Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Descent ❯ Izumi ( Chapter 21 )

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Descent

 

Chapter Twenty One

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Izumi

 

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Ed walked into the bedroom and scowled when he saw the colonel was still sleeping. Sighing, Ed shook his head and reached down to pick some clothes off the floor. They'd gone clothes shopping for Ed on Saturday and he'd picked out a pair of black slacks, a white button up shirt, and a black button up shirt.(1)

 

The teenager sniffed the pants, then shrugged. As long as they smelled clean, that's what mattered… Letting the towel that hung around his waist fall to the floor, Ed dressed himself in the black pants and white shirt, leaving the shirt untucked, then picked the towel up and scrubbed at his loose, damp hair for a moment before tossing it into the corner.

 

The blond walked over to the side of the bed and shook his lover none too gently. “Hey, wake up! We're going to be late again if you don't get up.”

 

The dark haired man opened one eye and peered sleepily at his tormentor. “huh…”

 

“Get up. I'm leaving in ten minutes, with or without you. I'm tired of you blaming our being late on me.”

 

The colonel mumbled something, then grabbed the pillow and put it over his head.

 

Rolling his eyes, Ed returned to the bathroom, wiped the fog off the mirror and braided his hair. As he left the bathroom, he passed Mustang who had finally dragged himself out of bed and gotten semi-dressed. Shaking his head, the younger alchemist headed for the kitchen to get some breakfast.

 

Mondays always seemed to be like this. Ed waking up first and Mustang barely able to get up, but by Friday it was opposite. He supposed that had a lot to do with how much the man drank on the weekends.

 

Ed pulled out a container of leftovers from yesterday's dinner and began eating it without bothering to heat it up. He was eager to get back to his research…

 

The blond looked up as Mustang, hair combed and uniform straightened, walked into the kitchen. The man pulled out a container of orange juice and poured himself a glass, then opened the cupboard and added some vodka.

 

“Isn't it a little early to start drinking?” Ed murmured with a frown.

 

Mustang stirred the liquid for a moment before taking a drink, then said, “Don't be ridiculous Ed. This isn't `drinking'. It's just a little something to get rid of my headache.”

 

“Whatever…” Ed mumbled and took another bite of his food. It had been two weeks since the night he had gotten drunk with the older man. He'd only drunk a couple of times since then and only a little. It seemed that he didn't have a very high tolerance for alcohol and it really didn't take much to give him a buzz…

 

Ed's memories of that night weren't very clear. Although he could only remember bits and pieces, he had dreams…dreams that he would just blow off as nonsense if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd had woken up with a small bruise on each side of his head where Mustang's thumbs…

 

The blond shook his head. He didn't like to think of his lover like that...holding him like…saying things like… Ed tried to tell himself it wasn't that big of a deal. The man had been really drunk… and he had offered in the first place…

 

Ed shoved the container of leftovers into the other man's hands. “Here, you have the rest of this,” he said and walked to the door to put on his boots.

 

Of course that hadn't been the only reason he hadn't really drank much since that night. There was also the fact that he'd had a horrible hangover the next morning. Ed couldn't remember ever being so sick…

 

“How's the leg?” Mustang asked as he put his own boots on.

 

Ed shrugged. “Good enough, though I could only adjust it a half inch… If I keep growing then I'll have to have an automail mechanic extend it the other half inch.” As they left the apartment, the colonel nodded, and Ed continued with a frown. “If I get taller than that I'll need to have a new one made…”

 

The dark haired man looked down at him and said, “You don't sound very happy about that…”

 

Ed shook his head and pulled out a cigarette. “Well…I'd need to go back to Rizembool…”

 

The colonel gave the teen a disapproving look as Ed lit up his new addiction. “Why haven't you called them yet?”

 

Ed didn't answer. What could he say? It was stupid, but he was embarrassed over what had happened, about how he'd acted. But that wasn't the whole reason… Al had never asked about how Ed got his body back, and as long as Ed stayed away there was no way that his brother could ask about it…

 

Even so, Ed couldn't help feeling guilty at not calling Al, but he thought that it would be better this way. Better that Al couldn't find out…

 

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

 

Fletcher watched as his brother knocked on the door and waited. They had traveled by foot the last few weeks, wanting to spare the amount of money they had. The People's Government had given Russell enough for him, but now there were two mouths to feed, not one, and traveling the whole way by train would have just taken too much of their reserve funds.

