Hello again everyone! Long time no see, I am ashamed to say. I've been bedridden with the most horrible case of writer's block... And then it was time to start high school. I'm surprised I didn't just keel over and die. Anyways, I thank all you patient readers who have stayed with me through my absence to read the sixth chapter of Collisions! I could never thank you enough... really... *sniffles*
Angelic Sakura Blossom: Hmm... I will take your wish into consideration.
FullMetalPipsqueakk: Nnaarrrggghh! You caught my grade fail that even I didn't catch. D: Thanks bunches! It's all fixed now! (I think...) Oh, and... here comes Winry!
forevergreybacksenemy: Yes yes, I put a tribute to the greatest anime voice actor ever... Vic Mignogna! I love him, so I thought I'd add that bit since he plays both voices. XD
AmatureAuthor: whoa... O.O you're comment startled me. But it made me feel ashamed for not updating for so long... So I tried my hardest to wrap up this chapter. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Ouran High School Host Club... Or Vic Mignogna.
Collisions
By StarNight888
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Haruhi walked toward one of the low set tables where a two girls were waiting, beckoning for the Elrics to follow with a wave of her hand. Immediately, Ed started walking in the opposite direction. Al grabbed his brother's arm and began to forcefully shove him to the waiting costumers.
"You'll be able to stop this after you start it," Alphonse hissed uncharacteristically at Edward as he skillfully tried to trip him into his seat. "So have some dignity and sit down." Ed, apparently wanting to keep some of the dignity he still had left, caught himself from the fall and sat down heavily on one of the thick cushions. Not looking at the younger Elric, Edward purposefully stared away from the two waiting girls and out a far off window instead.
"Haruhi, who are these two?" girl number one asked. "I'm sure we requested time with just you."
"Oh, well this is Edward Elric, our latest temporary member, and his brother Alphonse," Haruhi introduced. "It's their first day so they're staying with me to pick up the ropes."
"You're so kind! Helping your fellow members as they start out," girl number two fawned with an adoring look at Haruhi.
"It was Tamaki's idea," the scholar said. Too busy for them so he had to dump them on me… she completed the comment silently.
"Humble as always," girl #1 giggled with an expression similar to her companions appearing on her face. Tearing her gaze from Haruhi, she turned to the newer Host Club member, who was determined to not partake in the conversation. She stared at him for a moment, taking in his appearance, before asking, "Is your hair naturally that long? Or is it just part of the costume?"
"Huh?" was Ed's extremely intelligent reply. Moving his gaze lazily away from the sun outside, his startling gold eyes rested on the girl who had spoken through halfway closed lids, clearly showing his bordom. "My hair? Yeah, it's actually this long. Not lying," he answered the girl's skeptical look. "I wouldn't try to yank it out though, for it would mean pain to me and instant death to you." Not able to tell if he was serious or joking, girl #1 took the latter and let out a girlish laugh. Drawn away from her fawning of Haruhi by her friend's laughter, girl #2 spared Ed a glance.
"Ohh! You have exotic eyes," she pointed out. "I've never seen gold eyes before…. Unless they're contacts of course."
Ed sighed. Did his appearance really seem so fake? He rolled his eyes before saying, "Yes. If you must know, my iris color is actually gold." Damn he hated being asked that question. He poured himself a cup of the tea that was waiting on the table, not bothering to offer the customers any as they began asking more questions. He answered with a dull "yes" or "no," inserting his sarcasm and annoyance to try and deter the girls. This only spurred more giggle fits and even more questions. Al also got himself a cup of tea while Ed continued to be interviewed.
"You okay with him taking your costumers?" he questioned Haruhi teasingly. Haruhi let out a soft "ha!" as she turned her attention to Alphonse.
"Actually, it's nice to get a break for a change," the girl said. Seeing Al raise a doubtful eyebrow, she explained further, "I'm not here by choice either. I have to pay off a debt of ¥ 8 million (1) for breaking a vase, so I'm doing it by hosting."
