Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Shonen-ai (possibly yaoi), spoilers
Pairings: Roy x Ed, Russell x Ed, possible Envy x Ed, implied Al x Winry
Genre: Angst, Romance, Alternate Ending to the Series!
Summary: After receiving a call from a worried Al, Roy goes to investigate Ed's disappearance in Xenotime. Meanwhile, Fullmetal has come down with a nasty illness and is found by Russell Tringham. Romance ensues. RussellxEd, RoyxEd, and others. Alternate ending to the TV series.
AN: Hello everyone! Thank you for the great reviews! I never expected to get so many in such a short amount of time! Review responses are after the chapter. Once again, this story will be loosely based on the anime, and it pretty much ignores the real ending of the series and the events of episode 25.
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, Funimation, and others. "Freeze My Love" belongs to Glay.
Freeze My Love
Chapter Two
by Abyssinian003
The first thing Roy had noticed as he and Fletcher neared their destination was the groves upon groves of lemon trees. The air was fresh with the scent of the yellow fruits, and Roy took in a deep breath with barely restrained delight. It was so nice to be far away from the stench of Central's pollution!
Fletcher smiled brightly, "This is Mr. Belsio's house! It's nice, isn't it? He lets Brother and I stay here because our alchemy can help the plants." The fair-haired child's grin slipped slightly, "Well, that and the fact that we don't really have anywhere else to go."
As the boy opened the door to the small house, Roy thought about what the younger Tringham had said. They used alchemy. The Flame Alchemist silently gauged Fletcher's age. Alchemists were just getting younger with the passing years, weren't they?
The dark-haired man followed the light-haired child as far as the doorway and waited hesitantly. Noticing the dark-eyed man's predicament, Fletcher offered, "Follow me if you want, sir. I'm just going to drop off the medicine in Mr. Ed's room." Roy nodded and followed.
They wandered down the hall, stopping at a simple brown door. Fletcher knocked on the wood softly and called quietly, "I'm coming in, okay?" That said, he opened the door, and his blue eyes widened immensely. Roy's smirk faltered as his dark eyes took in the sight before him.
"Don't do that!" Ed batted away Russell's hand from his golden hair with a furious scowl. The younger alchemist smirked and ruffled Ed's hair again despite the other boy's protests. The shorter blonde retaliated rather violently, grabbing Russell by the collar of his white shirt and yanking him out of his chair. Realizing he was falling, Russell snatched Ed's golden braid, and the two ended up on the floor in a heap of limbs.
Russell found himself entranced by Ed's golden eyes as the older alchemist lay beneath him, braid loosened by their short fall to the floor. Ed couldn't bring himself to break the intense stare between them and blushed slightly as he realized exactly what position they had landed in. Slowly, Russell leaned down, and Ed's eyes slid shut of their own accord as their warm breath mingled. Then, just before their lips met, the door opened.
The taller blonde jerked his head upward, and Ed's eyes snapped open. The Fullmetal Alchemist's golden stare locked onto the intruders. When he noticed that in the doorway was not only Fletcher but Roy as well, he paled drastically but felt fierce amusement at the situation swell deep inside him as he caught sight of the faltering expression on the colonel's face.
Fletcher was the first to recover. Worry welled up in his blue eyes. His brother's face was a blank slate comparable to the calm before a storm. He didn't want Russell to be mad at him! He held the brown bag of medicine out in front of himself like a sacrifice to a terrible beast, "I'm sorry! I was just bringing Mr. Ed's medicine! I knocked!" When no one replied, he repeated himself, "I'm sorry!"
Just as Russell was about to say something to assure his brother that he wasn't mad, slightly irritated maybe but not mad, Roy's smirk came back full force. He gave a slight nod to the older Tringham before glancing at Ed. "Oh, I didn't see you there, Fullmetal."
The air suddenly filled with thick, angry tension. Russell found himself sprawled on the floor as Ed jumped to his feet. The small blonde marched up to Roy and glared as he shouted, "Who are you callin' a speck of dust that's so tiny it can't even be seen by dust mites (1)!"
If anything Roy's smirk grew at the teen's anger, "I said no such thing, Fullmetal." Ed sneered, "Bastar-" Before he could finish the word, there was an excruciating tightening in his lungs, and Ed coughed harshly and turned away from the colonel, bringing his hands to cover his mouth.
Roy seemed taken aback by the Fullmetal Alchemist sudden attack and a sliver of worry slipped through his mask. Alphonse hadn't been kidding when he said that his brother was coming down with a cold. His concern for the younger alchemist's health grew when the short teenager didn't seem to be able to stop coughing.
Then Russell had his hands on the boy's shoulders, saying, "Ed, breathe." The older alchemist shook his head to indicate that he couldn't and coughed particularly hard. Russell paled and caught Ed as the teen's body totally relaxed into a state of unexpected unconsciousness.
For the second time that day, Russell hoisted the older boy into his arms, carried him a few feet, and placed Ed on his soft, warm bed, sighing helplessly. He pulled the blankets up to cover the golden-eyed alchemist's body as a worried frown graced his lips. The tall blonde brushed the older teen's golden locks away from his forehead and turned to look for the washcloth once more. Fletcher simply held it out to him. Russell nodded to his little brother in thanks and gently laid the damp cloth across Ed's warm forehead.
