Worlds Collide

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers. Exotic Rose83, doesn't look like it bodes well for the parents, does it? Nomme de Plume, I'm not telling. And as far as an alchemic lock, they're advanced, but there would still be tricks their fathers could use to keep them out, for a couple of years at least. More than anything, Ed was just scared seeing his son more or less shooting flames at his daughter, and his most natural reaction (because he's Ed) is to cuss and hit Roy. kuragari75, Yeah, but Hughes is not exactly making it easy for the characters in Munich. Amethyst-eyed Koneko, when I said Riza being a big part, I meant that in more than just the marriage. Later in this chapter I include that Roy actually would have been in Munich in Stephen's place if he hadn't been married with twins on the way. Instead, his superior officer had to go in his place. A romance with such constant close contact might have blossomed between Edward and Roy, but it never happened.

Oh, and I'll just wait to reveal Stephen's identity later. Oh yeah, and next chapter should be double lemon (as in, smex in both worlds)

Chapter 12

Accusations and Attacks

Amestris

One year later

Raine Mustang walked through the hallways of the Central office, looking rather confident until she spotted Alex Armstrong coming toward her. Then, she was ducking into the nearest alcoves, taking roundabout routes to her brother’s office. It seemed that with distance, the nearly bald man forgot about her, at least enough that every day she wasn’t confronted by some sign of his “undying love” for her. But since he’d gotten back to Central, Raine felt like she had no escape.

The man didn’t respond well to rejection, either, usually very kindly giving Raine her space before once again providing evidence of his continued feelings for her. She didn’t understand why. Hell, it was her fortieth birthday tomorrow, and Armstrong obviously wanted children. So why did he keep pursuing her even after she’d explained that she couldn’t have children, especially now at her age?

She turned the corner to put her at Roy’s office, finding Falman out front, going toward his desk, and seeing Armstrong in the distance behind her brother’s far too efficient secretary.

“Hello, Dr. Mustang. I guess you want to see the fuhrer?” The gray-haired man began opening the door, but before Raine would ever get inside, she realized Armstrong would be there to once again make his profession of love.

“Vato,” she said, “you’re divorced, right?”

“Yes.”

“Not dating anyone?”

“Right.”

And with that, door open to her brother’s office, Raine began kissing his secretary. Surprisingly enough, even caught off guard as he had been, Raine found Falman to be a pretty damned good kisser, once he returned the move.
“Raine? Major Falman?” Armstrong asked, sounding crushed.

“Raine! Falman!” the perturbed voice of the fuhrer said from within the office.

“What the hell?” another from within said.

“Ed,” her brother hissed. “Language.”

“Auntie is kissing Major Falman,” a little girl’s voice said, only to be followed by a very loud “EWWW” from her brother.

Raine wanted to convince Armstrong, so she brought her hand up to the older man’s gray hair and pressed his face harder against her own. She guided his arm around her waist, then released his hand to rub his back in circles. Somehow, in this action, she’d struck a nerve, feeling him moan into her mouth.

Into her mouth?

She suddenly realized that at some point, the kiss that was supposed to involve only their lips and drug their tongues into it. But no complaints were going to come from the elder Mustang. Falman knew what he was doing.
“You go old man!” another person yelled, definitely Breda.

Finally, Raine released her vice-like hold on the older man. “I’m sorry I had to do that. I was trying to convince Armstrong.”

“I realized that about halfway through.” Then, he ran a hand to the back of his neck, nervously. “But if you want to use me like that again, feel free. I would just recommend not doing so in the office. It’s against policy.” Raine refrained from adding what she supposed had occurred within her brother’s office, instead watching as his hand moved to his swollen, probably tender, lips. The kiss over, the two looked around them, realizing they were likely going to have some explaining to do.

********

Munich

“You have to be kidding me,” Wrath said, looking at the stuck lock on his roommate’s bedroom door.

