A Day Out

"You sure you aren't trying to take me to another hospital?" Edward asked when he had been driving with Havoc for quite a bit. Honestly, the teenager hadn't spent a lot of time with the man since Havoc had told him about his sister. He felt quite guilty about not coming to him, even with all the bad thoughts he had been having lately.

"Trust me, I'm not taking you to another hospital," Havoc said with a smirk and a light chuckle. Ed liked Havoc's chuckles better. They actually sounded kind as opposed to the colonel's arrogant one.

"Then will you tell me where we are going?" the blonde boy asked. Havoc had picked him up from Mustang's house announcing that they would be spending a therapeutic day out together. Ed was hesitant, obviously.

"It's a surprise, Ed," Havoc said, still smirking. He was obviously happy about his 'surprise'.

Just when the teenager was getting bored enough that he was prepared to break a window in the car or try and crash it, they pulled into a parking space in front of a large building.

"Is this a gym?" Edward asked. "You think I'm packing on the pounds or something?" he joked.

"Very funny." Havoc laughed. "I thought you needed to get off some of that pent up anger and stress. You've been steaming around the colonel's house for a while. I needed to bust you out for a day."

"How am I going to get rid of stress and anger at a gym?" Ed asked. "Am I gonna treadmill it to death?"

"Nope," Havoc said. He guided the teenager inside the building, signing them in at the front desk. Apparently the man had been there before. Havoc guided him to a special room that had boxing gloves and a large punching bag swinging in the middle.

"Is this a joke?" Ed asked.

"No, it's not," Havoc answered. "I thought this would be good for you. I also have someone for you to meet."

Just as Edward was about to ask who the hell the soldier thought he would want to meet, a girl with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes walked into the room. She was wearing yoga pants and a tank-top, but what grabbed Ed's attention was the tattooed sleeves she had.

"Ed, this is Brenne," Havoc introduced. "She's my sister. Brenne, this is Ed, the kid I told you about that I work with."

"It's nice to meet you, Ed," Brenne greeted. She held out a hand to shake Edward's. He brought up his automail hand and shook it loosely.

"Brenne owns the gym, so she lets me and anyone I want in here for free," Havoc explained. "She actually suggested that you come here."

"I thought it would be a great way to get some private time to think," Brenne said. "I know that when I get really stressed out and feeling like I want to hurt myself, I just come in here and throw out a few punches. You'd be amazed with what the exercise does with stress."

"I already get exercise," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "I'm a State Alchemist for fuck's sake."

"Just try it, okay?" Havoc suggested. Ed rolled his eyes once again before letting out a sigh.

"Fine."

"You should probably remove your coat," Brenne suggested. Edward gave her a funny look. "I know, I know, you're probably not comfortable with it, but it'll be a lot easier if you're not wearing it."

Ed groaned a bit. Taking off his coat meant revealing the scars and cuts on his arm. But this was Havoc's sister, which meant that she had been in his same situation when she was younger. She was recovered now.

He removed his coat, throwing it on a bench that was conveniently placed in the room. Afterward, Brenne helped him put the boxing gloves on, showing him how to properly punch the punching bag without hurting his hands. He needed that instruction just as much as he needed a right boxing glove, but allowed her to show him proper technique anyway.

What really amazed Edward was that Brenne had seen his entire arm. All he had underneath his red coat was a navy blue tank-top, which revealed the entire length of his scars and cuts. She never said a thing. He supposed that she wouldn't, as she had been in the same situation before.

Ed had to admit that Brenne was right. The punching felt amazing when he imagined them as faces of people he hated.

He refused to admit that he punched softer than he had expected when he imagined Mustang's face was on the punching bag.

They were there for hours. Havoc thought to call the kid off for something to eat, but he was getting so much done. He couldn't say for sure that Edward wasn't thinking about hurting himself. He did know that he wasn't hurting himself.

Eventually, Edward grew tired. He forced his legs to bring him to the bench that Havoc and Brenne had been sitting at.

"You done?" Havoc asked with an amused smirk. He wouldn't tell the kid that he was amusing, though. That might just piss him off.

"Mhm," Ed sounded out with a small nod. He just felt like sleeping.

"We're gonna head out, Brenne. Thanks for this," Havoc thanked.

"No problem, you guys are welcome any time," Brenne said. "If you want, you can just drop him off here and I'll keep an eye out for him. I'm always here during work hours, and if I'm not, you'll know it."

"I'll have to talk to the colonel about it; he's the one in charge of Ed right now," Havoc said. Edward was beginning to grow annoyed with them speaking about him as if he were not sitting right beside them. "Okay, we're going now." Havoc could sense the frustration coming off the kid.

Havoc drove Edward back to Mustang's house and the kid was asleep. The blonde man should have guessed this would happen; Ed had been exhausted after all that punching.

Without another thought, Havoc stepped out of the car and pulled the teenager into his arms. He grunted under the weight of the automail and silently wished for the strength Alphonse's armor possessed.

"That took a while," Mustang said as he guided Havoc to Edward's room. "What were you guys doing?"

"I took him to my sister's gym," Havoc answered, placing Ed in his bed and beginning to remove his boots. He also removed his belt to make him more comfortable, but was not going to remove his pants. "Figured that he should let off some steam by punching for a while."

"That's a good idea," Mustang mused.

"She said that you're welcome to take him by any time. I was thinking about dropping him off there in a couple days before work if you wouldn't mind," Havoc mentioned.

"Not at all, just make sure I know in advance," Mustang said. "Hawkeye gets frustrated when there isn't planning involved and I have to hear all about it."

"Yessir," Havoc slurred. "I'm gonna head out of here. Thanks for letting me take him there, colonel. I think he needed it."

"No problem," Mustang said. "He did need it." He looked down at the teen, who seemed content while sleeping. "This might need to become a regular thing. He looks a lot better right now."

"As opposed to?" Havoc asked.

"Tossing and turning in his sleep," Mustang explained. "He's been doing it for about a week. Sometimes he gets dead tired, though. I don't know if it's one of these times or if it's just because of the exercise right now, though."

"Well, I'm out of here," Havoc said. "Good luck." The blonde man then left.

Mustang chuckled softly. "Punching, huh," he said to himself. "Probably imagining my face on that bag the whole time." He then walked out of the bedroom.

So I named Havoc's sister after the person who suggested the idea of Ed going to a boxing gym to let out some steam. It was originally supposed to be in the story, but I never got around to it. I'm glad I finally got to write it here, because it was a blast!