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
- 33
- 34
- 35
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!

Don't
Make Me Say Goodbye

Rating:
PG-13 (Language mostly.)
Pairings: Do I need to keep saying
this over and over?
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. Don't sue
meeeee!
Spoilers: Hell if I know anymore :D
Setting:
Fuhrer's office, Havoc's apartment.
Timeline: Two days
after the previous Fuhrer visit.

"They're
late," Bradley grumped tiredly, petulantly crossing his arms.
"They shouldn't be, not this late in the game."

Edward
watched as Roy went on ahead, still not quite sure why Havoc had told
him to do so. "So...what's this all about anyway?"

Havoc
chewed on the inside of his cheek, seriously reconsidering. Oh,
what the hell... "I just thought I should tell you a couple
of things before I crap out on you." He still couldn't shake the
feeling of uneasiness that had firmly lodged itself in his stomach.

"Okay...
I'm listening..." Ed found himself extremely curious as to what
was making Jean so...what was the word...well, whatever he was at the
moment, he couldn't quite place it.

Havoc
chuckled. "Wow. Never thought that this would be so tough... You
ever get weird feelings? Visions of your own mortality and things
like that?"

Blinking
slightly, Edward glanced down for a moment, then off to the side.
"We're not going to make it, are we..."

"You
might. But I don't think I will..." Havoc heaved a sigh. "Don't
look like that, Ed, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that
there's no way for me to go except down."

Ed smiled
sadly. "What makes you think I'll be able to make it without
you, anyway? I wouldn't be able to hold the other me back anymore...
As far as I know, you're the only one who can subdue that other side
of me... Every time so far except for when Fawkes was there, you've
been the one I saw first coming back..." He looked down again,
feeling utterly sappy for saying all that. "I'd just be a lost
cause without you there to help.."

"I
never got that... why me? Why not Roy? I mean, I was the
afterthought. You liked Roy long before I came to pick you up in
Dublith..." Havoc resisted the urge to fidgit. It was a question
that he had been meaning to ask for weeks, but... he never got the
chance to.

Scratching
the back of his head, Ed wondered that himself. "I...don't
know..."

Havoc
shrugged. "Oh, well."

"We
should probably, uh...get going...um.."

Havoc
grinned at Ed's sudden stutter. "All right, kid." He
sighed, mock-dramatically. "Bradley's probably kicking up a fuss
or terrorizing Roy. Come on." He opened the door. "Well?"

Fists
clenched, Roy did his best to keep a straight face. "I know,
they should be here any--" he paused, hearing the door open and
shut. Looking over his shoulder, he gave his best 'what the hell took
you so long!' look.

"Sorry
we're late," Havoc said, not sounding apologetic at all.

Bradly
relaxed slowly into his chair. "Good. I thought that Mustang
would try something... drastic if you didn't show up quickly."
Needling the poor black-haired man had always been his favorite
pastime, and this was no different. The gloves clenched
spasmodically.

Ed
shrugged, fidgeting with his ponytail. "So what now? What's the
plan?"

Roy was a
bit surprised at how little animosity Edward showed towards Bradley,
seeing as he was sure that the boy knew of his other identity as one
of the seven sins that had chased him around for so long. Then again,
perhaps it was better if he'd forgotten about that incident...

"We
get you armed and ready." Bradley tapped his desk. "You'll
have to abandon the military uniform. Snipers' uniforms would do well
in this instance, considering that there is no obvious military
affiliation. Decent weaponry – don't make that face, Mustang, I
know quite well that you can shoot a gun and hit a target." He
moved his head to look at Edward. "Is there anything you want or
need?"

Blinking,
Edward pondered that. "...I can't say I'm very good with guns,
hand to hand combat and alchemy are my only skills... I can pretty
much make use of anything I come across, so I don't guess I need
anything specific..."

Smiling
wryly, Havoc remarked, "If we had more time, I'd teach you how
to shoot. As it is, you probably can't even hold a gun."

Refraining
from comment, Ed flopped down on the couch in an overly 'I'm
exaggerating my irritation' type way.

Roy
sighed. The aspect of guns was definitely not something he
cared to even think of. "Is it really necessary to outfit anyone
besides Jean with that type of weaponry? Edward and I are alchemists,
it's best just to let us use alchemy."

