Hello everyone! Now that I finally had time after the exams I uploaded the new chapter. This was pretty difficult to write and some might notice that I used a different kind of writing style. Lets see if this brings more reviewers or just makes the old ones to go away.
And some of my reviewers told me about one grammar mistake I made in both chapters. I checked it and they were right: Finnish and English have different rules. But when you write in English, use the English rules. Thanks for those two who pointed out the error and if you still find something, please tell me. Reviews are a wonderful way to learn!
Don't own the chapter or the characters: just the plot.
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Chapter three
The mess hall was crowded. People with different positions were sitting at the tables, alone or companied by others, eating stuff that was supposed to be chicken soup.
Hughes sat on a chair leaning his head onto his left hand. His right hand held a spoon which he whirled in the lunch unenthusiastically. The yellow-green eyes were dull, an emotion no one could connect to this man.
"I just don't know how long I can hold up with this case, Roy," Hughes said quietly like all the happiness was gone from his world. " This is the hardest case I've had in ... well... long time!"
A snort esaped from his body as he looked away to somewhere distance next to him.
"Or maybe I'm just getting old."
Mustang shook his head. His lunch tray lay in front of him intact. All the attention he could spare was directed into his friend and his troubles. His arms were crossed on the table, no gloves were on.
"I don't beliave it. You're just 29."
"I'll be thirty next month," The older man glanced at the Flame Alchemist from the corner of his eyes. When getting no response, Hughes put down the spoon and threw his hands slightly in the air.
"Well, what does it matter anymore? Ed has moved away because of my violent attitude and I can barely be home because I'm afraid I'll hurt Gracia or Elysia."
"You're being ridiculous!" Now Mustang felt like he could punch the man straight into the face to get some sense back into him. During those three days that Edward had been staying with Havoc, he had sort of become Hughes's personal therapist. Sure, he was willing to listen to his friend and offer some support but after listening for three days of the same thing over and over again, he had pretty much had enough.
And by what he had heard, Edward seemed to be just as stubborn with his own vision of what had had happened.
Maybe those two were more similar than he had noticed.
Hughes didn't startle or anything, just turned his head to fully face the man on the other side of the table.
Mustang went on with his talking: "You must understand that Ed is away temporarily. It's not like he has gone to another country."
He waved his hand to the table about three rows away from them. Edward was sitting there in his regular clothes with the office guys and Hawkeye. All of them had lunch trays infront of them but no one, except the boy, seemed to be eating.
The sight didn't affect Hughes much. He just went back to his lunch and took a spoonful of the soup, calm as anything and not caring about anything. Mustang grimaced inwardly and, as if by a reflex, pushed his own tray further and out of his eyes.
"He might have as well gone somewhere," Hughes started his gaze back in his lunch. "He won't even look at me! The whole time he's been sitting there on that table he hasn't even glanced at this way."
Now he was a bit amazed; Mustang knew his friend was the top of the Investigations Unit. By what he had heard from the Higher ups, Hughes could expect a promotion sooner or later. Now he was supporting the thought 110%: by what he had seen, Hughes's gaze had been either on him or the lunch.
But on the other hand, Hughes could just be guessing.
Whatever the reason, the situation had to be solved- the quicker the better.
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At the same time, Edward was enjoying his lunch while others on the table sent weird gazes on him.
Apparentally they thought the food was not something that humans could eat.
He eyed the table while filling the spoon with the yellow- orange soup and noticed that no one else had barely tasted the main food. That had to have something to do with Breda's comment. The man had claimed immediately after sitting on a chair that food looked like it had been made while the chicken was still alive and in full clothing.
Edward smiled amused and snorted at the memory. He couldn't be fooled so easily.
Seated on the other side of the table, Havoc glanced at him, leaving his conversation with Hawkeye.
The man's left arm layed on the table supporting the weight of his upper body, and his eyes showed that the man wasn't interested about why he had left the sound but felt it was his responsobility to know.
