion of clapping his hands together.
Tucker nodded carefully. "He figured that my line of study would fit your abilities the best." He started walking around the house. "The back entrance to my library is this way. You are welcome to come by at any time."
Edward turned to him, certain that his eyes were huge. "Mr. Tucker, I..." He closed his mouth, hands dropping to his sides. "That is... Any time?"
He nodded. "You may even spend the night over here if you stay up too late."
"If you weren't so creepily old, I would kiss you," Edward said seriously. "Let me know when Nina wakes up." And with that, Edward Elric immersed himself in his favorite environment, his brain instantly picking out familiar alchemical symbols in unfamiliar arrays.
---
"Does Ed-brother like Papa's books?" Nina asked as she leaned against Edward's side. "You read a lot of Papa's books."
"Mm..." Ed looked down, noticing a piece of paper in her hand. "Nina, I didn't know you were drawing."
"Ed-brother was too busy," she said, matter-of-factly. "It's a picture of my family. There's Papa, Alexander, Nina, Ed-brother, and Mama."
Edward looked over the girl's drawing, noticing the fact that "Mama" didn't have a face. "Hey, you drew everyone's face but your mother's. Why not?"
"Nina doesn't remember what Mama looks like." She lowered the paper, and dropped it on the ground. "Papa says Mama was beautiful, but Mama left a long time ago. Papa says Mama will come back any time, and loves my drawings, but Nina still doesn't remember what Mama looks like."
Edward put his own book aside. "I have a brother too," he offered.
"What does Ed-brother's brother look like?"
He took a breath, then stopped. "Hm. How about I draw him?" Ed nodded towards Nina's wax crayons.
"Sure!" Nina hunted up a spare piece of paper, and laid it in front of Ed. "Here!"
Edward picked up a gold crayon, trying to get Al's hair done first. It was shortly proven that Nina had much more creative talent than Ed did. He quickly scribbled "Alphonse" on top, and handed it to Nina.
"Ed-brother can't draw."
"That's mean, Nina." Ed tapped the paper. "This is my little brother, Al. He's gone away, too. But like your Mama, he'll be home soon."
Nina pointed to the crudely drawn eyes, then to Ed's eyes. "He has the same eyes as Ed-brother." She then tapped Ed's hair. "Same hair."
"Yeah." He tried to smile, but memory was teasing him.
"Nii-san!" Edward looked over in horror as Al was dragged away. "Nii-san!" Al reached out as he screamed in terror.
Nina looked up at Ed, then hugged him. "Don't be sad, Ed-brother. Al-little brother will be home soon."
Ed placed a hand on her shoulder, a little awkward. "Thanks, Nina."
---
"You have to come back some time," Mustang said mildly.
Edward was sitting on the floor of Tucker's library, sitting up from his nap. "Uh, no. Let's see, stay here, where Tucker feeds me food he made himself and doesn't make motions to molest me, or go back to where you reheat food and make it obvious you want a piece of me. Easy choice." With that, he laid back down. "Besides, other than a high number of research articles about chimera, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. But considering you said that Tucker's specialty is chimeras, it's normal."
A photograph was thrust into Ed's face. When Ed had scrambled back far enough to focus on it, he noticed it was of a rather pretty young lady. "Don't you dare start turning into Major Hughes," he said tartly. "I don't want to hear about her good points."
"Has Nina said anything about her mother?" Mustang asked, exasperated.
"Yeah, that her mother went away a long time ago. I guessed she died in childbirth." Ed took the picture, frowning at it. "I take it this is Mrs. Tucker?"
The Lt. Colonel nodded. "Two years ago, she disappeared. Presumed dead." He held up another picture, this time of a chimera. "This is the chimera that was created when Tucker received his certification."
"I'm starting to put things together, and I'm not liking it," Ed warned him. "Tucker wouldn't use his own wife in a chimera. He's too good a guy to do that."
Mustang raised an eyebrow. "That's what I want to believe. However, this is the information that I have at this point. Tomorrow is the reevaluation. If Tucker cannot come up with something worthy, like another talking chimera, they'll take away his title and his salary."
"And?"
"And if we're wrong, then there is someone he can use so he and Nina can continue living comfortably."
Ed blanched. "Um, Lt. Colonel, he wouldn't have a chance. I mean, I'm stronger than him, and..."
"And you sleep like a rock," Mustang informed him. "You are more useful as a human than as a chimera. I am only acting in your best interest."