With a
pointed look at Mustang's hands, Bradley commented, "It would be
foolish to go in without backup weaponry. An intelligent antagonist,
as Fawks seems to be, would strike first to render your gloves
useless. It has happened before... I'd rather not lose a good officer
because he was too elitist to use a common soldier's weapons."

"I
don't rely that heavily on scraps of fabric, sir. I'm more
resourceful than that.." Roy replied, tone clipped and mildly
irritated.

Ed didn't
like where this was going, it made him want to go back to bed and not
wake up for another seven hours.

Bradley's
eyebrow quirked in challenge. "Oh? The last time I saw you do
any combat alchemy other than what you can perform with your gloves
was back in Ishvar. Even then, it almost got you killed."

Havoc
groaned inaudibly and dropped his head into his hands. This was going
to keep going for a while, he knew.

"Do
you think I've just been sitting behind a desk doing paperwork and
letting my skills deteriorate these past years?" One eye
narrowed slightly.

Golden
eyes glanced around, looking for an out. Ed pondered just grabbing
Havoc by the arm and dragging him off into a corner somewhere.

"Do
you think your enemy would allow you the luxury of being able to draw
an array?" Bradley shot back. "You're being stubborn, and
that can and will get you killed."

"I
never said a thing about drawing an array, you're putting words in my
mouth, Bradley."

Bradley's
eyebrow quirked.

"Can
we get on with it? Or are you two going to have an all out Cocky Sons
of Bitches tournament?" Ed tapped his foot against the table,
arms crossed.

Havoc
couldn't help himself. He disintegrated into helpless giggles at the
affronted and miffed expressions on both Bradley's and Roy's faces.

Upon not
getting any real response, Ed asked again. "Well?"

Still
slightly irritated, Bradley waved a dismissive hand. "You're
free to go at any time, but damn it Mustang, at least take a handgun.
And that's an order."

"When
is the assault to take place then?" Regaining his composure, Roy
ran his fingers through his hair.

"You'll
leave tomorrow." Bradley held out a sealed briefing packet. As
Mustang took it, he continued, "The details are in there. Good
luck. I have a feeling that you'll need it."

"Thanks
for the overflowing confidence." Ed muttered, getting up off the
couch and walking back over to Havoc.

Roy shook
his head at the comment. "I don't suppose you're sending in any
of your kind to back us up, are you?"

"If
I can find Kimbley and his motley crew, I'll send him... in.. for...
backup?" Bradley frowned at the semi-frozen Ed and Havoc. "Or
not?"

Roy
turned to face the others, noting their expressions as well. "Maybe
that's not such a good idea..." Just the thought of the Crimson
Alchemist irritated him, not to mention the assumption that he had
been the one...three years ago...

Bradley
shrugged. "Suit yourself." He was going to do what needed
to be done, and damn the feelings of a cat and a non-human.
"Dismissed."

Despite
being the furthest from the door, Roy was the first one out of the
room. One second more with that man and he was sure he would have
snapped. Quite literally.

Edward
glanced at Havoc, stepping out as well. That alchemist was one
he would be perfectly fine not hearing of for the rest of his life.

Havoc
shook his head, trying to get rid of that stupid, explosive-happy
alchemist's image, name, whatever. "Water on the brain," he
said cheerfully at Ed's inquiring mumble. "Come on, I need to
get my sorry ass down to the quartermaster's."

"I
guess I'll go too, it'll give me something to do." Ed grinned a
bit, forcing down the painful memory that alchemist's name roused. He
blinked as he looked around, though, finding Roy nowhere in sight. "I
wonder where he got off to all of a sudden? We were only a few
seconds behind him..."

"I'll
bet you dollars to donuts that he's either already going down there
or going off to have a quality sulk." He grinned at the kid.
"Come on, then. It's across the parade ground."

Nodding
Ed followed alongside Havoc. "I don't think he's stupid enough
to go off without us, he's probably sulking."

"Not
to mention that he has our briefing in his hand," the taller
blonde commented. "Silly ass."

"Yeah..."
As much as Ed tried to think of something else to say, nothing came
to him. And he was sure as hell steering clear of mentioning the
upcoming mission with any sincerity.

