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batsutousaiTitle: Reverti Ad Praeteritum
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood/manga
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, post-Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Warnings: Spoilers like whoa, Ed's potty mouth, canon-typical violence, pile 'o OCs, mute!Ed, original character death, angst, fluff, past dub-con, past adultery, Ed has all the guilt
Summary: Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.
Key: "Speech" | 'Mouthing words'
'Writing'
:Sign Language:
"In another language" | 'In another language'
Chapter Nineteen
-0-
Ed woke to the sound of a camera shutter, and immediately turned his best glare on the culprit, who was a bright, gleeful mass of qi. He didn't seem bothered by Ed's glare, but Roy's follow-up of, "I will burn that as soon as I find my gloves," got him to sweat a bit.
Which, actually, since Roy and Hughes knew about his water alchemy...
Ed clapped his hands together, not quite activating any particular array, but letting energy build up, and Hughes ran for it, loudly complaining about how they were freakishly unfair.
Ed huffed, let the transmutation energy die off, and dropped back to Roy's chest, because he was comfortable, dammit.
Roy chuckled, the sound rolling through Ed and feeling way too fucking nice. "You should probably get up before anyone else comes in," he murmured a bit drily, hands moving from where they'd been dangerously low on Ed's back. (And he hadn't fucking noticed, because he was an idiot.)
That said, between Roy's hands and his comment, Ed noticed a particular organ of his was being its usual 'I'm not sharing a bed with Al so I can be annoying!' self (and he was so unspeakably glad that his dick fucking behaved itself when Al was sharing his bed, because awkward), and, judging by the unfamiliar shape under his abdomen, he wasn't the only one with irritatingly excitable hormones. (Or whatever caused that shit. Fucking biological processes were not his forte.)
Huffing – and refusing to be embarrassed; he was fucking used to this shit, dammit – Ed carefully climbed off of the bastard, flipping his hair out of the way once he was standing and looking around for his missing hair tie.
Roy sat up with a groan, and Ed glanced back to find him rubbing at his face. And there, around his wrist, was Ed's missing hair tie. Because of course the bastard had just slipped it on his wrist and slept with it, instead of tossing it towards the coffee table, like a normal person would have done.
Ed caught Roy's hand, glanced past it to the man's face at the flicker of confusion that went through his qi, which resolved into understanding as the bastard clearly caught sight of the hair tie. Ed freed it, before – because there was no one positioned to see, and he was still a little bit that kid who lived to pull one over on the bastard – pressing his lips to Roy's knuckles.
Roy's eyes widened briefly, before his mouth turned with a smile, a sort of fond happiness forming his qi. He twisted his wrist in Ed's grasp and brushed his fingers back, along Ed's cheek, until he was cupping it. "Good morning, Edward," he offered, voice low and warm. (And really not conductive to combating Ed's morning erection. Fucker.)
'Good morning, Roy,' he mouthed in return, and was rewarded with a definite flare of pleasure from the bastard's qi. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to the bottom edge of Roy's palm, then stepped back, out of his reach, and signed, :I need to go threaten a camera. Excuse me.:
Roy's slightly mean chuckle followed him from the room.
The thing about having lived with the Hugheses for nine months, was that there weren't many hiding places big enough for Hughes' camera, where he wouldn't have to worry about Nina or Elicia getting hold of it when he wasn't watching, and Ed knew them all, so it hadn't taken him long to find the damn thing.
Finding Hughes was even easier – he had a qi – and the audience of the rest of the family added an excellent soundtrack as he pinned Hughes with his nastiest smile, watched him gulp at the sight of the camera around Ed's neck, then signed, :You have two choices: You can promise to hand over all copies of those photos to me, or I see how your camera survives a bath.:
"Uh-oh," Nina whispered, and Elicia started giggling; this was not the first time they'd watched Ed or Gracia threaten dire happenings against the camera because of photos Hughes had taken.
"I thought it was deconstruction, last time," Gracia offered mildly from where she was putting together a couple lunches; Ed suspected the second one was for Roy, since he and Al would likely get something near the library when their stomachs finally pulled them away from the books.
:I have to touch the camera to deconstruct it,: Ed signed in return. Which...wasn't exactly true, but it would be far easier to direct a bucket's worth of water at a fleeing Hughes, than toss a kunai and hope it got stuck in the right thing.
"But you two looked so cute," Hughes tried, his best pleading face on.
Ed was not impressed.
"Found my gloves!" Roy called from the living room, which was an excellent and unplanned addition.
"That sounds bad," Al offered from where he'd paused in the doorway of the dining room, while Hughes paled. "What's the number for the fire department?"
"Okay, okay!" Hughes cried, throwing up his hands in surrender. "I promise I won't keep any of those pictures! You can even stand over me as I develop them!"
Ed flashed his teeth in a bright smile and signed, :I intend to,: before slipping the camera cord back over his head and holding the camera out to Hughes.
"Wait, what pictures?" Al asked, while Hughes cradled his precious camera to his chest.
Ed smiled and patted his shoulder as he ducked past him to go change for the day.
Someone – Hughes, most likely – must have filled Al in, because Ed had just started up the stairs when his brother called, "You have to let me look at them at least once before you destroy them, Brother!"
Destroy them? Nah. Honestly, Ed just didn't want Hughes to have any potential blackmail material. He'd saved all the pictures he'd had to threaten Hughes for, hidden in the secret compartment he'd created in the bottom of his writing desk, and occasionally counted to ensure he hadn't gone hunting and stolen one back. Maybe keeping them was asking for trouble, but Ed knew how important pictures could become, especially once someone was gone, or trapped in armour for five years.
There were only a couple pictures of Mum, and only three pictures of Hughes had survived him, before. And Ed didn't have any pictures of his kids, or the friends he hadn't met yet, and likely never would.
