Wow, no one destroyed me for doing that to Ed? Wow...just...just, wow. Thanks guys. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I already have chapter seven done and I'm just trying to space them apart so no one get's left behind. I hate updating too fast anyway, puts me under stress to try and do it quick everytime. SO! Once a week, possibly once at the beginning of the week and once at the end of the week...just like this. XP
Anyway, here you are, the next chapter.
Chapter 6 - Losing Touch
"Sorry." Ed said as the girl ran from the kitchen, tears in her eyes and a rather large wet stain clinging to the front of her shirt.
"You ass!" She screamed as she slammed the front door.
Sheska watched what was unfolding in the kitchen the whole time from a distance. She couldn't help but laugh. "Well, that's one way to get rid of unwanted girls like her. Are you ok Ed?" She asked Ed who was balancing up against the stove.
He had a hand firmly clasped over his mouth to control anything else that might have wanted to follow. "I'm ok...I don't think that wine agreed with me." He coughed somewhat.
"Wine?" She looked at the glass bottle on the other side of the room. "Icewine and Brandy is suppose to be an opaque yellow color, not purple." She examined it. "It looks like she put something in this. I guess it's a good thing you didn't keep it down. It might be Rhyponol."
Ed was in no mood for figuring out medical words. "The hell is that?"
"A date rape drug. Or maybe she diluted it with grape juice, either way, it's ruined. But she's gone now." Sheska comforted him as she poured the remaining wine down the drain. "Did you need a ride home? Or are you going to stay longer?" She allowed him to think about it for a moment but quickly continued. "You're pretty drunk, you should find some way to get home soon."
Ed's judgment that night wasn't the best. "Nah, one more." He said, reaching into the fridge and grabbing another can of that delicious beer he had been enjoying for the last three hours of the night. Sheska placed a hand on the top of the can, stopping him from opening it. "It's going to be awfully hard drinking this with your fingers in the way. I might need a straw."
She couldn't help but laugh at that one. "Seriously Ed, I have to ask you. You're not driving anywhere tonight, are you?"
He shook his head. "No. Not only do I not have a license, but I also don't have a car. Thanks for the concern though..." He looked at her, sheer seriousness in her eyes. "I'm not lying. Give me my beer now."
The taller brown haired girl sighed. "Alright Ed. Don't forget, you need to be at Mustang's desk tomorrow." She let go of the can.
"Yeah, yeah, got ya, beat a horse, no prob." He said incoherently as he re-entered the living room.
Edward's 'one more' out the window; the guy who Ed demanded a salute from at the beginning of the night, whipped out a bottle of tequila and proposed shots. The salt and lime juice covered the living room coffee table along with small splotches of the yellow liquor. Of course, Edward, the sensible being that he was, decided to join in on the festivities. Sadly, he was only able to handle two shots. Even in an inebriated state, tequila tasted like the underside of a burnt barrel soaking on the soggy ground for about fifteen years.(1) Nothing he wanted to experience again.
But that was it for Ed, he had reached his limit. "Russ--ell." He called him over. The younger boy actually had stopped drinking over an hour ago.
He stood up and approached Edward. "What's up?" He said nonchalantly.
"Call the Hughes' home for me." Ed said, his head resting on the back of the small chair he inhabited.
Russell nodded. "Sure, what's the number."
The phone rang. It was only a little before twelve and Al had only began to doze off on the sofa in the living room. He sat up, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and reached for the phone. "Hello?" He said, relatively tired.
"Al? That you?" Russell asked from the other side of the line.
"Yeah." He said kind of confused. "It's me."
"Good. The last few houses we called were really rude. But on a serious note, how about you come peel your brother off the chair?" He said, a bit of a snicker followed.
Al was then very confused. "Peel?"
Stepping out of the cab to the front of the house Al sighed. He had enough money on him to get there, but not enough to get back home. He closed the door, thanked the cabby and headed up to the front step. After knocking, the door opened and Sheska appeared in front of him. "Sheska?" He said with panic. "Uh, I just was...uh...sorry, I must be at the wrong house." He turned to walk away but was stopped short by Sheska pulling him in by the shoulder.
"No, you're at the right place. And not too soon either." She pulled him right in front of the living room and pointed him in the direction of Ed, who was passed out on the arm chair.
Al sighed. "So that's what he meant by 'peel him off the chair'." He grimaced as he walked over to his older brother. "Brother. Come on, get up." He shook his shoulder but only managed to get a low grunting noise. "You idiot."
"Kid!" One of the other guests yelled to him. Al looked over his shoulder to the guy yelling to him. "Come drink with us!" He said in a light hearted manner.
Al shook his head. "No thank you, I have to walk him home."
"Com'on! I'll beat-cha up if you don't." He wasn't being serious, he faked a few punches in his general direction.
