Adult-FanFiction.org : Gundam, Beyblade, DBZ, FMA

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
- 25
- 26
- 27
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!

Oblivion,
Clarity, Relapse, and Of Love, Anger, and Apprehension

Rating:
R (Language, violence, sex...)
Pairings: HavocxRoy,
implied RoyxEd and HavocxEd, HavocxRoyxEd
Disclaimer: I
don't own FMA.
Spoilers: Oh hell I don't know
anymore!
Setting: Lisa Delgardie's house, Geriko.
Timeline:
The day after Roy, Ed, and Havoc arrive in Geriko.

When
Havoc woke up, he was profoundly disoriented. Pitch-black room,
slightly chilly on bare shoulders, a warm arm draped around his
waist.

He
blinked, his vision adjusting acutely. He could pick out Roy,
sleeping like a child, and the almost-too-soft sheets, pillows, and
mattress. He yawned, rolling out of bed and snagging a pair of black
trousers from underneath the bed and a black wool sweater.

He got
dressed and tottered upstairs, wishing for a good cup of coffee with
a brandy stiffener.

"You
look like hell," Lisa commented. "Late night?"

He
blushed. "Er..."

"I'm
just teasing. Here, come help me peel some apples and I'll give you a
nice cup of coffee." He trailed after her and was summarily sat
down to peel apples, though a nice-smelling cup of coffee
mysteriously seemed to pop up at his elbow.

"Apple
pie, I hope?"

It wasn't
too long before Roy awoke, due to the lack of a warm body to snuggle
against. Yawning, he slid out from under the covers, cursing under
his breath when his bare feet hit cold floor. Glancing around, he
managed to find a pair of loose trousers, assumed they were there for
Jean, and put them on anyway.

Hm...a
bit big...but comfortable, Roy decided, stretching and trodding up
the stairs barefooted still, pants clinging low on his hips.

Lisa put
down the dough. "Thank heaven that's over!" she sighed.
"Stirring pie dough is kind of annoying."

"I
would have helped..."

She waved
off Havoc's comment. "Should I put a solid crust over the top or
a lattice crust...?"

"Lattice.
It looks a lot better, and you can taste the apples better." He
stretched and yawned. "Ugh. Is it just me, or is it kind of cold
in here?"

Roy
stifled another yawn upon entering the kitchen, the smell of coffee
simply irresistible to his sleep muddled brain.

Havoc
chuckled when he spotted his C.O. "Morning, sir," he said,
pushing the question of heat difference away. "You look like
hell."

Lisa
snorted and went to fill a cup of coffee. "When you two are at
least moderately functional, we need to discuss what you're going to
do. You can't very well keep haunting my inn."

"Nngh..."
It was the most intelligible reply anybody was getting out of Roy
until he had his coffee, and, stifling yet another yawn, he padded
forward on the pure need for coffee.

"Oh,
for..." Lisa set down a filled mug on the table right next to
Havoc. "Is he always like this in the morning?" she
asked the pale-haired man.

He
grinned. "Yeah. Can't string two coherent sounds together to
save his life until he's had a cup of coffee. He's been like this for
years." He shivered, pulling his heavy wool sweater closer.

Running
his fingers through his toussled hair, Roy draped himself a bit
inelegantly on Havoc's lap, warming his hands with the mug and
sipping slowly.

Lisa did
a combination of snort/choke/squawk/laugh. "Dear God in Heaven,"
she muttered, dumping cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, honey, and other
ingredients into a saucepan. She turned on the heat. "You're
both loony."

"Blame
it on him," Havoc said, thereby absolving himself of any part in
it. "I'm just passing through."

Roy
grunted slightly, tugging at the pants that rid just a little too low
and then glaring at Jean over his mug. "Liar..."

"Yup!"
Havoc said cheerfully. He took a big sip of his coffee. "Well,
now that you can say an actual word, you want me to go get the files
so we can figure out what we're going to do?"

"...Give
it a minute..." Roy sipped his coffee slowly, tension melting
away from his muscles as he relaxed against Jean. "...'m
comfy..."

Lisa
resisted the urge to prang Mustang's head with a heavy sauteé
pan. She settled for glaring instead.

Havoc
just sighed.

Roy
shuddered involuntarily at the sudden Ominous Air of Death And
Destruction that seemed to be lurking over his shoulder...He then
grinned behind his coffee cup. Jealous, much?

The
tension between his C.O. and his doctor did not go unnoticed. Dear
lord, she's getting overprotective. I know she's old enough to
be my mother, but still... Havoc cleared his throat.

"I
think I'm going to get those files now."

Setting
his mug down on the table again, Roy captured Jean's mouth without
warning, tongue slipping past unguarded lips to sample the tastes
inside before pulling back, contemplatively licking his lips.
"Hnn...had a little something extra in yours..."

With a
small grin, Roy slid off of Havoc's lap. "I'm going to have a
shower, we can look over those files when I'm done..." And with
that, he walked off, pants still dangerously low with the gentle sway
of his hips.

Havoc
glanced over at Lisa, at a complete loss for words. Luckily,
amusement shone out of her yellow eyes and her mouth curved into a
smirk. "I thought you said he was more tactful than that."

"Usually
he is. I think you put something in his coffee."

The smirk
widened. "Maybe."

He sighed
in annoyance. "Old meddler." He made it to the kitchen door
before he started to falter.

His mug
crashed to the ground and he followed not long after.

"Jean!"

Roy
hadn't made it halfway up the stairs before the crash of porcelain
and Lisa's scream had him back down and kneeling next to Havoc within
a matter of seconds. "What the hell happened?"

Lisa
stood in the kitchen doorway, eyes wide and blank. After the initial
shock of what had happened passed, she realized what was going on. A
grin of almost indecent triumph spread across her face. She threw her
head back and began to laugh.

Roy sat
back, glaring indignantly at the woman. "I can't seem to shake
the feeling that I've been had..."

Lisa slid
down the lintel, still laughing.

"Oh,
Jean, I'm so glad you came back for the finish!" she finally
gasped.

Running
his fingers through his hair, Roy muttered something to himself. "Do
you mind enlightening me, Ma'am..."

"Oh,
don't 'ma'am' me. I may be fifty-something years old, but I certainly
don't feel it." She finally got herself under control, though
she kept her place. "Jean's humanity is coming back." At
the more-than-just-slighty-dubious look on Roy's face, she tried to
clarify. "There's always a period of instability with a chimera,
right after he's been reborn. It can include hypersensitivity, mild
insanity, and a recurrent surfacing of the other half. If a chimera
was truly properly made, there comes a breaking point. Jean's hit it.
He's going to be himself again."

Roy
huffed out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, shaking his
head slightly. "How long is he going to be out like that?"

"Well..."
She abruptly remembered something. "Help me get him down into my
lab. There isn't anything breakable in there."

Roy
lifted a brow at the breakable comment, but decided it was better
that he just listened to this woman. She knew what was happening to
Jean, and he didn't.

Nodding
shortly, he carefully lifted Havoc off the floor, managing to balance
his weight well enough to carry him.

"Follow
me. And move quickly." She opened another, more unobtrusive
door. "I'm not sure how long this comatose state will last. And
he was crossed with a lion, so his waking will be much more violent
than most." She began to descend the stairwell.

That
worried Roy, and he hastily followed after her. "What exactly do
you mean by that..."

"After
the state of imperfection comes two states of refinement. Oblivion
and Clarity. The peace of Oblivion allows the chimera to remember who
he used to be, and slip that side closer to the surface. But the
primal nature of the animal never gives up without a fight. Hence,
the violence of Clarity."

She
cursed violently. "Those sodding bastards back in Central
ordered him home as soon as he could walk without throwing up. They
never took into account the fact that he could – and would! –
have torn everyone around him limb from limb. Including you and Major
Elric, had you been within reach. Clarity is a painful state."

"Despite
being his commander, I was ill informed on this matter..." Roy
looked around. "What now...?"

Lisa
unlocked a heavy stone door. "You were probably ill informed
because nobody bothered to care about it. Those poor people in
Greed's company were left on their own. It's no real wonder that
they're more than just slightly unhinged."

She moved
into the stone laboratory, squinting to check that all of the Arrays
were still undamaged. "Bring him in."

Roy
stiffened slightly at the mention of Greed, shook his head, and
stepped into the room, noting to himself that he would have to ask
just what she knew about Greed and the others when he got the chance.

