Author's note: This is not my first Fullmetal Alchemist story that I've written, but it's the first I've deemed worthy of being posted. I'm a die-hard Kimblee/Archer fan at heart, but this idea for a fanfic popped into my head and I wrote it down. I didn't think much would come of it. But here it is. In this story, I introduce an original character of mine named Natalie Havoc. She's the younger sister of Lieutenant Jean Havoc and she works at a bar. Everything is told from her POV, meaning first person. I don't see many Archer fics (and the ones I've seen, I've already read), so I decided to write one. It's not completely centered around him, though. I guess this could be called an AU fic. Archer is still the cold bastard we all know and love, but he's not as bad in this fic. He won't become the terminator in this fic either, hehe.
Kimblee will make an appearance in later chapters most likely, just 'cause I can't leave him out. He's my favorite character besides Archer. Mustang is also here 'cause I adore him. There won't be much of a relationship between him and Natalie, since I'm a Mustang/Hawkeye fan. But there will be something. I try my hardest to let my readers be able to see everything I write in their minds. Because when I write, I see my words becoming reality in my mind. I can see and hear the characters' voices and actions. Is that normal? Maybe I'm just weird. ANYWAY, I've talked long enough. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did...Archer and Kimblee would still be alive. I own my characters Natalie and Kyle and whatever weird plot I've put them into. Please R&R.
Unexpected
It was not my night. I had to work overtime at the bar, waiting on men so ugly and drunk that it was embarrassing. It didn't help that they kept hitting on me. I sighed heavily as I cleaned the glasses on the counter. I glanced at the clock in the corner of the room. Just an hour left. I could survive for that long, right?
I heard the door creak as someone walked into the bar. I didn't even pay attention to who it was. A heavy sigh of annoyance caught my attention. I peered over the glass I was drying off to see the new comer. He didn't look familiar. I would have remembered someone like him. He was from the military...that's about all I could gather.
"Can I get you something?" I asked casually, hoping to catch a better glimpse at his face.
He didn't look up. Instead, he simply mumbled, "Glass of whatever you got."
"Um..."
At my hesitation, he looked up, piercing me with icy blue eyes. He was pale as well, with dark brown hair that looked almost black. His voice commanded respect...so I assumed he had a good rank whatever he was in the military. "Did you not hear me?" he growled.
"S-Sorry," I stuttered, looking for something that he would hopefully like. I found a bottle of beer and decided that would have to do. I poured him a glass and handed it to him. "Here."
He kept his gaze on the papers he was reading as he reached his right hand over to grab the glass and bring it to his lips. I was about to get back to work drying the glasses, when I heard a commotion in the back. I narrowed my eyes as I saw some of the drunken men yelling insults at each other and preparing to fight.
"Hey! Break it up!" I called, pissed that the hour wasn't going by fast enough. I did not want to deal with people like this tonight.
The men looked over at me with drunken smirks. "Look at little Miss Thang who thinks she can tell us what to do," one of them slurred. They all laughed.
"Yeah, let's have some fun with her," another one commented, advancing on me.
I panicked. Great, this was the last thing that I needed. I noticed the military guy from the counter had turned his attention to the back and was watching me intently. Now I had an audience. This was just not my night. When one of the men tried to grab me, I kicked him in the nuts, smirking as he doubled over in pain, cursing.
"I'll do it to all of you if you don't leave," I warned. I suppose they didn't want to have numb nuts as they all ran out of there faster than I had ever seen drunken men run before. I shook my head as I walked back to the counter.
"That was impressive," the mystery man muttered.
"It was nothing," I shrugged. "I have no patience for people like that."
"Neither do I. Had you not done anything, I would have pulled my gun on them." He smirked as he showed me his gun in the holster on his waist.
I chuckled. "Hey, I wouldn't have stopped you." I rarely talked with the customers, so it felt odd. I didn't even know this guy. "I uh...don't want you thinking that I'm always so violent. I'm not usually."
He raised his eyebrows. "Shame...it's so hard to find people that can put others in their places."
"Well...if I really have to...then I'll defend myself. But otherwise, I'm generally easy-going." This was odd. Why did I care what this guy thought about me?
"Interesting."
"Hey, I never caught your name."
"That's because I never gave it." Damn, I walked right in to that one.
"Oh...yeah. Well uh...I'm Natalie." I extended my hand for him to shake, hoping I hadn't offended him or anything. He stared at my hand for awhile. Was he studying it or something? Finally, he clasped his hand into mine and gave it a firm squeeze.
