Roy hurried down the street, turning his head left and right and scanning the area in a frantic search for the young blond. He had known that Edward was fast, but he honestly didn't think he would be that fast!
Where in the world could the pipsqueak have gone off to? And more importantly, why did he leave in the first place?
Roy had been shocked when Edward had suddenly lost it, claiming to be sick of him and expressing the need to get away from him. He would be lying if he said he was not a little bit hurt by Ed's outburst. He wasn't that horrible to be around, was he? He honestly didn't think so; in fact, he had been pretty damn nice to the kid!
How exactly was he messing with the kid's head? What had he done wrong?
Mustang almost stopped in his tracks. What had he done wrong? Fullmetal was at fault for being so difficult, not him! Didn't the kid see that he was trying to help? In his current state, he could easily be killedif he was left alone!
Mustang's stomach tossed and turned painfully. He was responsible for Edward right now, but how could he possibly protect him if he didn't even know where he was? He had to find Edward, and fast!
Roy turned to the nearest person. "Excuse me!"
The middle-aged woman stopped to look at Roy. A small girl clutched her hand tightly, staring up at Roy with wide green eyes.
"Can I help you Sir?"
"Yes, I'm looking for a teenage boy. He has blond hair and golden eyes. Right now he's wearing a black jacket and black trousers. He might have run past you earlier looking a bit distressed. Have you seen him?"
The woman regarded him with something like approval in her eyes. "Why, yes!" she said. "He was sitting on a wall back there when I walked past him. He might still be there."
"Thank-you so much, Madam!"
With barely another glance at the woman and her child, Roy took off down the street, anxious to find Edward.
He came to a brick wall soon enough, but to his dismay, there was no one sitting on it. Edward must've moved on already; he had missed him! Roy stopped to catch his breath and leaned against the wall, holding a stitch in his side.
"Dammit Fullmetal!" he said, none too quietly. People swerved around him and mothers shot him dirty looks, but he didn't care. "Edward," he said more quietly, "where are you?"
"Colonel, I'm here!"
Roy's head snapped up and he glanced around frantically. That was definitely Edward, but where was he?
"I'm behind the wall, Colonel. Hurry!"
Ah.
Mustang stood on the tips of his toes and used his arms to pull himself up and drape himself over the wall. He peered down to see a most unusual sight. In any other situation, he would've laughed and snapped a picture.
Edward was on the ground in a very awkward, uncomfortable looking position. He looked like he had gotten stuck in the middle of doing a summersault. His butt was sticking up in the air and his back wasn't even touching the ground! It looked like most of his weight was on his neck too, which must've been painful.
Roy quickly brought the rest of himself up and over the wall, carefully landing beside his charge. He grabbed Ed's legs and lifted them up, setting the teen into a more comfortable, natural position. Edward groaned in relief as his back touched the ground and his neck straightened out.
Roy looked down at the teen, who was panting slightly with his eyes closed. "Can you move?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"No." Edward turned his head away from Mustang, wincing as he moved his abused neck. "Man, my back is just killing me!"
Mustang felt a stab of shame. He had let Ed get out of his sight for a short while, and look what had happened to him! So far, every time Ed's mobility disappeared, Roy hadn't been there for him.
What kind of guardian did that make him?
"See what happens when you just run off, Edward?" Roy let his worry and shame turn into anger as he rounded on the boy. "You can't be left alone for one second! So don't act childish and just cooperate with me!"
Edward didn't say anything, so Mustang took his silence as an agreement.
"I'm going to lift you up now," he said, moving closer to the blond. "We're going back to my house."
"No way in hell are you going to carry me through the streets like a baby!" Ed snapped his head back towards Mustang and glared at him with such intensity that any lesser man would've faltered.
Mustang was unfazed though as he put an arm beneath Edward's knees and one behind his back. He lifted Ed off the ground in one fluid movement, ignoring the teen's protests. Roy held Ed in such a way so that his head was resting on Mustang's shoulder. Being carried bridal style in public must've been embarrassing, and Roy felt a stab of sympathy for the boy.
"Just close your eyes Edward," he said, trying to be comforting. "We'll be home before you know it." He stepped out from behind the wall and started walking down the street, ignoring the curious stares from passer-bys.
Mustang opened the door awkwardly with Edward in his arms and closed it with his foot. The smell of something burning assaulted his nostrils immediately.
"SHIT, THE COOKIES!"
