Wow, I can't believe I actually managed to squeeze out another chaper in such a small space of time. Take that, Writer's block! ;)
A mega thanks goes out to Lurkinshdws, ed'sgirl89, Ororon, phoenixalchemist and HaganeChibi. Thanks guys!
Apologies for any silly mistakes in this chaper, I onlychecked over it once. So lazy...
Finally, enjoy!
Thusday Mornings Are Always The Worst.
Familiar faces were always difficult to deal with, whether it be a friend who you haven't spoken to in months, an acquaintance you just happened to bump into again or in Ed's case… your own mother. This was a face Ed really didn't appreciate seeing right now. He also struggled to find a reason for her being here. Granted she was the Fuhrer's secretary and had every right to be investigating anything suspicious that caught her eye. But why on earth would she need to see him and Mustang make out in a hospital ward. The answer evaded Ed deviously, watching him struggle uncomfortably in the awkward silence.
Dressed in her usual immaculate garb, she stared open-mouthed at the scene in front of her. She stared hard, eyes unmoving until a smirk appeared on her flawless face as she pulled the situation to her advantage. Mustang said nothing – what could he say? He still thought Juliet Douglas was the Fuhrer's secretary and nothing more. He thought she was the Fuhrer's personal spy, reporting everything she saw back to him. That included little make out sessions between his soldiers. He sighed, and glued his gaze on the floor.
"I didn't expect to find you both on the floor when I came to visit Mr Elric." Sloth said, breaking a labored silence. Her tone was icy, remaining calm despite the surprise.
"Uhm… we, er…w-we're on top of each other because…" Ed stuttered, hastily searching for an excuse – it was no good. "Why are you here?" he finally settled on, attempting to change the subject.
"Oh, I came to visit you, Edward. There was something I wanted to give you." She cooed playfully, bending down to retrieve her packages. Mustang was still muted, completely oblivious to the fact there was a homunculus was in the room. He still had his arms wrapped tightly around Ed protectively, like the golden alchemist was his very own property.
"Give me something?" Ed repeated her words, curious of what a homunculus could possibly want to give him.
"Yes, but its better if we talk alone. This is a more 'private' matter." Mustang raised his head, suddenly caught in interest. "I'm sure the Colonel here has his own business to attend to." She met his gaze with a dismissive glint in her eye.
Loosening his hold on Ed, Roy rose from the floor reluctantly, leaving his bedraggled object of affection behind. Ed couldn't help but feel disappointed by his reaction, despite him having no knowledge of the homunculus. He knew the Colonel would never believe such a story; it wasn't in his nature to. At that very moment, Ed could feel the rumble of his stomach intensifying in warning. No way would he be able to defeat Sloth in his current state, he could barely move.
Mustang slowly made his way over to the door, regretting each step away from Ed he took. As his was about to leave, Ms. Douglas leaned in close to him.
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, Colonel."
Mustang shuddered from harshness of her venomous breath. It's decaying fragrance haunted his nostrils causing him to feel suddenly very weak. He left the room, unsure of whether to trust her or not. As long as the Fuhrer didn't find out, everything would be fine. He'd still be promoted and he could go on seeing Fullmetal in secret. It would work - it had to! "How do I get myself into these situations?" he whispered to no one, easing the large ward doors shut.
Sloth waited until she heard the satisfactory click of the ward doors being closed. Ed shivered in fear as she returned her attention to him. She had a look of pulsating malice in her eyes, one that cried out for bloodshed. The infuriated colours of a new dawn filtered in though the storm-battered curtains, staining the entire room in a royal scarlet colour.
"So, Fullmetal, we're alone at last." Sloth purred, lowering herself onto a chair. "It's been a while since I last saw that persistent look."
"Get to the point." Ed growled, temper already rising.
