Heckuva Way to Start a New Year - Chapter 2
(See Chapter 1)
“So tell me,” Ed muttered under cover of the other conversations, “were you ever planning to explain what was really going on here, or would you have let me be humiliated the whole evening?” He finished cutting the slice of roast goose on his gilded plate, the heavy silver knife clinking on the china plate. He put a piece into his mouth, savouring the warm taste of the goose and the almost sultry accompaniment of its blackberry-cognac sauce.
Mustang, sitting to his right at the long, heavy dining room table, picked up a thick crystal goblet and took a delicate sip of his wine. His dark eyes gleamed with amusement as he replied, “Well, I probably would have stopped them if they really had started trying to undress you.”
Ed scowled into his mashed potatoes. “Nice,” he grumbled. “You really are a bastard, aren’t you?”
“Well, what would you expect, Ed?” the man drawled. “I think you deserved something for spying on me. Though I would have told you eventually, if mom hadn’t.”
Ed glanced at Madam Chris, seated to the colonel’s right at the head of the table. She presided over a boisterous “family,” the chatter and enthusiasm of the young women all down the table’s length unhindered by the formal setting: the high-backed chairs with brocaded arm and back rests, the dishes and cutlery gleaming with silver and gold, the heavy goblets and crystal wine glasses, and the centrepieces of holly and gold set at intervals down the centre of the long table. Madam Chris was currently laughing, listening to some story that Lily was telling, sitting across the table from Ed.
Mom. This woman - the Madam of this house - was Mustang’s foster mother! It was still almost impossible to encompass. No matter how often that incredible word left the man’s lips.
Ed looked up again at his companion, who had picked up his cutlery and begun to cut a chunk of his roast asparagus. “I suppose I shouldn’t have followed you,” the younger man conceded. “I just got curious when I saw all those presents…”
“And here I forgot to bring one for you,” Mustang raised an amused eyebrow. “So what should I do for you instead?” He lifted his eyes over his subordinate’s head. “What do you say, Jasmine?” he asked the woman sitting to Ed’s left. “Can you think of anything to do for Fullmetal, as a New Year’s present?”
She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, the jewelled pendant around her throat hanging low…deep…the neckline of her red dress plunging… Ed gulped, watching her hand move toward him, as she reached across to touch his cheek with the backs of her fingers. “Oh, I’m sure I can think of something,” she murmured with a little smile. “Several somethings, in fact.”
He jerked his head away from her hand, his skin tingling most uncomfortably (really! it wasn’t comfortable!) where she’d touched him. He was tempted to blurt some kind of complaint but, well…he was surrounded, wasn’t he? And…he wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak, actually…
“Oh no you don’t,” Lily protested from across the table. “If anyone gets Fullmetal, he’s mine. I mean, he’s the perfect size for me, don’t you think?”
“Oh?” Mustang smirked. “How do you know what size he is?”
Ed whipped around as he gaped at the man. Who placed a finger under his chin and gently closed his mouth for him. Again.
“Now girls,” chided Madam Chris from the head of the table, “you’re going to make our guest uncomfortable. Time to stop teasing him or he’s going to run away. And you,” she added, frowning at Mustang, “stop instigating.”
“Yes mom,” he returned mildly. But the corners of his mouth retained their slight uplift as he lowered his head to take another bite of goose.
His foster mother regarded him a moment longer and snorted in quite an unladylike way before turning her attention to Ed. “I hope you’re enjoying your dinner, Edward,” she smiled.
“It’s delicious,” he assured her, his tense shoulders relaxing a little. “I haven’t tasted anything so good in my whole life.”
“If these girls keep bothering you, you give them a good yelling at,” she instructed.
“Oh, he’ll do fine, he’s very good at yelling - ouch!” Mustang cast an aggrieved glance at the woman. “That hurt, I’ll have you know.”
“Did I kick you?” asked Madam Chris. “I’m sorry, dear, my foot must have slipped.”
Ed suppressed his snicker with a forkful of mashed potatoes.
“Well anyway,” Lily resumed a little more quietly, “I get to sit beside Ed when we open presents.”
“Oh. No, sorry, I won’t be staying for that,” he shook his head. “I don’t want to keep intruding - “
“Of course you’ll stay,” said Madam Chris. “At least, I hope so. It’s not getting any warmer out there, and I hope we can make it an enjoyable evening for you.”