Edward muttered 'nothing' bowing his head a bit and filled the spoon again. He was about to put the spoon to his mouth when he noticed something floating in the liquid.
"Hey," He leaned closer to Fuery who left his attention from watching the conversation of his two higher officers to look at the boy who was, ironically, also higher in the hierarchy than him. "What is this?"
The short, bespectacled man took a fork from his tray, where ever he got it Edward didn't know, and lifted the small object. He showed the fork to Havoc, Hawkeye and Breda, all three of them leaning closer to get a good look of the strange thing.
Havoc, being raised in the countryside, recognized it first.
"It's a feather," he said eyes wide. He would have never thought Breda's tale was actually true!
The answer was enough for Edward. The boy pushed the tray hurriedly away from him, towards Havoc, as if it was something covered with milk.
"I'm not eating anymore!" That was everything he could say while being in shock.
Falman snorted and shook his head while reading the newspaper.
"This isn't funny!" Edward said to the oldest of the group. "I could get a food poisoning!"
Just as Hawkeye commanded him not to talk so loud Falman looked at the boy as if noticing he was there.
"I wasn't laughing at you.I was reading the comics."
The boy blushed and turned away.
"Hey, the carneval is being held again!"
"When?" Havoc asked interested. By what he had learned, all kinds of festivals were the best places to find women and take them to.
Falman scanned the announcement with his eyes and finally found the date.
"Next Saturday."
"Now is Thursday," Hawkeye put in. "They're quite late announcing this."
Breda waved his hand. "They've had those ads everywhere. That wasn't the first one. "
"Carneval," Edward said as if tasting the word looking at the ceiling. "Isn't that the thing where people dance in the streets and there's magicians and everything."
"Have you been in a carnival?" Havoc asked not sure what to expect. Edward shook his head now turning his gaze to the man.
"We had something that was called carnival in Rezembool but I guess those two can't be even mentioned in the same sentence."
"You mean those events where there are competitions in milking cows and-"
"Yeah."
Others looked at the pair. They understood what they said but didn't have the same experiences as those two. Edward and Havoc surely had something much deeper in common than anyone else of them. The boy and the man had gone through the same things when moving to Central City: the losing of strongly tied country community, the loneliness and all the inventions that were everyday in the place they had gone to. That was why they understood each other better than anyone else.
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It was a sunny day. There were a lot of people gathered in one place. They were all there celebrating the end of the autumn and the beginning of winter.
Holding a cotton candy in his left hand, Edward looked around the area he was in. Clothed in his regular working/ travelling clothes because of the chilly air, the childhood enthusiasm filled his heart as he saw all those machines, games and entertainers.
Havoc looked at the boy and smiled amused as his companion decided to walk faster than he did.
He was genuiely happy about the time the carnival had decided to set place in. Heaven knew the boy needed something else to think about. He had to admit that Edward had become easier to handle as the days went by. The first night had been the most difficult; the boy had had a pretty vivid nightmare and kicked him in the thigh. A couple of centimeters to the right and he could have said goodbye to his family jewels.
"C'mon!" A voice broke into his thoughts and the man walked towards the boy who had stopped and turned around. "This is here for only one day!"
"I know," he said and snatched a handful of the water- sugar combination and rolled it into a ball.
"I've been here before, Ed, and trust me, I've never missed anything."
"But this is my first time! I'm young and impatient!"
Havoc sighed and gave in. He lifted his hands as a sign of surrender.
"Fine, fine. Show the way."
They visited every single device excluding the baby ones. That day, Edward experienced his very first rollercoaster ride, screaming with delight as the speed of the cart made him feel tingling in his stomach. Havoc had been worried that the boy would feel sick because of eating the very sugary cotton-candy but luckily the kid seemed to have a good tolerance for motion; he had only had to help Edward out of the ride and offer some support because the boy seemed to have forgotten how to walk straight.
The best of the play stalls was absolutely the one where you had to shoot moving pictures of bears
The owner was standing behind the selling table. He was about fifty- years old and his body was very muc similar to Breda's but a bit taller. The man wore a blue shirt with white stripes. The pants were brown and cotton and a bit tight around the belly; also brown braces made the carefree appearance excellent. His attention was on the other man shooting the moving pictures.
