Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Descent ❯ Havoc ( Chapter 19 )

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Descent

 

Chapter Nineteen

 

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Havoc

 

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Ed scanned over the report he had been writing and corrected a few grammatical and spelling errors. The research he'd been assigned to do was relatively easy and it hadn't taken very long to compile the information into something usable for someone not familiar with the subject.

 

That person would be Roy Mustang, who had assigned him this job for the sole purpose of keeping him in sight. At first Ed had been irritated at that, having been used to traveling around so much, but now he thought it wasn't too bad. He was using this time to really decide what he was going to do about staying in the military. Ed didn't want to be involved in a war, but he didn't want to leave Mustang's side either…

 

It was a tough decision.

 

The military looked down on relationships between officers and their subordinates. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, them being of the same sex complicated matters even further. There were plenty of people who were against such unions, and had no problems voicing their opinions. Sometimes those opinions could be physically harmful… Ed didn't want to make problems for Mustang, and leaving the ranks of the State Alchemists would definitely make their relationship easier to live with.

 

However, if the colonel got called off to war, Ed wouldn't be able to stay with him, and the blond wasn't sure he wanted to give that up so quickly. If the dark haired man was going into a dangerous situation, Ed wanted to be there with him.

 

Satisfied with his work, Ed stuffed the papers into a folder and headed toward Mustangs office. As he walked down the hall, Ed thought how strange it was to not have to think about his next lead on the stone. He didn't need to worry about how he was going to get Al's body back. There was no next place he needed to go; no new research journal to find. Everything was just so fucking peaceful.

 

He just came to work, did research and maybe a few other things here and there, and that was it. Ed actually liked doing research too, that was the kicker. He'd gone above and beyond all the lame ass assignments Mustang had given him and done a damn thorough job.

 

The young alchemist grinned.

 

The colonel had even complimented him a few times on how he'd done, and Ed knew it wasn't just because they were playing nookie with each other in their spare time. He had seen it in the man's eyes that he was truly impressed with how good of a job Ed had done.

 

“Yo. Ed.”

 

Ed stopped and turned around to see Breda catching up to him, holding a brown paper sack in one arm.

 

“Hey,” the blond answered back eyeing the sack. Something smelled really good… The second lieutenant grinned and dug out something wrapped in paper and tossed it to Ed. He sniffed it and smiled.

 

A hot dog.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Yeah sure, so where are you headed?” the redheaded man asked as they both began walking down the hall together.

 

“The colonel's office. I've got to hand in this research summery.”

 

Breda nodded. “Me too, I've got to go in and make my weekly report. So you hear about that new place that opened up on 65th street?”

 

“Nope. What kind of food do they serve?” Ed asked as he unwrapped the still warm hot dog, and took a bite. He didn't need to be told that it was some sort of restaurant. That was just Breda's thing. If he'd been talking to Havoc, Ed would have asked what kind of club it was. The blond had a pretty good idea of what his co-workers liked and the type of places they frequented.

 

He hadn't known before, but had started to take notice since he'd been stuck doing office type work. Everyday he felt more like a part of the team and in a way it scared him. He had never wanted to be a part of the team before, but he couldn't help but enjoy the company of the other officers.

 

Ed continued to munch on his snack while he listened to Breda tell him all about the food choices the new eatery served as they made their way to Mustang's office.

 

As they neared the office door the sounds of shouts made them stop their friendly chat. They looked at each other and walked quickly to the closed door. Ed looked at Breda who shrugged and turned his attention to the office. The fact that they could actually hear murmuring voices inside meant that whoever was in there was talking pretty loud.

 

Suddenly, loud and clear they heard, “I'm telling you this is a bad idea! I'm totally against it!”

 

The two soldiers looked at each other. The owner of the voice was obviously Havoc.

 

There was the sound of more murmuring then, “No! You listen to me, you son of a bitch…”

 

“Damn… I'd love to know what's going on in there right now…” Breda murmured, leaning against the wall opposite the door. Ed nodded and did the same. More shouting could be heard, but this time it was more than one person.

 

“Go to hell!”

 

“Do you want to be court-marshaled lieutenant?” This one belonged to Mustang.

