Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Descent ❯ Cookies ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: ZaKai

Descent

Chapter Ten

Cookies

Ed snuggled deeper under the covers as his mind slowly drifted into consciousness. He'd slept great; better than he could remember sleeping in a long time, or perhaps he had never slept that soundly. He wasn't sure. The mattress underneath him seemed to conform to his body and he thought that he could stay there all day, except for the fact that sunlight was shining in his face. He turned over to move out of the shaft of light, then opened his eyes in surprise.

He was alone in the bed.

The… bed…?

The blond shot up to a sitting position, the covers falling into his lap and exposing his bare chest. The bed! Mustang's bed! Oh shit! He thought, the previous night flooding back into his head.

He… and Mustang…

His face flooded with heat as an image of the taller dark haired man, sitting smugly at his desk came to Ed's mind, then switched with an image of how he had looked so tender…

“Oh fuck…” He breathed and put a hand to his mouth. He had dreamed about something like that, fantasized about it even, but to have it really happen…

His mind worked to comprehend it all. Him and Mustang… Mustang and him…. His first time doing…anything… sexual with someone else… and it had been with a guy! Not that he had been having fantasies about girls anyway, but… a guy… and Mustang... The Colonel had even been the one to start it!

He dropped the hand and began chewing on his bottom lip. Now that he thought about it, the man had been acting a bit strange yesterday… He had heard Hawkeye grumbling about the Colonel's drinking habits on occasion, but hadn't really paid much attention. What if Mustang had been drunk, and that was why he had done it?

Mustang surely couldn't have done it because he liked Ed in that way… could he?

No… no way… it wouldn't make sense. Roy Mustang was the worst womanizer in the military and everyone knew it; part of the reason why they never assigned women to him anymore. Only the Lieutenant stayed, and that was because she'd kick Mustang's ass if he ever tried anything on her.

But then… if Mustang had been drunk, he probably wasn't now…

Ed cast a worried glance at the open bedroom door. What would Mustang say? What would he say to Mustang? What would happen? Would the Colonel hate him? Or did they have a chance for a relationship now that the ice had been broken…

The blond alchemist dropped his head roughly into his hands. What the hell was he thinking? Mustang would so hate him… He'd think it was Ed's fault, because of course the Colonel wasn't into guys and Ed was… It would be obvious since he never dated, never even talked about girls…

Tears of frustration and confusion welled up in his eyes. Mustang would probably kick him out now… He had tried hard not to let the man know how he felt… This wasn't his fault at all; it wasn't!

The worst thing was that he couldn't get the previous night out of his head. He moved his hand down below the blankets and began touching himself through the sweats. He'd woken up so fucking hard…

Despite all his worries, part of him just wanted to find the man and see if he wanted another go around. Ed most certainly did. What they had done last night was so much better than any of his fantasies…

Sighing, Ed brought his hand up from the covers and ran it through his hair. I'm so fucked up… He thought then grunted irritably when his fingers got stuck in a tangle.

Ed's head snapped up when he heard a clattering noise from the hall. Nervously, he got out of bed, walked to the doorway and looked out into the short hallway. At the other end, where the bathroom was, Mustang was bending down to pick up a broom.

Embarrassment filled him as he thought of leaving the door for the Colonel to fix. Normally he would have felt satisfaction at seeing the pompous man doing manual labor, but in light of what had happened last night… well… actually… he was kind of enjoying watching Mustang work…

Ed shook his head and decided to stop fooling himself. In truth, he felt thrilled to see the man actually do manual labor. It appealed to his vindictive side, but it was also kind of sexy…

Ed froze when the dark haired man looked up and caught sight of him. What should he do? He wasn't ready to talk about what happened last night… He didn't want to get kicked out just yet…

The older man stood and leaned against the doorway, letting his eyes run up and down Ed's body. The boy felt some of his nervousness slip. He figured if the Colonel regretted what happened last night then he wouldn't be looking at him so…

“Well, it's about time you woke up.” Mustang said, interrupting Ed's thoughts, then grinned. “Sleep well?”

