FMA [Drabbles:] 'Inevitable Encounters' (working title)
OMG, I've actually written something FMA again! Lol, crack though, courtesy of evil_little_dog, thanks for the good laugh! ;)
Title: Inevitable Encounters
Pairing: Alex Louis/Garfiel - yup, you read it right
Genre: Crack
Rating: PG
Spoilers: for ch.108!
Word count: 1,651
Dedicated to evil_little_dog who came up with this idea, helped flesh it out, kicked me into writing it and even beta’d to top it off.
A/N: not meant to be taken seriously, just random moments. ;) Please forgive the crudely written pairing.
-----------------------------------------
I. Past, Present, Future
It was a number of years - well over a decade - and many passionate yet short-lived flings before Garfiel gave an iota of credibility to the concept of the red string of fate.
To think that after all these years, after a barely averted apocalypse of all things, he’d run into the kind-hearted, ravishingly handsome man that was Alex Louis Armstrong once more. Though disappointed that the man had stuck with the military, it seemed the major at least hadn’t become one of those ambitious glory hounds, who couldn’t rise through the ranks fast enough. Alex’s decision to conscribe had been a matter of much dispute between the two of them, but the gentle giant had been quite naïve and pushed toward it by his family since infancy. The pair of them had attended the same school back in the day before Armstrong joined the Academy, as his family had for generations before him, and Garfiel went to get an apprenticeship in the noble and unfortunately highly demanded art of automail craft.
Even as a teen Alex’s well-defined physique had caught Garfiel’s attention, however it was the warm glint in his eyes that kept said fascination fixed. Even while still coming to terms with his womanhood, Garfiel became rapidly convinced he had found a kindred soul in the Armstrong boy and their friendship became a shining beacon to the vast world of high school around them. However gratifying their platonic relationship may have been, Garfiel was still a growing girl with plenty a naughty thought. Yet he was sadly convinced such things between them could be no more than fantasies. Hence his surprise and delight, with only the slightest hint of caution added into the mix, when Alex asked him on a date over their lunch of cutely shaped fruit and veggies. Thus started a typical school romance, in which Garfiel learned to fully embrace his inner female and Alex discovered the delights of courtship.
Still, with their opposite dreams and shifting ideals, a break-up after graduation became inevitable. Looking back on it some years later, Garfiel could admit to himself that he hadn’t been very gracious about it. All of Alex’s unanswered letters - still kept in an old shoebox, tied with a velvet ribbon - might have had something to do with their eventual complete loss of contact as well.
To cross paths again after all these years - and, boy, had time been kind on the Armstrong heir - it at least warranted a polite conversation. Such casual contact, the renewal of mostly shared ideology and interests, proved to be enough to rekindle the flame of youth.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
II. Meet the Family
A letter declaring a short, imposed vacation - she was going to skewer Grumman on her saber the next time she was called in person to the man’s cushioned office - found its way to General Olivia Armstrong’s desk two years after the military takeover.
She decided she might as well spend the wasted training time with her family. A train ticket and many an hour playing chess against a non-existent opponent - where was that hotshot Mustang when he could have actually been a useful nuisance for a change? - found her being welcomed back into the manor. The gardens seemed to have been well-maintained in her absence. Not that she cared, of course, but it wouldn’t do for the outside of her ancestral home to look neglected. It would be a casual reunion, with her parents and Catherine - returned from abroad - and her little brother all expressing their joy at this opportunity. Perchance, if they were planning a true ball for the occasion, they would even be joined in another day or two by Amue and Strongine, who would be escorted by their respective spouses. Olivia was expecting pristine, cream coloured walls with the occasional family portrait or bust for historical and decorative purposes.
Hence, when their new butler Henderson Jr., - his father, head butler before him, just retired the previous autumn - admitted her, the immovable Queen of Briggs had to blink a few times to take in all the pink and purple. Had her parents let Catherine have her way with interior designing? But no, even though the colour offended her sense of aesthetics, she would allow that, on the whole, the redecorating was tastefully done with a mindset too mature to belong to her youngest sister. And so she met the unique mechanic who had piqued her brother’s interest. A brief conversation revealed Garfiel to be professional and benign, if a tad eccentric. As a first impression Olivia didn’t disapprove. That was, until the man discovered that all Armstrong sisters of this generation would soon be gathered at the house and declared they should organise a girls’ day out. In the controlled chaos that followed, Garfiel learned to never again address the fearsome queen as ‘one of the girls.’
