Possibilities
Title: Possibilities
Verse: Further Interruptions
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Pre Ed/Roy
Summary: Every story has it’s beginnings. Not even Roy knows how far back theirs goes.
“Wait. I’m married to your Dad?”
She huffed. “You’re my Father. He’s my Dad. What did you think happened?”
“I’m gay?”
She stared at him and her mouth dropped open. “Seriously? You and Dad can’t keep your hands off each other. It’s the grossest thing ever!”
Ed stared at the alchemy circle in the middle of his apartment. He stared at the young blonde woman in front of him. He stared at the golden eyes that glared back at him.
“What the hell? Who are you and what are you doing here?”
She looked around the room and rolled her eyes as she looked around the room. “Are we alone?”
“What?”
“I asked if we’re alone.”
“Yes, I’m alone, but don’t think I can’t kick your ass on my own!”
She gave out a small huff. “As if,” she said under her breath before she pointed at Ed. “You need to listen. You probably won’t believe me but I’m your daughter and there is something you need to know about my dad.”
Ed stared at her and he didn’t know where to dissect that statement. Daughter? Her dad?
“What?”
There were a few minutes of silence before she shook her head. “Sorry. I figured you’d blow up already. I wasn’t prepared to keep going. Anyway, my dad.”
“Me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Nice try Father, but Dad is dad.”
“That makes no sense. You have two dads?”
“Duh. Look, get over your identity crisis. I seriously need to talk to you about Dad.”
“How am I supposed to believe this?”
“Look at the alchemy. And um.. do you not see the eyes?”
“Maybe you could drop the sass.”
“Don’t know where I got that from.”
Ed wanted to be more skeptical but he took a long look at the alchemy and while he would never have thought to add some of the symbols, he could see what it did. He looked at her eyes then, at the cheekbones and her nose. There was something so familiar in the way she held herself, her features and her body, that he couldn’t doubt. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve only got a small amount of time before the circle sends me home. You have to take care of my Dad. Tonight, he’s going to go home and something is going to be waiting there. All Dad would ever say was that you saved him that night. Tonight. I don’t know what happened, but you have to be there. You have to save Dad tonight, or none of the rest of this will happen. You two won’t be together. You won’t get married.”
“Wait. I’m married to your Dad?”
She huffed. “You’re my Father. He’s my Dad. What did you think happened?”
“I’m gay?”
She stared at him and her mouth dropped open. “Seriously? You and Dad can’t keep your hands off each other. It’s the grossest thing ever!”
“Who is your Dad?”
“The Fuhrer.”
“Grumman?”
“Mustang,” she said with a sigh. “Fuhrer Roy Mustang? Heard of the guy?”
He didn’t know what she saw on his face but she ran a hand through her hair and it was such a Mustang thing to do that Ed could almost see it. Even if she looked an awful lot like him, she had a lot of the other man’s mannerisms. “I told you, I don’t have the time to deal with this. I’m going to go back soon. I just need you to get to him. All I know is that something will happen to him tonight and if you aren’t there, he won’t survive it. I didn’t think this was something we should butt into, but Maes said we had to do this.”
“MAES?”
“My little brother. Everyone is stupid about how smart I am and they always forget how amazing he is. Uncle Al says that’s how its supposed to be, but sometimes Uncle Al is an idiot.”
“Don’t talk about my brother that way!”
She stared at him for a moment before she burst out with a laugh. “Oh my god, you really haven’t changed that much Father.”
A light flashed under the circle and they both tensed.
“What’s happening?” Ed asked.
“It’s time. I have to go home now. Please, find my Dad. Protect him.”
“What’s your name?” Ed asked, unable to stop himself. He didn’t know anything about the teenager in front of him, but he needed to know that at least.
She smiled at him. “Tishy. And you better stand back. To be perfectly honest, Maes never grew out of his blowing things up phase.”
“His what?”
She smiled and it was strange to see that smile on a female face. The smirk had so much hidden knowledge in it and he could see Mustang in it. “Oh, Father. We’re going to make your life a living hell.”
She laughed and Ed couldn’t help but return it because if he’d ever thought of having children, he’d imagine them being hellions.
“Love you, Father. See you on the other side of time! Go take care of Dad!”
The room blared white-blue with alchemy and there was a loud bang as smoke filled the room. He’d be worried if Tishy hadn’t just warned him.
He ran to the window and opened it to air out the smoke and made sure there was nothing singed in his apartment. It looked like whatever happened, Maes had done it on the other side.
Maes. Tishy. What the hell was this all about? Children from the future? A husband? Mustang as his husband? He couldn’t … that’s not something that could ever … he wasn’t ….
Alright, so he might have noticed, occasionally, that Mustang wasn’t bad on the eyes. He wasn’t blind and he knew the sort of charm the man could ooze. And beneath the shallow façade he put on, the man was intelligent, witty, and funny. There was a selflessness about him that few saw and there was a drive beneath it all to protect the people he loved.
Oh hell, Tishy said he needed to protect Mustang tonight. He might have doubts about the rest of what she revealed, but he had to make sure about that. He threw on his shoes and coat and ran out into the cool Central evening.
He ran a solid ten minutes before he reached Mustang’s home. He could see a light on and he didn’t bother to bang on the door. If someone was there waiting for Mustang, they wouldn’t politely let him in.
He kicked the door open and ran inside. “Mustang!” he yelled as he entered the house.
Only to find Mustang walking into the hallway in pajama pants and a black tee shirt, a glass of whiskey in hand and a surprised look on his face.
