The Phoenix and His Demons

Yes, yes I know. It\'s been FAR too long since I\'ve updated. Why? Well first of all the holidays were beyond hectic; but then aren\'t they always? Secondly...I hit one hell of a major writer\'s blockl. I have no idea why though I daresay I think I can blame it on the fact that some of the friends that begged me to write this story for them in the first place decided to tell me they\'d stopped reading around chapter nine. That wasn\'t exactly very encouraging. However, the show must go on and after a lot of beating sense into myself I\'ve decided that I must continue. I want to finish this story no matter if no one reads it and no matter if the next reviews (if any) are ignorant flamers that like to type in Capslock with misspelled insults. I will continue.

This chapter is going to be a little rough around the edges, to get it out for you guys I\'m writing it on the site while I\'m at work so I haven\'t had a chance to do much spell checking. Please forgive as I will come back and edit all my chapters eventually. Right now I can\'t tell you when that might be considering whenever I\'m at home with all my documents and the like, I\'m usually nowhere near the computer. Sad but true, Kingdom Hearts 2 has taken over my world for the next few weeks.

I might be a bit slow from time to time, but I promise that I will finish this story and I will update...no matter how long it takes. So, without further ado, here\'s the long awaited Chapter 15.


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Oh Boy!

Edward wasn\'t sure what time it was when he woke, or rather when that damned annoying alarm clock woke him. Surrounded by warmth and a seemingly unnatural sense of comfort he whined audibly before reaching towards the offending device to shut it off; only to find he couldn\'t reach. Why couldn\'t he reach? Well, that was simple, because he wasn\'t exactly covered in just the blankets and the arm that was tucked around his waist didn\'t look like it was going anywhere anytime soon.

Slowly but surely more than the sun\'s light started to dawn on the blonde alchemist. Memories of everything from that ferocious kiss at the door, the tangle of clothes falling away in a heap and the passionate lovemaking that came after filled his mind and the ringing clock was forgotten for a moment. Only a moment however as a shoe came out of nowhere, well really it was just behind him but it looked like nowhere, and smacked the clock off the side table and into the floor where it clattered and gave a last few sickly rings in its death throes before all was silent again. Well, almost.

\"Go back to sleep, Edward.\" Damn, was the man psychic or something? On second thought, Ed decided he really didn\'t want an answer to that, he wouldn\'t like it anyway.

\"But...\" Damn the man made it sound like a crime that he wanted to see what kind of damage had been inflicted upon the evil clock.

\"No.\" Edward sighed and gave into the orders without much of a fight; after all he\'d wanted to shut the thing up himself so it wasn\'t as if he were really losing another fight with Roy. Rather, he\'d convinced himself that he decided to agree with him because he was still too sleepy to bother with such trivial things.

Their restful bliss couldn\'t last forever though and the second ringing that disturbed them was the phone. This time the probably couldn\'t be solved with a well hurled shoe for if it happened to be Hawkeye on the other end of that phone, well, it wasn\'t a very nice mental image. Edward felt the weight on the bed shift and the arm around his waist disappeared as Roy left the room to go answer the phone. He couldn\'t make out Roy\'s side of the conversation, but then he wasn\'t really trying either. Instead he sighed one last time into his pillow before sliding out of bed himself and heading straight for the bathroom. Morning necessities needed to be taken care of and then a hot shower was in order.

Hot water was always a wonderful thing, though he didn\'t loiter in the shower too long. Finally all clean, he shut the water off, grabbed a towel and headed back into the bedroom and hallway hunting for his clothes. From the annoyed tapping of a pencil on a desk he concluded that Roy was still on the phone so it must\'ve been someone from Headquarters with something important. He\'d not bother him about it just yet. Hair was quickly combed and braided after he dressed and then he snuck into the kitchen to see what there was to eat; he was starved.

One look at the cupboards told him that Roy Mustang was not the type of bachelor that cooked. Hell, with all the dates the man usually had, it was fairly likely that he almost always ate out or take-out at least. Still, there was enough for a couple of sandwiches which would tide him over until he convinced the General to take him somewhere decent to feed him. And as if on cue, Roy chose that moment to walk into the kitchen.

\"Well, I suppose telling you to make yourself at home would be a moot point, now wouldn\'t it?\" The comment was supposed to be slightly chastising, but the wry smirk on his lips killed any hope that the temperamental blonde would actually take it as such.

\"What are you complaining about? It\'s your fault I\'m so damn hungry in the first place.\"

\"Is that a complaint, Fullmetal?\" And with a single word, the dark haired General had just declared war. Fire flickered in golden eyes as the repartee began. He might never win one of their little arguments, though he certain planned on it, but at least he could enjoy them now.

\"Well I don\'t know, General, you tell me? I mean seriously, after all your bragging around Central and East City and all the gossip, I really would\'ve expected more. I mean hell...leaving your dates starved in the morning is one thing, but I would think after all your so-called practice you would\'ve at least tried to be charming enough to make sure that there was supplies enough for you to offer to cook breakfast.\"

\"You assume I allow my dates to stick around until breakfast.\"

\"Well, that\'s what the gossip ran...or are you telling me that the might General Roy Mustang\'s reputation is built upon false exaggerations?\"

\"No, not at all.\" And there was that damned smirk again; even when the man was behind he still looked cocky and arrogant as all hell. \"However, if it\'s such a problem then I shall endeavor to make it up to you and I\'ll even take you out to breakfast; my treat. How does that sound?\"

\"Are you serious? That sounds great. I\'ll just get dressed and...\" He stopped halfway to the door. Wait a minute that was too easy, there had to be a catch. Edward didn\'t want to turn around and face his now lover, for he knew when he did he\'d find that cocky bastard grinning his ass off, yet he had to...he had to know what the catch was.

