A/N: Yeah, so the last time I posted was…heh. Well, it was the end of the semester and all. But now I'm home, my room is set up, and I have the subbed version of FMA sitting on my desk. That has more errors than fan fiction. Oh well…
But I'm back. And I'm not making any promises (because I break them) but I should be updating more often.
Warnings: Did Winry and Havoc ever actually meet in the series? And I know she doesn't really tie up her hair, but I have a reason…
Drabble length? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…ha.
Signs of Affection
Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc walked lazily to his favorite spot on the outskirts of Central. There was no pavement, no buildings, no noisy cars-- even though as a general rule he liked cars-- and no annoying brats yelling at arrogant colonels while scary women loaded their guns in the background.
There was, however, a weathered fence, a dirt road, and an oak tree that he had grown particularly fond of these last few months. It was not too far from his apartment, but far enough out that he could practice without fear of hurting anyone. Not that he'd ever miss his target, of course.
He would use the practice range at headquarters, but then he'd be in a place where Roy could easily find him if he suddenly found extra work to be done. And he was sick of getting shown up by Hawkeye every damn time.
Actually, he was kind of avoiding Hawkeye altogether at that moment.
The place was quiet and almost pastoral. It reminded him of home, even though the silence did get kind of lonely sometimes. Havoc never saw anyone else there. Maybe he was the only one disturbed by the constant bustle and unfeeling anonymity of the city.
Today had been particularly harrowing. He'd had a gun pointed at him three separate times. The first was Hawkeye yelling at him to do his paperwork. That wasn't serious, though; they all knew she was aiming at some point on the wall behind them when she did that. The second time was much worse.
He'd been sent with Breda to break up a "non-violent" picket line outside of a downtown factory and things had gotten ugly. Intelligence had said they were unarmed, but Havoc had somehow found himself on the wrong end of a rifle in front of a bunch of angry strikers. Only Breda's quick thinking and a well-timed tackle had got him out of that one.
Roy was going to make heads roll for the incomplete information.
Things like that happened when Maes was on vacation.
The third was Hawkeye--again--after the cleanup. She'd pointed it straight at him and told him that if he was ever enough of an idiot to get into that type of situation again she'd kill him herself.
Crazy woman.
He had passed the last house a few minutes ago and was just coming up to the bend that lead to the straight dirt path and oak. He took his rifle off his shoulder and wondered if the target he'd set up the week before had survived the high winds that had come with yesterday's storm when…
"Arrrggghhhhh!" Thwack.
A very surprised and somewhat bemused Havoc rounded the bend in the road and came upon a very irritated looking young girl throwing--were those wrenches?--at his target on the tree.
She evaluated her shot by the dent she left on the red and white bulls-eye, not realizing that she suddenly had company. He saw her nod to herself and reach down to the toolbox set on the fence to her left. She withdrew another wrench and took aim.
Her blonde hair tied up in a utilitarian manner, and a peculiar gleam in her eye as she meticulously took aim and fir…er…threw her wrench gave Havoc a disconcerting reminder of Hawkeye.
As did the fact that her wrench hit the exact center of the target.
"Not a bad shot, Missy."
She squawked in a decidedly un-Hawkeye-ish manner at his voice and cast a dubious glance first at his uniform and then at his rifle. Havoc saw her reach down and draw another wrench from the box, turn to face him, and raise it above her head.
Now normally, Havoc didn't get too worried when women tried to through things at him. In his experience, it was better to let them release a little anger and then try to talk.
But that was a disturbingly large and accurate dent on the target…
Havoc was more than sick of having people aim things in his general direction. He dropped the gun and waved his arms.
"Ah! Hey, wait, Missy! I'm not here to hurt you. That's my target you're using. This is where I practice when things get a little hectic in the office, what with Hawkeye being all angry and the Colonel and Fullmetal always going at it and all…" he trailed off as the girl lowered the wrench and smiled.
