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You Belong to Me	By : squallstorm Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 9883 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Disclaimer:
I don't own Sabrina or Fullmetal Alchemist.

Thanks
to ZaKai for reading, betaing, and goading me on!

In
case you don't realize it, I've gone back in time slightly. Just a
heads up, so I don't get all those “What about Scar?”
questions.

Also,
I want to apologize at the lateness of his chapter. I've have Real
Life in spades and it's been distracting me from being able to write
anything more then a few sentences. Those of you who follow Light,
I'll be updating there as soon as I can! Thank you all for your
patience!!

-

Chapter
15

Roy watched the
tournament officials with a critical eye. They obviously knew what
they were doing, and they did it well. Competitors were shuffled
from one ring to another with an efficiently that he wouldn't have
attributed to something of this nature. They did their job so well
in fact, that he was thinking that his company could branch out into
the sports industry, and maybe use this organization as a launching
pad. He got so caught up in watching the volunteers scurry about and
planning a future venture that he failed to noticed Edward
approaching from his left side.

“Hey,”
said Edward, plopping down into a vacant chair one row behind Roy.
He leaned forward and rested his arms on the back of the chair in
front of him and peered over at Roy.

“What's
wrong?” wondered Roy, leaning back into his chair so he could
look Edward in the eyes easier. He took in Edward's neatly braided
hair and the pinched look around his eyes. At first glance he seemed
fine, but as he looked deeper, the signs of stress were evident.

Edward frowned at him.
“How do you do that, by the way? You always seem to know that
something's up.”

“I
just happen to be a very observant man. I noticed that you came
over, practically fell onto the chair there, and now you're draping
your body over this chair as well...” Roy shrugged. It wasn't
that hard to do really, and he utilized this skill daily at work.

Edward grunted at his
explanation and folded his hands out over the bucket seat he was
leaning against. Roy followed the movement with his eyes and saw a
slight tremor as they dangled near his arm. Running his index finger
over his lip, Roy frowned as he tried to think of some way to ease
Edward's anxiousness. They were only two hours into this and would
have three more hours yet before the boys would have their first
competition.

“Are
you stuck here?” Roy asked suddenly, dropping his hand from his
face, and twisting in his seat to look back at Edward.

“No,
not really, but I shouldn't go too far. Why?” wondered Edward,
sitting back in his seat and placing his hands on the arms of his
hard plastic chair. Roy noted that he was unhappy with this. He
wanted Edward to stay close to him. He only had two, maybe if he was
lucky, three more days to convince Edward to forget about Winry.

“Let's
go out and walk around a bit. Being in here is just making you more
tense,” said Roy, nodding his head at the exit off to the
right. Most people weren't paying that particular exit any mind, so
there was no reason that they couldn't slip out unnoticed. “Come
on.” Roy reached across the rows and patted Edward on the arm,
and then stood. “Come on,” he urged again, when Edward
just looked up at him quizzically.

With a large, self
suffering sigh, Edward rolled to his feet and smiled at Roy. “Fine,
since you asked and all,” quipped Edward.

“That's
the spirit,” said Roy, sliding his hands into his pant pockets.

They walked side by side
to the exit and out into the early morning sunshine. The area around
the venue was landscaped with trees, low benches, and pebbled
walkways. Roy led them around the perimeter of the building until he
found what he was looking for—a tree that was out of the way,
on a small hill of grass, shading them from the early afternoon sun.
Leading the way, he sat down on the cool shady grass slope. Edward
came close, but instead of sitting with him in the grass, he just
stood over Roy and glanced over his surroundings; even at the clouds.
Anywhere as long as it didn't mean looking at him.

Roy snorted, and shook
his head, drawing Edward's attention. “What?” asked
Edward, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

“Nothing,”
said Roy, folding his hands behind his head and lying back on the
grass. Through the tree branches he could see the sparse, fluffy
clouds drift by on the warm wind. He wouldn't be urging Edward to
sit with him, not after what happened yesterday, and not now that he
was on edge.

He once saw a TV show
about cats and what to do when you brought a new pet home. On it
they suggested that the new owner leave the cat alone until it was
comfortable and came to the owner, rather then the owner forcing the
animal to come to her. Somehow, Roy thought that it applied nicely
to Edward. When he got tired of standing in the sun, he'd sit down;
and when he got tired of sitting, he'd lie down. He had barely
finished thinking this, when he saw Edward move over to the tree and
start to scale the bark like a monkey.

“What
the hell
are you doing?” yelled Roy, sitting upright and looking over at
Edward's rear end disappearing into the foliage. Jumping to his feet
in alarm, he hovered under the branches, making himself ready to
catch Edward should he fall.

“I'm
climbing a tree, what's it look like?” came the distracted
reply.