"Lieutenant Colonel Archer," he said.
"No first name?" I joked.
He frowned. "I don't give my first name to people I don't know."
"Ah. I see. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Lt. Colonel." I nodded to him and turned to dry more glasses. I was making a complete idiot out of myself. I could feel his eyes on me. What was wrong with me? Dammit, I was acting like a stuttering loser.
"I guess I'll be going," I heard him mumble. I turned and watched him stand up, holding the papers he had been reading.
Deciding to humor him, I tried to salute to him. He frowned with a raised eyebrow. "What? Did I do it wrong?" I asked, feeling stupider by the second.
He walked up to me and moved my arm down just a tad to where my palm and forehead lined up. "That's better," he commented. "Good night." He left the bar. I started to blush but mentally kicked myself. He was in the military! I could NOT like someone from the military. Thankfully, no one else came into the bar by the time it was time to close up.
Walking home seemed to take forever. When I entered my apartment, I noticed that the door was unlocked. I panicked, hoping it was just my brother and not a burglar. I grabbed a flower vase in my hand and slowly tip-toed into my kitchen. I heard the sound of someone rummaging through a fridge and glanced over. I sighed and rolled my eyes, placing the vase back where I had got it. "Jean," I growled. The man looking through my fridge bumped his head and turned around, giving me a sheepish smile.
"Hey, sis," he said, lighting a cigarette and putting it to his lips.
"You know I don't like that."
He shrugged. "So how was work?"
"Met a guy and stopped a fight."
"You met a guy!"
"Uh...not like what you're thinking. We just...introduced ourselves."
"Oh." Jean took a seat at the table, narrowing his blue eyes at me. "So who was it?"
"No one important...someone from the military..."
"It wasn't the Colonel, was it!"
I smiled. He was so paranoid about that. He didn't want me to date or even to MEET the infamous Colonel Mustang. "No...he was a lower rank," I replied.
"You're gonna make me guess, aren't you?"
"You don't have to know everything about my love life, Jean."
"Natalie, you're my little sister, of course I have to know about your love life."
I shook my head. "It's probably someone you don't even know..."
"Try me."
We had a staring contest in which he won. "Fine...he said...his name was Archer."
It took him a few moments to think about the name until a look of recognition dawned on his face. "You mean Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer!" he gasped, staring at me with wide eyes.
"He never gave me his first name, but yeah, that sounds about right."
"Stay away from him, Nat."
I was shocked by Jean's sudden change in attitude. He was very serious now and avoiding eye contact. "W-What?" I asked.
"He's...He's bad news."
"He seemed fine..."
"I'm not joking. Archer is a man obsessed with war and nothing else. He'd only hurt you."
I bit my lip. "I wasn't really interested in him. He wasn't my type." It was a blatant lie. But Jean didn't need to know that.
He sighed happily. "Good. They are plenty of other good men for you out there."
"The same could be said about women for you, dear brother."
Jean blushed slightly. "When did the subject switch over to me?"
"You only come over when you've been dumped or when you've locked yourself out of your apartment. And since I can see your keys hanging from your pocket, I know you haven't locked yourself out."
"You know me too well," Jean muttered. "Once again, a girl I thought liked me went for the Colonel..."
"It's the story of your life," I commented, pouring him a cup of tea. He obviously wanted to spend some time together so I wouldn't push him away. "So how's life otherwise?"
"Dull and boring. Nothing's happened in a long time. Hey...wait a minute."
"What?"
I didn't like the look on his face. It meant he was scheming something. "Falman!"
"Huh?"
"You know Warrant Officer Falman, right?"
"You mean Vato Falman? Yeah. I've known him since you first introduced us when you were first assigned to the military. What about him?"
"How would you like it if I set you two up?"
"J-Jean!" I blushed furiously. "Vato and I are friends...it'd be too awkward."
"You always reject my suggestions."
"That's because everyone you suggest is usually one of our friends."
He pouted. "He'd treat you well."
"I'm not saying he wouldn't, Jean. It's just...I dunno. He is a bit older than me."
"By four years! That's nothing!"
"Jean Havoc!" I snapped. He cowered under my glare. "Please," I sighed, "no more about this."
"Fine...I just worry about you. You've been alone since..."
"Let's not bring that up again, Jean," I said stiffly. I had no wish to remember my last relationship.
