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Unsettling Affairs	By : xkesshoux Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1906 -:- 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
- 21
- 22
- 23
Each
individual chapter will have a different rating, different pairings,
different spoilers, and a different setting and timeline. Multiple
people were involved in writing this fic, I do not claim to have
written anything other than my own characters. I do however claim to
have come up with the plot, story idea, and organizing it all. The
others who write characters in this fic are well aware that I am
posting it, and contribute willingly. This fic is an ongoing project
with an unknown number of parts, with alternate storyline as of the
fifth laboratory incident. Enjoy!

Falsehood
of a Viper

Rating:
PG-13 (For language, really)
Pairings: HavocxEd
Disclaimer:
I don't own FMA.
Spoilers: Noooooone!
Setting:
Central HQ.
Timeline: Ed goes to apologize to Havoc for
running away.

Wiping
his eyes again for good measure, despite the fact that they were
already raw from him rubbing them so fiercely, Edward trudged slowly
and shakily down the hall, finding his carefully collected composure
had become increasingly less collected with each step he came closer
to the room that was labeled "Jean Havoc."

Blonde
hair was in disarray and many strands had fallen loose from the
braid. Ed would admit it himself, even. He looked like shit.

It wasn't
even close to how he felt, though...crushed...

"Dammit...I'm
not going to cry!" He hissed, trying to force back down the
tears that threatened to rise again.

But
why...why didn't I see it before...why couldn't I stop it...this is
too cruel...

"Dammit,
I'm not going to cry..."

Havoc
barely registered the words, not even bothering to lift his head from
his folded arms.

The room
he was in was painfully clean, white and featureless, and his only
refuge was the window that looked out over the parade ground.

That's
where he was now, pillowed on the windowsill, alone.

Ed
swallowed down the pathetic, horrible moan that tried to rise up in
his throat and bring forth more sobbing just like before.

One
foot in front of the
other...one...two...one...two...left...right...left...right...

And then
he was there...human hand trembling over the doorknob.

Shaking...?
How long have I been standing here?

Edward
had to choke back a guilty, pained sob that rose without warning, and
he barely managed to keep it at bay as his hand clutched the doorknob
tightly. Just go in...no turning back now...

His
knuckles were white before he finally turned the knob, wincing at the
creak of the hinges as he slowly opened the door, unable to look up.
If he looked up, he wouldn't have been able to stand anymore...he
wouldn't be able to keep the control he'd already almost completely
lost...

The
blonde alchemist stood there in the doorway, still trembling from the
tension caused by holding back everything with all that he could
muster. He couldn't look...just shut it out, Ed...shut it out and
everything will be okay...

No...no
it won't...nothing's okay...

"...
go away..."

Was that
hoarse croak really his voice?

"I'm
not going anywhere, Jean..."

Ed
finally managed to step inside, closing the door behind him and
sliding down against the wall to sit.

"What
happened...no...that's not the right question...is it..." He
found his voice eerily calm compared to the raging, churning emotions
inside his chest threatening to burst out at any second.

"I
guess...what I meant to ask was...why..."

"Why?
Because without the transmutation I would have died, away from home
and away from you. Now, I have a chance to kill the bastards who
killed all my friends." Havoc got up, spreading his manacled
hands as far as they would go.

"Look
at me, Major Elric. Look at me! You were right, I'm not human
anymore. I'm an animal, a monster, created for two reasons: to hunt
and to kill."

Edward
swallowed and forced himself to raise his head to meet Havoc's eyes,
biting his lip as he got to his feet, each step towards the older
man-now-chimera forced by another emotion. Rage.

With one
swift movement, the back of the alchemist's hand became very
acquainted with the side of Havoc's face. He'd hit him. Hard.
"Quit with the damn formalities, Jean! They obviously didn't
take your heart, or am I wrong?"

He didn't
even realize what he was doing until it was done, and the tears found
there way from his eyes. It was then that Ed couldn't find the
strength anymore, and fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why
would you care?" Havoc snarled, long sharp incisors bared. "I'm
not Jean, remember? You ran away from me when you told me you would
stay. I have absolutely no reason to trust you anymore! Why should
you be anything more than a superior officer to me when you obviously
don't want me as I am?"

He looked
down on the boy, cold, uncaring, unmoving, but broken and bleeding
inside. "Go. Go back to Colonel Mustang. As a chimera, I'm not
good enough for Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

He turned
away, leaning heavily on the windowsill. "I was never good
enough for you, was I...?"