"Careful,
the Array's carved deep – the last thing I need is for you to
trip and hurt yourself. Hurry!"

Being the
alchemist that he was, Roy took in the details of the array with a
glance, nodding and, for once, blindly following commands as they
were given.

Lisa felt
vaguely uneasy. "No... Roy, put him down now."

An oddly
synthesized growl emitted from Havoc.

"RUN!"

Roy cast
an uneasy glance downwards, backing away from Jean. At the sound of
the growl, his pace slowed, then halted completely. He couldn't pry
his eyes away, couldn't move despite his brain screaming at his body
to move! Run you fucking IDIOT you're going to get yourself
KILLED!

Even as
Havoc began to move, Lisa darted over his body with foxlike grace,
grabbing Roy's wrist and making a break for it. The morbidly
facinated man slowed her down considerably, and she had a sudden
sickening feeling that Jean would go for their throats.

"Dammit
man, MOVE IT!" she screamed.

Roy
forced himself to pry his eyes off of Jean, finding his feet again
and stumbling after Lisa.

Lisa
shoved Mustang out into the short corridor in front of her lab,
slamming the door shut just in time. A thud and dust drifting down
from the ceiling made her believe even more ferverently that there
was, in fact, a God.

Putting
theological considerations aside, she grabbed hold of Mustang and
slammed him back into a wall. "What the hell were you
THINKING!" she hissed. "You could have gotten the both
of us killed! If you don't care about yourself, then think about
Jean! It would kill him to know that he murdered you!"

Roy
turned his head, shrugging her off without a word and clutching his
shoulders briefly before walking off down the hall. He needed to be
as far away from those horrible sounds as he could get.

And if he
was shaking, he'd say it was cold.

"There's
a bottle of brandy on the top shelf above the sink in the kitchen,"
she said softly, voice raw. "And if you could be so kind to turn
off the stove, I'd be grateful."

Mustang
held up a hand in a gesture of thanks before disappearing back up the
stairs.

He shut
off the stove without really thinking, searching out the brandy and
dragging himself upstairs to his room.

"So.
This is what it comes back to," she said softly, wincing at the
noises. From personal experiences, she knew the pain and madness.
"It's not fair that the two... all three of you should have to
be put through this."

She
turned and went upstairs to tell Mustang what to expect.

Roy
sighed, back to the door as he sat on the bed and took a long pull
directly from the bottle. What a way to start the day...

Lisa
knocked gently on the door to Roy's room. "Roy?"

"What..."
Roy felt too tired to be doing this...just...tired of it all...

"I
have an offer to make and something to tell you. Don't bother opening
the door – what I have to say can be said from out here."

There was
a grunt of consent from the other side of the door, followed by the
clinking of a bottle being set on the bedside table and a heavy sigh
to signal Roy was listening.

"Jean
will be finished in an hour," she said calmly, totally
unperturbed. "He'll need a shower and a change of clothing, but
mostly, he'll need you. He needs a kind of comfort that I can't give
him.

"If
you'd like – and only if you want it – I can give you a
sedative that will make you sleep for the next hour and a half to two
hours."

"I'll
be fine..." Roy curled up on the bed, feeling decidedly small
and weak. Perhaps it was because he didn't have his gloves on...was
hardly clothed...

"Lying
isn't a virtue, Roy. I'm entitled to worry about you, and I
fully intend to. You showed up on my doorstep with someone who's as
close as a brother to me, and he loves you, just as much as he loves
that prickly mess of a human being downstairs."

"I
don't need a sedative...I'll be here when he's through...you should
go talk to Edward...he'll be up and moving soon, right?" Roy
pulled the covers up to his chin.

Lisa's
mouth twisted at the mention of Ed's name. "He won't be up for a
few more hours. The last thing Jean needs to break his psyche is
that... child saying what he did. That's what hastened this you know.
Guilt and fear. Two very, very powerful motivators."

"It's
not his fault...if I were in his position..." Roy paused.
"No...I would've never made it as far as he has..."

"I
don't understand," she said softly. "Why Jean keeps caring
when that brat keeps hurting him. You heard what was said last night!

"I
don't understand. Is this what you perceive as strength? The ability
to hurt people so badly that they're broken and bleeding inside? The
ability to brush off the pain of others because you're more
important?

"Major
Elric was right, in a roundabout fashion. Jean will die. It
will kill Jean if it keeps up. He can't take that kind of
abuse."

"He
was dealing with his own rebound...it can't be helped...Jean's words
were hurting him too...look...if that's all...I'd like to be
alone..." Roy's words were muffled under the blankets.

"Of
course. Forgive me for interrupting."

Havoc
came to and groaned, feeling horrible. Ill. Beaten. But... strangely,
transparently happy.

Roy
shifted slightly, pulling the covers tighter around his half naked
frame. Can't even protect the ones I love...

Havoc
creaked to his feet, wondering why the hell he was downstairs. And
why he hurt, felt sick and that he just wanted a nice long hug.

Lisa made
her way down to her lab, frowning when no more sounds emerged from
the chamber except for idiotically happy laughter.

Sitting
up, Roy shook his head, reaching over for the bottle of brandy and
taking another pull before slumping back to stare at the ceiling
again.

Lisa
cracked open the door. There was Havoc, happy as anything,
crosslegged a few yards out. He waved cheerfully, sapphire blue eyes
shining. "Hi. I'm hungry."

She
laughed out loud, tackling him in a tight hug.

Waiting,
Roy decided, wasn't the hard part. The part that was hard was having
too much to think about while waiting.

Lisa
tugged her friend to his feet, ignoring the raw red patches scraped
across his body. "Come on, Roy's in the doldrums, I think you
should try to snap him out of it." She paused, looking at his
face. He was still the same as before... except his eyes were a
beautiful shade of deep sapphire blue.

He
grinned. "I'll go pounce on him to make him feel better."

Sitting
cross-legged on the bed, Roy scowled to himself, taking yet another
pull from the bottle. "Fuck...just don't make shit like this
back in Central..."

Lisa
tousled Havoc's hair. It was quite a stretch. "Well, go scrape
him up from his bed, get him bathed, clothed, and sober. We need to
talk." She ran an eye over his scrapes. "And get you
disinfected."

Havoc
groaned, trudging upstairs. As he got closer to Roy's room, an evil
idea blossomed in his head. Stopping right outside the door, he
grinned, took a deep breath, and bellowed.

"OY,
MUSTANG. GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT OF BED AND FALL OUT! MOVE IT!"

A perfect
imitation of Drill Sergent Tant, who was the only man in Central who
could cow Roy.

There was
the sound of a crash, like broken glass, followed by a rather loud
thud and a rather creative string of curses.

A shout
of laughter drifted from upstairs – as a fox, Lisa had
exceptional hearing, and it didn't help that Roy's room was straight
above the kitchen.

Havoc
held back his giggles long enough to open the door. Then, when he saw
Roy flat and tangled in blankets, he totally lost it. He collapsed to
the floor, laughing hysterically.

Roy
winced, massaging his temples and getting shakily to his feet,
collapsing back on the bed. "Keep it down will you that fucking
hurts..."

Havoc's
laughter slowly died to a purr. "What did I tell you about your
drinking?" he said, getting up and opening the closet. "It's
not healthy." He turned around, dress shirt and trousers in hand
and mock-glared at his superior. "Trust me, if you get drunk,
you don't want to drink what Lisa makes up to cure it.
Hardened Ishbarite tavern-goers go green at the smell of it. A
coddled military pansy like yourself would faint dead away at it."

He really
liked taking a page out of Drill Sergent Tant's book.

That
earned Jean a heated glare back, before Roy decided that hurt his
eyes. "I can sleep it off..." He rolled over, pulling the
covers back up over his shoulders again and pulling one of the two
pillows up under his head. "C'mere..."

Sapphire
eyes twinkled benignly at Roy. "Not until you clean out that
mouth of yours," he said sweetly. "I heard some distinctly
ungentlemanly things about my immediate ancestry and (not untrue)
things about my sexual preference. Come on, scrape yourself up,
otherwise I'm going to toss you into the cistern myself."

And that
earned a growl. "Dammit Jean just c'mere already..."

Havoc
snorted. "What part of 'no' don't you understand? We're working
under a time limit here." Though there was a light, cheerful
veneer over his tone, there was something cold and deadly serious
underneath. He grabbed Roy's arm, unceremoniously hauling him out of
bed with a thwump.