 

So they had walked and camped, and now here they were at the house of this great alchemist that guy had told them about. Whatever Fletcher had been expecting, it wasn't who he saw when the door opened.

 

A tall woman with dark hair opened the door and said, “Can I help you?”

 

Russell nodded and asked bluntly, “Are you Izumi?”

 

The woman nodded.

 

For a moment Russell looked unconvinced, then shrugged and said, “We heard you were a great alchemist and that you are against the military and we were wondering if we could talk to you for a few minutes.”

 

The expression on the woman's face turned dark and she folded her arms. “Who are you?”

 

Fletcher moved to stand behind Russell. This woman was kind of scary…

 

“We're from the People's Army, and…”

 

“Go away.”

 

“Eh… huh?” Russell said dumbly.

 

“I said, `go away'. I'm not interested in the military and I'm not interested in the rebellion.” Russel opened his mouth to say something, but she rode over him. “I'm not interested in any group that uses children in their fighting or in telling people to join.”

 

The taller of the two brothers folded his arms, mirroring the formidable woman. “Now you just wait a second. I'm sixteen. I'm an adult.”

 

The dark haired woman laughed scornfully. “Just because the government says that sixteen is an adult doesn't make it so. Sixteen is still a child as far as I'm concerned.”

 

“I'm hardly a child,” Russell said irritably, and Fletcher frowned. Sometimes his brother was just so stubborn and hard headed…

 

“You may legally be an adult, but you'll have a hard time convincing me that he isn't a child.” The woman said, pointing at Fletcher.

 

Russell opened his mouth to say something, but the woman cut him off, “Now I want you to…”

 

But she never finished.

 

Suddenly, her hand flew to her mouth and she began coughing. Fletcher could see blood dripping from her fingers. The dark haired woman fell to her knees, hacking even harder.

 

Russell hurried to her side. “Are you alright?” he asked, but instead of answering, the woman coughed a final time and passed out in the older Tringham brother's arms.

 

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

 

Al looked around quickly before darting from the tree to the small shed near the house. He hurriedly let himself in and hid behind a large pile of spare parts. The tall alchemist held his breath for a moment listening.

 

Nothing.

 

The sandy haired teen breathed out in relief and let his eyes scan around the area of the shed that he could see. It was mostly filled with spare automail parts. At that he couldn't help but imagine a beautiful blonde mechanic digging through the piles…

 

He smiled a goofy smile, but it slipped when he heard a shouted, “Al! Al! Where are you?”

 

Al shrank lower behind the pile, hoping she wouldn't come into the shed.

 

“Al! Come on Al! You're being a baby about this!” He could hear her shouting, but it was getting farther away.

 

The alchemist sighed in relief. Yes, he probably was being immature, but he didn't care…

 

There was an empty space in the middle of the shed and again Al grinned. He'd love to be alone in here with Winry. Maybe he could get another kiss. Maybe he could get more…

 

The teen shook his head. When did he become such a pervert? It seemed like all he could think about recently was… well… things that just weren't proper to do before you were married… Al could feel blood rush to his cheeks as he suddenly realized that his brother would totally love this new development.

 

Al sighed and ran a hand through his hair. In the two weeks since he had kissed Winry, he'd only had the courage to do it three other times. He thought about it all the time, but when he actually had the chance to do it, well… he just got so nervous. Each time was getting easier though.

 

He had an idea that Pinako knew something, because the old woman would look at him and make comments like, `I think it's a good choice', or just look at him as if she were inspecting him, then nod without saying anything at all. It was all very nerve wracking.

 

The sixteen year old cringed again when he heard Winry yelling for him, but he refused to go out there. He'd said `no'. Why couldn't she just accept that? This should be his decision… It wasn't fair that she should bully him into something that he didn't want…

 

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

 

Fletcher poked at his food and glanced at the door that led to the woman's bedroom.

 

“She'll be alright.”

