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A Little Light of Love	By : squallstorm Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7987 -:- 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
- 20
- 21
- 22
Disclaimer:
I do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.....I'm just
playing with them.

Author's
note:

Thanks
to ZaKai for reading and beta-ing my story once again. XD

Chapter
21

The
grass swayed in the strong breeze, hitting his leather clad knees and
bouncing off. Ed could smell the dirt and sap of the pine trees
drifting on the wind. Small woodland birds chirped and sang to each
other happily, hopping from tree branch to tree branch. He looked
across the field at the far tree line and then turned around in a
slow circle. At the edge of the grassy area, tall, straight pine
trees closed in on all sides.

He
smiled to himself. It had been a long time since he'd been in the
country. It was nice to be able to stand in knee high, green,
cattail grass, the sun on his face, and just be at ease with himself.
He felt lighter, on the inside, and he smiled. A true smile
unburdened with guilt or regrets. He closed his eyes, tilted his
head back into the sun, and lifted his hands out to encourage the
warmth to hit him on the chest.

He
snickered at himself. He, Edward Elric, was in a field and basking
in the sun, because it felt good. Then he started to laugh, and
laugh like he couldn't remember ever doing before. It came from deep
in his stomach rolling up and out of his mouth into the pleasant
spring air. It let loose all the hurt and sorrow that had been
building up in him, and he was lighter for it.

The
sun went cold then, making Ed open his eyes. His laughter faded away
as large, dark clouds blocked out the sun's warmth and all of the
sky. Almost immediately the field took on a sinister feel. Ed
dropped his arms to his side and warily watched the tree line.
Everything became dark and twisted. The trees became withered and
decrepit, and he could see ravens and crows watching him avidly from
the now bare tree branches, cawing to one another. But there was
something else
out there watching him, making the hairs on the back of his neck
stand up. He tensed, feeling the intent to harm directed at him and
wondered from which direction the attack would come from.

Before
he could even draw his next breath, he felt a familiar, but unwelcome
presence at his back. “Edward,” a silky smooth voice
whispered in his ear.

Ed
sat upright in the hard wooden bench with a gasp, his heart pounding
hard beneath his chest while he looked around franticly for the
source of that voice, only to find that he was alone. The waiting
room was dark, the only real illumination coming from the window and
the hallway. Looking over his shoulder he glanced up the wall to
check the time on the clock. Only half an hour pass eleven. He must
have dozed off.

Ed
released the breath he was holding and sagged forward onto his knees,
his unbound hair falling around his face. The dream stayed with him,
making him feel edgy; like he was still being watched. But he was
alone in the waiting room... That voice... Ed shuddered again, and
was on his feet before he knew he wanted to stand.

He
paced around the room, going from one bench to the other before he
walked over to the window and, leaning into the glass, looked out at
the night lights of Cairo. Time was moving very slowly for him here.
He hated that he was being made to wait. Ed swallowed again as he
remembered how that voice from the dream had been so...intimate
sounding...so familiar...so...slimy.

Fucking,
bastard Seniore...

He
pressed his lips together in a hard line, and thumped the underside
of his fist into the cloudy spot he created on the window. He hated
this! He couldn't do anything! He was useless
here! Al had been in the operating room for hours and he had yet to
hear anything, good or bad. Why wouldn't anyone tell
him! Just a simple word or two was all he was asking for. Just...a
little bit of hope...was all he was asking for.

A
kind nurse had let him clean up when he arrived, and given him a
change of clothes that fit reasonably well; A pair of dark pants that
hung low on his waist, and a loose pin stripe dress shirt. He hadn't
bothered asking where she'd gotten them or why she'd offered the
clothes and she hadn't stayed long either. As soon as he began to
ask questions about his brother's status however, she had dropped the
change of clothes on the chair and left. Just like that. She was
gone... The bitch... Then there was also the problem of dealing
with their rented apartment where he'd have to...deal with those
things there. Izzy's things. Ed sighed again. Too much shit to
deal with...

Noa
had stayed long enough to even out his hair and comb out all the
tangles before she left him here without a word. His hair now fell
to below his shoulder blades; still long but he hated why he had to
hack it off. He neither knew, nor cared, where Noa was or what she
was doing. He wanted to be alone, and not be made to talk unless it
was to Al's doctor.