Photographs were amazing things, and far too precious to destroy, no matter how embarrassing they might be.
After the morning's drama – and the general stressor that the weekend had turned into – spending the whole day in the library with his brother was amazing. It was just the right amount of relaxing and stimulating, while also giving them the chance to just get used to each other again.
Which, well, Ed had sort of got used to managing his disability on his own, had a couple pages in the back of his journal – which he copied over every time he had to switch to a new one – with common responses to questions, or opening gambits when he went to a new restaurant or a shop, because he couldn't always drag Hughes or Gracia around to translate for him.
Al, he was fairly certain, was facing similar difficulties. Not because he suddenly had help that he wasn't used to, but maybe, a little, because he suddenly found himself giving help again. Too, he'd been living in the dorms for the past nine months; suddenly having to share his living space couldn't be the easiest change in the world.
Ed would know; he'd once gone from sharing his living space with a living suit of armour, to a homunculus and two chimeras, to sharing a hospital room with his physically weakened brother, to moving back in with Granny and Winry. And then he'd travelled on his own for years, before coming back and pretty much moving in with Winry. Every change was a shock, took time to get used to, but he did get used to it, and they would manage this one, too.
Over a late lunch, Al finally broached a topic that had clearly been bothering him – judging by the hint of uncertainty that hadn't quite been hidden in his qi – and Ed really should have been expecting: :The colonel is still going on dates with other people?:
Ed sighed into his sandwich, then took a big bite and set it down so he could sign, :His information network is made up of women. He takes them out, buys them dinner, they pass back intelligence. Which Hughes told me before we started exchanging letters.:
Al mused that over as he pulled apart his sandwich to remove the cheese, which he clearly disapproved of. He took a careful bite, considered it, then nodded and took a larger one, before setting his food back down to respond, :I should have guessed something like that when he kept going on dates while exchanging letters with you.:
Ed shrugged. :I never figured it out, and I've known him longer.:
Al snorted. :You see what you want to see,: he returned, which was kind of true. :I'm usually better at catching these things.:
Ed rolled his eyes. :Be honest, you've had your heart set on getting us together since you found out.:
:Maybe,: Al returned, very obviously not meeting Ed's eyes, his qi rolling with embarrassment and a little bit of victory.
Ed huffed and rolled his eyes again, more obviously than before. :You did what I always do,: he signed, positioned so that Al would see it. :You set your eyes on the goal and ignored facts that didn't suit you.:
"I wasn't that bad!" Al complained out loud.
Ed rested his chin on his palm and stared at him, slowly raising one eyebrow.
Al grimaced. :Okay, maybe a little,: he allowed, before taking another bite. :How am I turning into you? Stop it.:
Ed snorted and ducked his head to hide from his brother's glower. :I have no control over which of my bad habits you pick up.:
"Lies," Al muttered into his sandwich.
:If you start hating milk, I promise to start getting worried,: he offered.
Al threw a slice of cheese at him in retaliation. Or as a pointed comment, because there weren't many flavours of cheese that Al didn't like. (This was one of them; even when he'd tried it for the first time after only a couple of months back in his real body, he'd declared it vile. If Ed had been paying attention, he'd have warned his brother not to order it.)
Ed placed it carefully away from his sandwich on his plate, then made a show of wiping off his hands with napkins – Al laughed, as he'd intended – before picking back up his sandwich and taking another bite.
Al shook his head. :Which section should we tackle next?: he asked.
Ed quickly swallowed and flashed him a smile; he had a couple ideas.
Roy did indeed manage to escape Hawkeye early enough to go looking for housing options, and had a pile of possibilities when they all got in for dinner (Ed and Al running a bit late because library; they'd probably have missed it entirely if First Branch didn't close about two hours after Ed and Hughes usually left for the day, and it wasn't that far from the house). Elicia and Nina insisted on helping him pick one, after dinner was done, and they all reconvened in the living room with the eight options – spaced fairly evenly around the city, according to Ed's mental map – laid out over the coffee table.
Unsurprisingly, the girls like the house that was closest to one of the largest parks in the city, not least because it was, by their reckoning, a pretty colour. (Pictures of the front façades were included, some better quality than others.)
Al decided that the same one Elicia and Nina liked was his favourite, mostly because it was close to the park, but also because it had a reasonably sized garden, to which Roy drily pointed out, "You realise I'm terrible with plants, right?"
"I'm happy to come over and water them for you, sir!" Al replied with his brightest smile. "Or Brother can do it; he gets along with plants."
Ed rolled his eyes; liking plants was not the same as taking care of them, and growing up around farmers had not turned him into a master of horticulture. One of the best things about lab two's greenhouse, if he was being honest with himself, was that he didn't have to help maintain it.
Gracia seemed to prefer the two that were relatively close to shopping areas, which Ed suspected had more to do with the Hughes family lacking a car, than anything else. One of them was close to one of the better schools in the area, and she ultimately settled on that one, to much whining from Elicia and Nina about her boring reasons. (Al tried to tell them how much fun school was, as if he and Ed hadn't spent the entirety of their rather short school careers working on advanced subjects and ignoring their teachers; Ed didn't bother telling him it was a lost cause, since Nina had already heard horror stories from some of her older playmates, or those with much older siblings.)
Hughes, of course, preferred the house that was closest to them, citing any number of reasons, all of which seemed to boil down to 'then I don't have to walk as far to annoy you!' (Ed was fairly certain Roy would not be picking that house.)