"Oh and I will, Mr. Elric. It seems you like to act impulsively these days, giving yourself up to anyone who asks. That's really sweet, I hope you're both happy together." Her smile deepened as she watched a look of disgust spread across the young alchemist's face. "You'll be wanting to tell everyone of your recent found love. Why, there's your brother and that girl he's always with, you know the one? Long blonde hair and a very pretty face?" Ed snarled; if Winry did find out, he'd be paying with blood. "She'll be so happy when she finds out. And of course we cannot forget all the other soldiers as well as the Fuhrer. Yes, they all must know." She finished, folding her arms across her chest proudly.
"Are you mad? If they all find out HQ will be in utter chaos and we'll both be torn apart! – Oh wait." Realization finally dawned on Ed as he added up the events in his head. "So, that's your plan."
"Very good, Edward. They don't call you a prodigy for nothing it seems." A sinister smile curled onto her lips. "I've been informed you and your brother have a very good lead behind the Philosopher's stone. How very convenient. Tell me, Edward." She leant forward in her seat, adjusting her skirt to a more comfortable position. "Fancy a game of equivalent exchange?"
Ed could see it perfectly now, and it was all so very simple. She was going to use the relationship between himself and Mustang to get access to the Philosopher's stone, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing at all. Ed had no idea how a whole HQ would react to a gay relationship between the both of them. He imagined being kicked out, abandoned without a single person by his side. His head bowed in shame as he watched his brother refuse to stand by him. After all he had promised to solely focus on getting his body back, nothing else.
"That's right – take your time. These things take time to think through." The homunculus said, watching the boy battle his thoughts. She was pleased her plan was flowing smoothly; the thought of manipulating Edward Elric was just too good!
He couldn't allow the homunculus near the Philosopher's stone, nor could he allow the whole HQ to find out about him and Roy. One choice remained. Smacking his hands together he formed a deadly spray of sharp stone fragments, which he hurled in the direction of Sloth. She evaded each one with grace, finishing the move with a smooth flip.
"Playing dirty, are we?" She sneered, a little annoyed. Ed panted hard; he shouldn't have really been out of bed, let alone fighting a homunculus. He tried once again unfurling a second wave fragments. This time she absorbed each of them with no lasting damage.
"Oh Ed, why must you be so stubborn!" she whined, hovering towards the bewildered teen. Ed scraped against the wall, metal arm grasping hold of anything it could find. He was just about able to take a few steps before collapsing again in an unruly heap. Sloth laughed, amusement flashing in her eyes. She pulled Ed up by his neck, twisting her spindly fingers around his tender neck. "Surely we can't talk things over like adults?" She received her answer soon after being thrown into the wall. "I'm already a dog of the military. I won't be one for you too!" Defiance shining through his barely opened eyes, he lunged a Sloth not caring about the consequences.
"Such brave words, for someone so… small." The last part was whispered. As usual Ed swallowed the bait whole.
"Someone so what? Did you say small!"
"No, sorry – I meant to say childlike. As a matter of fact, I have something especially for you in one of these boxes, Ed. Something like yourself, very small." She dusted herself off, and retrieved one of her packages. She'd spoken the truth; the package indeed was small. It was wrapped in some sort of rough fabric, which frayed around the edges. Tying the whole thing together was delicate golden ribbon mirroring the colour of Ed's eyes. She handed it to him gently, taking care not to reveal the contents.
"Well, Ed, are you going to open it?"
"So, that's all of yesterday's paperwork and here's today's." Riza Hawkeye said brightly lowering a mountain of papers on Roy Mustang's desk. He groaned in protest, lowering his head onto his desk. Sleepless nights were clearly not good for paperwork.
"Stayed up late last night?" Riza asked patiently, yet there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Roy yawned in response, choosing his words carefully. "Fullmetal can be quite a handful when he's ill."
"So I've heard." She said, knowing there was more to the story. "I don't regret forcing you over there last night. You guys needed to straighten things out." She remembered all too well the disgruntled whines of protest as she'd tried to persuade him to visit the eldest Elric late last night. She'd convinced him in the end, and all it took was a simple gunshot. If only everything was resolved with a single gunshot.
"Yeah, I guess. Everything's sorted now… just about." He murmured beginning the first of his paperwork.