"You know Edward?"
"Yeah."
Her smile suddenly grew feral and Havoc couldn't help but flinch when she whipped around and threw the wrench at the target.
"Aaarrggghhhh!" Dead center.
"Um…" Havoc gulped as she turned back toward him and dug in the box for yet another wrench. "Does my target somehow offend you, Missy?"
"No." Thwack. "Edward offends me. First (thwack) he goes and breaks his automail that I meticulously make for him and then (thwack) he won't tell me how. After that, he refuses to thank me (thwack) for taking the time to come all the way out to Central to fix him and tells me 'You can go now,' just like that! As if I haven't done anything! Ungrateful jerk!" Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Her anger seemed exhausted after that, and she slumped to the ground in defeat. Peeking into her box, Havoc saw she was out of ammunition and decided it was safe enough to sit down, too. So this was Ed's infamous mechanic.
"I know what you mean, Missy. I drive him anywhere Roy asks me to and all he has to say is, 'Geez, Havoc, you smoke like a chimney,' or 'Guess Roy stole another one of your girls if you're stuck driving me around on a Friday night…'"
Maybe that wasn't the best subject to be discussing around the beautiful blonde sitting next to him.
"Anyways, I'm Jean Havoc."
"Winry Rockbell."
They sat in silence for a while. Havoc contemplated loading the rifle and taking a few shots, but figured the target was pretty much dead at this point and really didn't need any further abuse. Considering Havoc's experiences today, he actually felt kind of sorry for it.
Winry was apparently thinking along the same lines. "Sorry about your target. I think I messed it up pretty bad."
"Forget it. That's what it's for. Besides, better you take it out on an inanimate object than Ed's head." Winry saddened.
"Edward's been telling stories."
"Actually, Alphonse has been telling stories."
Winry sighed. "So Ed never talks about me and Al makes me out to be a psycho. Great."
"Ah, that's not what I meant…" For about the millionth time in his life, Havoc wished he was better with women.
"Forget it. I'm used to it." Another silence.
"You know, I only get mad at them because I worry for them. They go places I can't follow and get hurt and the only thing I can do is try to make Ed's automail better for the next time. But they don't even consider me important enough to let me in on what's going on. The only reaction I ever get out of them is when I throw things. It's the only thing that makes them listen to reason. If I don't threaten them, they won't even think twice about breaking the automail and take even more stupid risks!"
Huh. Hadn't Hawkeye said something similar to him that afternoon? Havoc. You don't even take missions seriously unless I point a gun at you. You need to take more care. From this point on, take it for granted that my gun is always pointed in your direction even if I'm not there. You can't afford to be so laid back any more.
Oh yeah. It was after that tirade that she'd threatened to kill him if he was everso stupid again.
So from women...violence signifies…affection?
"I wouldn't worry too much, Winry. I think they have the message."
The next day at headquarters, Havoc caught Hawkeye alone in the coffee room.
"Hey Hawkeye."
"Yes, Second Lieutenant?"
"Thanks."
A short silence. And a small, but genuine, smile.
"Understood, Jean."
FIN
Reviews are love!
Asecret Kitsune: Thanks! I swear Pinako's the biggest trouble maker of them all. More manipulative than Roy, even…but that's why we love her!
Dominus: Oh I know, I can't wait for the movie, either. But we're going to have to wait a while to get it here, aren't we? Unless you're in Japan…
Anime Monster: I will do a Roy/Ed mischievous Pinako sometime, but I'm going to try to do some other stuff first because there's way too much Roy/Ed out there in my opinion. I'm experimenting. This was supposed to be slight Havoc/Winry for example, but then it ran away and decided to be Havoc/Hawkeye or even general. Sigh. But I haven't deleted the request in my inbox, so I'll remember.
Phishy Chan: Aw, thanks so much! And Pinako, we salute thee. I actually want to write a lot more about her in the future. Her…disposition creates so many humorous opportunities…