"Hey," Havoc leaned against the table and looked at the owner smiling like they were old pals. "What's the prize?"
"A cappuchino machine," the owner announced to the pair trying to get them excited. He seemed like an announcer of a circus telling how dangerous every single trick was.
Havoc turned his attention to the boy next to him. "You heard that, kiddo? A coffee pot."
"Should we take part?" Edward asked back realizing what Havoc was doing. He couldn't wait.
The other man, he looked much like the keeper of the stall but only much skinnier and older, was concentrated on shooting and was getting ready to shoot the last bear.
He missed it and lost his patience.
"Damn'it!" The shooter cursed loudly taking the game way too seriously. "It's way too quick!"
"You only need to practise more," the owner encouraged.
"He's right, you know," Havoc nodded symphatically. "Can I try?"
The man glared at him but tossed the gun. It was Havoc's special skill: he got almost anyone to trust him.
"Here, keep it."
Havoc loaded the thing and pointed it to the curtain where the figures would arrive. His concentration was perfect; military had taught him well.
Edward handed the money onto the table and crossed his elbows on the brown wood, careful not to get sticks into his left hand. He waited patintly and the owner turned on the machine. The show began.
Havoc shot the first, and the second, and the third without any problem.
The pace increased and again the man showed off his amazing shooting skills.
Edward smiled excited and began to jump a little; he couldn't stay still.
Both of the other men were amazed and people passing by glanced at their sirection. Few stayed to watch and some oldr men made bets.
The stall keeper was seemingly sweating and breathing hard like he had run the whole day. This was his last chance to keep the expencive device himself. Another button and the figures moved even faster.
Havoc didn't miss any of them.
"This is the last," Edward whispered to himself, voice filled with excitement. The figure came; black and white picture and the animal in it was glaring at them .
Havoc shot and hit the target perfectly.
"Oh yeah!" Edward exclaimed and began a victory dance. "We're the best! We're the champions! We won! You losers!"
"Ed!" Havoc hissed finally noticing people looking at them. Luckily most of them were just smiling amused seeing a little boy doing his movements.
Havoc put the gun on the table and raised his eyebrow smirking as if saying 'so?'. The overweight man looked around and admitted he had lost; there was no way getting out of this one. But it didn't stop him from gritting his teeth and swearing under his breath as he turned to take the machine Havoc had just won.
When he turned around, he put on his best customer service face and gave the 'coffee pot'.
"Congrats," was all he said before he began to tempt the people around them to also join the game.
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The performers were walking on the street. It was already five o'clock and soon the day of celebration would be over.
Edward stood on his tip-toes trying to see something behind the backs of the people. He jumped up and down but it was no use. The tall people were like a wall, there was no way he could get past them.
Havoc noticed this and kneeled down behind the boy. Edward didn't notice anything until a pair of hands took a hold of him from under his armpits. With a slight yelp, he was lifted onto Havoc's shoulders and the man stood up. Edward breathed quickly trying to regain his balance. When was the last time he had been this high?
They enjoyed the view and made sounds of adoration seeing the magic tricks and circus movements the talented artists made. Everyone wore glittering and colourful clothes to make the event even more special. From one stage, a real Santa Claus surrounded by green and red suited elves threw colourful candy to everyone.
Eyes gleaming with delight, Edward caught a yellow wrapped one.
"Why are they doing that when Christmas isn't even near yet?" He asked from the man when opening the wrapper and tossing it carelessly to the ground.
Havoc shrugged his shoulders, keeping a hold of the boy's ankles to make sure he wouldn't fall off and get a concussion.
"Because kids love it," he received the other half of the sweet and put it to his mouth. It tasted like toffee.
Edward really enjoyed the carnival. He couldn't even remeber when he had last time had so much fun. The day was perfect; the sky was blue, the sun was shining, trees were beautiful with green and yellow- red leaves, people were chatting happily- for the first time he really felt like Central could actually become his new home.