The
younger boy bit his lip, wincing as he tasted the metallic tang of
blood.

"I
wasn't ordered to come here and see you, you know!"

It was
hard enough coming back after losing him once...Edward was
strong...but to come back to this...

You
didn't even tell him I was dead, did you Roy...typical...drop the
burden on me to lighten your load...now I've got to be the one to
keep the secret...

"I...never
had to come here..." Ed felt almost as though he was watching
the scene rather than a part of it, and he didn't even register
standing up and wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "Maybe
I shouldn't have...if that's how you feel..."

He
stepped towards the door, hand hovering just over the knob. "I..."
Ed fumbled for the words, trying to string together something that
would make sense out of the jumble of thoughts and emotions swirling
inside of him. "Maybe it's me who was never good enough for you,
Jean..."

The creak
of the door hinges.

"I'm
sorry..."

"It
didn't have to be like this," Havoc said softly. “Why did
you run away?"

Edward
paused in the doorway, left hand clenched tightly at the tension and
stress that threatened to rip him apart.

"I
was scared...and it hurt...it was too much to bear so soon...so
suddenly...I had to..."

He didn't
bother to say the rest...he shouldn't...if Roy hadn't told Havoc...it
was better for him not to know...

I ran
because I know more than you do...you think it was just a dream...but
I know what really happened...I knew you would've died...I knew
because you almost did...but I never wanted anything like that...I
would've rather lost you than have you lose yourself...I was
selfish...I didn't know what to do...I wanted to throw up...

"Ed,
stop trying to spare my feelings. I know it has to do with me being
an apparent monster.

"Let
me tell you something: I knew I was dying. That's why I volunteered
for the transmutation in the first place. I needed to keep living."

He was
pretty sure that was part of the young man's problem.

"And...
you... you were not alive here either were you...?"

Ed
swallowed hard, unsteady hands moving up to the back of his neck.
There's no use hiding it anymore...is there...

He let
out a ragged sigh, closing his eyes and closing the door once again,
still inside. Shakily, he shrugged his coat from his shoulders,
letting the crimson garment fall to the ground, as he unfastened his
jacket and let it fall similarly. Finally was the black tank top, the
one final thing that hid what Alphonse had done to get him back.

Fingers
trembling, Edward lifted off the shirt, just holding it in his right
hand as his left traveled up his spine. He hissed slightly as his
fingers brushed the seal, red as blood and twice as sinister a
meaning.

It wasn't
the same as other human transmutations, though...it bore the unique
symbol that the Elric brothers alone wore, captured within an array
that was unfamiliar even to Ed. How Alphonse had come up with it, how
he'd done it, the older Elric still didn't know...Al wouldn't tell
him...

Finally,
he spoke. "It's only been one week..."

"Don't
worry, I won't ask you anything more. It's just that I smelled blood
when I saw you before, and I began to worry."

He turned
around, rubbing the red mark on his cheek where Ed had struck him. "I
was worried about you."

Edward
looked over his shoulder at Havoc, leaning down to pick up his coat;
it was a bit chilly in the room.

"...It
wasn't a dream...it was the other side of the gate..."

Draping
the red fabric around his shoulders, he turned and walked over to the
bed, sitting down on the edge of it and sighing heavily.

Havoc
watched the boy, not entirely unsympathetic, but entirely unwilling
to go comfort him. He was still smarting from Ed's slap. "Tell
me, Ed," he said impulsively. "Am I really that terrible to
look at?"

The
blonde alchemist lifted his head, turning to focus golden eyes on
Havoc. For the first time he just looked...it wasn't even that
obvious really...it's just those eyes had caught him so off guard...

"No,
Jean...you're not..." Ed said truthfully. Chimera or not, Jean
Havoc was a very attractive man...and if Ed didn't know any
better...he'd almost swear he heard himself think just now that those
eyes were...even more stunning than before...

"Again...I'm
sorry for how I reacted...really I am..."

Havoc
shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll have to get used to it
sooner or later..." The emptiness in his voice was painfully
apparent and he winced. "After all..." Here his mouth
curved into a bitter smile. "I'm not human anymore."

"I
wonder what I am then..." Human and automail hands clutched the
coat tighter, as Ed turned his head away again, bangs falling in
front of his eyes. "On the other side...there's a gravestone
marked 'Jean Havoc, living despite all odds'..." His smile was
pained, but genuine.

