Chimera

OMG I'm back, free!!!!!!! Sigh,it's nice to be home. My internet is running, I have much writing to do, and classes started. This is a long chapter, almost twice as long as the usual but I couldn't decide where I wanted to cut it of, so I didn't. I hope you enjoy this, I'm working hard on the rest. Hugs for everyone who reviewed and didn't hate me when I took off.

oh, one more thing. Al is ok to be around because he doesn't smell, look, or even really sound male. And, he's young, not a dominant to be a challenge. At least, that's what I wanted to convey. It'll come around more in later chapters.

Bad behavior

Crashes from the kitchen heralded morning and Roy stumbled out, wearing only loose pants and his gloves. Ed was sitting on the table, having kicked the breakfast dishes off, and was currently shredding the morning newspaper. “Edward! Where is Al?” The blond shrugged and continued his destruction. “Stop that, I want to read it. Help me pick up this mess. Al’s going to be very annoyed with you if you don’t clean up.” The little nose wrinkled and the shredding stopped, but no move was made to start cleaning up.

Roy rolled his eyes and removed his gloves, placing them on the counter before starting to pick up the broken dishes. “You know, these were kind of expensive. They were a housewarming gift from a very nice lady. I hope you will fix them for me later.” Faint growling came from the table and bits of paper rained down on him. “It was Gracia. Don’t be jealous, you don’t even like me right now. And, I wasn’t even the one ogling some pretty little thing on the train.”

“Was not.” Gold hair and yellow eyes leaned over the edge of the table, looking down on the older man.

“You most certainly were. Right in front of me no less. Very rude, Ed.” His voice was teasing and he laughed a bit at the huff he got. He wasn’t really angry, over the woman or dishes, but it never hurt to let the boy know where he stood. “Now, where did Al go? He was here, if only to set the table. You certainly didn’t.”

“Can.” The fascinating eyes narrowed at him and slim legs swung over the table edge. The young man jumped down and ran over to the counter to crawl back up, reaching for dishes and cups to replace the ones he’d broken. They were laid out and he jumped back down, grabbed them and rushed back to set them up nicely on the table. The whole thing took only a few minutes and Roy was impressed; he hadn’t even been aware the boy knew where the dishes were kept.

“Very nice, Edward, but that doesn’t answer my question.” Roy finished collecting the shards and placed them in a bag for fixing later. The blond head turned away and Ed tried to slink off. “Come on, where is he?”

Shrug. Roy arched an eyebrow. “Mad. Gone.”

The dark haired man blinked. “Are you saying he got mad at you and just took off?” The boy shrugged sadly. ‘Oh, shit. Now what? I can’t handle him, not if he won’t let me touch him and. Wait, wait, Al wouldn’t just abandon us. He’d wait and get us back later, when it’s worth doing.’ “Are you sure? Did he say that?”

He shrugged then, “Roy?” Wide eyes stared up from across the table. “Hungry.”

“Of course you are.” Because Roy couldn’t cook. “Eggs alright? And some toast?” Eager nodding and the boy sat, watching him from the table. Roy moved around the kitchen and managed a semi-edible breakfast of singed toast and slightly over-cooked eggs. Ed poked at the plate set in front of him and stared up pleadingly. “I know, it’s not the best, but it’s edible. Eat quickly and we’ll go find something to do. I have an unopened deck of cards, would you like it? Or, would you like to go outside? There’s lots of room for you to run a bit.” Gold ears perked at him then swiveled to the front door. Familiar clinking was heard as the door opened and Al juggled bags as he kicked the door closed behind him. “Al?” The hope and joy was too much to hide and Roy almost pounced in glee. “You’re back!”

“Of course I am, I just needed some groceries. You’re running low on a few things and Brother said he’d be good.” Roy turned to glare at the older brother, who looked back innocently before bounding over to curl around his brother’s feet. “Did something happen?”