"You
said it yourself I'm not getting within fifty feet of whatever your
friend cooks up, so I think I'll just stay here...if you're that damn
impatient you can go yourself...I need to fucking sleep..." Roy
stared up at Jean.

"I
most certainly did not!" Havoc said with asperity. "I just
said it was a pretty rotten idea." He dragged Roy to the
bathroom and began running a hot bath. "What the hell were you
doing with alcohol at a time like this, anyway?"

"Blame
her for telling me where it was..." Roy leaned heavily against
Jean, burying his face against the taller man's shoulder.

"I'm
not blaming anyone for anything. I just want to know why you were
curled up in bed with a bottle of brandy. You usually don't do that
unless something's really wrong," he said gently. He got out a
bar of soap and a huge fluffy towel. "Come on, strip down and
into the tub."

"You've
got no idea what just happened if you don't understand why I did
it...and you say strip like I'm actually wearing clothes..." A
short tug sent the loose pants Roy was wearing to the floor, and, as
requested, he stepped into the bath, slowly sinking into the water
with a sigh.

"Should
I know what just happened?" Havoc asked, damping the soap and
rubbing it onto a wet washcloth. He tossed it to Roy. "Here.
But... nothing's wrong besides the usual shit. I feel better than I
have for years. You look like somebody was about ready to
die."

"Yeah...I
know..." Roy opened his eyes and looked to Jean. "C'mere
now..."

"Not
until I get patched up." He rubbed a particularly nasty gouge
that had started bleeding again. "I'm under strict orders. Now,
tell me what was going on."

Roy
frowned. "She'll probably want to tell you that part...and get
over here dammit I'm not saying a thing until you do!"

"If
she hasn't told me by now, then she probably wants somebody other
than her to tell me." He drifted over and sat on the edge, the
look in his blue eyes a clear warning for Roy to not do anything
stupid.

Hair
still dry, Roy rested his head against Jean's leg. "Like hell
I'm risking pissing her off..."

Havoc
blinked. "She's not that bad. Sure, she gets a little testy when
she's annoyed." His hand affectionately ran through Roy's hair.
"Doesn't everybody?"

"S'not
the point...I'm not going to say a thing about it until she says it's
okay...and I'd rather not be the one to say it anyway..." Roy
sighed, tilting his head to look up at Jean.

"What
can be so horrible about it?" Something twigged at the
expression on Roy's face. "I didn't kill anybody, did I?"

Roy shook
his head, reaching up and brushing his hand against Jean's face.
"No...you scared me though..."

"What
did I do?" The steely tone brooked no argument, and there was a
grim flicker in blue eyes. "Stop dancing around the issue and
tell me. If I scared you that badly, I don't want to do it again."

"You're
not going to do it again...it was a one time thing..." Roy
nestled his head back in Jean's lap again, arms, despite being wet,
wrapping around his waist.

Havoc
looked down, nonplussed. "Thanks for dancing around the issue.
Why won't you tell me? The least you can do is trust me that far."
He winced as one of Roy's arms pressed against a cut in his side.
"And I'd like to know why I look like I was caught in a
crossfire of flak and shrapnel, thank you very much."

Hearing
Jean wince, Roy loosed his arms slightly, lifting his head to let
half closed eyes settle lazily on a relatively light cut. He sighed,
tilting his head slightly then and letting his tongue trace lightly
over the wound on Havoc's side.

Havoc
jumped, startled, when he felt Roy's tongue touch him. "What
the..." As if the warm, wet touch was some kind of trigger,
every single cut, scratch, gouge, wound, and raw patch started aching
together. He hissed between clenched teeth.

"Get
in so we can get you cleaned up..." Roy pulled back, tearing
what little material still held Jean's shirt on so that the scraps
just fell to the floor.

"Hell,
no!" Havoc groaned. "It hurts too much to move..."

"It'll
feel better after a minute, trust me...just get in..."

Havoc
eyed the steaming water warily. "No it won't."

"I'd
rather not have to pull you in, Jean..." Roy hooked his thumbs
under the waistband of Havoc's pants.

"You
wouldn't dare..."

"Yes
I would, now you either come willingly, or the pants come too,
because I can't get them off with you sitting on the edge like that."

"For
pity's sake, what don't you understand about 'no'? It's not that
difficult of a concept!"

"You
should know me better than that, Jean, I'm hurt. Now get your ass in
here!" Roy slipped his arms around Havoc's waist suddenly,
pulling him back to splash into the water, still in his pants.

Havoc let
out something close to a scream of pain. Damn, the water was
way too hot and some of those cuts were much too deep...

"Quit
hyperfocusing...and calm down..." Roy growled lightly. "Damn,
woman didn't even give you some painkillers before she sent you up to
drag me out of bed? Relax! It'll hurt for a minute, I'm going to
check those wounds...sit up..."

Thinly
healed crusts across the deepest cuts on his chest and shoulders tore
open, and soon the water around him was tinged pink.

"When
I feel better, you're so in for it," he growled through
gritted teeth, obeying the orders.

Roy
sighed, taking the washcloth that had been thrown at him earlier and
lightly dabbing away dirt and dried blood off the cuts on Havoc's
back. "Bear with me okay..." He leaned forward to gently
kiss an unscathed region near Jean's neck and shoulder. "Did
your...did Miss Delgardie ever tell you about Oblivion and
Clarity..."

"You
know I hate alchemy," he said shortly, as if that answered it.
He cringed at the light touch of rough cloth on chafed skin. "I've
never understood any of it, nor do I want to. And her name is Lisa,
by the way."

"They're
stages of a perfect chimerical transmutation, Jean..." Roy wrung
out the cloth, soaking it in the water again once he'd finished with
Havoc's back. "Lean back again, I need to reach your chest..."

Havoc
leaned back, hissing as open wounds met hot water. "What do you
mean, stages? Look, Roy, if you're going to explain this to me,
pretend I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"You
passed out a couple of hours ago...Lisa explained to me that this was
the stage of Oblivion, in which your human side would be drug up to
the surface..." Roy started to dab at the cuts on Havoc's chest.
"After Oblivion comes Clarity...which as I've been informed is a
very painful stage...the beast doesn't go down without a
fight...You...were violent..."

"Violent?"
Havoc squeaked, blue eyes troubled. "What do you mean by
violent?"

"Lisa
locked you downstairs in her lab...barely got me out before you woke
up...it...scared me...the look in your eyes then..." Roy paused,
leaning down to kiss Jean's forehead before burying his face against
his neck. "I couldn't even move..." he murmured against
Havoc's neck.

Havoc
breathed shallowly, shocked by the admission of fear. It must have
been horrible indeed to frighten Roy Mustang that badly.

"How...
how bad was it..."

"One
more second and you would've killed both of us...but it's over
now...it's over..." Roy resisted the urge to tighten his
grip, knowing that would just hurt Jean more. "You're more
yourself now..."

Havoc was
struck dumb. "Is that how... I got to be such a mess? Did I do
this to myself?" His voice rose, slightly hysterical.

"My
guess is that it was from trying to get out of that room...but I
don't know..." Roy ran his fingers through Havoc's hair in what
he hoped was a comforting manner, though his hands were shaking. Gods
he just wanted to taste those lips again, anything to distract him
from having to talk about all this.

"And
you swear that it'll never happen again?" Havoc demanded,
blue eyes haunted.

"From
what I gathered up with what Lisa told me, I'm as positive as I can
be about the matter, Jean..." Roy was sure he heard his voice
quiver for just a moment.

"I'm
sorry I asked..." he said shakily. "Now I know I'm going to
have nightmares..."

"It
wasn't something that could be helped...it was going to happen sooner
or later, we were just lucky you were here when it did...it...it'll
be fine...I...trust me...let's just let it go for now..." Roy
settled for tracing along the rim of Havoc's ear for the moment,
fingers idly brushing against the fabric still covering Jean's legs.

Havoc
abruptly leaned forward, resting his arms and chin on drawn-up knees.
There was still a lot that he hadn't been told, he knew that. He also
knew that it wasn't Roy's fault – some things were better left
alone for some people. And if this much information had driven
Roy to drink, he wasn't quite sure what the entire story would have
done.

He
shivered.

Caution
thrown to the wind, Roy pulled Jean back against his chest again,
holding him there tightly as he buried his face in the crook of
Havoc's neck.

Havoc
absently reached up, stroking Roy's messy hair. He was still
thinking.

