"I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but, you see, we've already met."
Edward stared up at the holographic face in awe. The man (about 25-30 years old, Edward guessed) had skin almost too smooth and too pale to be real. His eyes were cold and of such a dark blue they appeared black with only a few flecks of slate in their depths. He looked elegant, but definitely masculine, and there was something about him akin to an eagle in his expressionless features and knowledgeable eyes. His ebony hair framed his face, and if possible made his skin seem paler and even less touched by time.
The hologram smirked. "I don't have much time, so I shall get straight to the point." Edward bristled at the computerized tone of the man, which was probably nearly identical to the one he had used. The words 'smug bastard' floated across Edward's consciousness, unbidden but not unwanted. "I am well aware of your current living standards, Edward, and I am willing to strike a bargain with you."
"No." Edward snapped instantly, alarm bells going off in the back of his head. He was well aware that he was listening to a pre-recorded message, and he also didn't care. He didn't need any more people invading his life, thank you very much. He felt his eyes narrow in anger. He could look after himself.
"Undoubtedly, you have instantly refused, but haven't turned off this message. Thus, I do implore you that this would be in your best interest." Edward scowled again, but merely folded his arms over his chest and listened. It would do him no good to loose his temper at a hologram. "I am very interested in you, Edward, in particular your visions of wings. Meet me at the café on the corner of Main Street and Victoria Road Tomorrow morning at sunrise. I shall explain further then." The message winked out.
"Wait!" Edward snapped, his arms unfolding slightly in startlement as the holographic face faded with a small 'beep' "Bastard!" he yelled angrily and kicked the end of his bed in a display of fierceness.
With a howled curse, he sat down to rub his now painful foot. "Damn him!" He growled out. That smug bastard probably already knew that he was going to go.
Dawn came far too early for Edward's tastes, so instead of rousing fully, he attempted to deny the inevitable by growling and burying further into his blankets. This attempt to block out the predawn light was foiled however, by a conspiring pigeon that seemed to decide that it was a good time for him to wake to cooing. Loud cooing. He growled again but deciding discretion was the better part of valour drove him out from underneath the covers. As a final sign of rebelliousness, he took as long as possible to do so.
"Sun up!" He hissed, glancing up at the clock in the corner, and discovering that yes, Six AM did actually exist. "Who meets someone at sun up?" He shrugged out of his pyjama top and started fishing through his laundry pile for a pair of reasonably clean pants.
With a slight yell of triumph, he extracted a pair of black denim jeans from the pile he was shifting through. With his right hand, he reached down and picked up a black button-up shirt from the floor while his left fingered the silver flamel about his neck, the one he'd had ever since he could remember. He sniffed the shirt and threw it to the ground, wrinkling his nose.
"Bastard. Bastard." He chanted to make himself feel better. It worked somewhat. Finally he found a shirt that didn't smell like a dog had rolled on it and shrugged it on. Still sleep weary, barefoot, but at least dressed, he decided that Mustang could go fuck himself if he didn't want Edward to have his hair out. It was far too early in the morning to even contemplate thinking about the mechanics behind putting his hair in.
Edward noted with some interest, that something appeared to be scratching at his door. He snickered quietly to himself. "Nick. Stop that please." The noise paused for a moment if the thing on the other side of the door was listening, then redoubled. Edward rolled his eyes. Honestly. He thought with fond exasperation.
It was no secret that Edward found it easier to cope with the changes to Nick than to Ana. It was somewhat to do with the nature of the changes that the two had gone through that while Ana looked like a human that had been crossed badly with a rabbit, Nick resembled something more black rabbit than human and Edward found it easier to cope with the black bunny than his white companion. The rabbit that was currently scratching upon his door was covered in proper fur, and all limbs but one had fully mutated into paws and hind legs. His facial features had elongated, and his eyes peered from the sides of his head instead of the front. Long teeth peeked over the rim of his human lips, and gashes ran along them where he'd accidentally bitten himself by accident. Human ears poked out of the side of his skull though their hearing capabilities appeared more acute than an average human. Neither experiment was remotely attractive to look at, but at least Nick looked less human and it was harder for Edward to relate the creature he had become with the man he once was.
Not opening the door to the rabbit immediately, Edward first searched through the mess of clothing on his floor for his boots which he'd discarded late the previous evening. A pair of socks (Still clean!) he found in the corner under a pile of manuscripts on the behaviour of rabbits and he fought bile as he turned away to pick up his boots from where they rested by his bookshelf. Whoever thought he needed to study his parents aught to be shot. Repeatedly.