He
could hear hurried footsteps coming down the hall. Ed's heart was
suddenly very high in his throat. Here it comes. The doctor was
coming to tell him that Al had died on the operating table and there
was nothing they could've done about it. He went to the entrance of
the waiting room to see who was there, dreading who might be coming
to talk with him, but it was only some man in a linen suit he didn't
recognize. The man rushed past him and turned down the hallway. He
felt both relieved and disappointed that it wasn't someone for him.

Retreating
back into the waiting room, he let his body fall into the wooden
bench, making it creak under his sudden weight. He wondered what Roy
was doing right now. Probably sleeping or getting his arm looked at.
He leaned back until his shoulder blades made contact with the
curved back of the bench. It was only because of Roy that he'd let
the truck keys go. If Roy hadn't of promised...

But
he had. Roy had promised, and without even asking him just what he
was promising, too. He could have never have done something like
that. Not without knowing all the details first. His mind wouldn't
let him take a blind leap of faith like that, but Roy had. In him!
Ed needed to know that Roy wouldn't betray his trust in him, and even
though Roy had no control over it, he needed to know that Al would be
safe if he was going to give his brother's life into the hands of
others.

He
didn't believe in God. Why should he when all his life he'd been
given the shitty end of the deal. But...he needed something to
believe in; something to hold onto, and Roy's promise was that life
line. It was the only thing keeping him from storming into the
operating room to check on Al. He really wanted to look at his
little brother's face, touch him and reassure himself that Al was
still here, that Al still made that body warm, breathe, and pump the
blood around his body. All the things that life granted had to be
there—still there. Al was he only reason for living; if that
was gone...then what? It'd be just like before. Him, here alone
from everyone he'd known, in another world. Just passing through
without touching it in any way, leaving no mark. A ghost once
more...

The
clip of many shoes on linoleum tiles had him out of his chair again
and standing in the doorway, but what he saw coming towards him made
his brows lower threateningly. The dream seemed to hold new meaning
now and its eerie sense of foreboding hung in the back of his mind,
reminding him that he couldn't dick around with this guy.

“Edward
Elric,” the major general acknowledged as he strode across the
remaining distance between them. He had two aides flanking him on
either side, looking just as serious and grim as their commander.
This was why he hated the military; they made its soldiers so caught
up in their own importance that anyone not in uniform was someone
they could push around.

“It's
time for your answer,” the major general said as he stopped in
front of Ed. He couldn't help but notice that the major general was
trying to intimidate him. Instead of stopping about a foot away,
which would be considered a 'proper' distance, the major general was
practically on top of him and looking down that squashed nose of his
at him.

“I
have yet to hear about my brother's condition,” replied Ed
cautiously as he looked up into the man's face, unperturbed. He
would not be intimidated by this man no matter how hard he tired to
do so. “I do believe I mentioned that I would give my answer
after
I knew that he was safe.”

“Luckily
for you, due to our quick medical intervention, your brother is
now...safe
in the hands of civilian doctors, where every effort is being made to
make sure he lives.” A small triumphant smile tugged at the
major general's lips. “You'll be happy to know that the base
is no longer an issue. At 2100 hours it was destroyed. A lot of man
power and lives were on the line today.” The major general
lowered his gaze so that he was looking at him from just under the
bottoms of his bushy eyebrows. “All to save you and your
brother.”

Ed
narrowed his eyes at the man. So, it was going to be like that, was
it? Safe as long as this guy deemed it in his
best interests? Pinning the lives lost on his shoulders, too? The
implications were not lost on him, but that didn't mean he had to
like it. Just another reason to hate the military; they were always
trying to get him do stuff for them. It didn't matter that he was in
another world and had nothing to do with any of this world's
military. Sometimes he missed being able to react outlandishly as he
had when the colonel had irritated him, because he was sure the major
general could use a bit of ranting at.

But
not with Al on line. He'd play nice, and bow and scrape if it
pleased the fucking major general, but he'd be damned if they could
try and convince him to like it!

“Yes...I'm
very...lucky
for your assistance,” said Ed slowly, being careful to keep as
much emotion out of his voice as he possibly could. He found his
left hand clenched tight and made himself relax his fist in order to
seem as un-confrontational as possible. But it was fucking hard. He
wouldn't even allow his teeth to clench in front of this shrewd old
wolf. Any weakness, however small, would be his doom.

