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lynx212Title: Cloak and Dagger - Part 2
Genres: Adventure/Romance/Humor
Rating: R
Pairing: Havoc/Ed
Words: 28,635 (Total)
Warnings: Some language, sexual situations
Spoilers: Possible movie spoilers, Slight AU
Summary: Jean finds himself enjoying his time spent hanging out with an older wiser Ed. However, spending to much time with anyone named Elric is bound to be much more than you bargained for... this is no exception.
Written for:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
havemy_heart
Friday went by in much the same manner as Thursday, but instead of Rosco lingering in their office it was Amy. Mr. Sleazy was right about her being on the prowl; Jean couldn’t recall being hit on that many times by one person in his life. She was relentless to the point that it wasn’t coming across flattering like she’d hoped; instead, it just felt desperate and annoying.
When their day was done, both men were happy to get home. Jean watched as Ed sat at the table pouring over something in the notebook he’d brought home with them, and curiosity made Jean ask what it was.
“I’m not sure.”
“What?”
“It’s written in some sort of code,” Ed replied as he handed the notebook to Jean.
Jean scanned it, and to him it looked like any other logbook lying around. He gave Ed an arched eyebrow, and then Jean tried to hand the book back to him, but Ed wouldn’t take it.
“No, look again and read past the words this time.”
Jean looked at the page for quite some time but still saw nothing.
“Look at how each entry contains a series of numbers. Who writes about numbers that often in journal?”
Jean hadn’t thought about that, but Ed had a point. As he scanned each entry, they did seem to have an unusual amount of numbers in them, either as numerals or spelled out.
“I’m willing to bet anything it’s some form of idiot code.”
“Idiot code?”
“Yeah, it’s the practice of hiding information in plain sight by having some weird system of writing things that only a few people know how to decipher. It’s like, if I wrote you a note saying I love hamburgers and I would like to have three, anyone seeing that would have no idea it meant anything other than what it said, but only you and I know that the word ‘hamburger’ is the code for Mustang and that any number used is a time of day.”
“So essentially, you just let me know you are meeting The Chief at 3 o’clock.”
“Bingo, but anyone else that read that wouldn’t have any clue what they were looking at, even if it was what they were searching for.”
“So why is it called idiot code? Sounds brilliant to me.”
“It’s named that because even an idiot could use it. Unlike some of the technical stuff Kain messes with or the deep strategy Breda handles, this can be used and understood by anyone… hell, even a kid could use it. That’s how it earned its name.”
“Where did you get this from?”
“Rosco’s office.”
“You stole something from him already?”
“Calm down, and not really. I kept seeing him eyeing it off and on throughout the day, and when he called me in there for the third time I sat my notebooks and files down on top of it and ‘happened’ to pick that one up by mistake.”
“You’re a slick one, Richard; I’ll give you that.”
Ed smirked at him, bounced to his feet and said, “Let’s get some grub and then go grocery shopping. Maes will hang us if we blow all of our cens eating out.”
+++
The weekend went by relatively quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to hit the sack and get ready for Monday morning.
Monday morning came and went, and when lunchtime came around, Rosco made good on his offer and took them to a rather nice eatery. As they looked over the menu, Jean noticed how often Rosco’s eyes flickered over to Ed as the short blond tried to decide what he wanted to eat. Ed shut the menu, and just when Jean thought he was about to hear an order large enough to break Sleazy's bank, what came out of Ed’s mouth nearly caused Jean to choke on his drink.
“Why don’t you recommend something? I can’t seem to decide.”
What kind of foolery was this - Ed not knowing what he wanted to eat…willingly letting someone else mandate what he consumed? Two of his known favorites were on the lunch list… it made no sense.
“Let’s see,” Donovan thought as he rubbed his pointy little chin, “You look like a man that would enjoy a fine cut of meat, so I suggest the 6oz sirloin, and they prepare some of the best summer squash in the city.”
The indignant squawk at the meager suggestion Jean expected to hear never came; instead, Ed nodded at Rosco and replied, “Sounds good to me.”
“What’ll you have, Stretch?”
“The grilled chicken and a baked potato special sounds tasty.”
“It is, I’ve had it before; in fact, I think I’ve tried almost everything on their menu.”
Havoc didn’t say it, but he thought, I’m sure you have tried everything on a lot of menus since you don’t have to pay for anything using your own money.
When the food arrived, Ed sat across from Donovan cutting up his entire piece of meat before taking the first bite as he talked about some of the things he hoped to change at the Community Outreach Shelter and Boarding House. He was eating at such a leisurely pace and chewing so quietly it was hard to picture the same man that had deboned two racks of ribs at a previous lunch in one sitting. As lunch moved on, Jean didn’t want to seem like a wallflower so he chimed in when he thought it appropriate, but he left the majority of the conversation to Ed.