A
scolding nip was placed at the base of Havoc's ear and Roy growled
slightly. "You're thinking...that's the last thing you need to
be doing right now...so quit it..." Fingers danced up Havoc's
thighs as Roy planted tender, pleading kisses along his neck and as
much of his jaw as he could reach. "Plenty of time to think
later..." he murmured at the base of Jean's ear.

Havoc
obeyed, but only up to a point. He stopped thinking, but started
worrying instead.

Why had
he been ordered back to Central when there were obviously alchemists
there...? He sat bolt upright and scrambled out of the tub.

"Dammit,
we are some of the stupidest people alive!"

Mind
still a bit hazy from the alcohol, Roy nearly slipped stepping out of
the tub himself, knocking his head against the showerhead with a
curse and staring with one eye closed at Jean. "What is it
now..."

Havoc
tossed Roy a towel. "I was brought back to Central before I was
fully complete, right? There are hundreds of State Alchemists
there, so one or two of them must have known how stupid a move like
that was. But the two alchemists who were studying chimerical
transmutations were killed.

"Somebody
wanted me to be uncontrolled. They wanted you, me, and Edward
dead. It was a foolproof plan, really. I'd go crazy, you and Ed would
come in to see what was wrong, I'd kill you, then be put down because
I'm dangerous. All three of us dead within a day."

Roy
groaned, wrapping the towel around his waist and not bothering with
drying off. "Fuck...who the fuck ordered you back...somebody's
got high connections in the military...who besides me could
give that kind of order?" As though the clouds had suddenly
parted, the color slowly drained from Roy's skin. "Fuck..."

"That
can't be a good thing – you've said 'fuck' three times, and the
last time you did that, we were hit dead-on with a shell."

Roy sank
to his knees, staring at the floor blankly. "Bradley...the gaps
in information on his secretary...the way he always knows...why
the hell didn't I see it before..."

Havoc's
jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding! I know he's a bit...
odd... but he wouldn't try to actually kill any of us?"

"I
know...and the Homunculi wanted to keep Edward alive to transmute the
Philosopher's Stone...but..." Roy rubbed his temples. "My
only guess is that their orders have changed..."

Havoc
felt like banging his head against the wall. "This is
ridiculous!" he yelled suddenly. "These mutant monsters are
ten steps ahead of us, and the next thing we know, we're in
checkmate! I'd just like the world to make sense for five fucking
minutes!"

"They're
good...too good...somewhere they had to have made a mistake..."
Roy shakily got to his feet, heading for the bathroom door. "Get
out of those pants, Jean...that can't be comfortable..." And
with that he went to get some clothes, head finally clearing.

Havoc
stalked after him. "Yeah, they made a mistake. Three of them,
actually. They let me live after the Ishbar incident, they let the
three of us slip through their fingers, and they allowed us to hook
up with Lisa. I think that Lisa's the key to all of this."

He pulled
a pair of pants out of a drawer, changing quickly. "Whatever
happens, Roy, Ashton Fawkes is mine."

"I've
no qualms with you holding a personal vendetta, Jean, but don't get
reckless, please...I think I'll take that viper woman's head for
Hughes' death myself..." Roy tugged on his gloves, fastening the
hooks and clasps of his uniform without a second thought before
remembering where they were. He groaned inwardly, hiding his face in
his palms and running his fingers through his hair. "Dammit...force
of habit..."

Havoc
chuckled. "Lisa won't care, come on. I need something sweet and
fattening to eat." A twinge from his back made him wince. "And
get a gallon of antiseptics dumped on me, but that's beside the
point." He left the room, sliding down the bannister like a
little kid.

Roy
effectively masked skepticism as he followed Jean down the stairs,
hands in his pockets.

Lisa
looked up with an affectionate smile as Havoc came barreling into the
kitchen. "Pancakes," she said, pointing to a still-steaming
stack. "There's more than enough for you and Roy to share."

"Strawberry!"
he said happily. "Lisa, you're an angel! Will you marry me?"

She burst
out laughing. "I doubt that Roy would take that kindly,"
she said, smiling affectionately. "Though... if it was made in
all seriousness, I may have to say yes..."

Roy
pointedly ignored that statement, though the atmosphere in the room
most certainly seemed to take on a rather ominous air as he sat at
the table in trained silence.

The two
chimerae exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. Havoc grabbed a
pancake and stuffed it in his mouth. "Lighten up, Colonel!"
he said around the wad of dough. "It'd be like marrying my
sister!"

"Agreed,"
Lisa said, shooting a look at Havoc and putting pancakes on a plate
for him. "We're too closely related by blood for my comfort or
his."

Roy
ignored the laughter as well, simply mulling over his thoughts...

"He
ignored us," Lisa commented.

"Well,
he'll get it when I call Ashton 'cousin'," Havoc said
cheerfully. "If he's not too busy trying to turn somebody into a
hamburger."

"Which
you know will happen."

"Of
course. He has a remarkable ability to ignore me at any and all
times." Havoc munched on another pancake, happy that he could
finally eat normal food again. "When he's out of his sulk, we
need to speak about something."

Roy shot
a cold glare at Havoc across the table. "Keep that up and there
might not be enough left of you for Fawkes to scrape off the
sidewalk..."

Havoc
sighed, his previous good mood disintegrating rapidly. "What's
wrong with you? Are you annoyed because I was flirting with a
cousin?"

Roy
diverted his gaze to the table again, slouching with his chin resting
on crossed hands. Damn that Fawkes...sorry, Jean...but I might
have to deny you Ashton's murder...

Havoc
wadded up a pancake into a little ball and bounced it expertly off of
Roy's head. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Roy
didn't even realize how uptight he'd been until it was almost too
late, and with a horrified expression he dropped his hand as the
tiniest of alchemical explosions jumped from his fingertips.

He opened
his mouth to say something, but clenched his jaw shut again just
moments after, a bit of a wild look in his eyes as he pushed back his
chair and stood, shaking his head as he walked straight for the room
in which he'd left Edward.

"Let
him go," Lisa advised. "Something's wrong –"

"Yeah,
and I want to know what it is!"

"But
he very obviously doesn't want you to know," she pointed out
prosaically. She checked the clock above the stove. "Major Elric
will be up soon..."

"Wonderful!"
he growled. "Just wonderful. Is there any work that I can do for
you?"

"Follow
me. You can help pump up the cistern. And fix the ball-cock, I think
I did something to it..." They wandered off, chatting about
plumbing.

-

It hadn't
been but fifteen minutes before the sound of shouting arose, abruptly
cut off with a loud thud and the clatter of breaking glass from
Edward's room.

Havoc
looked up from the greasy mechanics he was working on. "What the
hell?"

Lisa
sighed, just as equally covered with grease and oil. "I'm
assuming Elric is awake. Shall we go see what the ruckus is?"

Groaning,
they both tottered off to see what was the matter.

Several
more dull thuds signaled something banging against a wall deftly, and
as the two chimeras neared the room a voice could be heard.

"Worthless
fucking human!" THUD! Followed by the sound of a
sickeningly cold laugh. "Pathetic!"

Roy's
vision blurred, blacked out momentarily, and returned just as blurry.
He coughed, unaware of his hands tightening on a metal arm, unaware
of how much time had passed, only sickeningly aware of the blobby
looking splotch of yellow that dominated his line of sight, and the
feeling of vertigo that suddenly swept over him.

Havoc
kicked open the door, suddenly feeling very militant. His eyes blazed
blue-green at the scene before him.

Lisa
screamed, eyes wide in horror.

Slitted
violet eyes narrowed on Havoc as he kicked in the door, but a wicked
smirk still settled on Ed's lips. He'd pinned Roy to the wall with an
automail hand at his neck, crouched slightly on the overturned
bedside table and ignoring the pathetic hands clawing at his arm that
continued to get weaker the longer he held on.

In a rush
of rage, sapphire turned completely into green-gold. With a feral
snarl, Havoc barreled after the homunculus, fangs bared and claws
out.

He felt
sharp points sink into warm flesh, and his bloodlust was up.

"Jean
stop!" Lisa cried.

Ed
chuckled, outright laughed, releasing Roy with a glint in his eyes as
he pushed up and off of Jean, blood trailing from where claws had dug
into his skin as he came back around with the full brunt of an
automail shin slamming into the side of Havoc's head.

Roy
shuddered and choked, gasping for breath and collapsing to the floor.
Coughing, he barely registered the sticky red liquid on his hand that
had come from his own mouth before his vision blacked out completely
and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

Lisa had
knelt to help Roy, and stared, horrified, at the casual brutality
with which Elric had moved to dispatch Jean.