"Who pays ¥ 8 million for a vase?" Al asked incredulously. Haruhi merely shrugged.
"Are you two like Hikaru and Kaoru in any way?" girl #2 asked, a dreamy look entering her eyes as she gestured toward the twins. Both Ed and Al shifted in their seats to get a better view. Meanwhile, Haruhi audited an exasperated noise before staring determinedly into her tea. The twins were right in the middle of their "act."
"…then he ended up dumping the whole tray and drenching all of us!" Hikaru was saying with laughter. His brother flushed at this.
"Hikaru! Don't tell that story, it's embarrassing…" Kaoru protested, still blushing as his looked down at his feet. Hikaru's expression quickly turned from one of happiness to concern.
"I'm sorry…" he apologized, cupping Kaoru's chin and pulling it close to his own so he was looking at his twin. "It's just… you were so cute when it happened…" Kaoru gazed admirably at Hikaru, his eyes seemingly filled with unshed tears.
"Hikaru…!" he whispered. The girls around the twins swooned and let out soft "kyaaa"s at the scene. Girls number one and two both sighed wistfully as the twins continued to stare at each other. Meanwhile, Al had blanched at the first sight of what the two were doing and had become paler as the sight continued. Ed had on a face similar to the one of disgust from the night before, if not even more contorted in revulsion.
"Um, no. And we never will be," Ed stated matter-a-factly. "Ever."
"D-defiantly not!" Al agreed quickly, some color returning to his cheeks as he turned back to the table and took a rather large gulp of his hot tea. Ed turned back in his seat as well, once again resuming a position of reluctance, face turned toward the window. Haruhi heaved a great mental sigh of relief. At least there wasn't going to be any more "twinness" in the club. As the two girls began badgering the brothers with questions again, Haruhi thought of something that many would disagree with: Maybe these two are sane after all…
In her eagerness to grasp her tea, girl #2 knocked the cup over, spilling its burning contents across the table and onto Edward's lap. The prodigy leapt up, attempting to brush off the liquid as a stream of profanities hissed through his teeth (luckily unheard by the others).
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she stifled the still-dripping-tea with a handkerchief. Girl #2 saw the dark stain now spread across Ed's silken kimono and felt her eyes begin to sting. "I-I'll have that dry cleaned for you…" she trailed off in her distress.
"Don't worry, it was an accident," Ed reassured her, his face lighter and more kind then it had been during the whole session and hoping it would lessen her chance of crying (but he still didn't smile). "I'll just go get a towel to clean it up." Just as he was turning away in search of the piece of fabric, the light from the window he'd been staring out of the entire time caught his hair, making it shimmer in the customer's eyes. Ed's molten gold eyes also snatched some of the light for one millisecond, they're usual burning gaze becoming literal on his temporarily relaxed face. The moment disappeared just as quickly as it had come as the teen moved on to Kyoya, whom he thought might have a towel. Girl #1 fanned her heated face, wishing for the moment to play again, and girl #2 held a hand over her rapidly beating heart, wishing for it to be steady but then not wishing. Before Al could figure out what was up with the two's strange behavior, Edward was back with a couple of towels.
"H-here, let me help. It was my fault after all…" girl #2 stuttered, her words fading in embarrassment. She stood up and Ed gratefully handed over one of the cloths. The little pool of tea was soon gone, and Edward stashed an extra under his cushion at Alphonse's suggestion just in case. When Ed took the tea-stained towels from the other teen, she finally noticed his height. Girl #2 was actually a few inches taller than the blonde haired boy at best, and this was strange in her opinion since most of the guys in Ouran were much taller than her. Girl #1 noticed this as well.