The
major general smiled wide at that, making Ed seethe internally. He
clamped down on every instinct he had to move his arms, yell, hell,
even hit something as it would just show how easy he was to
manipulate. Fuck, he didn't need someone else who knew that he was
really a pushover as soon as someone threatened his family. He had
to learn to stop presenting strangers with all the keys to his heart
as soon as he met them. It was really an annoying habit of his.

“That's
very good to hear, Mr. Elric. Let's head into the waiting room to
discuss your answer more fully.” The major general held his
arm out towards the empty room, watching him very carefully. “My
aides well see to it that we're not disturbed. After you,” the
major general said again.

In
other words the two 'guards' would make sure he didn't run off
without giving his damn soul to them. Ed didn't like the fact that
the old goat was making him present his back. He didn't want to take
his eyes off of this man. He held so much of his future in his
hands, it was scary. Damn, even Noa was off somewhere. What if they
used her as well? This was why he hated politics, there was so much
to know, and never enough leverage for him. He was always getting
caught unawares. This had to stop.

In
the past it had been Mustang who had played with people, moving them
across that metaphorical chess board of his, protecting him and Al on
his search to restore his brother. Now it was up to him to make the
moves; block the enemies. He had to make sure that Al, Noa, and even
Roy were not going to be affected by this man pushing him into a
corner. He had some ideas on how to protect everyone. Now all he
had to do was get them approved.

“Okay,
we should talk, major general. I want to add just a few more things
to that list,” Ed said, thinking quickly as he walked into the
empty, darkened waiting room, knowing that he would have a captive
audience...just as much as he was a captive.

- - - -

The latch on the small
suitcase clicked with a sense of finality that disturbed Noa. While
they had been away for—was it really only a day?—the
splintered door had been replaced by the owners, and the mess inside
cleaned up. It had taken her rarely used persuasive abilities to get
the man at the desk to allow her to go back to the apartment. The
building managers didn't seem to like that they had caused so much
trouble. She hated to use her seeming knack at getting her own way
to make the man agree with her. It felt too much like manipulating
the other person, and she didn't like that feeling she got when she
was able to get her own way.

Just entering the
hallway of the apartment caused a flood of emotions that came so fast
that she couldn't analyze the feelings of hurt and confusion before
the next wave assaulted her. It took her many minutes before she
could decide that her feet should move further down the hallway
towards the living room. After two steps, she began to feel unsteady
so she reached out a hand to support herself on the wall. By the
time she neared the kitchen, she had almost convinced herself that it
was a stupid idea to do this on her own; she should wait for Edward
and they could do this together.

She reached out to the
other wall, bypassing the kitchen for the living room. Both hands
were now being used to support herself as she made her way forward.
She couldn't bring herself to even look at the room as it neared.
She wasn't strong enough for this. What made her think she could do
this on her own? She let her head rest on top of her hands as she
waited for her breathing and pulse to calm enough for her to
continue.

Unaware of how long she
stood there, Noa finally forced her face away from her hands, still
not looking into the room, but working up the courage to do so. The
memory of Edward's selfless act to save them played underneath her
tightly closed eyelids against her will. Tears were squeezed out as
she heard again his choked grunt of pain and anger.

Slowly rocking to calm
herself, Noa turned her head towards the living room, her eyes still
closed. Letting her hands fall away from the wall, she took one
blind step into the living room and paused. Isabella's confused
question to Edward, the look on her face as she had to watch Edward
do that for them. The poor child.

Now she opened her eyes
and slowly looked around the clean, cheerful room. The only sign
that any of them had ever been there was the doll Edward had bought
for Isabella that day she met them on the pier. It was sitting in
the middle of the couch, isolated from the other pillows at either
end, and it seemed to be asking her where its mistress was. The poor
doll, now it would have no one to show it love and affection.

Noa crossed into the
living room and scooped up the doll into her arms, hugging it. With
the toy nestled against her chest, she looked out through the shears
covering the windows and watched the sun rise over the Nile. It
wasn't until the sun hit her legs that she came out of her daze and
remembered her reason for being here. Edward had too much to handle
with his brother, he did not need to come here and clean out
Isabella's things. It was the least she could do for him and
Alphonse right now. Edward would take care of Alphonse, and she
could take care of this.

She spent the next few
hours removing all traces of the small girl from the apartment, and
placing everything into the small suitcase they'd gotten for her.
Each item was handled, caressed, folded neatly, and placed carefully
into the suitcase and then she'd move onto the next. The latches on
the case were the last, final nail in the coffin.