“He pushed the dishes off the table, shredded my paper, and told me you got mad and left.” His hands landed on his hips as he glared; a pink tongue was stuck out from behind the protection of Al’s legs. Al looked down too in time to see.

“Edward? Did you lie? And wreck the Colonel’s things?” He was more surprised at the lying that the destruction, after all, this was Ed.

“No lie. Mad.”

A metallic sigh, “Yes, I was a little mad at you this morning. Remember why?” A faint blush stained the boy’s cheeks. “Of course you do. You scattered my books and notes around the room and hid my pen. But that’s not why I left. So you told the truth colorfully. And wrecking things?” Shrug. “Well, go on. Apologize.”

“No.” Al pushed his off with a metal foot, gently separating them.

“Then go your room and stay there until lunch or you wish to apologize.” He turned his back and started putting things away, ignoring the whines and clutching at his legs. “Go on. After lunch, were going back to our dorm. You can’t behave here.”

The cat boy stared at his brother and glared at Roy, as if it were entirely his fault somehow. He turned and slunk off, kicking at some paper pieces still on the floor. “I’m terribly sorry about this. I’ll fix your dishes right away and the paper too.”

“Thank you Al, I’d appreciate that. I’m sorry you have to leave.” Roy started cleaning up the kitchen, removing the untouched breakfast after salvaging a few pieces for himself. “I missed you guys when you were away. I was really looking forward to having you this month.” The sink filled quickly and he washed the few dishes efficiently, setting them out to air dry. “Oh, I have something for you.” His coat pocket was raided and he pulled out two packages. “Here, you might need these.” Al opened one carefully and shook out a set of keys.

“Oh, thank you, sir. Are you certain you wish to give me a set?” Roy looked at him in confusion, well of course he did, he gave him one right?

“Of course. You’re part of my family now, Al, just like Ed. You are always welcome here, anytime you wish. Even if you just need time away from your brother.” He smiled a bit; everyone needed a break from Fullmetal some days.

Metal feet shuffled a bit in embarrassment. “I just thought maybe you wouldn’t want me around as much, when Brother is himself, I mean. Cause, you two are, um, together, and I’m not very supportive, but I’m trying and”

A waving finger cut him off. “Now, Al. Have I ever said or done anything to make you think I don’t want you around as much as Ed?” The metal helmet shook. “I want you to come here anytime you wish. I hope you’ll see this as your home too. Remember what I said about after? Giving him a home to come to? That applies to you as well; I hope you’ll come back here when it’s over. I greatly look forward to seeing you in your flesh body. As for supporting us, I understand and accept your reservations. Also, you haven’t tried to stop us, which is more than I hoped for. I appreciate your efforts greatly.” He realized how stilted it sounded, but there really were no other words. “Take the keys, Al. Use them as you need to.”

“Thank you, sir.” Glowing eyes were firmly planted on the floor and Roy reached up to pat a solid shoulder.

“Come play chess. I also have a new record you might like. Perhaps Ed will calm down and come out to visit, hmm?” Sure enough, as they were clearing their third game and setting up to read, blond bangs peeked around the corner. “Hello, Ed.”

His eyes narrowed but he slid around the corner, hugging it closely. “Music.”

“Yes, it’s new. Do you like it?” The boy nodded and took another step in, sidling closer.

“Brother.” Al’s voice held a prompt and a warning.

The blond alchemist froze, waiting for a reprimand. Nothing. A few more steps brought him almost in reaching distance of Roy. White teeth worried his lip and his hands fussed with the hem of his shirt. “Sorry. Dishes. Paper.”

Roy smiled, ready to forgive but Al didn’t give him a chance. “And? What else?”

“No lie.” The fussing hands had moved to fist on his hips.

“No, but you didn’t tell the truth either.” The glare shifted away uncomfortably and Roy made a motion to interrupt. “No, he doesn’t like it when we treat him like a child, he can act like an adult or return to his room.” As always, Al was to the point and accurate with his shots.

