Firefly

Chapter 2

Youswell

There was something so deliciously wrong about enjoying the smoldering jealousy and anger in Roy Mustang's eyes. Solaris let a small smirk touch her lips as she listened to the local magistrate carry on about his own inflated self-worth while she stole glances over to her Captain. Roy toyed with his spoon and stared at Yoki as the man tried to buy her services for just a fraction of an hour if that's what she could give him. She was a woman who know how to control her body, however Roy could always stir something in her that she couldn't even begin to tame and that made her feel human. This sniveling little man couldn't buy this reaction, but Roy made her uncomfortably wet just sitting there with a scowl on his face. "Mr. Yoki..."

"Lieutenant Yoki." The man corrected her and played with his mustache.

"I am not booking any clients during my stay here. I'm merely here to rest."

"In Youswell?" Yoki asked skeptically.

"In Serenity." She cooed and picked up her drink in preparation of moving to the table with the ship's Captain. "Ergo I regrettably will have to decline your generous offer. My sincerest apologies."

"I just want to burn that mustache wax off..." Roy mumbled as Solaris joined him and chuckled.

"Is that all?" She asked,

"He'd run too fast for me to do anything else." He set the spoon down on the table as he watched her play with the straw in her drink. "Glad you're enjoying yourself."

"There is an older gentleman over in the corner asking about transportation." Solaris rubbed Roy's forearm and hoped if she could help fill up the ship with passengers, perhaps he would come to bed early. "The one in the cloak, I think he's trying to keep his identity secret."

"A lot of that going around." Roy sighed and picked up his coffee cup. He hated walking up to strangers and asking them if they needed his services, but if the guy was trying to get out of town there was a possibility his fare could be a little higher. So he stood and avoided the seductive smile from the woman beside him as he walked over to the table in the corner. He paused and looked over his shoulder as he heard some shuffling. Yoki was already in his warm seat trying to offer Solaris more money to spend the night with him. Idiot.

Solaris rolled her eyes as she gave Roy an encouraging smile. The quicker he got his business done, the quicker she could be rid of Yoki.

Roy walked over to the table and placed his hand on it. "I hear you might be in need of a way out of town."

The man in the cloak didn't show his face but listened to the familiar voice and cocked his head. "Who's offering?"

"Captain Roy Mustang. I have a firefly class ship, tight knit crew and a respect for privacy." Roy glanced over as Yoki began to slither closer to Solaris's lap. That man was way out of his league.

"Mustang. I remember that name from the war."

"You and just about everyone else." He mumbled and looked back at the cloaked guy. "If you're the patriotic type and you take issue with the side I fought on, well there is nothing I can do about that. We might have been on the losing side, but I don't believe we were on the wrong side. My and my Lieutenant are both veterans of the war and we'll offer no apologizes for our allegiance."

Tim Marcoh finally looked up at the young Captain and saw a twitch of recognition on his face yet Mustang kept his expression non-reactive. "I'm glad that this life hasn't worn down your resolve."

Roy swallowed and looked down at the Crystal Alchemist and narrowed his eyes. "Are you here to convince me that there is a better life back in Central or are you looking to try it out for yourself?"

"I'm in Youswell." Marcoh said softly. "It's about as far away from Central as I can get without a passport."

"So what is it you want?" Roy asked, keeping his voice as low as possible.

"Safe passage and my name to be Dr. Mauro on your passenger list."

Roy stood up and thought about it. Marcoh was one of the other State Alchemists that he had worked with during his time wearing the regal blue uniform of Amestris. The older man had done his job as a healer and also as a research alchemist, but you could always see the sorrow in his eyes. The lifeless void behind glassy eyes that told you that a person was just lost. He saw a glimmer of hope now as Marcoh looked up at him, perhaps looking for a savior. "I take you on board and I invite hell upon my and my crew if you're running from something."

