Worlds Collide

A/N: Sadler Girl, thanks, honestly, I didn't think last chapter was one of my stronger ones, but glad you enjoyed. Lucian, yes, Nicholas is bi. And Roy is getting older, having a bit more trouble holding his own against Ed. I'm glad you're enjoying this. Amethyst-eyed Koneko, apparently, I surprised a lot of people with Nicholas's actions at the end of the chapter, so you're not alone. And Ed has gotten a bit more tactful when it comes to beating Roy in public. And I know Aideen really shouldn't have modified the coat without permission, but she's a teenager, they don't always think before they act.

Oh, and if anyone's curious about the length of this beast so far (and I mean the chapters you've already read) it's 192 pages single-spaced 10 point type and over 158,000 words.

Ch. 43

Like Father...

Roy stood talking to the prime minister, praying that the man who’d been so close to the family since the twins’ second birthday wouldn’t completely turn his back on them and the country because Roy’s son couldn’t keep his hands or lips to himself. He saw Ed berating the boy, and for a moment felt sorry for his son, having been on his side of a lecture from the shorter man, but then considering the possible international disaster it could have caused, he stopped sympathizing with his son.

“I am so sorry,” Roy said.

“You don’t have any reason to be sorry, my friend,” the prime minister said. “My grandson was as guilty as your son. However, I would enjoy making them both squirm as punishment for their lack of common sense and discretion.”

“That sounds very interesting,” Roy said, looking back at the quiet young man who seemed the last person to have been caught willingly standing in an alley in the compromising position he’d been found in.

********

Nicholas found himself being pushed into a car by his dad, whose angry glare only held the promise of more suffering to come. Though, he hadn’t expected it to come so soon, as he now found himself seated next to his make-out partner’s grandfather.

“Um,” Nicholas said, feeling his palms growing clammy, “hello, sir.”

“Sir? Is that how you address family?” the prime minister said. Nicholas smiled, feeling he could relax a bit. “After all, you are going to be marrying my grandson.”

Coal black eyes looked at the man incredulously. “Marry?” He had to be joking.

“Of course. It is customary in Creta that all acts of intimacy are reserved only for the person you intend to marry.”

“But, but your grandson has already kissed before. He told me so.”

“Never publicly, and certainly not to the extent that you two just did. I’m afraid that if you two didn’t proceed, it would be a tarnish on his reputation and look poorly upon my country. I am sure you don’t want that.” Nicholas knew he had to be kidding, he just had to be.

“Well, of course not. But I’m only fifteen.”

“I’ve seen younger marry, and there is an extensive process in order to prepare you for the marriage itself. You’ll be sixteen by then.” The round man began nodding his bald head. “Oh his mother will be excited to get to prepare a wedding, and to the son of the Fuhrer of Amestris. I think she’ll be pleased, even though she got no say in the actual choice of her son’s partner.”

Then, there was a tiny glint in the man’s eyes. Keeping his face as impassive as his sister’s, Nicholas looked over at the man.

“A wedding? But what country would it be held in, and would it matter since we had our kiss here in mine? And what if your grandson and I aren’t compatible aside from just that kiss? And would I call you grandfather? Do I have to find a house for us both?” Nicholas watched as the flustered man tried to answer his questions. “And is my father trying to fool your grandson sort of like the way you just tried to do to me?”

“You figured me out.”

“Yeah. Believe me, if that was true, my fathers would have warned me. They don’t take any chances with me. I don’t just fool around with anyone, but I suppose I could be more discreet.”

“That would seem just a bit of an understatement, young man.”

Nicholas smirked, hearing the man he’d known most of his life chuckling beside him. “It will not cause us much trouble in our country, but you really should be more aware of your surroundings.”

The teen rubbed the back of his neck with his automail hand, looking just a bit sheepish. As his car pulled up to the front of his home, he stepped out to glance back at the vehicle holding his papa and the prime minister’s grandson, who looked, if it was possible, just a bit paler. Nicholas guessed that the older teen was just a bit more gullible that he was, himself.

********

With only Aideen and Ed left of the “royal family,” Frank felt he could relax a bit, as Aideen had Danny Broche commanding the group carefully watching her, and Ed had Maria Ross. Neither of those two would be letting anything happen. At that thought, he went to the food area, seeing Aideen’s boyfriend leaving with an armful of food, probably for both of them.