As lunch wound to a close, Donovan looked at Ed and said, “I knew you were just what we needed. Amy will be so pleased to have this placed running smoothly again.”
“I hope you’re right, because I plan to make big changes,” Ed said before he stood up, excused himself, and strutted off in the direction of the restrooms.
Donovan was watching Ed, and Jean was watching Donovan.
“How long have the two of you worked together?”
Jean replayed the story he and Ed had cooked up over in his head, taking a sip of his water to cover his hesitation. “Three years.”
“You don’t say? Well then, you must know if he has someone in his life.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is he in a relationship, is what I mean.”
“No, not that I’m aware of.”
“A fine-looking man like that, single? I’m shocked; he must be the picky type. He certainly has the right to be.”
Jean wasn’t sure where this was going, but he already didn’t like it.
“He can be a little hard to please.”
“And just how would you know? Have you tried?”
The look on Jean’s face must have been priceless because Rosco starting laughing. It was a sharp, prickly, obnoxious sound Jean knew he would grow to hate.
“Don’t look so stunned, boy, I find it hard to believe you haven’t considered it. Are you blind?”
Thankfully, Jean didn’t have to answer because Ed walked back up to the table. The trio left the eatery and when they got to the car, Sleazy held open the passenger side door for Ed, and even though he hesitated at first, he smiled at the insufferable man and got in.
Jean was more than ready to leave when the clock struck five and nearly plowed Amy over on his way out. Donovan’s remarks at lunch as well as Ed’s meek behavior were grinding on his nerves. Usually he was one of the people wanting Ed to calm down and not overreact, but today he wanted nothing more than for Ed to put ol’ Sleazy in his place.
As they walked home in silence, Ed kept giving Jean odd looks. Once they reached the flat Ed sighed and said, “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. It’s probably going to get that bad, but it wasn’t that bad today.”
“Whatever,” Jean snorted as he plopped down on the couch.
“Look, this sort of thing happens all the time. It’s not that big a deal.”
“That man is a reprehensible slime ball.”
“I agree; he is stomach turning.”
“Well, if you agree, how can you be so calm about it?”
“Because it’s my job, dear Jerry, and now it’s your job too. We won’t get anywhere by expressing our disgust with the man. We get somewhere by feeding him just enough of what he wants to get the same in return.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“I don’t either, but it is what it is. Now, please give me some food; I’m starving! I’ve had cookies bigger than that tiny so-called steak he ordered me at lunch.”
“Why did you let him order that meager meal, anyway? I thought for sure you would speak up about that.”
“Look, this dude is the type that likes to feel in control - that much about his personality I’ve figured out. I won’t be able to get on his good side if I challenge his authority.”
“It needs to be challenged.”
“I know, but it would be pointless for us to do that considering our mission, so chill out. He’s not the first pervert and slime ball I’ve run into during my years in the service, and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”
That statement sent Jean’s mind on a tailspin. Just how long had Ed been doing this, and what did he mean by during his time in the service? That made it sound like the shady people weren’t just on missions. He wanted to drop the matter because it set uneasy with him, but that last part wouldn’t leave him in peace.
“What do you mean by ‘during your time in the service’? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Nothing Roy and Maes didn’t take care of before it became an issue.”
“Enough with the vagueness and riddles, Richard; I’m not in the mood.”
Jean’s tone shocked Ed a little but he didn’t say anything. He knew everything about this assignment was new to Jean, and the man had already admitted that he was feeling off kilter so it wouldn’t do any good for him to complain about the snippy tone; regardless, he was going to let Jean know his reasons behind being vague.
“Look, this is obviously upsetting to you so I didn’t feel the need to add to it, but if you insist I’ll flick off the sugar coating and go for it.”
That brisk response was a wakeup call for Jean. He hadn’t meant to come across as snide to Ed, but apparently he had. He thought about Ed’s words for a few moments and tried to make up his mind if he truly wanted to know what Ed had been alluding to with his comment. More often than not, a person really didn’t want out of their veil of ignorance, especially when it came to either Elric brother. Some things are best left unknown.
When he decided his mind was already scrambled so he may as well go for it, Jean told Ed to continue.
“Archer was always acting strange around me, and he had the misfortune to be caught by Maes making a less-than-appropriate comment. He had said something to the effect of, “He’d like to be the one to take my training wheels off.” Well, I won’t go into the unnecessary details about what transpired after that, but let’s just say that Archer almost ended up skewered and roasted alive long before Hawkeye shot him.”
“Why didn’t you say something if he was acting strange around you?”
“Because I didn’t understand it for the threat it was. Genius aside, Jerry, I was thirteen; that’s not where my mind was.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to sound like I was blaming you.”
“It’s all good; I’ve been down that road too,” Ed said as he grabbed the cards off the counter behind him. “You up for a few hands of gin?”
