Each individual chapter will have a different rating, different pairings, different spoilers, and a different setting and timeline. Multiple people were involved in writing this fic, I do not claim to have written anything other than my own characters. I do however claim to have come up with the plot, story idea, and organizing it all. The others who write characters in this fic are well aware that I am posting it, and contribute willingly. This fic is an ongoing project with an unknown number of parts, with alternate storyline as of the fifth laboratory incident. Enjoy!
Blasphemy, Exhaustion, Depression
Rating: PG-13/R (Strong use of language, repetetive use of language, implications of things.)
Pairings: Do I need to keep saying this over and over?
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. Don't sue meeeee!
Spoilers: Hell if I know anymore:D
Setting: A secret medical facility somewhere in Central, restricted access zone with high level security, Ed/Blasphemy's holding cell/Roy's room.
Timeline: A day or two after the incident with Deceit, Roy, and Ed/Blasphemy in Roy's hospital room.
Where am I...? So cold... So it's there again... but it's different this time? What's that sound? Voices? I can't hear what they're saying... Wait... Jean? It's... too blurry, vague, I can't see, it's like being underwater... murky water... What was that about Predator? Huh? Are they talking about me?
"...array's been damaged, I'm not sure we can save him..."
The array...? Save him? Save ME!?
"What about Mustang..."
Roy... that Fawkes guy was there... the memory is vague though...
"He'll live, but I'm afraid that eye will be useless... He'll be questioned on the incident when he is well enough. Miss Delgardie and Mrs. Curtis have been notified of Fullmetal's condition and will arrive in Central tomorrow. Until then, we have our best alchemists on it."
Great... those two in one room... if whatever this is doesn't kill me, they will...
"I'll stay with him... At least I can keep that thing under control if he wakes up."
Thing? Oh... the other voice... Wait, if I can hear them like this here he must already be awake...
"Very well, just don't let your guard down, we don't know what he might be capable of now that-"
"Just get out, I don't need to hear it... save it for..."
Huh? Colder, the light's gone out... not back there again! Not now... No... I don't want to... Jean... JEAN!
Havoc looked down at the unconscious blond, heroically resisting the simultaneous urges to both brush the hair out of his face and strangle him for letting this happen. "What about Mustang..."
The young doctor flipped a few pages on his clipboard. "He'll live, but I'm afraid that eye will be useless... He'll be questioned on the incident when he is well enough. Miss Delgardie and Mrs. Curtis have been notified of Fullmetal's condition and will arrive in Central tomorrow. Until then, we have our best alchemists on it."
Havoc nodded, waving the young man off with a vaguely dismissive gesture. "I'll stay with him... At least I can keep that thing under control if he wakes up."
"Very well, just don't let your guard down, we don't know what he might be capable of now that-"
Another dismissive gesture was given. "Just get out, I don't need to hear it... Save it for somebody who doesn't know it already."
"Yes, sir... Notify us if any severe changes take place." The young man nodded once more and left the chimera alone in the room with the boy.
"What am I going to do with you, goddamn gopher... Every time I look away you're getting yourself into another-" JEAN! Havoc blinked, looking down at the sleeping boy.
He blinked again. That was... weird. He knew he was still on pain medication, but he really shouldn't be hearing voices. And when the voice sounded eerily like Ed... well, he needed to get his head checked anyway...
He hestitantly put his index finger into Ed's flesh hand, watching it curl reflexively around the digit. Stupid, stupid little kid...
The boy's grip tightened suddenly, almost painfully, as pure violet, slit-pupiled eyes snapped open, glaring at Havoc with a fierce hatred. "If this kid's arm and leg weren't across the fucking room, and you fucking sons of bitches didn't have me tied down... I would so fucking kill you right now!"
Havoc calmly tugged his finger away. "Well, that answered my question all right."
Blasphemy spat. "Bite me you fucking prick."
Havoc lifted his eyebrows, looking distincly unimpressed. "You know, despite the fact that you're tied down and that prevents you from biting my throat out, you're almost normal, kid."
"Fuck you..." The homonculus jerked at his restraints, anything to get at least within biting range.
"Look, gopher, I've had a shitty day. Don't make it worse, all right?"
"Anything I can do to make your day worse sounds like a good idea to me... Like I fucking care how your day's been anyway! I'M TIED TO A FUCKING TABLE!" Blasphemy was, in fact, calmer than usual. Believe it or not.
Havoc was losing his patience. Fast. "I think that's the one good thing that's happened to me for about twenty-four hours. So just shut up, will you?"
Blasphemy snorted. "Why the hell should I shut up, you damn mangy feline? Give me one good reason. And don't say you're going to kill me, because the brat's still here, and I know damn well you're not going to kill him."
