Flame and Fullmetal 300 km/h

A/N: To my reviewers: silverlook, Blissful Ignorance and Anon, thank you and I will try to update new chapters as soon as possible! This has been a busy week but I will have more time from now on. But the more reviews the faster a new chapter will be posted, I promise.


Chapter 5; Saturday

‘Who the hell goes to work on Saturday when they’ve been out partying till three in the morning the night before?’ Ed thought, rubbing his eyes again. Not to mention the two hour drive with the last person Ed thought he would meet in Central.

Ed had been rubbing his eyes the exact same way on the drive home. Scar took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at him. ”Tired Fullmetal?” Ed looked up at the man, noticing the teasing grin on Scar’s face before he turned his attention back on the road. ”After every race you would get this injection of energy and go out on the town with your no-good friends. Under-aged drinking, vandalising, spray painting the walls…How many times have I had to drive you home at this our?”

”First things first, I may have been drinking but I was never out wrecking the city.” Ed pointed out, making the older man chuckle, giving him a knowing look.

”You have been racing even before you got your driver’s licence. Unlike most of your street racing friends, you have a relatively clean record Edward.”

”Thanks to you,” Ed smiled. He owed this man a lot. Ed had met Scar at a young age when Scar was the officer assigned to investigate Ed’s father’s disappearance. As the years passed by Scar practically became family. ”What are doing in Central?”

”I was going to ask you the same question, but knowing there was a street race tonight I really don’t need to, now do I?” Scar

Ed chuckled. When he started racing trouble was sure to follow him. He was just lucky he had a cop watching over him. Many nights like this one, Scar would pick Ed up from a street in the middle of the night when the teen was on his way home from a race. The officer would drive him home, sometimes give Ed a lecture when Scar smelled alcohol on the teen’s breath. But Scar knew Ed was a good guy and how much his family meant to him. Besides, by the time Ed was racing, chasing teens on the streets every weekend for vandalising wasn’t part of his job anymore.

”I was transferred here to do a job for the government. How else did you think I could afford this car with a cop’s salary? They need my help with a difficult case.”
Scar didn’t need to say more. Ed knew what kind of help the government could possibly ask. The nickname ’Scar’ was given to him after a drug bust gone bad. After that he had started working with the drug division, hating the average cop just as much as Ed did. Ed also knew that Scar hadn’t always been a ’good cop’, but he would never pry.

When they reached Ed’s house, Ed stepped out of the car but stayed outside to talk to his old friend, both deciding to meet again for drinks some night. After giving Ed a warning to stay out of trouble, Scar drove away and Ed knew his situation was getting worse and worse.

That night Ed had only gotten a few hours worth of sleep. Not only had he overslept, he desperately needed to take a shower and change. By the time he got to the garage he was late for work.

‘Who the hell goes to work on Saturday?!’ He asked himself again, yawning as he opened the garage door. Winry was waiting for him on the other side, dressed in her cut-off shorts and black tube top, her long blond hair tied into a ponytail.

”Look who decided to show up,” she scolded. ”And it’s your second day on the job! Don’t be surprised if Roy gives you hell today.”

Ed winced. "If yesterday wasn’t hell, then I don’t know what is."

”You’ll be fine. But if I were you, I’d go t work and act like everything’s normal. You know, keep it low. You can start by helping me with some light lifting in the back." She turned, walking towards the car parts room (also know as the junkyard) and waited for him to follow. Ed helped her carry a box of spare parts to her newest project, but it was more like heavy lifting for him. Somehow Winry made it look so easy it made him embarrassed.

”It’s harder to lift with your back like that, Ed. Use your legs,” she instructed, lifting a heavy box easily. ’If I had legs like that I would use them more often as well,’ Ed thought. After three boxes of junk the female mechanic would try to turn into ’art’, and a whole lot of back pain later, Ed found a car with a popped hood and scanned the wiring. He could easily find a few flaws and decided to fix them.

Bending down to get a wrench Ed was distracted by a pair of high heels and a female voice.
”You’re late.”

Ed sighed, ”Oh, really?” He stood up to face something worse than a hang-over.

”I could have you kicked out of here so fast, your pretty little head would spin," Jenny spat hatefully. Ed rolled his eyes, bored at her threats and attitude.

”What? You’re going to tell Roy? I didn’t know I was so important." Ed turned back to his work.

"You’re not. You just--"

"Hey! So, I finally get to meet the new guy everyone’s been talking about!" Ed turned to the new voice. It belonged to a man with short black hair and glasses. "I guess what Roy said is true. You really are a kid," he said, laughing lightly. He held out his hand. "Maes Hughes. It’s an honour to meet the one who had Roy sweating in a race. You might be the first one in a long time. Sadly I didn’t get to see it with my own eyes."