"You seem a little short for a 15 year old," she commented without thinking, not knowing what was coming. Ed froze in mid-step, before turning slowly around to face the girl. He advanced on her before…
"WHO YOU CALLING A TINY RUNT—" he began his typical rant, but Al was faster. Right as his height was mentioned, the younger Elric had grabbed one of the tiny tea cakes on the low set table and shoved it into his brother's mouth mid-rant. Ed, who was always ready to accept food, clamped his mouth shut and chewed the fancy cake, shortness forgotten. For now.
"Please excuse him," Al answered the customer's frightened faces with an apologetic smile. "Brother is a really nice guy, but it would be best if you never talked about his height." Alphonse had mouthed the last word, emphasizing it with a nervous glance in Ed's direction, who was still chewing on the cake. Both nodded quickly, looking like a pair of bobble heads. Then the friends looked at each other. A small smile cracked girl #1's face. Girl #2 was soon following suit, until both were trying to hide small sniggers. Before they knew it, both girls were soon laughing in earnest, not quite knowing why.
"Forgive us," said girl #1 as their laughter died down. "It's just that it was so… so… comical!" The teens erupted into a new fit of giggles, attempting and failing to calm down. Ed's scowl had returned to his mouth, and Al gave a nervous chuckle to add to the girl's bubbly chorus. Haruhi calmly took another sip of her tea, her cup hiding the small smile which was sliding its way onto her lips.
Then again maybe they aren't quite as sane as I thought…
"Au revoir (2), my princesses! Come back soon!" Tamaki called after the last of the customers who were leaving the third music room. The end of Edward Elric's first day of Host Club detention had finally ended. And he still hated it. After the rant, things had gone smoothly until the customers were told that the Host Club was retiring for the day. Much protest was voiced from the two girls, but in the end they gave in and gave both Ed and Al they're names and basic info, saying to keep in touch. By this time Edward had already forgotten their names. Now he was changed and had the slightly soiled costume in his hands, waiting for Al to finish up so they could leave. It was then that the Hitachiin brothers decided to pounce.
"What's that there, eh?" Hikaru asked, pointing to the blotchy stain on the kimono. Ed frowned at him.
"It's a tea stain if you can't figure it out," he retorted. "Don't worry I'll get it cleaned." Kaoru appeared beside his twin.
"Ah, ah, ah," Kaoru said while shaking his head. "These were handmade by our grandmother. You can't just ship it off to get dry cleaned, it would ruin its value." Edward of course thought this was ridiculous, but at the same time didn't want to get sued over a kimono.
"What, you want me to wash it in the nearest river?" the blond questioned irritably. The twins began to open their mouths and Ed said quickly, "No, no, I will not. I'll just hand wash it at home okay?" Unlike all these pompous idiots I can do my own chores, he finished silently. Kaoru and Hikaru shut their mouths before giving each other a knowing look and slinking off to another part of the room, whispering to each other.
Weird… Ed thought as Al stepped out of the back room, dressed back in his uniform.
"Took you long enough," the elder Elric stated teasingly. Al shoved his brother playfully before they both walked over to Haruhi. As she began to explain her story about why she was in the Host Club, a conspiracy was being discussed with the rest of the club members on the other side of the room.
"Oi, oi, boss," the twins whispered together. "Eddie said he would hand washour kimono." Tamaki looked confused, something that seemed very common. Hikaru and Kaoru rolled their eyes at the same time.
"How many guys do you know that know how to hand wash anything?" Hikaru elaborated. "Doesn't it seem like something a girl would know better…?" The blond's eyes lit up as he caught on.
"More evidence!" he exclaimed quietly before glancing in Ed's direction, whose frown had become deeper as Haruhi continued to tell her tale. "We're going to have to go into this more you know." Both Hitachiin brothers saluted Tamaki with a nod. The relaxed their arms and the three watched as Ed and Al left for the day.
The two began their walk home, for Trisha only dropped them off/picked them up herself on their first days since they lived close.
"…I wonder why they thought she was a guy in the first place," Ed had begun to say when they were close to their house. Al just shook his head.
"Maybe it was her dad's old uniform that she wore the first day of school?" he guessed at random.