"I'm in the same situation as you, Mustang. Illegal for me to use alchemy unless I am doing so for the State, so they're waiting for me to make a mistake. I can't heal people with alchemy so there isn't much else for me to do." Marcoh said. He looked up and watched Mustang's eyes and saw an understanding. He added, "I'm an excellent cook. As you may recall I was writing a cookbook during the time we worked together."

Roy's brow lifted as he recalled the book Marcoh was working on. His research notes, all encrypted within the confines of a family cookbook he was planning to 'donate' to the library in Central to keep it safe. He had suggested Roy do the same with his research but the secrets to Flame Alchemy were not written on pages anywhere. Marcoh's 'cookbook' sat on a shelf either collecting dust or confusing housewives, nobody any wiser to what it contained. Roy swallowed hard, the temptation of something like that was almost too much to ignore. "Oh, did you finally finish it?"

"Yes." the older alchemist replied. "It's called, To Serve Man. You might want to check it out from the library next time you're in Central."

Roy snorted. "They revoked my library card when I turned in my resignation."

Marcoh flexed his hand and heard his knuckles crack and pop. "It's the only payment I can offer for a space on your vessel."

"Why would you offer me that?" Roy whispered and sat down. There was nobody in this corner of the bar, all the miners were either sleeping or at work underground. Their life revolved around shifts, and so did the majority of businesses here. He felt safer talking about this here than on his ship where vents and little nosy crew members might overhear any sensitive information. They meant no harm, but he was none too thrilled about answering questions about his past.

"I think..." Marcoh looked up at him."That perhaps you will be the one person who wouldn't hesitate to destroy it if you knew it would be abused again. You gave up everything to join the Independents, to do what was right you gave up everything. You had to believe that you would have been executed for your treachery, yet you still did it. I put my life into that research and I selfishly couldn't eliminate it from this world. You're a better man than me, you won't hesitate to do the right thing."

"Did you really do it?" Roy asked incredulously. "Did you really make the philosopher's stone?"

"Yes." Marcoh closed his eyes. "But the ingredients were much more valuable in my mind than in the eyes of the government. If you want answers, you know where to find them. Right now, however, I need somewhere to call home."

"What else do you do besides cook?" Roy asked. He needed passengers for cash to buy fuel, not more crew to feed.

"I'm a preacher."

Roy snorted and shook his head. "I'll be damned, an alchemist turned holy man. I've seen everything now."

"I have a lot of sins to pay for." Marcoh said sadly. "Something even eternity in hell won't come close to absolving me of."

Roy grunted and closed eyes. Riza was going to be pissed at him for bringing Marcoh on board. It made them an even bigger target then they already were. "We leave as soon as I find a way to pay for coal. Hopefully my crew is doing a better job of finding paying passengers than I am."

Winry opened her arms wide as they entered the engine room. "Here she is, the heart of Serenity. Isn't it gorgeous?"

Dr. Alphonse Elric peered around the almost topless mechanic and looked at the room of steel and tried not to gag on the smell of grease and mechanical fluids. He replied with as much faux enthusiasm as he could muster, "It's...spectacular."

Winry gushed as she walked over to the ship's main drive. "This is the steam turbine, below this is the boiler room where the coal is burned to create the steam that powers this beauty. The steam is compressed through these pipes and sent to this turbine where it rotates and produces the power needed to move the ship. It also generates the electricity we need, the hot water and heat. It's engineering at it's finest!"

Al could feel the warmth through the floor and rationalized that was from the boiler beneath them. He was vaguely familiar with principles of steam power but he never really found it interesting enough to pry his attention away from biological sciences. Though it wouldn't hurt to humor the excited mechanic, especially since he wasn't quite sold on the idea of risking his life in an old airship. "How is it different than a locomotive?"