Finally, he turned to open the door to a delighted squeak. Something black and fuzzy leapt up into his chest and bowled him over before settling over his sternum in a tight ball. Considering that the something was the size of a large dog, Edward found himself struggling to breathe (As usual) under the weight. "Get of Nick!" He gasped, shoving at the ball of fluff dejectedly. The creature pinned him with a sleepy brown eye before turning away with an indignant huff.
While unable to speak, Nick had certainly kept his boisterous personality. Edward groaned. "Please get off?" He questioned, and still the rabbit refused to move. "Nick!" He whined, strongly reminded of when he was a child, trying to wheedle something out of his carer, "If you don't get off me I'm going to be late. Please move?" the rabbit consented and shifted with a distinctly hurt look directed Edward's way. The teen sighed and gave an obligatory scratch to the top of the creature's head.
Being able to get his own way in any situation was only one of Nick's newfound talents. Another was his uncanny ability to tell when Edward was awake and about no matter what time of day it was. Not at all caring about Ed's privacy, he would demand to be let in and given attention come rain, snow or random objects thrown at him by a disgruntled teen.
Edward stood and moved to the apartment's small kitchen after pulling on his boots. Only briefly did he stop in the room, just long enough to put down fresh food and water for the two other inhabitants of the computerised home. He squatted down to look Nick straight in one of his round eyes, giving a half smile as he did so. "What do you say, mate?" He asked the creature, petting his soft fur as he did so. Small crooning noises came from somewhere in the rabbit's chest. "Don't you reckon if this Mustang person is so eager to meet me, he can buy me breakfast?"
Nick blinked.
Edward took it as an agreement.
By the time Edward actually reached the small café (He'd been held up again when Nick wouldn't let him out the door without saying goodbye to Ana) it was well past sunrise and he couldn't bring himself to care. He scoured the small tables out the front of the broken-down building with a critical eye, searching for the black mop of hair from the message. The thought that the man may have already left had no right to feel uncomfortable; Edward noted when he failed to see him at any of the tables. In fact, it should have been a relief that the man wasn't there. It wasn't like he was interested in what the man had to...
"Edward." He jumped about a foot into the air and spun angrily. "You're late." Roy Mustang informed him with a smirk.
Shorter than Edward had imagined, but still a good head taller than him, the man had a decidedly wicked smirk that lingered in his eyes even when the expression had fled his face. The Proud stance that Mustang took and the way he looked at everyone through his eyelashes created an air of superiority that did not need a command for its wishes to be obeyed. He reeked of sophistication and poise, even with his hands shoved into his pockets in a would-be casual pose. Edward's growl was so low it was barely audible.
"You expect me to be up before the crack of dawn?"
Mustang appeared not to notice the tone of the snapped reply. In any case, he didn't acknowledge it. His eyes shamefully raked up and down Edward's frame, and Edward fought the urge to squirm. Finally, the man announced flatly, "You're shorter than I expected." And then after further consideration, "And you really look feminine with your hair down like that."
Edward scowled, feeling bottled anger rising beneath his collar. Dammit, it was too early to have to put up with this! "Who are you calling a little princess who's smaller than the pea under her mattress?" He hissed bitterly, hands rising up into a defensive position.
The smirk present on Mustang's face wasn't wiped away by the outburst. If anything, it grew. "I said nothing of the sort." He replied calmly. "Now, Princess, if you'll head this way we have matters to discuss. The other member of our party is very eager to meet you." Edward was too caught off guard to register just exactly what Mustang had called him which was probably a good thing. If he had of heard, heads would have rolled, and not only metaphorically.
"If I'd have known that this was going to be a party," Edward muttered, "I would have brought beer."
"Are you sulking, Princess?" Mustang replied in a mock disbelieving tone. "Besides, you know as well as I do, that you wouldn't because you can't drink. Your alcohol tolerance level is what, one glass of wine?"
"One and a half." Edward replied in the same muttered tone. At least Mustang had the good grace to pretend not to be amused by the admittance. Inwardly, Edward scowled. How did this man know everything about his fiercely private life? Following behind Mustang to a table in the corner of the outside area he scowled at the back of the man's head. Just who was this person? What had Ed gotten himself into this time? The man turned and shot him a quizzical look. Edward smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.