“Huh?” Jean asked as he nodded yes to the question.
“Since the automail, I’ve struggled with seeing myself as attractive but that’s a big hurdle for any amputee,” Ed said as he shuffled the cards. “With that being said, it seldom crossed my mind that anyone’s looking at me ‘that way’. Some mistook my lack of noticing as arrogance; therefore, I became a target and a challenge, and before the dust settles it’s usually my fault in some manner. Conversing with someone on a regular basis can easily be misconstrued as flirting, so if this happens and they decide to throw themselves at you and you aren’t interested, then you have led them on.”
“Is that bitterness I hear in your tone, Rich?”
“Damn straight it is!” Ed said as he slid the deck in front of Jean and offered up the cut. “This is why I tend to keep to myself and a small circle of trusted individuals. I have no desire to walk around on those kinds of eggshells day in, day out. At least I know Denny’s not going to run off whining to Mustang, Hughes, or Al if things don’t go his way.”
“You really like this dude, huh?”
“Not sure yet. I like him well enough as a person but there’s not really a spark there yet, y’know? I will say that he doesn’t annoy me when he randomly stops me for idle chit-chat, so that alone has to be something.”
“Why so?”
“People annoy me in general, so if he doesn’t under those circumstances, then I’m guessing there has to be something there.”
Now it was Havoc’s turn to give Ed a look. From what Ed was saying, it sounded like The Boss had never been hit with ‘the thunderbolt’ before. If that was the case, then he was in for a real shock/treat when it happened.
“Are you telling me that you’ve never had a crush on anyone, Rich?” Jean asked as he watched Ed deal the cards.
“I suppose I am - never really gave it much thought. I haven’t met anyone I’ve wanted to have around me indefinitely.”
“What about the feisty redhead you were dating a while back? I’ve seen her, and well, I can’t think of much that would cause you to send her packing.”
“Oh, you mean Katara?” Ed asked as he looked at the cards in his hand and decided he didn’t really want any of them. It was a crummy deal; he’d take his chances with the deck. “She was sweet, smart and all of that, but she had this one annoying habit I just couldn’t get past, no matter how hard I tried.”
“You dumped a babe like that over a quirk? Maybe you’re more vain than you previously thought. I mean, if…”
“Do we have any pickles?”
“No I don’t think so. Anyway, if you…”
“Did you like the dinner I made last night?”
“Yeah, it was great; I love pork chops and yours were some of the best I’ve had since leaving home, but if you…”
“Do you think it’ll rain tomorrow? If it does, we should stay in again.”
“No; I don’t think it will, but as I was …”
“Well, if it’s sunny, let’s eat in the park, ok?”
“Fine; whatever, would you let me…?”
“Oh! I have a great idea; let’s do the whole picnic thing if it’s sunny.”
“Would you please let me finish!”
Ed doubled over laughing at that point. He’d been holding it in the entire time he was illustrating his point to his roommate. “Could you live with that - day in, day out, never able to finish one thought in her presence - something only made worse by her high-pitched voice? By the end of the third week, I was ready to choke her.”
“I’m surprised you made it that long.”
“Well, she could put that tongue to other uses, and well… she was a gem among gems as far as that went.”
As time passed, Jean was getting more and more used to this adult Ed, but it still caught him off-guard at times. This was one of those times. Clearing his throat, he asked, “So, you mean to tell me you haven’t ever had that falling feeling?”
“And just what, pray tell, is that?”
“It’s that stomach-flopping, face-flushing feeling you get when in the presence of someone you like, that nervous excited feeling that comes out of nowhere just because they give you a certain look or enter the room.”
“No,” Ed said as he rearranged the cards in his hand, “can’t say I’ve ever gone through all of that - not entirely sure I’d want to.”
“It’s not bad, per se, but it definitely changes things for a person, that’s for sure.”
+++
Days turned into weeks and the two were so settled into their routine it’d be easy for them to forget they had another life to go back to. Maes had checked in on them twice and said that what few financial records Ed had sent his way definitely showed signs of mismanagement, but they still couldn’t trace it back to anyone in particular. If anyone looked guilty right now, it was Amy, and the two blonds didn’t think for a moment she was behind it. If anyone had their hand in the cookie jar it was Rosco; they just had to prove it.
Life rolled into yet another weekend in the heart of the city, and due to the weather change, they had decided to stay in. Neither had the desire to go traipsing around in the rain so they decided to buy a few beers, cook up a bunch of junk and play cards. Jean was ready to get going but Ed was nowhere to be seen. Jean trekked through the apartment until he found Ed in his room, stretched out on his stomach, staring intently at two sheets of paper in his hand.
Jean leaned in the doorway for a while, and when Ed didn’t acknowledge his presence, he cleared his throat.