"Oh, those archaic engines are just not efficient enough to power a ship like this. They take up too much space and have to be too thick of a steel in order contain the pressurized steam. Too heavy to get a ship airborne. A train engine uses the steam through chambers to power pistons, this turbine uses the steam to turn a rotor inside this house, kind of like a windmill. The turbine is more compact and produces higher revolutions per minute than those piston driven engines." Winry tingled as she talked about her precious machinery. She was too busy polishing off some gauges to see the boredom in Dr. Elric's eyes.

Al smiled at her. He hoped the ship's tour would be over soon. He didn't know how long Ed would be unconscious in the dog kennel currently located in the cargo hold. He was sure the Ketamine was safe to use on his brother, but didn't have the foggiest clue how humans metabolized the narcotic. The last thing he needed was his older brother waking up screaming inside a large dog travel carrier before they took off. Especially since he used alchemy to turn an old blanket into a fur onesy and put it on Ed before shoving him into the crate backwards. Unless he woke up, Edward the dog was simply a mangy mutt drugged to ensure his first airship ride was not traumatic. As long as he didn't wake up. "Fantastic. Did you say the cabins were located around here?"

"Yes!" Winry said and jumped out the door, she looked over at him and blushed. "Sorry, I get excited when I can talk about my machinery."

"No need to apologize."

"You said you were a veterinarian?"

Oh, he was just so cute and he loved animals? Winry grinned. "Well you'd probably be more interested in the science end of things then. I understand the mechanics and principles, but our Captain is the real genius when it comes to understanding all the compression and combustion. I'm sure if you'd like to hear about that he'd be happy to talk to you about it!"

Al wasn't sure why anyone would want to talk about combustion and steam. "Well, maybe some other time. I have an older brother who is nothing but hot air so I get my fill of it."

Oh, he was funny too! Winry laughed, a little too hard. "OK, here is our kitchen. Dinner is at 6. The rest of the time you're on your own but we try to keep most simple stuff in stock. The bridge is up there and down here is the cabins. This one is mine."

Al almost slammed into her as she stopped and pointed to the door.

"Yours will be across from me."

"When did you say that we would be leaving Youswell?" Al asked. He really needed to get Ed out of his cage soon and he would be happy if they were airborne and too far away from this town to turn back. Al turned around so she couldn't see his face. He was a terrible liar, anyone could see it written all over his face when he tried to lie. So he just wouldn't show her his face, problem solved. "I'm trying to get this dog, Edward, to his owners in Liore. I drugged him so he'd have an easier time with the travel, so I would like to get to Liore as quickly as possible. I'll, of course, keep him in my cabin with me."

"I didn't say when we were leaving..." Winry said and gave him a sweet smile. "Our Captain should be back shortly and you can ask him."

Al nodded and cleared his throat. "Well, I'd like an estimated time of departure before I commit to anything. I do need to get to Liore soon...I hate to drug Edward this long."

Winry nodded. What a great doctor! Traveling with his patient! What a sweetie! "I understand, I'll make sure I find out for you as soon as the Captain gets back. Though there aren't any other vessels leaving Youswell within the next week. I already checked the logs at the transit authority office."

Al knew that, which was why he was so quick to check up on this little craft when it docked. He was really not the best at lying and this young lady was pretty good at doing her homework. "Still, it is important."

"The Captain will understand. He loves dogs." Winry assured him.

Rebecca eyed the man who was holding his rucksack and looking at Serenity like he wasn't sure he wanted to set foot on an old ship. She didn't blame him, there were days she was amazed the hunk of junk stayed airborne. "Looks like shit, but it costs less to ride on than those new ones. Those other Captains will bleed you dry to help pay off their ship loans, this old bitch is paid for."

Raven looked up at the ship and then back at the girl sitting on a crate cleaning a shotgun. "Are there actual quarters for passengers or do I have to sleep on a cot in the hold?"

"We have quarters available and..." Rebecca winked at the older gentleman. "A companion too if you're lucky enough to convince her you're worth her while. If you can afford her, that is."

