Worlds Collide

A/N: Amethyst-eyed Koneko, as long as you review, I don't care the mood. You'll be glad to see the battle with Dante, won't you? Personally, I want to write the meeting between Eckhart and Dante. Funny you brought up about Ed's clothing, though. The alchemic symbol Ed gave Roy kind of works like drawing it on his hand did to set fire to the skull, or would let him keep using the gloves even if someone (like Ed at 15) ripped off the symbol on the back. Yeah, poor Russell, he's definitely created a monster. shirk, Eddie is Albert's older brother, Albert is named after their father, who is Noa's husband. Hohenheim has more or less adopted Noa as a daughter. Ed's pregnancy was a one-time only deal. Realistically, the only three men capable of repeating are Ed, Al, and Nicholas, and I don't really have plans for those. Hikaru_9, no twin threesomes or sharing, sorry. Glad you liked the Frank/Kain parts, I hear so much about Russell/Wrath, I'm always glad to hear about the other secondary couple.

Chapter 42

Parade

One month later

Munich

“You shouldn’t have gone to all of that trouble,” the young Scot was telling Hohenheim as he finished packing his trunk.

“We are going to be gone for some time, and I want to ensure that no one thinks you have simply abandoned your mother to do this. Aside from that, the Thules don’t simply trust just anyone that shows an interest in their work. We are going to have to prove ourselves.”

The young man nodded.

Noa exited her bedroom, looking over at Hohenheim. “Please, let me go with you,” she said, gently jiggling her two-month-old named for her husband, and in a small way Hohenheim’s own son.

“Don’t go, Papap,” said a voice from a dark little head below.

Hohenheim didn’t know if this was the Gate’s doing or not, as permanently attaching his soul to this restored and aging body had been, but it made his chest ache to leave the woman he’d been treating as a daughter and his adopted grandchildren. He pulled little Eddie into his arms and ruffled his hair.

“I’ll be back just as soon as I can.” He looked over at Noa, his eyes instructing her not to tell him if that wasn’t true.

“Come back,” Eddie said, big brown eyes pleading as two chubby little hands held either side of Hohenheim’s face.

The older man hugged the little boy and went to Noa, placing a light kiss to her forehead before turning to her husband and shaking his hand then helping him to pry the little boy’s arms from his neck. As he heard the small protests and repeated “No”s, the alchemist remembered why he had snuck out during the night the last time he felt he had to part with his family.

“Well, Phil, are we ready to go?”

A curly brown head nodded, and the two set out for Germany.

As they climbed into his car, he though he heard Noa’s voice calling to him from the distance. “Say hello…” but a wind blew and he lost the rest, only to pick up the end. “…you come back.”

It was for the best. He had a suspicion that what he’d failed to hear was her own prediction of what he was about to encounter.

********

Amestris

“Aideen,” Roy said, looking at his daughter, her arms across her chest, looking much like Ed always had mid-pout.

“Why, why do they want us to show off?” she said. “You two do it. The real Fullmetal and Flame.”

“We probably will,” Ed said, reaching up to put his hands on her shoulders, “but it would mean a lot not just to the parade planners but to your papa and me.”

Aideen looked down to meet his eyes. “One condition.”

“What?” both fathers asked in unison.

“Your coat,” she said. “You let me wear the red coat.”

Ed paused for a moment. He and Roy had been debating what to do about the coat that wasn't in shreds in the box in the closet. Both twins had always loved the thing, enjoying its bright color and design on the back when they were younger, and the fact that it had always been a symbol of their father.

“Come on,” she said. “There’s no way Nicholas is ever going to fit in it.”

“Hey!” Ed said, somewhat insulted.

“His shoulders are too broad. But even if I’m taller than you, I can fit in it.” Ed scowled at her, but Aideen only rolled her eyes. “Oh, it’s true. And you never wear it anymore.”

Though the coat was Ed’s to do with as he liked, he looked back at Roy, with his eyes expressing the other concern about that coat was where the symbol ultimately originated. While it was true that Nicholas Flamel, someone who was supposedly from Frank and Wrath’s Earth, who had created the design, that symbol meant something to Ed because it had been passed down to him from his teacher. And Izumi had received it from her own teacher, Dante. Both parents had been concerned that having any of the family wearing it would be like waving that bright red coat in front of an angry bull. Then again, Ed continued to wear the necklace and Al, a patch on the side of his coat.

Roy shrugged.

“Fine,” Ed said.

With a quick dash from the study up the stairs, Aideen yelled back her thanks.

The two fathers walked together up the stairs, Roy reaching forward to take Ed’s hand in his own with a quick squeeze. These actions were becoming less of a conscious act on his part, and likely Ed’s as well, as they continued to repair the damage the last few years had done. He smiled as the grip around his own hand tightened, rather tentatively, since it was the automail hand wrapped around his own.