Ed felt his cheeks heat up. Clearing his throat, he swallowed before saying, “Yeah.” He thought he would die of embarrassment when his voice fluctuated as he spoke. No…Mustang didn't seem mad at all… Maybe the other man really did like him…?

Ed flushed even darker.

The Colonel's grin grew bigger before he nodded, looked at the mess on the floor, then back to Ed with a raised eyebrow. The blond fidgeted a bit, but said nothing. After a moment of silence Mustang spoke up again.

“I see you fixed the mirror.”

Ed nodded, then added, “Yeah, it only took a second to do.”

Another moment of silence passed by before the taller man said, “It looks good.”

“Thanks.”

Mustang's fingers drummed quietly on the broom handle for a moment as he stared at the blond with an expectant air.

Never taking his eyes off the Colonel, Ed walked down the short hall until he reached the point where it opened up to the living room. His brain warned him that his next words would not win him any favors from the older man, but couldn't help himself; he just needed some sense of normalcy... “That's quite a mess you have there. It will probably take you a while to clean up, so guess I'll leave you to your work.”

The Colonel's smile faded and a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing. Before Ed could turn to go into the living room, he remembered the words Mustang had whispered to him the night before.

`I think you need to relax... I'll make you forget all your troubles... I want you to just lay back and enjoy the experience...'

And, of course, Ed had enjoyed the experience… enjoyed it very much… And Mustang didn't seem mad at all… Perhaps… was it possible… Ed began to feel guilty for not helping with the door; especially since it was such a little thing and would take him a fraction of the time it would take the Colonel.

Feeling slightly abashed, Ed walked the rest of the way to the Colonel and looked up into the man's face. It was always frustrating; having to look up at people. At his current height, the top of Ed's head was barely higher than Mustang's shoulder.

Ignoring the sudden urge to hit the man just for the offense of being taller, Ed cleared his throat, looked down at the mess, and said softly, “Of course… I could… you know…” He waved his hand vaguely over the burnt wood pieces, then looked nervously back up at Mustang.

The dark haired man smiled. Leaning over, Mustang kissed Ed softly on the cheek, and whispered “Thanks” before moving out of the way.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Al looked out the window that faced the front porch and saw Winry standing, body pressed against the railing that surrounded the veranda. She was gazing down the dirt road that led away from the house. He frowned and looked at the door, wondering if he should go talk to her.

One week.

One week had passed since that stormy night, and in that time they had neither seen, nor heard from Ed.

He sighed, then gently put a hand to his ribs. It hurt to breathe, but otherwise he wasn't feeling too bad. He really wanted to go looking for Ed, but knew that he should wait until he was in better condition.

The sandy haired teen walked toward the door and rested his hand on the knob for a moment before opening it and stepping outside.

The air was cool and fresh. The fierce storm was gone, but large gray clouds still lingered, blocking the sun at intervals throughout the day. A slight breeze blew, and Winry's long blonde hair fluttered behind her.

So beautiful. He thought; transfixed by the golden strands. Al had no doubt that he was falling for his old friend, and falling hard. He wished he knew how to stop it. Winry didn't care for him in the way he wanted her to, and probably never would. It didn't take a genius to see that she loved his brother; that she had loved Ed for a long time.

Al shook his head. He knew he was only in for heartache where Winry was concerned, but knowing didn't change his feelings.

When Al stood next to her near the railing, Winry said in a subdued voice, “You should go back inside. I don't want you to get sick.”

“I feel well enough.”

She shook her head and made a soft sound of exasperation, but said nothing more on the matter.

Al looked at her with sad eyes. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but he wasn't sure exactly what that could be. He worried about his brother, of course he did… but Ed would be alright, and when he was ready, he'd come back.