“Yes,
but why?” wondered Roy, feeling baffled, and at a loss. How
was he supposed to connect with Edward when he was in a tree?
There was no way that he'd be climbing up there with him just so
they could bond. Roy shook his head in wonderment and sighed.

“It
calms me. That was the point, wasn't it?” asked Edward. Roy
looked up to see him tucked between two branches, and giving him a
knowing look, one eyebrow raised at him.

“Of
course it is,” agreed Roy quickly, making Edward smirk.

“You
could come up here,” suggested Edward. His tone made Roy think
that Edward might be testing him somehow.

“I
think not,” said Roy softly. He crossed his arms across his
chest and looked up at Edward blandly. Test or no test, he was not
about to ruin his clothes climbing trees.

“I
used to love climbing trees,” remarked Edward as he looked off
across the perimeter of the arena.

“I
know,” said Roy, dropping his eyes to grass and sighing. “I
was there to see the results of your many attempts.” Really,
he had been scared more then once due to Edward's pastime. Looking
out his bedroom window, his homework momentarily forgotten, to see
what the commotion was all about, and seeing Edward covered in
superficial blood and screaming his head off. Then he had to watch
as it was determined whether a hospital visit was necessary or not.

“Heh.
Yeah, good times,” joked Edward.

“Hardly.
I had a heart attack each time you did something foolish. I swear
if I turn gray early, I'm blaming it all on you,” said Roy,
pressing his lips in annoyance, and looking back up into the tree.
Didn't Edward realize how frightening that was?

“Really?”
wondered Edward, meeting his gaze with a lift of his eyebrows.

“Of
course, what do you take me for? I care,” said Roy with a hint
of petulance that he hoped Edward didn't notice.

“But...I
don't remember you being like that at all. All you ever did was yell
at me to stop being a kid and act my age, but the fact was I did act
my age—I was a kid.”

“So
I was worried about you, is that such a bad thing? True, I may have
over reacted sometimes, but it was only because I cared!” Roy
glared up at Edward, who seemed taken aback by his intensity, but he
really had been worried, and it wasn't fair for Edward to belittle
that.

“I'm
sorry,” said Edward softly. “I didn't realize.”
Edward shifted on the branch and faltered as he tipped too far on one
side. He had to scramble to grip the trunk behind him and a branch
near his chest so he didn't fall.

“What
are you doing?” demanded Roy. He could feel the blood pound
behind his ears as Edward righted himself on the branch and had the
decency to look apologetic for the close call.

“I'm...going
to come down,” answered Edward, as he slowly stood on the
branch he'd been sitting on. He wobbled again, but was able to hold
tight to a branch overhead.

“See?
This is what I'm talking about,” said Roy angrily. He stood
under Edward, and held his hands up. “If you fall, I will
have to punish you.”

“Ha
ha, yeah right—” Edward began to say, and then did the
one thing that would guaranteed Roy's heart to stop.

Edward fell.

Roy didn't even have
time to blink before his arms were full, and Edward's body smashed
into his chest. Roy crumbled to the ground, the air leaving his
lungs in a forceful expulsion. He gasped and tried to breathe, but
he couldn't. Edward groaned and shifted off of his chest, which
helped but not that he could actually breathe yet.

“Roy!
Roy, oh shit! I'm sorry, Roy. Just relax. It's worse when you try
to fight it,” said Edward, brushing the hair off his face and
bending over him. Roy rolled away from him onto his elbows and
knees.

He
couldn't breathe. He couldn't get air into his lungs. He couldn't
breathe! He knew that Edward was touching him, holding his
shoulders, but he didn't care! Why couldn't he inhale? Why couldn't
he exhale? He needed air! Minutes had
to be going by, and he wasn't breathing. He needed air to breathe,
to live! He couldn't breathe!

“Slowly,
slowly. I know you're panicked, but you will
be able to breathe, just relax,” said Edward, his voice cutting
through his panic. “Don't force it, just relax.” Roy
could feel Edward's hands on his shoulders, holding him, and slowly,
just like he said, Roy began to breathe normally again.

“I'm
sorry, Roy,” said Edward, and then he did something Roy
wouldn't have hoped for this soon in his plan, he laid across his
back. “I'm sorry. That was really dumb. Please don't be
mad.”

Roy sat back on his
heels, making Edward sit up as well. He looked Edward over expecting
to see scrapes and blood, but there was nothing. He was fine. He
was on his feet before he knew it and gripping Edward's arm tight.
He yanked him up right, and forced him back towards the tree.

“Roy?”
asked Edward, hesitantly, his other hand braced against his chest,
but he made no move to stop him. Edward back peddled quickly,
looking scared, and he should. It had scared him, as well.