Havoc
lapsed into silence, obeying Ed's unspoken order to Shut the Hell UP
about their raid on the other chimerae. They walked briskly across
the parade ground of the base, slipping into the cool, stark interior
of the armory building.

Looking
around, Ed nearly tripped over Havoc. "Ack!"

"Oh,
brilliantly done," Havoc grunted, getting Ed's forehead pranged
between his shoulderblades. "Stupid gopher. Come on." They
entered one room marked 'Quartermaster', where Havoc proceeded to
argue for a half-hour, then the man scuttled off like a beetle. "Sit
down. This'll take a while."

Ed sat
obediently, toying with the end of his ponytail and looking for split
ends. Finding none, he proceeded to stare at his shoes.

Havoc's
face quirked briefly into a frown. "Is something wrong?"

"Just
bored, is all." Ed lied, hoping it would pass.

"M'mm...
I bet."

"What?
I'm bored, we've been sitting here for how long now?" Ed whined,
but only slightly.

Havoc
cuffed him affectionately across the back of his head. "That's
not all that's bothering you, though."

"It's
all I care to delve into in the slightest, though. Boredom is so
trivial compared to everything else, it makes it seem like we're
still living semi-normal lives."

"Ed,
you couldn't be normal if you tried." The hand slid down
to gently and chastely caress the back of Ed's neck. "Things
like that are bad for you, though," he said, abruptly grim.

Ed
shivered slightly, leaning against Havoc. "Oh well..."

Havoc
heaved a dejected sigh.

"We're
being all gloomy..." Ed pointed out the obvious, as if it would
change the fact.

Despite
himself, Havoc rolled his eyes. "I see they call you genius for
a reason..."

Ed
huffed. "Oh shut up."

"Yes,
sir."

Ed
proceeded to knock Havoc out of his chair and onto the floor. "Don't
even start with that!"

"Owww..."
Havoc rubbed gingerly the point of impact. "If that bruises, I
swear that I'm going to drag you naked through a roomfull of carpet
tacks then dip you into a vat of astringints."

"That's
so sweet of you." Ed said with mock adoration. "You
deserved it, dammit."

"What
did I do to deserve that?" Havoc got to his feet.

"I
can think of a number of things, but I'd rather not go into them."
Ed looked at the clock on the wall. "How long did you say this
was going to take again?"

"I
didn't." Havoc plopped back down into his seat. "Y'know,
sucker-punching someone is not particularly endearing."

"That
wasn't a sucker-punch. It was a shove."

"Whatever
it was, it hurt."

"Sorry..."
Ed sighed again, slouching in his chair.

"Would
you just tell me what's wrong? You're driving me nuts!" Despite
his rough words, Havoc reached out, stroking the back of Ed's flesh
hand with his fingertips.

"I'm
worried about you...about myself...about Roy..." Ed finally
admitted. "With what little we have, can we really defeat those
chimeras?" he paused for a moment, thinking it over. "No...I
think that really... We don't belong here, Jean... We should have
stayed dead, but we're here, and we're probably going to die in
this... Do you think that's why we're still here? So we could put
things right?"

Havoc bit
his lip thoughtfully. "I don't know," he finally admitted.
"I wish I did."

"Where
do you think we'll go after this? We've both died once...do you think
the other side of the gate will reject us for it?"

Havoc
glanced over at Ed. "Does it really matter?"

"I
don't guess so..." Ed leaned against Havoc's shoulder again
before hopping out of his seat and pacing. "Dammit, how much
longer is this going to take!"

"Don't
get your knickers in a twist. I requested something specific, and I
don't think that they've pulled it out of storage since the war."

Ed just
quirked a brow at the word 'knickers', opting not to make a comment.
"...So how long do you think this could take?"

Havoc
shrugged, grinning ruefully. "I have no idea. They probably
buried it pretty deep, considering it was an older model."

"Just
what did you ask for anyway!" Not that Ed would know what
it was, but still, it was something to fill in the silence.

"A
rifle. The new models that they gave us for the little bodyguarding
fiasco were complete shit – the ones from the war were actually
built for the desert." Havoc stretched a bit, leaning back over
the chair to pop his spine. "They still have a few of them lying
around, but not nearly enough to make the oldsters happy."