After watching Russell care for Ed, Roy ran a hand through his short strands of obsidian. It was... odd to see the Fullmetal Alchemist felled by something as simple as a cold. He had seen the short teen on the brink of death, but, he realized with a misplaced sense of humor, he had never seen Fullmetal with a cold or any other sickness for that matter. Sighing, he tried to break the air of silence that had fallen over the group, "I see Alphonse was right to be worried."
Fletcher, who had silently been watching event unfold, perked up at the name of Ed's brother. "Al?" Roy nodded. "How has he been? Why is he not here with Mr. Ed?" Fletcher asked quietly, eyes downcast as if deep in thought. Roy blinked, "As far as I'm aware, he's fine. Better than Fullmetal, it seems. He's spending time with a friend while he recovers."
Fletcher's eyes shot up to meet Roy's, and alarm laced his boyish voice, "Recovers? Is he hurt or sick?" Roy blinked at the boy's innocence again before he could stop himself. They didn't know that Alphonse had been an empty suit of armor? Russell interrupted his train of thought, "He probably means that Al doesn't need to wear the armor any longer, Fletcher." The gray-eyed alchemist shot Roy a look that screamed, 'I want some answers later, and you'll give them to me or else.'
A tap on his arm caused Russell to look down at his brother. He tried to calm his racing heart; he hadn't even seen him move! Disguising his surprise, he calmly asked, "What is it, Fletcher?"
The green-adorned youth looked at Ed and asked softly, "What's wrong with him?" Russell sighed. What was he supposed to tell his brother? 'I'm not quite sure yet' wouldn't go over too well, so he simply decided to tell Fletcher about Ed's symptoms. After all, maybe the young alchemist could figure out what was wrong with the golden-eyed boy. "Well, he seems to have a constant fever, at least while he's been here. He also has those coughing fits, and, from what I've witnessed, he seems to pass out when they hit."
Fletcher frowned suddenly. Ed's symptoms sounded very much like Elisa's and most of the townspeople's red water sickness. However, Ed seemed to have a much worse case.
Worry tinged his thoughts as he looked from Ed to his brother. He couldn't tell Russell what he thought! His brother would freak out! Plus, he wasn't even positive that Ed had red water related illness. He needed to talk to Al to see if the younger Elric knew anything remotely helpful about the short alchemist's health. Noticing Russell and Roy watching him, the blue-eyed blonde replied with a simple, "Oh."
Roy seemed to be thinking somewhat along the same lines as Fletcher about letting Al know about Ed's condition. "Is there a phone that I could use? I need to call Alphonse to let him know about Fullmetal." Russell and Fletcher shared an inquiring look, as if each was asking the other an unspoken question, before Russell replied, "We'll have to ask Belsio first, but I'm fairly sure he'll let you use it." Roy nodded in thanks.
A light knock sounded throughout the room, and Elisa skipped into the room. She glanced at Roy hesitantly, eyes raking over his military uniform, before turning to Russell. "Uncle Belsio told me to tell you that he still needs your help with lunch. He says that even though you're worried about Mr. Ed, you still have to do your chores or you can find some other place to stay."
An expression of distaste flitted across Russell's handsome features as he sighed heavily. It was an empty threat. Belsio wouldn't kick him out of his house, but the dark man nonetheless used the threat to send him on a guilt trip. He ran a slender hand through his lemon-colored hair, letting his right eye become visible for a moment, "Tell your uncle that I'll be there in a moment." Elisa nodded happily and skipped out of the room.
Russell looked first at Roy then at Fletcher. A slim, yellow eyebrow rose, "Am I cooking for him also?" Fletcher smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Russell shrugged and closed his eyes as he started out of the room, "I'll take that as a 'yes.' Feel free to come help me Fletcher, or you can stay here and watch Ed." He paused and decided after a moment, "Actually, take that man to see Belsio and call Al." That said, Russell sent one last glance back to the resting figure of Ed and padded down the hall toward the kitchen.
Quite a while later, Fletcher had called Alphonse, but, as it turned out, what the younger Elric had to say about his brother hadn't been remotely helpful in confirming Fletcher's suspicions. All Al had noticed was a simple cough, much like the beginning of a cold, but he had also supplied the fact that Edward had been sleeping quite a bit more than usual. Fletcher let out a sigh of exasperation. Why was Ed as sick as he was? More importantly, what was the cause of his illness?
The plant-using alchemist (2) quietly made his way to the house's kitchen. He paused at the simple wooden doorframe and listened to his brother and Mr. Mustang speak to each other with forced politeness. A smile tugged at his lips, and he quickly banished it. Now was not the time for laughter; it was time for some serious investigation into Ed's illness. Or, he realized with amusement, he could try to out-manipulate Roy Mustang and in the process instigate a subtle interrogation.
"Nah," he muttered as he shook his head, blond hair and green hat swaying from side to side, "I don't think I could do that."
End Chapter Three
Notes:
1) I... could not come up with a better insult. If anyone has any Ed retaliations that they'd like to be used somewhere in the fic, just put them in a review, and I'll try my best to use them at some point.
2) Well, Fletcher used plant-based alchemy in the show, so I assume his alchemy centers around plant life normally, much like how Roy's alchemy tends to be centered around fire.
AN: Thanks for the wonderful reviews, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Next chapter: Discoveries will be made, and confrontations will occur... hopefully. These plans of mine don't seem to be working out too well. n.n;