A muttered “Sorry.” and the boy flopped on the couch, ignoring them both. Al shrugged and got out his book; he’d survive. Roy considered a game, but decided to get a book to read as well. A novel was dragged out from the back of his bookcase and he lay on the floor beside the couch and started to read. Quickly, Ed was hanging over the edge, reading with him, staying well up and out of the way.

“Would you like me to read to you? It’s more comfortable.” Gold ears flickered and the younger alchemist flopped back out of sight. “Alright. Let me know when you’ve had enough.” He proceeded to read a dozen chapters before his voice gave out. An annoyed tail flipped over and smacked him when he stopped and he batted at it. “That’s it, no more. My throat hurts.” The gold head popped up and peeked down at him, assessing, before it was withdrawn and the slim body catapulted itself over him. The boy ran around the room, digging through drawers. “What do you want?” His voice was scratchy and Ed stopped to look at him before bolting off. He cringed at the crash from the kitchen and a squeal of pain followed a thud.

Al was on his feet and running in seconds, followed closely by their host. “Brother? Are you alright?” There was glass strewn across the floor again and Ed was sitting in the middle. He lifted his arms to Al, who obligingly picked him up and removed him from the glass. “What happened?”

Sniff. “Fell.” Slim fingers were pushing at a piece of glass embedded at the base of his thumb.

“Don’t touch, we’ll get it. You fell off the counter? Did you drop the glass?” Al deposited him on a chair and picked him up immediately when he flinched and tried to climb back. “Got glass on your back too, huh? Well, let’s get you undressed and have a look.” Al tried to remove the glass from his hand with no luck; his hands were just too big. Ed was stripping quickly and glass fell around him, shaken from his clothes. He was lifted up to stand on the chair to protect his feet and stood in his boxers, waiting for the glass to be taken away. “Roy is going to have to help you, I can’t get the piece. Can he do that?” His brother hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Colonel, sir, I need help.” He swept the glass away quickly, pushing it to a corner for the moment.

Roy moved forward from his place in the door. “I need a towel and some bandages from the bathroom. There’s a pair of tweezers there as well.” Al left quickly to get the required items. “Ok, Ed, I’ll be a quick as I can. It doesn’t look too bad, a few in your back and one in your hand. Al can check the rest of you. Sound alright?” A short nod. “Good. Thank you, Al. Here, I’ll do his hand, you check the rest of his back for glass. I only see four.” He held the injured hand lightly at the wrist, checked the angle, and popped the glass bit out quickly with a twist of the tweezers. Ed jerked and whined. “There, all done.” He placed a band-aid on the small hole and released the wrist.

“One more, sir, just past the waist band.” A quick sigh of relief; above the waist was fine, but he wasn’t sure Ed would stand for touching below. He might not even stand for not being able to see him.

“Ok, hold still, Ed. This will only take a minute.” Four came out easily but the last one stuck. Roy shifted his hands for a better grip and squeezed, hard. Ed yanked himself forward to get away and pulled Roy over the chair. The blond ended up in the doorway, glaring at the sprawled man on the chair. “Get back here, we have to get it out or it will hurt and might get infected. Then you’ll need medicine.” That made him pause long enough for Al to capture him and hold him firmly. Roy finished quickly, the stubborn piece coming out at last. A few band-aids and the cat boy was released to run off and lick his wounds by himself.

“Thank you, sir. I wonder what he was doing.” Al continued his interrupted cleaning, shuffling all the pieces into a dust pan for later reconstruction. “He usually just asks for a drink if he’s thirsty.”

“Hmm.” It was odd, Ed was pretty good about asking for things he couldn’t reach easily. Then, a thought struck him. “I’ll be right back.” He followed the boy down the hall and knocked on the bedroom door. “Ed? Can I come in?” No answer and he took it as agreement. The blond was curled on the bed, huddled in a little ball around his hurt hand. “Ed, were you trying to get me a drink?” A short nod and faint blush gave the answer. “Thank you, that was really nice. Are you alright?” Another nod and the metal hand waved him out. “Come see us in a bit, alright?” He closed the door softly and hummed his way down the hall.