"Ha!" Raven chuckled. "I can barely afford the fare. So are you the Captain?"

"Nope, I'm way too smart for that." She said and returned to running a cleaning rod down the barrel. "I would have never spent money on this thing. I'm just along for the ride and waiting on some rich, strong, smart man to come along and sweep me off my feet."

Raven smiled and said, "Well let's talk about fare."

"Bow down to me, for I am your King!"

"Well I didn't vote for you!"

Riza leaned her head against the door to the bridge and watched Roy and Jean play with their action figures. Jean was adjusting his figure's arm to point at Roy's toy.

"You don't vote for Kings! I assumed command because I have an eye patch!" Jean shifted his toy around. "Like a pirate...and dictator. ARRG!"

"Well King Bradley, I'm a chimera and I am both King of the Jungle and King of dinosaurs!" Replied Roy with his doll.

Riza watched the boys play with the figures on the control console, apparently they swapped heads on the animals to make their own chimera. The toy had a lion head on a T-Rex body and was interesting enough without seeing the dinosaur's head on the naked girl doll. "We have new passengers and they are wondering how long they must wait to get to their destinations."

"Yarg!" Jean turned to his wife with his toy. "Who is this goddess of war! I think I need a new assistant to help me conquer the world. Will you be my first mate, lass?"

Roy stood up and held his toy high, "I'll be back for your head, Bradley!"

"Not before your wife freezes her tits off while tied to the railroad tracks, Lion-o-saurus!" Jean cackled and used his Bradley doll to point to the naked lady tied to chop sticks/toothpick railroad track with dental floss.

"You two make me wonder why I want kids." Riza sighed. "Captain, please follow me and do your job."

"I did. I got us a passenger and a load of cargo to drop off in Liore." Roy looked over at her and cocked an eyebrow. "You have that sound to your voice like I'm going to be in trouble as soon as you get me away from my subordinate."

"How did you get in trouble in Youswell?" Havoc snorted. "Did you cause excitement and violate a city ordinance?"

Roy saw 'the look' from Riza and knew she had talked with their new preacher/cook on her rounds. She liked to pass her scrutinizing eye over all the new people just in case one raised a hair on the back of her neck. She was still the best bodyguard he could ask for and he should have talked with her about Marcoh before she stumbled onto him. However...Jean got new toys and it was hard to not follow him to the bridge and play before everyone came back to the ship. "Ok."

"Now, sir." Riza said.

"Wow, you're in trouble." Jean sing-songed. "Why don't I just leave and get a snack so you can have some privacy, huh?"

Roy stuck out his tongue at him and watched him leave. He then nodded to her to just shut the door so they could have a private conversation. She closed the door and crossed her arms. "I know that bringing Marcoh on board is..."

"Are you an idiot?"

Roy huffed. "If the Alliance wanted him, they would have grabbed him already."

"He could be a spy. Did you think of that?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I did." Roy went over and sat down in Havoc's chair so he could busy himself with swiveling around while she grilled him. He also wanted to take off Bradley's eyepatch and draw a smiley face in place of his eye. "He was desperate. Hell, he offered me his damned research to get out of there he was that desperate."

Riza glared at him. "We both know alchemy research makes men do incredibly desperate things."

Roy sucked in a breath and held it. He avoided looking at her, knowing that she was referencing her own father and the insanely desperate thing he did to her to preserve his research. Then again the statement could apply to anyone, but it was more impactful to reference her tattoo on her back for both of them than anyone else in the world. "We'll watch him just like we watch anyone else. Riza, I.."

"You're too soft-hearted." She said.

He shrugged. "Remember when I bought this ship? We stood in the hold and..."

"Stepped in varmint shit." She said.