This, at least, was what Al kept telling himself. He wondered when he'd start believing it…

He took his eyes off her and looked out toward town. He couldn't imagine Winry ever watching for his return the way she did now for Ed's. In a way, it hurt more than his injured ribs. He wished he could say that he wasn't jealous of his brother…

But he was.

He had given it some thought, and he supposed he'd figured out why Ed had been so angry all the time. Maybe Ed knew how Al felt about Winry and thought he was taking her away from him. Al supposed he would be upset too…

He glanced at the young mechanic, then looked away.

“It will be alright, Winry.” Al said hesitantly, in a vain attempt to escape his thoughts.

She sighed at the statement, then frowned. “It's been a week Al… where could he have gone… ?”

Al could think of plenty of places his brother could have gone, but didn't say anything. If Ed didn't turn up soon, he would make some phone calls.

A cloud moved in the sun's path and the world around them became a bit darker.

“It will be fine. Don't worry about it. He'll come back.” Al tried to reassure her again. He hated to see her sad.

“But Al… What if he doesn't come back? What then? Who will fix his automail when it breaks or adjust it if he gets taller?”

The alchemist's eyebrows knit together as he tried to think of an appropriate response. “It will be fine, Winry.” He said again. “Even if he doesn't come back for a while, there's plenty of automail mechanics in the world, he could go to one of those.”

Al stopped talking when she turned her face to him. She wore a look of hurt, unbelief. Then, without warning, she ran to the door, yanked it open and yelled, “You're such a JERK Alphonse!” before stalking through the door and slamming it shut behind her.

What did I say? He thought as he stared in confusion at the closed door.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

“You going to lay around all day?”

Ed looked up irritably from the alchemy book he was reading. Who cared if he read all day? The Colonel was leaning against the wall staring at him. The teen's eyes wandered over the man appreciatively. Mustang was wearing a dark red button up shirt with long sleeves, which was tucked into black slacks. Combined with his black hair and eyes, the Colonel looked irresistibly attractive.

“I've never seen you wear red before.” Ed said, dodging the question.

Mustang raised an eyebrow. “That a complement?”

“No.” Ed growled testily and looked back at the book. He heard the other man sigh and walk toward him. Moments later the book was lifted from his hands.

“Hey!” He yelled, and looked up at the Colonel from where he was laying on the couch.

“You didn't answer my question.”

Ed made a sound of exasperation then mumbled, “What's the big deal if I lay around all day or not? There's nothing else to do.” Unless you have some... ideas... Ed thought hopefully.

“I need to go pick up a few things from the store. You can come with me if you want.”

The short alchemist frowned in disappointment. He had hoped that perhaps Mustang might have something more… exciting… in mind for spending the day. He sat up and snatched the book from the other man's hands, then flopped back down on the couch. He did kind of what to go, but taking the Colonel up on his offer meant they'd either spend the time mostly in silence or Mustang would try to talk to him… he couldn't decide which would be more uncomfortable.

The older man had been trying to get Ed into a conversation all day, but the short alchemist was afraid of what that would bring… He had been successful in dodging any attempts for real conversation thus far, but he didn't know how long that would last. He knew the Colonel wanted to know what was going on, and perhaps he had a right to know… but Ed just couldn't tell him… It was all just too much… He felt too ashamed…

Al...

Besides, he had already said too much last night…

Slamming the book shut, Ed pressed it close to his chest as he turned over onto his side; back toward the Colonel.

“No thanks. I think I'm going to take a nap. Besides, it's still stormy. I think I've had enough rain for now.”

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Roy looked into the basket he was carrying. Though he wasn't buying much, it was more than usual. Since he rarely ate at home, he usually didn't need to get much at the store; however, since Ed was staying with him, he felt that maybe he should buy a bit more. Normally that would be the safest policy, but the teen had hardly eaten anything since Roy had taken him in.

He tried to think if there was any other food he should pick up. When he felt satisfied that he had gotten everything, Roy headed over to the non-food section; looking around as he went. The market was almost deserted because of the storm outside. That was perfect for Roy, who was feeling very conspicuous at the moment.

