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The Sound of Silence	By : ZaKai Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 11395 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
- 4
- 5
- 6
A/N:�
Again I apologize for not sending out responses for your reviews.� I generally don�t answer reviews in story,
preferring to do that through email, but I�m going to with this chapter and maybe
through the rest of the story (or at least until my live becomes less hectic).� Thank you all for your patience.

Hikaru9: Yeah that is really all that
needs to be said. *nods*ursweetheartless:
Yeah it has been.� Thanks for the
compliments on my writing.� milky: Yeah it
does sometimes, but I think it needs to be written and also in a way it has
helped me as well.� TrulyWished: Thanks.� *nods* yeah Ed really is trapped.� He�s just too innocent and doesn�t understand
it all.� Exploded Toilet Bowl: Yeah, this is a
good place to find it.� I just
don�t think ff.n is the best place for this.� 4thcry:
Thank you for saying I handle it well.� WinterChanterelle:
Please don�t apologize for the length of your comments.� I really enjoy reading what you have to
say.� I�m glad you say the story is
disturbing.� It means I�m doing a good
job writing it.� I agree, though.� I really don�t think Mustang is the type, but if he were...� *nods*� All abuse leaves scars, some deeper
than others, but still scars none the same.�
Lola:� *nods*� kikiko: Thank you.�
I�m glad you picked up on that.� morningstar:
Thank you.� I�ll try to update more
quickly next time, but I really can�t promise.�
Nate_River:� Thanks.�
I will.� As for your request, I�m
sorry, but most of the actual sex won�t be written for this story, especially
when Ed is younger.� There will be sex in
some parts but they won�t be portrayed as �porn� per say, nor will they be
exactly detailed.� Much will be glossed
over to make this as tactful as possible because of the content of the story.� If I were writing a shouta
story that was more �porn� in style and content, then I would write the sex
scenes.��

The Sound of Silence

Chapter Four

Inheritance

Ed moped
into the break room to get a snack.� He
needed to tell the colonel that he and Al were leaving.� He didn�t really want to.� In fact, he really wasn�t all that hungry,
but getting a snack was more of an excuse to delay the inevitable than anything
else.

�It�s not
all about the looks� I like women
with brains�� Havoc said, cigarette hanging from his lips.

Hawkeye
rolled her eyes and folded her arms.� �Really?� Then what�s
the problem?�

Ed
blinked, surprised at not finding the break room empty.

�She�s
just not my� Hey, chief!� the tall man said a little too happily.� It was obvious to Ed that he was being used
as Havoc�s scapegoat.� He grunted and
lifted a hand before making his way over to the snack machine.� He�d feel like being friendlier after he let Mustang know he was
leaving.� It was rarely a pleasant
experience, having to tell the colonel he was going away again.�

Sometimes
the man was insulting, perhaps telling him not to damage anything while he was
gone or telling him to grow taller.� This
type of response was extremely irritating, and it usually set his temper on
fire.� But then, other times, Mustang was
indifferent.� This was Ed�s favorite
reaction.� He could just say, �Colonel,
I�m leaving.�� And the man would either
just wave him off or say, �Fine, Fullmetal.�
See you when you get back.�� Those
were all normal responses when there were people present, and the most easy to
deal with.�

Then
there were the other responses.� The ones
when it was just him and Mustang.

There
were the vulgar, insulting comments.�
Things like, �Oh, off to go find another bed to sleep in?� or �Be sure
to get a bit more experience while you�re gone, then you can show me what
you�ve learned.�� And then there were the
responses that weren�t really verbal at all; simply the man feeling him
up.� When Mustang finished, he simply
went back to his desk and continued with what he had been doing.� Both of those responses were awkward and just
made him feel sick and dirty�

Lastly,
there were the times that the colonel would hold him and tell him how much he�d
miss him and that he should be careful.�
The man would be so kind and caring� Sometimes Ed thought that one was
the worst.� It left him feeling so
confused inside.� It was as if the man
really did care about him...�

�What are
you up to, chief?� Havoc asked in a drawling voice, breaking Ed away from his
thoughts.

The boy
shrugged.� �Me
and Al are leaving.� Just thought I�d let
the old bastard know.�� Ed was expecting
the tall man to snicker like he usually did at Ed�s unfriendly terms for the colonel,
but when none came he looked up to see the two lieutenants staring at him.� �What?��
He asked curiously, as he pulled his snack from the vending machine.