He continued to push
Edward back until his back ran into the tree trunk, and then he
smacked his other hand, hard against the tree right beside Edward's
ear making him flinch, leaning in close he growled, “I told
you...to be careful.” The hand on Edward's arm squeezed
harder.

“I—I'm
sorr—ow, that hurts, Roy,” complained Edward
half-heartedly. His free hand covered Roy's and he looked down to
tug at his fingers.

“Look
at me!” demanded Roy. Edward looked at him wide eyed, sinking
back into the tree. He no longer tried to pry off his hand that was
biting into his flesh. “I don't want you to ever, and I mean
ever,
do something like that again. Do I make myself clear!”

“Yes,”
said Edward in a small voice. He bowed his head and would no longer
look at him.

With a grunt of disgust,
Roy released Edward and walked a few paces away. Pinching his nose
and frowning, Roy mentally slapped himself for being so reactive. If
he had been thinking straight, he could have milked Edward's feeling
of remorse until everything was finished with the merger, but no, he
had to let his frustration run away with him and scare the boy.
Now... When they went home, Winry would shack up with Edward for a
few weeks, maybe a month or two, and Roy would be out millions of
dollars with no one to blame but himself.

So far, ever since
Edward had come home it was one mishap after another. First Winry
breaks her ankle, and pronounces that she may be in love with Edward,
then when he tried to 'woo' Edward in the solarium, he got punched.
He loses a day because Edward slept in. To the sharing of the bed,
down to his humor being taken too seriously. Really, everything that
could go wrong had gone wrong.

“Damn...”
cursed Roy under his breath. He couldn't even bring himself to look
back at Edward to see how bad things had been ruined.

- - - -

Edward
sagged against the tree and stared at his feet. There was a reason
why he had avoided Roy as a child, and he just showed him that there
was still a reason to fear. Roy was very
scary. Rubbing his arm to ease the ache where Roy had gripped him,
he struggled to keep himself under control. His fear and
embarrassment over doing something so stupid and getting yelled at
for it made him feel remorseful.

He
hadn't meant
to fall out of the tree on Roy. He hadn't meant to hurt him. He—it
was an accident! Roy didn't have to hurt him back or get so close to
his face. But...but Roy had caught him as he fell. He had gotten
hurt because he fell. Roy had probably saved him from getting hurt
as well. He could still compete because Roy had caught him.

He looked up at Roy's
wide back, saw that he was holding his face, and even heard him curse
softly. Without knowing what he was going to say to Roy, he pushed
slowly off the trunk and took one wobbly step after another until he
was standing behind Roy, who had yet to turn around at the sound of
his approach.

Taking a steadying
breath, he reached out and placed his hand on Roy's shoulder. He
could feel Roy tense up immediately, having not expected it, he was
sure. Letting his hand fall to Roy's bicep, Edward pulled him around
to face him. The crease between Roy's eyebrows as he turned to face
him was just another indication that Roy was still pissed at him.

He didn't remove his
hand from Roy's arm as he forced himself to look up into Roy's face.
He could feel the muscle contraction though his shirt, and once
again, he could smell his expensive and distracting cologne. “I'm
sorry,” Edward said softly. “I promise I won't do that
again.” Roy shifted his weight, tilting his head to consider
his words.

He didn't say it out
loud, but he hoped Roy would know that he really didn't mean climbing
trees. He really meant that he wouldn't frighten Roy like that
again. Although admittedly, Roy had frightened him as well.

Roy reached across and
covered his hand, the heat from his palm searing him. It took him
off guard that Roy's hand was so warm—hot. It made him gasp
and all he could think about was being in Roy's arms back in the
solarium and getting kissed. He was taken aback at how he suddenly
wanted very much to kiss Roy again.

Roy's hand gently patted
his, while Roy's eyes caught and held him mesmerized. “I
should hope not, Edward,” said Roy softly after a few quiet
moments. All Edward could hear was how it rumbled through Roy's
chest, and his eyes drifted down to watch Roy's lips as they moved
into a small smirk.

Roy had always yelled at
him as a kid, but since going away with Roy this time, he found a
totally different side to the man. He had cared for him...since when
they were younger. Was that why Roy always followed him around and
tried to talk with him? Couldn't he have just said so all those
years ago? It would have saved him a ton of torment.

“I
wanna kiss you,” said Edward suddenly, then gasped. He said
that out loud, didn't he? He looked up from Roy's mouth into his
eyes and saw that, yes, he had said that out loud.

He met Roy's shocked
gaze with his own. He could feel the blush rising from somewhere
below his thick cotton jacket until it had to be right up to his hair
line. Then a strange look over took Roy's features and the hand
covering his cupped his too warm face. The thumb on his cheek
stroked back and forth a few times and then Edward was pulled in
close.