When he reached the section he wanted, he looked around again, but saw no one. It wasn't as if he'd never bought stuff like this before. Usually when he did, he made a point to buy it when there were a lot of people shopping; it added to his playboy image. Today though, he felt as if everyone would know that what he was buying wouldn't be used with a woman.

Looking at the bottles on the shelf he grabbed one of the large ones and stuffed it under a loaf of bread. After a second thought, he stuffed another bottle under the bread with the first one. Where lube was concerned, more was never a bad thing. Looking over at the condoms, he was a little more hesitant. Roy didn't know how far things would go with Ed, and he wanted to be prepared, just in case, but he'd never cared for condoms. He was only considering them because he thought Ed might feel more at ease with one.

Not that Ed has to worry about wearing one himself. They don't have any his size. Roy thought and snickered quietly. The thought was rude, and completely untrue. It was true that Ed wasn't exactly `blessed' in that area, but considering the alchemist's height and body size, the proportions seemed right.

Roy picked up a box and looked it over; his good humor evaporating. The only time he'd ever used condoms was when he'd been with rentboys; he'd never used them with Maes. The thought of using protection with Ed almost seemed as if he was lowering the young alchemist to the status of a prostitute. Of course, it wasn't as if Roy would catch something from the blond, and thanks to the bi-yearly health exams the military required, Roy knew that he was clean.

Ed probably wouldn't care about condoms, but.... He tapped his finger on the box while trying to decide, then shoving the box under the bread with the lube, quickly walked toward the casher. Better to be prepared.

As he walked out of the aisle a voice called to him and he froze.

“Colonel.”

He looked over and saw Lieutenant Hawkeye walking toward him, basket in hand.

“Lieutenant, what brings you out on this miserable day?” He asked pleasantly, silently glad she hadn't seen him down the other aisle.

In response, she lifted the basket up for him to see. It contained a small bag of dog food, doggy treats, and a box of cookies. “Black Hayate is just about out of food, and I didn't want to chance running out during the week.”

Roy grinned and said, “I didn't know dogs ate cookies.”

She smiled politely at his lame joke and pointed to the register. “I was just about to check out.”

He nodded. “Me too.”

They talked idly about the strange eating habits of dogs while she paid for her stuff and by the time the casher began ringing up his items he had forgotten about the lube and condoms until they were pulled out.

He turned his attention to his wallet, taking a longer amount of time than usual to pull out his money. It's no big deal. He told himself. She's not going to think anything of it. Not with my reputation. She's smart, but not that smart...

“So, you and Edward have been getting along alright then.” She said, completely changing the subject. It didn't sound like a question, the way she said it…

Just an innocent question. She doesn't know...

“Yeah, we've been getting along alright.” He said, not looking at her.

“Really?” She asked in a flat tone.

He handed the money to the casher. “Yeah, well… we've gotten along alright, but…” He shook his head. Roy didn't understand what was going on with his subordinate. Ed wouldn't carry on a real conversation with him, even after what had happened last night, and his mood swings were worse than a woman's.

“You want to talk about it?” Hawkeye offered in a tone that she only used when she was talking to him as a friend, not a subordinate.

Roy took his change, thanked the casher and picked up his bag. He thought on her offer for a moment. Did he want to talk about it? His First Lieutenant often had great insight on things, but she also had a knack for picking up on stuff you didn't want her to.

They walked to the door of the store in silence. When he got a look outside he groaned inwardly. The rain had started up again, and it was coming down in full force. Sighing, he pointed to the bar across the street.

“How about a drink?” He asked her.

She looked hesitant, but said, “Sure. One drink sounds good to me.”

He felt a flash of irritation at what she said, as if she were implying that he had some sort of drinking problem. Maybe he used to but not anymore…

Thanks to:

MasamuneReforged for being my beta.

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