Havoc's patience disappeared into thin air. He backhanded the homunculous on the table viciously. "Just shut the fuck up you little shit. I'm sick of you constantly whining, and god help me, I will kill you if you keep pissing me off!"
Blasphemy froze for a moment, a few tiny flecks of gold wafting across one eye and vanishing again. "Goddamn sonofa..."
Suddenly it clicked. Havoc lashed out again, striking the thing across the face. "You're worthless. If the best thing that you can do is just spit insults at me, then there's no reason for me to be even remotely scared of you. You're just a little lost monster whining for a scrap of food."
Gold flashed momentarily again in violet, expression on the boy's face changing ever so slightly before it was all back to Blasphemy again. "You think that's going to do anything? Pathetic fucking idiot.."
"Well, he's got the right idea," a chillingly familiar voice said from the doorway.
"Maybe he can revert you back to your natural state long enough for us to fix you," an eerie echo remarked conversationally. "After all, you are and have always been a spoiled brat."
Violet eyes glanced towards the doorway. "Well if it isn't you two... If memory serves me right, I tried to kill you... and you... Well... I do believe this boy was scared shitless of you."
Izumi smiled calmly. It was a smile that made every single hair on Havoc's body stand straight up, and he shrank back in total fear. "With good reason, I assure you."
Quick as snakes, the two alchemy goddesses struck, Lisa going for the stomach with great abandon and Izumi aiming for the homunculus' head.
And they hit. Hard.
Violet lingered just long enough to see the two madwomen within inches of his person, before Blasphemy gave up the floor willingly, to Ed.
The blond practically would have doubled over, wait, no, he definitely would have doubled over in pain were it not for the restraints. And damn did he wish he could double over in pain.
"What kind of brat would do that?" Lisa snarled.
"A homunculus," Izumi said briskly. "Ed, that's a blood array, right?"
One violet-strewn golden eye was open to the two alchemy masters, as Ed coughed slightly. "If you hadn't... just... done that... I might even... say I was... happy to see you..." Despite the pain, he nodded. "I think... you'd have to ask Al... if you could find him..."
Lisa opened her mouth, but Izumi silenced her quickly. "We're going to have to do a temporary array on you so we have enough time to find him. We have no idea where he is."
"We know that he was last seen in Geriko, but from after your return, we have no idea. It's going to take a massive manhunt to find him," Lisa continued.
"Whose blood do you want for the array? Mine, Lisa's, or the chimera's?"
"Personally, I'd like none of your filthy blood on my body unless I was killing you pathetic wretches. But that's just me." Blasphemy slipped back again before the crazy women from hell could get their hands on him.
"Augh... my head... hey... why am I tied to a table?" Ed winced at the pain in his stomach, that would bruise. No doubt about it.
Lisa was getting ticked. No, not ticked. Royally pissed off. "Shut up, you whining piece of slime!" she bellowed, actually startling Izumi. "If I hear one more word out of you that's not conducive to our goal, I'll kill you, no matter what Jean or Izumi say! Got that!"
Ed cringed visibly, wanting very much to hide behind Jean at the moment. "No clue what the other guy said, but could you repeat the last thing you asked? I missed it..."
"You have three choices of blood to rebuild the array. Izumi's, mine, or Jean's. Doesn't matter whose blood you pick, as long as you trust that person. It'll work better like that." Lisa's glare clearly informed the young man two things: one, pay attention or Bad Things will happen; two, pick someone else.
"..." Violet-flecked gold automatically focused on Havoc.
"Dumb question," the two women muttered in synch. "I think the only person Ed would want more is Mustang," Izumi continued on, solo.
"Jean, get that remarkably pretty tail of yours over here now," Lisa said. "We're going to cut across your palm to get the blood we need for slime-boy over there. It won't hurt, and Ed'll be relatively back to normal."
"Close your eyes," Izumi said, producing a surgical scalpel and a small blood basin. "It won't hurt a bit."
Ed looked away then, too many thoughts running through his head. "Fawkes was there..."
Havoc tensed right as the two women were delicately cutting, causing them to go just a bit deeper than intended. "What!"
"Jean, shut up," Lisa snapped. "Ed, you're not helping any."
Izumi caught the influx neatly, and set it on the bedside table. "Fawkes?"
"He's the one who shot me... What about Roy, is he okay? I... couldn't do anything..." Trying to sit up, Ed was reminded he was restrained. "Can you at least let me out of these things?"