As for Ed... Well, he didn't really have a preference, but, when everyone looked at him expectantly, he pointed to what was probably the smallest of the options, which was two blocks from what Ed had deemed to be an acceptable bookshop, at a quick glance, and in a part of town which was fairly quiet, by his observations of the area. (Annoying his homunculus tail every other Friday by taking them on a tour of the city, meant he'd seen way more of it than he'd ever expected to have.) He thought he'd seen a couple bars in the vicinity, so it might well be a different matter at night, but he sort of suspected that would suit Roy; in civilian clothing, he just seemed like the sort of guy who would unwind at a local bar and smile at the ladies who came in alone, maybe chat them up a bit. (Maybe pretend to know them when they started getting uncomfortable around some other guy, spook the fucker off, then offer to walk the lady at least part of the way home, to make sure that guy didn't try following her.)
More importantly, it didn't look anything like the place another version of the bastard had owned, was too narrow, too cramped, and the façade was all wrong, was aged-brick instead of the gleaming panelling that had become popular after the Promised Day, because it took paint well and was easy to replace if it got damaged; walking into that house wouldn't feel like reliving his worst sins, which was far more important to Ed than the location. Not that he had any intention of mentioning that.
Everyone accepted his throwaway comment about the nearby bookshop with the knowing smiles he'd expected, and Ed sat back in his chair again, glad that the scrutiny had moved to Roy.
Roy gathered the options back up and offered one of his most punch-worthy smiles, saying, "Thank you for your input. I'll let you know when I settle on one."
"Going to ask your team?" Hughes guessed.
Roy nodded, though something in his qi... "Yes, I think so. It's only fair to hear what everyone has to say about the various options."
"You're just going to go with the most popular," Hughes said.
Nina and Elicia perked up, because that meant their option was winning.
Ed pulled out his journal and wrote, in Cretan, 'You already know which one you want, don't you?' Then he leant forward and showed the message to the bastard.
Roy's eyes gleamed, fondness curling through his qi. "Maybe," he replied in the same language.
"I'm not sure I approve of all these secret language conversations," Hughes complained, mostly good-naturedly.
"Not fair!" Nina and Elicia chorused.
"You're welcome to try studying it," Roy said with a smile that was only a little mocking. "I might be able to unbury some of my old materials, though they might have alchemy scribbles in them."
"No, thank you," Hughes muttered, grimacing.
"I wanna learn!" Nina declared.
"Me, too! Me, too!" Elicia added.
"Why is it," Hughes complained, "that school is so completely off-putting, but any mention of freaky circle-science has the pair of you practically salivating?"
Ed snorted and put on his best superior look before signing, :That's easy: Alchemy is way more awesome than the basics they teach in school.:
"Yeah!" the girls chorused.
Gracia let out an amused cough, while Roy rather obviously hid the bottom of his face behind his housing options.
"Brother," Al complained tiredly, "you're not supposed to support their dislike of learning."
:I'm not. I'm just pointing out that school is a waste–:
Hughes lunged forward and grabbed his hands, while Elicia and Nina giggled, delighted, and Gracia let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-moan.
"I am...so sorry about him," Al told Hughes with a straight face.
"I think," Hughes said, glaring at Ed, as though his qi wasn't laced with amusement, "it's time for bed."
Cue much whining, some excuses, pointing out it wasn't as late as it could be, and then finally letting themselves be herded upstairs.
Roy had put the housing paperwork away by the time the girls were tucked in, and it wasn't brought up again, though Ed did wonder...
Well, he'd find out soon enough, he supposed.
On Tuesday, Ed decided to tackle labs three and two first thing, because holding off on them was not going to make him more likely to want to go, and at least this gave them an extra day to waste in the library before they had to tackle lab one, if Al decided he needed it.
Just like it had been for Ed the first time he'd stepped into lab three, Al didn't appear to be bothered by the chimera labs, while Ed could already sense an echo of misery, like an itch just beyond his reach. They did Ed's usual walk-through, and it was clear the researchers appreciated having someone who could translate for Ed, as they no longer had to wait for him to write out his questions, or try to read his more rushed chicken scratch.
The closer they got to the chimera labs, the more Al's qi...shivered, was the word for it, Ed decided.
Ed had got to the point – either because he knew where they were, or he knew what to expect – where he could start making out the waves of pain and loneliness as soon as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, where the chimera labs were (upon asking, he'd been told they were at the top of the building because that meant it would be harder for any animals that managed to escape to make it out without someone spotting and catching them), which made for some uncomfortable check-ins on that floor, but the members of lab three were used to Ed's dislike of their lab, as long as he'd been doing this job, so it was generally shrugged off. But Al was clearly only suffering the vague discomfort that Ed had been aware of since first walking into the building.
Ed led the way into the first chimera lab, not pausing as the full force of agony and rage and loneliness washed over him – the faster he got this over with, the better, he knew from bitter experience – but Al took two steps in, the second far smaller than the first, then turned and made a rapid retreat.
Ed couldn't go after him – the idea of having to come back was horrifying – but he did speed through the update as much as he could, and went through the last two labs equally as quickly, before turning to the task of hunting his brother down.
He found Al curled up on the ground outside, looking a little green around the edges and far too pale – they really were too much alike, sometimes – and knelt next to him, pulling him into a hug.
Al fisted a hand in Ed's jacket, shaking like a leaf in a strong wind, and gasped, "Oh, gods. I don't– I can't–" He drew in a shuddering breath, pressed his face a little harder into Ed's shoulder, and Ed tightened his arms around him. "How can you stand that?"
Ed just shook his head; he stood it because he had to, and because he could see a future where that horror wouldn't exist.
And, too, he stood it because he'd managed to save Nina, because she wasn't in that hell. Because he'd managed to stomach that terrible research, after almost two months, and pushed the researchers toward arrays that didn't hurt as much.