�The colonel
isn�t in today,� Hawkeye said.� �His
mother passed away last week and a relative sent some of her personal belongings,
so he took the day off to go through them.�

Ed raised
an eyebrow.� �I didn�t know his mom
died.�

The
blonde woman shrugged.� �Neither did we��

�If you
ask me, it�s a bit strange that he wouldn�t take time off to go to her funeral,
but he�ll take a day off to go through her belongings,� Havoc said as he leaned
against the break room table.

Hawkeye
shrugged.� �Well, maybe� �But perhaps they weren�t close...�� She paused.�
�Besides he would have needed to take more than a day off to go to her
funeral.� And of course he needs to clear
all that stuff out of where he lives.�

�Yeah, I
suppose,� Havoc said, scratching his forehead.

�Edward,�
the blonde woman said. ��You should still
tell him you�re leaving.�

�Until that moment, Ed had been beginning to
feel rather lucky at not having to see the man. �Can�t one of you tell him for
me tomorrow when he gets back?� he muttered around the food in his mouth.

�Edward�
The colonel deserves better than that from you, really,� Hawkeye scolded.� Ed rolled his eyes and listened to her give
him directions to Mustang�s apartment.�
Not like he needed them, but it would seem rather strange that Ed knew
how to get there.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Ed walked
slowly down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.

It was
hot�

But then,
it was summer, and he just happened
to be wearing a jacket and a coat�

He sighed
wearily and looked around.� It was
strange being in this neighborhood when it was daytime.� The whole area just seemed different.� At night it seemed an ominous graveyard of
old, worn buildings, but during the day the buildings just looked like normal
buildings, nothing scary at all about them.�

The sound
of laughing and shouting met his ears and the boy looked up to see a group of
kids, perhaps near his own age, playing a game of basketball.� Ed stopped and watched for a while through
the gaps in the chain-link fence.

How long
had it been since he did something fun like that?

Since he
became a state alchemist?

Since his mother died?

Well� he had played with Nina at times when he
wasn�t busy studying for the state alchemy exam�

But Nina
had been�how many years younger than him?

How long
had it been since he�d gotten with people his own age and just played?

As Ed
watched the other kids scrambling around the small court, he felt a sensation
of pressure in his chest�a pain in his heart��
He really wanted to play; wanted them to call to him to come and join
them, just like his old friends in Rizembool would have done.

But then�

The small
boy wasn�t sure what he�d do if they did
do that.� It would be strange to go play;
difficult in a way that he couldn�t understand.�
It would be odd, as if he
didn�t belong there��

Ed shook
his head.� No, he didn�t belong
there.� He was a state alchemist, and he
was on a quest.� His goal was to get
Alphonse back his body, and he couldn�t allow himself to be distracted by other
things as unimportant as playing a game, or having friends.�

Besides,
the young alchemist thought, listening to their pointless babble as they
started talking among themselves, he didn�t think he�d be able to relate to
them anymore.� Things were just too different
now.� He�d been through too much�

Ed pulled
himself away from the scene, trying to push aside the depressing feelings of
loneliness.� He knew he didn�t have time
for all of that.� He needed to go get this business done with Mustang, then get back to Al at the
library� He�d said that he wouldn�t be gone very long, and his brother would
start to worry�

When he
reached the building, Ed pulled open one of the doors and sighed in disgust
when he entered the foyer of the apartment building.� It was probably warmer in the building than
it was outside, which meant the air conditioner must be broken again.� It had been working when he�d been here last
week, but then it had been at night so the heat wasn�t as oppressive.

And then
there was the smell�� He wrinkled his nose
and breathed through his mouth.� He
didn�t even want to think about what the smell might be from...

The
twelve-year-old started up the stairs and complained bitterly in his mind about
it being summer and all the layers of clothing he was wearing.� By the time he reached the fifth floor he was
cursing the forever broken elevator as well.

When he
got to Mustang�s door, Ed pounded heavily on the cheap wood and waited.�

No one
answered.

The boy
felt his hopes rise as he knocked one more time.� Maybe he wouldn�t be there.� Maybe he was asleep.� Maybe�

Ed
frowned in disappointment when he heard the dead bolt click.� The door opened a bit, but was stopped by the
chain of the safety lock.� Black, bloodshot
eyes stared coldly down at him, and Ed could smell the foul odor of alcohol,
mixed with a smoky smell, permeating from the apartment.