Havoc
slammed back against the wall with a pitiful yelp. He shook his head
woozily, then snarled at the monster opposite. He had to get
enough time for his master to get out of there!

He
launched again, this time careful of automail arm and leg. His teeth
latched onto Edward's flesh shoulder. He jerked himself back, tearing
a nasty gouge into the shoulder.

His eyes
slowly turned completely gold.

In an
instant of raw pain violet eyes flickered gold, even if momentarily,
and Ed staggered slightly, hesitating. Almost instantly, though, his
eyes were violet again, and he clapped his hands together, the blue
crackle of alchemical light drowning the room, as the doors were
melded into the walls.

Edward
paused then, tilting his head as he watched the blood run down his
arm and then grinning as he took the time to lick crimson rivulets
from his fingers.

Havoc
could feel blood trickling down his bare arms, chest, and back, but
it only served to highten the bloodlust. Slit-pupiled, golden eyes
narrowed, bloody teeth bared. Monster... we're both monsters,
aren't we?

He flew
forward again, aiming for Elric's throat.

Lisa
clapped her hands in a familliar gesture, putting them down on the
floor and 'growing' a three-foot-thick wall between them and the two
fighting beasts.

She
slipped a small white stone from her pocket and set to work fixing
the worst of the damage Roy had sustained.

Ed's
automail fist connected with Havoc's jaw, shortly followed by his
knee to Havoc's gut, as Ed caught him up by the throat just as he'd
done Roy. "So all that hard work didn't even pay off did it?"

Havoc
just smiled, and began to laugh. It wasn't pleasant, the hoarse, cold
laughter of a man condemned to death. "It was worth it."

Unbeknownst
to Edward, Lisa and Roy had escaped.

"Was
it really? Is stepping into the realm of 'god' ever really worth
it?" Edward was calm, despite the heavy damage. "And
what kind of a person is she to leave you here to die, Jean, really?"

Havoc
just continued to laugh.

Ed
narrowed his eyes further, slamming Havoc's head back against the
wall. "The fuck is so goddamn funny!"

"So
this is how far you've fallen... a truly pathetic sight..."

"You
should've just killed the pathetic kid while you had the chance,
Jean, should've killed him...Edward Elric has been dead for three
fucking years! You had the chance to send him back, you fucked that
chance, now he's never coming back..." The wicked grin that
spread across those lips was far from anything Ed would ever wear.

Havoc
lashed out, scoring four deep cuts across his opponent's face. "I
had hope. Hell, I still have it. So kill me, if you think you can.
I've been through it once, and I've had my fair share of life and
love." There was something indecently triumphant in sapphire
eyes.

Ed backed
up, dropping his arm to his side as he stared blankly at Havoc as the
blood ran down his face. His left eye shifted colors back to gold
slowly, and suddenly it was white hot pain driving through his
nerves, leaving him on his knees and trembling.

Havoc
himself dropped down, finally realizing how much damage he had taken.
He doubled over, breathing painfully.

"Goddamn...
gopher..."

Ed stared
blankly, numbly ahead. Jean... "H-...wh-...Jean..."
He tried to reach out, but was faced with a blinding pain through his
left shoulder and halted, eyes barely focusing enough to see the
blood pooled around his hand in horror.

Havoc
somehow managed to get over to Ed and cradled him gently. "It'll
be okay, Ed. Once Lisa's done patching Roy up, she'll fix you."
He yanked out a large square of linen he found in his pocket, wadding
it up and gently placing it on the massive, bruised, bleeding mess of
Ed's shoulder. "I'm sorry Ed. You'll be okay..."

"Wh-...-at...h-happened..."
Ed swallowed, biting back a yelp of pain.

"Shh.
That's not a question I can answer." He spoke gently, running
fingers over the cuts on Ed's face. He'd have to make sure those got
looked to soon. He couldn't swear that his claws were clean. "Relax.
You're safe now, I won't hurt you."

Ed
whimpered, jerking back slightly. "That hurts...why...Jean..."
Tears mingled with the blood that dripped down his face, stinging the
cuts as he looked up at Havoc.

"Why
what?" He took on the tone of voice that he had used with
shellshocked soldiers, gentle, kind, understanding. He took a deep
breath and winced at a sharp biting pain in his side. "Relax,
Ed. No one's going to hurt you anymore."

"Can't..."
Ed jerked slightly, vision having blacked out for a second as his
head tilted forward. "Light...dizzy..."

"Close
your eyes, and if you have to pass out, do it. It'll help you calm
down and heal faster," Lisa's voice said softly. She was
standing over the two men, the white stone in hand. "We're both
here to help you."

She knelt
down, touching the unscarred half of Ed's face. "You're hurt
badly, but it's nothing I can't fix, all right?"

Edward
stared blankly at the white stone in Lisa's hand. "W-wha...i...is
that...A...Al..." Ed's voice tapered off as consciousness
escaped him, eyes closing slowly as his body went limp.

Wordlessly,
Lisa used the stone to heal the mess of Ed's shoulder. "That
should keep the bloodloss to a minimum," she said quietly. "I'll
let him keep the wounds on his cheek. He needs a lesson, anyway."

She
reached over to Havoc. "A concussion, cracked skull, broken
ribs, internal bleeding... you're very definitely lucky to be alive,
Jean. He would have killed you."

"I
guess it really isn't my day..." He groaned as he felt a
lessening of pressure in his skull and his ribs popped back into
place. "What the hell is that thing, anyway?"

"It's
the Albino Stone, a few steps down from a Philosopher's Stone. I use
it for healing when normal methods won't work." She stood.
"You're good to go. Take it easy, though, you're not fit to do
any more fighting."

He stood.
"And Roy?"

"Fine...physically
at least..." Roy knelt behind Jean, arms draped around his neck.
He sighed, resting his head on Havoc's shoulder and looking at
Edward, then closed his eyes. "I believe there is some
explaining to be done, however, concerning how it is you are in
possession of an Albedo, Miss Delgardie..."

Lisa
colored up from embarrassment. "Um."

Havoc
lifted his eyebrows. "This should be good..."

"It
has to do with a bottle of wine, a honeymoon, and my parents,"
she said all in a rush. "Please don't ask any more."

Havoc
began to chuckle, though painfully.

"So
the rumors are true about those kinds of arrays then? Fascinating..."
Mustang simply grinned. "I'm amazed though at your talent to
have been able to create such a stone in the first place...And...I
suppose being a chimera that you obtained the Nigredo, the prima
materia, through that..."

Lisa
blushed even brighter red. Havoc lapsed into snorting giggles, his
mind finally running away from him.

She
glared at him. "Can it, flyboy."

He
started gasping painfully, the ache in his ribs refusing to go away.
"Lisa, I can't believe you actually did that!" he said with
a faint grin.

Roy
suddenly shifted moods, pulling Jean back against his chest and
nestling his head in the crook of the blonde's neck. "Do me a
favor, Jean...and don't go doing stupid things like that again
okay..."

Lisa,
knowing her cue when she saw it, got up and disappeared, determined
to get her apple pie finished in time for lunch.

"I'm
sorry. I can't help it – it's part of my programming. When
someone I care for is getting hurt, I have to act." He reached
up and ruffled the black mop of hair by his ear. "You can't tame
someone who's half-wild, sir..."

"I
don't care...you could've gotten yourself killed...there had to be a
way other than provoking him like that..." Roy's grip tightened
slightly. Something warm and wet dripped down onto Jean's shoulder.
"I told you not to do anything stupid..."

"Shh...
it's okay..." he soothed. But Roy gave him pause for thought.

Ever
since his transmutation, he had assumed that he was immortal. He had
taken it for granted that he wouldn't die until he had taken out
Fawkes and as many of the Predator gang he could get his claws on
before they killed him.

But
mortality was frighteningly real. Too real for comfort, and the fact
that he would have killed Ed or Ed would have killed him was almost
too much.

(A/N: The
idea of the Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinas and Rubedo, as well as tantric
arrays borrowed from Sleeps With Coyotes’ fic “Altered
States”, that story is sexy love.)

"Dammit
Jean..." Roy tightened his grip again. "Dammit..."

Havoc sat
there, his hands clenched tight. There was nothing he could do or say
at this point.

He dearly
wished he could cry.

"How
many have I lost already...I can't lose you...if I do I'll
break..."

Havoc
half-turned so he was looking into deep obsidian eyes. He smiled
lovingly. "I'd never do that to you, not in a thousand years."