"We kind of have to," Izumi said. "I'm only going to release your upper restraints, and I'm going to transmute your hand into the table. Lisa's going to be waiting with fist ready." She transmuted Ed's hand neatly into the cold surface, effectively trapping him. "Now keep that thing away while we work, otherwise we're going to take drastic measures." She released the shoulder and chest restraints.
Havoc did not like the sound of 'drastic measures.'
Ed gulped, sweatdropping slightly. He didn't like the sound of 'drastic measures' either... Somewhat painfully, no thanks to the pounding he'd gotten a few minutes before, he managed to sit up, despite the nagging pain in his shoulder and the way it made his vision swim, violet threatening to overtake him again though he kept it in the slightest check. At this rate, he'd pass out before they were even done, trying to stay in one place was hard enough when he was in good health.
Izumi put a hand flat on Ed's back, pushing him forward so she could redraw the array. She cursed the complexity of the thing silently, painstakingly retracing what was left of the original marks.
Ed tried to keep still as best he could through the prickling sensations that spiked through his body, through the pain in his head and the tear at his subconscious. He'd just have to grit his teeth and bear it, and hope to whoever'd listen that the array could be salvaged.
Izumi gritted her teeth, sketching a particularly complicated whorl. Curse Al for even attempting to do something so stupid. One more loop and line, and the damnable thing would be complete...
Vacantly, Edward realized he was missing an arm and a leg again...
... and she was done. She wiped chimera blood from her hands. "You're good to go, kiddo. Don't mess it up."
A particularly tense-looking Havoc relaxed perceptibly, and Lisa look both relieved and slightly disappointed.
"Can I have my arm and leg back, please?" Blond bangs still made a veil that covered his eyes, though it was obvious the few minutes it had taken to restore the array had thrashed him both mentally and physically.
"After Lisa puts them back on, I want you to rest," Izumi ordered. "I want you fed properly and I want you to get a decent amount of sleep. Lisa and I will start looking for Al. We'll get back to you periodically."
Lisa reattached the arm quickly and professionally. "I've always felt sorry for people with automail," she remarked. "I don't know why..."
Gritting his teeth, Ed bit back a scream, running a nice long variety of harsh curses through his mind.
She reattached his leg and released him from the rest of the straps. "Don't try to kill anyone, all right?"
She turned to Havoc. "You seem to be holding up pretty well, but don't strain it. The Albedo only ages the injuries, not completely heals them. I want you to get plenty to eat and plenty of sleep, got that?" Without even waiting for acknowledgement, the two women left with a promise to write every week.
"Are they always like that, or is it just for the kid?" Lifting his head, violet eyes glanced at the arm and leg, as he tested both. "So tell me... is this room sealed well?"
Havoc smiled bitterly. Go figure.
"Go ahead, call them in, I know they're out there, watching... You want to know what happened, right?" Blasphemy turned his eyes to Havoc. "I own you, you know that?"
"I don't care," he said wearily. "I'm sick of this goddamned game of tug-of-war, I'm sick of being a toy. All I want is some fucking SLEEP."
"I thought you had more fight in you than that... maybe I should do to you what I was going to do to that pretty boy Mustang..." The homonculus sneered at the chimera.
"Look, right now, I don't fucking care. I don't care if you 'own' me, I don't care if you were going going to do something to Mustang. Hell, I don't even care if Fawkes showed up right now. I just want to curl up in bed and pretend this whole slew of shit doesn't exist." Blue eyes glared tiredly at the sneering homunculus.
Hopping off the table, Blasphemy shrugged. "Fine... sleep then... Where's Pride, I want the fuck out of here..."
"Not here..." His vision was going blurry... too blurry. He squinted, trying to sort out details that he usually would have gotten in an instant. Not good. "He's off on a trip to... somewhere. I... I think..."
The hell was wrong with him?
"Is this room sealed well? Damn imbecile good for nothing, do you know anything!" Slit-pupiled violet eyes glared at the... woozy?chimera...?
"Yeah," Havoc said distantly. "They're not taking any chances with a homicidal maniac... sir."
"Fine... whatever... I don't feel like fucking with it right now... just don't fucking touch me..." Blasphemy took a seat on the opposite side of the room, idly examining the horrible fashion sense of the hospital.
Havoc slumped bonelessly to the ground, exhaustion, stress, bloodloss, and unnatural healing techniques caught up brutally, knocking him out into a graceless heap of half-animal human.
God, his day had sucked.
Blasphemy watched boredly each little twitch in the chimera's features, with really nothing more than a morbid fascination for the effects of a good mindfuck.
Havoc curled around himself, whimpering slightly. He hated feeling this vulnerable, but there was nothing for it. He was probably going to die anyway.