Then, there was a bright blue flash from their bedroom, making Ed dart up the stairs. “What the hell have you done to my coat?”

“I just made it fit better,” Aideen called out of the room.

And like it or not, the alterations she had made did make Ed’s coat fit her perfectly, synched just a bit at her waist, sleeves lengthened.

Ed was still standing in shock that his daughter had modified his coat, mouth opening and closing as he tried to argue about what she’d done. Roy on the other hand was trying to come to terms with the fact that she looked more than just nice standing in what could be her own twist on Ed’s clothing. His daughter was growing into a very pretty woman, and he really wasn’t sure at what point it had happened.

Really, there needed to be a warning for parents when that happened, some kind of notice that the little baby girl was just shy of being a woman.

********

Kain and Frank walked through the crowd in the streets of Central, looking for any sign of weapons. With a parade this big to celebrate Roy’s fifteenth year as fuhrer, the possibility of an assassination attempt was likely. Two men with unregistered guns, three other people with throwing knives, had been captured so far, and there was still over an hour until the parade began.

Kain wanted to extend a hand out to his husband, knowing that Frank was still dealing with the fact that both he and his “mother” had come to the decision that in all honesty there was no way they could have any kind of normal family relationship. She spent a large part of her time expecting him to behave the way her actual son had, and Frank seemed to grow angry not only at this expectation but at her behavior that differed from his own strong, independent mother. They hadn’t parted on necessarily bad terms, but it had definitely disappointed Kain’s husband when the two had decided to keep their contact to a minimum, barely more than old friends or acquaintances.

The best that Kain could offer at this moment was a quick hand on Frank’s arm and an understanding smile, but as he saw the usually cold blue eyes warm at the small gesture, he knew it was worth it.

“This is ridiculous, you know that,” Frank said, as those eyes once again chilled as he scanned the crowd. “I know that Ed and Roy don’t want this, Aideen certainly doesn’t, and Nicholas seems neutral, so why does parliament and the city council insist this be done?”

“They didn’t get to hold an anniversary parade at ten years because of all of the reconstruction and peace talks with Drachma, so now that we’ve been under Roy’s leadership fifteen years, it made sense.”

“Yes, but with everything going on,” Frank said, watching carefully as a woman pulled a pack of cigarettes from a coat pocket, then moving on, “was an enormous parade really that wise. Those of us not in this are having to ensure that the leader for more than a dozen years doesn’t get himself killed.”

“I know,” Kain said, “but this is one of the things as furher that’s expected of him. Especially considering the biggest threat to the country is one the people really don't and can't know exists.”

Frank shook his head, his mood seeming impassive as always, save for the light brush of fingers against Kain’s. The younger man knew that this couldn’t last forever, as they were still fairly newlyweds, but he’d enjoy it while he could.

********

Nicholas stood at the parade line-up area, dancing around to keep warm and stretched, looking over at his sister in their father’s coat, doing only some mild stretching. He knew honestly he would probably lose, but he hoped it wasn’t too badly. He looked down at the military-style coat he wore, double-breasted wool with gold buttons and turned up cuffs. It crossed his mind that as the blond with automail, he shouldn’t really be
wearing the item that puts people in mind of his papa, but the red coat simply didn’t fit him. That and he liked his own.

He watched as Aideen put on two marked pyrotech gloves, making him immediately pull on one of his own.

“Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you,” she said, face unreadable.

Nicholas rolled his black eyes around their sockets. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

Aideen raised her eyebrows and nodded. Looking at his sister, he was actually glad she’d gotten the coat. It seemed to be one of the few things since their parents’ anniversary that had gotten her to really smile and be excited. He wasn’t sure what changed that night, but it was as though she’d gone right back to where she’d been after he’d lost his arm, and back then, he remembered, she had been absolutely unbearable for about a month.

At that thought, Nicholas saw a blonde from his class jogging over. He’d gone on a couple of dates with her, but had dumped her when she wanted something more serious. Nicholas preferred the idea of exploring all his options. Just because his dad had gotten himself in a permanent relationship at the age of sixteen didn’t mean he had any intention of doing it. If he followed in anyone’s footsteps, it would likely be his papa’s. Though, he thought to himself as she ran over toward him, she did have a rather nice chest.

“Hi, Nicholas,” she said. “Are you really going to spar against your sister in the parade?”

“We were asked to, and we do it all the time at home anyway.”

“Well,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, “I hope you win.”

He smiled as she ran off, only to spot a royal car from Creta in the distance. It pulled up beside his parents’ vehicle, and out of it stepped the rotund figure of the prime minister of that country. He immediately spotted Nicholas and opened his arms in greeting.