Isabella was gone.

Noa leaned over the
suitcase, and just allowed all the emotions she'd been holding back
to wash over her. A choked sob came first, then a low keening noise
in the back of her throat. She scrambled blindly for the far edge of
the case and pulled it closer to her and up into her lap. Everything
that was Isabella was in this case, and it was such a small case. It
was hardly even worth the notice, but Noa noticed. Slowly she began
to rock back and forth, her anguish needing to move.

This was her time to
morn. Before had been brought on by shock and disbelief but now she
could see Edward's memory of his last time he looked on the small
girl. She had smiled so happily at him, she never knew what was
coming and maybe that was the only good thing about all this.
Isabella hadn't suffered. It had been quick and over with before she
could even understand what was happening.

Such a small thing, but
worth the comfort it brought.

- - - -

The room was small, but
at least it was private. The early morning sunshine came up on the
other side of the building, so for now the room was cool enough to be
comfortable, but when the nurse came back he'd have to remember to
ask for another blanket for Al. He was sure to get cold with only
those two thin blankets covering him, and he tugged the covers up
once again because they seemed to slip down all the time.

Now
that Al was properly covered once again, he stood from the chair he'd
pulled close to the bed and began to pace the room. His 'meeting'
with the major general had gone well past two in the morning, and
then shortly after that he found out that Al was out of the operating
room and was being settled into his room. He was 'detained' until
all the papers were changed to his specifications and then they had
to be signed in triplicate. After all that he was finally
allowed to see his brother.

Upon first entering the
room, he just stood in the doorway and let his eyes wander all over
Al's form. He had felt his eyes prickle at what he saw; the tube in
his arm, and the very pale complexion. Walking slowly towards the
single bed, Ed stared hard at his chest trying to see if he was
breathing and because he wasn't convinced that what he was seeing was
real, he rested the palm of his hand lightly over Al's heart.

Tension eased out him
with each strong thud against his hand. With a sigh, Ed sank to his
knees, his hand trailing across his brother's chest, then over his
arm. He rested his forehead on the edge of the mattress while he
blindly sought out Al's hand, finding his forearm and following it
down to Al's chilled hand.

“Al,”
he croaked. “I'm so
sorry, Al. I promise—” Ed broke off, his throat
becoming tight. He ran his thumb across the back of Al's hand and
waited until he could speak again. Swallowing a few times
experimentally to be sure he wouldn't be breaking down, he raised his
head to look at Al's profile. “Al, I promise that I won't put
you in danger ever
again. We may live here, and we may die here, but you can't die
because
of me, because I'm a stupid idiot that shouldn't have such a great
brother as you at my side.”

He let his head thump
into the mattress again. “I know I said that we were apart of
this world now, but that doesn't mean we have to risk our lives like
we did back home. I...couldn't stand to be without you ever again,
you hear me,” said Ed sternly but softly. “We're going
to do things differently from now on. I got it all worked out with
the major general guy whatever-his-name-is, and we won't have to
worry about anything. I know you'd be proud of me.”

Ed let the sense of
accomplishment fill him up for a moment, pushing his other concerns
aside. He really had done a good bit of bargaining and if not for
his dealings with Mustang and the whole crew, he'd have never come
out ahead in that deal. They had all taught him how to be a
manipulative little shit if only he put his mind to the task.

“I
was able to work it out that neither you nor me could be drafted.
You remember? The gate showed how all the men would have to go to
war again soon? Well, we're exempt. I also got Roy off if he wants
to. He...he said that...” Roy's tired face appeared in his
mind's eye. Even ragged and dirty...he was...gorgeous.

He hadn't noticed just
how black Roy's hair was until he was in the sun, and at the time he
didn't even glance at Roy's body, but now...the memory had begun to
sneak up on him and show him just how fine all that skin was. His
stomach did a little flop just thinking about how he was held, and
wished he had paid better attention. Because he'd been too caught up
in himself, he couldn't remember how Roy's arm had felt across his
back.

“Well,
anyway, I also got us a very nice payout. We both get one hundred
thousand dollars each. Pretty cool, eh? If we're careful we can
make that last for a long time. The major-bastard didn't want to
give us that one, and I had to fight really hard to make sure that we
were going to get paid for our information. Only fair, right?”