One empty dark eye stared absently down at fists that were barely clenched in the hospital sheets. The physical pain had died down to an occasional dull throbbing, but Roy really hadn't recovered at all, mentally.
The doctor had said he'd been out for nearly half a week, despite treatment with the Albedo. He'd been conscious for the past three days and yet still nobody would tell him what happened to Ed, and Jean hadn't shown up either. When he asked, everyone would just ignore him or find something else to busy themselves with.
Havoc knocked languidly on the door, yawning. His left knee still hurt a bit, but the painkillers had fuzzed it out to a dull roar. But that just made him sleepy.
Roy's hair was a mess, hell, he was a mess in general. Slowly, he turned his head to look towards the door, not saying a word. The nurse should just come in anyway, they always did so without so much as a care for him really.
A nurse brisquely brushed by the slower-moving chimera, shooting him a somewhat interested look. He ignored her.
"All right, sir," the nurse said in one of those 'I'm a pretty nurse, pay attention to me,' voices. "Are you feeling up to eating something solid?"
Havoc took the opportunity to poke his head through the door and wave.
Naturally, Roy looked right past the nurse, one eye locking on Havoc. "I..."
"Well?" The nurse did nurse-like things, obviously impatient for Roy to answer. Havoc started making faces at Roy.
"I'm... not really hungry..." Roy glanced down at his hands again momentarily, managing at least a slight smile for the nurse.
Havoc huffed from the doorway. He slid out into the hall, planning something evil.
"Sir, you really have to eat! Otherwise, you'll never get better, and that crazy Ishvarian woman will have to come back against her expressed wishes to the contrary."
"I said I wasn't hungry... I'll be fine, I think I will have dinner tonight, you're on that shift, right?" Roy managed a more flashy smile, despite the strong urge to crisp this woman into tomorrow.
Havoc hefted a paper airplane with 'pay attention to me, dammit!' scribbled on the inside. He let it fly, aiming for Roy's head.
"Mr. Mustang, you need to eat three meals a day!"
Feeling the paper object collide with the side of his head, Roy lifted a hand, snatching the airplane out of his hair and reading it, once again looking past the nurse. "I had a late breakfast..."
"Sir, that does not count."
"I really wouldn't want to have to force a lovely lady like yourself to leave... but please understand that I have no interest in food right now..." Mustang heroically kept in the urge to reach for his gloves on the side table.
Havoc snorted audibly. The nurse whipped around, eyeing him with something somewhere between awe and annoyance. "Mornin'," he said cheerfully.
Roy sweatdropped slightly. "Ma'am, I'm sorry... but you're wasting your time..."
"You're not really supposed to be here," the nurse snapped at Havoc, actually eyeing him. "Aren't you still in confinement?"
"I already got my rabies shot, so keep your hat on," he said, slipping into the room.
One dark eyebrow twitched slightly, and Roy winced visibly. "You are dismissed, ma'am... I hate to be rude but would you please just leave already! I tried to be nice about it, I've had it up to here with you people, get out of my sight!"
The nurse stiffened, then marched out, head held high. "I will have to tell my superiors about this, sir."
"Oh, go away, woman," Havoc said, closing the door on her tail. "Stupid medics."
Roy sighed the second the door was closed, slouching back into his former positioning. "It's been a while... I... heard about what Envy did... sort of..."
Havoc rolled his eyes. "Should I even ask, or just let it go?"
Roy closed his eye, silent for a moment. "What happened to Ed...?"
Havoc sat down on the bed. "I don't know what happened initially because no one will tell me, but his array got screwed over pretty badly. He's still not exactly stable, but at least he's staying in his room. I'm not complaining, seeing as that twerp wants to kill me every twenty minutes." He stretched, spine cracking. "How're you feeling?"
"Do you want to know what happened?" Roy avoided the question of how he felt at the moment. He wasn't really keen on talking about it. One hand massaged lightly just above where his left eye would have been, a dull throb starting up again.
Havoc opened his mouth then paused, considering. "No, I don't."
"Maybe it's for the best... but maybe it's for the worst..." Roy sighed again.
Havoc shrugged. "We'll take it as it comes. We've always been good at improvising."
"Fawkes knows what's going on even better than I do... He said that 'the two youngest are dead' and that Bradley was next..." Despite Havoc's previous expression of disinterest, Roy couldn't help it.
Havoc draped himself across the foot of the bed. "'Course he does. He's the one calling the shots here. Face it, unless we do something abysmally stupid and unexpected, he's always going to be at least five steps ahead of us."
"How can we beat that then... He could easily kill each and every one of us, he's just toying with us now! He could've killed Ed, hell he almost killed me! I don't know what to even think anymore!"