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
III. Wedding
If there was one thing Garfiel liked to be in-the-know about, it was his favourite girls’ love lives. Hence the many long-distance calls to harass Paninya to ‘get out there and find yourself a good man, already.’ Or the still more frequent ones to his cute former apprentice, or even - in her absence - said student’s grandmother: “As spry as you still are Pinako, you shouldn’t sit around the house. Love gets better with experience, I say.”
Sadly Pinako refuted his ideology, but that didn’t stop him from trying. And well he should! Just look at the mess kids made of things these days with only Pinako’s stoic laisse-faire attitude.
Alex Louis was in for a deviation from routine when he came home that rainy evening to find his wife waiting for him at the door, but without the more tantalising outfits and instead looking ready to head out.
“Keep your coat on and don’t bother with the shoes, dear. We’re going to Resembool this instant.” That was the only explanation he got. Some questioning, as they made their way to the bustling with evening commuters train station, revealed that Garfiel had some concerns about the sweet Ms. Rockbell and seemed to be in a foul mood concerning Edward Elric. “My girl should know better than to accept the lousiest proposal in this nation’s history! Why, that charming prince Yao did a better job. For that matter I’m convinced those circus artists could pull off a more romantic performance. This just won’t do.”
Alex wondered if he should sneak in a telegraph to the Rockbells with the excuse of a toilet break, forewarning young Edward that he was in for the rant of a lifetime.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
IV. Hero of the People
They had eventually decided on adoption. Both of them held a great love for children and, with the past intense border conflicts, the nationwide number of orphans had risen exponentially before quieter times put an end to the worst of it.
Tomas - the name he gave the authorities - Philip Jr. - after the head of the family - had well adjusted to life as a member of the Armstrong family. Having a father who told the best bedtime stories and played sports and games with him on weekends and a ‘mother’ who packed the best lunches for school and always listened to his daily adventures had slowly returned the six year-old’s cheerful disposition. To make sure he wouldn’t get lonely, and because Garfiel didn’t want to be the only woman in the house, they were finalizing the paperwork for a four years old girl from the west.
Today, however, they were invited to the third birthday party of the youngest member of the Elric family. Tomas was excited as well: not only would there be cake, most likely with yummy frosting, but the father of the birthday girl was no one less than one of the coolest people from his new father’s stories.
It was a sunny day, the other kids were nice, they played fun games and though there was no frosting on the apple pie, a generous amount of whipped cream made up for it. There was one big disappointment, though. The Fullmetal not-Alchemist. The man couldn’t produce a single alchemical spark. What a letdown! Tomas’ father may not be in any stories, but at least he could perform impressive alchemy tricks. Voicing his thoughts may not have been the smartest thing to do as the brother of the birthday girl took offense and with a war cry of: “My dad’s a hero!” and tackled the offender of his family’s honour. It didn’t take long for four other attending kids - supporting either side of the argument - and the six out of seven dogs to join in the fray. The fight was broken up by the adults before anyone could get anything more serious than a bruised shin or an elbow to the ribs. It was a draw. Something the little honey-eyed hellion loudly protested. But then there were presents to focus their attention on and all was forgotten if not forgiven. That still didn’t save Junior from a lecture on proper sparing techniques passed down the generations.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
V. Mother
Even in Elementary, the other girls learned quickly not to mess with Amanda Mira Armstrong. She liked to fancy it was because she had taken it upon herself to emulate her Aunt Olivia when it came to girl power, but she knew she had a very long way to go yet. And alas, unlike her brother, she was a lady, as Aunt Catherine liked to remind her. Ladies don’t get physical, they fight back with words.
Unfortunately, her home environment wasn’t one where you could easily pick up witty cheek to talk back to the mean girls. But, at least they used the taunt ‘your momma’ only once. In their ignorance, they handed the young girl the opportunity of a perfect and brutally honest comeback: “Oh yeah? Well, my mommy is a heavyweight lifter and he can replace the limbs you’ll be missing if my aunts ever hear you talk about my family like that.”