"You
almost did just now though..." Roy shook his head lightly.

"Not
a chance," he said. "Not a chance in the world. Give me a
little credit, will you? I'm a lot tougher than I look."

It was
only half of a lie. He would have held out much longer, but in the
end, he probably would have died. No use in telling Roy
that...

"It's
that attitude that's going to get you killed, Jean..." Roy
brushed his hand against Havoc's face.

"No
it won't." Havoc shook his head, rubbing his thumb against the
inside of Roy's wrist. "I know my strengths and limitations. All
I ask is that you trust me on this one."

"You
nearly got yourself killed just now, you expect me to just trust that
you're going to be okay? I worry you know..." Roy brushed his
lips against Havoc's. "Can we forget about today...just for a
little while..."

"Be
gentle. I'm still sore in a lot of places..." He kissed Roy
fully, tongue slipping in.

Yes...
forgetting the horrors of the morning would be a nice thing...

Roy ran
his fingers through Jean's hair, mouth yielding to the other man's
tongue as, for once, he relinquished all control, trusting Havoc
fully.

Edward
stirred slightly, two-toned eyes flickering open to Jean and Roy as
he felt something squirm in the pit of his stomach. He started to
crawl forward, only to feel a sharp jolt of pain up the length of his
left arm right to his shoulder, ending up draped across Havoc's back.

That they
would do something like this right there in front of Ed, he surmised
that it was best not to say a word. Instead, he settled for licking
up Jean's neck to trace the edge of his ear, drawn in by the growing
air of raw need.

Havoc
purred at the warm tongue running over his neck. One hand slid up
Roy's neck to bury into his black hair, the other resting on his
back. He nipped at Roy's lower lip, enjoying the small surrender.

He ran
his teeth gently down Roy's throat, licking at the faded bruises.

Roy
shivered slightly, tilting his head to the side for easier access to
his neck as he lifted his other arm to toy with the tie that held
Ed's hair together just below the thick plait.

Lithe
fingers traced down Roy's arms, one at a time, undoing the buttons at
the cuffs of his uniform and moving on to the front. Ed gave a
frustrated growl as he fidgeted with the buttons and clasps, mentally
cursing the complexity of military uniforms.

Havoc
neatly unbuttoned Roy's jacket, chuckling a little to himself at Ed's
impatience. He gently bit the hollow of Roy's throat.

Ed
mimicked Havoc's action on his own neck, biting a bit harder than
usual to show his irritation at being shown up on undressing Roy. He
could do it better any day, he was just trying not to screw up Roy's
uniform by shredding it via alchemy.

Roy's
fingers gently combed out Ed's braid, so that a golden veil cascaded
down over his shoulders. He then shrugged out of the jacket, moving
just enough so he could unbutton his own shirt and just enough to
notice Ed's hands working with Jean's shirt.

When
Edward's eyes flickered to his, Roy obeyed, leaning forward and into
the kiss that was offered.

Havoc
growled squeakily, his abused ribs protesting being squeezed between
two rather unyielding bodies.

Ed
slipped the shirt off of Havoc's shoulders, breaking away from Roy as
his head dropped to nip and suck at Jean's neck not so gently. He
deftly flicked open Havoc's pants and slipped cool automail into his
boxers.

Roy
sighed at the loss of contact, moving to kiss along Havoc's jawline
and up to his mouth, fingertips teasing a nipple as he nibbled
pleadingly on Jean's lower lip.

Havoc
loosed a startled gasp that settled slowly into a purr. He allowed
his head to drop back against Ed's shoulder, hands running lazily
through Roy's hair.

Automail
shifted slightly, cool metal slowly stroking against hot skin,
fisting lightly after pushing down the offending fabric. Ed slid his
left hand down to his own pants, wasting no time in freeing himself
from the confines of tight leather and making his arousal very known
against the small of Havoc's back.

Roy
scooted closer to Jean, one hand trailing down Ed's bare back and
slipping past the waistline of his pants, squeezing his ass, the
other hand leaving Havoc's nipple and tracing down his side as his
mouth left the other man's to trail love bites down his neck.

Gentle
nips were placed along Jean's collarbone, and a hot tongue left a
trail of saliva down his chest, circling the same nipple his fingers
had been teasing earlier before he bit lightly and licked to soothe
it before sucking.

Havoc
sharply sucked in a gasp of air, his eyes becoming unfocused. Ed's
hand was pleasantly cold, and dammit Roy was too good at this
by far. A soft growl purred out, Havoc turning his head to bite
possessively at the side of Ed's neck.

The
youngest of the three hissed slightly as the feel of sharp points
pressed roughly against his skin. Ed moved slightly, just enough to
rub himself against Jean's back as he returned the bite, this time to
Havoc's shoulder, and lightly squeezed with his right hand before
releasing.

The cool
metal fingers trailed up, brushing with a surprisingly light touch
against an already pert nipple, the one not occupied by Roy's mouth,
before pinching softly.

Experience
led Roy downwards, lips and teeth and tongue running down the
slightly salty path that Edward had traced up. He let out a light
sound of irritation at the fabric that still clung to Jean's hips,
followed by a swift nip at the base to earn the reflexive thrust,
which allowed Roy to slide the impending articles clear down to
Jean's knees.

He was
painfully aware of his own condition, as well as the fact that he
really wasn't receiving any attentions at all, but he let that pass
in his subconscious will to simply give up all control and be led
back out of this hell he'd found himself thrown into. It was this
unconscious submission that had him wresting off Jean's socks and
pulling the rest down with them. It was this that had Roy Mustang
kneeling between his subordinate's legs, dark eyes gazing upwards,
pliable, waiting for instruction this time.

Havoc
gazed affectionately at his superior officer, his hand caressing neck
and jaw, then drifting over to lightly run through his hair.

"Follow
your bliss..."

Roy
simply gazed back still. 'Tell me,' his eyes whispered, 'Tell
me what to do and I will...I'm a slave to your desires, use me...'

'I
won't tell... I'll ask...'

Havoc
applied a gentle pressure, smiling wryly. "We've been through
this before, Roy."

Ed
wrestled with his own pants for a second before tossing them off to
the side, violet eye focused on Roy as he murmured against Jean's
neck. "If he wants to give up control like that you might as
well take advantage of it..." he nibbled idly at Havoc's ear"You
want his mouth or his ass, I'll take whatever you don't pick..."
Ed had practically purred that statement.

A brief
frown flickered over Havoc's face, gone before anyone could see it.
He set aside his thought for later. "I'll take his mouth. If you
don't mind, of course."

Edward
leaned forward to place a brief kiss against the corner of Havoc's
mouth before standing and moving around behind Roy, fingers making
quick work of the military boots and pants, noting curiously that Roy
hadn't been wearing underwear as he trailed automail fingers down
Roy's spine. "Of course I don't mind..."

Roy
shivered under the brush of automail, responding silently to the
unspoken request and dipping his head, tongue trailing along Jean's
length as he shifted his knees apart, hands moving to the small of
Havoc's back.

Havoc
groaned as Roy's fingers brushed by his psudo-tail. He began to purr
when he felt the wet heat engulf him.

Quickly
coating two fingers with his own saliva, Ed slicked himself,
recoating his fingers to press inside of Roy. He lingered there only
long enough to be sure the man was well enough lubricated before his
own impatience caught up with him and he removed his fingers, hands
moving to Roy's hips as he lined himself up and pressed in fully.

Edward's
head swam for a few long moments, and he fought to calm his breathing
a bit, leaning against Roy's back and giving both of them the time to
adjust, dilated violet and gold eyes looked towards Jean's face but
not really seeing. "Fuck..."

Roy
groaned, pulling back to press his face against Jean's thigh to
muffle the sounds he made at the sudden intrusion, body tensing as
his fingers gripped Havoc's back and ass, a low wail stifled into
heated skin. He distantly registered the warm and cold weight of skin
and automail against his back, and the hard, wet length against his
cheek.

Havoc
gently stroked Roy's hair, a faint smile on his lips. "Shh...
it'll be okay..."

Roy
nodded just barely, steadying his breath as he forced his muscles to
relax. Getting slightly impatient with Ed's zoning out, he shifted
his hips, pushing back against him.

When
white heat shot up his spine he moaned softly, trailing his tongue
back up Havoc's length to circle the tip, breath ghosting over heated
skin.