"Leave him alone, he has to walk far." Russell defended him.
"What? Don't be a wuss, have a drink before you go." He held out the shot glass filed with the liquor that, unbeknownst to Al, was the culprit behind Ed's unconsciousness.
The young boy furrowed his brow. "Will it keep you quiet?" He snapped a little, he couldn't help it, he was really frustrated at the moment.
"Oh course!" He shouted in an incoherent manner with his opposite fist in the air.
Begrudgingly, he took the shot glass, knocked it back and handed it back to him. "There." The crowd of seven people gave a 'woot' for Al's apparent show of masculinity. He rolled his eyes. "Now if you're not going to help, leave me be, please." He turned back to his brother. "Get up Ed." He tried to lift him, but sadly, he was just too heavy. "Sheska, mind giving me a hand?"
Sheska, who was standing in the doorway at the time, snapped out of her daze. "Oh, sure." She went over to Ed and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, Al did the same to his right. Taking into mind that his side was going to be heavier, he held on firmly. "I'll walk him all the way home with you. Let's just hope he wakes up soon." He weighed at least two hundred pounds with the automail, it was going to be difficult.
"So, why did Ed decide to go out like this? It really doesn't seem like him at all." Sheska said, walking Ed and Al home. Ed, who was at least a little responsive now, taking those uneasy steps that he barely had control of.
Al was walking carefully with Ed over his shoulder, he was regretting taking that drink now that he felt lightheaded. "I'm not sure. He and Winry got in a bit of an argument over the phone. I think he was just a little stressed out, that's all."
Sheska looked at Ed, his half awake gaze stared straight ahead, and his feet moved in an unsure rhythm. "No one does this to themselves after a 'bit' of an argument. What's really going on Al?"
He then began to look worried. "Maybe Winry was sick after all."
"Sick?" Sheska immediately became worried. "Like, with what?"
Al shrugged. "Not sure. But she was passing out from heat exhaustion on a daily basis, and she had these terrible stomach aches from eating certain foods. We had no clue what was going on, so she got blood work done. She said she would call if something went wrong." He looked down at his brother, just barely hanging in the balance of conscious and unconscious. "Maybe he just lied to me, not wanting me to worry about her on the train ride home."
Sheska's expression darkened. "Let's hope you're wrong."
After only a few more minutes of walking, they heard a car, it was slowing down and pulling up along side of them. "Oh God...please don't be the cops." He turned to see who was behind the wheel. To his surprise, it was a familiar face. "Hawkeye?" He looked back at his brother, and then to Sheska, who also seemed to be at a loss for words.
Hawkeye leaned out her open window, Roy was beside her and Havoc in the back, also stared on. She examined the three of them. "Do you need a ride?"
Al nodded. "Yes." He said with a shame laden voice.
After the grueling task of pouring Ed into the vehicle, they pulled away. Sheska didn't accompany them, she said she only had to walk a few doors down, so it was no trouble. Thus, they parted ways. Al sat in between Havoc and his brother in the back seat of the black, military issue car. He had his head lowered, just in case they could smell the alcohol on his breath too.
"So." Mustang began. "Drinking tonight I see."
Al held in the desire to blab the entire story outright and resorted to the plain truth. "Yes sir." He said to his superior officer.
Roy shook his head. "You both have somewhere to be tomorrow. You shouldn't be out so late doing things you aren't suppose to be doing." He snapped at them.
"Roy...lighten up on them." Havoc said, his head resting on the door frame. "We're drank tonight too. Don't be a hypocrite."
He huffed. "Regardless, we're old enough." He looked in the rear view mirror. "Who bought it for you?" He said, squinting his eyes.
Just then, out of the blue, Ed piped up. "I'm in no way obliged to divulge any information of the sort." He said in a strangely professional manner.
"That's an order Full Metal." Roy threw his rank into the mix.
Ed snickered. "With all do respect sir...shove it up your ass Roy." He said in a snide tone.
Al looked absolutely horrified. "Edward!!! You're going to get us in more trouble than we're already in. Stop it." He said through gritted teeth.
Havoc laughed out loud. "Nice one!" He congratulated Ed on his bravery.
"Alright." Roy said, completely unshaken. "We'll finish this tomorrow, when you're in my office at eleven a.m. sharp."
"Fine then." Ed retorted in a very saucy manner. "We will." He said, before closing his eyes yet again.
Al rested his face in the palm of his hand and groaned.
"There." Al sat Ed down on his bed on the opposite side of the room than his own. He watched him lay back and then stop moving, his legs still hanging over the side of the mattress. "Get up on the mattress brother."
Ed scooted backwards and turned slightly to the side, finally resting in a position he was able to sleep in. "Thanks for taking me home...I'm really sorry."