 

The young alchemist glanced at the owner of the voice; a large man with a dark beard. Fletcher sighed and nodded.

 

When the woman, Izumi, had collapsed, Russell had yelled at Fletcher to go to the meat shop that was connected to the house to find someone. That was where he found the big man. The man had immediately carried the woman off, and when he came back, he'd looked at them for a long time, then asked if they wanted to stay for lunch.

 

Of course they had agreed. How could they pass up a free lunch? Besides, Russel still wanted to talk to Izumi.

 

Fletcher shook his head. It was obvious to him that she wasn't interested. He really wished his brother would learn some tact.

 

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

 

Ed pulled out another book, flipped through it and put it back.

 

Not what he needed.

 

He scanned the books in the small room at the Central Library. These books were particularly old, and quite valuable, thus they were kept away from all the other books. Normally the two librarians that worked this branch didn't let people in here, but Ed frequented the library so often that they'd finally given him permission to search for his own books. They just didn't have the time to find things for him all day.

 

The sound of the door opening met Ed's ears and he looked up to see the colonel slipping into the room. The man shut the door, and walked swiftly to where Ed was standing. Before the younger alchemist could say anything Mustang wrapped his arms around him and kissed him hard. For a moment Ed was too stunned to move, then he reared his head back away from the kiss.

 

“Are you insane?” the blond whispered savagely, glancing quickly to the door, but the older man simply moved his head past Ed's face and kissed the teen's neck. Suddenly, Ed felt the neck of his shirt being pulled back. “What are you…?” Ed began to ask, but stopped when he felt the man let go of his shirt. Mustang draped himself more fully over the shorter alchemist and a second later the blond felt the top of the back part of his pants being pulled away from his body.

 

Ed decided that enough was enough. He didn't want one of the librarians to come in on this. He pushed against Mustang's chest, and surprisingly the man moved away easily. The colonel grinned down at him, then snatched another kiss before turning to leave.

 

“Where do you think you're going?” Ed asked irritably. “And what the hell was…” but he never got a chance to finish.

 

The colonel opened the door, turned around, and said, still grinning, “Just came by to get some information. Thank you for your cooperation major.” With that, Mustang gave him a mock solute and left.

 

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

 

Fletcher shifted nervously on his feet as he listened to Russell and Izumi argue back and forth. The younger Tringham would have preferred to apologize for intruding and wished her good health before leaving things be.

 

But not Russell.

 

The taller teen was much more aggressive than Fletcher and when he had something on his mind, he didn't leave it alone.

 

That was how they'd ended up joining the People's Army.

 

Russell had heard of how they wanted to create a government where the people ruled and the military didn't have ultimate control. Russell had liked the idea so much that they'd immediately joined up, or at least Russell had immediately joined up and dragged a reluctant Fletcher with him. When they'd found out that Fletcher was an alchemist, they'd talked him into signing up as well.

 

The short blond didn't see how his alchemy could possibly help in a war. Fletcher loved plants and most of the alchemy he studied had to do with that type of thing. Of course he knew some chemistry too, but that was Russell's specialty, not his.(2)

 

Fletcher let his gaze travel around the room. His eyes rested on a small picture frame that sat on a long dresser.(3) When he saw who was in the picture, his eyes widened a bit and he walked over and picked it up.

 

In the picture, the dark haired woman was grinning while bending over and resting her hands on the heads of two young boys. One of the boys, a sandy haired child wearing a tan short sleeved shirt and a black under shirt, was smiling happily with his hands raised. The other boy, this one a bit shorter with golden hair and a black tee-shirt, had his arms folded and was looking away from the camera with a grumpy look on his face.

 

The boy looked just like…

 

Fletcher turned his head and looked quickly at the woman in the bed before glancing back at the photo.

 

The boy looked just like Ed Elric.

 

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

 

Winry opened the door to the shed where they kept their spare parts and searched the dim interior with her eyes. Pressing her lips together, she crept quietly inside. It didn't take her long to find who she was looking for.

 

The blonde mechanic smiled softly.

 

Alphonse had tried to hide behind a pile of parts, but unfortunately for him he was just too tall for it to be very effective. Now if it had been Ed… She tried to hold back a chuckle as she walked around the pile.