“One at a time,” Mustang murmured at his plate, “or in a group.”
The titters ran up and down the table, and Ed dropped his fork, flustered, into his mashed potatoes. He caught a glimpse of the man beside him casting a triumphant look at his foster mother, but she took a calm sip of her wine and remarked quietly, with a sidelong smirk, “I can wait. You’ll forget to keep your feet tucked under your chair sometime…”
Ed picked up his fork again, suppressing a grin. He just couldn’t help it. If the man had really grown up with this woman, then Ed was beginning to see where he might have gotten some of his social traits. There were few people who could go toe-to-toe with Mustang, but Madam Chris appeared to be one of them.
Ed had been reluctant to agree, when she’d invited him to stay for New Year’s Eve dinner. But she had seemed as glad to meet him as she said she was, and the invitation had appeared genuine, so he’d finally acquiesced.
There had been a few minutes socializing in the living room with warm mugs of mulled wine, steaming gently, spiced with cinnamon and orange - accompanied by the overwhelming sight of so many beautiful women, their throats, necks, and hair glittering with gold and jewels, their lithe bodies only just adequately covered by the silks and satins that adorned them…they walked and sat with such poise and grace…visions of beauty unlike anything he’d ever seen before…
As further introductions were made, so many hugs, touches, or light kisses were exchanged that Ed was frantically glad he had one automail leg, because it was the only thing keeping him standing, the other knee being ready to collapse weakly under him. He’d kept his face as impassive as possible (being fully aware of Mustang’s amused eyes taking everything in), but sank with a grateful sigh onto the couch as Lily led him to it. He gamely tried to remember all the women’s names - Laney, Allison, Devra, Petra, Jasmine, Asha - but he couldn’t keep track, and forgot more than he remembered.
After a few minutes, the entire group had been directed into this huge, ornate dining room, where a marvellous feast awaited them: the goose on one golden platter, a large ham on another of silver, bowls of vegetables and sauces, stuffed mushroom appetizers, sweets, fruit, wines...
Mustang, taking the seat beside him, had commented, “Better than dormitory food, right, Ed?”
At which moment Ed had remembered his brother with a guilty start. “Al!” he exclaimed. “I should get back - he’s going to be worried sick by now - “
“Relax, I called him,” the man had said, shaking out his napkin with the efficient flick of a wrist.
Ed remembered: Mustang had disappeared for a few minutes after all the introductions had been made. “So you told him I was okay? Er…you didn’t - you didn’t tell him where we - ”
For the only time so far this evening, the other man grimaced in displeasure. “Don’t be such a disrespectful prude, Ed,” he snapped. “But no. I didn’t say exactly where we were. I just told him we’d bumped into each other and ended up with some of my friends. Satisfied?” The irritation vanished, though, as he added with a smirk, “Alphonse said we should enjoy our ‘bonding time’.”
Ed had barked an involuntary laugh. That sounded just like his brother. Ah, but if Al only knew what sort of ‘bonding’ went on around here!
Ed finished off what remained of his portion of goose, and was dipping his last piece of asparagus into a few drops of creamy sauce, when Mustang stood and carved another slice of goose from the platter. “You’ll have more, won’t you, Ed? There’s still plenty.” And another tender, juicy morsel landed on the younger man’s plate, the skin at the edge crisp and golden, the white meat moist and tender. Mustang followed it with a dab of the stuffing, and more of the dark, rich blackberry-cognac sauce, poured from a small white pitcher. Meanwhile, a fresh platter of asparagus was also beginning to make the rounds.
By the end of the meal, Ed was more stuffed than that bird had ever been. When someone mentioned dessert, he almost groaned at the thought. But Madam Chris shook her head. “Let’s allow our meal to settle first, and dessert will come later. Right now we should go back to the living room and - “
“And open presents!” Lily enthused, already heaving back her chair, her fair face flushed with anticipation, the pleats down the front of her navy dress vibrating in a most appealing way.
Ed had to grin at the general speed (and the noise!) with which the room cleared. As the young women followed Madam Chris into the living room, he lagged a little, unsure how he fit into the general mayhem. Mustang came a few steps behind, a companionable arm draped around the shoulders of one of the women who’d sat beside Lily - a young Xingian named Jheun, with exotic eyes (much like his) and long black hair tied back with a red ribbon.
