Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Mask ❯ Behind the Mask ( Chapter 1 )

Behind The Mask

 

 

How the hell do I get dragged into people's stupid ideas?

 

I ask myself that question nearly every day. But mostly now; I am leaning against a wall in Breda's apartment, into which he has managed to stuff a hundred people like sardines.

 

And why am I here now? Hell if I know. Something about losing a bet six months and ten days ago.

 

Yet, for some odd reason, I don't remember that bet.

 

Huh. Figures.

 

So, anyway, I was here, up against the wall and steadfastly refusing to dance. Why? Because I don't dance. Not since I was a kid and took lessons.

 

“Hey, Colonel,” Breda calls. “Come dance.”

 

“No.”

 

“Please?”

 

“No, Breda.”

 

Same old me.

 

O…O

 

I slipped, for the most part unnoticed, through the crowd at Breda's apartment. Too many people for his tiny living space. And way too much noise.

 

Roy wouldn't be enjoying this at all, I knew. Big crowds and dancing. Two things he hates. And yet the man wants to be Fuhrer. If that's not damn ironic, I don't know what is.

 

And I find him just where I expect him to be- leaning against a wall, looking… depressed; Breda is shouting something about dancing, and he is refusing. Loudly.

 

“Damn it, Breda! I'm not dancing!” he yells.

 

Heh. Same old Colonel.

 

O…O

 

“Excuse me, Sir?” A quiet voice says to my left. I look over to see what I assume to be a girl, dressed in off-white slacks, a simple long-sleeved black dress shirt, and her hands are clothed in black gloves, as far as I can see; Breda and his hooligan minions have dimmed the lights. Her face is hidden by a simple but elegant red and black mask. She's short, too. I'd have to introduce her to Edward- well, no, because then he might fall in love, and I would never have a chance. And that wouldn't be good for my psyche.

 

“What is it, Miss?” For some reason, she seems put off by this. “Miss?”

 

“Um… would you like to dance?” For some reason, I expect to hear a `Colonel Bastard' on the end of that. Damn fantasies were invading reality.

 

But could I refuse? She was nicely built (not much up top, though), and it wasn't like I only liked men. (Well, just the one man, but that's beside the point.)

 

“Sure.” I shrugged and took her hand and lead her onto the dance floor, ignoring cheers from Breda and the start of a slow song that cut abruptly into the current song. Damn Breda and his minions.

 

I turned the girl and swung her into my arms, and she immediately picked up on my rhythm, the way I danced. She was good. Maybe better than I was.

 

O…O

 

He was good. Hell of a dancer. It was so easy to follow his movements; now I silently thanked Teacher for making me take dancing lessons.

 

Of course, he also thought he was dancing with a random girl, but maybe that had been my intention from the start. Maybe. Even now, though I had no intention of telling him who I was. It wasn't like he reciprocated anything I felt.

 

“You're great,” he murmurs, mouth near my ear. Good thing the mask covers my entire face- I think I just actually blushed. Damned teenage hormones.

 

“Thanks,” I answer softly. “You are too.”

 

He smiles, I think (stupid Breda and his party-and-beer-happy minions have the lights dimmed so damn low), and pulls me a little closer. Surprising myself, I don't tense at all, and just lean against him, enjoying the heat radiating off him. This was what I wanted.

 

If only he knew it was me.

 

O…O

 

Something about this girl was so… familiar. I couldn't place it. Maybe it was her hair- it shone the way Edward's always did.

 

The passage of time went unnoticed as we danced. I dipped her a couple times, again not reacting to cheers from the Minion Gallery.

 

And, like all cheesy movies, the song ended much too quickly. I release her from my arms and take her right hand, barely acknowledging the slightly different feel to it, bowing and kissing it lightly. “It was a pleasure to dance with you.”

 

“You too,” she smiles, withdrawing her hand. I catch it again.

 

“What's your name?”

 

Her breath catches loudly in her throat. “I…”

 

O…O

 

My name? Shit, I didn't think of that. I'm not very good at thinking ahead. Obviously.

 

“I… I can't tell you.” Wow. That was smart.

 

He raises an eyebrow. “You can't tell me?”

 

“No.” I take my hand back. “I can't.” Then I run.

 

O…O

 

She can't tell me? What the hell was with that?

 

My ribs ache as I run after her. She's so damn fast! Reminds me of something… someone else.

 

Then the half-dead lightbulb goes off. How the hell could I have been so stupid?! Everything about the… girl… screams `Fullmetal!' at the top of it's frickin' lungs!

 

“Edward!” I yell. He slows, and turns; his leg catches on a broken piece of metal sticking out of a nearby car, and he crashes to the ground. “Ed!” I slide to a stop beside him. He's on the ground, pants leg torn open; I can see his automail shining through. His mask, miraculously, is still on. “Why did you run?”

 

O…O

 

Why did I run?

 

“Why do you think, Colonel Bastard?” I spit. “I can't have you knowing that I'm gay and have had a crush on your for almost a year.” I slap my hand over my mouth. See? I lack the ability to think ahead. Also the ability to control my mouth.

 

His mouth is hanging open. “You love me?”

 

I look down, then stand. “Why would you care?” I turn to walk away, but a hand catches me and pulls me into warm arms, the same ones I was dancing in not so long ago.

 

“I don't know, Ed,” he murmurs. “I don't know why I care, but I do. So, so much.” I try to push away from him, but my body isn't listening. Roy smiles and reaches down, gently removing the mask from my face.

 

I stare up at him, feeling completely exposed. But he just smiles, and cups my cheek with his hand.

 

O…O

 

And then we're kissing, and I realize that it's something I've wanted for a long time.

 

O…O

 

Something I've needed.

 

O…O

 

Something I never thought I'd have.

 

O…O

 

The one thing that I'd thought was impossible to get.

 

O…O

 

But I do.

 

O…O

 

But I did.

 

O…O

 

I love you.

 

O…O

 

They've found their happy ending. The two make their way back to Roy's house, Ed's arm wrapped around Roy's waist, the other's around his own shoulders. There is an ease about which they talk and laugh with one another, a lightness about the way they are so close. It would be obvious to any simple observer how in love they are. And when they reach Roy's house, neither realize that they've left behind what helped put them together.

 

 

Because on the sidewalk outside Breda's apartment lay a simple, but elegant, red and black mask.