Ed snorted, and stood up. "You just don't like fucking animals."
"You are thirteen," Mustang informed him. "A little young for my tastes."
"Not what I've been led to believe."
"The truth is that I prefer my bedmates to be older, and frankly, a little more curved than you."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT AND GIRLY HE CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR A GIRL?!"
Mustang waved a hand at him. "Keep it down. It's rather late at night."
Ed fumed quietly, then went dead silent. "I think I can prove you wrong on what you said you prefer," he said as calmly as he could. Which sounded like he was only fuming and not raging, but it was a huge accomplishment.
"Oh?" The arched word was accompanied by a lifted eyebrow.
Edward swallowed, and stepped closer to Mustang. "Yes." He felt stupid as he touched the back of the older man's hand, but the sudden intake of breath and the slight pulling back gave him a little more courage. He picked up Mustang's hand, and kissed it awkwardly. A slight blush crossed the Lt. Colonel's pale face, and Ed hesitated. What was it he had seen in one of those sex books... oh. Better start slow. Ed bent slightly, kissing the tip of Mustang's index finger. His tongue flicked out, lightly grazing across the skin. He watched Mustang's face the entire time, eyes rolled up as he licked and kissed the pad of the finger. Finally, he sucked at the tip, watching those dark eyes close slightly.
"Ed-brother?"
Ed froze, and spat the finger out. "Nina?" he asked weakly, turning towards that sleepy voice.
Nina was rubbing her eyes, yawning. Alexander was by her side, laying down at her feet. "Papa is making a lot of noise, so Nina came to sleep here. Why is Ed-brother here?"
"He lost track of time," Mustang answered for him, his voice only slightly husky. "I came to pick him up."
"Oh." She yawned again, and the mutt echoed it. "Okay. Ed-brother should go home."
Ed glared at Mustang, even though he knew that Mustang wouldn't have used Nina to get him to come home. "Okay, Nina. Tell your dad that I'll be by tomorrow after the reevaluation, okay?"
She nodded, and started to lay down on Alexander. It was obvious she had done it before, because Alexander just shifted slightly to put Nina in a more comfortable place. Nina almost instantly fell asleep, leaving Ed to look at the Lt. Colonel red-faced.
"You don't need to dissect this," Mustang informed him. "Or even speak of it again."
"You're attracted to me, and I enjoyed that," Ed said, muted. "I don't like that."
"Of course not, but you don't need to talk about it any more. Let's go back."
"Um, you won't be molesting me in the car, will you?
"We're walking."
"Just don't molest me. I'm not sure I can make sense of anything right now."
"Certainly."
---
No Alexander yet... he crossed the yard.
No Alexander yet... he stepped onto the front stoop.
Still no Alexander... he knocked on the door...
Where the hell was Alexander? Ed looked around, confused. He should have seen the dog coming, sidestepped, and sitting on the mutt by now! He knocked again, worried. Tucker wasn't answering, which was pretty much expected, but Nina almost always tried to answer when her Papa was busy...
The door opened slowly, showing a red-eyed and disheveled Tucker. "Ah, Edward. You came at just the right time."
Tucker looked horrible. He looked like he had been up all night. His clothes were covered in chalk dust, and something that looked like paint. There were huge bags under his eyes, but at the same time, they shone with the light of someone that had finally gotten what they deserved. Ed smiled weakly at him. "Hey. Where's Nina?"
Tucker ignored the question. "Exactly the right time. I finished it. It speaks."
"It?"
"My chimera." Tucker started leading Ed inside.
A grin cut across Ed's face. Mustang was wrong. He would have to rub this quite generously in the Lt. Colonel's face. "Cool. Has Nina seen it yet?"
Tucker ignored that question as well, and led Edward into what could only be his laboratory. "Here." He whistled softly, holding out a hand. "Come."
An animal came padding out of the room, and looked up at Tucker. A slight whine escaped its throat. "This is Edward," he told it, gesturing to Ed.
It looked at him, head tilted. There was something familiar about its coat... about those eyes... finally, the jaws opened, and a deep voice rumbled forth "Ed..."
Ed's eyes opened wide, then he grinned. "Cool. I'm going to get Nina. Is she still in the library?"
"It's my masterpiece," Tucker said, calmly. "Perfectly combined. Perfectly aware."
"Um, that's nice, but what about Nina?"