Ed ran his right hand
through his hair, and sighed. It just wasn't the same talking to Al
if he didn't talk back. It was reassuring though, just the same. He
could see his brother, touch him, see him breathing. But he wanted
to hear his voice too. He let his head fall back into the side of
the mattress, and sighed.

“You
know what's really stupid?” asked Ed, his voice muffled by the
blankets. “I think I love a guy...or at the very least I like
him a whole hell of a lot...and I probably want to do weird things to
him, too.” Ed glanced over his shoulder just to make sure
there was no one there. Having said it out loud made it real. It
was scary because this world had some very strong views about two men
together, and he didn't want to add to his already huge list of
problems. He shifted his legs to the side, and let his bum rest on
the cold floor.

“I...I
knew for a while that I was like...this...and I wanted to tell you, I
really did...” said Ed turning back to rest his head on the
bed. He could almost hear how angry Al would be with him over this,
but he couldn't tell if Al would be angry that he'd hidden his
preference or whether it would be due to how disgusted he'd be with
him now. He tried not to let his fears play into his perceived
reaction Al would take but that was the whole reason he hadn't said
anything.

“I'm
sorry, Al. I bet you're pretty disappointed with me now,”
mumbled Ed into the bedsheets.

“Don't
be thick,” Al's gravelly voice suddenly spoke up.

Ed lifted his head
slowly to look into blood shot eyes. His heart beat fast as he raked
his eyes all over Al's tired face before he looked back into Al's
eyes making him smile slowly. He wondered just how much Al had heard
of his confession and what his possible reaction might now be. Would
he hate him? He shifted uneasily on the floor, letting his eyes drop
down to stare at the rumbled blanket.

“Love
you,” croaked Al, giving his hand a weak squeeze. Ed lifted
his eyes back up with great effort. “Don't care, either. Now
get me a drink,” demanded Al, his voice softening to a gentle
command.

Ed closed his eyes
against the suddenly welling of emotion inside of him. He tightened
his grip on Al's hand, and smiled with relief. He really was lucky
to have to have such a great brother. He quickly let go of his
brother's hand and stood so that Al wouldn't see that he was about to
cry...only a little bit. “Right,” he said, his voice
rough with gratitude. He turned his back to his brother and said,
“I'll be right back.”

“So
silly,” said Al, his voice following him out into the hall.

Ed paced around the
room. He'd gotten Al some water and watched him fall back asleep but
now he was going stir crazy. Every time a nurse came in to check on
Al, he demanded answers, rattled off questions, and dragged the
doctor into Al's room in order to talk about his treatment. And this
was all before ten in the morning.

He'd done all that he
could for now, and he was starting to wonder where Noa had gotten off
to. He crossed the room from the window to the door and back again.
His eyes felt gritty and dried out, so he rubbed at them
distractedly. He turned at the window, briefly looking out, and
headed back towards the door. It was ten steps from the window to
the door. He felt caged, antsy. By all rights he should be
exhausted but right now he felt charged...eager even.

He walked back to the
window and glanced out again. Pressing his lips, he turned when he
didn't see anything worth stopping for and headed back to the door.
Absently rubbed his hand down his rib cage, pressing just a little to
feel the ebbing ache. The doctors had checked him over when he had
arrived to see Al and told him the squeezing sensation he experienced
was a result of knocking his healing rib a bit more then they could
handle. He hadn't damaged them anew, but he'd bruised them quite a
bit.

Where
was Noa?
he thought in exasperation, making his way back to the window. He
looked out once more, turned and headed for the door.

This was nuts. He
needed to do something to work off his energy, but he couldn't leave
Al alone. Ed stalked his way over to the window and looked out
again. Flexing his left hand made all his knuckles crack
satisfyingly. There was a couple, one of them in a wheelchair,
making their way around the small garden that was below. As soon as
Noa came back he was either going to go out there to do some sort of
workout or he was breaking down whatever door there was to the roof
for some peace.

Ed turned away from the
window and paused in his pacing. With a sigh, his whole body sagged,
slouching towards the floor. He had an intense urge to stalk the
halls and find a pair of dark eyes for a bit of comfort. But then Al
would be all alone... And he didn't even know if Roy was in this
hospital or maybe somewhere else. Clicking his tongue, Ed dragged
his feet over to his chair and plopped down into the seat. There was
so much to analyze when it came to Roy, that he almost didn't know
where to start. He'd only known the guy for a few hours, but it
seemed like forever.