He happened to glance at his left and immediately grabbed Havoc's hair.
"Put me down!" He commanded breathing quickly.
"What?" Havoc asked not sure if he was hearing right. Was the boy feeling sick or-
"I said put me down!"
The man kneeled down and Edward hurried to the man's right side, making sure their silhouettes matched.
"What-" Havoc began but didn't know how to end his sentence. Edward didn't answer so the mystery was for him to solve. On glancing at his left, he shook his head.
"This is ridiculous."
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The firework display lighted up the sky. The hill where they were sitting on was full of young couples who had curled up against each other to enjoy the sight.
Havoc had earlier taken his at- the- moment girlfriends there, to the same place. It had been very romantic.
"Woah!" Edward whispered when seeing an extremely colourful firework. The boy had curled his knees against his chest to keep himself warm.
"It is a pretty sight, " Havoc admitted sitting next to the boy on the grass. His right hand, the one further from the boy, held a lit cigarette.
Edward smiled looking at the sky.
"I can't even remember when I've last time seen something like this."
Havoc looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes. Sitting like that on the ground, curled up and eyes full of dreaming, he looked so tiny. So much smaller than a fourteen- year- old should look like.
An unexplained wave of protectiveness filled him.
"You've always been travelling at this time of the year. It's actually nice that you're saying here longer."
The words were sayed in a matter- of- fact style but held pure sincerity. Edward smiled at the man gratefully and was no doubt touched by the words. Havoc could see it in his eyes and turned his head away to look at the sight in front of him, thoughts circling in his head.
The boys, or telling the truth Edward had a lot of vacation days to use. Mustang had ordered him to stay in Central to get some rest; that was why Edward had ended up living with the Hughes' and Al had went to Rizebuul because he missed their other adopted family there.
"Do you happen to know if Elysia is afraid of firewoks?"
Edward shrugged a bit surprised about the turn that the conversation was taking. "I'm not sure but I wouldn't be surprised."
"Were you afraid of loud noises when you were little?"
"A bit, it was always pretty quiet in our house, expecially when Al was little and-" The boy bowed his head his voice quieting.
Havoc knew what Edward was going to say but emotions took the control of him.
Taking an encouraging inhale of the tobacco smoke, he planned his next move. He knew that talking about Hohenheim, Edward's father, was a very touchy subject but he needed the information for the future.
"Do you remeber your father?" He asked quietly not to scare the kid. His voice was very gentle, signaling that he would be there to support Edward if he broke down.
The boy turned his head around and glared at the Second Lieutenant eyes full of anger.
"He's not my father! He left us."
"And you think of Hughes as his replacement, right." Havoc turned his head to the boy smiling a bit. Edward quieted down again, eyes widening because of the words. Then his whole appearance seemed to relax and become a bit melancholic as he looked at the grass.
"Hughes is the only man who has ever been kind to me." Edward's voice was quiet and held so much pure sincerity. "I can tell him everything and he willingly spends time with me."
"Now, now, aren't I similar?" Havoc joked and punched the boy's automail arm slightly. Edward closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Nope."
The sky was now shining with stars.
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It was late when they made it to Havoc's apartment. To Edward, the whole place seemed a bit weird after spending the whole day outside.
The man walked back to the living room after fetching a blanket from the bedroom.
"The night's going to be chilly. Let's make sure you won't catch a cold. "
He covered the boy first with one blanket and then put another on the top of it.
"Okay", Havoc smiled and ruffled the boy's head once he was sure the covers were perfectly in place. "Now go to sleep."
Edward smiled slightly but soon a toughtful expression appeared onto his face.
Havoc shook his head and sat cross- legged onto the floor.
"Now, what is it?" His voice held only a bit of the frustration he was feeling. Edward thought way too much; sometimes thoughts filled his head and the boy would only become unwell. That was one of the reasons why the boy had Panic Disorder.