“Do you think I am? I don’t want to bust the door down and have the owner have to come up to fix it and see all the stuff we’ve got up here, but if I can’t get out soon, I’m going to miss meeting with that bitch Eckhart.”

“Well, I’m afraid I might I might cost us a lot of money for the repairs, but I’ll give it a try.” Wrath placed his foot to the door, prepared to simply simply break the latch and hoping he didn't bust the door, but Edward grabbed his ankle.

“Ulysses,” he said, “the hinges are on our side of the door. We don’t have to break it down.”

With an embarrassed grin, Wrath just answered, “Oh.” He lowered his foot, feeling Edward run a hand over his cheek.

“You want to get me a screwdriver?”

“And hurry? I’ve been stuck in here for two hours before the two of you got back to the apartment. I have to use the loo.”

Wrath grabbed two from Edward’s work pile, handing one of them to his boyfriend. The blond began working on the lower pin while Wrath tried to pop out the top one. Midway through, he noticed Edward had already completed what he was doing, with his thin, nimble fingers, and he was now on the middle hinge, putting his head uncomfortably—for Wrath at least—at the teen’s crotch. Doing his best, the young man worked to remove the top pin, feeling Edward’s warm breath through his thin black slacks, a reminder of just how far the two had gone in the last few years with their relationship.

As Edward stood, facing the door, rubbing other parts of himself against Wrath, it was a reminder of how far they hadn’t.

“Ready?”

“Huh?”

“I said, are you ready?”

“Oh, yeah.” Damned teenage hormones and Edward’s small, beautiful body. Wrath was beginning to feel that if the two of them didn’t soon manage to take that final step, he would explode. Lately, every time he came in contact with the blond, he needed to hide behind something waist high or remain seated for a considerable period of time. Three years they’d been a real couple, and in those three years, they’d done some wonderful, mind-blowing things, but never that thing, never the one that Wrath felt finalized it all.

Together, the two pushed at the door, Stephen on the other side, helping them. The door was no sooner open than Stephen was thanking them as he flew by, running to find some kind of relief.

The young couple smiled at one another, then chuckled at their friend’s expense.

********

Amestris

Roy was grateful the kiss had been one to distract Armstrong, though he felt more at ease with the idea of Falman as a brother-in-law than he had the large, burly General. Really, he wished his sister would finally settle down with someone, if that was possible, just so he didn’t have to keep thinking that one or the other of his subordinates was trying to date her.

Then again, the only other of his friends and original team who was still single was Fuery and the general consensus was that the young lieutenant colonel simply had no interest in Roy’s sister, or anyone’s sister, for that matter.

Roy was just finished cleaning up the mess his children had made, drawing on some scrap sheets of paper pictures of the family. They’d stayed at his office for a while after visiting Riza’s grave. It was something that both fathers felt had to be done, but at what frequency and how to display their own emotions were the biggest questions. Roy didn’t want his children thinking it was something done just out of obligation, yet, he wasn't sure visiting the grave should be something that always brought the two men to tears, at least not publicly.

Of course, after a somewhat sobering afternoon, Ed had said that seeing Raine and Falman kissing had been just about the funniest thing he could imagine. And, despite his natural inclination to be protective of his older sister, he had enjoyed Ed’s laughter so much he hadn’t even considered the fact that he should be upset.

After the scare nearly a year ago, Roy had noticed his husband’s laughter hadn’t come as easily, at least when he was around. They had taken to sleeping together in the same bed a little over a month after the whole incident, but Roy had to admit that something had been different. Roy had expected Ed’s anger to wane, but he had obviously been frightened and blamed Roy for the incident.

This on his mind, Roy made the trip back to the house, knowing he had to get dressed to go out with Raine for her birthday. He walked in the door, finding Aideen and Nicholas running through the hall to hug him.

“You just saw me today,” he said to the seven-year-olds. “Well, are the two of your ready for dinner with Auntie?”

Both answered yes, though Nicholas looked uncomfortable in a white dress shirt and tie, while Aideen seemed much more at ease in the loose-hanging white pants and black sweater, though her father wondered just how long they were going to stay white.