He had to smile to
himself as he remembered their first meeting in the avenue between
all those tents. He'd been so foolish to think that the man before
him could have been Mustang. He snickered softly to himself. Hell,
he'd acted like a love sick puppy, glad to have his master back. But
then...he began to realize just who that man was, and while just a
little bit disappointed, he was also sort of happy in a way that he
didn't fully understand at the time.

When Roy had pulled him
off balance and caught him... That...embrace had been... Ed closed
his eyes to see it more clearly. That embrace had been hesitant and
exciting. And then later, underground, he had hugged Roy after he'd
gotten shot accidentally by his hasty actions. But the hug there had
also been...so comforting. Just being around Roy was enough to send
him into weak kneed anxiety that he hardly even let himself notice
while all those other things were going on. Even thinking about it
now, he got jolts of adrenaline hitting his stomach and making it
flop.

He felt a smile pull at
his lips and he fought with himself to hide it. He bit his lip, but
still he smiled. Damn, this wasn't like him at all. Planting his
right elbow on the chair arm, he let his hand cover the lower half of
his face to hide his grin. The cool metal of his hand on his lips
made him think about something totally unrelated. Warm lips on his,
being half asleep, and kissing Roy. Then his reaction to being told
it was real and not a dream.

Even down to the way Roy
had cared for him in the sick room. Taking the time to tuck him in
and ease off the manacles from his wrists when the blood had dried.
It was entirely possible that Roy was just nice like that, and it had
nothing to do with how he might feel about Ed. He had nothing to
base his hopes on. The smile slowly faded from his face, and he let
his hand fall into his lap as he became pensive. He really had
nothing...but the half hoped promise and the fact that Roy wanted to
'tell him something', but who knew what that could be. Maybe Roy
wanted to tell him something about why he'd come to get him, or maybe
it had to do with his debriefing, which had yet to happen. It could
be anything other then what he hoped.

Just a few minutes
before, he'd been full of energy and now it was all gone. He felt
tired and...and... abandoned. That didn't sound right...? Why
abandoned? But there it was...the same feeling as when he'd first
woken up in this world and understood that he wasn't going to be with
his brother or even if his transmutation even worked. It made goose
bumps race across his arm and leg, and over his back.

Maybe he was reading way
too much into all of this. Roy was just a really nice guy who was
only trying to take care of his...whatever he was to Roy, to make
sure he finished his mission or whatever. It had nothing to do with
him at all.

“Al,
I'm fucked aren't I?” he mumbled at his lap. “I mean, I
should just—I don't know...I should find a girl and try and be
happy with that. That's normal, right?” He looked up at Al,
but he was being unhelpful and remained asleep. “Some help you
are,” he said irritably, narrowing his eyes at Al's sleeping
face.

With the down swing in
his energy and emotions, he suddenly felt the pull of exhaustion.
Rubbing his eyes, Ed pushed himself out of the chair and went to the
window. He didn't want to sleep. Sleep brought dreams, and he
didn't need those right now. The garden below was empty now; there
was nothing to watch but a few colorful birds as they went from
spindly tree to spindly tree.

“He
probably has a girl...” mumbled Ed at his faint reflection.
Two tall men exited the door below and slowly began to walk around
the garden. Ed turned his attention towards the men, noted their
British uniforms and wondered if they had played any part in the
take-over. Nosily, he watched as one of the men turned to the other
in the middle of the garden. He wondered what they could be talking
about, but these windows hardly opened, and only at the top, leaning
out to appear like it was allowing the breeze inside.

He dropped his gaze down
to his hands, resting lightly on the window still. Who was he
kidding anyway. Who in their right mind would want someone that was
carved up, and maimed like he was? He was lucky to have found a few
understanding friends like Noa, and his patron, Fritz Lang. How on
earth could he seriously hope to think that anyone, let alone a man,
would want anything to do with him? Thinking that made him disgusted
with himself.

Of course, he'd always
been slightly shy showing off his mistakes around people he'd known;
showing off his auto-mail was a huge thing to him. His bravado hid
most of his unease, but bring out an enemy, and he'd be more then
happy to introduce them to his fist! But here, this world had slowly
infected him with its ideals, and 'correctness' making him ashamed of
himself and he couldn't seem to fight it off when he was being
assaulted from all sides. Even now, whenever someone entered the
room, it was automatic for him to put his hand in his pocket or fold
his arms across his chest to disguise his arm as best he could
without gloves. Ed looked down at the garden again hoping to get his
mind away from this line of thinking. He did not need to wallow in
self pity.