Havoc was
touched by the last remark. "So you buried me..." he said
softly. "The way I was supposed to be buried here...

"Did
Colonel Mustang tell you how I was killed? Two cuts across my neck at
the main artery and vein. Shot through my left lung twice... I'm
alive, but I paid a price. Oh, and what I paid..." Brilliant cat
eyes gazed steadily at the boy. "At least you have your
humanity. That's more than I can say for myself."

"You're
just as human as I am, Jean...you've just got a little extra..."

Edward
brought his knees to his chest and smiled sadly. "I don't want
to lose you again...it was hard enough to let you go back there..."

A smile
came this time, easy and full. "Oh, don't worry. I'm like an old
bad penny – I always come back." A tiny, pregnant pause.
"And I'm sorry for flaring off at you earlier. It's... you
running away rubbed me a little raw, and seeing you come back like
this made me so angry. I wondered why you would care to see me after
a reaction like that. I felt... like an animal in a zoo."
Another grin, quick and sharp. "We're never ever going to a zoo
once we get out of this, all right?"

"Never
really liked the zoo anyway...wild animals tend to have a nasty
smell." Ed wrinkled his nose at the thought and flopped back on
the bed, rolling over on his stomach and looking up at Havoc.

"But
you smell like cigarettes, and I don't know an animal alive that
would smell like cigarettes all the time..." There was a hint of
a spark in golden eyes, as a grin spread across the younger male's
face.

Lithe and
quick, Havoc moved across the room and sat next to the prone boy.
"Truce, then? M'mm... speaking of cigarettes, next time you
visit, do you..." he trailed off and his eyes glared at the
young man, full and sharp. "Do you have the Medic Warden's
permission to see me right now?"

"Weeeeeell...you
could say that..." Golden eyes skirted the glaring gaze
professionally, as one hand dipped into his coat pocket and pulled
out a single, slightly bent, cigarette, twirling it between his
fingers. "Besides...does that really matter that much...?"

A feline
grin spread across Ed's lips, as an equally feral glint shone in his
eyes that now met Havoc's gaze again. "You don't have any more
visitors today, anyway..."

Without
hesitating a moment, the alchemist tucked the cigarette between the
older man's lips, and in the same moment leaned towards him, breath
grazing lightly against Havoc's ear in a whisper.

"Why
not let me be the judge on how human you are?"

Blue-green
cat-eyes widened in shock. What... what the hell? Did I miss
something...?

He lifted
his chained hands. "Whoa, wait a minute, Ed!"

Then he
noticed his wrists were bleeding – the handcuffs had rubbed him
raw.

"Hesitation...a
human trait..." Ed was idly unfastening the clasps and buttons
on Havoc's jacket, golden eyes flitting back up to the other man's
gaze. "If you're not going to smoke it then you might as well
put it down.." Without even waiting for a response, he snatched
the cigarette back from Havoc again, leaning over and putting it on
the side table before returning to the buttons.

"Chimera
or no, you haven't lost what drew me in the first time..." There
wasn't even time for a retort before three years of loneliness and
longing poured itself out in a single kiss.

"No,
Ed, wait!" He tried to fend the young man off, but the cuffs
caught at his wrists painfully. He hissed between his teeth.

"You
shouldn't see my scars... not until they've faded..."

Too late.
The twin diagonal slash marks on his throat had already been
revealed. And he knew it was only a matter of time until the sick
mess of scar tissue disturbingly close to his heart would be
revealed.

Ed slid
over to straddle Havoc's waist, touching his hands together and
clutching the chain that dangled between the cuffs on the man's
wrists, a blue light crackling for a moment as the restraints were
transmuted into a tangled mass of steel which the alchemist swiftly
tossed aside. He then tugged the military jacket free from Havoc's
body, similarly tossing that aside before his human arm draped around
the older man's shoulders, automail fingers deftly twining in the
black fabric of his shirt as golden eyes stared intently into
blue-green.

"I've
already waited three years, Jean..."

Edward
neglected to mention then the humiliating incident the day after his
restoration...where Envy had his way and left a broken boy, spent and
stripped of all dignity, alone on that bridge...how he'd broken down
and told Roy everything...how he'd been so uppity and nervous around
Roy ever since then...how he couldn't even trust Al...