“Oh, sorry about that; I guess you’re waiting on me, huh?”
“Well, I hadn’t exactly planned on playing solitaire this evening. Staying in on a Friday night is bad enough without adding that to it.”
Ed chuckled. “Don’t stay in on my account if you’d rather be out on the town. I just don’t do the rain if I can avoid it.”
“I can’t say I blame you on that one. You ready to eat?”
“When aren’t I?” Ed asked as he got off the bed and headed for the door.
Once they got in the kitchen, Ed couldn’t help but notice the melancholy look on Jean’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really, I just don’t want to end up any higher on the pathetic scale than I already am. No offense to present company, but this is yet another Friday night with no plans for me.”
Ed gave him a curious look and shook his head. “You have an odd way of quantifying yourself, Lieutenant. If staying in on a Friday night makes a person pathetic, we all are. Think about it; even Mustang stays in on some Friday nights.”
“But I’m sure he makes it out more Fridays than he stays in.”
Ed snorted and said, “Ok, ponder this. What if I start dating Denny and he works almost every Friday, but is off Tuesday and Wednesdays. Would I still be labeled as pathetic in your book because I stayed in nearly every Friday?”
Havoc thought about it as he pulled a couple of beers out of the fridge and set them on the table.
As per usual, The Boss had a point.
“I had never thought about it like that.”
“I figured as much,” Ed said, smirk plastered across his face, “I’m a nonconformist to the depths of my soul so I have zero interest with keeping up with society and all its rules. Sure, a person that has dates three or four nights a week might seem popular as well as lucky, but what if they are courting a string of losers? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have one date a month that I enjoy than a whole horde of them I’d rather forget.”
Havoc grinned at Ed, “You know, if you don’t want to stick with the military, you should consider becoming a philosopher or life counselor, Rich; you’re good at this sort of thing.”
“Eh, I don’t know about all that, but living the life I’ve lived has made me think long and hard about how I spend my time and what’s really worth losing sleep over. I hate to sound jaded, but society’s standpoint on dating and such isn’t even close to the top of the list. Hell, I’m not sure it’s even on it.”
As Havoc shuffled the cards, his mind spun on Ed’s words. As it did so, it circled back around to the example Ed had given earlier - Denny Brosh. That was an awful specific example in his mind. Not that it was any of Havoc’s business, but just like following Ed under the bridge, Havoc took the bait.
“So, any particular reason why you used Denny as an example earlier?”
That devious smirk that seemed to live on Ed’s face returned with a vengeance. Well defined arms folded across his chest before Ed propped his feet up on the table and looked at Havoc. “Well, well, Jerry - I never figured you for the nosy sort.”
“Generally I’m not, but even you have to admit that was an awful specific example you gave.”
“Touché,” Ed said as he put his feet down and used his automail hand to pop open the two beers. Over the last three weeks, Havoc had come to realize just how handy automail could be. It had more uses than he ever dared to consider.
“I probably gave that example because he’s on my mind.”
“And why would that be?” Havoc asked as he pulled another card from the deck.
“Hold your horses, I’m getting to that. He hasn’t come right out and said it, but he’s made it clear that’s he’s interested in me and I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Ed said as he leaned over the table and drew a card from the discard pile instead of pulling from the deck.
“Yeah, I’d say dating another dude would be awkward.”
Another snort from Ed had Jean looking at the younger man, wondering what was so funny.
“Awkward is suddenly finding yourself about 50lbs heavier because you now have two metal limbs. Dating someone else that happens to also have an outie is different at best.”
Havoc didn’t know how to respond to that. He had no clue where to begin. Once you thought about Ed’s situation like that, many things most would consider highly unusual were not something even worth noting to Ed. For someone who chased down chimeras on a regular basis, had his brother’s soul encased in a suit of armor, and has crossed the gate multiple times, same-sex dating was probably not even a blip on their radar.
Thankfully, Ed just laughed at him and began dumping popcorn in a bowl as Havoc picked up a card from the deck. Finally, the silence got to be too much for Ed and he said, “Look, if that sort of thing bothers you it’s no skin off my hide. To each it’s own, y’know?”
“No, no, it’s not that; at least, I don’t think it is… shit, I really don’t know what to think. You’ve spent the last month doing nothing but causing me to rethink everything I once thought of as a constant or a given in my life, and it’s left me a little off balance, to be honest.”
“Sorry, I tend to get like that. If you ever hear Al say, “Brother, can you try to be a little less… you while so-and-so is here?” that’s what he is referring to. I tend to speak my mind, regardless of what anyone may think of my thought process.”
“That’s not a bad thing, Rich.”
“In a general sense it’s not, but it can be depending on who you’re talking to.”
“I suppose that’s true of a lot of things.”
“It is, and by the way…”
“What?”
“Gin.”