 

“I don't really care, so why don't you just…”

 

Suddenly a gunshot sounded and there was quiet.

 

“Well, I guess we know who is in there, if not what they're talking about.”

 

Ed nodded.

 

There was no more shouting, and no more murmuring, but a few minutes later a very pissed off Jean Havoc was stalking through the door. Neither Breda nor Ed said anything to the tall man as he stomped off down the hall.

 

The red haired man looked down at Ed and said, “So… you wanna go first?”

 

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

 

“So, colonel… it true that Ed's been living with you?” Breda asked after all the official business was finished.

 

Roy nodded. “That's right. Been three weeks today. Why do you ask?”

 

“Oh well, you know it's just a bit odd that's all,” the man said with a raised eyebrow. “Why'd you decide to let him stay at your place?”

 

Roy shrugged and said, “It's not that strange I think.”

 

He and Ed had worked out a story for anyone nosy enough to ask about their current housing arrangement, and so far it had worked rather nicely. “You remember that big storm three weeks ago right?”

 

Breda nodded and Roy continued.

 

“Well, Hawkeye was giving me a ride home and we actually passed him out on the road. The kid was soaked through, so I took him back to my place. Turned out he was in pretty bad shape from some fight he'd had with Alphonse.” After much thought on it, Ed had agreed to letting this be part of the story.

 

“Oh! So that's why he didn't want his brother to know where he was?”

 

Roy nodded and continued. “I won't go into the details. If you want them go talk to him, but basically he didn't want to go back to the dorms since that's where he and Al always stayed, so I offered to let him take the couch. I've gotten a good deal out of this. Since he hardly owns anything he doesn't take up much space, and since he is usually reading or something like that, I don't really see or hear that much of him. All that and I only have to pay half the rent I was before he came.”

 

The red headed man started laughing. “You're charging him rent for the couch?”

 

“Of course,” Roy said, grinning. “Equivalent exchange. He pays for half the rent, half the utilities, half for the cleaning lady, and of course half for the food. I should probably charge him more since he eats like there's no tomorrow…”

 

“Oh man! Talk about totally taking advantage of someone's wallet,” Breda chortled.

 

“I thought for sure he'd turn it down and decide he'd rather be at the dorms anyway. But he didn't, so hey, why not? Besides, it's not like the shrimp has anything else to spend his money on, and I can make sure he gets to work on time.”

 

Breda nodded. “True, true. What about when you wanna bring home a chick or something?”

 

Roy grinned. “Oh please, you don't think I take them back to my house do you? I don't want them knowing where I live. That's what motels, or their place is for.” He shrugged. “Besides, my evaluation is coming up in a couple of months, so I've been cutting back on the night life.”

 

“I've noticed that you've been working late the past six or seven weeks. You finally decide to buckle down and do some serious ass kissing?”

 

Laughing, Roy said, “Yeah, you could say that.”

 

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

 

“Someone get that!” Winry yelled. She was working and didn't want to be disrupted. But when the knock on the front door came again, the blonde sighed, put her tools down, and headed toward the door. Scowling, she yanked the front door open. Standing at the door was the man from the weekend before.

 

“Good afternoon Ms. Rockbell,” he said pleasantly, if a bit nervously as well.

 

She knew it was impolite, but she said nothing, only looked at him. The mechanic didn't want to let him in, didn't want to talk to him. Why couldn't he just leave them alone? Al had already said he wasn't interested…

 

“Okay…” he said after a moment of uncomfortable silence had passed. “I know you don't like me, but would you please let me talk to Alphonse one more time?”

 

Let him talk to Al? No way. She wasn't letting the man near Al. “He already told you he isn't interested! He isn't like you!” Winry snapped. “He hates fighting! He's too kind, too gentle, for your war!”

 

The man looked at her sadly. “It isn't my war.”

 

“You people started it.”

 

“No…” he whispered. “They started it.” When Winry's brow crinkled in confusion he went on. “You see, during the Ishbal rebellion, the army came through our towns and cities. They took advantage of everyone. Even though we weren't the enemy, we were beaten down into submission. Many lives were destroyed because of them, and even now they continue to treat us like scum. Don't think that just because you live in the north it can't happen here too. I don't want to fight. I don't like it. I just want to live in peace too.”

