I would just like to say I think the rating on this story is going to go up a little during this chapter. Nothing graphic, it's not that bad but I just thought I'd put in a warning.
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"So why do I get the feeling Maes was doing damage control when I got there?" Roy asked Ed, keeping his eyes on the road as he neared his driveway. They'd already dropped off the two lieutenants at the dorms.
"Elysia locked me in the dryer and I yelled at her," Ed looked up at Roy, waiting for Roy's reaction. Roy glance at him.
"She locked you in the dryer? Really?"
Ed nodded.
"I probably don't even want to know, do I?" Roy smiled.
"You saw the lieutenant didn't you?" Ed laughed.
"Oh, I saw him alright. With the ribbons and everything," Roy agreed.
He parked the car and walked around it to get Ed out. He was surprised at Ed when he picked him up. He'd picked him up with one hand under his knees and the other under his back, but Ed climbed up where he could rest his chin on Roy's shoulder, his arms around the Flame's neck. Roy tentatively put a hand on Ed's back, thinking, but not certain, that Ed was actually looking for physical contact.
"EDWARD ELRIC WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Izumi slammed the front door open. "Give him here," she demanded of Roy.
"No." Roy walked past her and Ed's eyes widened. He hid his face from his teacher as Roy walked into the house, no doubt in his mind that Roy's house was about to stage the bloodiest "child custody" battle ever waged.
"Get back here!" Izumi yelled, coming back into the house when Roy payed her no heed. Roy laid Ed on the couch and went to the fridge for a drink. While he found a glass and some ice, Izumi grabbed Ed by the shirtfront.
"Where the hell did you go?" Izumi roared. Ed opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He would have just told anyone else, but for some reason he just couldn't tell Izumi where he'd gone.
"Well? Answer me, Ed," she growled. "You ordered pizza, brought it in the house and then disappeared. Alphonse, Mason and Sig are still out looking for you."
"I got bored, I hitched a ride," Ed flipped casually back at her.
"Oh? Just hitched a ride, huh? Do you have any idea how worried Alphonse was? He's falling apart!"
"Roy! Help!"
Ed would never fully understand how that plea sounded. He hadn't meant to call for Roy, hadn't meant to call for help. He would never understand how it changed Izumi's understanding of him, or Roy's understanding of himself. Ed's cry wasn't panicky or angry or calculating in any way. All three of them knew it had been a reflex. One that none of them had known about or expected. Izumi suddenly understood how much a part of Ed Roy was now and Roy understood the full extent of his feelings for Ed. He was standing by Ed, using an arm to block Izumi from the boy before any of them had even blinked.
"Don't scare him, let him explain."
"He won't even tell me where he went!"
"Why don't you give him a chance? Or better yet, why don't you respect him enough to let him decide what he does and doesn't tell you?"
Izumi opened her mouth but Roy cut her off.
"No, really. Why don't you let him have some privacy?" Roy geniunely.
"Because you know what happened the last time I did that?" Izumi was suddenly roaring, her anger filling the room. "The last time I let them have their little secrets, let them keep it from me, they-" she choked momentarily, "They ended up losing more than anyone should ever have to lose in a lifetime, let alone one night. I knew they were hiding something from me and if I had known, if I had had any idea what they were planning to do, I could have prevented it."
Ed would have looked away to hide the shame in his eyes, but she stared Roy down instead so he could feel the brunt of her guilt.
"You never could have stopped me, Teacher," Ed's tone was level and firm. "She was my mother."
Izumi started to shake her head and Ed stopped her.
"Sig knew you were desperate. If he had known, could he have stopped you? It was your child. It was my mother."
Izumi was stunned speechless and Roy understood. She couldn't trust herself not to know everything Ed did... or something close to that.
Izumi Curtis whirled on her heel, flying out the door like a hurricane.
"Let her be," Ed told Roy.
"I guess you didn't need me," Roy joked. Ed snorted.