+++
It was a Wednesday like any other Wednesday, and hot as the dickens. The office fans were running full-steam, but it was still hot enough to cook muffins in the place. It was early fall but nature had decided to bestow upon them an Indian summer with temperatures in the mid-nineties. Havoc was trying his best not to think about the heat as he sifted through the stacks of mail he had on his desk. He had to hand it to ‘Richard’; for someone who has never actually done this type of work, he was good at it. He had thinned the backlog this place had down to nothing. People came in left and right asking to see him, and more often than not, they were the last two to leave the building.
It was past closing time when Rosco wandered into their office and asked them if they had dinner plans. Ed said that, outside of polishing off yesterday’s leftovers, they had none. He asked them if they’d like to dine with him at a local steakhouse, but Ed declined by telling him his budget was a bit too tight for that kind of splurging.
Rosco frowned at this, but Ed paid him no mind as he continued to organize his desk so he would be ready come morning.
“Hey Stretch, would you mind getting me a glass of ice water from the break room?”
Jean had to bite his tongue to keep from telling the man he wasn’t his butler. It was a struggle, but he managed. With a nod, he disappeared down the hall and made sure to take his time. He knew when he was being dismissed from a private conversation. He was just hoping Sleazy was finally going to give them something to work with so they could wrap up this assignment.
Rosco watched Ed move around his office like a busy little bee, and once Jean’s footsteps faded he put his hand on Ed’s shoulder and said, “Easy there, Richie; at this pace, you’re going to wear your fingerprints away.”
“Just trying to get ready for tomorrow. We have several clients coming in first thing in the morning.”
“Well, a man like you shouldn’t have to work this hard. Why don’t you let me take you out to dinner, my treat?”
“I couldn’t do that; I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“It's no imposition at all; in fact, I insist.”
“Well, only if you’re sure.”
“I am, shall we meet at The Buffalo Grill around eight - or would you like me to pick you up?”
“No; meeting there at eight is fine, it’ll give me time to finish researching a few things before we eat and the library I go to is not far from there.”
“What are you doing research after hours for?”
“Oh, it’s not work related, just something I do for a little extra income on the side. Professors and the like don’t always have the time or want to take the time to gather information for their projects, so I do it for them.”
Jean walked back in and handed Rosco his water just as Ed was spinning this tale and marveled at how fluently the man could lie to a person’s face.
“Well, I’ll see you at eight, Richie.”
“Ok, see you then.”
Havoc bristled at the sight of the grin Ed flashed the man’s way, but he kept his face impassive as Rosco tipped his hat at him and strutted out of the office. With practiced ease, Jean kept his mouth shut for the rest of the day, as well as during the walk home. He was sure it was going to give him blood pressure problems at some point, but he had it down to a science regardless.
When they got back to their flat, Ed tossed his beret on the counter as he kicked off his shoes at the door. He flopped bonelessly down on the couch and asked Jean if he would open the window and let some air in. Jean opened the window and proceeded to the kitchen in search of ice water, not that the ice would last long in this heat, but it at least held the promise of keeping a person’s drink cool long enough to get most of it down.
As he moved through the place, he called out to Ed and started asking what the deal was with going out to dinner with Rosco. Ed said he had a feeling the man was about to spill the beans on something and it was obvious he didn’t want to do it in mixed company. Havoc kept grumbling his displeasure at the situation and after a while, Ed quit replying.
When he made his way into the living room to chastise the younger solider for ignoring him, he saw that Ed had fallen asleep. He supposed all of those late nights spent trying to crack Sleazy's code and the days spent working overtime had caught up with him. He was splayed out on the couch, jacket and shirt discarded in a heap on the floor. His hair was out of its low ponytail and spilling over the arm of the couch.
Nearly an hour later, Ed still looked like he could sleep the rest of the night like that and Havoc almost hated to wake him, but he did because he was certain that, as much as they had sweated today, Ed had planned to take a shower before stepping into any public eatery, especially one as nice as The Buffalo Grill.
Groggy golden eyes looked up at him as he shook Ed’s shoulder. The moment Havoc said it was after six-thirty Ed’s eyes snapped to full attention and he bounced to his feet. He stretched, yawned, and cursed, then dashed off to his room to grab some clothes and a towel.
Jean’s mind went blank the moment Ed stood in front of him because a topless Ed was sight to behold and Jean felt little better than that scum Rosco for ogling him the he was. The man was built like an Adonis and he suddenly had new respect for Denny’s taste in men. Again, Jean’s mind refused to wrap around this and wanted nothing to do with it. He was a skirt-chaser, wasn’t he; therefore, he should not be reacting in any sort of way to what he just saw… right?
Shaking his head, he pulled his trusty pack of smokes out of his pocket and headed for the balcony. Three cigarettes and an Ed-shower later, he was still out there, and this prompted Ed to call his name several times when he didn’t find the man inside anywhere. After he flicked his half-smoked cigarette over the rail, Jean turned around, walked inside and came face-to-face with a sight that made him want to light up again.