(Or, well, Ed hoped they didn't hurt as much; everything he knew about chimera alchemy said the arrays he'd designed, the changes he'd pushed for in the researchers' designs, would help. But too many of those animals were still in pain, and Ed couldn't let himself look too long, couldn't try to figure out if they were the same animals as had been there nine months ago, or if those fuckers were still using those old arrays and just not telling Ed. He hated that he couldn't bring himself to hunt down those details, but he could not allow himself to care, not if he was going to keep doing this job. Because the moment he started to care, would be the moment he tore those labs to pieces.
(He couldn't care, not yet, but soon...soon he would do nothing but care, and damn anyone who stood in his way.)
For the moment, though, he leant back a bit, waited until Al looked up with damp, broken eyes, and mouthed, 'Can you stand?'
Al gave a weak nod, and Ed helped him to his feet, then out to the street, nodding politely to the guards, who nodded back and very kindly didn't make any snarky remarks.
Somehow, they made it to lab two, only had to stop and rest once, when Al's legs just wouldn't take his weight any more. Upon walking into the greenhouse – that forest of calm, where not even the crawling of the Stones underground reached them – Al relaxed, his qi smoothing out. He was clearly still shaky – he sat down as soon as he could, and curled in on himself – but he looked and felt a lot better, to Ed.
Ed offered him a tired smile, then moved a little further in, to his usual spot, and started to run through his katas.
"Silent?" he heard Blooming say after...he didn't know how long, honestly. Probably about ten katas. "Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were the Silent Alchemist."
Al let out a tired laugh, while Ed grabbed his discarded jacket and started back towards where he'd left his brother. "I'm the Mending Alchemist, Alphonse Elric. Ed's my brother."
"That explains the resemblance," Blooming admitted, before looking up as Ed stepped around the tree that had been hiding him from view. "Hello, Silent."
Ed gave him a bow and a faint smile. To Al, he signed, :The Blooming Alchemist.:
"Oh!" Al offered the man his own smile. "Brother's mentioned you a couple times."
Blooming blinked and shot Ed a slightly uncertain look. "Has he?"
Al's smile turned a little helpless. "Usually in regards to your greenhouse," he admitted, "and that he likes this lab because it's not full of morons."
Blooming let out a surprised laugh and glanced at Ed again, his qi a curl of amusement. "High praise, I suspect."
"Very," Al agreed, before dodging the punch Ed aimed at him and flashing him a grin.
Ed rolled his eyes, then signed, :How are you feeling?:
Al's smile fell a little. "I should be okay, now," he decided.
"Ah," Blooming said, folding his hands together in front of himself. "The chimera labs, yes?"
Al nodded. "I'm afraid so. Brother tried to keep me out, but I insisted." He sighed and grimaced, glancing towards Ed. "I probably should have listened to you."
Ed snorted and gave him his best 'I told you so' look.
Al made a face at him, then turned back to Blooming as they started towards the exit, saying, "Brother mentioned you have a daughter who's about my age?"
Because Al was a freaking amazing people person, he got some good information out of Blooming about his daughters, his nieces, and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. No pictures, but reasonable descriptions and some general information about where they usually went to play after school. More than enough for Gracia to work with, and Blooming didn't even seem a little suspicious as he saw them out.
:You realise,: Ed signed while they waited for their food at his favourite café near that lab, :that you're kind of amazing.:
Al ducked his head, embarrassment spreading through his qi. :All I did was offer the subject,: he signed back. :He was happy to talk about them.:
Ed nodded. :He's never that open with me.:
Al huffed and shot him a knowing look. :Brother, you have a habit of either wandering off or insulting someone if they're not talking about alchemy.:
That...was actually kind of true. Damn.
Al, because he sucked and was, in fact, related to Ed, laughed at him.
He was saved from Ed attempting to punch him by the arrival of their food. Regrettably.
As they left the café, Al asked, "So, back to the library?"
Ed nodded. :That was the plan,: he agreed.
They got about half a block before someone called, "Majors Elric!"
Frowning, Ed and Al both stopped and turned to look back at where a soldier was running after them. Ed didn't have to look to know Al would be putting on a polite, enquiring smile, and he tried to smooth his own frown out into something that was a bit more neutral.
The man stopped in front of them, bending forward to catch his breath for a moment, before straightening and saluting. "Sirs! A call came through to laboratory two about five minutes ago for you. Colonel Mustang orders that you report to his office."
Ed blinked. Really?
Al sighed. "He probably just means me, if you wanted to head on to the library, Brother."
Ed shook his head. :I'm happy to come and nag Havoc and Breda while the bastard tells you off for avoiding unpacking.:
Al grimaced and turned back to the soldier. "Thank you, Private," he offered. "We're heading over there directly."
The man saluted them again, blinked when they nodded in return, then shrugged it off and turned to head back to his post.
"Well," Al said as they turned towards Command, "there goes the library."
Ed shrugged. :I doubt it's anything big. Probably just checking in or something. Making sure you're actually doing work and not wasting all your time in the library.:
"I think you're confusing me with yourself, Brother," Al returned drily. "I don't have a habit of vanishing into the nearest library for a week."
Ed huffed. :Excuse you! You're the one who insisted on a week at the library!:
Al shot him a quick smile, before they both put on cooler stares as they passed the guard detail at the bottom of the lift into Command. "I hate this building," Al whispered as they stepped onto the lift.
Ed shrugged; he didn't really feel one way or the other about Central Command, though entering it certainly sucked, with how strong the Stones were at the base of the lifts.
Al waited until they were crossing the parade grounds before admitting, "I don't, actually, know where the office is."
Ed coughed to keep from laughing, but Al's scowl said he wasn't fooled. :I know where it is,: he offered, to appease his brother.
Al huffed. "Since you helped arrest the last occupant, I rather hoped you would."