“Ah, my boy,” he said in his rolling western accent. “You are a sight for sore eyes. Getting more handsome every day and so tall, I dare say you have completely passed up your miniscule father.”

“Who you calling miniscule, you old goat?” Nicholas heard his dad say as he climbed out of the car. Thankfully, the thirteen-year-old friendship between the prime minister of the country to the west meant he knew the younger man’s buttons, but didn’t incur his wrath for pushing them.

“Edward, how are you?”

“Fine. I was glad to hear you got elected.” Nicholas stifled a laugh as his smaller father was picked up into the large man’s arms.

“Well, being an emissary from Creta to Amestris during the greatest time of peace between our countries helped just a bit. And I owe that largely to your husband. Is he still in the car?”

“Yeah, dealing with something over the radio.”

“Then where’s the lovely young woman?”

“Right here, Sir,” Aideen said as she came over.

“My, you’re becoming quite the beautiful young lady. If I was a believer in arranged marriages, I’d be trying to get you and my grandson to consider it.”

“Speaking of him,” Nicholas said. “Where’s he at?”

As though on cue, the fair-haired young man stepped out of the car. With a shy smile, he greeted both twins, waving. It had been a long time since Nicholas had seen him, but he’d definitely grown into his features from the fifteen-year-old he’d met a year and a half ago.

For some reason, he had the sudden desire to really and truly beat his sister in their spar.

********

“Here, think you can take a break from watching for this?” Russell asked. His lover looked down at him as he stood holding a large cone of cotton candy, taking a bite of the spun sugar while holding up a caramel apple to the taller man.

Wrath took the thing and looked at it. “You know, just because I like apples doesn’t mean I want to eat them all the time.”

“If you don’t want it…” Russell said, making as though to grab for the apple.

“Don’t you dare.” Wrath bent down and kissed Russell on the cheek.

Never had the older man considered being in a relationship, but he was actually enjoying what he had with the man at his side now.

“Well, are you ready for the demonstration of the fireworks you’ve been working on?” Russell said.

“I just hope they get the timing right.”

“So, why aren’t you trying to make sure it happens?”

“Because the point of all this was to demonstrate that even people without alchemic ability can manage this.”

Russell could have purred at the sensation of the large fingers working their way through his fine blond hair, massaging at his scalp.

Wrath took a bite of the apple, seeming to savor the flavor. “I love you Russell.”

“Me too,” Russell said, knowing this was a bit of a cop-out. Though Wrath had said it in far more serious situations than this one, Russell had yet to actually utter the words. “Me, too.”

********

Ed sat in the car, waving out the window with his left hand, Roy at his side, doing the same out his window. He had his hand firmly on his husbands thigh, rubbing his thumb over the soft wool of the uniform pants, Roy with his hand at Ed’s neck, fingers lightly teasing over the short hairs at the back of his neck beneath his long ponytail.

Behind them, the twins were occasionally doing minor displays of their abilities, giving the people standing nearby an interesting show, and the guards protecting them a minor heart attack, as both twins were completely in the open, not to mention in what would be defined as danger, but they were causing it to one another. Ed might have been concerned himself, if he didn’t know that both Kain and Frank were keeping a close eye on them, as well as the chief guard for the twins, Danny Brosch. Those three alone would visually catch anything in the crowd, the rest of the guards posing the more noticeable threat to the multitudes.

When they reached the city center, the parade stopped, Roy and Ed leaving their car, much to the frustration of Maria Ross and the rest of their guards. They greeted the crowd, while the twins began to spar in earnest.

After shaking a few hands and talking to some of the people, Ed turned to watch his children, Aideen using both gloves on her brother, while he had transformed his arm into a small shield—rather than the usual narrow spike because he was not in a real battle, blocking off her attacks as he fired at her with his glove. Watching him, Ed was impressed. Nicholas was fighting harder than he’d been accustomed to watching his son fight, and though Aideen looked certain to beat him as per the norm, it wasn’t going to be a quick or easy fight.

He was honestly glad to see this. Though Aideen didn’t talk to her parents as much as they’d have both liked, Ed had been a bit upset to hear that her brother seemed to be still jumpy over little things, probably stemming from the chimera attack. It was common knowledge that Phillip tended to get frightened easily, thanks largely to Dante using him to access the gate. The poor teen still had nightmares from the whole thing. But Nicholas, it seemed, was nearly as bad at the movie, a fact which troubled the younger father, as his son appeared to be putting up a show for his family and the rest of the world’s sake.

But fighting his sister, in a relatively comfortable atmosphere, the teen looked somewhat fierce, and Ed was glad to see it. Hopefully he would be able to bring out the same thing if he ever faced another real battle.