There Edward Elric stood with his hands on his hips in nothing but a towel - the tiniest towel Jean had ever seen, to be precise. Blonde hair darkened to the shade of honey sent tendrils of water dripping down his arms and chest. Again, this was not what Jean thought he should be reacting to, but there he was reacting to it anyway.
“Are you coming in or are you going to stand out there all night? I doubt Rosco has any idea we are anyone other than who we say we are, but just in case things go foul we need a plan, so come on in and I’ll run one past you while I get dressed.”
Oh, this was so not gonna go well for Jean but he really didn’t have any way out of it. Well, no way that wouldn’t leave him looking like a freak show and a moron.
Ed was telling Havoc what he thought they should do in case their ruse was discovered, but Havoc wasn’t listening. He was trying to, but he couldn’t focus on anything but the nearly naked man prancing around in front of him. He was going on about something Havoc could care less about as he watched the muscles under Ed’s skin ripple and move as he dried his hair with another towel. He tossed that towel aside and flopped on the couch. Automail foot on the floor, flesh foot on the couch it caused his right leg to bend at an angle that left very little covered by that tiny towel, and Jean was having a hard time keeping his eyes away from Ed’s exposed thigh.
“…and that’s what I need you to do if the shit hits the fan, ok?”
“Uh… oh sure, got it,” Havoc lied as he prayed nothing went awry because he had heard nothing of Ed’s plan.
“I’m headed out as soon as I get dressed; you have plans for the night?”
“No,” Havoc replied, but as he watched Ed’s retreating back as he walked down the hall, he lamented the fact that jerking off might be on his to-do list if he didn’t get a hold of himself soon.
Ed left shortly after that, and Jean fixed himself a sandwich before settling on the couch and trying not to recall how Ed had looked in this very same spot less than thirty minutes ago. The back of the couch was still damp where long blond hair had rested there as Ed talked about a plan Havoc hadn’t listened to.
Deciding that a nap would be his best escape from the dangerous territory his mind had decided to linger in, Jean closed his eyes and drifted off.
Jean soon found himself wandering through a park full of statues he’d never seen before. He passed statues depicting nearly every mythological god and goddess there was. The park itself was beautiful - lush green grass, trees in bloom and cherry blossoms floating everywhere - it was like paradise. As he moved along the cobblestone path he was on, he came to a statue that was much shorter than the others. It’s of a young man, and he was chiseled perfection. Havoc stared at the statue for a while before moving on to look at the others. He didn’t get very far before he heard a strange sound behind him. He turned around, but he didn’t see anyone or anything. He was about to continue on when he noticed the statue of the young man was gone.
The pedestal was still there, but the state itself was gone.
Unable to accept that as possibility, Havoc jogged back to the spot and sure enough, it was empty. Confused, he stood there a while trying to figure out how this could be when he heard a chuckle. When he looked behind him, he saw no one, but then he heard the laughter again. When he turned to face the empty pedestal once more, there sat Ed as naked as the statue had been, but then after he thought about what the statue had looked like, it had been Ed.
“Ed?”
“What’s an ‘Ed’?”
Havoc shook his head. “Never mind; who are you?”
“Can’t you read, handsome?” Ed said as he pointed to the plaque on the pedestal. It said, “Adonis,” and Jean had to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing really,” Havoc said, trying to change the subject, “Weren’t you a statue a moment ago?”
“Yup.”
“But you’re moving around talking to me now.”
“Yup.”
“How is that possible?”
The figure sitting on the pedestal leaned down until pale pink lips were a breath away from Jean’s ear and whispered, “Does it matter?”
Heat surged through Jean’s body at those words, and he backed away so he could look at the other man. Ed/Adonis smirked and reached out to him. When Jean touched the other man’s hand, he pulled him up onto the pedestal beside him. The shorter man smoothed his fingers through Jean’s hair and smiled up at him in the most inviting way Jean had ever seen. Standing on his toes, Adonis stretched up and Jean didn’t fight it; no, he leaned in and…
…a door slammed shut.
+++
Ed returned to the apartment just before eleven, and Havoc was still sleep on the couch. The none-too-gentle closing of the door woke him up from a perfectly pleasant dream, and once he gathered his senses, he followed the rustle and clank of dishes into the kitchen. Ed was digging out what was left of last night’s dinner and making a sandwich; if this kept up, Havoc was scared this mission would starve Ed to death - that is, if the late nights didn’t get him first.
Havoc watched from the shadows as Ed dumped his haphazard meal on the table, leftovers still cold and sandwich thrown together. He pulled his ever trusty notebook out and sat down to read it with no more light than what trickled from the oven hood fixture.