Roy
held him tight to his body by wrapping his arms around him. Out of
instinct, Edward settled his arms around Roy's waist without breaking
eye contact. He swallowed thickly, his eyes darting from one side of
Roy's face to the other, but Roy did nothing other then watch him.
Well, he had said that he
wanted to kiss Roy... Unwilling to wait any longer, Edward went up
on his tip toes and brushed his lips across Roy's.

A thrill of excitement
went straight to his stomach and then lower when Roy caught his
bottom lip. One of Roy's arms pulled him even closer to his body
while the other found its way into his hair, tilting his head to the
side. Roy quickly took over the kiss, opening his mouth, and
thrusting his tongue inside.

Edward
groaned. This wasn't like anything Russell and he had ever done.
This was just a kiss and he was ready to rip Roy's clothes off.
Every inch of Edward's body felt more alive, more here
than he could ever remember. Those fingertips pushing through his
braided hair fisted and pulled his head back, leaving Roy to take
full control. Oh shit! This was so intense, so... He grunted in
shock as his back hit the ground. When did that happen? Who
cares... Roy's other hand pulled free from beneath his back and
began to pull his uniform apart at the neck. Roy's hand pressed
against his exposed chest, moving down to his nipple to pinch and
pull.

“This
is why I hate fagots!” Edward pushed Roy away like he was on
fire, and sat up embarrassed. “They fuck where ever the hell
they want with no regard for normal people. May God strike down you
sinners,” said Scar, his tone one of utter contempt.

“Scar?”
said Edward with a frown, tugging his uniform back into place. He
knew that he was red, embarrassed at getting caught. He felt like a
total idiot for kissing Roy. What on earth was he thinking about?
He shot a nervous glance at Roy seated beside him, then turned his
attention back to Scar. He could deal with Scar right now. He
wasn't too sure about Roy.

“I
was watching you fags, and I couldn't take it any more. For the
moral health of the people attending this event, I had to step up and
do something about it.” Scar's shades slipped down his nose,
revealing his intense blood red irises, and he crossed his arms over
his wide chest. Scar was literary looking down his nose at them.

“People?
Watching!” squeaked Edward, feeling even more mortified.
People had seen him?

“There
was no one around, Edward,” said Roy, obviously exasperated.
With him or with Scar? Edward looked over at Roy again. He was
glaring at Scar who stood at the edge of the grass.

Suddenly, Edward was
pulled forward by his braid onto his hands and knees. The pebbled
stones stung horribly. With another yank, Scar pulled him forward at
his feet. Scar jerked his hand, pulling his hair taut, twisting his
head around so that he had to look up into Scar's face looming above
him.

“Ugh,
let go you fucker!” cursed Edward at the face leaning over his.
He gripped the base of his hair so that it wouldn't feel like it was
about to be pulled from his head. Somehow his demand amused his
attacker, because he smiled an oily smile at him, and it just made
Edward madder.

“Stop
this right now, or I'll call the police!” said Roy in a voice
that demanded obedience. Edward couldn't even look at Roy with how
Scar was holding onto his hair; he couldn't look anywhere except at
the angry face over him. But he was angry too, and if Scar didn't
let go soon...

Slowly Scar raised his
face to look at Roy. “Don't think for one minute that I don't
know who you are, Mr. Mustang,” drawled Scar, emphasizing Roy's
name. “And if you call the police, I will have to tell them
about your indecent exposure. There are a lot of kids about today.”

Edward glared at the
underside of Scar's chin, wishing he wasn't restrained, because he'd
sure as fuck teach this guy a lesson. He was trying to blackmail
Roy? No way would he let that happen. Roy wasn't even 'out' yet.

“And
taking violent action against someone due to sexual preference is
aggravated assault,” returned Roy without missing a beat.

Edward grimaced as the
hand in his hair clenched tight. The way Scar was holding him, he
couldn't attack back. He was perched on his knees, about to fall
forward. The only thing keeping him from smashing his face on the
path was Scar's hold on him.

“You're
boyfriend doesn't seem to want to see you hurt, fairy,” said
Scar, looking back down at him. That fucking oily smile was back.

“He's...not...my
boyfriend!” growled Edward and instantly regretted it. Any
ammo he gave to Scar would only come back and bite him in the
metaphorical ass later.

“Oh?”
Scar pulled upwards on his hair, making him scramble to get his feet
under him. Scar leered at him, making Edward's stomach roll in
disgust.

“Let
him go this instant!” demanded Roy again. Edward looked over
at Roy, and saw that he was also on his feet and looking livid. All
of it directed at Scar.

“Your
boy toy doesn't seem to like me,” whispered Scar in his ear,
making him hiss in revulsion. He would have moved his head
away...but, well, he couldn't at the moment. “Since you two
aren't together, how about sucking me off, eh?” (1) suggested
Scar, his other hand reaching for his groin.