Havoc reached up and over, rolling onto his stomach, and put a palm against Roy's mouth. "Shut up. Just because something looks hopeless doesn't mean that there's not a ghost of a chance. We're still alive, aren't we?"
Roy shivered slightly, averting his gaze. Fists clenched slightly tighter in the sheets.
Blue-green eyes looked calmly at the darker haired man. "Well? Are you done being a defeatist?"
Roy reached up with one hand, lightly gripping Havoc's wrist as he moved the hand away from his mouth. "Do you really think we can beat them, Jean...?" He nibbled idly at one of Havoc's fingertips, dark eye finally looking back at the other man's face.
Havoc smiled lopsidedly. "We're not going to die. Promise."
"You can say that... even after what happened... I'm going to hold you to your word..." The dark-haired man shifted slightly, arms wrapping around Havoc's neck. "I have faith in you, Jean... keep Edward safe... I don't even know if I can do that anymore..."
Havoc exhaled what might have been a bitter laugh. "Hell, I don't know if I can keep him minimally under control anymore." He gently ran his fingers through Roy's shaggy hair. "Let's just call it a joint effort, m'kay?"
"I suppose..." Roy smiled softly, a somewhat dreamy look in his eye. "I can live with that..."
"You're not even listening to me, are you?"
"Of course I am..." The smile grew a bit, as Roy traced Havoc's lips with his fingertips. "Just thinking a bit..."
"Uh-oh," Havoc murmured, eyes glinting in fun, "You thinking is kind of dangerous."
Roy reached up, threading his fingers through Jean's hair. "Perhaps..." One eye closed halfway, unable to break their gaze.
Havoc gently tweaked his nose. "So, what evil plans of world domination have you thought up now?"
A sudden flashback ripped through Roy's mind, leaving him clinging almost desperately to the tall blond, face buried in his chest. "God those eyes...it's true... everything he said is fucking true..!"
Havoc sat there and blinked for a few seconds, trying to wrap his still-tired brain around the fact that he had Roy basically plastered to his front. He knew that trying to peel the man off was a useless exercise, so he opted just to sit there.
"Beg your pardon?"
"I couldn't do a goddamn thing..." The smaller man was trembling, face still buried in Havoc's chest. "He was still Ed... even though he wasn't..."
Havoc sighed, getting slightly irritated. "Roy, snap out of it! We have two alchemists working on this, and Lisa is trying to find Al. Izumi's doing some research into the array, and I think we may have a few ideas how to fix Ed. Stop moping and put yourself together!"
"It's not about now it's about then..." Despite being slightly more calm, Roy still hadn't lifted his face away from Havoc's chest. "You would've been able to do something if you'd been in my place, I'm sure of it..."
"Yeah fucking right." Havoc let Roy go. "The kid's broken beyond what I can fix. It's going to take a couple of geniuses to figure out how to tape him back together. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them."
"That's not what I meant..." Roy shook his head, still looking down. "Nevermind it..."
"Roy, I hate to break it to you, but the boy's going insane. There's too much stress all around and –"
The door flew open, and a whirlwind of white and black blew in waving a slip of paper. "Havoc, Mustang, I think I have an idea!"
Havoc blinked. Izumi was acting like a little kid. Weird.
Roy cringed slightly, turning his head to look at Izumi. His last encounter with the Ninja Housewife was not exactly pleasant. And nearly all of three years prior to now. He would've been fine if he'd never seen her again. Woman was scary.
Izumi pointed at Havoc. "You! You read history, don't you? What do you know about the Dragon's Head?"
Havoc blinked. Dragon's Head? Was that some sort of terrorist group back in the monarchic period? Or was it a religious order...? He frowned, trying to remember. "Something to do with demons, I think..."
Roy released Havoc, realizing how tightly he'd been clinging.
Izumi looked at him intently, eyes narrowed. He remembered in a hurry at a look that promised Death.
"It's a symbol of binding, isn't it? But I thought that was just a story or something, not –"
The alchemy master sighed, sagging against the wall. "Bingo. We finally did it."
Roy massaged his left temple lightly. "Pardon me, Mrs. Curtis, but what have you done?"
"Well, you're a pretty mess, aren't you?" She handed Havoc the slip of paper, which he promptly passed to Roy. "Al made a mistake with Ed's array. He put the wrong Dragon Node in the wrong place. That's why Ed's been switching personalites so much." She nodded to the hastily sketched array. "Your pet kitten here just confirmed my suspicion."
Roy looked over the array, indexing it in his mind. "Now I know where I'd seen that before... I see..." One eye looked up to Izumi again. "What about Alphonse... has he been found yet...?" Roy was definitely hesitant to ask Izumi if she knew what had happened to him.