"You're a useless bastard, aren't you?"
Roy turned on Ed and tickled him viciously.
"Take that back!"
"Aaah! Stop it!"
"Take it back!"
"Cut it out!" Ed cried with laughter.
"Brother! Where'd you go?"
"Oh, ahaha, hi Al."
"Does Izumi know you're home?" Mason asked. Ed nodded.
"She went for walk. We got in a fight so she's cooling off."
Sig nodded silently.
"Brother, where did you go?"
"I went into HQ to get a book out of the library but someone else had checked it out." Ed's eyes let Al know that wasn't all he'd gone to HQ for but it was all he would say right now.
"Why didn't you leave a note?" Al asked.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot."
"Ugh," Al was disgusted with his brother.
"Do you think Mrs. Curtis will be back soon? I could start dinner," Roy said. Sig and Mason nodded. As Roy headed for the fridge, Jean Havoc entered through the front door.
"Hey! Can I stay for dinner, too?"
"Havoc? What are you doing back here?" Roy asked.
"Well you remember how bored Ed said he was? I borrowed a TV and some films from a friend and brought 'em over."
"Are you serious?" Ed's excited, incredulous inquiry earned him the attention of everyone in the room. Jean and Roy laughed.
"Yes. I have uh... Stay Alive and Saw and something called uh, ...Alien."
"Oooh, let's watch Alien," Al suggested.
"OK, sure," Jean agreed.
"After dinner. I'll even make popcorn," Roy said firmly. "Now come help," he added, looking at Havoc, Al and Mason. They followed him into the kitchen and began discussing side dishes while Sig sat down on the couch next to Edward.
"Should I be worried?" he asked.
"I don't really know," Ed sighed. "She was being too overprotective so I told her to back off. She just ran away. I'm...sorry it happened while she was here..."
Sig shook his head, "No. Clearing the air is important and it keeps the spirit clean."
Ed glanced up at the enormous man, having only heard him speak that way rarely before now. About spirit and soul, mind and body. But he was Izumi Curtis' husband.
"I will say one thing though," he paused then continued. "Izumi-and myself- have reasons to be worried about you living with an older officer. We've all heard the stories: bad things you can't speak about to most people." He eyed Ed for a moment, watching the blond bite his lip and furrow his brow in confusion. The boy looked up.
"What kind of things?"
Sig waited before answering, "The fact that you don't know reassures me. It will calm Izumi down too."
Ed opened his mouth to protest the lack of explanation but Sig cut him off.
"It's better that you don't know. As long as you don't understand, we all know you're not in any danger."
Ed pouted and turned the other cheek, Sig chuckling at his immaturity.
Ed jumped when Roy's phone rang and Roy scuttled out of the kitchen wiping his hands on a rag to answer it. After a moment, he hung up and told Al, "You better put in some extra lettuce, I think we have more guests coming."
"Who?" Ed wanted to know.
"Hawkeye's bringing over some reports from our southern officers for me to read and she's got Fuery with her."
"Hmm..." Ed didn't seem overly thrilled. More military people wasn't something to get excited about. As Roy hurried into the kitchen to dig up extra grub, the front door opened and a sweaty, tired Izumi Curtis walked in. Sig was up and by her side in a moment, talking quietly to her so no one else could hear as they went upstairs together.
Ed heard the shower start up and Sig tromped back down the stairs and sat silently on the couch until a knock on the door added to Roy with his hands full of steak, propelled him to get up and open it.
To her credit, Riza only barely flinched when greeted by the giant butcher.
"You must be one of the colonel's guests," she said politely.
"Sig Curtis. Nice to meet you." Sig shook hands with Riza and Kain and then sat back on the couch when Roy hurried out to see what Hawkeye had brought him.
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OK, well, since I didn't want this chapter to be really really really long, I decided I'd cut it into two parts. So the rating didn't really go up... It may not go up anyway. I guess this is rated T, isn't it?