 

The tall alchemist was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, legs sprawled out, and fast asleep. She wondered idly how long he had been in here.

 

Winry got onto her hands and knees as quietly as she could and crawled over to him. He wasn't getting away from her now. Slowly she crawled between his legs in an effort to get closer. She would have gone around, but there wasn't enough space with the pile of parts on one side and another wall on the other.

 

Peaceful.

 

He looked peaceful, and she was glad. For the first little while after Ed had run off, Al hadn't looked peaceful in his sleep…

 

The blonde decided that she would wake him with a kiss. After all, he hadn't kissed her in days and she really wanted another one. Winry had a hard time sometimes being patient. Alphonse was just so shy and unsure of himself at times… She sighed softly. Many people their age in Rizembool were already married and some even had a child or two... It was hard sometimes, pretending she didn't care what the other girls said about her, that she would never get married…

 

But it did bother her.

 

She had always thought that when Ed came back to Rizembool for good, then they'd get married. But, of course, it had been a silly dream. It had been enough to keep her from feeling too depressed about not being courted though, and she supposed that's what mattered.

 

Now though, here was Alphonse, and he liked her, and she liked him. Winry was sure she would be happy to be married to her childhood friend. He would make a good husband, so why was he being so slow about it?

 

She bent close and kissed him softly on the lips and smiled when he murmured her name. For that she was happy to give him another kiss. A moment later she felt a hand touch her rear and she shrieked in surprise.

 

Al instantly came awake with a jolt, and their heads collided together painfully. Winry held her head in her hands, then growled irritably, “You touched my butt!”

 

“I'm sorry!” Al groaned, rubbing his forehead. “I don't remember! I was asleep! I swear!”

 

She glance back at him and saw that his face was a dark red. Good. He should be embarrassed. She didn't want to be embarrassed by herself.

 

“I'm sorry,” Al said again. Actually it was more of a plea, as if he thought she was going to beat him with a wrench or something.

 

“It's fine,” she grumbled. It wasn't the fact that he had touched her rear that was so embarrassing. She actually didn't really mind it, although it was a bit embarrassing since she'd never been touched there before… but it was the way that she had reacted that was the most humiliating thing. Shrieking like a scared little girl!

 

Instead of focusing on her embarrassment she got back to why she was looking for him in the first place and said, “Let's go back to the house. You're not getting out of this.”

 

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

 

Fletcher walked back beside Russel, still holding the picture. Al had told him once about what had happened(4); about why he wore the armor.

 

Of course, now Fletcher knew that Al didn't wear the armor, he was the armor…

 

It had been one of those times that they'd met up in their travels. Ed and Russell had been arguing, as always, and the two younger brothers had left them at it.

 

It had been a solemn conversation. Al had spoken of his mother, and about his brother's desperation to get her back. He'd spoken about the human transmutation they had attempted and the horror of that night. He'd spoken of how Ed lost his limbs and why his older brother had decided to join the ranks of the State Alchemists.

 

Fletcher would never forget that conversation.

 

Al had given Fletcher permission to tell Russell, but only Russell, and only if he thought his brother could keep it a secret.

 

Fletcher had always meant to tell his brother, but the right time never seemed to come up.

 

Alphonse had also spoken of their teacher and the training they went through.

 

Fletcher had never had an alchemy teacher. What he'd learned had been self taught; lucky for him that he was so brilliant.

 

But this woman… she could teach him… that was, if she would be willing to teach him…

 

Fletcher waited for a break in the conversation, then said, “Excuse me…” Izumi and Russell both turned to look at him in surprise and Fletcher frowned at the thought that they'd probably forgotten he was there. “You're Ed and Al's teacher right?”

 

The woman blinked in surprise, then said, “I was. Do you know those two good for nothing ex-students of mine?”(5)

 

Of course… Al had told him that she had refused to teach them any more too… but it hadn't sounded like they were on bad terms…

 

“Wait a minute,” Russell interrupted, “How did you know that?”

 

Fletcher didn't say anything, simply turned the picture frame over in his hands and showed it to his brother. Russell took it from him and stared at it for a long time before saying in a mocking tone, “Too bad for him he hasn't grown since then.”