"Yeah...sorry."
"Look, I'm tired. I better hit the sack since I've got an early shift tomorrow."
I stretched and made my way into my room. I changed quickly into a night shirt and pants. As I prepared to get into bed, I noticed my brother leaning against the doorframe.
"Want me to tuck you in?" he chuckled.
"I'm a grown woman now, Jean," I said rolling my eyes.
"You're still my little sister." He sat down on my bed and grasped my hand in his. "I love you, Nat."
"I know. I love you too. You're the best big brother ever." I leaned over to kiss his cheek. As children we had always fought, but now, as adults, we were the best of friends.
He stood up and smiled down at me. "I'll stop by the bar tomorrow afternoon. It's my day off. We can do something together."
"Okay. Stay safe."
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
I watched him leave and settled into my bed. I wanted to forget Archer's face. But he was engraved into my mind. So when I dreamed, I dreamed of him. And it was unlike any dream I had ever had either. But I didn't want to wake up. The dream felt so real. If I couldn't have him in real life, a dream was the next best thing.
Waking up the next morning was torture and somewhat embarrassing. I had had the most erotic dream of my life about a man that I barely even knew. I couldn't even imagine what my brother would say if he found out I was dreaming about Archer. He'd most likely flip out on me. Sighing, I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower.
When I was done, I changed into a shirt and pants, combed my hair, and exited my apartment. I walked to the bar, seeing my co-worker opening up the place. I hurried inside before the customers started pouring in.
"Hey Kyle," I greeted.
My co-worker and friend offered a three-finger wave as he took a long drink of a beer bottle. He was a few years older than me with hi-lighted brown hair, a small goatee, and brown eyes. "Sup, Nat?" he replied. "How was it last night?"
"It was all right. I stopped a fight."
"That must have been fun."
"It was. I kicked a guy in the nuts."
Kyle smirked. "I've rubbed off on you."
I laughed. "Guess so. Just so you know, my brother might be stopping by at some point today. It's his day off."
"I'll watch for him." I avoided telling him I had met someone...Kyle didn't need to know everything about my life. Sure, we shared stories and stuff like that, but I figured meeting Archer was something personal and not to be shared with a co-worker. Every so often, I would look at the door, hoping to maybe see Archer come in again. I'm sure Kyle noticed, but he said nothing. At around noon, as I was washing dishes in the back, I heard Kyle calling to me. "Hey Nat! Special guest!"
Smiling, I finished up and walked out, seeing my brother sitting at the counter. But he wasn't alone. Vato Falman was beside him, looking uncomfortable. I frowned and sent a glare at Jean, who smiled back sheepishly. "Hey Jean. Hello Vato," I greeted.
"Nice to see you again, Natalie," Vato replied. "Lieutenant, I really have to get back to headquarters," he mumbled to my brother.
"Jean, did you take him from work against his will?" I snapped.
"Hey, don't start on me," Jean said defensively.
"Vato, I'm sorry on behalf of my idiotic brother."
"No, it was my fault for accepting to come." He stood up, saluted Jean, then nodded to me and left.
I turned to glare at Jean once again. "I cannot believe you," I growled. "I told you it would never work between him and me, and yet you STILL decided to try to play matchmaker."
"Nat, can you blame me?"
"Yes."
He frowned. "I'm only looking out for you."
"You can do that by not trying to fix me up with your friends."
"She's got a point," Kyle commented from behind me. "Hell, she'd probably be better off with me anyway." Ugh...what an idiot. You DON'T say things like that around my brother.
Jean's eyes flashed angrily. "What are you implying?" he hissed coldly.
Kyle seemed to ignore his glare and continued. "I'm just saying that Nat should have a choice about who she wants to date. You can't go fixing her love life for her. She's been through hell, but she's come out just fine. Let her have some time and she'll find someone that you will approve of."
"I highly doubt that," I muttered.
Jean settled down slightly. "Anyway, weren't we going to eat out today, Natalie?" he said to me.
"Yeah, be right there." While his back was turned, I whispered into Kyle's ear, "If a military officer with blue eyes and dark hair comes in, give him a glass of beer and say it's on Natalie."
My friend blinked but nodded. "Is this some mystery guy you conveniently forgot to mention to me?" he smirked.
"If I say yes, will you shut up about it?"
His smirk widened. "You're growing up, Nat."