He leaned
closer, the tip of his nose brushing Havoc's. "I need this,
Jean...I need you..." His voice trailed off, and a glistening
tear streaked down his cheek. "I haven't felt alive since
then...none of this has felt real...I need to know that I'm still
alive, Jean...that you're alive and that I'm not going to lose you
again...nothing else matters..."

Havoc's
self-preservation instinct kicked in, and he began to lick his chafed
wrists. Little streaks of blood were left on his lips and face.

"I...
I know how you feel..."

"Jean..."
Edward trailed human fingers through straw-colored hair, shifting
forward so that Havoc's back hit the sheets, strands of golden blonde
tickling the sides of his face and neck as the younger boy leaned
down over him.

Silence
reigned for a moment before Ed leaned further, licking away the small
crimson streaks. He paused after a few seconds, taking in a slow
breath as his tongue retreated from the corner of Havoc's mouth with
similar slowness.

"Just
don't make me stop...please..."

The harsh
and pleading whisper was swiftly followed up with a fierce kiss,
automail fingers twining together with Havoc's left, human still
buried in tawny locks of hair.

There's
so much wrong with you, why can't you tell me? What do you have to
hide from me? Ed had never been this desperate before, nor had he
ever been so aggressive.

With a
soft, capitulating sigh of submission, Havoc surrendered to the
inevitable.

Despite
the growing warmth in the pit of his stomach, Edward felt almost
icily cold...and for a moment he could see -

All
around him hands were reaching out, icy fingers scratching across
bare skin, tendrils wrapping around his limbs and trying to tear away
his very soul.

- Nails
dug into the tanned shoulder, mouths separated as a strangled cry
wrenched itself from Ed's throat. He clung desperately to the body
beneath his own, as though somehow it were his only anchor to the
world.

Havoc's
jaw clenched as several hormones got together and set off another of
the self-preservation instincts. His new body was not fond of
physical pain of any degree, and he quickly put his hands flat on the
mattress before claws could spring out of their pads and into the
young man.

"Ed!
Snap out of it before I kill you!"

The urge
to kill was growing stronger as Ed's grasp tightened on him.
Desperately, he tried to wake the young man up. "Major Elric!"

Golden
eyes suddenly snapped open, wide and fearful, unseeing in the short
moment that followed, pupils contracting and dilating in hopes of
finding something to focus on, but there was nothing but white in his
line of vision. Edward's breath caught sharply, a flicker of violet
betrayed in golden irises for a split second as the world around him
came flooding back.

His first
instinct was to shove off of Havoc, away, as far as he could get, and
Edward was soon huddled in a shivering heap at the opposite end of
the bed, eyes still wide with fear. The only sound was his ragged and
uneven breathing.

Havoc sat
up slowly, his own body still urging the bloody death of the young
man that had so recently vacated his personal space. Gingerly, he
unhooked his claws from the mattress, picking off a few stray
feathers.

"Ed?
What's wrong?"

He had a
very distinct feeling that even going near the boy would be a very
bad idea. Because of both his condition and the young man's.

Golden
eyes remained wide in fear, pupils still dilating and contracting
erratically. Every so often he would twitch away from something that
wasn't there, eyes darting frantically like a frightened animal.

It was
then that Edward's eyes seemed to focus on a point somewhere to the
left of and slightly above Havoc's left ear. Something clicked into
place in Ed's brain as he slowly took in a long, deep breath...and in
the next instant, his pupils contracted sharply, lip trembling as his
entire body was tense, frozen stiff as a look of pure, raw fear
manifested itself upon his face.

The
entire medical wing was sure to hear the bloodcurdling screams that
followed, repetitively, unending, refusing to cease until the braided
alchemist's throat was dry and raw, his voice hoarse and unable to
carry on.

Havoc
covered his sensitive ears and groaned, cringing at the horrible
sound. It was bad enough that he could hear the infinite dissonances
in the tones, but what made it worse was that it was Ed. His
Ed. He hunched over, curling into a tiny ball, mewling at the pain in
his head.

You
don't belong here, blasphemous wretch! Come back, back to your own
kind! Earth isn't for you anymore, monster! Your home is purgatory!
Return!

"I...wo...o...n..ot...goin...ack...ne...er..."

Breaths
ragged and voice hoarse and painful in his throat, screams were
reduced to pitiful rasps and occasional squeaks. Golden eyes were
partially glazed, half from fear, half from something else, whatever
it was that he was seeing.