"We stood in the hold and talked about a dream." Roy continued as he used a felt-tipped marker to make a smile face eye on the Fuhrer. Then he continued, "This dream to be free. I looked at you and said that we'd find a mechanic, get a good pilot, maybe even hire a cook and live like real people. A small crew that would never have to be in the shadow of the government's expansive hold again. Well you married the pilot, the mechanic is playing with battery operated toys and I'm cooking my own damned breakfast after I sleep alone in my bed."

"I remember you saying 'a mechanic to get her running' and wondering why you spent everything you had on a ship that didn't work. However that was right before you were attacked by a raccoon trying to protect her babies and I remembered I couldn't afford to buy ammunition to reload my gun." Riza replied.

"Your memory is fascinating. You remember that but not my amazingly inspirational statements." Roy mumbled. "I wanted a place to live with people who wanted to be free. Somewhere that was ours and when the Alliance got closer we'd just get a little further away from their grasp. Where we could protect someone and in turn have them protect the people they loved. The only way insignificant fools like us could make a difference."

"It worked out though." She said softly. "This dream of yours, it worked out. It is working."

"Mmm..." Roy said and shook the ashtray. "Worked out pretty well for you. You hated Havoc at first. Damned smoker, couldn't stand the smell of him and now you smell just like him."

"That was different." She said. "Havoc wasn't a former State Alchemist."

"Marcoh isn't one of the bad guys." Roy said and glanced up at her. "He's just another alchemist that thought he was doing right by his country and instead was used by it. He's a damned preacher now, you know he's got to be remorseful if he's taken that career path."

"I'll be watching him." She said and turned to leave before remembering what he had said earlier. "When you said he offered his research...did you mean as payment?"

"What? Are you my accountant now?" Roy rubbed his eyes with his hand and could feel her glare. "He's going to be our cook. If he doesn't work out I'll kick him off the ship at the next stop. I got paid for that delivery, Winry got a passenger and cargo and Rebecca got another passenger. We have enough for fuel, nothing else but at least we have enough to leave tomorrow. "

"What is his research on?" Riza asked.

Roy peaked through his fingers and replied. "The philosopher's stone."

Roy was startled by the intensity of Solaris's kiss as he walked into her room. He just finished closing the door and as he turned around she was wrapped around his neck and locked onto his mouth. He had to pull away from her as she snaked her tongue past his lips and his body screamed at him to not interrupt. "Hi."

She grinned at him and grabbed his suspenders, pulling him to her bed. "Hello."

"You know, I don't appreciate you objectifying me." He said and she pushed him back onto the bed. She had that cloudiness of arousal in her eye, the seductive smirk on her red lips and he knew he was looking at Lust not Solaris. Perhaps it was an occupational hazard for people like them, people who became everything society hated in order to get a job done. Lust, a woman so enticing she practically oozed sexuality out of her pores; Flame, a monster capable of snapping his fingers and engulfing anyone in an inferno. Both numb to the screams, be it pleasure or agony. Both so treasured for their skills they were registered by the government and given names that could never encompass all the depraved things they could do. Lust and Flame had no place here because this was not a battlefield so he put on his sweet smile and started to chip away at the alter-ego Lust who greeted him at the door. "You know, I don't think I'd even pass the Companion exam. I'd probably answer 'Yes' on the Male or Female sex question."

"Shh...I'm trying to make an honest man out of you." She traced her finger over his chest and up to his strong jaw. "How do you know that's not the right answer?"

"Because my foster Mother is the guild Madam and I was a little nerd growing up in a brothel. Of course I took the test, just to see how I'd rate." Roy replied.

She laughed and traced his lips with her finger as he smiled back at her. "How did you score?"

"Somewhere between bar wench and crack whore which is funny since I tended bar in order to buy alchemy books. Apparently it's a accurate test." He sat up and gave her a smirk as she moved to pull his boots off. "So, it's a pirates life for me."

"I don't know, taking on passengers sounds rather legal to me." She watched him push his suspenders off his shoulders and unbutton his pants.