He saw a vendor selling chips, and he saw vinegar nearby. He knew exactly what he was heading for. Now, a fish sandwich would make him feel like he was back at home. He didn’t see anything of the like, and decided to settle for the chips—though they were technically called “fries” here, minus the “French” the Americans put on the name, as there were no French to fry anything.

He ordered, and picked up the bottle of vinegar, only to feel an arm wrap around his waist. “Can I have some of those before you ruin them and I won't want any?”

Frank looked over his shoulder at Kain, smirking. “Why do you think I put the vinegar on in the first place?”

He handed the little paper container to his husband, choosing to put the bitter acid into a cup rather than on top of the chips.

“These are very good,” Kain said. “you should try them.”

“That was the point,” Frank said, taking one from his husband and dipping it into the gold-colored liquid.

Kain shuddered. “How can you eat them like that?”

Frank shrugged, finishing the chip, before kissing Kain, earning a grimace.

“I hate vinegar.” Frank took Kain’s hand in his own, moving back through the crowd, trying to find Wrath, feeling just a bit guilty that he hadn’t talked to the young man very much in the last few days. He saw the tall man kissing his boyfriend, and watched as the elder Tringham walked off with a goofy grin of someone who was obviously in love, even though by all reports from Wrath and his friends, he hadn’t said it out loud yet.

The moment they were close enough, Frank found a massive hand thumping him on his back, effectively spilling vinegar on his uniform.

“Sorry, Frank,” Wrath said, clapping his hands and laying them on the spot that ran down the blue coat, transforming it into a powder and rather smelly gas that quickly evaporated.

“So how are things going between you and your boyfriend?”

“Good,” Wrath answered. “And how is married life, as though I have to ask?”

Frank merely smiled.

Two women approached, looking up at Wrath tentatively, making Frank just a bit suspicious. He didn’t like the way they were behaving. Everything in him said something was wrong here.

“Are you really the one dating Russell Tringham?”

Both these women seemed to be Russell’s type when it came to the so-called “fairer sex.” They were thin, very leggy, and had next to nothing in the way of boobs. One, however had straight brown hair, the other curly red.

“Yes,” Wrath answered, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re the one who took him off the market,” the redhead said. “I’m surprised.” She smiled, offering an immediate apology. “Not that you’re not a very good looking man. It’s just that Russell tends to be… what’s the word?”

“Aggressive,” her friend answered for her.

“Exactly.”

“And exactly what’s your point that you feel it’s necessary to point this out while he’s standing talking to friends? We may be close friends, but I have very few desired to hear about his boyfriend’s exploits,” Frank said, eyes sharply watching these two women.

“We were just curious,” the brunette said. “It isn’t a crime. I mean, a year ago, Russell walked away from the dating circuit, and we find him with a guy that’s about twice his size. It is really out of character for him.”

Wrath’s jaw clenched, eyes narrowing. Kain looked up at Frank and mouthed the words. “One year?”

Frank subtly shook his head at Russell’s stupidity if that was true, since he and Wrath had been seeing one another for far more than that, sleeping together for at least two years.

“And how do you know when he stopped dating?” Wrath asked.

“He and I had a really good time, and then a week later when I tried to get in touch with him, he tells me he’s with someone. Then I see you two around together. It just seems out of character for the guy I dated.”

“So he dated you a year ago,” Wrath said, his entire body tense, “then told you he wanted to stop?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Well, just so you know, yes, I am with Russell, and what we do in the bedroom certainly isn’t any business of someone he considered nothing more than a one night stand.” He turned away and looked squarely at Frank and Kain, lowering his voice just a bit. “I’m going to talk to my boyfriend of apparently only the last year.”

Lacing his fingers with Kain’s, Frank truly didn’t envy Russell at the moment.

********

“Anyway,” Fletcher said, handing Aideen the guitar, “this has an instruction book with a few songs included. I haven’t got a clue how to use it, or what it means by tuning it, but I thought maybe you would know more than I do.”

Aideen ran her hand over the black canvas covering before strapping it to her back. “I can’t wait to try this out when I get home.”

Fletcher smiled at her, glad to see that she seemed happy, though he would have liked to see her smile a little easier.

“You didn’t exactly seem shocked by that with your brother.”