Al sighed. "You know, you can be really stupid at times." He to flopped back on the bed, head on his pillow, staring blankly up at the ceiling; his head was still spinning lightly from that one tiny drink. It was amazing how something so small could have such a powerful effect.
"I know." He said, closing his eyes and dozing off almost immediately. "Sorry."
"Stop apologizing. It sounds too weird coming from you." He shook his head.
"Sorry." He repeated again.
"I said quit it." Al couldn't help but smile. Ed was a lot less to deal with when he wasn't able to defend himself properly. "So...what did Winry tell you? She is sick, isn't she?"
Ed shook his head. "No, she's not sick...she may be sick...but she's not sick-sick." He made little or no sense.
"How about we talk in the morning?" He suggested. He to was feeling a little tired. It was after one in the morning.
"O-k." Ed said as he trailed off and went to sleep.
"Stupid brother." Al smiled and flicked off the lamp by his bed side then went to sleep.
His eyes fluttered open as the rays of the morning sun shone through a small crack in the curtains. The small particles of dust, normally unseen to the naked eye, flowed visibly and freely through the ray of sun that penetrated the dark room. Al sat up in his bed. The task before him was not going to be an easy one. Waking Ed up.
He turned to face his brother and rubbed his eyes. "Brother...it's time to get up." He took a quick note that the clock at his bed side said it was nine thirty. Al slung his legs over the side of the bed and made his way over to where Ed was sleeping. "We have to get to headquarters...brother?" He felt the top of the bed. Nothing was there.
He flicked on his brother's light and tore back the covers. To his dismay, Ed was not there. Immediately he though. 'He must be really sick.' Al made his and his Edward's bed and headed out of the room. Checking by the bathroom, he noticed it was empty. "That's odd..." Finally, the last place he thought Ed would be, he headed downstairs. Sure enough, there was Ed, sitting at the table, not looking very pleased with the world, but then again, he never did. He sat there, hands around a coffee cup, sipping it gingerly. "You're alive." Al stammered. He was sure Ed would be in the bathroom hanging on to the toilet bowl by this point of the morning.
"Just barely." He rubbed his forehead with his warmed up automail. "My head's killing me, but I have something to do today, no use laying in bed."
Al sat at the table across from him. "That doesn't sound like you...that doesn't sound like you at all."
"Really? How so?" He said, slightly offended.
His sibling shrugged. "I don't know, maybe, the responsible thinking or the rationality...I mean, it's not even noon yet...something must be on your mind."
Ed burned his mouth on the steaming hot coffee. "Ow...well...I guess...but, quick question. How did I get home last night? I remember you and Sheska walking me out of the house, but that's about it."
Al's eye twitched and he leaned over the table. "WHAT?! You mean to tell me you don't remember telling Roy to take his order and 'shove it up his ass'?!" He reiterated what Ed had said the previous night.
Ed cringed at his younger brother's loud voice. "Mmm...nope. Al, do you know what's worse than a hangover?"
Al sat back down. "No...what?" He said remotely pissed off.
"Having someone yell at you while you have a hangover." Ed snapped at him.
"Sorry." He folded his arms. "But that's your own fault."
" I know." Ed laid his coffee cup back down. "I guess this is what I get for lying to you. Stupid karma." He continued.
Al raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He said again, this time with a worry struck voice. "Something came up in the blood work, didn't it?"
Ed leaned back on his chair. "Yeah. Something did."
The younger of the two slumped down in his chair. "What was it?"
Ed sighed. "She has a parasite."
Al raised an eyebrow. "What kind of parasite? Is she going to be ok?"
He folded his arms. "Well, this kind of parasite is different. Normally it stays with the host for a series of months, and then, when it finally leaves the body, it stays with the host externally for at least eighteen years." Ed explained to his younger sibling.
"Eighteen years? Isn't there some way to kill it sooner?" Al was worried. He would have hated to have Winry live with some parasite for so long. "There has to be some way."
Raising a hand to his younger sibling, Ed shook his head. "Normally people don't kill this parasite. Hell, most people keep and even name it."
"Name it?" Al was completely vacant as to what Ed was implying. "That's bizarre."
Ed face palmed, it was obvious Al wasn't getting the joke. "Al...she's pregnant."
"Oh!" Al gave a sigh of relief. "You really had me worried there for a minute, I thought she was really s--." Just then, Al stopped and allowed what Edward had just said to really sink in. His eyes widened as big as saucers and nearly all the color washed from his face. "Wait...what?"
Gotta' love those random lapses of stupidity.
But rejoice! The ooc is over now:)
(1) Not a word a lie. X()----
Tell me what you think! And thanks for all the positive feedback I'm getting for this fic, I'm absolutly thrilled to be writing this! You guys are the best. (Hugs you all!)