"I'm glad to hear so, Sir." She said smiling at the Colonel's sudden burst of effort. It was fake, and she knew it.
Mustang sat silently, pretending to concentrate on his work. Paperwork had never been his strong point and he couldn't recall reading about having to complete so much of it in the job description. He found it hard to concentrate now. Thoughts of Ed drifted through his head. Last night was truly the most fun he'd had in a long while. The blonde teen was quite sensitive under that tough metal exterior, he thought rubbing his temples. I wonder what the Fuhrer's secretary wanted with him…
She was a strange lady he had to admit. You never quite felt safe around her; she had an unwelcome presence, which lingered in the air. He wasn't too comfortable leaving Ed alone with her but unfortunately she knew of something far too fragile.
"Where are you going, Sir?" Hawkeye said, noticing the Colonel abandoning his paperwork already.
"I have some business I need to take care of. I'll be back soon, stay on task." He said, hardly fitting the last words in as he exited the room.
"I'm not the one who has problems staying on task…" Hawkeye whispered, apparently to no one.
"Ah, Colonel, just the man I was looking for."
"Hmm?" Mustang answered, turning around to face the doctor.
"You know Mr Elric, don't you?" The doctor asked, flipping through the papers on his clipboard.
Mustang nodded.
"Well, he's free to go now, everything seems fine. He says he's feeling much better. However I'm still slightly worried so I need him to take some medication, which I'm not certain he'll take."
Typical Fullmetal…Mustang sighed, sneering at the thought of force-feeding Edward Elric."So you want me manage his medicine or?"
The doctor shook his head, and pulled out a few forms from his clipboard. Not more paperwork!
"Please see that Mr. Elric attends this class we run every Thursday. We specialise in lessening the stress in some people's lives, and we feel Mr. Elric will benefit from a few sessions."
Mustang snickered. Oh, he was making sure Ed attended these, he imagined teasing the quick to anger teen already. What fun it would be. The Doctor cleared his throat impatiently bringing Mustang back to the world of the living.
"Oh, yes of course I can, heh." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll make it my main priority." He added at the end, smirking.
"Excellent, first session starts next week. Let's get him in there, Sir." The Doctor said walking over to a grumpy looking Havoc. Mustang sent a wink his way. Havoc was known for his drunken accidents, they happened on a weekly basis.
As Mustang arrived at Ed's room he was greeted with sulky teenager, hormones in full swing. The nurse standing behind him was the obvious reason.
"Now, I want you to take two of these three times a day, and four of those every two days…" she went on and on… Mustang could understand why Ed was so cranky.
"Look lady, I'm okay now! See? I don't need all these damn medicines and tablets!" Ed said, while wildly dancing around.
"Don't come running to me with another sky high fever, y'hear? Because I'll know for certain you haven't been taking them." She tapped a freakishly long fingernail on the young blonde's nose.
"No worries, m'am. I'm sure he'll come running to me when the time is right." Mustang sneaked in, awaiting the imminent reaction.
"You!" Ed wailed, already lunging towards him. Mustang quickly grabbed hold of Ed's wrist.
"Yes, its me. C'mon let's go."
Ed blushed a little at this, which Mustang found adorable. He still looked a little pale and stressed. There were dark circles forming underneath his eyes, making him look permanently tired.
"Thanks for you help, nurse." He said, as he gave a hard tug on Ed's wrist and waved a not-so fond farewell. Pulling his little blonde lover for a while, Mustang hastily scanned around for an empty room of some sort. The cafeteria was deserted, which was odd because it was normally packed at this of day. He dragged Ed in, pushing him down into the nearest chair.
"Uwaaaa, you big roughie!" Ed screamed, recovering from the Mustang mauling.
"Aww, sorry did I hurt you?" Mustang sneered, rubbing his head against the younger alchemist's affectionately.
"Mmm." Ed grumbled, not feeling up to resistance as Mustang's hand slid around his neck. He felt another pair of lips converse with his own, and warmth arise in the pit of his stomach. Mustang's tongue screamed for entry, thrashing against the entrance aggressively. Ed was eventually coaxed enough to allow him entry, much to Mustang's joy.