“Oh,
hell NO! Get your skanky mother to suck that little thing you call a
dick!” shouted Edward as he caught Scar's wandering hand, and
pushed against Scar's chest with the other, but he went with him as
he stepped back, so it defeated the purpose.

“Edward!”
shouted Roy.

Scar pulled on his head,
making him arch his back, and then kicked out his feet from under
him. He landed on the pebbled concrete with a pained grunt. A
sneaker covered foot landed heavily on his chest, knocking the wind
from him. He squinted up at the man over him, gripping the shoe with
both his hands. Leaning over his leg, Scar sneered at him. “Fairy,
if you so much as dare to face me in the ring, I will make you watch
as I fuck your fagot boyfriend and then do you! Got that!”

Scar shoved his foot
against his chest once more, hard. Edward grunted as the air was
forced out of his lungs once more, and then Scar strolled away.
Edward took a shaky breath, amazed that he had gotten out of that in
one piece, and could only blink up at the blue sky above.

“Edward?
Edward, are you alright?” Roy asked, bending over him. Roy
lifted his head from the ground while looking him over for any
damage.

“Roy!”
Edward sat up quickly and looked over at Roy. “I'm sorry!
Now he knows about you.”

“What?”
asked Roy, clearly puzzled about the change in topic.

“That
you're gay. I'm sure he'll tell other people,” said Edward.
This could ruin Roy's companies, and it would be all his fault.
Suddenly he was quite glad that he was in the same division as Scar,
this way he could teach that son of a bitch a real lesson.

“I'm
not concerned about that right now. How are you?” asked Roy,
standing. He held out his hand for Edward to take.

“I'm
fine, of course. But that fucker! Damn it, he's going to pay for
doing that!” cursed Edward. He gripped Roy's wrist and hoisted
himself to his feet, looking down the path that Scar had taken.
Yeah, he would be the one to show Scar up. For sure.

- - - -

The venue was quite nosy
as they re-entered through the door they had left from. The colored
divisions were well into their matches. Edward had gone quiet as
soon as he had entered the building, leaving Roy to follow behind
him.

He could hardly believe
what had happened in such a short period of time. Roy was elated at
how well Edward had moved beyond his mistrust for him, and somehow
turned it into something else. Something that Roy could work with.
Edward had initiated physical contact with him, even initiated a
kiss. A really, really, good kiss at that! He hadn't been prepared
for it, but had been so taken up with the intensity of that kiss,
that if that guy hadn't of shown up, who knows where it could of
ended up between them.

His phone began to
vibrate within his pant pocket, and as he strode behind Edward, he
fished it out. “Mustang,” he barked, placing the phone
up to his ear. “Mother?” He stopped dead, and watched
Edward continue on without him. Just as well, she was probably
looking for an update, and he didn't want to be overheard. Moving
away to a semi-quiet corner on the edge of the arena, he looked
around to make sure no one of consequence was around to overhear him.

“It's
better than plan... Oh, yeah... He's very affected, yes... He
kissed me... Mother, mother...Pinako! We don't have a choice.
Millions of dollars are riding on this. We can't stop now... How's
Winry... She's got one more day of medication? Okay, well, we'll be
back tomorrow...yeah, that's right. By then I should have convinced
Edward to go with me to Paris, and then I'll be on the next plane
out, and we can put this whole thing behind us. Yes, Alex should
have set up the apartment and bank account by now...yes, in Edward's
name...yes...yes...I better go now...okay, bye.”

Roy clicked the phone
shut and stared at the device. With a sigh, he put the phone back
into his pocket and wandered back into the crowd. Well, it was
getting late. It should be almost time for the boys' first event,
and despite all the other things riding on this, Roy really did want
to see Edward perform.

- - - -

Edward stood alone in
the middle of the crowd. He could feel the weight of their stares
coming from all sides, and a hush descended. It was time...

Gripping the sword tight
in his left hand, Edward raised his arms up, shifted his weight,
stepping out with his right foot. His right hand went under his left
and made a half circle so that his right hand was now hovering over
top of the sword hilt. He transferred the sword over to his right
hand and pointed the tip at the ground.

Twin yells suddenly
ripped though the crowds, making Edward's head snap up in surprise.
People turned and looked around, wondering what was happening. Rick
and Leo burst though the spectators and brandished their weapons at
Edward. Rick was holding two short kali sticks, and Leo had a broad
Chinese sword. There was a twitter through the crowd as they
understood that this was part of the routine and not someone causing
a ruckus.