:Correction. I scared the shit out of the last occupant in the interrogation room, so he would spill his guts.:
"I'm not sure that's something to be proud of."
Ed rolled his eyes.
As they approached the office, Ed frowned and slowed a bit; he didn't know Roy's team's qi very well, but he counted two more people than he'd expected. Roy was definitely in there, which was reassuring, and none of the extras were homunculi, anyone from Investigations, any of the MPs he was familiar with, or anyone from Grand's office, but, other than that, he had nothing.
:Two extras,: Al warned once they were a little closer, mirroring Ed's frown. His hand shifted to rest on the pommel of his jian sword, which he'd taken to wearing like most Amestrisan soldiers who wore sabres.
Ed reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it away. When Al frowned at him, he shook his head and signed, :We don't know who it is or what they want.:
"Don't poke the nest unless you're ready for the consequences?" Al murmured, repeating one of the Xingan proverbs they'd picked up while they were there.
Ed nodded and motioned for Al to precede him into the office.
All eyes turned to them as they stepped in, and Ed recognised Brigadier General Clemin and his secretary as being the extras. The secretary – Second Lieutenant Harrold or Harvy or something starting with 'har' – was standing out of the way, a clipboard held in her arms and her pen poised to write, while Clemin looked unsurprisingly disapproving about everything.
Ed quickly arranged his expression into something that was, hopefully, respectful – or at least neutral – and determined to hold it until the fucker was gone. A rude action before would have kept them from finding Gloster, but, now, his behaviour would affect Roy and his team, which included Al; that was seven fucking excellent reasons to play at politeness.
"Majors Elric," Roy said in that untouchable officer voice of his, which Ed was kind of surprised to realise he hadn't heard...pretty much ever, from this version of the bastard. "Thank you for being so prompt in coming by."
Clemin shot Ed a disgusted look. "What are you doing here, Silent Alchemist?" he demanded.
Pretty much the entire office's qi sharpened with a protectiveness that was both touching and unexpected, and it helped Ed keep a smile pasted to his face as he signed, :Al and I were together when the call came for him to report here; he wanted to see the labs.:
Roy cleared his throat and translated, "The Mending Alchemist had an interest in visiting the labs, and since the Silent Alchemist had to do his inspection rounds anyway, he offered to show him around. They were together when my request for Mending to report here reached them, so Silent came along. Is there a problem, sir?"
Clemin's expression and qi said there very much was, but he shook his head and flatly replied, "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Mustang." And then he turned his stare on Al, who straightened. "I hope you're less trouble than your brother, boy; I would hate to have to reassign you to one of the fronts."
Holy fuck. Ed was pretty sure you could cut the tension in the room with Al's jian sword.
Al just put on one of his better 'I'm trying to figure out how many times I can stab you before I can no longer heal you' smiles and replied, "I'm afraid I don't know what my brother has done to earn your ire, sir, but he does have a talent for rubbing people entirely the wrong way, sometimes without being aware that he's doing it. It's not a talent I share, however, so I suspect you'll find me far more agreeable."
Clemin gave a disbelieving snort. "We'll see about that." Then he looked back over Roy's team again, before focussing on Roy himself. "I expect to see this office up and running by Thursday, Mustang. We've already fallen behind because of someone's meddling."
Oh, like they didn't all know who that was aimed at.
Somehow, Ed kept from narrowing his eyes, but his smile felt distinctly false.
"Yes, sir," Roy replied evenly, without making any promises, Ed couldn't help but note; he was familiar with that trick of the bastard's.
Clemin clearly wasn't, or he didn't care, because he nodded and turned to leave. Which had him facing Ed again, and his eyes narrowed. "It's a pity, Silent, that you weren't placed in Mustang's command. It looks like he, at least, runs a tight ship. Unlike that little rat commander of yours."
Ed was seriously going to punch this fucker in a minute.
Wisely, Clemin let that be his closing remark, leaving the office without a backwards glance and a rather vicious smile of victory, as if insulting Ed and Hughes was the height of his day.
Once the door had fallen closed behind the secretary, Ed let free a sharp-edged smile and signed, :I'm looking forward to hanging that fucker with his own entrails.:
Strained laughter came from Havoc and Breda as they and Fuery all collapsed into their seats, Fuery looking pale with stress. All of them, actually, even Falman and Hawkeye, who had retained their military stances, looked a little paler than normal, stress and disgust painting their qi in varying amounts.
"I take it," Roy said, his tone icy, but his qi saying he was angry at Clemin, not anyone in the office, "that Brigadier General Clemin isn't too pleased that a member of his command was arrested for ordering his office team to murder Ishvalans."
:He has a very low opinion of Investigations, which he's made clear to us a number of times,: Ed returned, somehow managing to force his expression into something a bit more neutral. :We'll fix that soon enough.:
"Them's fighting words, kid," Havoc commented neutrally.
Ed didn't really think, he just tossed a kunai, knocking into and spilling an ink well over a couple pieces of paper. Before anyone could do more than curse, he clapped his hands and the ink shifted, forming the words, 'I'M NOT AFRAID OF A FIGHT,' on the top piece of paper, before the remainder puddled back into the ink well with enough force to right it again.
"Holy shit," Havoc said after a short, stunned silence, everyone but Al's qi laced with a sort of awed shock, even Roy's.
"Show off," Al muttered in Xingan.
"How did you–?" Falman started, before Havoc and Breda both made shushing noises.
Ed saw Roy make the military sign for :Bugged: as he stepped forward to collect his kunai, which Breda handed over with an interested look.
"What, really?" Al asked, interest in his qi.
"Uncertain," Hawkeye said a bit stiffly, and Ed looked over to find her signing, :–yet, but we're acting under the assumption that they're here.:
:I sometimes wonder how much it must piss everyone off that bugs are useless against me,: Ed signed once he'd put his kunai away.