 

When Izumi began laughing, the two brothers turned and looked at her. “Well, I suppose you do know him, if you're making jokes about his height.”

 

Russell grinned then pointed to the other boy. “Who's this?”

 

“It's Al,” Fletcher said automatically.

 

The older Tringham brother glared down at the blond alchemist. “We've never seen what Al really looks like. How would you know that was him?”

 

Fletcher looked down at his shoes and fidgeted. It was actually a guess that it was Alphonse, but how to tell Russel that without telling the full story…?

 

“He told you.”

 

He looked up into Izumi's eyes and nodded.

 

“Wait, wait, wait…” Russell said in frustration. Fletcher knew his brother didn't like not knowing what was going on. “Who told you what?”

 

Fletcher was torn. He wanted to tell his brother, but what would Russell say when he found out that Fletcher had known all this time and not told him?

 

“It's alright,” the woman said with a small smile on her face.

 

Fletcher's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

 

“You see… Ed did it. He got Al's body back.”

 

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

 

“I don't want one,” Al said defensively.

 

“Too bad. You're getting one,” Winry growled.

 

“No,” Al said, trying to show that he would not be bullied into something he didn't want.

 

Winry looked at him for a moment in frustration, then said sweetly, “Al… for me…? Please?”

 

The tall alchemist groaned. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't do stuff like that. It was cheating… “But I want to grow it out…” Al tried to explain.

 

The blonde mechanic pouted and gave him that look… “I really like it short, Al. For me… please?”

 

Sighing in defeat, Al moved his hands away from his head and nodded in resignation. At that, Winry grinned happily, walked behind where he sat, and proceeded to give him the first haircut he'd had since getting his body back.

 

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

 

Ed stuck his head into Mustang's office to tell the man he was going home, but stopped what he was about to say when he saw two men standing in front of the colonel's desk. The two men turned and looked back at where Ed was poking his head into the room. Mustang made a small shake of his head.

 

The blond eyed the two men. The first one was General Hakuro; Ed had a bone to pick with that one… The second was Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer, the man who took over Maes Hughes' job when he died.

 

Correction.

 

Colonel Frank Archer, the man had been promoted recently and had taken a different job in a more `prestigious' department.

 

Whatever.

 

Everyone knew what an ass kisser the man was. The man was slime, and Ed couldn't be more unhappy to see him.

 

“Er… Sorry to interrupt…” Ed mumbled, “I just was going to let you know I was leaving for the night.”

 

Mustang nodded. “That's fine, Fullmetal. Goodnight.”

 

“Yeah, night…” Ed said and slipped his head out of the room and shut the door.

 

He sighed heavily. Mustang did not look happy…

 

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

 

When Fletcher finished speaking there was silence in the room for almost a full minute before Russell ran a hand through his hair and whispered, “Wow… I never knew…” The tall blond gazed at his younger brother for a moment with a hurt look on his face, then said, “Why didn't you tell me?”

 

The small alchemist sighed and looked down at the floor. “I just… well… Al said I could, but… I don't know, there never seemed a right time to talk about it and I didn't think it was something to talk about lightly…”

 

Fletcher felt a hand touch him and he looked up to see Russell clasping him on the shoulder. His older brother smiled faintly and said, “It's fine. I understand.”

 

The younger Tringham brother sighed in relief. He didn't want Russell to think he would hide something from him. They were always pretty open with each other…

 

Fletcher looked over at Izumi. “But you said that Ed got Al's body back?”

 

The dark haired woman nodded. “That's right. It's been a little over three months now.”

 

“That's really great!” Fletcher exclaimed, then asked eagerly, “But how did he do it?”

 

Izumi frowned. “We went to visit them in Rizembool for about a week; this was about a month after it happened. I wanted to ask Ed about it…” she trailed off for a moment before going on. “From what Alphonse and Winry told me, Ed had been quite moody, though I saw very little of that side while I was there. He also avoided being alone with me at all costs. I think he was aware that I had every intention of asking him how it happened.”

 

She paused for a moment, then continued. “Alphonse doesn't remember how it happened. I asked him if he had asked Ed about it, but he said that he was too nervous. He said that part of him really didn't want to know.”