Aideen had a thin, lithe body that was plainly obvious as she whipped through the air to dodge one of Nicholas’s attacks, legs spinning as she flipped head over heels without touching the ground or pausing her attack. Nicholas, on the other hand figured where she would land and immediately swung his body around to knock her feet out from under her, putting her squarely on the ground, his automail shield transformed into a thin spike pointed at her face.

For the first time in years, she conceded defeat, and Nicholas wore a smile that didn’t seem likely to fade for the next decade. Aideen only grinned and looked over her shoulder at the prime minister’s grandson.

Nicholas retransformed his hand and held it out of his sister to help her off the ground.

“Fullmetal and Flame!” someone yelled out. At first, Ed thought they were calling the twins that, but as the single shout became a chant, he realized that they expected him and Roy to do the same. He looked over at his husband, seeing a quirked eyebrow and a shrug. It wouldn’t be a fair fight and Ed knew it, but they gave it a shot anyway, Ed quickly discarding the coat and removable flap from his uniform Roy putting on his gloves and rubbing the necklace Ed had given him.

The fight began and for just a moment, it was seventeen years ago all over again. Ed forgot that the man he was fighting had a scarred face, was no longer the bastard colonel he’d despised for so many years, and he forgot that he was not a teenager as they fought, all the while, Ed enjoying the sight of his husband’s footwork, his lighting-fast reflexes, and even that smug, bastard smile of his. But as Ed licked his lips, thinking of finding a way to get rid of that smirk, he saw Roy falter and silently offered him a truce. He was more than aware that if he’d defeated his husband publicly, it might be a sign of weakness, so instead, he decided to consider this a tie.

Roy looked at him, thankful, and the two shook hands and quickly kissed one another before Ed collected the remaining items of his uniform and climbed back in the car.

“At what point did you become so aware of politics?” Roy asked as he took the seat beside Ed.

“After about the tenth year of being married to you.” His hand returned to Roy’s leg, Roy’s to Ed’s neck, both promising much more later that night.

“Love you,” Ed sad as he continued to wave.

“Love you too.”

“Love you both,” Havoc, who’d offered to resume his former duty as chauffer for the parade, joked.

“Just drive,” Roy ordered.

********

Fletcher Tringham waved as he stood across the street from his brother and Wrath. He searched both their faces for any sign of kinky games going on at the moment. Thankfully, there were no signs of any strange behavior, so at least Fletcher didn’t have to feel any more awkward than usual around them both.

He saw Ed and Roy making their way through the crowds, plenty of escorts around them, Aideen waving as she saw him and coming closer, Nicholas suddenly disappearing.

As Fletcher watched, he soon found Aideen standing beside him. “How was your trip to the west?” she asked.

“Good,” he answered, waiting for the inevitable question.

“What’s that thing on your back?”

“Something I brought for you. I also have pile of drawing and art supplies in my bag for Nicholas.” He gestured to the stringed instrument on his back. “This thing is basically that thing Frank called a guitar.”

“For me?”

“Well, I certainly don’t have any musical talent.”

Aideen laughed, apparently at his one and only attempt at playing her piano in the library, which had been a complete and total disaster.

“So where’s Phillip?”

“Somewhere around here. I haven’t been able to find him yet.”

“I saw your spar. Did you by some chance let Nicholas win?”

“Me?” she asked innocently. Fletcher raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I didn’t fight as hard as he did, but he was really vicious today.”

She continued to scan the crowd, Fletcher supposed looking for Phillip.

“I also see you are wearing your father’s coat.”

Aideen tucked the hair behind her left ear. “I finally convinced him to let me.” She continued to look through the crowd. “There he is, and he’s… not being discrete at all.”

“Phillip?”

“Huh? No, I can see Phillip’s over at the food area. It is too hard for the guards to monitor me there, so I had to stay here and wait for him to come out. I mean Nicholas. The blond over there trying to suck the face off the Cretan Prime Minister’s grandson.”

“Grandson?” Fletcher hadn’t realized that Nicholas’s interests went that way, or rather both ways.

“Yeah. They’ve been writing one another since we first met. It’s a big part of why I let Nicholas win the spar.” Aideen shook her head. “I just thought they’d have a little more common sense about figuring out where they stood. If a reporter sees—”

And at those words, there was a commotion in the very alley where Nicholas and the fair-haired teen stood, wrapped in one another’s arms. Aideen’s love life consisted of innocent pecks with Phillip, but Nicholas honestly didn’t need one more shot of him making out with someone on the front cover of every magazine or newspaper.

As Nicholas stepped in front of the pale teen, prepared to face the media that was now swarming, Aideen and Fletcher ran to see what they could do to help, the guards who had been cordoning off the alley without blocking the view of the little hook-up were now trying to block the photographers and reporters, and two voices in unison carried over the crowd.

“Nicholas Maes Mustang!”