The two men were still
there, still seeming to talk to one another. He squinted his eyes.
It didn't look like they were moving their lips... What were they
doing? Looking at each other? At the same time, the men rose their
right arms. Adrenaline suddenly shot through Ed's tired body, his
eyes going wide.

“No,”
he hissed at the window, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
They both tilted their heads at the same angle and took off their
hats. Slicked back, light blond hair gleamed in the westering sun.
Completing the image, the twins tucked the hats under their left
arms, and then looked up at the building.

Unable to stop himself,
Ed staggered away from the window, fearful that they'd see him. But
that was impossible, there had to be a glare on the windows. There
was no way they could know that he was here. He laughed uncertainly.
There was no way! The major general said that they were dead! He
believed him!

He had to make sure.
Moving to the curtains, Ed lifted the back end of the cloth aside,
and peeked down at the garden. The two men were still looking up at
the building, and Ed could swear that they had to be looking at him.
They had to be! Ugly bruises littered their faces, the only thing
uneven about them was the random patterns created on each face.

If they were here...that
meant...

Ed shot a panicked look
at Al sleeping quietly on the bed. He was a liability right now, and
a card that could be used against him. A very good card.

“Fuck...Al!
Dammit, what I wouldn't give for a little alchemy right now,”
he mumbled, but there was no way he was going to get involved with
how Maxton had done alchemy. It rubbed him the wrong way to have to
use blood to activate an array on this side. Ed chewed on his lip,
thinking hard. First he needed to get Al moved or guarded. He
looked outside again, checking to make sure the twins were still
there, and they weren't. He didn't have time. If they were on the
move, he needed to be as well.

He hurried to the door
and pulled it back just enough for him to glance down the hall. It
was empty. Which didn't help him very much. He quietly closed the
door behind him and searched the room for inspiration.

A bed, a night side
table, a few unhelpful things like a bed pan, and a water pitcher.
There was nothing in here that was remotely helpful for dealing with
those freaks, or their commander. Ed opened the door to the
bathroom, and threw open the cabinet drawers, throwing things
everywhere in his haste. A cloth wrapped scalpel clattered to floor,
making Ed stop in his frenzy. He dove after the thin blade and
settled it within his palm. It fit good there. It should be an
unwelcome surprise that, if used correctly, could buy him some time
to deal with the other twin.

Returning
to the bedroom, Ed looked at his brother. No matter what he would
like
to do, he wouldn't be able to move his brother from that bed without
doing harm to his fragile sutures.

“Alright,
Al. If it's a stand they want, they had better be fucking prepared
for the beating of a lifetime,” said Ed, looking back at the
door. “All you have to do is lay there and be safe, okay?”

- - - -

Noa placed the small
case on the floor beside her feet and looked back at the apartment.
After crying for a while more, she had finally gotten up off the
floor. Edward had been able to clean up at the hospital, but she had
yet to do the same. Now she was clean of all the grime and wearing
fresh clothes, the other clothes thrown away. No matter how hard the
times were, and how precious good clothing was, she didn't want
anything to do with the memories they brought up.

Just as when she
entered, there was no sign of what had happened here a few hours ago,
but the memories remained. They would never go away, least of all
for Edward, but she hoped that he could move away from this horrible
experience. It was like throwing a noxious chemical into a clean
burning fire, this memory. She only hoped that Edward would be able
to burn true once more.

With a sigh, Noa reached
down and picked up the suitcase. Hers, Alphonse's and Edward's
packed suitcases were back in the living room, to be picked up later
and delivered to the hospital. Now Edward wouldn't have to come back
here at all. If it was her, she wouldn't want to be reminded of
those things either.

She had one more stop
and she had already wasted most of the morning. It was close to
lunchtime and she wanted to try to find out where Captain Taylor was
staying, for she also wanted to check in with him. She was sure that
Edward would want to know how he was doing, and being unable to leave
Alphonse alone, it was something she wanted to do in order to help
out. She also wanted to talk with the captain.

Opening the front door,
Noa let herself out of the apartment, closing the door softly behind
her. She made her way down the three flights of stairs, stopping at
the front desk to make sure the remaining luggage was delivered and
then left the building. The Isabella's case was light enough that
she didn't mind the weight as she walked to the American's military
base near the center of town.