Ed could feel Mustang's hands crawling all over him like some kind of octopus. He hated to admit but it was kind of hot. The tables had been recently cleaned, so Ed found himself slipping against the wet tabletop as Mustang pinned him down.
Roy Mustang tucked into his meal happily, nibbling at anything that caught his fancy. Mainly Ed's earlobe, which was now glowing an intense red colour. He grasped hold of his meal tightly, to prevent it from slipping away. His meal was cooking nicely, rising in temperature rapidly…perhaps too rapidly. In fact the moment dinner sneezed all over him, Roy Mustang lost his appetite.
"Mmm, guess we're still sick." He decided, putting a hand to Ed's searing forehead. "You should have said."
"I feel fine honestly." Ed panted, struggling for breath once again. He clearly was not fine. Roy slipped off the table and stood above his spoilt dinner.
"You expect me to believe that. I'm not a military nurse you can fob off with lies unfortunately." He said learning over Ed, but quickly withdrawing before he started snacking again. Ed stared hard into a pair of worried onyx orbs, sinking beneath their superior glare. Their staring match was rather rudely interrupted by Armstrong bouncing in for his mid-morning 'power boost.'
"Good morning to you both!" he exclaimed gripping both in a painfully tight hug. Ed started coughing violently, while Mustang attempted to remove the vice grip around his shoulders. Armstrong quickly let go and reduced himself to Ed's level.
"Are you alright, Ed?" he asked concern filling every bristling muscle.
"Yes, he's fine. We were just leaving now to do some paperwork. I'll see you later, Major." Mustang said, quickly escaping an unwanted conversation. He dragged Ed, running once again, although not as roughly as the first time. After clearing a few corners and Armstrong's line of sight, both slowed to a walk.
"Phew, that was a close one." Mustang panted, catching his breath.
"I'll say. He'd have me back in that sick ward in a matter of seconds." Ed said, leaning against Mustang for support.
"That's not what worries me, Ed. He may have been watching us."
"Not likely." Ed laughed at the idea. Armstrong wasn't the most stealthiest of creatures. "You're just being paranoid."
"Maybe. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm paranoid enough to send you back to the sick ward, for fear of your health. That nice nurse will probably still be in charge." Roy teased, watching the blonde begin to fume.
"You can't send me back there, no way! I ain't going and no one can force me!" Ed yelled after promptly punching Mustang in the arm.
"Well, I won't force you to go back there, but you are going here regardless of what you say." Mustang said, thrusting the forms the doctor had given him under Ed's nose. After reading the form, Ed stared at it blankly trying to comprehend why he'd need stress relief.
"I don't need this." Ed complained looking up hopefully.
"Apparently you do." Mustang replied simply.
Ed stiffened; he wasn't keen on the idea of coming to some mentally challenged group. However looking at the day it was assigned to change his mind. 'Every Thursday morning come rain or shine!' Spying his chance to evade his weekly Mustang questioning, he accepted.
"Fine, I'll do it. Just to make you happy." Mustang grinned deviously.
"Great. Remember I'll be picking you up and dropping you off every Thursday without fail. It won't be easy, but I'll make sure I'm there on time." Ed's jaw dropped in horror and his sanity with it. There was no escape. Instead of kicking off for what felt like the millionth time today, Ed sighed and continued walking without a fuss.
Proud of his achievement Mustang patted Ed's back fondly; looking forward to all the teasing sessions he was going to cram into that one-hour car ride. As he was musing in his soon to come fantasies a golden glint caught his eye. He stopped and glanced towards its direction, which just happened to be his lover's coat pocket.
"Fullmetal, what's that?" He questioned nodding towards the golden ribbon sticking out of Ed's pocket. Ed jumped, startled by the sternness in Mustang's voice.
"Oh… that." He said, tucking the ribbon away. "It's nothing."
I'm not actually sure where this story is headed. Somewhere good I hope. X)
Read and review, please. ;)