“Al? Are you sure you wish to leave? He’s been alright so far, maybe you could stay?”

“Well, he was pretty good once I got back, mostly. Maybe. We’ll ask him at lunch. Is there something you would like in particular?”

“Anything edible, Al. Breakfast was pretty bad and Ed didn’t eat anything yet today.”

“Sure he did, I gave him a bagel and some fruit before I left. Though, I am surprised he hasn’t asked for anything else, if he didn’t eat what you made.” Roy frowned; that little brat. ‘Hungry my ass. Well I hope he’s really hungry now.’

Lunch was simple, and even reasonably pleasant. Ed refused to sit on the same side of the table as Roy, and wouldn’t eat anything he touched. But, he was polite and answered Al’s questions pleasantly. He wanted to stay and agreed to behave. Al dragged a promise to be nice and not wreck things out of him; the only sure way to get Edward to do things. The afternoon was spent doing a puzzle with his brother and listening to music, as was the evening. Roy just kept his distance and enjoyed watching them.

Next day was Monday; back to work. Roy tried to call in but the click of the safety could be heard over the phone and going in was a good plan. A small mountain of paperwork awaited, with half of it being directly related to Ed. Apparently he didn’t just wreck a car, he included a wall, two blocks pavement, a small building, and three fences. Roy put his head down and groaned. What a pain and he couldn’t even get a hug for his efforts. His hand moved over the expense reports, signing away his budget. The next page made him sit upright. “Lieutenant! What is this?”

“That would be your vacation days, sir. I thought you should see it. You used three extra last month and six the month before, sir.”

“I was sick! I needed those days!” A blond eyebrow rose.

“You were at home with Edward, sir. I saw him when I dropped off your reports. While I appreciate your work ethic for those days, sir, I must insist you not take anymore to just stay home. Those days will go down as vacation time and be taken off your annual allocation, sir.” The blond woman turned and started to leave the office.

“Lieutenant, stay please. Shut the door.” He rubbed his head; he should have known he couldn’t keep it from her. Sigh. “Ed, has a problem, and needs me to stay home four days a month. I get two and a half days a month, so that only leaves one and a half unaccounted for.” Her arms folded over her chest. “Please let me claim them as sick days.”

“Four days? Sir, you’ve been taking entire weeks off.” Roy flushed a bit.

“Well, he was gone a long time. And he was hurt that time. I won’t do it anymore?” He tried a sweet smile.

Her glare didn’t disappear like it usually did. “Sir.” She sighed and Roy rejoiced to himself; Win! “These go as vacation. From now on, four days off a month, sir, no more, and you can claim them as sick days.” Roy nibbled his lip. That was probably the best deal he would get.

“Excellent, Lieutenant! I’m so glad we could come to an agreement. Team work is vital to the running of a smooth office.” Blue eyes rolled at him but a slight smile quirked her lips. He bounced through the rest of the day, signing happily and rushing home at exactly 5 o’clock.

Ed was sitting on the back step, watching Al go through exercises. When he heard Roy, he moved over to get out of the way, but didn’t object when the older man sat beside him. “How was your day?” He noted that the boy wasn’t as tense as he’d been the first day and realized he’d been fairly relaxed yesterday as well. Maybe he was just calming down after the initial shock of not being with his attached person? Or maybe he was controlling his reactions and hormones? The dark haired alchemist shook it off; didn’t matter as long as he was tolerated.

“Fun. Read.” Yellow eyes avoided him, but gold ears pointed at him, showing a bit of interest in a conversation.

“Oh? Alchemy?” Gold hair shook. “One of the novels?” Blond bangs nodded and he reminded himself to go through that library. He didn’t mind Ed reading the books, but Al might be a bit young for some of them. “Anything else?”

“Fight.” Yellow eyes turned to look at him. “Hungry?” A hopeful note entered his voice.