In
response to the impatient movement, Edward slowly pulled himself
upright again and almost all the way back before thrusting back in,
voice caught in his throat as he eased into a steady rhythm.

Havoc
purred, his oversensitive body feeling every single twitch Roy made.
He fell back bonelessly, content to just bask in the sensations.

The
instant he felt Ed move, Roy surrounded Jean with the velvet heat of
his mouth, vibrations from a moan reverberating through Havoc from
base to tip as he worked to mimic Ed's pace, back into the thrusts
and forward to take Jean in again, teeth grazing lightly ever so
often. Something far back in Roy's mind was amazed at how well Havoc
controlled himself, since he knew that if Ed were in the same
position he'd surely be bucking by now.

Havoc
purred deep in his throat, stretching his arms luxuriously over his
head. He gasped softly as Roy's hand brushed by an espescially
sensitive spot.

Gasps and
moans were muffled against Jean's groin each time Ed thrust in again,
but Roy kept moving, tongue caressing and swirling around the shaft.
Fingers danced up Havoc's spine, other hand rubbing consistently at
his tailbone and Roy sucked hard when he felt Ed's hand close
around him, pumping in time with his own, now shorter, thrusts.

With
something like a punctuated snarl, Havoc came, becoming even limper
than he had been before.

Roy
swallowed awkwardly and pulled back, reaching up and pulling Jean
down for an open-mouthed kiss that he moaned deeply into when he
came, mind hazing over as he leaned against Havoc. Distantly, he
heard a strangled groan and felt heat flood through him and spill
out, vaguely registered the weight of another body at his back,
happily muddled as the feeling of fullness left and a light kiss was
placed against the nape of his neck.

Lisa
looked up at the cuckoo clock. She wiped her hands on her apron and
sauntered out to the head of the stairs.

Opening
the door to the basement just a little, she called, "If you
three boys are done making up with one another, lunch is ready."

To a
fuzzy mind, it would seem that she said "making out, not
making up"...

Roy made
a noncommittal reply, still slumped against Havoc with automail dead
weight heavy against his back. He heard a snort from Ed's general
direction at the making up/out comment.

Havoc's
stomach growled loudly. "I think that's our cue," he said
amiably, ribs slightly squashed from the weight of two men. "I
don't think any of us has eaten for at least a day..." He tried
to wiggle out of the pile, but finally gave up. "Someone's going
to have to move, and it ain't me!"

After
hearing what sounded distinctly like a snore, Roy sighed.
"Right...don't look at me...you try lifting the dead weight of
automail off your back after orgasm..."

"Fine,"
Havoc replied snippily. He got his arms in position and heaved,
dumping the other two onto the cold stone floor. "When in doubt,
push." He grabbed his pants and started getting dressed.

Roy
winced as a rather pointy automail elbow 'broke his fall' after
Havoc's push.

He let
out another wince as he got to his feet, groping for clothes and
coming up with Ed's pants, grumbling slightly and tossing them at the
still prostrate blonde.

Said
blonde grunted in reply before attempting to use the pants for a
blanket and rolling over on his side.

After
pulling up his pants and finding his shirt - How the hell did it get
over there- Roy proceeded to get dressed. Failing at
professionalism of course, seeing as his ass currently felt like it
was on fire, in a bad way mind you, and he wasn't exactly anything
short of unruly. "If I ever...ever get the idea to let
somebody else top again...shoot me in the foot and tell me it's just
the insanity talking and that it'll all be better in the morning..."

Havoc
burst out laughing. "My, my," he said cheerfully. "Not
used to being subordinate to anyone, are we?"

"Not
in a long time, Lieutenant..." Roy glanced down at Ed as he
buttoned up his shirt. "Can I kick him?"

The
blonde opened his mouth, paused, then grinned widely, showing rather
sharp teeth. "Go for it. Of course, I recommend running like
hell afterwards."

Roy
reached for the uniform jacket and slipped it on, thinking better of
it. "I can't be sure who it would hurt more...me or him..."
The point was accented by a tentative rub at the base of his spine.

"I
could always hold him down for you," Havoc suggested, heading
towards the stairs. "The fireworks would be well worth it."

The
'sleeping' blonde in question was now sitting up, glaring daggers at
the two older men without a word. Edward had halfassedly cleaned
himself up with a sheet corner before tugging his pants back on, not
taking his eyes off the other two for a second.

Oh yes,
they would get what was coming to them...

Roy
noticed how suddenly the air in the room became rather...suffocating.
It would do best to leave now. Ah, yes, shoes were nice... With a
quick fix for his hair and the straightening of a lapel, Mustang
simply nodded and made a beeline for the door.

Havoc
twitched guiltily, grabbed Roy by the front of his jacket and dragged
the man up the stairs. Very, very quickly.

Pants
fastened and belt-of-doom in his grasp, Ed stormed up the stairs
after them, still without a word, though the look in his eyes spelled
pain.

Lisa
looked up when she heard thundering steps and yelps of surprise. She
blinked, seeing Roy and Jean tumble out of the door in a tangle of
arms, legs, and panic.

She
decided prudently to break the news later.

Roy let
out a sound that could only really be classified under the category
of 'meep' as he swore the entire foundation was shaking under Ed's
feet. "You were the one who pressed it further you know..."

Havoc
began to giggle. He tried to crawl further out of sheer panic, but he
collapsed, laughing uproariously.

For some
reason, after seething a few moments at the mortified ball of...Roy
and Havoc...on the kitchen floor, Ed couldn't seem to remain angry.

Perhaps
that was his stomach's fault, because he smelled food, and hadn't
eaten for the longest time. Or maybe it was the look on the Colonel's
face...heh...wait...food now, mangle later!

Edward
simply dropped the belt as he idled past the men on the floor,
looking around for the source of the foodsmell he'd been entranced
by.

Lisa
pointed into the kitchen. "Roast beef, a salad, milk, and apple
pie for dessert. After you've served yourself, we need to talk."

Roy kind
of stared for a moment. On one hand, Edward Elric, the walking time
bomb of rage, had suddenly forgotten rage. On the other hand, Havoc
was laughing hysterically. On the other hand...wait...other hand? He
looked at his hands. Well damn.

Ed froze
suddenly, chills trickling and prickling up his spine as he heard The
Most Despised Word Ever.

Lisa
blinked innocently. "Did I say something wrong?"

Havoc had
managed to slither across the floor by then, still gasping. He
grabbed Lisa's hand and hauled himself up. "You said the
four-letter word that begins with 'm'," he murmured into her
ear.

Roy
wasted no time at all in preparing a nice portion of the food for Ed
and steering him away to the table. "Here's a glass of water,
Fullmetal, now eat."

Just as
the blonde's head had ratcheted around to give the Look Foretelling
Pain And Damnation (borrowed from Izumi-sensei of course), Ed had
been shoved in front of a rather nice smelling plateful of food.

Once
again, the stomach took over, and Ed was practically inhaling what
was on the plate.

Havoc
made to follow suit, but Lisa just had to remind him, "No
vegetables right now, Jean. You're still on a strict diet. No milk,
either."

Havoc
made a face. "No coffee?"

"Coffee
you can have."

Ed choked
on a now rather offensive bit of meat, which now was plastered on the
Colonel's forehead.

Roy
picked up a napkin and wiped his face and the front of his uniform,
making an attempt at dignity and not quite reaching par.

"Miss
Delgardie, do you mind..."

Lisa
stuck her tongue out at Roy. "All right you goons," she
said, steering Havoc over to the table. "You're all leaving
tomorrow morning on account of a courtmartial, a promotion, and a
personal meeting with Bradley. So you're going to have to decide what
you're going to do about my cousin and uncle post-haste."

Edward on
the other hand was completely clueless as to the situation as of
recent. "Let me guess," he swallowed the chunk of food in
his mouth, "I'm finally getting courtmartialled for defying my
superiors so much, and for human transmutation, Mustang's getting
another promotion, and Bradley wants to check on his new toy."

Roy's
dark expression showed otherwise, and he'd just opened his mouth to
calmly, coolly remind Edward of his position and get in a few jabs at
his insecurities, when he felt a rather looming presence behind him.

Mustang
was suddenly reminded of the time Mrs. Curtis paid him an office
visit and happened to pop in at just the wrong time...no good could
come of this...

Lisa
grabbed Ed, easily hauling him out of his seat and throwing him
against the far wall. It was quite a way to fly, and with a
pissed-off chimera doing the hurling, it was quite a stop.