She asked as they walked, her accent barely discernible, “How is Jean, Roy?”
He replied, “He’s doing very well. In fact, he’s got a new girlfriend.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” she laughed. “I liked him so much when I met him, that time I ran into you two on the street. I’d like to get to know him better sometime. He’s very nice looking.”
“Of course he is,” Mustang drawled. “I only have nice looking people working for me. I brought you one tonight, you might notice. But about Jean…you do know the rule…”
“I know, I know,” the young woman sighed. “Not while I’m still working.”
“He just wouldn’t understand, Jheun. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
“Well, once I’m finished my courses at the college…”
“That’s right,” the man agreed. “Then we might arrange for you two to meet again.”
Ed frowned thoughtfully, wondering what difference her college courses would make, but as he entered the living room, Lily called him over to sit beside her on the couch, and he gave it no more thought. She’d been saving his place with a throw cushion. He shoved it back and sat down to her left, and immediately she leaned against his arm (her perfume…what was it…berries or something?), and took his right hand.
“Time for New Year’s presents. Shall I do something nice for you, Fullmet - oh! This is your automail hand, isn’t it?” She squeezed his forefinger, her own fingers probing through the fabric of the glove. “This feels so strange.” She cast him a sly smile. “I bet you can do very interesting things with these metal fingers…”
Ed yanked his hand away, straightening the glove. He knew - he just knew - he was blushing again. “I don’t really like it being touched,” he blurted. “Sorry.”
“No, my fault. I should mind my own business. You do know, don’t you, that we’re all just teasing, and we wouldn’t, you know, try anything?” The young woman peered anxiously at him, biting her lip. Her eyes were very blue. “We keep a strict distance from Roy’s friends. I guess we tease too much, when he’s around. We kind of egg each other on.”
Ed regarded her for a moment, and then smiled. “It’s okay. I know you’re teasing,” he said, and discovered that he really believed it. Relief sluiced through him in a cool wave. Maybe he should just let himself relax and enjoy the evening, instead of being so guarded about everything. He clenched and unclenched the metal hand a couple of times, then twiddled the fingers. “I never thought about it before,” he said, “but you’re right. I could learn to do a lot more things with this hand. So,” he cast his companion a mischievous grin, “any idea who could teach me?”
She stared at him for a moment, mouth open, before bursting out laughing.
She was blushing! He’d made her blush! He was such a goof to be so happy about something that silly.
Across the room, standing with his canvas bag beside the armchair near the fireplace, Mustang laughed at his subordinate. “There you go, Ed,” he chuckled, “that’s getting into the spirit of things.”
The women had arranged themselves on the various couches, armchairs, and even a few throw rugs on the floor, and the colonel made the rounds to all of them. He began with his foster mother by the fireplace, handing each woman a carefully wrapped and decorated package, leaning over either to kiss their foreheads or their proffered hands.
When he came to the couch, he murmured, “Sorry, Ed - I really would have gotten you something if I knew you were going to be spying on me.”
“Very funny,” Ed snorted. “I’m fine.”
“Lily,” Madam Chris prompted, “maybe it’s time you tell Roy your good news.”
Mustang looked down at the young woman, eyebrows raised, and her cheeks flushed again with pleasure. “I wasn’t sure when to mention it,” she told him breathlessly, “but I have enough clients as a seamstress that I’m going to be able to do it full-time by the end of January.”
“Sweetheart,” the man smiled, pulling her to her feet, “that’s wonderful. I’m so glad for you.” He pulled her into a tight hug as everyone else in the room clapped.
Ed watched the two of them, his jaw threatening to drop again. Nothing around here fit into his concept of a house like this. Absolutely nothing. And how did being a seamstress fit into, well, the other work she did here?
Lily brushed her hands down Mustang’s black vest, smoothing it for him, before plopping back beside Ed on the couch. Her eyes still shone up at the older man. “I’ve known for a few weeks, but I wanted to surprise you tonight.”
“It’s the best surprise of the evening,” he assured her, tousling her blond hair. “Now I wish I’d brought you two presents,” he added, bending to set a small beribboned box into her lap.
“And you know what this means, of course,” put in Madam Chris. “It’s time for you to recruit us another girl, Roy.”
“I see that.” Mustang straightened and half-turned toward her. Smiling. “In fact, I already have one picked out,” he said.
(Chapter 3 to come)