Edward shrugged laying on the couch. He was very warm and comfortable but didn't feel sleepy at all.
"It's... I saw the Hughes's there."
"I know."
"... I got scared."
This was utterly ridiculous, Havoc thought as he rubbed his temples. There were no words to describe the situation he had in his hands.
"There's no reason to feel like it."
The boy stayed quiet staring at his hands.
"Hughes thinks of you like his own son."
"But not the same way he thinks of Elysia." The boy answered quietly. Havoc felt an aura of sadness hanging above the boy. "He shows pitcures of her to everyone and tells how cute and brilliant she is."
"Would you like him to brag about you?"
The second time the same day, Edward got angry while having a conversation.
"You don't understand!" The volume of the voice rose notably. Havoc didn't startle or anything, just took Edward's left hand into his own and used his most understanding tone.
"Ed, I do and that was a joke. Now, I work along Mustang and Hughes comes there everyday with no reason to. He always tells about how you're doing and what you did."
Edward didn't look at the man. The only answer the boy could think against the statement Havoc had just said was 'no one but you is interested in how I'm doing' but it sounded all too childish.
He didn't want to be a child. At least not now.
"You never tell about how you feel about him to Hughes, right." Havoc started talking again, rubbing the back of the small hand with his warmer one. It was the only thing he could think of doing for the boy. "It just makes him feel unsure and so he isn't sure if he should tell you. But through all kinds of small things, like you said spending time with you, he shows that he cares."
"But he never says it." Edward shook his head and looked at the man tears filling his eyes. " I'm not his biological son."
"You couldn't mean more to him than you do now even if you were his flesh and blood!"
The words were said with more force than he had intented to. Edward's eyes were wide, the same way like a week ago. Havoc shook his head, he felt like that was all he had done he whole day, and gathered the small body into his arms.
Edward wrapped his arms around his neck. The man held him tightly, stroking his back.
"Edo, don't you see it. Hughes loves you. You're one of the most important things in his life. You don't even know what he would be willing to do for you."
'Edo' was a nickname given to the boy, mostly used when the boy was upset. It felt like those three letters summed up all the feelings adults felt for sad Edward; pity, concern but most of all love."
At the boy's nod, he lifted him back to the couch and covered him again, taking extra- care that the feet were fully covered. Once the work was satisfying, Havoc kneeled next the boy and kissed him on the forehead.
"Goodnight."
The soft crying of a boy was the only thing to be heard in the night.
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"Fullmetal, go do this. Fullmetal go do that," Edward muttered while stepping into elevator. Monday was the one day of the week that he actually hated. How come they were expected to work effectively after resting the whole weekend doing nothing? They needed one more day to get used to the hectic lifestyle.
He leaned against the glasswall and sighed closing his eyes. He had just brought the last files to the fifth floor. All he needed to do now was to ride dow n and he and Havoc could leave.
Suddenly the elevator came to a stop and the boy unconsciously moved further to give that whoever passenger some space.
He saw a glimpse of blue uniform, nothing unusual here. He drew the hair out from the infront of his eyes and stopped.
Hughes was standing there, politely looking at the door. The boy could see he knew who the other in the elevator was.
How he wanted to say something, or the man to talk to him. His subconsciousness told him that Hughes wanted it also.
They eyed each other from the corners of their eyes. The situation was very awkward.
Suddenly there was a loud noise and the whole thing shook: then the elevator came to a stop.
Edward regained his balance and breathed heavily. "What is it?"
The first thing he had said to Hughes in days.
The man pressed the button to the first floor but nothing happened. Edward watched how Hughes repeated the motion several times.
Nothing happened and the man turned his gaze to the boy worriedly.
"We got stuck here."
Hughes pushed the alarm button hoping someone would hear them.
Meanwhile the seriousness of the situation got to the boy. Edward began to breath quickly, whole body shaking. Hughes noticed the reaction and was about to walk to the boy but before he could move the fourteen- year- old boy collapsed onto the floor.
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And once again, reviews are more than welcome and treated with love.