Havoc flipped the main light on and Ed nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Damn, Jerry - you need to wear a bell or something. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry, Rich; I didn’t mean to. You want me to heat that up while you work your way through that sandwich?”
“Hey, if you don’t mind, I’m definitely not gonna stop ya.”
Havoc cracked a smile at that and asked, “So, how did things go with Rosco?”
“He’s our man, alright - but we knew that already; he’s just never given us anything this concrete before. He was all concerned about ‘poor delicate little Richard’ working too hard and said that he knew of a way we could both score up on some easy cash if I didn’t mind bending the rules a little. I asked him what exactly he had in mind, and he told me to meet him alone at the address on this napkin at 10:30 Friday night.”
“So this is it, then? We’ll tell Maes and his crew to be there and we can call this done.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“Chances are, he’s testing me to see if I can be trusted, so I won’t get the full skinny at this meeting. It’ll probably take at least three.”
“That sucks.”
“Who are you telling? Take it from the man who had Rosco trying to play footsie with him all evening, the sooner we get out of here, the better.”
“Are you seriously going to go there alone?”
“Yup,” Ed replied as he polished off his sandwich.
“What if he has a bunch of goons or something like that?”
“So what if he does? I won’t be his target, and they won’t care what I do as long as I don’t act like I’m untrustworthy or ask too many of the wrong questions.”
“Well, what if they do get rough with you?”
“I go down just as they expect delicate little, blind-without-his-glasses Richard to do. Suddenly turning into Ed would be devastating right now, and make all of these weeks a sacrifice in vain.”
Jean didn’t like it, but he knew that Ed was right. It would be a horrible setback for the case for them to do anything to blow their cover now, especially after all this time. He let it drop, but that didn’t mean he was any more pleased with the idea of Ed meeting Sleazy and god-only-knows who else by himself. He wasn’t use to this undercover stuff. More often than not, snipers worked in pairs so someone was usually watching your back.
“This man doesn’t have a lot of respect for me. In fact, he doesn’t have much respect for people in general. He sees them as means to an end, and that’s about it. It’s all about what a person can do for him, and even if he wasn’t a nauseating blend of teeth and hair, his attitude alone would make him repulsive.”
“And you wonder why I’m worried?”
“Sorry - didn’t mean to make it worse, but if it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’s very dangerous. If he has henchmen then they might be, but I doubt he’d even know how to get his hands dirty in that manner.”
“That helps a little, but not much.”
Ed shrugged in a noncommittal manner before diving into the reheated dish Havoc had set in front of him a few minutes prior. He now knew why Maes was going gray at the temples.
+++
Friday crept up on the men, and that day started off with a bang. From the time the office doors opened, it was a nonstop flow of discontent people needing help. Everyone in the building was running around like a chicken with their head cut off, which made it surprising that it took Ed until lunchtime to drop an armload of documents and have them scatter like leaves on the wind around his office.
Hot, cranky, and hungry, Ed was grumbling as he bent down to pick up the papers. Havoc got up to lend a hand without prompting, and Ed couldn’t help but think how that was a true failing most people had -they could not simply take it upon themselves to do something because it needed done; therefore, in his opinion Jean Havoc was a step ahead of most in that aspect. Delightful as that thought was, it did nothing to soften his disposition about the situation, and he was in the midst of a nice little tirade about setting the whole stack on fire once he rounded them all up when a voice said, “Come on, Rich; let’s go to lunch - it’s on me today.”
Looking up, Ed’s eyes traveled from the hand extended in front of him up to smiling blue eyes. He froze for a moment as something tingled in the pit of his stomach causing his thoughts to scatter. When he snapped out of whatever it was, he took the offered hand in his and let his officemate pull him to his feet. He could still feel the residual warmth of the other man’s hand in his but paid it no mind.
They made their way out into the heat of the day, and Havoc decided they should eat indoors somewhere nice and air-conditioned. Choosing a diner he knew Ed loved but Rosco never seemed to frequent, he told Ed to grab a seat as he went over to the counter and asked the lady behind the cash register if she could put a rush on a bowl of spicy noodles before they placed their order. The brunette said, “Sure thing,” as she scribbled it down on a piece of paper and disappeared behind a set of double doors.
He then joined Ed in the booth he had chosen near the back of the restaurant, and smiled to himself as he watched golden eyes scan the menu. Despite knowing Ed’s reasons for needing to eat so much, he knew his roommate also enjoyed every minute of it!
When the server appeared at their table, her eyes flicked over Ed several times before she asked if they were ready to order. Ed asked her if they had any specials going on that day, and she said something about a half-priced fish dinner, happy hour, and her being for free. It amused Havoc to no end that Ed didn’t even acknowledge her blatant flirting and ordered the hungry man’s ham platter.