He ran to the living room and quickly deposited Ed on the couch, before dashing into the kitchen, swiping the oven mitts off the floor as he went. The cookies were nothing more than solid, smoking black lumps. The smell of burnt cookie hung all over the first floor.
"Are they edible?" Edward called from the living room.
"What do you think?" Mustang yelled back. Was the kid serious? They were ruined without a doubt! Cookies often lasted for no more than ten minutes in the oven, and they had been in for nearly thirty . . .
Mustang went around the house opening windows, and then proceeded to scrape the mess off of the baking tray and into the garbage. He had a hell of a hard time accomplishing the second task.
Mustang walked into the living room after setting the kitchen in order. Edward was still in the exact same position on the couch (no surprise there). Mustang sat down on the couch across from him and leaned back. He waited.
Edward broke first, just as Roy knew he would.
"Will you just hurry up and say something already?!"
"Say what, Fullmetal?" Roy replied in a distant tone. He was sure Edward would've cringed if he had been able to move.
"Say that I'm an idiot! Tell me how stupid I am and how I always mess things up for other people!"
Roy was a little bit surprised. He wouldn't go so far as to call Ed an idiot, though he did make some rash decisions sometimes. And he definitely wouldn't say that Ed messed things up for other people, at least not intentionally.
Mustang scrutinized the boy in front of him. He had turned his head into the fabric of the couch, hiding his face from Mustang's searching gaze. What had caused the kid to snap at him earlier? How in the world was he messing with Edward's head? Everything he did was perfectly reasonable to keep him safe and distracted from what was going on!
Oh.
Oh.
He really was an inconsiderate bastard. Edward had no clue what was going on. He was being lied to and kept in the dark. He was away from his brother and stuck with someone that he hated. The teen was in the perfect environment and situation to make him confused and stressed.
"Edward, look at me."
Ed refused to turn his head. He gave no indication that he had heard Mustang at all. Roy stood up and walked around the coffee table to get to Ed. He kneeled down beside him (maybe he should put a stool there to sit on or something) and grabbed Edward's head.
"Let go of me! Don't touch me!"
Roy really didn't want to invade the boy's personal space, but he really needed Edward to be looking him in the eyes when he said this.
Light fiery eyes met dark cool ones, and Mustang started speaking without hesitation. "Edward, you are not an idiot; you're a genius that just does stupid things sometimes. And you don't mess things up for other people; you're always doing the best you can to help them!"
"Just shut up!" Edward screwed his eyes shut and started shaking his head violently, trying to turn it to the side again. "Lies! They're all just lies! Don't lie to try and make me feel better! Just act like the bastard you are and leave me alone!"
Roy drew back as if he had been burned. Was this kid for real? Even after everything he had done to make him feel welcome, taking him to fairs, baking cookies, even carrying him home, the kid still refused to stop antagonizing him!
What could he do to make Ed trust him?
L.Q: Sorry guys, but this was the best I could do.
Lest: I blame that jazz band camp you signed up for; five hours a day for five days in a row is just too much.
L.Q: Please, don't remind me; my mouth still hurts. Anyways, I actually had to do some 'research' for this chapter for you guys.
Lest: Yup, she went into the 'very awkward, uncomfortable looking position' that Ed was in.
L.Q: During my first attempt I ended up doing a summersault. It would've been fine, but since I started in the middle of my bed, I ended up landing on the end of my bed frame. It hurt my back a lot, half of my body was dangling off my bed and the frame was almost cutting me in half!
Lest: Don't be dramatic!
L.Q: During my other attempts to balance in that position, I was seriously worrying that my neck might break. And curving your back like that with no support is seriously uncomfortable and painful. I was finally able to stay in that position for like, one second, before saying "well, that's good enough for me! If Eren and Reiner can do it so effortlessly in the manga volumes of Attack On Titan after Annie flips them during training, then I'm sure Ed can do it too!" But seriously guys, it was so hard to even get in that position; I don't recommend trying it. My back was aching while I typed this chapter.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup (250mL) Butter (or hard margarine) softened
1 cup (250mL) Brown sugar, packed
½ cup (125mL) Granulated sugar
2 Large eggs
2 tsp. (10mL) Vanilla
2 ¼ cups (550mL) All-purpose flour
1 tsp. (5mL) Baking soda
1 tsp. (5mL) Salt
1 cup (250mL) chocolate chips
Cream butter and both sugars together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla.
Add flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) in oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 4 dozen.
Lest: Just in case you're interested.
L.Q: Sorry for the short-ish chapter. I hope you guys will review anyway!