Ed took his hand and shook it, a smile on his face to thanks the man who recognized his potential. ”One day I’ll be sure to beat him,” Ed stated, Hughes’ grin telling Ed wasn’t a Roy fanatic. Dramatically he looked around and bent down to say in a low voice: ”If I would agree with you, some might call it high treason.” Standing straight he said out loud, ”Keep up the good work,” pointing at the car but Ed knew what he meant. Jenny rolled her eyes, and walked away after tossing her hair to prove some point.

Hughes gave a low whistle and turned to Ed. ”So, now that we’re done with all the getting to know each other thing, I guess it’s time I show you around. Courtesy of Roy, of course."

”He already showed me the ropes yesterday."

"Oh, no. That was strictly procedure. More of a ‘don’t touch this or I’ll kick your ass’ type thing. This is pure social. The girls have been keeping you for themselves, but there are other’s dying to meet you."

Ed nodded and Hughes led him to a group that hovered around a junk racer. Ed could tell that they were prolonging the time until they had to work again. Winry was sitting on the roof of the car with her laptop in her lap, while a woman with short, dark hair was in front of the open hood pretending to do some actual work. Ed saw Havoc and a young man spraying water on each other with hoses, while two other men watched a man, who looked like a heavy-weigh champion, doing push-ups with one muscular arm.

"Looks like we’re getting some classic work done here guys," Hughes said scaring them all half to death. They pretended to get to work but stopped when they realized who it was.

”Damn you Hughes. We thought you were someone important, like the Colonel or something," Havoc said. Hughes seemed to have what they call a ’selective-hearing’ because he didn’t react at Havoc’s comment, pushing Ed forward and put an arm around his shoulders as if they were already best of friends.

”May I present Fullmetal, the new kid on the block.”

”We finally get someone new. Maybe this one actually knows how to do his job,” Havoc said. ”God knows if any of us do. I don’t even know why they pay us.”

"Real funny Havoc. You’re just a basket full of laughs.” This came from the woman working the hood. She reached for a cloth and whipped the motor oil from her hands. ”I’m calling it. This thing is a vegetable.”

”No shit, it was beyond help when it came here a month ago.” Havoc laughed, dropping his cigarette to the floor and putting it out with his heel. Ed glanced at what had once been a beautiful Honda S2000. The paintjob was ruined and it had suffered sever cosmetic damage.

”That ray of sunshine is Maria Ross. That there is Kain Fuery, Vato Falman and Alex Louis Armstrong.” They each nodded, smiled, or waved in time to when Hughes said their name. ”Then we have Denny Bloch who enjoys water sports with Havoc, who I’m sure you’ve already met."

Ed simply nodded. The woman, Ross, waved at him. ”Good to meet you, Fullmetal. You’ll like it here. By the way, the stunt with the train, I hope you won’t be doing more such reckless things.”

”C’mon Ross, you should have seen him!” Winry put down the screen and jumped down from the roof of the car. ”And you too, Hughes. Ed’s is amazing…even more so if he could show up in time the next day.”

Ed rolled his eyes at her. ”Maybe people who don’t hit it of with a guy went early to sleep, alone.” Ed stated, then realizing that men weren’t a part of Winry’s life.

”Maybe I didn’t, but how about you Ed?” The hint in her voice was so clear that a small blush tinted Ed’s cheeks. ’How did she--?’
Luckily no one else heard her and Hughes started talking before Ed could make fool out of himself in front of Roy’s employees.

”I would have but my lovely wife, Gracia, doesn’t like me drinking or racing. And I wanted to tuck in our sweet little daughter. Here, I have a picture!” Suddenly Hughes pulled out a deck of photos and showed them to Ed one after the other. ”Isn’t she adorable? Her name is Elysia and she is just the sweetest angel there is. This was her first ice-cream, her new dress and when she made that funny little expression--"

"Giving him the FULL tour, eh Hughes? You sure do look like the regular tour giver today," Havoc said playfully.

"Yeah, well you sure do look like the regular asshole to me, Havoc." Hughes responded.
They all laughed, knowing that he was just joking. "I guess you guys should get back to ‘work’. Winry, you and Ed try to have the Mazda ready by three. The rest of you…just do something!”