“All right,” Ed said to the twins, “your papa needs to get ready.” The shorter man stepped out of the kitchen. Roy stared for a moment, caught in one of those times of disbelief that the twenty-three-year-old was actually his. Ed leaned up against the frame of the archway into the kitchen, tan vest, brown pants, green tie on, hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Most of the time, Roy preferred to see Ed dressed in something more casual, especially those black leather pants, which made an appearance whenever Ed was going to be doing some kind of physical labor or fulfilling some form of mission. But tonight, the blond couldn’t have looked better. “Now, you,” he said to Roy, “go upstairs.”

Roy rubbed the tops of his children’s heads, then went to Ed, kissing him with a quick rub of his hands over the still soft cheeks—a fact that was still part of Ed’s greatest irritations that he couldn’t grow decent facial hair. There were some grossed out noises from his son and the sound of Aideen lightly rapping her brother on his head for making them.

“Go,” Ed said with a grin. “I was even nice enough to lay out clothes for you so we could get there early.”

“So you’re dressing me like one of the twins?”

“I wouldn’t have said it that way, but, yes. Now go.” Ed smacked Roy on the behind, out of view of his children, with his left hand. The older man looked over his shoulder at the blond, whose face looked as stoically calm as though nothing had happened.

********

Ed stood beside Roy, now dressed in the pin-stripe suit he’d laid out for him when Nicholas came running up to them with the pyrotex gloves, apparently startling Roy a bit. He looked over at Ed. “I swear I locked the drawer with alchemy.

“I know. They’ve figured out how to open it. I’ve had to try about three others to find one that they haven’t learned yet. I’ll have to show it to you.” Ed then looked down at his children. “But I don’t think we’re going to have a repeat of that incident.”

Nicholas held the gloves up to his papa, who took them and placed them in his pocket, thanking the little blond, but telling him to let the adults get the gloves from now on.

After some final bathroom runs, making sure there were enough activities for the children to do during the dinner at the restaurant, making sure each had a little toy they wanted, and then another bathroom stop, the family was finally on the road. The family of four got into the restaurant just ahead of Al’s. The older cousins waved at the sandy-haired toddler in Al’s arms, Sasha’s hazel eyes sparkling as she squirmed to be let down out of her father’s arms.

As she was released, Ed knelt down to hug his niece, feeling her chubby little arms around his neck. She smiled up at him, those mostly green eyes then darting over to her idol: Aideen. Treating the little three-year-old like a sort of little sister as she always had, the dark-haired girl took Sasha’s hand in her own and led her to the table, helping the younger girl to her seat with the help of her Aunt Winry. Nicholas went off to play with his own near-brother, Havoc’s little boy, James. The Elric brothers joined the Mustang siblings in time to hear Roy complaining to his sister about their hair.

“I just don’t get it. You’re going to be forty and your hair is still pitch black,” he said. Ed looked up at his brother, rolling his eyes. The hair at Roy’s temples had finally gone white, though he had very few anywhere else, and both brothers knew well enough that the fuhrer still hadn’t gotten over his sensitivity about it.

“That’s because my hair color comes in a bottle.”

Roy stood, gaping. “After all that time of telling me to just let myself go natural, you dye your hair?”

“Yes. Your gray looks nice. Mine is in a strip, starting at my forehead. I look like a damned skunk, so yes, I dye my hair, Pyro.” Raine ruffled Roy’s black hair, then walked over to Ed, hugging him. “Honestly, Baby, how do you put up with my overgrown brat of a brother?”

“I tune him out most of the time,” Ed returned the hug. “Happy birthday, Raine.” He looked at his watch.”

Raine moved to her seat at the head of the table, Roy at her left hand, the children between him and Ed. The blond knew that this wasn’t entirely what Raine would have wanted for her birthday, and she’d already announced she and the single women—including Rose, who’d befriended the elder sister during her work in Lior rebuilding the city—and Fuery, much to the man’s embarrassment, would all be hitting a strip club that night. Ed didn’t know if it was true or not, but he’d enjoyed the shade of red the man had turned beneath his glasses.