“Nicholas has no tact when it comes to his little ‘romantic encounters.’” She looked at Fletcher, who still said nothing. “Oh, you mean the fact that it was with another man?” she asked.

“That was what surprised me.”

“Nicholas has been debating for a while whether his ‘interests’ were limited to women, and apparently, he and his make-out partner had been writing one another since our visit to Creta, Nicholas explaining that he thought he might be bi, Josef—the prime minister’s grandson—that he might be gay.” Aideen shrugged. “Guessing from what I saw, I’d say the answer for both was yes.”

“I got you fries and a corn dog,” Phillip said, as he finally reached them, handing a cardboard carton to Aideen. That arm free, he wrapped it around his girlfriend’s shoulders, a bit possessively.

“Thanks,” Aideen said, squirming free of Phillip’s grasp. “But I’m not going to be able to eat them with your arm around me like that.”

“Sorry,” he said, eying Fletcher warily.

He stood, talking to the two teenagers, waiting for sight of his brother, even Wrath. With Aideen, the eleven year age difference didn’t much matter as she was old for her age, but he became acutely aware of it around Phillip, who talked about music Fletcher couldn’t stand because it was far to processed or commercial, who insisted on talking about classes that Fletcher, who had essentially been home-schooled, had no concept of. The most obnoxious was that the teen constantly pointed out things in terms of Fletcher’s age, as though he was ancient.

“I don’t really remember that, but then again, I was only five then,” Phillip remarked to something Fletcher had said. “You were fifteen, sixteen?”

“Yes,” he answered, getting very annoyed with this boy. He had just turned twenty-six, and really he didn’t need to feel like he was eighty.

“Heavens, that boy has no shame,” a voice drifted over the crowd, making Aideen tilt her head just a bit, Fletcher signaling to her boyfriend that it might be necessary to take the carton of half-eaten food from her. “Fifteen and doing things like that in public with people he isn’t even dating.”

“Aideen,” Fletcher hissed, putting a hand on her arm, earning another glare from her obviously jealous boyfriend.

“I mean, if I had a daughter, or son for that matter, I wouldn’t let them date him. Could you imagine what that would do to someone’s reputation? The boy is a quintessential slut.”

Aideen pulled free of Fletcher and had the woman who’d uttered those words pinned against the nearest building quicker than anyone could yell her name to stop her.

“What did you say?” Her eyes narrowed at the woman, and if there was ever a time that Aideen looked as though she could kill, this was it. “Because, what my brother does truly isn’t your business. I overheard you say you have no children, well, I’m grateful. People like you really shouldn’t procreate to pass down prejudices and ideals that have long since seen their day. My brother is a good, respectable teenager, who is a hell of a lot brighter than anyone else, and much more mature. So if you have issues with the fact that he enjoys the act of kissing someone else, I suggest you shove it up your ass. My brother still holds a good reputation, despite doing what he did today because that is all he would ever do with someone he was still getting to know. So before you go tossing around words like ‘slut,’ I recommend that you first consider who you’re talking about and second make sure their family and friends aren’t within earshot to physically knock your holier than thou, righteous ass down a few pegs.”

Fletcher put his hands on Aideen’s shoulders, the twins’ chief guard doing the same at her hands, saying nothing but getting her to relinquish her grip on the woman. As the two made contact, he felt suddenly grateful the teen hadn’t used her alchemy to berate this woman, as the power was currently rolling off of the raven-haired alchemist in levels that even Fletcher was able to detect it. As Aideen moved away, the flashbulbs started and the crowd of people around them began to part for someone whose head wasn’t entirely visible.

“Damn it, Aideen, we really didn’t need both of your pictures in the paper tomorrow.” Ed grabbed hold of her arm.

“She called Nicholas a slut. And I didn’t hit her, much as I’d have liked to.”

Ed’s left hand tightened. “Something you must understand ma’am,” Ed said, trying to remain calm and dignified, “is that my twins are very defensive of one another. To almost anyone, calling their sibling that name is considered fighting words and in the fact that he is my son, I would love nothing more than to be able to do exactly as my daughter has.”

He put an arm around Aideen’s shoulders, looking up at Fletcher to relinquish his hold on her and walked back through the crowd.

********

“What the hell, Wrath?” Russell asked as his tall lover all but ran him over.