"Can...ake...me...o...ba...k...s...s..s...sta...ay...a...awa...y...stay
away from me!" There was a clap followed shortly by blue
light, the bed lurching and shifting, suddenly throwing Havoc against
the far wall of the room. The sheets rose and slithered through the
air, winding and twisting throughout the room, casting a maze of
tangled fiber with Edward at the back, cowering and choking out even
more incoherent strings of word fragments, barely visible beyond the
messy web of white.

"Great,"
Havoc muttered. "I've seen shell-shock before, but this..."

Deciding
to risk pretty much everything, he dove through the tangled mess,
using his nifty claws to tear through the cloth when he was impeded
too horribly much.

Finally
managing to worm his way through to the young man, he grabbed him in
a hug – protecting but not stifling, comforting but not
constraining. However, he was ready in the event that Ed took
exception to his display of affection.

"Ed...
Everything will be all right. It's just a hallucination... I'm here
for you..."

Suddenly
tense, a few fleeting streaks of violet shot through golden irises.
Ed slowly relaxed, however, as the feeling of warmth pricked through
the seemingly inescapable cold. His eyes closed slowly and the
alchemist let his arms slide around Havoc's waist, tears falling hot
on the tan shoulder that remained unmarked by small crescent moons of
red.

"Jean...I
want you to kill me...end it...I shouldn't be here..."

Havoc
looked down at the boy, shocked, incredulous, and just the slightest
bit hurt. "Of course you should be here, you little idiot! I
went through hell and high water to see you again, and I'm not
letting you go!"

He
cuddled the boy close. "Suicide's not worth it, Ed. There are so
many people here who would be devastated to see you put in the
ground. Your brother. Winry. Lieutenant Hawkeye. Colonel Mustang. Me.

"Not
to mention what people went through when you died the first time. Not
to mention what happened to get you back.

"Don't
wish for death. I've seen too much of it, and I don't want to see you
go." He tucked Ed's head more securely in the curve of his jaw,
neck and shoulder and began to purr comfortingly.

"I'm
selfish and you know that, Jean...and I'm the one who's really
suffering from being here now..."

Ed tried
not to give in, trying to keep his mind set on fulfilling this need
and ending these outbursts...he'd only been back one week now and
this had happened five times...once he'd even turned on Al...

"I'm
not human, Jean...and the other side wants me to remain torn between
two worlds rather than be in either one...I can't just keep fighting
this...I need it to end...I don't know any other way..."

There was
a stern resolution in his voice as he gritted his teeth with the
strain of holding back emotion for the sake of getting this over with
before he changed his mind and collapsed under the pressure.
"Lieutenant...I don't want to have to order you to kill me."

"Respectfully,
sir? You're an ass. Even if you order me to kill you, I'll disobey.
Then you can have me court-marshaled. Makes my day." He was
getting increasingly annoyed, and therefore his voice had lowered
several pitches and had begun to sound suspiciously like a
disgruntled male lion's growl.

"Stop
thinking like the sixteen-year-old kid you used to be. Grow up!
You're supposed to be here, not there! I don't care if the other side
(whatever the hell that is) wants you to go to Timbuktu, you're here!
And you're supposed to be here!"

Here
with me...

He flexed
his free hand again, and the long, sharp, black claws sprang out from
the pads of his fingers. "Think rationally for a minute. Do you
really want to die like some poor, stupid animal that's too weak to
outrun the hunter?" He took a deep breath, preparing to get hit
again. "Do you really want to be a weak coward?"

Hearing
the sound of muscle working and joints snapping slightly, Ed reached
out and grabbed Havoc's free wrist, pulling the hand over his
shoulder so that the tips of claws rested against a slightly raised,
red as blood alchemy array. "You were never on that side...not
really...just a figment for a fraction of time...you never saw the
gate, the eyes, never truly felt the cold...but I've been there and
back so many times...been stuck in the middle...Blood is warm,
Lieutenant...living flesh is warm...If I'm not really truly
alive...then what stain is it on anybody's reputation to exorcise me
back to the damnable Purgatory between worlds?"

Ed put
pressure on Havoc's wrist without warning, flashes of violet crossing
his irises once more the only clue that something was seriously
wrong. "Just scratch that blasphemous mark from my shoulder and
stop my suffering, Jean..."