Edward grinned hugely
and glanced between Rick on the right and Leo on the left. Both of
his assailants were twilling their weapons and eying him with well
acted malice. Leo lunged first, slicing the air with his blade and
aiming for his head. Moving his head out of the way, Edward raised
his sword and brought it up underneath Leo's downward stroke,
deflecting it away from him. Rick was on him immediately, forcing
Edward to retreat. He ducked and weaved through Rick's attacks, and
when the opening came, he thrust his sword point up through Rick's
arms and grazed his hairline. With a shocked gasp through the crowd,
Rick stumbled back, looking startled.

Leo was back and
pressing Edward to move around their performance area. Flashes of
metal became blurs as they became faster and faster with their
attacks and parries, and then Edward leapt backwards under Leo's
slash to his stomach. As he arched backwards he brought up his sword
and made the metal ring as he deflected the blade meant for his
stomach, and pushed himself upwards to land back in front of Leo
causing him to stumble back in awe.

Edward glance over his
shoulder at Rick, who was standing there with his kali staffs at the
ready, and his jaw hanging open. He rushed away from Leo, and turned
his attentions to the dumb-struck man. Edward lunged, the point of
his sword heading straight for Rick's throat. Rick moved, not as
fluidly as Edward but still graceful in his own right. Suddenly Rick
was inside Edward's space, and he jabbed him in the stomach, making
him bend over. Rick stepped back then, and Edward leaned to the side
to avoid Leo's downward strike from his blind spot. He kicked out
behind him at Leo's ribcage, and brought up the sword to deflect
Rick's twin attack.

Now they were both on
Edward, making him weave and bend into impossible contortions. His
sword rang and echoed with their blows. At one point as he bent
backwards and he was blocking another attack from Leo's sword, the
tip of his own sword came around in a circle and almost clipped his
nose. Not quite to plan, but it must have looked cool if the crowd's
response was any indication.

They were near the end
now. Edward moved towards the middle of the mats in preparation for
the finale. Leo spun around, going low and for his legs. He jumped
upwards and spun in mid-air, his leg extending and aiming for Rick's
head. He dodged his kick, and Edward tucked his head and rolled away
from them, coming up on his feet. Now, it was time for him to finish
the routine.

Bracing himself, he
launched forward, his sword held ready at his side. But then
something went wrong, and not to plan at all. Edward's eyes widened
as he knew he was going to fall. Knew it because something had
caught on his ankle. Knew it because the floor was rushing towards
his face.

It happened so fast; he
just had time to bring up his free hand to shield his face.
Something other then conscious thought took over and Edward used the
momentum to roll forward, stopping between Rick and Leo. There was a
stunned pause between all of them, and then Edward spun on his heal,
keeping his center of gravity low to the ground. He kicked Rick's
legs and then Leo's, toppling them to the ground. He sprang up and
snatched up Leo's sword. He whipped his sword tip so it hovered
under Rick's nose, and with Leo's sword, he pointed it at the owner.

His gaze was on Leo. He
jerked his head slightly at him, trying to signal him to get up, but
he didn't seem to understand. Edward looked at Rick and did the
same, and thankfully he understood going by the look on his face.
Edward pulled both swords back and flipped them over so they lay
along the back of his arms, and stepped back.

Rick and Leo stood as
well, coming in line with Edward. They turned as one and bowed to
the judge's table. They backed out of the ring, and bowed once more.

The crowd was going wild
around them. Now that he had the chance, Edward looked toward the
corner that had tripped him up and saw Scar standing there with his
shades pushed up high on his face. He couldn't be sure, but he would
be willing to bet a lot of money that Scar was glaring at him.

That bastard was trying
to ruin his performance? This was so much more then simple posturing
for the fight. This was turning into a grudge match on a whole
different level.

“What
happened?” asked Rick. He moved and in doing so he blocked
Edward's view of Scar.

“Yeah,
you were supposed to do that flip-thingy,” said Leo beside him.
Leo took his sword back from his loose hand, and placed a hand on
his shoulder.

“Let's
go...away from here,” suggested Edward. He turned away from
Scar, and pushed his way through the crowd. He neither knew nor
cared if they followed him; he just wanted to get away from those
eyes. Slipping around a group of people, he spotted Roy in the crowd
and changed direction to meet him.

“Roy,”
said Edward, pulling on his arm. Roy turned and blinked at him.

“Ah,
there you are. What happened at the end there? I was waiting for
your big finale and it didn't happen,” murmured Roy. He lifted
his arm out of Edward's grip, and placed it about his shoulders,
drawing him close.

“Scar
happened,” grumbled Edward, unconsciously leaning into Roy's
embrace. He stopped then, making Roy stop as well. “I'm so
going to pound him for this. It's one thing to have hate on for your
opponent, but sabotaging me in an unrelated event? That's just
beyond low.”

“I
agree. Why don't you report him?” asked Roy, rubbing his arm
as he spoke.