Izumi shook her head. "Lisa's still out hunting him. We think he may still be in Ishbar, but we're also looking in this country proper."
"I see..." Roy looked away again, thinking back on the incident with Delgardie. What would happen to the boy, what would happen to Ed when he found out?
"I'd reccomend both of you being there when Al returns," Izumi said quietly, steel in her voice. "Lisa just told me what happened to Al, and I don't want Ed to face him one-on-one." She held out her hand for the paper. "I'd also like one or both of you there when I redo the array. I don't know if I could hold that little maniac by myself."
Roy handed the paper back to Havoc, sliding off the side of the bed and walking to the window, hand on the windowsill. "...I see.."
Havoc gave Izumi the paper, jerking his head. He needed to talk to her, privately.
"What is it?" she demanded once they were out in the hall.
"Do you really think the Dragon's Head will hold in the homunculus?" he asked.
"No, not completely. But it's the best chance we've got... but..." Izumi, for the first time since Havoc had met her, looked worried. "I don't think Ed's going to be able to survive. The stress on his mind and body is immense, and there's no way for us to relieve that stress. He's a dead man walking."
Havoc rubbed his forehead. "Just don't tell Mustang that. None of us will survive the fallout."
"I know. Just... try to keep Ed alive as long as possible, but if things look hopeless, let him die. That'll be our best course of action."
"Right."
She nodded grimly. "Notify me when Mustang is up and functional. I'm staying with Jessica Corelli on North Street."
The dark-haired man returned to the bed, taking a seat on the edge and sighing heavily. She obviously didn't know that Alphonse was a state alchemist yet... or he wouldn't still be sitting here in one piece.
Havoc masked the rather haunted look in his eyes with the same cheerful vapidity that he was widely known for. Ambling into the room, he leaned over and hooked his arms around Roy's shoulders. "You look glum."
Roy reached up, hand lightly grasping Havoc's wrist. "And you seem far too cheerful for the task at hand..." He smiled dryly.
"Moping and being sad about it isn't going to get anything done. I refuse to sulk about anything until after it's all over. Then I'll probably be in a blue funk that only copius amounts of chocolate will get me out of." He nuzzled Roy briefly. "If you keep up this attitude, I might have to bite you."
"I suppose so..." Roy resorted to simply nibbling the tip of Havoc's right index finger in silence.
Havoc huffed a sigh. "You're still moping about something."
The smaller man tried to look over his shoulder to get a glimpse of the blond behind him. "Maybe I am... maybe I can't help it..."
"You really need to stop, at any rate. You'll make yourself sick."
"I'm already sick..." Roy made an attempt at shrugging off Havoc's arm. "It's chronic."
Havoc let him go. "All right, suit yourself. But –" He leavned over, incisors hovering barely off the skin at Roy's neck, "if you make me bite you, I'll leave a scar."
Roy sighed lightly, closing his one eye. "Ah, a gift to remember you by, hm?"
"... Roy, that was not funny. Period." Irritated beyond repair at that point, Havoc bit Roy. Hard. "With this attitude, you're going to get us all killed, dammit."
Roy hissed a sharp breath through his teeth, hands fisting tightly in the sheets. Eye squeezed tightly shut, he remained otherwise silent, considering he knew damn well how much he deserved that.
Havoc calmly wiped blood away from his lips with his thumb, licking his teeth. "You damn well deserved that, Mustang. I hope it scars, just to spite you."
"I'm not saying that I didn't deserve it..." Roy lifted a hand to his neck, felt the warm blood against his fingertips. "It's obvious that I did deserve it, and if it doesn't scar there really would be no point in the gesture, would there?"
Havoc fought the urge to strangle Roy. "Damn, that took all the satisfaction out of it..." He sighed. "Just stop being so goddamn pessimistic all the time. Please."
Roy chuckled lightly, turning his head, albeit a bit painfully, to look at Havoc. "I'll do what I can, and nothing more."
"... now if only I had your work ethic..."
Roy frowned slightly, tapping Havoc's nose with one finger. "Should I be flattered or take that as sarcasm... ah..." he paused, noting that Havoc's nose now had blood on it. "Hn.."
Havoc scrubbed the blood off with a hand. "You're a mess now." He nodded towards Roy's neck. "And you're still bleeding."
"I suppose I should do something about that then..." Even in saying so, Roy didn't bother to look away and tend to the wound.
Havoc rolled his eyes. "Will you at least try to take care of yourself?"
"I should..." Roy cupped his hand over the wound again. "You could help, you know..."
Havoc got up, stretching. "Well, tell me where the bandages and antiseptics are and I'd be glad to."