Havoc got
a somewhat blank gaze in return. "Oh...okay..." Cue the
subliminal voice that says 'I have no idea what you're talking
about:D' here.

Havoc
sighed. He was about to launch into a lecture when the door reopened
and the quartermaster came in with two handguns, a black sniper's
uniform, and a rather impressive-looking rifle. "Ammunition is
ready across the hall," the man said stiffly, packing up the
goodies.

Havoc
took the packages with an absentminded "Thanks" and
motioned for Ed to follow him.

Following
once again, Ed thought of something. "So...what am I going to
wear?"

Havoc
laughed. "What you usually do, squirt."

"Bright
red?" Ed didn't see how this would help him blend in at all, and
it couldn't possibly be good for this type of combat.

"Black,"
Havoc corrected. He dropped by the ammunition room, picking up
several cases and dumping them on Ed, ignoring his squeals of
protest. He couldn't resist making the old soldier's quip, "That
way we're dressed for our own funerals."

Ed
frowned deeply. "That's so...I don't even know..." Shaking
his head, he carted the ammunition off after Havoc.

Havoc
directed the dumping off of the ammunition and other such things in a
car designated for it, but took the new uniform home to hide
(forlornly and momentarily) in the kitchen. On the table.

He
plopped down into the armchair with a groaning sigh and covered his
eyes with his arm.

Ed
flopped on the couch again, looking at Havoc. "I wonder why
Roy's not home yet..."

Havoc let
his arm fall down, looking up and the ceiling and really feeling like
he wanted to cry. "He'll be back in his own sweet time..."

Ed
frowned, getting up and relocating himself onto Havoc's lap. "What's
wrong?"

"Nothing...
just stress, and the awful feeling that, yes, I'm right this
time around and I will die... and there's going to be no one there to
save me or you if I die..."

Curling
up a bit, Ed looked up at Havoc's face from his position. "If
you die, I'm coming with you, wherever you go."

Havoc's
arms slipped around Ed, pulling him closer for comfort. "I'm
glad to hear you say that, Ed."

"It's
the truth.. I don't think I could leave you even if I wanted to."
It was meant to comfort, though the wording wasn't quite the best to
use. It was how Ed really felt, though.

"Let's
just hope that you don't want to, then..."

"Of
course I don't..." Ed lifted his head, hearing the door. "Oi!
Where were you, anyway!"

Roy
walked past the chair, headed for the bathroom. "Out, but I'm
back now, as you can see. Yes, I'm fine, no, I didn't die or do
anything reckless, thanks for being concerned about my well being,"
he ended sarcastically. Water could be heard from the bathroom,
though it was just the sink, followed by a bit of muffled cursing.

"I'd
say he's cranky," Havoc commented, not even lifting a single
finger to get Ed off his lap; he was comfortable the way he was,
thank you very much. "Wonder what got him like that."

"Dunno..."
Ed found himself slightly sleepy, and fought back a yawn.

"I'm
not cranky, for your information.." Roy stepped out of
the bathroom, rubbing his hands gently. Apparently, the backs of his
hands were a bit red and looked as though something had irritated the
skin there.

Havoc
frowned yet again. "Roy, what the hell have you been doing?"

Ed was
dozing by now, oblivious to what was going on at the moment.

Looking
down, Roy got an odd expression on his face, quickly hiding his
hands. "Preparing.."

With a
low growl of frustration, Havoc snapped, "Be glad that I have a
kid on my lap, otherwise, you'd have to show me." Depression and
fatigue were catching up brutally, making him more irate than he
really should have been.

"Shouldn't
you stop referring to him as a kid, Jean?" Roy stepped around
behind the chair, pausing as he considered something. "Promise
you won't yell at me for doing something stupid?" Sure, he
didn't think it was stupid, but Jean might.

Havoc
tried to twist around, but with Ed's weight on him, it was nearly
impossible. "He is a kid, Roy. And no, I won't yell at
you." He paused to consider. "Much."