 

“Oh…” Fletcher murmured.

 

There was silence in the room for several minutes before Fletcher spoke again. “Mrs. Curtis…”

 

She waved a hand. “Izumi will be fine.”

 

The small alchemist nodded. “Izumi… I was wondering… would you be willing to be my teacher? I already know some alch…”

 

“No,” the woman said, cutting him off.

 

Russell looked down in surprise. “What are you talking about Fletcher?”

 

Fletcher ignored his brother for the moment and said, “Just for a few…”

 

“I said `no'.” Izumi barked. “I have no intentions of taking on any more students. I have no wish to train more idiots who plan to use what they learn to serve militant means.”

 

“But I wouldn't…” Fletcher cut in, but she overrode him.

 

“Besides, as much as I despise admitting it, I'm just not healthy enough. I couldn't be for you what I was to Edward and Alphonse.”

 

Fletcher sighed and nodded. “I understand,” he murmured in disappointment.

 

“Now, I'm assuming the two of you plan on staying in this town for a little while. We have extra rooms, but don't think I'm going to let you freeload off me. Go ask Sig what you can do to help him in the meat shop for a couple hours a day and that will pay for room and board.”

 

“Who says we want to stay with you?” Russell growled, but Fletcher stepped forward to be the voice of reason.

 

“Thank you very much, Izumi. We really appreciate your hospitality.” After he was done speaking, Fletcher stepped on Russell's foot to stop anymore rude remarks.

 

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

 

Ed leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at the cupboard where Mustang's liquor was stored. He thought about the look on his lover's face before he left. If the man didn't work late, which was unlikely given that he always worked late, then he'd probably just come home and drink…

 

He supposed there was nothing really wrong with it…

 

After all, the colonel never really got very drunk on the weekdays, not like he had been that night…

 

Ed tapped his fingers on the counter as he thought. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, thinking about that night.

 

But it did.

 

The young alchemist brought his real fingers up to his temple and touched the skin. The bruises were gone now. They'd been pretty faint to begin with…

 

Ed sighed.

 

This was stupid.

 

So Mustang got a little rough with him when he was drunk.

 

No big deal.

 

Ed had to admit that the blowjob had probably been a pretty bad one anyway. He kind of didn't blame the man.

 

But what about him calling you a whore? His mind asked.

 

The blond folded his arms. It wasn't as if the colonel had actually called him that, exactly… Ed supposed it must be bothering him because of what he'd said to Winry. He could kind of relate now, in a way.

 

But it wasn't as if he and Winry ever had any sort of relationship. Winry cared for Al, that much seemed clear from how much time she'd spent with him at the hospital, and Al for her… It probably would have been worse if Al had called her what Ed had.

 

Ed pulled the hair tie out of his hair and began unbraiding it.

 

He was tired, and all of this thinking was making him even more tired.

 

He was just making a big deal out of nothing.

 

After all…

 

It wasn't as if Mustang had some sort of drinking problem.

 

Right?

 

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1) Just a few things I swiped from the manga. Ed was wearing a black shirt and black pants when he was swallowed by Gluttony, and he was wearing a white button up shirt, black pants and a long black coat when he went to return Hawkeye's gun. I thought those two outfits looked really nice on him.

 

2) I have no idea what is the truth in the series since it really doesn't expound on it, but I liked the idea of having Russell be more of a chemist, and Fletcher be more of the alchemist. Besides, you see Fletcher do more alchemy than Russell in the series, where in you see Russell doing more chemistry work (mostly with the red stone).

 

3) Episode 32

 

4) This is not from the manga or the series.

 

5) As you may remember this story leaves the series when Ed and Al visit Dante when they are staying with Izumi. A note to remember is that nothing out of the ordinary happened when they were visiting Dante.

 

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Thanks to:

MasamuneReforged for being my beta.

 

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For me, this was a difficult chapter to write. Lots of important things happen in this chapter, but I have to admit that what I really wanted to write was some hot scene between Ed and Roy. Those are much easier to write than plot advancement chapters.

 

Anyway, next chapter will have some yummy RoyEd stuff in it, so stay tuned.

 

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