There were a number of groans, but the heavy-weigh champion stood straight with a determined look on his face. He looked kind of scary. “Come on men! Hard work is what makes a man a man and helps build the mind and body.” At the last part he flexed his muscles, the shirt he wore looking like it was going to tear into shreds. He ushered the guys to move on with a kinder-garden teacher kind of attitude. Man, he was as gentle as a lamb but had with the strength of a bull. Mumbling and muttering, with their hands in their pockets, the crowed dissolved. The cerulean blue Mazda was next to the Honda and Ed couldn’t take his eyes of it. It was like a flower cut down in its bloom.

”Ed, could you hand me a few bolts? I think this one needs one or three new ones."
Ed grabbed a few, passing them over to her. "So, how long you been working here," he asked, tearing his eyes from the Honda, making conversation.

She shrugged. ”A few years. When I came here before Roy started running this place. It was run by some asshole we used to call ’Brigadier’ Gran. What a bastard. Rumours had it he was dealing with the mafia and was arrested for assault and a number of other things and Roy took his place a year ago.”

"And out of all the places to work, you choose this place?"

Winry raised an eyebrow defensively. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. It’s just that a smart chick like you…"

"Pass me a screw driver." He did, thinking the conversation was over when she said: ”I don’t do it for the money. I like the job, and the glory that comes with being Roy’s private mechanic. You can’t race without a car, and any really good mechanic can wire a car so that anyone--"

”Can win a race.” Ed finished. Winry smiled at him, throwing a glance at the Honda he had been eyeing.

”That’s a nice car, or was. You have good taste. Maybe…” she said looking at him like a man checks out a woman, but she was looking deeper. ”If you can fix that one, I am pretty sure you could win Roy in a race by a mile.”

”Ross said it was as good as dead. And so do you it seems.” Ed said suspiciously.

”Because you won’t win Roy in a race as long as I’m his mechanic. I was wanted by all the universities in Central. Not that I like to brag or anything, but what does that tell you? Ah, who the hell am I kidding, of course I like to brag."
Ed smiled. He loved hanging out with queer people. They were all funny in the smart kind of way. It was easy to talk with her and for the first time since he came to Central he felt like everything about moving here wasn’t so bad after all. The guys at the garage / restaurant were a cool bunch of people.

Ed smelled the smoke before he heard the voice: ”If I didn’t know better I would think you were flirting with our chief mechanic, Fullmetal. She gets turned on when you talk about motor oil and burnt rubber.”

”Stick a vibrator up your ass, Havoc.” Winry said. Ed raised his brows a little, beginning to understand why the called Havoc a lady’s man AND a man’s man. He had also heard similar rumours about Roy Mustang. As if on cue, there to spoil Ed’s day, Roy showed up with a serious look on his face. ”Winry, you got the layout yet?”

Winry stretched before she showed him what she had on her laptop. ”You need to give me a better challenge,” she complained, clicking on various things. ”The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII. All we have to do is put it in the making and it should only take a few weeks.”
Roy nodded and noticed Havoc and Ed standing next to Winry.

”Put out that cigarette, Jean.”

”Hello Colonel," Havoc said sweetly with no intention to follow orders. "We’re always happy to see you."

"Speak for yourself," Ed said, loud enough for Roy to hear.

Roy just rolled his eyes. "I bet you get a rise just thinking of me," he countered, eager for an argument.

Ed rolled her eyes right back. "Only in your wet dreams Colonel-bastard."
The other two held back laughs. Winry knew she had been right about Flame and Fullmetal after she saw them at the race. She knew the lead racer well enough to know what he thought of the blond street racer.

"I’d suggest you get your asses on the job before I get in the mood to fire someone," Roy said. ”All of you,” he finished turning to Ed.

Winry walked passed him, patting his cheek lightly. "You wouldn’t fire me. I’m just too valuable. Oh, and you might want to keep an eye on the kitchen today. Falman is doing the bar because me and Riza thought about showing Ed around town.”

”I don’t think Edo can handle a three-some,” Roy said. ”Might as well sty home tonight.”

”Yeah, I bet you could find MUCH more interesting things to do home alone," Ed said.

"There goes your dirty little mind again."

‘You can’t even begin to imagine what’s going on in my mind, Roy. You can’t even imagine.' Ed thought, both standing arms crossed, glaring at each other before walking away in their own direction, leaving a baffled Havoc and a grinning Winry to themselves.

”Flame…and Fullmetal, you said?” Havoc asked, scratching his head.

”Yup.”

”Getting along?”

”Yup.”

”Somehow I don’t see that ever happening.”

”You don’t?” Winry asked. It was so obvious. When a bad-boy kind of guy likes someone, he shows it by being a jerk or teasing you. When there were two bad-boys…

Winry smiled to herself.

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