Roy gestured with his free hand towards the cabinet across from the foot of the bed. "I think it's in there, I haven't really been paying attention..."
Havoc sighed and began rooting through the cabinet. "You're pretty worthless, you know that?" He tossed back a roll of bandages and came up with some antiseptics.
"Deserving or not, you didn't have to bite that hard, Jean..." Roy could feel the blood dripping down his neck, around his fingers. "You know the nurse is going to have a fit when she sees this.."
"Well, with your luck, you're probably going to get carted off for rabies shots. God knows why, because I'm certainly not rabid, but some doctors are insisting that I am and want me completely quarentined." He soaked a cottonball with antiseptic fluid and pried Roy's fingers away. "I won't say that you deserve rabies shots because I wouldn't wish those on my worst enemy, but do deserve every single twinge of pain. Brace yourself." He swiped the icy-cold and soaking ball over the bruised, bleeding skin of Roy's neck before the smaller man could protest. "This isn't so bad..."
Mustang cringed visibly, hissing once more through his teeth at the stinging pain, however short-lived. "Hah... can lions even get rabies? I wouldn't know myself... I thought it was typically rodents and dogs..." He smirked through the pain. "Will you stay and take my mind off the pain for a while? I think it's fair to say that you owe me that much... Jean..."
"Apparently, any mammal can get rabies, it's just more common in lunches and dogs..." Havoc apparantly didn't notice the slip of phrasing, wrapping the messed cottonball in a bandage and shooting it into the trash can. "H'mm... I went in pretty deep, sir. Sorry about that..."
It took a moment for Roy to figure out just what the hell lunches had anything to do with rabies, before he just blinked and gave himself a mental smack for that one. "I... see... it'll heal, don't worry about it..." He didn't bother to try and push the other question that Havoc had so blatantly avoided answering.
Havoc pressed a sterile pad against the sluggishly bleeding wound, somehow managing a roll of bandages and coming out with a neatly wrapped neck. "Feel better now?"
"A little, I suppose... thank you..." The dark-haired man flexed his fingers a bit, seeing as they seemed to have fallen asleep somehow. "The next shift nurse shouldn't be here until dinnertime..." Roy paused briefly, "if you want to stay, that is.."
Havoc snorted out a quick laugh. "Like I have anywhere else to go. I'm still recovering from Ed's last outburst and have abolutely ziltch desire to go within a fory-foot radius of that stupid gopher."
"I see..." Roy turned just enough to be able to lean against Havoc's shoulder, a slightly distant look in his one eye.
Havoc nuzzled into Roy's ear. "Something wrong?"
"Just thinking..." Roy titled his head a bit, leaning a little more.
Havoc sighed. "Suit yourself."
Roy shifted again, this time resting his head in Havoc's lap and looking up at the chimera. It was easier to do that than to turn his head, but either way, it was more comfortable. "So..."
Havoc blinked and yawned sedately. "So what?"
Roy reached up with one hand to cup Havoc's cheek gently. "We've got several hours to kill, what do you think?"
Damn. "I'm not sure I follow, sir," he said neutrally, carefully keeping his blue-green eyes vapidly blank.
Roy frowned slightly, sitting up. "Fine then..." He moved again, this time resting his head rightfully on the pillow, back facing Havoc.
"You should take it easy sir. If I feel like I just got pounded by a butcher, you probably feel worse."
Roy curled up slightly into a fetal position on top of the covers, sighing slightly. "Alright, sure..."
Havoc got up, tugging on the coverlet until Roy grudgingly shited. Gently, he rearranged the obviously sulking man and drew the covers up over him.
Roy, being in a shitty mood for some reason, decided to give no thanks for the gesture.
Havoc kissed Roy's temple. "Cheer up, or I'm going to walk out on you."
Roy pondered something for a moment. "You know... Other than the fact that you just showed a minimal amount of affection, I'm highly reminded of the first time..."
"Your fault, not mine," Havoc said, still cheerfully blasé. "I'm trying to be nice."
"Do you even know what I'm talking about?"
"Vaguely." Havoc tried to keep the mask up and plausable, but his patience was wearing dangerously thin.
"Whatever happened to the cats?" For some reason, Roy was mildly curious.
"Living with family. My mom and sister adopted them – they said that it was too dangerous for them to continue living with me." Havoc lifted a shoulder in a quick shrug. "I agreed. I didn't want them starving if I died."
"Ah..." Roy reached out, taking hold of Havoc's wrist and pulling him down so that they were nose to nose. He simply grinned.