“It
wouldn't do any good,” grumbled Edward. It really wouldn't,
and he didn't want anyone to think of him as cowardly by saying
something before the match started. If he got caught, well then,
that'd be a different story. But he wasn't going to be the one to
turn him in. Plus Scar's other altercation was still under review.
People would be watching him carefully, which means no one saw what
he did during their routine.

“Ed,
don't take off like that!” complained Leo. With the guys'
arrival, Roy's hand dropped away from his shoulders.

“Sorry,”
said Edward flatly, turning towards his teammates.

“Ya
going to tells us what was up with the ending?” asked Rick.

“Scar
tripped me,” said Edward, his voice heavy with annoyance.

“What!”
hissed Leo. “That's...that's...”

“Yeah,”
agreed Edward, saving Leo from trying to finish that sentence. They
all fell silent. Edward sucked on the inside of his cheek, worrying
over the upcoming fight, and wondering if he really had it in him to
face Scar one on one, and have any chance to win. He just hoped that
it was him that faced Scar and not Leo. Leo didn't have the skills
to be even close to beating Scar. Not at his current level of skill.

“Hey,”
whispered Rick, slapping Edward on the arm and nodding at the crowd.
Edward looked up and saw Scar standing fifteen feet away, and
watching them. The crowd seemed to be giving him a wide berth, and
with his shades on it was hard to tell for sure if Scar was really
looking at them or not.

“This
is ridiculous,” said Roy suddenly. “Why do you insist on
not doing anything about it? Just say something—I'll
say something, if you won't!”

“No!
No, you can't,” said Edward, breaking eye contact with Scar,
and looking up at Roy.

“Why
not? He's harassing you—hell, he's harassing me. He's even
assaulted you, if you care to remember. If we tell the organizers,
then I'm sure they'll ban him—”

“That's
the point,” interrupted Edward with a frown. His hands swept
out to the sides, and gestured to show that Roy had it all wrong.

“Yeah,
man. If you say something now,” added Rick. “It's like
we're running away.”

“We
can't run away,” said Leo, letting his shoulders slump.

Roy sighed and ran a
hand over his face before looking hard at Edward. He met Roy's gaze
evenly, and wouldn't look away. He was right about this, dammit! He
looked over again at Scar, who had yet to move from his spot.

“I
won't be intimidated by that asshole,” vowed Edward. Scar
smiled at him. That slimy, vile smile of his that made Edward hiss
in response.

“I
don't understand why you want to pursue this so much,”
complained Roy. “If I were you, I'd just have him eliminated
so that—”

“Roy,
this is not about a business merger, where you only need to outbid
your competitors,” interrupted Edward. “This is about
honor, and pride, and standing up for what's right. This is about
how you treat other people. Like how you treated Maria on the flight
over. You wouldn't even let her talk. You do the same to me. You
bully me into accepting your hospitality, your hotel choice. Hell,
if you had your way, I'm sure I'd be the one following you around on
your business meetings, rather then you following me.”

“I'm
not following.
I
want
to be here.” Roy stabbed himself in the chest. “And how
did this turn around and become an attack on me?” asked Roy,
frowning slightly.

“I'm
not attacking you; I'm just saying that you don't really listen to
anyone. It's your way, or not at all,” Edward said with a
shake of his head.

“Now
wait a minute—” began Roy.

“Um,
guys,” Leo interrupted hesitantly.

“I
did not bully
you
into coming. I was going this way, I heard about your misfortune, so
I offered you a ride. That's in no way being a bully,” said
Roy.

“Edward,
I don't think—” tried Leo, looking at a loss. Edward saw
Rick place a hand on Leo's shoulder out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh,
yeah. Right. You didn't bully me at all,” said Edward
sarcastically. He folded his arms across his chest and glared up at
Roy. “And for your big fat information, I will be paying you
back for all of this. I don't take free rides.”

“Well,
for your 'big fat information', I was happy to do it!” said Roy
loudly.

“Yeah?
Well, fine! Why should I care what makes you happy? It's no skin
off my nose if you want to be nice or not,” said Edward, hotly.

“You
know, it happens! I am a very nice guy, and if you didn't spend your
whole childhood running away from me, you'd have seen it a lot
sooner,” said Roy, narrowing his eyes at him, and pulling his
lips back in a sneer.

“Well,
if you'd just leave me alone for, like, two bloody seconds, I might
have come around,” spat Edward, glaring up at Roy in silent
challenge.

“I
highly doubt that. You were the shyest kid...ever!”

“Well,
whose fault was that? Every time I was forced into one of your
lessons with you two, who was it the teachers pick on, and made feel
like I wasn't worth the dirt you guys walked on? Me! I became your
example on how 'not to do something'. Is it any wonder I turned out
the way I did, when I learned those kinds of lessons at your fucking
feet?”