Roy
sighed, dropping his arms around Havoc's neck. If it weren't for the
redness, and of course the fact that his skin wasn't that
pale, it would almost seem at first glance as though he was still
wearing his gloves. Bradley had made a point, Fawkes most likely
would try and rid him of his array right of the bat. So he'd done
something about it.

"What...
the hell!"

"It's
a backup measure, Jean, you don't have to freak out on me..."
Roy spun back around, leaning against the chair with a slightly
miffed expression that Havoc couldn't see.

"...
I'm in love with two people who are insane. Damn it, why can't there
be a wall nearby so I can hit my head against it?" HAvoc let out
a groan. "I didn't freak out on you, either."

Roy
frowned. "How is having a backup in case your enemy decides to
strip you of your main weapon considered insane? And what did Ed do
to be deemed as such?" It was only after he'd asked the second
question that he realized how stupid he was for asking it.

"That
second question was really a dumb one," Havoc drawled. He
reached behind him, tugging on Roy's shirt. "Are they
permanant?"

Roy
turned around again, leaning over the back of the chair. "What
do you think?" He avoided commenting back to the first
statement.

"I
don't. I'm not the alchemist, remember?"

Sighing,
Roy shook his head. "Tattoos have nothing to do with alchemy."

"This
is my cue to feel stupid, but oddly enough I don't. How the hell did
you get tattoos that quickly?"

"I've
been gone for nearly two hours, Jean... Lines don't take that long to
tattoo..."

"My
next question: Isn't Hawkeye going to be pissed when she finds out?"

Roy
pondered that for a moment. "Why would she have a reason to be
pissed off at me for it? It's not like she's my wife or anything."
He shuddered momentarily at that thought. Probably moreso because of
the prospect of having a wife, though still a lot due to the fact
that it was Hawkeye, and she could be just plain scary.

"Man,
you're dumb."

"What?
It's for my safety, why would she be pissed about it? It's not like I
went out and got some girl's name tattooed on my ass or something!"

Havoc
grinned up at Roy. "I'll tell you when..." his throat
closed off, but he forced himself to keep going casually, "we
get out of this mess in one piece. Deal?"

Shrugging
lightly, Roy leaned down to steal a light kiss. "Deal.."

Havoc
managed to get a quick lick in before Roy straightened. "Have
you read the briefing packet yet?"

"Not
yet... If you would wake up Ed we could do that now, if you'd like.."
Roy briefly touched his tongue to his lips, thoughtful. I'm still
holding you to your word, Jean... He sighed, draping his arms
around Havoc's neck again. Don't die on me, Lieutenant. That's an
order. Shaking his head, Roy forced that memory from his mind.

Havoc
grinned up at Roy. "Let the kid sleep. He's more stressed out
than I've ever seen him. We have till tomorrow, anyway."

"He
needs to know these things too... How about after dinner?" Roy
brushed a few strands of Ed's hair out of his face, smiling softly.
He thought back on the very first time he'd seen the boy like that,
over three years ago in his office after he'd brought Alphonse back.

"Oh,
damn," Havoc groaned. "What the hell am I going to feed you
guys?"

"Maybe
we should go out to eat somewhere nice..." Live or die, Roy
wanted to at least have a nice meal before he stuck his head into a
hornet nest.

Havoc
pouted. "What, is my cooking not good enough for you?"

Roy
chuckled lightly. "That's not it, I never said that! I just
thought maybe we should, or we could order something nice too, I
guess... Besides, you can't get up and cook with him on your lap like
that."

"I
can't exactly go out to eat with him on my lap, either," Havoc
commented, shifting slightly to get Ed more comfortable.

Ed
mumbled a bit in his sleep, nuzzling his face further into Havoc's
stomach.

Shrugging,
Roy went to sit on the couch. "Well, like I said, we could order
something then. But if we went out to eat, we could wake him up to go
with us, of course. He's going to eat with us.."

Havoc
absently stroked Ed's hair. "I guess we could order something.
I'd rather not wake him up until he wants to."

"Well
he has to wake up to eat, either way...It's not for a few hours,
though..." Roy ran his fingers through his hair, smiling a bit
at the picture his two blondes made.

Havoc
grinned sidelong. "I still say you don't want to eat my cooking
anymore."

"If
you want to cook, go right ahead, I'm not stopping you," Roy
motioned at the boy in Havoc's lap, "but he is."