"And there is an urge to live." Tucker pet the chimera, smiling down at it.
There was something really wrong here. "Where is Nina? And Alexander?" Ed grabbed Tucker's shirt, and shook it. "Where are they?"
Tucker refused to answer.
Ed let go, and looked down at the chimera. It looked back up at him. "Ed... ward... brother."
His eyes narrowed. "I get it. I get it." With that, Edward punched Tucker hard. "You combined your own daughter with your pet dog!"
Tucker wiped at his nose, checking for blood, then looked down at Ed. "A person does what he has to do. You're the same, Edward. You whore yourself out, don't you?"
Ed snarled. "My situation's much different than yours. I don't need to be here, and I don't need to transmute my own fl... esh and... blood..." He trailed off, the memory of transmuting his mother mocking him. "Nina..."
The chimera... Nina... looked back up at him, uncomprehending of the situation. "Ed-brother..."
Edward turned slightly, punching Tucker again. In a strange little part of his mind, he thanked his teacher for honing his martial arts skills before teaching him alchemy. Though, Izumi would not have been happy with Ed whoring himself out... Ed pushed that away, and continued to pound his fist against Tucker's face. He barely noticed when Tucker's glasses broke, or when his fist started bleeding from the glass cuts. He barely noticed the damage he was doing. But he did notice when Nina grabbed onto his shirt with her jaws, tugging gently.
"Ed-brother... Papa..."
Ed stopped, panting harshly. "Nina..." He looked down at Tucker, then at his fist. "You sad, sick bastard." He stood, dimly aware that Tucker was barely conscious. "Sick bastard." He turned to leave.
"You aren't..." Tucker coughed, laughing weakly," going to finish the job?"
Ed paused at the door. "I'm not a murderer," he said, voice low. "And I'm not about to kill you in front of your own daughter." With that, he left. He could hear the heavy steps of a four-footed animal behind him, but he didn't care. Nina would probably give up once out of the house and go back to Tucker.
What the hell would he tell Mustang? That he was right? And Nina... he had no idea what would happen to her. Ed pulled on his hair, then hissed as the hair scraped across the shallow cuts on his hand. He stopped briefly to look at his hand, then noticed that the sound of feet behind him stopped. Ed turned, seeing Nina sitting in the middle of the street.
"Nina," he started, "what are you doing out here?"
Her head cocked, and she tucked her tail around her paws. Ed opened his mouth again, then the sound of screeching tires drowned him out. A car roared to life in the shadows, and shot forward. It hit Nina with a sickening thud, and Ed just stood there, shaking. For a brief moment, he could see into one of the windows. He could see the eyepatch and the blue military outfit. And for that moment, he had the feeling that he was being watched carefully, and judged.
The car drove off, as if it hadn't just hit something. And Ed was left to look down at the body, cut up by the car's grill and the sheer force of impact, bones broken to the point that some shards were peeking out. Nina laid there, eyes still open, face still innocent.
Ed looked down at her for a few minutes, then let out a single scream of horror.
---
Mustang carefully tucked the blanket around Ed, and stroked his shaking head. "It's okay. You're done for the day. They have the information they need."
Edward looked up at him, still shaking hard. "It... Tucker, he... you were right, you... Nina, she's dead, she..."
"Shh." Mustang continued to stroke Ed's head, sitting down on the bed. "It's okay. It's okay."
Ed reached up, grabbing Mustang's hand. "No... it's not. He transmuted his own daughter! And... and then..." He struggled to sit up.
"No, Edward." Mustang tried to push him back down. "Get some sleep. You're hysterical right now..."
Ed hugged him tightly, cutting off any more words. Then he tilted his head up towards Mustang, and leaned forward to kiss him.
"What are you doing?" Mustang stopped him, surprised.
"It's what I am, right? A whore."
"What are you talking about?" Mustang snapped out. "You are a spy, and an alchemist."
"What if I don't want to be an alchemist?" Ed started to lean forward again, this time out of exhaustion. "Not anymore... I suck as a spy. I didn't know that Tucker was going to use Nina and Alexander until after it happened. And alchemy... it's useless. I couldn't heal Mother or Lady... I couldn't bring Mother back... Al... Nina... it hurts people. It..."
Ed slumped in Mustang's arms, almost unconscious. "If all that's taken away, then what's left is a whore," he said, almost inaudibly. His eyes closed, and he slipped into nightmares.