The dinner went well, talking and laughing among the adults, playful banter among the children. Armstrong had even quickly recovered the shock of the rejection from Raine, turning his attention to Rose, almost indirectly, by playing with Phillip in a nearly fatherly manner. Ed leaned over the children to whisper in Roy’s ear, joking that the dark-haired boy would leave the place flexing his muscles.

Everything was going fine, just as it should, a simple family moment without anyone caring about politics, or alchemy except in passing, casual conversation. Everything was perfect, a happy moment, a nice birthday before Raine would inevitably go out and get herself trashed either from alcohol or lack of sleep.

Then, there was a shout making all at the table leap from their seats. Ed saw a man, one who might have been from Drachma, as he had the appearance of those in their northern territories. The man managed a short string of curses at the bunch before pulling out a gun and squeezing the trigger, pointed directly at the source of the fuhrer’s “unholy union.” With his automail, Ed managed to deflect the bullet into a nearby wall, not to mention shatter a bit of the metal limb it had struck. Immediately, because of the risk posed to himself and to his children, Ed clapped his hands, transforming the arm and jumped at the man, wishing the armed guards hadn’t seemed so unnecessary at the time they arrived at the usually guarded restaurant. With that strong metal arm, Ed knocked the gun out of the man’s hands, then pointed the sharp spike to the Drachman’s jugular.

“Big mistake, attacking me when I’m with my children. Big mistake just attacking me. Now, while my friends here arrest you, maybe you should explain to me why I shouldn’t use this pointy little arm to damage your Drachman face?”

********

Munich

Stephen stood inside Eckhart’s office, looking at the older blond woman, still barely able to withhold his revulsion at the woman. The spy’s cool, unmoving face had a way of keeping such emotions guarded, something the original choice for this mission, Captain Mustang, would never have managed it with his easily read face. Personally, Stephen felt the younger man should have been grateful for his family; the only thing that had kept him from being assigned to this long-term mission had been the birth of those twins and his marriage to Riza, whereas his more experienced superior officer was unattached. More than once, Stephen had wished he'd had a family to prevent witnessing the horrors of the Thule Society, led by the crazed woman seated opposite him.

“Well Stephen,” she said, calmly, “I want you to know that I have heard rumors. Hardly much to be worried about.”
Stephen folded his arms, keeping his voice passive as he spoke. “Rumors of what Frau Eckhart?”

“Rumors stemming from slight accusations from an Officer Hughes.” Stephen couldn’t help the reaction on his face. “You are familiar with him?”

“He said some rather derogatory things about my roommates. I had to take things into hand,” Stephen said.

“So I had heard. I would guess the man’s comments were similar to the accusations he’s leveled on your two roommates.”

“You cannot honestly believe him. He sees them in the street a few times, yet he feels he knows them well enough to say these kinds of things. I live with them, and Frau Eckhart, I share a wall with their bedroom. I would suspect I would have heard something.”

“Currently, the society is not concerned with the rumors. Edward Elric is our best rocket scientist, and Ulysses his, cousin, I believe it was, is second only to him. We have no intention of investigating those rumors at this time.”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell?”

“As long as the person is useful,” she said with such exacting coldness it would have made anyone shiver, but though it wasn’t a part of himself he showed often, Stephen recognized that same indifference in himself at times.

“Then what do you want of me?”

“We would like you to stop such accusations.” Eckhart folded her hands on her desk. “Permanently.”

“And why do you think I would be capable of such an act?”

“Your eyes, my faithful researcher. You have already killed before, possibly countless times before.”

“The Great War was not kind to those who served. It hardened those it didn’t break,” he answered.

“Then you know what is expected of you. I believe tomorrow you will be able to find Officer Hughes vulnerable around seven that evening during his patrols.”

Stephen nodded, then left the woman’s office.