Havoc
stuck his tongue out petulantly.

"What?"
Roy just grinned. "You could always just move him off of your
lap..." You'd be waking her from a sound sleep, you do the
math. Roy nearly burst out laughing at the thought, hiding his
mirth behind an amused smirk.

"You
try waking him up – I don't particularly want automail
violently shoved into my gut."

"I
don't think he would wake up if you moved him over to the couch.."

Still,
Havoc made no move. "Eh. What do you want for supper?"

"I
dunno...whatever is fine by me, really... Just something at least
halfway decent, we've got a rough day tomorrow.." Roy continued
to observe the two in the chair.

"That,"
Havoc remarked. "Is the Understatement of the Year.
Congratulations."

"Oh
shut up.." Roy stretched, moving to lie down, staring at the
ceiling. "What do you have in there that you could cook,
anyway?"

"Quite
frankly, not much." Havoc squirmed a bit. "Help me get him
off, will you?"

Sitting
back up again, Roy scooped Ed up into his arms and allowing Havoc to
get up before he put the boy back down again. He watched as Ed
grumbled and got comfortable again, absently groping for Jean before
giving up and settling back into slumber. "So what exactly is
'not much'?"

"That's
what I'm going to look for," Havoc said, teetering on tingly
legs. "I'm assuming there's some fish and/or red meat in there."

"Fish
sounds good, you need any help?" The dark-haired man looked down
at Ed one more time, before turning to face Havoc again.

Havoc
didn't miss the look. "Only if you want to. I don't mind if you
want to stay with Ed, though I don't think he'll be very
companionable."

"Hm?
Come on, I'll help." Roy headed for the kitchen without another
look back.

Havoc
followed. "I'm not sure what kind it is. Probably tuna. How do
you want yours cooked?"

"I
don't mind how, I'll eat it all the same, do it how you like.."
Sure, he'd said he would help...but Roy really didn't know the first
thing about real cooking.

"I
doubt you're going to like it how I usually eat it." Havoc
rummaged around, coming out with a medium-sized package wrapped in
butcher's paper. He tossed it onto the counter and started foraging
again. "Open up the cabinet next to the oven... no, other
side... yeah. Put the cast iron pan onto the stove."

Despite
hating orders, Roy was fairly good at following instructions.

Havoc
came up with a stick of butter and a triumphant grin. "There.
Now you don't have to eat your fish raw."

Roy
nearly gagged. "You eat it raw now?"

Havoc
blinked innocently at the rather greenish-looking man. "Yeah. I
do. Don't ask me why, I just like it better that way."

"...Right."
Roy understood, but it didn't make the thought any less disturbing.

"All
right, then." Havoc got out a knife and began to cut the fish
evenly. "Pass me the salt and peppercorns?"

With a
nod, Roy looked around, spotting the afforementioned seasonings and
handing them over. "Do you have anything else to go with it?"

"H'm.
I think I may have some lettuce." Havoc turned on the burner,
cutting off a generous bit of butter and tossing it in. He rubbed
salt and crushed peppercorns onto two pieces of tuna. "Actually,
I'm pretty sure I do. I got it for you two, considering I don't like
the stuff."

"No
side dishes? Not that I'm complaining or anything.."

Havoc
mock-glared at him. I'm good, but I'm not your own personal chef, all
right?" He flicked a peppercorn. :"Consider yourself lucky
that I'm cooking your food." Despite his words, his eyes were
laughing.

"Yeah,
yeah.." Roy smirked at the blonde, shaking his head. "Thanks
for taking the time."

Havoc
flicked another peppercorn at Roy. Behind him, the pan began to
smoke.

"Is
that a bad thing?" Roy eyed the pan, not quite sure whether it
was supposed to do that.

"H'm?
Oh, yeah. It means that the butter's cooked through." Havoc
flicked the two pieces of meat into the pan, briefly glancing at his
watch. "Butter tastes nice cold, but it's even better when it's
browned."

"I
see..." Roy stood beside Havoc, watching the pan with mild
curiosity.

Havoc
checked his watch again, then flipped the meat over. "See, now
you can impress any girl that you can find with your knowlege of
cooking."