"No,
you stupid little rat!" she roared in an almost frightening
resemblance to Izumi. "Watch your mouth next time, or I swear to
God that Izumi's going to pick you up in pieces!"

Ed only
had time to crack open one eye lazily, widen both eyes about as wide
as he could, and manage an 'erp!' before it really became evident how
much Lisa was influenced by his Sensei.

The
ponytailed blonde slid down the wall to the floor, propping himself
up with automail limbs and scowling. This wasn't Izumi! Only Izumi
could do that to him and get away with it! ...Then again this was
very much like Izumi...

Roy
cleared his throat at the long silence that followed. "Please
excuse Fullmetal for the time being... Despite being a legal adult he
tends to still act like a child sometimes..."

"A
child! Children hardly ever come up with something that cruel
and damaging for someone they love! Unless of course, Major Elric
sees the Lieutenant as nothing more than a toy!"

Havoc
looked up from the summons paper. "Lisa, cool it. I daresay that
Ed was trying to be funny, as he sometimes does." He set the
paper down, scooting it across to Roy. "Well, looks like things
have caught up to us. I'm being promoted to Captain, and you're being
hauled in for fraternization with two subordinate officers. Bradley
wants to see us before the courtmartial and the official promotion. I
wonder what he has in mind."

At first
Ed's jaw was agape as he stared at Havoc, then
Roy...Havoc...Roy...and then he burst out laughing.

He
couldn't help it! The look on the Colonel's face was
priceless! And the way he was just gawking like that!
He looked like a damn fish! Edward was beside himself.

Roy was
taken aback at first, at the news, and then again at Fullmetal's
antics. After a minute he composed himself again and stood, leaving
his plate still full on the table. "I'm assuming if they are
aware of fraternization then they are also aware of those involved,
Edward."

Face
stern, Mustang made to leave the kitchen, in favor of the bed
upstairs. He really didn't care if he slept too much. "No doubt
Bradley has something in store...I know it's mostly between us right
now, but I'd like to bring the Miracle Alchemist into the circle, if
you don't mind..." And he knew damn well that Edward had no idea
who he was talking about. It was better that way for now, and he
needed to think. Preferably alone.

Havoc
wasn't sure if Lisa was trying to break the tension or something
else, but the woman hauled him up and squealed, "Congratulations,
Jean!"

And then
she kissed him. Not just an affectionate peck on the cheek, but a
full-on romantic kiss.

Edward
proceeded to turn several shades of red, first from embarrassment,
then from rage. "Why the hell do we have to bring somebody else
into this! And am I all of a sudden not GOOD ENOUGH as an alchemist
to GET THE FUCKING JOB DONE-"

And then
his brain registered what was happening. And not only was the
Fullmetal Alchemist now as red as his coat, but he saw just about the
same color.

Roy had
spun around to shoot another retort back at Ed when his eyes met with
just the sight he'd been the least prepared for.

He wasn't
even mildly aware of the sparks that were being emitted from his
tightly clenched, gloved no less, fists. Nor was he aware that he was
moving, or that the look on his face was the one that tended to send
subordinates to the bottom of the ladder and enemies to Hell.

No, at
the moment Roy Mustang was only aware of rage.

The two
chimerae disentangled, though they were still hugged close. "Jean?"
Lisa said very, very softly. "I am sorry about that, but they
needed a distraction."

"No
problem," he replied woozily.

The air
in the room was practically thick with fury, almost overbearingly so,
and the silence wasn't really helping the tension either.

That
silence, however, was soon interrupted by a low growl from Ed's
direction and the telltale clap and crackle of an alchemical reaction
that flashed in near-violet eyes.

Mustang's
eyes flitted briefly to the sparks, the glint dancing in his own eyes
that he hadn't even realized were so predatory. Though he kept his
posture rigid, his hand was at the ready whether Roy wanted it to be
or not.

"That
was some distraction," Havoc murmured. "I think that what
they were fighting about earlier has become a seriously moot point."

Lisa
grinned, releasing Havoc. "That's what I'm here for. Besides, I
think it's sweet."

"Spare
me."

"M'm..."
Lisa eyed Ed. "I don't think it's normal for him to be frothing
at the mouth, is it?"

"Normal,
yes. Healthy, no."

Through a
narrowing of eyes and a snarl, Ed lashed out. Target: throat of Lisa
Delgardie. Spontaneously erupting pillars kept Havoc back long enough
for the ponytailed blonde to land a square hit with the automail leg
to the woman's side.

Something
in the back of his head snapped along with that first bone, though,
and it wouldn't be long before this territory dispute came to
something worse.

Before
Jean could get a foot in, however, there was a snap and a wall of
flames temporarily separated him from the action. Roy still stood
there, still wasn't very happy, but at least had a little more sense
than Ed did at the moment.

"If
she's anything like Mrs. Curtis I'm sure she can take care of herself
just fine against him...he'll calm down..." Although the heat of
the flames dancing cold and bitter in Roy's eyes didn't do much to
say he was exactly calm himself.

Roy got
treated to a liquid gold glare, hatred flaring deep and angry.
"That's my cousin!" Havoc grated. "Ed is going
to kill her, you ass! And don't you dare say she deserves it. She
kissed me for a reason, and I'll bet it's a damn sight better than
the one you have for letting Ed do this to her!"

He dove
through the sheet of flame, bowling Ed over in a whirl of teeth and
claws.

Ed let
out a yelp of surprise at being torn away from his goal, claws
bringing the pain he needed to get his head back on straight, as for
a moment the eyes that stared at Havoc were pure gold again before
being speckled with the violet tinge of confusion and a rising,
senseless anger.

Roy just
stood there, watching the flames vanish as he stopped caring, eyes no
longer full of rage but tired. Mustang's gaze settled finally on
Lisa, some part of him screaming to see if she was okay, weakly. It
was a look that said 'what kind of a man am I if I can't even help
them?'

"Go
away," Lisa said tiredly from where she knelt on the floor. "You
have no business being here." She lifted her head. "What
the hell made you bring up the Miracle Alchemist? Is it your idea of
a sick joke?"

Havoc
watched Ed warily. Something wasn't translating. He felt no pain from
the burns he had to have sustained, but there were circles on his
chest, back, and biceps that felt like they were being torn.

Suddenly,
he just wanted to give up. He wanted to make the world go away, crawl
into a dark hole, and forget that he ever loved Ed or Roy.

"What
do you mean sick joke...?" Roy didn't quite
understand...normally he would've put it off as anger, but this
seemed more substantial...like she knew something he didn't...

"He's
under my command, I haven't had contact with him since Fullmetal came
back..."

"There's
a good reason for that, Colonel. I doubt you're ever going to see
Alphonse again."

Edward
finally really looked, and violet was chased from gold as fast
as it had returned, memories flooding back again just when he really
needed to forget what that felt like.

To just
forget what it felt like to be back in Munich, what it felt like to
suddenly find what he'd missed and then have it die, spasming, in his
arms.

Even if
it was just a glimpse of one circle he knew exactly what they were
this time, but he couldn't get the image out of his head. Before he
knew it he was clinging to Havoc, sobbing against his chest like he'd
done back then, even though it wasn't all that long ago.

Dark eyes
narrowed slightly as Roy crossed the room. He was surprised that
Edward hadn't even noticed his brother's name, but considering the
circumstances he ignored it. "What do you mean, what's happened
to him..."

Havoc's
face registered nothing, a frozen mask of weariness. His arms went
instinctively around the boy's body, but he felt so sick of the farce
that they were trapped in.

Lisa
snorted. "Equivalent trade, Colonel. That's what I mean. The
very face of Hell looking back at you in a body you know."

The only
sound for a while was Ed's whimpering, muffled sobs, interspersed
with whispers and gentle touches as the boy calmed.

'Don't
leave me again...don't wanna lose you again Jean...'

Havoc
hugged Ed tighter. Wordlessly, he rocked back and forth, soothingly
rubbing the boy's back. The one thing Ed asked of him was the one
thing he couldn't give.

Finally,
he just whispered into Ed's ear, "I love you more..."

Roy felt
suddenly sick, slitted violet eyes and a devilish sneer flashing
through his memory. He had to steady himself against the counter.
"What did he lose..."

"Something
more precious than I can recognize," Lisa said quietly. "Having
no humanity myself, I can't recognize it in other beings."

Please
review, constructive criticism and questions appreciated, flames will
be deflected back at you by Roy. n.n;
- 25
- 26
- 27
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Unsettling Affairs