The
blonde alchemist's voice wavered, hesitantly. Was this really what he
wanted? Ed didn't even know anymore...it was all too much to bear all
at once...but it would be soon now...he could feel the tickling
sensation of a single drop of blood that slithered its way down his
back from the small puncture he'd caused with Havoc's claws.
Soon...and Fullmetal actually believed that nothing could make him
change his mind...

Havoc
allowed his claws to retract. "No," he said calmly. He got
up, leaving Ed. "If you want to die so badly, do it yourself. If
you're really so desperate to end your life because you're too lazy
to fight whatever's wrong, then I refuse to help you. I won't have
the blood of another innocent person staining my hands, and you least
of all."

Ed winced
as slowly he came to his senses, the flicker of violet leaving dull
amber and carefully collected resolve shattering in his eyes, leaving
only the broken half-human that he'd been made into. His look was
pleading, but he couldn't will himself to make any move other than to
look up at Havoc, fresh tears welling in his eyes once more.

"Dammit,
Jean...I don't have the strength to fight this! Not alone!"

"You
don't have to fight it alone," the older man pointed out
shortly. "You never had to. If you would just stop seeing
yourself as being alone and heroic, you would have realized that
before you said the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say."

He
stalked through the mess of sheets to grab his shirt, slip it on and
button it up. However distraught Ed may have been at that point, he
wasn't comfortable with his scars out to see for all and sundry.

Edward
got to his feet, shaking slightly at first, but steadying himself
almost immediately. He grabbed his tank top from the floor as he
reached the door, slipping it on without so much as a single word or
glance towards Havoc.

Fullmetal
opened the door, after pausing for only a moment. "I've always
been just a lost cause, haven't I? No matter how hard everybody keeps
trying to bring me back up to my feet I always fuck things up..."
The braided alchemist still hadn't looked back.

"I'll
send Al to clean up the mess...don't bother to look for me around
later, I'll be going to see the one person I know who can effectively
beat some sense into me...if that doesn't work...I'll have to
think..."

One
boot-clad foot stepped out the door, and then paused. "I don't
know when I'll be back...feel free to ask Mustang about the past
week, if he withholds, tell him I wanted you to know...oh, and tell
him not to come looking for me, unless he wants the butcher's wife to
cut off his tail before he can tuck it between his legs and run..."
And with that, Fullmetal was gone, the door closing almost silently
behind him. Violet eyes blinked rapidly as he walked off, sifting off
to return to their usual golden hue.

Edward
couldn't have done it himself. It had been Fullmetal that walked into
that room, and it was Fullmetal that walked out of it. Edward was
really only half-there...it wasn't really what he wanted to say...and
it wasn't really what he wanted to do...but Fullmetal protected
him...funny, how a name can become a shield with which to deny what's
shoved blatantly obvious in your face.

Havoc
cursed Ed several times, (stupid little git being the least of it)
tore open the door and sprinted down the hall.

Grabbing
the back of Ed's collar he yanked him back. "See here, you
little nuisance," he snarled. "I told you I wouldn't let
you go, and I won't.

"I
don't care if you're human, a chimera, or hell, even a homunculus.
You're still the charming, bratty little Ed I threw up on in the
train station and still the straightforward Ed that... well...
nevermind."

He spun
the young man around glaring at him with an incendiary look in his
slit-pupiled eyes. "Besides, I've been assigned to be your
bodyguard, so where you go, I go, boyo. Take it and lump it."
And, just because it was a superior officer he was smarting off to,
he added, "Sir."

The mask
slipped for a fraction of a second, as a hint of shock and hurt
sparked in golden eyes before it was set back in place again.

Edward
shrugged the Lieutenant off and started walking down the hall again.
"I don't need a fucking b-" he'd started to say, but was
cut short as something suddenly shot past him.

The
something would have impacted square in the center of his forehead,
had it not been for Havoc's quick reflexes that took him to the
ground before he even knew there was anything wrong. Realization
dawned on him as he turned to look over his shoulder, and saw the
skyline of Central City instead of a plain, white wall.

"-bodyguard..."
Ed managed to choke out, trembling as his mind patched together the
fact that the wall that no longer was, was supposed to have been
him...

A
dark-skinned woman in a military uniform, the stars insinuated she
was a Lieutenant Colonel, stepped forward into the hallway, one
gloved hand on her hip, the right sleeve of her uniform dangling
empty at her side.