“Fullmetal? What the hell are you doing?”
Ed looked around and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Um…” Because how was he supposed to say that he’d come because their daughter from the future told him that someone would be there and that Mustang needed to be protected tonight.
“Did you kick in my door? Really, Edward, you could have just knocked.”
“I … uh …. I was walking past and thought I saw something…” he said instead. But thinking back, Tishy hadn’t said there would be someone there, did she? She said something. The only thing she’d really stressed was that Mustang wouldn’t survive without him.
He looked at Mustang and noticed a few things. The way his eyes seemed to focus and unfocus. The way he seemed to sway a little where he stood. The slight shake of the glass in his hand. The whiskey.
Mustang had been known to put away some alcohol before but Ed has never actually seen it affect him. He’d seen the hangover the morning after, but this looked like it was turning into more than just a hangover. This was an epic binge and Ed hadn’t heard of one since Maes had died.
He thought about going out to the hallway and calling Hawkeye, but then he saw Mustang shiver and Ed remembered Tishy saying that he needed to be there. That Mustang has said he wouldn’t have survived if Ed wasn’t there. He didn’t know if that was just pretty speech to the man’s children about his husband - and wasn’t that a thought he’d never thought to have - but he decided he needed to see this through.
“I’m perfectly fine here, as you can see.” The words were carefully spoken and on someone else it might have sounded fine, but the words were slurred slightly and Ed closed his eyes. This was not how he’d planned to spend his Friday.
“Yeah, well I’m here now. And I’m cold. You got a fire going?” he asked.
It was apparently the wrong thing to say because Mustang turned pale and he looked like he was about to throw up at the suggestion.
“Nevermind,” Ed said as he walked over to Mustang and took him by the arm. The man might have tried to protest but as soon as Ed grabbed his arm he became pliant. Ed pushed him down onto the couch and went to the fireplace to start it.
It only took a few minutes - through traditional means - but when Ed looked back at Mustang he was staring at the glass in his hand, now empty.
“Damn it, Mustang. What the hell are you thinking?”
“That my glass needs to be filled. Be a dear.”
The man was definitely off his gourd if he thought that was going to help. “Water, Mustang. You need some water.”
“What the hell would I do that for? It would ruin a perfectly good drunk.”
Ed watched him shiver again and found a throw blanket and draped it over the other man’s shoulders. Before he could say anything Ed took his cup - and the bottle of whiskey - into the kitchen. He filled the glass with water and left the bottle out of reach.
When he returned to the living room, Mustang was on the floor, sleeping.
“Oh, hell no. You have got to get some water first. If you die in your sleep Hawkeye will kill me.”
Ed set the glass down and managed to wake Mustang up and heave him back onto the couch. There was only one way to keep him upright and Ed sat on the couch with his back to the arm and pulled Mustang up between his legs. He pulled the blanket over both of them and reached for the glass of water on the table beside him. He got Mustang to take a few sips before he put it back down.
“Why are you here, Fullmetal?” Mustang asked. “I’m not worth the time and effort.”
“Shut up, Mustang. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Let me count the ways…”
Ed let out a deep breath as he grabbed the water and made Mustang take a few more sips. The other man turned in Ed’s arms and settled against his chest with his eyes closed.
“You can’t sleep yet.”
“Why not?”
“You need to drink more water before you can sleep.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to find you dead in your own vomit come tomorrow morning.”
“Would it really matter?”
“Yes! Seriously, Mustang, what the hell is going on?”
Mustang was silent for a while and Ed was afraid he’d fallen asleep but then the other man sighed. “It’s an anniversary of sorts.”
Ed let out a deep breath because he didn’t need much more than that. He’d gotten to know the man over the years and this particular brand of self-loathing had a very particular label to it.
Ishval was never a good topic with Mustang. Without thought, Ed realized he’d begun to stroke across Mustang’s back and his other hand was in his hair, his fingers curling and uncurling against the other man’s scalp. Mustang pulled even closer into Ed’s chest and rubbed his face into Ed’s shirt.
Damn, he was drunk.
“There was a village. They said there were troops there but we never found any.”
“Shhhhh…” Ed said because there was no need to say anything else. Ed had heard everything he needed to know. “I’ve got you.”
As much as Ed was lost in what to do, it seemed to be the right thing to say because Mustang let out a shaking breath and a soft sob followed soon after. He felt the other man shaking in his arms and Ed held him tighter.
“Ed,” Mustang clung to him and Ed just let him.
He never let go of the other man. “You know you’re going to change things. You’ve already changed things, Roy.”
He never thought he’d see Mustang like this; never thought he’d have to be the one to comfort the man but as much as they used to fight one another Ed had grown to respect him. He didn’t always like his game, but there was more than one fight on their hands and Mustang fought on a different level than Ed did.
He thought Mustang might say something in return, but he didn’t. He kept a tight hold on Ed’s shirt and kept himself close. There were no more sobs, but Ed felt the front of his shirt turn wet with tears. He didn’t say anything more, just held the other man tight.
In time, he felt Mustang settle into sleep in his arms. He thought about trying to get out from under the other man, but he didn’t want to wake him. He wasn’t going to leave him alone tonight either way, so he relaxed into the couch and held Mustang close.
He was awake a long time, thinking about the man with him, a girl with golden eyes and a brother with a penchant for blowing things up, and what his own future might hold. When he did fall asleep, his dreams were of dark eyes and strong arms and a family that he’d never let himself think possible before.