The colonel
made an exasperated sound and shut the door.�
There was a rattling noise as the man messed with the chain, then the door was flung open.� Mustang stood by the door leaving a passage
way for Ed to come in.� When the boy only
stood there, the colonel growled, �Well?�

Sighing
in defeat and bitter disappointment, Ed walked inside the small apartment.� Mustang shut the door behind him and asked,
�What the hell are you doing here?�

Ed took
his coat off and hung it on the hook, then said dully, �Hawkeye told me to
come.�

The older
man snorted and walked away.� Ed stared
at the remaining hooks for a moment trying to decide whether or not he wanted
to take off his jacket too.� It was still
pretty hot, despite the fact that he could feel a breeze coming from the
direction of the window.� Sighing, he
unzipped his jacket and hung that next to his coat.� He wasn�t sure how long he�d be here and he
didn�t want to roast.

It was only when Ed turned around did he realize what a
mess the place was in.� There were boxes,
papers, photos, and all kinds of stuff strewn across the floor.� The most curious thing was a large metal
bucket full of ashes.� That must be where
the smoky smell was coming from, he decided.

The dark-haired
man, wearing a white tank top and baggy tan pants, sat in a small cleared spot
on the floor and picked up a large bottle of some sort of alcohol.� Mustang took a deep drink before setting the
bottle back down beside him.�

Ed
hesitated.� Normally, there was some sort
of routine when he came here.� He�d come
in, hang his coat up and the colonel would offer him a drink.� The hot chocolate of the winter had given way
to chocolate milk as the weather turned warm.

At least,
it had given way to chocolate milk� once.

It didn�t
matter that it was chocolate.

It was
still milk�

That
night, the man had seemed indifferent to Ed�s profuse irritation at having been
served something so vile, but the next time he�d come there had been soda
instead.

Now
though, Ed wasn�t sure what to do.� No
drink had been offered and the couch was cluttered with various items.� While he was trying to decide what to do, the
colonel said, �You know were the fridge is if you�re thirsty, Ed.�

For a
moment, the twelve-year-old didn�t think he wanted anything to drink, but it
just seemed so strange not to have something.� So he walked into the small kitchen and
opened the fridge.�

It was
the first time he�d ever really been in the kitchen. �The fridge was filled mostly with beer
bottles, but off to the side there were four bottles of soda.� At the bottom of the fridge there were greasy
remains of some fast food.� The wrappers
were partially open, and mold was growing on what parts of the food he could
see.� Ed wrinkled his nose, quickly
grabbed one of the soda bottles, and shut the door.�

That was
just gross�

The boy
walked to where the cheap linoleum ended, and the thin excuse for carpet began,
and sat down.� There really wasn�t much
room to sit anywhere else.� The colonel
ignored him for a while, sorting out this and that from the boxes, often
tossing things in the large metal bucket that had the ashes, then
asked disinterestedly, �Why did the lieutenant send you over?�

Ed took a
sip of the soda, then said hesitantly, �Um�well� Me
and Al�we�re leaving��

Mustang
stopped what he was doing and looked over at the blond alchemist with tired
eyes.�

�Leaving?�

�Yeah�well,
you know�those papers you gave me�� Ed
mumbled.�

Over the
last seven or so months, there were times that the colonel would give Ed
�gifts�, as he called them, when they got together.� Not always, but often enough.� Usually they were some sort of hint, or a
clue, or even better, a lead.�

The
�gifts� never came without a price though�

Not that
it was ever said out loud, not really.

But Ed
knew.

He knew
he was expected to �pay� for his �gifts�, but if that�s what it took to get
Al�s body back he would do it.� No price
was too high for his brother.� Ed would
do anything for Al.

Anything.

�Right�� Mustang mumbled, then ran his eyes over the
small boy.� �How long do you think you�ll
be gone?�

Ed
shrugged and tapped his fingers on the glass bottle.� �I dunno� three
weeks� maybe four.�

The colonel
sighed and rubbed at the dark stubble growing on his face.� �I wasn�t expecting you to figure that stuff
out for another few weeks at least.��

Ed
shrugged.� It might have taken him that
long alone, but Al had worked on it with him, and his brother could keep going
even when Ed needed to sleep.

The other
alchemist grunted, stood, and walked to his desk.� After fishing a folder out of a drawer,
Mustang plopped it in Ed�s lap before sitting back down without a word.

The short
alchemist opened the folder and thumbed through the papers in surprise.� This would be very important for Al and him.� They�d be able to use it once they got to
their destination.� Ed looked up at the
older man in mild shock, and a bit of irritation.� �Why didn�t you give this to me before?�

�It�s
your birthday present,� the other man said vaguely.