The time passed quickly
as she made her way towards one of the main avenues that fed straight
into the city center. The simple act of walking did much to clear
away the sadness of the morning and before she knew it she was
standing outside of a large two story building, looking through the
gates and being watched by two very stern looking guards. She
glanced between the two of them and then approached the nearest man.

“I'd
like to see Captain Taylor, please,” she said softly, not quite
able to meet his severe gaze. Her hands came together in front of
her body, the case lightly smacking against her shins.

“What
do we have here?” asked the man closest to her condescendingly.
“A little lost street wraith?” The far man snickered
causing Noa to stiffen in apprehension.

“Maybe
we ought ta show her around, eh?” the other man said, laughing
some more.

“Yeah,
we know all the good spots, don't we?” A heavy hand landed on
her shoulder making her knees want to buckle.

“Please,
I only want to see Captain Taylor. He's expecting me,” said
Noa, her resolve fading. Images flooded her mind from the man's
hand. She blinked in rapid succession to try and stem the tide.

“Oh,
I'm sure that can be arranged...only we don't let just anyone
inside, you know,” whispered the man next to her
conspiratorially.

Noa finally made herself
look into the face of the man before her. She knew what he was
implying, knew what sort of man he was, and what he had in mind. A
slow smile spread across his face as they looked at each other and
Noa just didn't want to deal with this now. She'd had enough of
everyone pushing her around. The memory of the exhilarating feel of
confidence that she'd inadvertently taken from Edward and how it made
her strong suddenly made her bold now.

“You
touched your youngest sister,” said Noa suddenly into that
leering face. The smile dropped and what color the man had drained
off his face. “You did...awful things to her. That's why you
feel that you have to force women to like you and have sex with you.
Otherwise you can't feel excited enough to finish what you start.”
The soldier's hand dropped off her shoulder and he took a step back.

“Hey!”
the other soldier yelled at them. “What did you do?”

Noa turned her hard gaze
to the man who was coming forward to the aid of his friend. “Now
if you don't mind, I came here to see Captain Taylor, and I don't
appreciate you holding me from my task. Please notify whoever you
have to notify and I won't tell them how you're stealing goods from
your government and selling them to the local underground. You
should be careful who you tell these things to,” she said,
looking pointedly at the man in front of her. She watched as the
other soldier also paled.

“How
did you...” began the man beside her and then trailing off in
his uncertainty.

“I
don't think an explanation is in order, do you?” asked Noa.
The man shook his head no, and numbly turned around, reaching into
the guard house to talk on the phone.

After waiting for
several quiet moments, a soldier came out of the building, collected
her without a word and began to lead her through the foyer. She was
told to have a seat where she waited for almost half an hour before
she saw Captain Taylor, still looking tired, come around the corner
with his green jacket over his shoulders, one sleeve empty as his
right arm was still in a sling.

She stood as he neared
and smiled fondly at him. “Captain, how are you?” she
asked.

“I'm
great. They want to keep me bed ridden, but it's only a shoulder
wound. It's not like I got shot in the legs or anything. Nothing
lots of sleep and light work won't fix,” said Roy, smiling at
her. He looked over her shoulder quickly and then back at her with a
question in his eyes.

“He's
with his brother. That's why I'm here,” she explained, knowing
that he was looking for Edward whether he knew it consciously or not.
“I know he'd want to see you, but at the moment he won't leave
Al's side. I'm sure you noticed that they are very protective of
each other.”

“And
slightly violent towards one another,” said Roy with a smirk.

Noa smiled. Remembering
how Alphonse had stuck Edward while underground. Captain Taylor was
surely remembering the same thing. “They express their
emotions...better with action rather then wasting words on them,”
said Noa. Letting Roy know more about Edward and Alphonse was one of
the reasons why she came all this way.

“Is
there somewhere we can talk?” wondered Noa. The foyer was
mostly empty, but it was a traffic area and people could walk through
at any time.

“Ah,
yeah. Why don't we walk through town,” suggested Roy. Noa
could see the curious look he threw her way as he led the way out of
the building. It was time for Captain Taylor to learn just why
Edward would be a very special person in his life.

--To Be Continued--

Happy Christmas, I'll
see you all in 2008!

I
didn't get to hear from even half of my most favorite reviewers :( I
hope this makes everyone happy! Don't forget to leave a donation of
either cookies, for a starving authoress, or a review! If you feel
really
generous you could do both! XD
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A Little Light of Love