Havoc snorted, clearly at just the right angle to catch most of that, while Al rolled his eyes.
A flicker of amusement danced through Hawkeye's qi, before she signed, :They'll find a way around it eventually.:
Ed shrugged. :I wish them much luck.:
"Hey," Al realised, perking up slightly, "so, has the colonel showed you guys his housing options, yet?"
The whole of Roy's team latched onto that topic with relief, immediately setting about debating their thoughts on the various houses, even Hawkeye and Falman, though they seemed far less excited about the subject than the other four.
Ed glanced over, sensing Roy's qi focussed on him, and the bastard crooked a finger at him before retreating into his office.
Ed glanced back at Al, decided he was plenty distracted, then followed Roy into his office, finding him standing next to his desk with a frown. The room felt way too empty, without the familiar couches or ridiculously tall piles of paperwork on the desk. :Roy?: he signed.
The bastard sighed. :Is he always that rude to you and Maes?: he asked, clearly still bothered by Clemin's parting comment.
Ed shrugged and quietly closed the door behind him, before signing, :That was nastier than usual, but Hughes is a higher rank, and I expect my disability puts me fairly low in the pecking order.:
Roy managed a tight smile at that. :They'll soon see the error there.:
Ed snorted. :As often as I've lost Envy, you'd think they'd worry about me a little more.:
:It's possible the homunculi worry about you, but the brass don't care,: Roy pointed out, before shaking his head. :Could you meet me tonight?:
Ed blinked, then raised an eyebrow. :On the couch?:
Roy's mouth twitched, amusement curling through his qi. :After work. I'll provide dinner.:
Ed raised his other eyebrow. :No dates.:
:No PUBLIC dates,: Roy returned.
Ed considered that for a second, then huffed and nodded; the bastard had him there. :Fine. Where?:
:The garage. Seventeen hundred?:
Ed couldn't quite stop a grimace; he was going to have to ask one of the librarians to come get him so he could make it in time. :I might be a little late,: he warned.
Fondness curled through Roy's qi, and he offered Ed a smile that said he understood. :I can wait.:
Urgh. Stupid, perfect bastard.
Ed shook his head. :I should go free Al before he gets dragged into the dreaded unpacking.:
Roy coughed like he was trying to suppress a laugh. :That may be wise,: he agreed.
Ed gave him a lazy wave and stepped back out to the inner office.
Al was still discussing houses with Havoc and Breda, but Hawkeye and Falman had returned to unpacking, while Fuery looked like he really wanted to continue the conversation, but he could feel Hawkeye's eyes burning into the back of his head, and Ed suspected Al would be next. (She was good at picking out the weakest link.)
He stepped up next to his brother with his best bright smile and signed, :We're losing library time.:
"Oh!" Al winced and glanced back at where Hawkeye had turned her stare on him. "Oh, yeah. I'll see you guys later?"
"Take me with you," Havoc whispered, reaching for Al with a hopeful expression.
There was the sound of the safety clicking off on a gun.
Ed caught Al's arm and pulled him out of the office, while Havoc, Breda, and Fuery all exploded into motion.
Once they were a safe distance from the office, Ed signed, :I like them and all, but I'll take Investigations any day.:
"No threat of being shot?" Al returned in a slightly forced joking tone, while amusement curling somewhat uncertainly around a pillar of suppressed anger that Ed hadn't noticed while they were in the office, surrounded by the rest of the team's suppressed emotions.
:She's never actually shot any of them, so far as I know.:
"There's a first time for everything."
Ed snorted, then took a moment to eye his brother's profile, picking out the minute signs of his anger that he could never hide from Ed. :He's not worth it.:
The signs deepened, becoming easier to see, and the anger in his qi flared, like a fire fed a large piece of tinder. "You should have–"
Ed clapped a hand over his brother's mouth and pushed him out of the way of foot traffic, because, speaking in Xingan or not, his tone was plenty to give him away, and none of them needed a temper tantrum getting back to Clemin, not so soon after his visit. Only when he was certain Al had regained some control over his anger, did Ed pull away and sign, :The brass don't like Investigations, because we're nosy and they're plotting against the whole country. They belittle us to make themselves feel more powerful. This is basic human bullshit; why am I explaining it to you?:
Al's smile was a wretched sort of thing, but Ed's little peptalk had helped him calm down a little more. "I don't like people insulting you or the lieutenant colonel," he admitted.
Ed shook his head. :It's going to happen. Console yourself with the knowledge that we'll have all of them by the balls shortly.:
Al grimaced at the 'balls', then nodded, determination streaking through his qi and wrapping firmly around the anger. "Soon," he agreed.
Ed flashed him a smile that was a little too sharp, then motioned with his head that they should keep on.
Ed waited until they had left Command entirely and were headed towards the library, before snapping his fingers and, when he knew Al was looking, signing, :Can you find your way back to the house okay? The bastard asked me to meet him.:
Al shot him a side-long glance, something very like victory in his qi. "I thought you weren't going on any dates."
:Shut up.:
Al let out a quiet laugh and nodded. "I'll be fine," he offered, his voice practically dripping with amusement. "You enjoy your date."
Where was May when Ed needed to get his brother back for being a shit?
It didn't take Ed long to find Roy, largely because he wasn't far from the street entrance, and was standing in front of the car, so Ed only had to glance in the right direction to spot him.
When Ed reached him, Roy motioned towards one of the non-military cars he'd been standing in front of. "I had them bring it in from East City on the supply train," he commented.