"I couldn't have been just that…" the blond replied before noticing they had arrived at their home. It was a modest, for them anyway, estate. It was a cozy, white house with two stories, a garden off to the side and fenced off with a simple white picket fence, but the extremely nice car parked in the driveway gave away their wealth. The Elric's mom was picking tomatoes from that garden just at that moment too. She smiled and waved as they came near.
"Hello boys!" Trisha greeted happily as they entered the fence, putting another tomato into her wicker basket. "How was school today?"
"Same old, same old," Al answered her. Mrs. Elric smiled again.
"Good news, you two have a visitor," she said. "They're in the living room right now waiting." The brothers nodded and went inside.
"If it's that blasted coronel…" Ed started before seeing who occupied their couch. She was a girl about Edward's age, with long blonde hair and big, blue eyes. She was wearing a tube top and cargo pants, and a suitcase and what looked like a tool box sat on the ground next to her. When she became aware of the brothers standing there, a smile lit up her face and she jumped up, colliding with both simultaneously in a hug.
"W-Winry!" Ed exclaimed, surprised at the sudden embrace. Al noticed with an inward grin that Edward's face heated a little at Winry's contact.
"What are you doing here?" the brunet asked what was on his brother's tongue as the girl named Winry released them. Winry was one of their childhood friends, whom they had left behind in their hometown on their first in a series of moves and who also had a strong interest in their father's advanced prosthetics, automail she called it, ever since he had invented it.
"What I can't visit you?" she laughed. "Actually I came here to learn more about automail. Did you know one of the most accomplished prosthetic mechanics besides your dad lives and works here?"
"Ah…" Edward replied, scratching the back of his head as he thought of an answer. "No, never. Try not to think of anything to do with that bastard." Alphonse and Winry sighed in union, for they both knew he was talking about Hohenheim, his dad. Still hasn't forgiven him I see… Winry thought.
"The last time I saw all of you together like this… Al was still sleeping with Fuzzy," Trisha reminisced wistfully. She had appeared at the door while the other's had been talking. Although the comment about her husband stung, she still had to be the mom and humiliate at least one of them.
"Mom," Al said, his face reddening in embarrassment. The group laughed, reminding all of their time spent in Resembool.
Ding-Dong!
Mrs. Elric looked up at the sound of the doorbell, while the teens promptly ignored it. As Trisha went to see who is was, Ed and Al began to catch up with Winry.
"Bonjour Madam," a voice chimed from the front of the house after a greeting from Trisha. A voice that sounded too much like Edward's.
"Oh no…" Alphonse groaned, seeing his brother's form stiffen and face frown.
And Winry was oblivious to what horrors were about to come.
(1) Specifically, that's $95062681.9559. Thanks to Yahoo! currency converter...
(2) It means 'good bye' in French for those of you who don't know.
And that's what we call a cliff hanger folks. Nnnnaaarrrffggghhh! This chapter was going soooo well, until I had to figure out a way to end it but make it good at the same time. The hardest part to write was probably the "twinness" for me. I kept shivering as the scene continued... *shudders* Muchos gracias to all my wonderful and dedicated readers. I love your comments and that's what keeping me going people! Sorry but I can say that you may expect few updates as I now have school, homework, projects, band, piano... (why haven't I died yet?) I don't feel like wasting any more of your time, and I have homework to finish (time: 9:41 PM) so this is all I will say.
... I bet you can guess who's at the door? (*slaps self* I lied about the last word, forgive me TT_TT)
~StarNight888
This chapter is dedicated to:
Pumpkin2Face
FoxInBox aka FIB
amiegirl17
Shieroell Maive
Keiko Murikami
Thorndrop
wishfulliving89
tulip82
IlikeFMAandKH
Kit Carson
Captivated Fairy
The Summer in August
Bara no Utau
Elise-san
.Admirer144
chewy13
BlackHayate13
writerextrodinare
WildfireDreams
enteryournamehere5
PianoGirl1932