 

Roland swallowed hard and dug a picture out of his pocket. “You see?” he said, and she could hear the emotion in his voice. “You see here? This is my wife. These are my children. I fight for them. I fight for what remains of my family. During the last war, I lost two of my little ones to the army. They were responsible for their deaths. I… I was away and all but my youngest two were at my sister's house. They were ill so my wife was taking care of them.”

 

He stopped as his voice became shaky. After swallowing a few times, he continued in a whisper, “When I came home… everything was a mess. My wife… my wife… she was stripped and tied down… they had beaten her and…” He stopped again, then picked up in a different spot. “The two little ones had been exposed to the cold air for too long and they only got worse. They died within a few days…”

 

He pointed at one of the children in the picture.

 

“This one isn't mine,” the man said, his voice full of meaning. “But I still love him. It wasn't his fault…”

 

Winry looked away, feeling slightly ashamed of her behavior.

 

“Please. At least let me talk to him. I won't try to convince him to leave. He obviously feels strongly against it because of his brother… and because of you.”

 

Winry looked up. Because of her?

 

“I will respect that,” Roland continued. “I just have a few questions for him. Just questions. Please.”

 

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

 

Ed found Jean Havoc sitting beneath a tree, staring off at nothing. The ground beside him was littered with cigarette butts, but the man still had half a pack lying on his lap.

 

“Hey,” Ed said and tossed the man a wrapped hot dog.

 

“Hey chief…” Havoc said, sounding despondent. The man looked scruffy and depressed.

 

The short alchemist wasn't sure if he should stay and ask the man what had happened or not, but curiosity got the better of him and he said, “So what was all that with Mustang?”

 

The tall man looked at him with a flat gaze, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and said, “Why didn't you want to talk to your brother the other day?”

 

Okay then... perhaps that wasn't the best thing to ask... Ed thought, then said, “Equivalent exchange, huh?”

 

“That's right.”

 

Ed fidgeted. A week ago that question would have sent him into a state of panic, but now it just made him sad, uncomfortable and guilt ridden. He sighed. “We just had a fight. That's all.”

 

Havoc nodded. “Same with me and the boss; we just had a fight. That's all.”

 

The short teen looked dolefully down at the smoking man. “You know that shiner I had for a while? Al gave that to me.”

 

“Oh yeah? Would never have pegged him to do that. What'd you give him?”

 

Ed exhaled sharply, walked over to the tree and sat down beside Havoc. “I don't know… Probably a few bruised ribs, or a few broken ones…”

 

“You don't know?”

 

The teen looked down and shook his head. “I ran out after the fight. We haven't talked since.”

 

“Hmm. I see. So the colonel sure covered your ass that day, huh?”

 

Ed nodded. “Yeah, but he was pretty pissed after that.” The blond looked over at the second lieutenant and said. “Why do you smoke those things?” He wanted to turn the conversation away from him and Mustang.

 

Havoc sighed and put out the one he had just finished before flicking it away with his middle finger. “Helps calm me down,” he said, then fished another one out of the pack.

 

“Really?” Ed asked. “How?”

 

“Just does. When I feel jittery or anxious, I have one and it just calms me down. It relaxes me. I don't know what else to say.”

 

“Oh…” Ed eyed the half empty pack with a bit of interest. If it were true, something like that might be useful to him. Ever since the fight with Al, no… even before that… since he'd woken up from the coma, he'd always seemed to be on edge… “Can I… can I try one?”

 

The older man's eyes narrowed slightly and eyed Ed up and down. Havoc seemed to be considering something, but then he looked to have decided on whatever he was thinking. He fished a smoke from the pack and handed it to the blond.

 

“What was that look for?” Ed asked, taking the cigarette and examining it.

 

Havoc shrugged. “I forgot for a minute that you're a legal adult now. You could just go to the store and buy them if you wanted.”

 

Ed nodded, and when he put the cigarette in his mouth, Havoc lit it with his lighter. The teen breathed in, and immediately began coughing at the burning sensation in his throat. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked at it for a moment before glaring at the second lieutenant.