The
overall look was of a fierce superiority, self-assured and with the
glittering look in that one slit-pupiled golden eye, warranted.

There was
a slight hiss in the woman's voice when she spoke, sharp and clipped
as one would expect from a committed military official. "Very
impressive, Second Lieutenant Havoc...I see the operation was a
success?" The woman paused, taking in the scene before her while
at the same time not even really seeming to see any of it. "And
Fullmetal...you're looking quite healthy as well..."

She
smiled, a cold smile, really, and continued. "You will both come
with me for debriefing." The statement stood firm, commanding.
Although it was not said, the woman's words were unquestionably an
order.

"Like
hell we are," Havoc retorted, adrenaline still surging high.
Getting up, he kept his front towards the woman, protecting Ed from
any threat she might have posed.

There was
a funny smell around that woman, and he didn't like it at all –
cold, musty, but sweet. Unconsciously, his upper lip curled up,
revealing sharp, white teeth. The claws on his left hand sprang out.

A flicker
of violet specks danced across Edward's irises, and he stared
dumbfounded at the woman from behind Havoc, still on the floor.

"Wha..."
was all he could manage to say.

Golden
eye narrowed to a slit. "That is an order from a superior
officer, Lieutenant!" The woman snapped, not making a move at
all. "And if you wish to keep that pathetic title I suggest you
do as I say before I have to get the warden to put you in a cage..."
The malice in her voice was sharp, but to anyone who didn't know
better, it would simply seem as though she was a woman who severely
abhorred insubordinate officers.

"First
time I've seen you," Havoc remarked. "Besides, I've been
debriefed about three times already. I never got notice of a fourth
debriefing."

The scent
finally clicked in his head. Snake. Adder? No. Something else.

"And
it's Second Lieutenant, ma'am."

"The
Fuhrer would be pleased to hear of your skills of intuition, Second
Lieutenant...And the debriefing is mostly for Fullmetal, not you."
The one-armed woman still stood at ease, but with an air of
superiority lingering about her. "Now, Major Elric!"

Subconsciously
responding to orders, for reasons unknown, considering he didn't
usually tend to follow orders, Edward scrambled to his feet in a
hasty salute. "Ma'am!" He walked past Havoc and towards the
Lieutenant Colonel.

"So
what's it like to be a cold-blooded reptile?" Havoc said easily,
tensing to get hit by more than one person. "I'm assuming your
operation wasn't as... successful as mine?" His tone was
slightly mocking, but there was still the hint of a growl. "I'm
surprised you managed to weasel your way in here, little viper."

"Jean
what the hell are you talking...about..." Ed let his words trail
off, looking back slowly from Havoc to this woman in front of him.

"Wha...h...how..."

The
woman's mouth broadened into a fanged grin. "That's a good nose
you've got there, dog of the military...or rather...cat as it would
be..." The brilliant blue of a military jacket hit the floor,
revealing a black, low-cut, tight-fitting shirt, one sleeve long and
dangling to the right side where an arm wasn't present to fill it,
the other sleeve short, cut right at the shoulder to reveal the
glittering scales that ran down her arm. Before long, the scales had
snaked their way upward, peaking into stripes on her cheeks. Navy
blue hat was tossed aside recklessly to reveal a short, rebellious
looking style of silvery white hair. Her visible eye never blinked,
though a semitransparent membrane slid over it, moistening it.

Falsehood
bowed swiftly, forked tongue flitting out to smell the fear emanated
from the alchemist before her. Before there was a chance to react,
she'd struck, taking Fullmetal by surprise with a deadly kiss.

Her one
eye looked directly at Havoc, as the boy in her arms started to go
limp, and she pulled away, smirking as that forked tongue slid out
again before Falsehood 'blinked', sliding past the boy as he dropped
to his knees, past Havoc in the blink of an eye as she hissed into
his ear..."Best find him the anti-venom quickly...if you want
him to live..." ...and out the gaping hole in the wall behind
them.

"Jean...I...don't
feel so good..." The blonde haired alchemist's eyes rolled back
slightly as he collapsed to the floor without warning.

"Anti-venom...
Oh, fuck!" He stooped down to quickly feel Ed's pulse. Still
going strong, even though it was occasionally erratic. "Looks
like you're going to get your wish, kid," he muttered sourly.
"And you said you didn't need a bodyguard... you stupid ass, how
could you not tell!"