"Are we going or not?" Jean cut in. I said goodbye to Kyle and walked out of the bar with Jean. We ate lunch at a small restaurant that was down the street. Various topics came up in our conversations. I asked him more about how things were in the military. He told me interesting stories about Colonel Mustang, who by now, I was very eager to meet. He sounded like an interesting person. When I mentioned this to Jean, he became angered but didn't say no this time.
He started to ask me about how work was. I was honest. It was boring and took up a lot of free time. But with Kyle as a co-worker it wasn't that bad. A few women entered the restaurant and caught my brother's attention. Grinning, I planned to stand up and go over to talk to them, but he stopped me. "Don't you want a date?" I said.
"You just wanna humiliate me," he pouted.
"I wouldn't be a little sister if I didn't."
"Why couldn't I have a normal sister? One that doesn't make fun of my love life every chance she gets."
I chuckled. "Sorry. You got the abnormal sister. I'm glad we could do this today, Jean. It seems like it's been forever since we've really talked."
"Yeah. You should come by HQ sometime."
"You sure about that? I might run into the Colonel..."
His eye twitched. "I don't think he'd make a pass at you. He's preoccupied with other stuff at the moment."
"So you're saying I should run into the Colonel?"
No answer. I swear, I'll never understand him. "I should go now," he mumbled. "See you later, Nat."
"Yeah." We parted ways at the door, kissing each other on the cheek. I made my way back to the bar, almost praying that Archer hadn't come there yet. I really wanted to see him again. As I entered, I noticed a familiar military jacket and dark hair. I tapped the man's shoulder, waiting to greet him with a smile. But when the man turned around, it was not Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer. It was a completely different man. He had black hair and eyes, and he was almost as pale as Archer. He seemed to be of higher rank as well. Panicking because I had just interrupted him, I laughed nervously. "I am so sorry," I said. "I thought you were someone else."
I could see Kyle smirking at me from behind the counter. The military officer seemed to give me a once over, looking me up and down. I felt slightly agitated. "No problem," he shrugged, turning back to his drink.
"I've never seen you here before," I added as I came to stand behind the counter. "You got a name?"
"Just call me Mustang."
I paused. "You don't mean Colonel Roy Mustang, do you?"
He looked up, a smile on his face. "I see my reputation precedes me."
"No, it's not that...my brother...he's told me about you numerous times."
He quirked a brow. "And your brother would be...?"
"Lieutenant Jean Havoc."
His eyes widened. "You're Havoc's sister?"
"Um...yes."
"Jeez...the way he talks about you, I pictured some nerdy girl with an attitude problem."
"He...uh...talks about me?"
"All the time." Mustang didn't notice how angry I was becoming. Jean talked about me to his colleagues! And he had the nerve to tell me I couldn't even MEET this guy when he talked to him about me! UGH!
"So what does he tell you about me?"
"Huh? Oh, he never told me directly. I just hear things in the halls. Your brother usually just tells my subordinates and I happen to hear them from time to time."
"I see." Jean was SO dead the next time I saw him. "Well anyway, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Natalie Havoc." I extended my hand for him to shake, but without missing a beat, he took my hand in his gloved one and placed a feather light kiss on it. I blushed slightly. Jean had been right. Mustang was a charmer.
"Pleasure's all mine," he said with a smile. "It's been a good day, I'd say. I stopped by for a drink and got to meet a pretty girl in the process." He stood up, handing Kyle some money. "I really should be getting back to HQ though." He glanced at me, his dark eyes dancing with mischief. "You should give me a call sometime, Natalie."
"For what?" I asked.
"So that we can...get to know each other better."
I blushed furiously. "O-Oh. Um...okay. I'll give you my home number too...just in case." I took a napkin, grabbed a pen, and wrote down the number. I handed it to him. He stared at it with a smile and pocketed it.
"I'll be looking forward to your call," he said as he made his way to the door. "Thanks for the drink, Kyle."
"No prob, Colonel," he called back. Kyle fixed me with a devilish smirk. "I'm going to love how you plan to tell your brother this one."
"Don't even start with me, Kyle," I spat.
"It's not everyday someone catches the eye of Colonel Mustang. You should feel honored."
"I feel flattered beyond all reason. And I'm also worried. If Jean finds out...he'll kill me."
"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?"
If it was possible, my glare intensified.
Author's note: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If I find people like it, I'll try to find time to post the next chapter. Thanks!