Hi all! I can't express how much I am sorry that I haven't updated in ages. I try and write while I'm at work and during classes. I ended up working two jobs over the summer and am working on maintaining a full job and school. I don't know. I need to get back to my stories. This chapter was literally written over the course of months so I hope it's alright. I will truly try to update more in the future!
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or have rights to any characters. I do own DVDs, manga, posters, and an Ed plushie which I can torture to my hearts content however.
Entry Four: Worrisome Brothers and Matchmaking Lieutenants
So I have to agree with the Colonel when he says paper work is evil. It always seems to come at the most inconvenient times, is excruciatingly boring, and utterly pointless. It's raining today and everything around Central is grey. The rain makes my automail ports sore. Maybe it's all the humidity and static in the air. Maybe I'm just getting old --- I'm sure my body is much older than nineteen given everything I've put it through. Then again, maybe it's because it rained that day, the day I sacrificed these limbs for what I thought was the greater good.
Life is kind of like alchemy in a way I suppose. There are countless things that can happen, but those outcomes are limited by what you have available to work with. You're not the alchemists in this scenario. The alchemist knows what he can and can't do in his given situation. The onlooker; however, has no idea what will arise from the alchemic design. We really are just onlookers in life too aren't we? We think we can control it, but none of us ever really know what will happen for every action we take. Maybe just life in general is alchemy. Both are made of energy, matter, and commands. All have the same basic parts and are thus similar. Who knows?
Sorry, I just get really down and thoughtful on days like today. I'm sure you could care less about my musings and would rather get back to the action parts of this story. Well, I've almost recounted everything up until now, but my life is never quiet so I'm sure there'll be more later on. Anyway, back to what I was saying before.
"Brother, he…" Al's words seemed to drag on forever. He what? Even though there was only a few seconds pause in Al's sentence, the dark look on his face was enough to cause hundreds of possibilities to rush through my mind. He died? He's in a coma? He's paralyzed? He hit his head and now thinks he's a five year old girl? There's nothing worse than anxiety. Al took a deep breath. "He owes you his life Ed. You saved him. You could have died doing it Ed! But you saved him. Sometimes you're so impulsive! But at least that always works in your favor…" Al seemed to die down a little after that, though his eyes were sad. After a brief pause his head snapped back up with his characteristic determination and he smiled. "But if he thinks he's not going to have to back you back just because you're his subordinate, then he is dead wrong! He'll have to quit picking on you, yes, for at least a month I think, maybe two. Could he hold out that long? And, oooo! I wonder if you could get to use his office instead of your little desk, you know, trading places for a bit? Maybe you can ever get a break from your research for a bit and come visit us again! What do you think brother? Any ideas?"
I simply laughed and shook my head, "I'm sure we'll figure out something good Al." I leaned back into my pillow and felt myself give a small smile. "So he's alive…that's good." I closed my eyes, relaxing for the first time since what felt like forever. Scenes from that flashed before me. I saw him cup my cheek and my heart skipped a beat. The Colonel never looked at me like that before ---it left me dumbfounded. It made me feel strange, but they say battle does strange things to you. I can only imagine that it was a combination of my relief that he was alive, my fear that it may not last if he needed medical attention, and the overall stress and fear that we were still in battle. Maybe it was just shock from seeing the Colonel so weak and defeated. Anyone else I could see in that position, but the Colonel always seemed so strong, undefeatable, and unwavering. I never would have imagined that he'd be the one out of all of us to dance with death during battle. Al shook me.
"Brother, are you okay? Is it your head? Do you need the nurse? I'll go get her!" Al rambled off, starting to stand.
"No Al, sit back down. I'm fine." I chuckled, ever the worrier. "I was just thinking about the battle."
Al's steel eyes grew stern, "Don't you think about that Brother, it's over. Your only job is to get better!"
I nodded, smiling, "Of course Al. You know I'll be fine. I'm part automail, part steel."
There was a quiet knock and a small nurse entered, her mousy brown hair reflected the bright light coming from the hall. I hadn't noticed until then that the room was fairly dark. It was getting late. "I'm sorry Mr. Elric, but visiting hours are over --- I have to ask that your guest leaves for the night," she said in a kind, soft voice.
"Of course," I nodded then winked at Al. "I'll se you tomorrow!"
Al gave a weak smiled and nodded before heading toward the door. He paused in the doorway and looked back at me with sad eyes, "You're not made of steel Ed. I wish you'd remember that," he said solemnly then turned away.
"Al I—" The door clicked closed before I could say anything else, and I saw there in the dark left to my thoughts. The look on Al's face before he told me…ha! I almost thought Mustang had died. Like that would happen! The bastard Colonel would never let me get him out of my hair that easily! But still…back under all those rocks, I really thought he could die, and I hate to admit it, but I was scared. When he finally opened his eyes, I was so relieved, so glad, that it almost hurt. I felt as if I was going to laugh and cry at the same time. Still, I can't help but think—what if I hadn't made it, or, what if I had waited too long. Really I can't believe I hesitated like that! Looking back now, I don't know why I stalled like I did when Hawkeye told me what to do. It's not like I was kissing him or anything (even the though of that gives me chills). I was stupid and immature. Mustang's right—I've done a lot in my life but if I want to keep up with this career I need to grow up. I'm not just fighting for me and Al anymore. Heh, I'm nineteen and my maturity level can range anywhere from ten to fifty. Damn that Colonel, I hate it when he's right.
Still…imagine my first kiss being with Mustang! The thought of it makes my stomach churn! It'd be like kissing half the city…dirty old man!
Luckily, before my thoughts could go anywhere worse, there was a rapid tap and my door swung open. A familiar blonde top popped in, followed by a friendly face wielding a toothpick rather than a cigarette.