“Ah,
here you are,” said Ling, smoothly interrupting the growing
argument with a serene smile and closed eyes. “They're about
to announce the winners, if you care to listen.”

Edward
closed his mouth with a click of his teeth, and blinked. How had
telling Roy about why he had to fight Scar turn into a fight between
them.
Roy had a shocked, kind of aghast, look on his face and wasn't
blinking at all, just sort of...looking at him...strangely... He
looked away, and then back again, and away. Roy wasn't doing
anything. He was just standing there.

He looked to the side at
Rick and Leo. Rick shook his head at him, and gave him a sympathetic
look while Leo wouldn't meet his eyes.

“Come
along now,” said Ling. He placed his hand on the small of
Edward's back, and pushed him towards the judges table behind them.

Edward looked back over
his shoulder to see if Scar had seen all of that, and thankfully he
was no longer there. But at what point did he leave? If he saw them
fighting, would he somehow use that against him later in the ring?
Ah, shit! Why was it turning out like this? This time was supposed
to be his time to show off a little, and be recognized for his
abilities, but no, he had to deal with Scar; Roy and kissing...it was
all a mess.

Ugh!
And he did not need to think about that kiss! Because, he couldn't
figure out why he had
kissed
Roy like that. And wow, did Roy ever kiss back! It wasn't until he
was back inside and had calmed down somewhat, that he was able to
remember just how great that kiss had felt. He hadn't been aware of
anything but Roy until Scar spoke. That had never happened to him.
In fact, when Fletcher had mentioned something similar happening to
him when he was with Riza, he had scoffed at his friend for being a
hopeless romantic. The whole time leading up to their routine all he
could think about was that he really wanted that to happen again.

Edward looked back over
the other shoulder, wondering if Roy had followed them or not. He
frowned. He couldn't see Roy anywhere. But that didn't really mean
anything. The crowd was closing in as the results were about to be
given out. Even if Roy had been there, he wasn't sure what he'd do,
or say to the man after how he had just acted. He knew that he
should apologize, but...but how could he do that? Just the thought
of having to look at Roy after what he'd said made him squirm in
unease.

So
don't need this, so don't need this,
chanted Edward. Ling pushed him towards the front of the crowd. The
other team fighters were gathered around the three sides of the ring,
with the judges on the last side.

“You
attention please,” the announcer said, mike in hand. He moved
towards the middle of the ring and raised up his free hand. “Ladies
and gentlemen, we are about to announce the winners of the adult
choreographed fight division.”

Edward thrust his thumb
in his mouth and began to chew on his nail in his nervousness.
Thoughts about Scar, Roy, and his performance, warred inside his head
for dominance, and no one was coming out on top. He watched warily
as someone carried over a slip of paper to the announcer, and left.
The paper was opened, and quickly scanned.

“In
fourth place, Team Alaska.” The crowed cheered, and clapped as
Team Alaska walked out into the ring.

“In
third place,” he paused, letting the suspense grow just a
little. “Team Argentina!” The crowds became more
enthusiastic as Argentina walked into the center. The judges shook
hands with each of the members before placing a medal around their
necks.

“For
second place, team...Turkey!” They walked into the ring
amongst cheers, and whistles.

Edward's
stomach was going to empty right here, and now. The suspense was
agonizing, and yet, he didn't want it to end. That was their last
chance to win. If someone else was called... There was only one
more spot. Please,
please, please, please...let us win,
chanted Edward, biting his nail hard.

“And
for first place, the team that made the most impressive display of
ingenuity, and creativity for their routine...”

We had that. We were
ingenious. No one else had a routine like ours...

“Team
France! Edward, Rick, and Leo!”

Edward blinked. He
wanted to ask the guy to please repeat that, but he was being pulled
into the ring by Rick on one side and Leo on the other. In a daze,
he shook the judge's hands, accepted his medal, and took the
forefront to accept his accolades from the crowd.

What a crazy day this
had been so far. Edward smiled at the crowd, and found himself
looking for a man with black hair, finding him directly on his right.
Roy was clapping, smiling, and looking very pleased with how he'd
done in the competition.

Maybe
he would
be able to talk to Roy later and smiled at Roy.

--To Be Continued--

(1) I just wanted a wee
note here to address this comment. Scar has indicated that he hates
'fags'. So, why would he threaten this? Sometimes sex is used as a
weapon. Even when someone hates 'fags' they still might force that
person into a sexual activity as a form of dominance.

I really had too much
fun writing this chapter. It should be illegal...but maybe you could
suspend my jail time, and offer up a review instead! It only took
this long to come out because the middle needed some work and as I've
said, Real Life came for a visit!
- 15
- 16
- 17
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