Mustang stopped threading through the tables when he came to one with one space already filled. Pulling out a chair, he gestured for Edward to sit down. "Bastard!" Edward spat under his breath, taking the chair with as much dignity as he could muster as the man chuckled. Edward proceeded to ignore him as best he could and focused instead on the person already seated. At least they looked somewhat likeable.
The other was a strangely feminine boy, and was not what Edward would have expected from meeting the dark man earlier. The boy looked younger than him and Ed would have guessed his age to be 14 at the most, even though Ed noticed that the other was somewhat taller than Ed himself. He smiled out from underneath a blonde fringe and his face looked like it was used to laughing. Dusty grey eyes appeared nervously from behind his fringe and Edward fought a gasp. He looks like me! He thought, amazed. The real difference was that the boy was thicker set, with a chubbier face. Otherwise they could have passed for brothers. "Hi." The other greeted almost shyly. Edward nodded.
"Princess, this is Alphonse Elric." Mustang supplied and Edward bit back a growl at what the man seemed to have deemed his nickname.
"Al." Alphonse corrected quickly, perhaps sensing budding tension. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Edward." He had a feminine, overly polite tone to his voice but Edward grinned.
"Ed." He in turn corrected, bringing up a hand for the other to shake. Al readily took it and they both grinned. "Likewise. You seem a lot more sane then him." Edward pointed out with a gleam in his eye. Al rolled his eyes lightly at the undisguised snipe at the man with them.
Mustang sighed. "To business?" He suggested and Al jumped straight to attention. Edward growled at the blatant hierarchy.
Mustang's smirk returned to grace them. Edward guessed it was the top of the list of 'Mustang's favourite facial expressions.' "Well, Princess,"
"Call me that again and I will hurt you." Edward interrupted immediately. "I don't give a shit that you're a stranger."
Mustang coughed into his hand. Edward had the distinct impression he was covering a laugh. "Ahem. As I mentioned in that message I sent you, we have a bargain to discuss." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps over breakfast?"
"No." Edward snapped instantly, forgetting the plan of making Mustang buy him a meal and remembering his anxiousness at once. His stomach growled and he pretended like it didn't happen, ignoring the snickers of Al, and Mustang's superior smirk (Which was probably worse).
"Are you so sure about that Edward?" the man retorted in a smug tone and Edward felt a nerve above his eye twitch.
"Yes." He replied, perhaps a little too quickly.
Mustang looked like he was about to come back with something crushing, but Edward was saved at the last minute by Alphonse's voice. "Sir, please don't be difficult." He prompted. Mustang shrugged.
"If you insist."
"So." Edward began, rocking back dangerously on the spindly chair. "Why did you call me out here anyway? I mean, you don't go to all the effort you did with no reason."
A flash of discomfort passed across Mustang's face. Clearly he had wanted to launch into back story and stall as long as possible. It was Edward's turn to smirk. "So?" He prompted when the man didn't speak. He decided swiftly to press the opening; because he had a feeling he wouldn't get another chance with this man.
"Well, I guess the story starts with..." Al began, but Edward cut him off.
"Look, I'm a busy person. And I'm toying with the idea of just getting up and leaving now, because I have some fulltime charges to look after back at my apartment. I don't give a damn about some story. Just tell me what you came to tell me straight, and I'll judge whether or not I want to do whatever it is you want me to do or not." He replied impatiently.
"Alphonse is right though." Mustang replied, back to his usual cool attitude. "The story does need to be told."
"No." Was shot back instantly.
The man sighed. "Fine."
"You," He supplied, "Are an angel."
The chair gave way and Edward toppled backwards, laughing. Wiping a tear away from his eye, he shot an apologetic glance at a horrified waitress and set the chair back up. He was still chucking slightly. "Okay. That's the best joke I've heard all year. And I know WINRY!" He grinned. "Why'd you really call me out here?"
Neither replied and both were looking gravely serious. Edward felt a brow climb on its own accord. "Okay." He said, distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm leaving now." He backed away slowly. Mustang looked pointedly at Alphonse and the boy nodded.
In the space of a blink, a set of feathery wings appeared behind both of the men at the table. Edward rubbed his eyes but no, they didn't disappear. Alphonse's wings were white, short and underdeveloped, stretching for only a foot and a half on either side of the boy and covered in something more down than feather. Mustang on the other hand...