Roy
frowned, leaning just slightly against Havoc. "I don't need
to impress girls, Jean.."

"M'mm..."
After checking his watch a third time, Havoc flipped the fish onto
the cuttingboard. "Grab a couple of plates, will you?"

Roy
snapped out of it and nodded again, fishing out a few plates and
setting them out. He was about to go and get Ed up, when he heard the
boy in the other room.

Rubbing
his eyes a bit, Ed plodded into the kitchen, waking up more with each
step. "S'mthin' smells good..."

Havoc
chuckled, setting the respective pieces on everyone's plates and
getting out knifes and forks. "What do you all want to drink?"

"What
do you have?" Roy helped guide the somewhat still sleepy Ed to
his seat.

"Water...
cold coffee... that's about it..." Havoc shrugged. "I'm
cleaning out the kitchen right now..."

"I
think water will be fine then, right, Ed?" Roy sighed, noting
the full mouth the boy already had. "Don't you think you should
wait for everybody else?"

Ed
swallowed what he had in his mouth, rubbing the back of his head a
bit. "Er...sorry? Yeah, water's fine.."

"All
right..." Havoc filled three glasses and set them down,
following soon after. "All right Ed, now you can start
eating."

Blushing
slightly, Ed stuck out his tongue. "Shut up," he answered,
though he did get back to eating.

Shaking
his head again, Roy chuckled. "Slow down, Ed, you're
going to choke yourself.." He managed to duck the half-hearted
punch, and started on his food as well, still grinning a bit.

After
eating, Havoc shooed them all out into the living room. Plopping
himself down into his armchair, he said, "Well? What's in the
packet, Roy?"

With a
sigh, Roy opened the packet, tossing the map included onto the coffee
table and briefly scanning the first page. "Hm.." He set
the papers down, unfolding the map and looking over it. Pulling out a
pen, he marked their current location, before looking back to the
paper again. "We'll be up early, it says here we are to be in
position at 05:00."

Taking
the pen in hand again, he began marking a path. "We're to take
the back alleys east of here until we reach Warehouse 6. Travel time
is estimated at one hour, so we'll be leaving here by 04:00." A
large red circle was now around the square labelled 'W6'. "I
really don't see the point in acting before dawn, seeing as we have
the disadvantage in the dark. There are seven of them, and three of
us. We'll need to stay in a loose formation, but still watch each
other's backs, seeing as we don't know too much about the enemy aside
from their numbers."

Running
his fingers through his hair, Roy scribbled a few more things on the
map. "We'll be going in through the south wall, whether or not
there's a door there, it doesn't say." He shook his head. "From
what we know, Fawkes is their leader, also known as Deceit,
specializing in firearms. He's also our main target, and an
alchemist, so be careful. Other than that, we are knowledgable on
only one other; Falsehood. We know that she is extremely dangerous,
particularly involving her highly toxic venom. Other than that, we're
flying blind." He set the pen down on the table. "The
estimated chance of success is so low I don't even want to read it...
I think Bradley is underestimating us at least a little here..."

Havoc
leaned over. "Sunrise comes at roughly six-fifteen this time of
year. So we can either stake out for an hour and fifteen minutes, or
we can scout the position. Scouting has an increased chance of being
caught, but at least we won't be totally blind." He glanced up.
"We'll be in position right around the false dawn period, so we
may be able to do something; either way's fine with me. But...
staying in formation might be a bit of a problem."

Ed wasn't
really one for battle strategies, and he wasn't at all used to
these sorts of missions, either. So he watched and listened in
silence, trying to soak it all in.

Roy
shrugged. "I'm just reading what it says in my own words. Either
way, I think we'll be caught the second we get close, I have a
feeling that they'll know we are there, wouldn't you be able
to tell if we were there, Jean? I don't think any amount of silence
is going to work, snakes I know can feel vibrations in the earth.."

"And
knowing Fawkes, he's going to have her on duty that night, I'll bet
you anything." Havoc sat back, arms crossed. "Though...
she'll be inside, and we'll be on the outside... there may be a
slight muffling of vibrations due to the flooring. She'd be suicidal
to go outside." A quick grin quirked at the corner of his mouth.