He moved
smoothly, muscles working lithely as he catapulted away, sprinting
towards the Medical Supply at the end of the hall.

Edward
convulsed violently, spilling the contents of his stomach on the
tiled floor next to himself, mouth gaping for air that his lungs
couldn't seem to get, searing pain shooting throughout his body as he
dry heaved a few times more, each time the stomach acid burning his
already raw throat.

Fuck!

Havoc
skidded into the Supply room, almost crashing into a tall metal
cabinet. He looked around, searching desperately for the 'Desert
Wounds and Injuries' closet.

Bingo!

He tore
open the doors, searching for venom serum. He found it on the top
shelf, already in a syringe, ready for application.

There IS
a God!

He
grabbed it and sprinted back out.

Ed lay
there in the middle of the hallway, muscles occasionally twitching
and jerking involuntarily, a cold sweat blanketing his body.

Havoc
skidded past the prone boy, going down on all fours and digging his
claws into the tile. That stopped him quite nicely.

He jabbed
the syringe into the side of Ed's neck (the artery) and pushed in the
plunger. After he was completely certain the serum was in, he
collapsed back into the wall and waited for the kid to wake up.

And boy,
was Ed ever going to get the riot act.

After a
while, slightly glazed golden eyes flickered open, and Edward was
overcome with a coughing fit that drug him to his knees with a rude
awakening.

"Did...did
I...am I...where...Jean!" The boy's voice was confused at first,
and then panicked, as clouded vision slowly began to focus on
military blue and straw yellow. "Oh thank god..."

A weary
look of relief swept across his face, the tiny flecks of violet
slowly melting away into pure gold.

"Welcome
back," Havoc remarked noncommittally, cleaning tile and grout
dust out from under his fingernails with a claw.

Edward
breathed a heavy sigh, crawling wearily over to Havoc and collapsing
again, head resting on Havoc's thigh as golden eyes slowly closed,
the blonde alchemist succumbing again to sleep.

"Oh,
for..."

Figures
he'd pass out on me, Havoc thought sourly. My room's a mess, I'm a
mess, and he expects me to take care of him?

As angry
as he was, he had to admit that it was preferable to Ed's other moods
that hour.

Grunting
slightly, he lifted the boy up and cradled him in his arms.

"Now
I get to clean up my room. Funsies."

The
blonde boy stirred slightly, instinctively clutching at Havoc's
shirt, whimpering.

"Gomen...nasai...I'm
sorry...Jean..."

Havoc's
jaw tightened. It took all his considerable willpower not to flare
off here and now.

"I
sure hope you are, Ed. Otherwise you're not going to like what I have
to say at all."

Edward
sighed, his grip loosening slightly as he mumbled incoherently in his
sleep.

As he
carried the boy back to his room, a petty officer came panting up to
him. "Lieutenant, what happened here?"

"An
unwarranted attack against myself and Major Elric," Havoc
replied coolly. "Staged by a woman impersonating a Lieutenant
Colonel. She escaped through that hole in the wall." He twitched
his head back. "A ground patrol should be in order."

The young
officer nodded fuzzily. "Right. I expect you and Major Elric to
be summoned later for a full report." The inefficient young man
dashed off, not even questioning the odd picture that Ed and Havoc
made.

Havoc
opened his door onto the rampant chaos inside. He sighed, depositing
the comatose boy onto his bed.

"Well,
this isn't too bad of a mess..." he remarked, tearing down the
sheets and piling them at the foot of the bed. "I guess I should
be thankful you didn't totally mess up my room."

After
cleaning up, he glanced down at his wrists, which were bleeding
again. "Oh, damn."

Being
'comatose' as Jean decided to put it, Edward just lay
there...all...unconscious and the like...yep...

Havoc
tore up some strips to bandage his wrists with, hoping they wouldn't
swell into cantaloupes by the next week. If they did, he'd be one
severely unhappy camper.

He
perched himself on the windowsill, waiting for his Horror from Hell
to wake up.

And he
was still severely pissed.

Ed never
really meant to cause any harm...but it would be hard for anyone who
hadn't been across the Gate to know what it was like to be pulled
back through it by force.

Cold...so
cold...

In truly
cat-like fashion, Havoc could feel himself dozing off in the warm
sunlight.

Please
review, constructive criticism and questions appreciated, flames will
be deflected back at you by Roy. n.n;
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Unsettling Affairs