Ed
blinked.�

His birthday present?� His birthday
wasn�t for two more weeks, but then of course he and Al would be gone�� The boy felt a bit unsure of what to do
next.� If it was a birthday gift did that mean he didn�t have to do anything for it, or�

Ed cast
his eyes about, searching for a way to find out what he wanted to know without
being too obvious when his gaze stopped on a pile of pictures that was lying on
the floor.� Curious, he reached over and
picked one up.� There were three people
in it; a man, a woman, and a young boy.� The
man looked almost like the colonel, but Ed was sure that Mustang was the boy in
the picture.� The boy in the photo didn�t
look very happy, and he had a couple of bruises on his face.�

Probably from fighting, Ed thought.�

�Is this
your family?� he asked, holding the photo up for the man to see.� Besides wanting to know about the picture, Ed
thought this was a great opportunity to take any focus off himself
and this gift.

Mustang
looked up and squinted at the picture until Ed handed it over.� The dark-haired man stared at the photo for
several minutes, then said quietly, �Yeah��

�So that
guy is your dad?��

A curt nod.

�You guys
look a lot alike.�� This was no idle
statement.� If Ed hadn�t known better, he
really would have thought that man was his commanding officer.�

The colonel
looked up in irritation, and said bitterly, �I used to hear that all the
time.� My mother used to say, �Roy, you look so much
like your father� or �Roy, you�re just like your dad.��

Ed
fidgeted nervously at the negativity in the man�s voice and tried to think of
something else to say.� �So� are
you?� Like your dad?�

Without
answering Ed�s question, the dark-haired man gazed down at the photo with a
painful look in his eyes.� Ed watched as
Mustang�s jaw tightened, then the man crumpled up the picture, and threw it in
the bucket of ashes.�

Ed
frowned.� He didn�t like seeing people sad, and usually wanted to help if he could, and Mustang was
no exception.� Ed supposed he should feel
glad that Mustang was unhappy, but he didn�t.�
He just wasn�t the type to find pleasure in other people�s pain...� Seeing the emotion from Mustang was actually
a little disturbing...� The colonel
wasn�t the kind of person to show these types of emotions and it made Ed a
little uneasy as well as a bit sympathetic.�
He supposed he could kind of understand.�
He didn�t much care for his dad either...

Setting
the bottle of soda down, Ed got up, and walked over to the colonel.� If there was one thing he�d learned, it was
that Mustang liked him to initiate some sort of touch when they were alone.� Ed normally hated doing it, and rarely did,
but this time he felt a bit bad for the man, so...

The young
alchemist laid a hand lightly on the colonel�s shoulder.� For almost a minute Ed stood there, hand
resting on Mustang�s skin as the man sat there. �He frowned at the lack of response he was
getting and tried to think of something else he could do that wouldn�t
involve�wouldn�t require him to do something that he really didn�t want to
do... That line of thought was cut off when the other alchemist moved onto his
knees, wrapped his arms around the young boy, and buried his face into Ed�s
chest.�

Ed looked
down at the top of Mustang�s head, at the greasy black hair, and frowned.� Normally the man was meticulous about his
appearance, even if he wasn�t as much so about his apartment.� Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around the
man�s neck, grimacing a little as the sweat there wiped off onto his arm, and
held the man�s head closer to his body. His heart began to beat erratically in
his chest when large hands ran up and down his back as they held each other in
the embrace.� He just wanted to be
nice... he didn�t want to do any of those things Mustang liked him to do...

�Ed�� Mustang
whispered and pulled his head away, looking up into the boy�s eyes.� �Ed� I�. What I�ve� I�m sor�
I�� Ed swallowed nervously.� He wasn�t sure what to make of what he saw in
front of him.� There were tears in the colonel�s
eyes that radiated a pain he couldn�t understand.� Then Mustang looked down and whispered.� �Go.�

�What?� Ed
asked in surprise.

�Go
on.� Get out of here,� Mustang muttered
depressingly.� The words were followed by
a small push.� �Your brother will be
waiting.�� The blond boy picked up the
folder and made his way toward the door.�
When he looked back the man was still kneeling with his head
lowered.�

�Um� colonel�?�� Ed asked as he grabbed his coat and jacket.� This just wasn�t normal... He didn�t want to
complain since he wasn�t going to have to do anything nasty or embarrassing,
but he just felt so confused.� But when
Mustang didn�t answer, Ed opened the door, and, with one last look over his
shoulder, left.�

--

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The Sound of Silence