“How long have we been together?” Violet eyes practically seared through Russell’s gaze.

“Um, well, we’ve been having really good sex for two years.”

“But as a couple, because I think my definition and yours differ. You left the dating scene a year ago.”

Shit. “We hadn’t even made it official. I told you when we started that it wasn’t love yet.” Russell wouldn’t deny it because he couldn’t.

“Right,” Wrath hissed, “and two years later, you still don’t have the balls to say it.” The massive man walked away.

“Wrath!” Russell called out after him.

“Stay the hell away from me, Russell. I need time to think this over.” Wrath didn’t turn around, only stopped for a moment to speak before moving on.

“Wrath,” he tried again.

“Russell, another step, another word, and I can’t guarantee my actions.”

And with that, Wrath moved into the crowd, putting as much distance between himself and Russell as possible, leaving the blond to stand amidst dozens of happy, smiling people when he felt like his chest was being squeezed in a vice. There had always been reasons that Russell Tringham never entered a relationship, but he’d never realized this was one of them.

********

Roy grabbed his son by the shoulders, making him look him in the eyes. “Have you learned anything from this?”

“That I’m not opposed to dating a guy, though I still like boobs?”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Nicholas.”

“Well, it’s what I learned.”

Roy cocked his head, looking at his son disapprovingly.

“I know where I chose to do it wasn’t smart, but Josef and I had been writing one another about having our first kiss, with another guy, together, to see if there was any interest there. There was, and we got carried away. It was dumb to do like that, but I thought it would be a quick peck and we’d be done with it.” Nicholas looked down at his feet. “How much damage control do you think you’re going to have to do on this one?”

“Not too much. You are a typical teenager, no matter how much the rest of the world likes to pretend you aren’t. Hell, even if this wasn’t typical, you’re my son, and there’s no pretending I wasn’t just as bad as you.” Roy hugged his son, grateful that the boy was feeling too guilty and too pleased he wasn’t being punished to fight against the arms around him because he was “too old” for things like that. “You just need to be more aware of where you are and who you are.”

“Yes, Sir,” Nicholas said.

“Now, you are going to stay here, with the guards keeping a close eye on you and Josef. The prime minister and I are going to go back to town and see if we can do anything to ease the shock of finding the two of you in a ‘passionate moment.’” Roy released his son. “Just promise me not to give the guards a repeat performance.”

Nicholas nodded, and Roy patted the boy on the back. Roy was about to leave the house when a young officer ran in. “Fuhrer, Sir, Lieutenant Colonel Elric is on the radio. He wants to talk to you. He said that you’re going to need to do damage control for both twins.”

Roy nodded, exchanging confused and anxious glances with his son before running out to his car.

********

Ed slid the radio transmitter back into place and put an arm around Aideen’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. You’re papa’s old hat with this kind of stuff. It’s going to be fine.” He watched as she rubbed her temples. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “I’ve got a little bit of a headache after all that.”

“Don’t let that woman bother you. You know we’ll have to publicly discipline you, and I’ve already given you a lecture over reacting so violently, but you didn’t hit her. I mean, hell, you’re my kid. I know better than to expect you to act any differently than I would in that situation. She had no right talking about your brother that way, and doing it with you, Fletcher and Phillip so close by only shows how stupid she is.” He smirked a bit. “Besides, it seemed kind of right, seeing the person in that coat going a bit crazed over a stupid comment.”

Ed pulled his daughter’s head down to his shoulder, kissing the crown of midnight-colored hair. “Even though I wish you’d have asked before altering it, the thing kind of suits you.”

Aideen ran her hand over the red fabric with her pale, smooth hands, but didn’t pull away or move as she leaned onto Ed’s shoulder, and her father had to admit it felt rather nice.

“You know, when I heard there was a fight and you were involved, I panicked at first,” he said, leaning his head against hers. “I was ready to rip someone’s throat out if they’d hurt you.”

“You’d do anything to protect me, wouldn’t you?” she said, her voice almost monotone at the question.

“Of course I would.” Ed looked over at her, only to see the black hair, her own head unmoving.

“Right,” she said, and though Ed waited for more, it never came; they made their car ride back to the mansion in near silence, Aideen laying so still against him, he’d have thought she was sleeping had he not occasionally heard a faint sigh or watched her carefully grooming the red coat of any fuzz.