"What's the matter boss? You become a vampire or something?" Havoc laughed as he flicked on the lights—burning my eyes.
"Haven't you ever heard of warning someone?" I asked through gritted teeth. "You could blind a person you know!"
"Don't be so dramatic," Havoc chuckled, dropping unceremoniously into Al's vacant chair. "You act like you almost died or something."
I shot him an icy glare, "You look quiet lovely in a gown." Havoc looked down at his hospital gown before returning my glare. "You know, they have shirt and pant sets." I smirked, motioning at my own attire.
"Maybe the nurses just wanted a good view!" he stretched, grinning smugly.
"Or maybe they just thought this was your preferred style of dress." His smile fell faster than Central had. "But of course, they would never think a great war hero like yourself wore girly clothes."
"Hey! I am a hero!" Havoc replied indignantly. I simply gave him a look that said 'and I'm the Fuhrer'. "I am! While you and the Colonel were playing in the dirt, I sacrificed my smoking hand saving your and everyone else's asses. I think that's pretty heroic of me, don't you?" I blinked at him. "C'mon boss, I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"Well it was a valiant try," I smiled as I watched Havoc's face transform from one of hurt confusion to understanding and happy.
"Alright, I gotcha," Havoc leaned back in the chair, stretching. "So there's this nurse, right? She's a cute little thing. Bright green eyes, long blonde…"
Havoc's sure to be two hour description of how cute and wonderful this girl was faded into silence as my mind began to wander again. Talking about cute nurses? Really, after all of this, how was it so easy for him to just go back to his normal day to day? Looking at Havoc, if you ignored the cast over his right hand and wrist, and the few nicks and bruises on his face and arms—you would never guess that this was a soldier who had just fought in one of the biggest rebellions in years. Maybe this was Havoc's strong suit. Mustang's team is very unique and quirky—we aren't exactly the prime example of a military unit, behind closed doors anyway. We always put on our best front in public. I mean, our Colonel sleeps in his office, burns some of his paperwork rather signing it, and has this peculiar though in his mind that I am short. Bastard. His Lieutenant, while very good with her paper work (making her one of the only two who are in our unit), is a little bit trigger happy. And by a little, I mean a lot. All in all—we're just not a very work driven group and you're more apt to find everyone engaged in some form of distraction rather than work, whether it be going on an expedition to a haunted warehouse or playing betting games on Havoc's love life. That's probably why Mustang's been inspected in the past. But despite it all, we're a good unit and we do a good job. Otherwise we wouldn't have been the final front during the battle. So back to what I was saying—we all have our strong suits. That's what makes our unit so strong. Not one of us would be nearly as successful alone as we are together. And maybe Havoc's ability to go on like nothing bad ever happened, like hundreds of people hadn't just died, is one of his strong suits. Or maybe, just the ability to act like he's fine is. Either way, it's a good defense system. He should be happy for it.
"…and her uniform hugs it just beautifully!" Havoc exclaimed, coming to a pause in his recount of every attractive, single nurse between twenty and twenty-five in the hospital. "So what do ya say? Once your arm gets fixed we'll both be out of here. We should grab ourselves a couple of cuties on the way out. There's this fiery red head who'd be perfect for you!"
Havoc's last statement snapped me out of my daze, "For me? What?" I blinked.
"Are you even listening to me?" Havoc waved his hand in front of my face. "Me, you, cute nurses, score! Did you catch any of that?"
"Umm, yeah…" I nodded with a clear 'no' on my face.
"How hard did you hit your head out there? I'm telling you we could score some serious cuties!" Havoc rolled his eyes as if to say he couldn't believe anyone was excited at this prospect. "Come on boss, have you ever even been on a date?" Havoc raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Well…no," I replied, shrugging. "Never really cared, never had the time."
Havoc's jaw dropped. "Then you have to do this. You'll love it!"
"I don't know…" I mumbled.
"Of course you do!" Havoc exclaimed, clapping me on the back. "Look, don't worry about any of the details; I'll take care of everything." Havoc snapped his fingers, "I've got it! I'll play you off as the real hero who's actually extremely shy when it comes to girls, so I'm setting things up for you. It's perfect! And don't worry, we'll make the first one a double so you won't be all alone."
"Really Havoc, it's okay—I'm really not—" I was cut off.
"You're only not interested because you've never experienced it! You haven't even taken the time to observe the true beauty of women! Once you get to know how great they are you'll be sucked in."
"Somehow, I think that only applies to you Lieutenant," I muttered off to the side while Havoc finished up his explanation on the beauty of women.
"Think about it Ed, you're nineteen years old, seven years in the military and haven't even made yourself a man yet!" Havoc clapped, laughing.
My face faulted, "I really don't think that's any of your business Lieutenant!"
"Ah Ed, we're both men here. It's alright to talk about it—I'm not judging you or anything, I'm just saying," Havoc patted my shoulder. I glared daggers at him and he quickly removed his hand. "Well I'm just saying…heh heh…I think I'm going to had back to my room now, but don't you worry boss, I'll take care of everything!" Havoc's voice faded as he left the room and the door closed behind him.
My hand is getting tired, and I'm sure my writing it getting hard to read, so I think I'll call it quits for today. Yes, if you're wondering, since my love life is so fascinating, Havoc did set up that date, and no, it hasn't happened yet so I have no juicy details for you. Soon though…unfortunately. Well, until next time, I'm off to do more paperwork.
- Edward
Well, even if it isn't as good as I had initially hoped, I had fun writing this chapter. I love Havoc so much and he gets so little attention it makes me sad, so yay Havoc!! Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favorites. I appreciate it so much and will try and update more frequently in return! Until next time!!
- Amber