Ed snorted and shook his head. :I don't think I realised you had a car in East City,: he admitted. He knew the bastard had got a car by the end of the year, in Central, before, because he'd ridden in it a couple times, when things started going to shit, but he'd never cared, while they were stationed at East, what Mustang'd done outside of work, so long as it didn't involve insulting Ed. (In retrospect, it had probably involved a lot of keeping tabs on Ed, because trouble had had a habit of following him around, as a kid, and he'd never been particularly forthcoming about specifics.)
"I bought it when I got promoted to colonel," Roy replied. "Come on."
Ed got in the car, then nudged Roy and signed, :Where are you taking me?:
Roy smiled at him, an edge of smugness to it. "You'll see," he promised, before starting the car.
Ed huffed and sat back, turning to watch as the city that was becoming far too familiar slid by outside the window. Roy appeared to be heading south, towards the edge of the city, and he eventually stopped at a small eatery that Ed had never seen before – clearly, there were still parts of the city that he didn't know – and picked up food that they'd apparently been holding, since he was pretty much in and out. He set that in the back seat – where it filled the car with a delicious, and maybe a little familiar, scent – then drove a little way back into the city, before turning west and driving them out of the city limits.
Ed was fairly quickly lost – his knowledge of the area past the Central slums had always been a little sketchy, especially to the west and north – but Roy clearly knew where they were going, keeping a steady clip down the empty main road, before slowing down just enough to make a dirt turn-off that Ed almost missed, and driving along that until they crested a small hill and were suddenly in a forest that had seemed to spring from nowhere.
There was a barely-there plot of grassy ground just off the side of the dirt road, a little way into the forest, which Roy pulled into, then shut off the car.
:I have no idea where we are,: Ed admitted, when the bastard looked at him.
Roy smiled at that, very clearly pleased. "I suspect you won't mind a short walk?" he said in lieu of an actual explanation.
(Okay, Ed had kind of expected that from him.)
Ed rolled his eyes and shook his head, then followed Roy's lead in getting out of the car and leaving their jackets behind, the bastard grabbing the food on the way.
Roy showed the way to what appeared to be either a game trail or a long-unused human-made path, which led them up a slight incline, past numerous trees, to a clearing, where there was what had – Ed suspected – once been a gorgeous home, which looked to have been nearly gutted by something, and was in the process of being reclaimed by nature.
"My grandparents, on my father's side, summered out here," Roy offered quietly, stepping carefully over a fallen log. "The year before my parents died, my grandmother came out here to start opening the house, like she did every year, and there was a fire. My grandfather refused to come back, gave the land to me in his will, since he sort of disowned my aunt."
Ed stepped forward and caught Roy's free hand, folding their fingers together, because he didn't really have a better response. A part of him wanted to ask, 'Why is your family history so sad?' but he knew his own family was a tragedy all their own, and it was hardly up to either of them what scars marked their pasts, only how they bore them. And Roy seemed to bear his relatively well. (At least, he'd never attempted human transmutation.)
"I've never known what to do with this place," Roy continued, squeezing Ed's hand as he led them closer to and around the remains of a deck that wrapped around the side of the house. "The madam keeps telling me I should just sell the land, especially since my aspirations don't really make a countryside retreat feasible, and she has no use for it. But..." He shook his head, then motioned ahead of them as they cleared the deck.
There, through a gap in the trees, was a sprawling view of the countryside, with the skyline of Central lit by the early evening sun.
'Oh, wow,' Ed mouthed, rather helplessly enchanted. He'd always prefer to live in cities, because he hated feeling lonely – a holdover from losing so much of his family as a child, doubtless, and exacerbated by finding Al gone after his first visit to the Gate – but he'd grown up in the country, and it would always have a special place in his heart.
And this? This was stunning. This was being surrounded by living things – by plants and animals and so many tiny life forces that he could only barely sense, but all together more than strong enough to block out the crawling of the Stones underground – and seeing both the land of his childhood, and the haze of his current home in the distance, bright and gleaming, like some sort of promise of good things to come. This was a little bit peaceful and a lot wonderful, easing away some of the stress he'd only vaguely been aware of knotting his muscles.
Roy kicked a few clumps of dead and rotting leaves away a couple steps in front of them, revealing a flat stone that was large enough for both of them to sit on comfortably, then pulled Ed down to sit with him. He opened the bag of food, commenting, "Alphonse has told me, on a few occasions, that you're only a picky eater when milk is involved."
Ed snorted and accepted the container Roy held out to him, balancing it carefully in his lap so he could sign, :True. Al and Winry eventually got into the habit of not telling me something had milk in it until after I'd tasted it and decided if I liked it or not, because they suck. But it does mean I'm a little less picky than he thinks.:
Roy chuckled. "Well, this does not have any milk, I promise."
Ed shot him a suspicious look, then peered into his container. What he found inside was recognisable enough that he could take Roy's word, and he flashed him a smile, mouthing, 'Cretan?'
Roy smiled back, fond and quite obviously proud of himself. "As authentic as they can make it, given the difficulty in procuring some spices."
Ed hadn't had Cretan food since before he'd married Winry, as Rush Valley was a little too far south and east for most Cretan immigrants looking to start up a restaurant, and Winry hadn't been fond of it the one time he'd taken her to a place that had opened in Central City while he'd been travelling. It hadn't really been something he'd been upset over not having any more – he'd slogged through a warzone in Creta, which had shadowed a lot of his memories of the country and their food – but he did like it, and it was a nice change from the much blander Amestrisan fare.
And this was good Cretan food, which Ed emphasised by gobbling his serving up, then peering a bit hopefully into the bag.
Roy laughed and offered him the last few bites of his, which Ed took with only a momentary hesitation. "I take it," Roy said as Ed finished his serving, "that place meets with your approval?"