Black, regal and glossy, the wings would have stretched a good ten feet if they were fully open, instead they were neatly folded at his sides, swinging forwards under the table and stretching back nearly to the next table over. Edward noted with some surprise (He found it curious that he wasn't really shocked at the wings) that human perception was wrong, and the wings of angels didn't come out of their shoulders. Instead they were nestled snugly between shoulder and hip, slightly more back than forward and looked fully capable of flight. Edward calmly sat down and let his head fall to the table with a bang. "Right. I've gone insane." He spoke to the sugar container, not trusting himself to look up.
It was only when Mustang laughed, a rich throaty sound that could only be true, did he finally face them. And the wings. Which were still there. Damn them. "You're not insane." Mustang smirked reassuringly. (Was that possible?) "Alphonse and I are angels too. Though we do prefer Avians."
Great. I'm sitting at a table with the Earth's archenemy. Well DONE Edward. He thought, still not properly convinced that he wasn't going mental. How the Hell did he MISS the two pairs of wings in the first place? "I'm loosing my mind and you know it. Soon you'll be telling me that I'm some long lost Avian prince, instead of crazy old Edward, human, low class and way too overworked."
Mustang and Al fell suspiciously quiet.
Edward blinked twice. Realised something. Stared. "You're kidding."
Mustang's expression assured him, that no, he wasn't.
"You HAVE to be kidding!" Edward insisted. "Winry put you up to this! She had to! This is just too unreal." When he got no reply, he let his mutterings come to a stop. He thought for a moment about the possibilities, and funnily, his first thought was not This is some elaborate sham. But What will I do with Nick and Ana? "But... For that to be true," He trailed off, a strangely Winry-esque voice in the back of his mind chanting to run very fast and very far.
And out of the blue, another part of his brain that sounded like Aunty Pinnako noted that no one else in the café noticed the wings. Which ruled out the possibility that this was some kind of joke.
Mustang spoke. "As abrupt and unexpected as your foreshadowing is, Princess, it is entirely accurate."
It took Edward a moment to find what was left of his voice. "But... but... that's so... so..." He racked his brain for the right word.
"Cliché?" Alphonse supplied helpfully.
Edward nodded, his voice deserting him again.
Mustang laughed. "Be that as it may, it's quite true."
Edward gave a sigh of relief at the opening the man gave him. "Prove it." He hissed, his sceptical nature finally finding root. "If I'm an angel, if," he enforced, "Meet me on the viewing balcony of my apartment block. You know where it is." He said. Mustang nodded in unnecessary confirmation. "The viewing balcony is the second floor from the top. I'll be there tonight at five with two others. You can explain why I don't have wings then. When you fly up to meet me." He smirked.
Mustang nodded again, this time thoughtfully. "Agreed. But, only if you will come with us after we meet." Alphonse sighed, rolling his eyes.
"You two are as bad as each other." He commented dryly. They both offered him bland smiles.
Edward stood. "Tonight then." He said to confirm it, and moved away slowly. He was threading through the tables and about halfway out to the street when a shout made him turn back.
He was promptly hit in the head with a chocolate filled pastry. He fumbled to catch it, and then turned his glare on a smirking Mustang. "You looked hungry." The man supplied obliquely at the questioning look.
Ed toyed with the idea of throwing it at Mustang's head to see how the man liked it, but there was something almost hopeful in that gaze that made Edward realise that it was a peace offering, not an insult. He muttered a begrudging "Thanks" And turned.
He nibbled on the pastry the whole way home.
.
A/n: There! Look! I actually got a chapter out in less than a month!
It's a miracle!
Damn is this fic dragging its feet though. My original plan was to have a whole other scene in here as well, and the Nick scene wasn't meant to happen. I was just exasperated at my dog this morning who does the same things that Nick does, and decided to include it. And, it worked! And that just seemed such a cute place to leave it; I didn't want to ruin it by adding another scene.
Therefore, next chapter we have a pick up in pace. Edward learns a lot more about the angels, and we meet some other characters who we all know and love! -Is looking forward to writing the next few scenes-
Not long now before the first in-fic battle between the Avians and the Earthlings! (Phew! I can call them Avians now too! I've been calling them Angels for months and getting furious at myself.)
Well anyways, this should sustain you lot until the next update which will probably take a significantly long time because I don't have people hanging over me going "YOU EVIL CLIFFHANGERPERSON!" I'm just weak willed that way. I also will have schoolwork hanging over me going: "YOU EVIL LAZYPERSON!"
Anyway, leave a review? Please? Chocolate filled pastries to the head for all who do!