“Brother, you aren’t hungry. Don’t bother the Colonel about it.” Al didn’t slow down in his exercises, continuing to move fluidly. “You can wait until supper is ready, it’s only half an hour.”

Ed pouted but didn’t ask again. Roy just grinned and went to change his clothes. Supper started well, but Roy accidentally brushed Ed’s chair on his way to the stove and started a fit. Al dragged his brother to his room to calm him down and Roy picked up the pieces. Only one casualty this time, but it was one of his favorite mugs.

He set a plate in the fridge and put the leftovers away. By the time he was finished, the Elrics were back, Ed eating quietly and Al apologizing. It was waved off as an accident and he offered to read as repayment. A few chapters, three solitaire games (with Ed’s help) and twenty minutes of squeezing the stuffed cat and Ed was done, passed out on the couch. Al carried him to bed and settled in to read for the night.

Roy lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘One more day.’

Tuesday started nicely, Ed eating his breakfast and chatting away with Al while Roy got ready for work. He was running late, later than usual anyways, and chose to ignore the ringing phone in favor of running. He slipped into the office, hoping Hawkeye’s slacker radar was broken. It wasn’t, but Havoc was roaming the office too and Roy managed to avoid the worst of it. Papers shuffled across his desk in a never ending stream and he propped his head up with one hand.

At some point, his lighter had appeared in his hand and was a wonderful distraction. He played with the pretty flame, waving it around, and traced the design with a fingertip. Havoc wandered through, and tried to beg a light, only to be laughed at and informed this lighter was entertainment only, not for tobacco addicts. Riza showed up moments later and tried to confiscate it but it disappeared into Roy’s pants, followed by taunting grin. She just left the reports on the desk and left, rubbing her head when no one could see. Damn, she deserved a raise.

By the time Roy got home, supper was started and he abandoned his uniform jacket in favor of eating. Fish and pasta with meat sauce, strange but he didn’t have to make it, so he ate it quietly. Ed was in a great mood, wanting to listen to music and play cards. The three of them played for hours, until Roy’s eyes were blurry from staring at the cards.

“Ed, please, can we do something else? I’ll read.” Blond hair shook vigorously. “How about another game? I’ll teach you something else.” Shrug. “Ok, do you know Go Fish?” Both brothers shook their heads; damn, they were so deprived of simple things. “Alright, five cards each, any pairs go in a pile, scatter the rest. Ask someone if they have a card. If they do, you get it. If they don’t, you pick one from the deck. The one with the most pairs wins.”

There, a simple game for Ed, some luck involved, but he had to be able to get a few sets, right? Apparently not. Ten minutes later, Ed had none, Al had eight, Roy had six and cards were running low. Uh oh, and he couldn’t even cheat to give him a couple. Frustrated whines were still soft, but would get worse. Roy considered calling the game but figured that would be worse than a straight loss. Al was shuffling through the cards, searching for just the right one. He finally chose and let Ed go. No luck, again. He picked up the first card in front of him, as was his habit, and bounced to his feet. A match. He ran around a little, thrilled with his pair. Al glanced over at Roy, and he could have sworn the metal winked at him. Ed managed to pick up three more pairs before the end of the game, and was so pleased with himself, he flopped on the floor and purred, the first time he’d done so since they got back.

Roy sat in his char and listened, relaxing to the rhythm of the soft sounds. He woke to find himself covered with a blanket and Ed curled at his feet. The lights were out and he could just make out the clock. Three in the morning. It occurred to him that Ed would change soon and he should watch. A quick check assured him the ears were still there and he settled at an angle to see them clearly. One hour, two, three. His eyes were closing but he forced them open again and again.

Finally, at seven, Ed started waking up, snuffling in the blanket and trying to crawl into the chair. The ears twitched, then quieted. Roy looked away at the clock and back, then swore. The ears were gone, vanished in seconds. Soft snores continued and Ed cuddled against him. Regardless, it was nice to have him back.