"Not too sure about that blond kid Winry seems to be all flustered over. He might have ripped the tag off his mattress at some point." Roy snorted. Winry was having to wipe her drool off after every conversation she had with Dr. Elric about cats. "I can't believe she tried to pass the vet off as a doctor.

Figures she'd find a man obsessed with pussies...just the furry kind that meows."

She hand to laugh as she went to pull his pants off. "You'll be the death of me Roy Mustang."

"My irresistible charm got your heart rate up?" He arched an eyebrow. Her laughter was more innocent now, no longer laced with seductive powers of a professional companion. Solaris was finally shining through.

"No." She tugged on his pants. "These pants are so tight I don't think I can get them off."

"Well who told you to molest me at the door?" He mumbled and tried to wiggle out of his pants. Perhaps it was time to buy a new pair. He had used alchemy one too many times to repair holes and the fabric had to come from somewhere. Apparently he was making them smaller, not shorter.

"I'm sure you were already hard before you got here." She reached up and molested him over his boxers.

"What the hell is this? The Spanish inquisition?" Roy snorted. "All the questions and the teasing!"

"Are these woman's pants?" She asked as she went back to trying to get him naked.

"I don't like being your sex toy. You're very critical." Roy pouted.

"What are you going to do?" Solaris cooed. "Report me to your Mom?"

"Ok, give me my pants back." Roy grabbed the waistband from her and started to wiggle back into them.

"Oh no you don't." She pulled them back down. "We entered into a verbal contract and your are going to put out."

Roy gave her an indignant snort as he laid back down. "Lady, this is your Captain speaking and I demand you treat me with the respect granted by my position!"

"Your position is currently lying on my bed with your pants stuck around your thighs because you can't get them past your erection."

"Fine." He threw his hands up and over his head and stretched out. Well as much as he could with his pants stuck around his thighs. "Have your way with me."

She couldn't help but laugh at him. It felt good to laugh and he always seemed to know what she needed most. She couldn't help but wonder if things had played out differently, if he had not defected what he would have ended up. Would he be in a fine bed in an expensive house in Central instead of this one on an old cargo ship? Would he be one of her clients, another wealthy and influential man in need of a woman to pleasure him? It still amazed her that he did end up in her bed, even as a humble Captain of a transport ship. He was gorgeous and confident, woman and men alike could never not look at him...so why was he here in the bed of a whore?

"What's that look for?" He held out his hand for her. "Come here beautiful."

She gave in and crawled onto her bed to kiss him but her lips met his index finger instead as he stopped her from avoiding his question.

"What's wrong?"

"I think you could do better than my bed." She answered.

"Well..." He sighed dramatically. "I tried, but Jean told me he was too afraid of his wife to take me to his room."

"Roy."

"What?" He asked. "He got new action figures. We were going to start reenacting Lord of the Rings with chimera toys!"

She frowned. "It's adorable that you think you're going to live long enough to complete that series."

"So.." He pulled her down to his chest. "What kind of deliciously erotic things do you want me to do to you?"

"Make me dinner." She said and he gave her an exaggerated pout.

"When you implied eating out earlier...that is not what you were asking for."

"You'd make a terrible whore."

"Considering the things I do for money these days, I think I'd actually have to raise my standards in order to just reach terrible whore levels." He grinned and touched his finger to her cute nose.

"Oh?" She chose to start unbuttoning his shirt for him. Moments like these allowed her to pretend for a few minutes that maybe this was a relationship. Her Captain coming home to her bed, talking about his day. Like real people instead of outcasts. "What kind of job do you have lined up?"

"One of Greed's cronies is having us deliver some cargo to him. So, next stop is Liore." Roy yawned. "That Vet wants to take his nasty drugged up dog back to his owners there too. So quick stop to offload and look for more passengers."

Wonderful. That meant she had to deal with Father Cornello.

"Enough about work and lack there of." He pointed to his pants. "Help me get out of my pants so I can show you why it's a bad idea to tease me all damned day."