Ed flashed him a slightly embarrassed grin as he sat down the empty container. :It was good, yeah. It's been a while, but that tasted about right.:
Roy's smile eased into something a bit more quietly fond, and he leant back on his hands, still watching Ed. "The only person I've known who has been to Creta, was the woman who taught me the language. Her family owns that restaurant, so she'd always tell me it was authentic food, but I sort of had to take that with a grain of salt."
Ed snorted and nodded. :Keeping in mind this body's never actually had Cretan food and it's been a few years, that tasted pretty close to me.:
Roy chuckled and turned to look towards the city, and Ed followed suit, watching as the sun slowly began to paint everything in shades of orange and red, shadows racing across the wide-open valley below them.
Ed glanced back over when he heard Roy move, watched him collect some deadfall and clear away some space around the stone, which Ed shifted off of to get out of the way.
Like any well-trained outdoorsman – or soldier, likely – Roy built the sticks he'd found into a pyramid, stuffing dead leaves and, when Ed handed them over, the leftovers from their meal, inside and around the bottom. Then he pulled on one of his gloves and snapped, and it burst into merry flames.
Roy knelt again, just a little behind the stone the fire was now burning on, and said, "I admit, when I heard why you enjoy the lab two greenhouses, this place came to mind."
Ed blinked, surprised, and then allowed a smile. :It's very similar,: he offered. :There's more animals here, and it's a bit more...alive, you might say.:
"Wild?" Roy suggested with a smile that looked a little sad.
Ed shrugged. :Plants don't really feel 'wild'. Mostly I can just tell if they're getting sufficient nutrients or if there's a problem, like when rot has set in, or something.:
Roy blinked. "Huh. That would be a useful skill in keeping a garden."
Ed snorted. :Don't listen to Al. I like plants fine, but I'm not really interested in keeping any.: He tilted his head to one side. :Did you settle on a house?:
"I did," Roy admitted, leaning forward a bit, the firelight dancing across his features and reflecting in his eyes. "Will you tell me the real reason you picked the one you did? I'd have expected you to pick the one closer to Maes and Gracia's, if it was quick access to books you were looking for."
Ed blinked at him a couple times, then allowed a smile that felt a little tired. :It's nothing like the house the other you had.: He shrugged when sorrow tinged Roy's smile, a sort of grim understanding circling his qi. :It struck me as the sort of neighbourhood you'd like, too,: Ed added, because that was also true. :Relatively quiet, and I remember seeing a few smaller pubs a couple blocks down. Not the loud, popular ones, but the quieter sort, where you can actually think.:
"Have experience with that?" Roy guessed, his tone gone teasing.
Ed huffed, then admitted, :Some. I was never in the habit of over-drinking; I get stupid and pick fights when I'm drunk.: (Which Greed, who had been the one to insist Ed learn how it felt to be drunk, had thought was hilarious, no matter how many times Ed had broken his nose. The dick.)
"If I ever feel the need to ply you with copious amounts of alcohol, I will keep that in mind."
Ed snorted and threw a handful of leaves at him, all of which ended up in the fire.
Roy pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time, then sent an easy smile over to Ed as he slipped it away, anticipation and nerves bubbling up around the bottom of his qi. "Would you like to see the house I bought?"
:Did you sneak out during lunch?: Ed guessed, before getting easily to his feet, deciding to be polite and not mention the bastard's apparent nerves. What did he even have to be nervous about? It wasn't like it was Ed's house or anything. (Even if it maybe, possibly, could be. In some distant future that was becoming worryingly realistic every time he spent any amount of time with Roy that didn't include other people.
(Damn.)
"I might have," Roy replied, before wiggling his fingers at the fire, like some sort of birthday party magician, until the flames died. The embers glowed for an extra moment, before vanishing into darkness, leaving them with nothing to see by, the sun set too far behind their screen of trees to help.
Ed pressed his hands together, activating the array Colourway had gifted him, and writing, 'You're kind of an idiot.'
The faint light from the words caught Roy's smile, and then he was stepping in close, the lit up argon dispersing as he moved through it, one hand coming up to cup Ed's cheek, while the other came to rest at his waist. "Or I planned that perfectly," he said, so fucking smooth, before his mouth slotted over Ed's.
Alas, for all the insults Ed couldn't actually speak; he gave it up as a bad job and curled his hands over the bastard's shoulders, huffed into the kiss before giving in, let the bastard have his stupid victory. He absolutely was not giving in because he sort of desperately wanted the kiss and a part of him had actually, kind of been waiting for it ever since they'd got out of the car.
(He was a liar.)
"I bet," Roy whispered against his lips after fuck alone knew how long – Ed had stopped caring at some point, "that you've never seen this trick." Then he snapped his fingers, and the spark curled out to one side, forming a line of miniature fireballs that led back around the remains of the deck and house.
Okay, no, Ed hadn't seen that trick before, but he could guess how much effort it took to control it, and that was fucking impressive. Which, yeah, he knew Roy's alchemy was impressive – had known as a kid, even when he'd made jokes about it being all flash and no substance, or about how it was useless in the rain – but he could honestly say he'd never thought this would be possible. Mostly because he, like too many others, had fallen into the trap of thinking that Roy's alchemy couldn't be used for anything other than burning things, but it was...so much more than that, wasn't it? Just like how water alchemy could be used for more than making things wet.
He took Roy's hand and squeezed it, then took the lead, using his hold on the bastard to bring him along, taking care to walk them around any obstacles, so Roy didn't chance losing his concentration and setting something unfortunate on fire.
There was a joke in there somewhere, about Roy leading Ed, who led Roy. Or maybe it was symbolic of their future: Roy would find the correct path, and would trust Ed to lead them around the obstacles.
Or maybe he was reading too much into this; Honghui's old nature poems and lessons about symbolism were getting to him because of all the trees.
Yeah, that was it. It was just the trees.
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Date: 18/4/16 00:38 (UTC)