 

Havoc chuckled and said, “Sorry. I guess I should have warned you that it takes a little time before you get used to it.”

 

“I guess…” Ed muttered irritably, then leaned against the tree and took another drag off the cigarette before coughing again.

 

For a few moments neither of them spoke, then Havoc said, “My family is in the east.” Ed, still trying to have his first smoke without coughing up a lung, looked at the man. “I'm really worried about them. I don't want them to get hurt. I just don't want… anyone… to get hurt…”

 

He took a drag, then continued, “Are we in the right here chief? I just don't know. I'd like to believe that our military is doing the right thing, taking down this new government, but I just don't know. I mean… they just want to govern themselves. They just want to be left alone. I can understand that, I grew up there. The colonel should understand that too since he's from the east as well(1)… but… I don't know. I just don't know…”

 

The second lieutenant fell silent and Ed finally finished the cigarette. He felt lightheaded, and a bit nauseated, but he did feel relaxed. Of course there was the bad taste in his mouth and the slight burning in his throat and chest to counter that...

 

“Can I have another one?” Ed croaked. He didn't want to seem like a wuss or anything.

 

Havoc raised an eyebrow. “A bit early to turn into a chain smoker isn't it?”

 

Ed blushed. “For later, I mean…” He was glad that he wouldn't need to smoke another one right now to prove himself. After all, Havoc smoked one right after the other like it was nothing, but Ed didn't think he could handle another at the moment.

 

Sighing, the tall man tossed the pack and the lighter into Ed's lap. “Sure. Take the rest of them.”

 

“What? Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah,” the lieutenant said, getting to his feet. “I've got a whole carton here at work and a few lighters too. You can spot me some later to make up for it.”

 

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

 

Winry looked up as Al flopped down beside her on the work bench and laid his forehead on the table. She put down the screwdriver and turned her body so that she was facing him. The sandy haired teen's clothing was speckled with water droplets.

 

“Is the weather bad out there?”

 

He shook his head against the wood of the table. “It will be soon though.”

 

She nodded then said, “You look tired…”

 

He sighed. “Yeah, I guess I am.” After a moment he turned his head toward her and let his eyes move over her face. His cheeks turned a light pink, but he didn't look away.

 

The blonde had noticed that he'd been doing that a lot recently; looking at her and blushing. Sometimes she thought that he looked like a boy caught taking a cooking from the cookie jar. It was so cute!

 

“What did he say?”

 

“Not much… He wanted me to talk about Ed, but I just didn't feel right about it. I wouldn't want them to be able to use anything I said against him.”

 

“Did he try to get you to join them again?” she asked nervously. The man had said he wouldn't but…

 

The tall teen shook his head and smiled slightly before whispering, “No. No he didn't.”

 

The blonde mechanic exhaled in relief.

 

“So what's for dinner tonight?” Al asked, changing the subject.

 

Winry shook her head. “I don't know. It's granny's turn tonight.”

 

“Oh, then it will be edible.”

 

Glaring, she growled, “What's that supposed to mean?”

 

Chuckling, Al said, “It means that it will be edible. When you cook it isn't just edible. It's better than edible. It's delicious.”

 

Blushing slightly, she shook her head at another one of his corny, but sweet, lines. “Al…” she murmured with a smile she couldn't hold back, then picked up the screwdriver and got back to work.

 

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

 

Roy looked down at the document in his hand with a sick feeling in his stomach. It was official. Troops were being sent out to the north and to the south to enforce marshal law. Orders were also given for the public execution of anyone trying to spread the word of the new government.

 

It was happening.

 

This was only the beginning, but it was happening.

 

The Flame Alchemist dropped his head into his hands and muttered, “I really need a drink…”

 

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1- From the manga

 

Thanks to:

MasamuneReforged for being my beta.

 

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Well, this was an interesting chapter to write. I don't smoke, nor have I ever tried, so I had to ask several people about their experiences. I also read some `first time' stories on a few sites. There were some that were different, but in the end, I decided to write Ed's first smoke that way.

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PLEASE REVIEW! Remember, insanely busy authors will find time to write if they know people are waiting on them.