Title: Inevitable Encounters
Pairing: Alex Louis/Garfiel - yup, you read it right
Genre: Crack
Rating: PG
Spoilers: for ch.108!
Word count: 1,651
Dedicated to evil_little_dog who came up with this idea, helped flesh it out, kicked me into writing it and even beta’d to top it off.
A/N: not meant to be taken seriously, just random moments. ;) Please forgive the crudely written pairing.
-----------------------------------------
I. Past, Present, Future
It was a number of years - well over a decade - and many passionate yet short-lived flings before Garfiel gave an iota of credibility to the concept of the red string of fate.
To think that after all these years, after a barely averted apocalypse of all things, he’d run into the kind-hearted, ravishingly handsome man that was Alex Louis Armstrong once more. Though disappointed that the man had stuck with the military, it seemed the major at least hadn’t become one of those ambitious glory hounds, who couldn’t rise through the ranks fast enough. Alex’s decision to conscribe had been a matter of much dispute between the two of them, but the gentle giant had been quite naïve and pushed toward it by his family since infancy. The pair of them had attended the same school back in the day before Armstrong joined the Academy, as his family had for generations before him, and Garfiel went to get an apprenticeship in the noble and unfortunately highly demanded art of automail craft.
Even as a teen Alex’s well-defined physique had caught Garfiel’s attention, however it was the warm glint in his eyes that kept said fascination fixed. Even while still coming to terms with his womanhood, Garfiel became rapidly convinced he had found a kindred soul in the Armstrong boy and their friendship became a shining beacon to the vast world of high school around them. However gratifying their platonic relationship may have been, Garfiel was still a growing girl with plenty a naughty thought. Yet he was sadly convinced such things between them could be no more than fantasies. Hence his surprise and delight, with only the slightest hint of caution added into the mix, when Alex asked him on a date over their lunch of cutely shaped fruit and veggies. Thus started a typical school romance, in which Garfiel learned to fully embrace his inner female and Alex discovered the delights of courtship.
Still, with their opposite dreams and shifting ideals, a break-up after graduation became inevitable. Looking back on it some years later, Garfiel could admit to himself that he hadn’t been very gracious about it. All of Alex’s unanswered letters - still kept in an old shoebox, tied with a velvet ribbon - might have had something to do with their eventual complete loss of contact as well.
To cross paths again after all these years - and, boy, had time been kind on the Armstrong heir - it at least warranted a polite conversation. Such casual contact, the renewal of mostly shared ideology and interests, proved to be enough to rekindle the flame of youth.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
II. Meet the Family
A letter declaring a short, imposed vacation - she was going to skewer Grumman on her saber the next time she was called in person to the man’s cushioned office - found its way to General Olivia Armstrong’s desk two years after the military takeover.
She decided she might as well spend the wasted training time with her family. A train ticket and many an hour playing chess against a non-existent opponent - where was that hotshot Mustang when he could have actually been a useful nuisance for a change? - found her being welcomed back into the manor. The gardens seemed to have been well-maintained in her absence. Not that she cared, of course, but it wouldn’t do for the outside of her ancestral home to look neglected. It would be a casual reunion, with her parents and Catherine - returned from abroad - and her little brother all expressing their joy at this opportunity. Perchance, if they were planning a true ball for the occasion, they would even be joined in another day or two by Amue and Strongine, who would be escorted by their respective spouses. Olivia was expecting pristine, cream coloured walls with the occasional family portrait or bust for historical and decorative purposes.
Hence, when their new butler Henderson Jr., - his father, head butler before him, just retired the previous autumn - admitted her, the immovable Queen of Briggs had to blink a few times to take in all the pink and purple. Had her parents let Catherine have her way with interior designing? But no, even though the colour offended her sense of aesthetics, she would allow that, on the whole, the redecorating was tastefully done with a mindset too mature to belong to her youngest sister. And so she met the unique mechanic who had piqued her brother’s interest. A brief conversation revealed Garfiel to be professional and benign, if a tad eccentric. As a first impression Olivia didn’t disapprove. That was, until the man discovered that all Armstrong sisters of this generation would soon be gathered at the house and declared they should organise a girls’ day out. In the controlled chaos that followed, Garfiel learned to never again address the fearsome queen as ‘one of the girls.’