Havoc blinked, trying to wrap his mind around the sudden change in attitude. "Sir, aside from the unnatural amounts of stress you're under, are you feeling okay? I don't object at all to this, but damn, you're confusing."
"I'm quite fine, Lieutenant, but thank you for your concern..." Roy definitely wasn't going to let go anytime soon, either.
"Um." Havoc tugged slightly against Roy's deathgrip on his wrist, grinning faintly. "Remind me again why I put up with you?"
Roy brushed his lips lightly against Havoc's, still tasting just the slightest metallic tinge of blood. "Because you love me?"
Havoc pretended to think about that. "Yeah, I think that might be a part of it..."
Roy hummed softly, leaning up to catch another kiss, still light, but longer.
Havoc grinned slightly, nuzzling Roy. "How broke are you?"
Roy blinked, just staring for a moment. "Pardon?"
He poked the smaller man in the side, tickling slightly. "How badly are you hurt?"
Roy blinked again, then chuckled lightly. "Not too bad now... Miss Delgardie's treatment really speeds things up a bit..." He grinned again, squeezing Havoc's waist lightly in his grip. "Why do you ask...?"
"Because I worry about you. Besides, when you're hurt, you have these really unpredictable mood swings... almost like a pregnant woman."
Roy's visible eye twitched slightly. "You... gah... dammit Jean!" Havoc was promptly shoved straight off the bed.
Havoc hit the floor with a solid thud, laughing cheerfully. "Ohhhh... the look on your face was priceless!"
Roy shook his head, content to grin rather than laugh. "I'm so glad that I could be of amusement, too bad you didn't have a camera."
Havoc snickered. "You're just jealous that I came up with a decent insult for once."
Roy shrugged. "Sure..." He really didn't know what else to do.
Havoc slowly picked himself up, wincing at the ominous creak in his knee. In a rather dignified manner, he brushed off his butt and arms. "Well. Since I seem to have pulled you somewhat out of that funk of yours, I'll be off to see if anything else interesting is happening."
"I see..." Roy frowned just slightly. "I should get some rest before I get fussed at by another nurse then..." That said, he pulled the covers up to his chin, rolling over on his side. "Bring me a snack or something later, will you?"
Havoc snorted. "What am I, your personal slave?"
"Didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Jean... but I guess if you want to be..." Roy chuckled a bit, grinning.
Havoc turned his head, face crumpled in an elaborate expression of utter disbelief. "You're loony."
Roy chuckled again, running his fingers through his hair. "I was just playing..."
Havoc shoved his hands into his pockets, sticking his tongue out. "My brain isn't your personal bouncy-ball, either."
Roy thought about that for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
Havoc's eye began to twitch. It was becoming one hell of a chronic condition, lately. "Care to let me in on the joke, Mustang?"
Roy slowly managed to stop laughing, trying to slow his breathing back to normal. "It's just... ahah... the mental image of... -snicker-... your brain as a bouncy ball..." And at that point he couldn't stop himself, falling victim to yet another laughing fit.
The chimera resisted the urge to bat the insane human around the head and shoulders.
The door snicked open and a new nurse popped her head in. "Civilians aren't allowed in this wing," she said snippily.
Now Havoc really wanted to hurt something.
Roy shook his head, managing once more to calm down. "Does he look like a civilian to you, ma'am?"
"He's not in the roster, he's unauthorized. Therefore, he's civilian."
Havoc growled, barely audible. He hooked his tags out form underneath his shirt. "I'm authorized, lady."
Roy sighed, shaking his head once more. "Here with dinner, or just to check on me?"
The nurse's eyes widened and she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, sirs. The previous nurse on duty said that there was a troublemaker bothering Mustang so I was sent to kick you out. I had no idea you were sent by the Fuhrer himself..." She disappeared, apologizing profusely.
Havoc smiled, smug. "Score one for the misfit."
One eye rested a bit sorrowfully, a bit angrily on the tags, and Roy rolled back over again, determined just to get some goddamn sleep.
Havoc rolled his eyes and muttered, "Touchy bastard."
"Shut up..." Roy waved a hand. "Weren't you going to go do something?"
Havoc gritted his teeth. He... didn't know what to do. "Just... get over yourself, Mustang. There's not a damn thing any of us could have done about it."
Roy rolled over again, one eye focusing on Havoc again. "I'm tired, Jean... Just do whatever it is you've got to do and let me rest..."
Havoc shrugged, grinning lopsidedly. "Of course. How thoughtless of me." He left closing the door silently behind him, choosing not to comment further.
Roy sighed and closed his eyes, drifting off into what would be a rather uneasy sleep.
Please review, constructive criticism and questions appreciated, flames will be deflected back at you by Roy. n.n;