Roy watched Edward argue with himself in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest while he leaned against the counter. He didn\'t have to read the blonde\'s face to know exactly what was going through it and sure enough when Ed turned to face him with suspicion plastered on his features he couldn\'t help but grin and even chuckled a bit.

\"You bastard! I knew it was too good to be true. There\'s a catch, there\'s got to be a catch and...don\'t laugh at me, it\'s not funny!\"

\"Fullmetal.\"

\"What!\"

\"You forgot to ask me what you spent a good forty-five seconds arguing with yourself about.\"

\"Damn you! Damn you to...somewhere and it was thirty-eight seconds you jackass.\" And once more his face was flushed with emotion; perfect as far as Roy was concerned. That flush on Fullmetal was beyond intoxicating no matter how it got there; be it anger, embarrassment or even passion. After a few deep breaths, the younger alchemist managed to calm himself down enough that he remembered to ask that dreaded question. \"So what\'s the catch?\"

\"I\'ll take you to breakfast...after you return from your mission.\" And now Roy had to brace himself for the coming storm. Edward, when enraged, was far more dangerous than a tornado and yet in the same fashion one couldn\'t help but stand there in the midst of the storm to watch it in awe.

\"SAY WHAT! I hate you...you...you...\" It took every ounce of willpower Mustang had, and then some, to keep from not only losing his stoic composure but to not fall to the floor while clutching his gut while laughing near hysterically. Never in his life would he have thought it possible for someone\'s face to hold the particular mixture of emotions that his favorite blonde\'s did now. There was anger sure enough, anger over the fact that he was being sent away again after their activities the previous evening. There was a touch of hurt for the same reason, but mixed in was something only one that knew Edward well would see; excitement and curiosity.

Every new mission was a chance for Edward to expand his studies, something that was never going to change. Ed was like a dry sponge and he was most happy when dropped into a pool of knowledge for him to soak up. Since those boys were young they\'d been out exploring the world and he knew well that something like that could get in your blood. New knowledge, new experiences, new everything; it was most addicting. That was the reason he knew he would be forgiven, even if it might take a few days.

\"Edward, you might want to breathe before you pass out. I know you\'re upset and I can understand that however, you know full well that you and your brother are my best field agents and something very important has come up. I wouldn\'t ask you otherwise.\" There, that ought to soothe his golden lover\'s ego a bit.

Sure enough the words hit home and he calmed down a bit. \"All right, fine. But you are going to owe me big for this one, Roy. Breakfast AND dinner in fact.\" The seasoned General just chuckled and nodded in response to the request.

\"Go find Al and both of you report to my office ASAP, and I don\'t mean when you feel like it. An hour, tops. Understood?\"

\"Yeah, yeah I got it.\" Even if he did sound a bit dejected with that sigh, he headed to gather up the rest of his uniform and dressed. He might not like following orders, but for the most part he did follow them; in his own twisted interpretation anyway.

Roy followed his blonde down the hall, laying a hand on his shoulder to spin him around. Before Edward could ask what he wanted now, he was trapped in a smoldering kiss; the only thought in his mind was something along the lines of at least the bastard knew how to make-up. Leaving a speechless and slightly more dreamy than agitated Fullmetal in his bedroom, the General went to shower and get ready himself before Hawkeye came calling and threatened to shoot them both.

A little under an hour later, Edward and Alphonse were sitting in Mustang\'s office, waiting for the General to get off the phone with what sounded to be an official discussing the attack on the formal dinner. In the end, Ed found he\'d actually been a bit grateful for the quick summons for an assignment; it let him buy time before he had to answer Al\'s fifty million questions about everything from the function to the attack and where Ed had spent the night. After one has been interrogated by Alphonse, they were sure never to consider him anywhere near \"innocent\" or \"sweet\" again. His brother was just plain evil. Ed loved him to death but that didn\'t change the fact that Al was pure evil and the proof of it was a still blushing Fullmetal sitting in Roy\'s office, being giving the strangest questioning glances by his superior officer who sat there seemingly immune to whatever looks Al was giving him. Why was he always the one that got asked the questions? How come Al never dogged Roy for answers and details? Oh wait, because Roy was a General and Al wasn\'t. Damn his brother for his attention to details and rules. He was almost as bad as Hawkeye sometimes.

Once the phone call was finished, Roy cleared his throat and shuffled a few papers on his desk before knitting his fingers together and turning his full attention to the pair. \"Now then, I\'m sure you\'re both aware of the attack on the banquet last night, but that\'s not why I needed you both here. Central police and the MP\'s will be handling that investigation and I\'m afraid that due to a lack of suspects, leads and other information I\'m going to have to ask you two to put your current case on hold for a bit. I doubt the assignment I\'m going to send you on will be related and I can only hope that their three month pattern holds true and we\'ve a little time for this one.\" He motioned to a file on his desk which Al obediently picked up and started flipping through.

\"So if we\'re not going to be working on this cult case or the attack, what are we doing?\" Roy\'s answer was delayed by Al\'s gasp and look of horror. \"Well?\" Edward asked more impatiently.

\"We\'ve found evidence that someone\'s been trying to create human chimeras and since you two are my experts on human transmutation and you studied at Tucker\'s...I\'m afraid as awful as this might be, you\'re the best for the job. It\'s simple really. Find out who\'s making these things, why and then stop them.\"

They both nodded, a bit of fierce determination on their faces. They hadn\'t forgotten Nina and what had happened to her and be damned if they\'d let it happen to anyone else.