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
III. Wedding
If there was one thing Garfiel liked to be in-the-know about, it was his favourite girls’ love lives. Hence the many long-distance calls to harass Paninya to ‘get out there and find yourself a good man, already.’ Or the still more frequent ones to his cute former apprentice, or even - in her absence - said student’s grandmother: “As spry as you still are Pinako, you shouldn’t sit around the house. Love gets better with experience, I say.”
Sadly Pinako refuted his ideology, but that didn’t stop him from trying. And well he should! Just look at the mess kids made of things these days with only Pinako’s stoic laisse-faire attitude.
Alex Louis was in for a deviation from routine when he came home that rainy evening to find his wife waiting for him at the door, but without the more tantalising outfits and instead looking ready to head out.
“Keep your coat on and don’t bother with the shoes, dear. We’re going to Resembool this instant.” That was the only explanation he got. Some questioning, as they made their way to the bustling with evening commuters train station, revealed that Garfiel had some concerns about the sweet Ms. Rockbell and seemed to be in a foul mood concerning Edward Elric. “My girl should know better than to accept the lousiest proposal in this nation’s history! Why, that charming prince Yao did a better job. For that matter I’m convinced those circus artists could pull off a more romantic performance. This just won’t do.”
Alex wondered if he should sneak in a telegraph to the Rockbells with the excuse of a toilet break, forewarning young Edward that he was in for the rant of a lifetime.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
IV. Hero of the People
They had eventually decided on adoption. Both of them held a great love for children and, with the past intense border conflicts, the nationwide number of orphans had risen exponentially before quieter times put an end to the worst of it.
Tomas - the name he gave the authorities - Philip Jr. - after the head of the family - had well adjusted to life as a member of the Armstrong family. Having a father who told the best bedtime stories and played sports and games with him on weekends and a ‘mother’ who packed the best lunches for school and always listened to his daily adventures had slowly returned the six year-old’s cheerful disposition. To make sure he wouldn’t get lonely, and because Garfiel didn’t want to be the only woman in the house, they were finalizing the paperwork for a four years old girl from the west.
Today, however, they were invited to the third birthday party of the youngest member of the Elric family. Tomas was excited as well: not only would there be cake, most likely with yummy frosting, but the father of the birthday girl was no one less than one of the coolest people from his new father’s stories.
It was a sunny day, the other kids were nice, they played fun games and though there was no frosting on the apple pie, a generous amount of whipped cream made up for it. There was one big disappointment, though. The Fullmetal not-Alchemist. The man couldn’t produce a single alchemical spark. What a letdown! Tomas’ father may not be in any stories, but at least he could perform impressive alchemy tricks. Voicing his thoughts may not have been the smartest thing to do as the brother of the birthday girl took offense and with a war cry of: “My dad’s a hero!” and tackled the offender of his family’s honour. It didn’t take long for four other attending kids - supporting either side of the argument - and the six out of seven dogs to join in the fray. The fight was broken up by the adults before anyone could get anything more serious than a bruised shin or an elbow to the ribs. It was a draw. Something the little honey-eyed hellion loudly protested. But then there were presents to focus their attention on and all was forgotten if not forgiven. That still didn’t save Junior from a lecture on proper sparing techniques passed down the generations.
------xxxx------ ------xxxx------
V. Mother
Even in Elementary, the other girls learned quickly not to mess with Amanda Mira Armstrong. She liked to fancy it was because she had taken it upon herself to emulate her Aunt Olivia when it came to girl power, but she knew she had a very long way to go yet. And alas, unlike her brother, she was a lady, as Aunt Catherine liked to remind her. Ladies don’t get physical, they fight back with words.
Unfortunately, her home environment wasn’t one where you could easily pick up witty cheek to talk back to the mean girls. But, at least they used the taunt ‘your momma’ only once. In their ignorance, they handed the young girl the opportunity of a perfect and brutally honest comeback: “Oh yeah? Well, my mommy is a heavyweight lifter and he can replace the limbs you’ll be missing if my aunts ever hear you talk about my family like that.”