"Would
she do something that stupid?" Roy caught the grin, wary of its
meaning. "We don't know what their other abilities are...it
would be foolish of us to make such assumptions..."

"But
we do have to plan for different situations; she may not even be on
duty. Though... didn't Bradley at one point reference to an old
professor of yours?"

"He'll
be hard to miss with his bulk..." Roy tried to imagine him
hiding, failing miserably.

"He'll
also be harder to kill. If he's that big, then I suggest that...
you..." he frowned, trying to remember something.

"Suggest
that I what?" Roy noticed the look on Havoc's face. "What
is it?"

Ed
blinked. He...really wasn't good with these types of things.

Havoc
shook his head. "Can't remember." The only big thing he
could remember was something massive, destructive, and rather manic
about it. "I was going to say that you take care of him. Your
fire would be perfect."

"Alright..."
Despite the fact that this was a life or death operation, Roy still
felt a bit bad at the thought of having to crisp his former
professor.

"Oh.
One thing." Havoc half-lidded his eyes and gave a LOOK to the
other two. "Fawkes. Is. Mine."

Ed
scooted back to the far end of the couch, not liking that look at
all. "But what if he engages one of us first? Are we just
supposed to run like cowards with our tails between our legs? Do you
even think he'd let us run?"

Shaking
his head, Roy looked at the ceiling. "I don't think we'll have
to worry about him coming after us... You understand what I mean,
don't you, Jean...?"

"Yes."
The look softened to an almost normal one. Then he grinned slightly,
which matched he previous glare in being not quite right. "He's
mine. Don't get within a ten-foot radius of him."

"I
really wouldn't want to anyway..." Ed really didn't know that
much about the man but still, he sounded like someone he'd rather not
meet in the confines of a deserted warehouse.

"Just
don't do anything stupid, Jean..." Roy stood, stretching. "We
should probably get some sleep..."

"You
two go on ahead. I'm not feeling tired."

"And
who said I was tired?" Ed piped up, rocking back and forth
slightly. He ignored the look Roy gave him.

Shaking
his head, Roy made to drag Edward off anyway, whispering something in
the boy's ear as they entered the bedroom that earned a screech of
protest, followed by a squeak for reasons unknown.

Havoc let
hs head fall back and his eyes close. "Goddammit."

A few
minutes later, Ed came stumbling out of the bedroom, hurling one of
his boots through the door in the process. "YOU COULD SERIOUSLY
USE A LESSON IN SUBTLETY, ROY!"

The
corner of Havoc's mouth quirked up.

Refastening
his pants, Ed turned his head, looking at Havoc. "Like I
said...I'm not tired..."

"M'm?"
Havoc cracked open an eye. "Seems like Roy isn't either."

"He
can deal." Ed made his way over to Havoc's chair, settling
himself in the man's lap. "I think he was more worried than
awake... In that kind of way that you think it'll be the last time
you get the chance to do something..."

"Him,
too?" Havoc opened both his eyes. "He's going to be so
pissed at me when this is over with."

Edward
sighed. "It's not like he'll be able to do anything about it..."
It was hard coming to terms with the likelihood that they were going
to die, but damn if they weren't going to take as many people with
them as they could. "I... I'm scared, Jean..."

Havoc
finally lifted his head, wrapping his arms around the boy. "Don't
be. Nothing can happen that already hasn't."

"Dying
once doesn't make it any more pleasant the second time around..."
Ed nuzzled his face against Havoc's chest. "And it's worse
because we'll all be together... It's easier to take when you know
it happens, but you don't have to see it happen..."

Havoc
sighed, resting his cheek on the top of Ed's head. "But if what
you say is true, it won't matter. You'll be following soon enough."

"I
know... But I still don't want to lose you again..."

"Is
death really forever?" Havoc asked rhetorically. "What
makes you think that you will lose me?"

Ed gave
up on talking, opting just to sit there. He was warm and comfortable,
and he felt safe in Jean's lap, as if nothing was going to keep them
apart. Even if it was the last time they got to be this way in this
world, Edward was glad for this moment.

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

A/N: Next
chapter is it, guys. It's been ten months running since I started
this thing, stick with me for the finish, alright?
- 33
- 34
- 35
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