As Jean watched Ed as he continued looking over the menu she'd left behind, he couldn’t help but laugh. Who would have ever thought the two of them would end up undercover? Of all the people in the office, they seemed the least likely to accomplish anything involving this level of stealth and intrigue, yet here they were.
They talked and laughed over lunch, and all too swiftly it was time for them to make their way back to the office. No sooner had Jean sat down behind his desk than Rosco slid in and started talking to Ed.
“I was looking for you around lunch time, Richie. Where’d you disappear to?”
“Jerry and I went to lunch a little earlier than usual.”
“So, does this mean I’m going to have to make my plans with you in advance?”
“Only if you want to,” Ed replied, forcing out a smile.
“Oh I want to,” Rosco answered and his tone of voice made Jean’s stomach turn. “How about every Tuesday and Friday it’s me and you, lunch at noon?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ed replied as he shifted the files from his bottom desk drawer to the storage box behind him. When he moved to pick up the box, Rosco shook his head no.
“Why don’t you get Stretch to do that? We wouldn’t want you throwing your back out over something like this. Besides, that’s the beauty of having an assistant.”
Ed could hear Jean’s teeth grinding, “It’s no problem, Rosco; really, I can handle it.”
“Nonsense; I’m sure Jerry would be glad to help, wouldn’t you, Jerry?”
“Not a problem at all,” Havoc replied, sounding every bit like there was a problem, but Rosco paid him no mind.
“You need to learn to delegate more.”
“I’m not much on giving orders; I’d rather follow them,” Ed said, and Jean nearly choked on the piece of candy he was sucking on. He was sure he heard some part of Ed’s soul die off screaming from actually saying that.
“Well, stick with me, Richie, and I’ll teach you all sorts of things,” Rosco said as his hand settled over top of Ed’s.
Ed didn’t so much as flinch, but Havoc thought he was going to be sick and left the room with the box even though he didn’t have the slightest clue where he was supposed to take it. He decided that the storage room was a safe bet, so he dropped it off there and headed for Amy’s office to kill some time. By the time he shook the woman off him and returned to his office, Ed was thankfully alone.
The day went by a little too fast for Jean’s liking, and before he knew it, they were home. It was his turn to cook, so he washed up and set about pulling out pots and pans as well as things from the ice box. He was so lost in thought that Ed’s voice coming from his right startled him.
“Would you please get out of this funk? I can’t stand it.”
“What?”
“You’ve been just this side of robotic since we got home, and you have yet to utter one word.”
Havoc hadn’t realized it, but Ed was right. He hadn’t meant to come across that way, but he had done so just the same.
“Why is this bothering you so badly? I’ve placed myself in much more dangerous situations when I was still a snot-nosed brat looking for the stone.”
“I wish I could explain it, Ed, but I can’t. Maybe it’s all hinged around the fact that I detest Rosco.”
“Fair enough,” Ed said as he hopped up on the counter beside where Jean was chopping potatoes.
“Want some help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it. Besides, I know that even though you’re good at it, you really don’t like to cook.”
“Not entirely true. I don’t like to cook by myself; cooking with others is kinda fun in a geeky, domestic sort of way.”
Havoc cocked an eyebrow at Ed, and when the younger man looked at him innocently and batted his eyelashes, he sighed. “Making faces like that is what has Sleazy thinking you need his guidance and that he can control you.”
“Back to this so soon, I see. Don’t worry so much; I can handle ‘Sleazy’, as you call him.”
“Well, if it comes down to it, I hope you’re right.”
Ed sighed and hopped off the counter. “Call me when things are close to being done.”
As he watched his roommate grow smaller as Ed disappeared down the hall, Jean felt like a moron. He hadn’t meant to run the shorter blond off. Even though they weren’t conversing much, once the other man was gone, he missed his presence in the kitchen. As he cooked in silence, he tried to think of ways to ask Ed back into the room that wouldn’t sound as weird as he felt. Fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn’t come up with anything, so Jean gave up and decided he’d just have to wait until it was time to call Ed to come eat.
Once everything was done, Havoc strolled down the hall. Ed had his door open, and he was surprised to see the man sitting at his desk writing away. When Jean spoke up and asked if he was working on cracking the code, Ed’s answer of, “Nah, just taking care of some things back home,” made Jean curious, but he didn’t ask. He simply told Ed that the food was ready when he was.
Ed stood up immediately, and with only one backwards glance at what he was writing, he was moving toward the door.
Havoc managed to keep dinner conversation much lighter, and didn’t so much as bristle once Ed began to get ready to meet Rosco. Once Ed was satisfied that he looked presentable, he asked Jean to wish him luck, and that if he wasn’t back by 2am then he needed to start looking for him. Jean nodded, and with no more than that, Ed walked out the door.
Jean had already made up his mind to kill time by listening to the radio in his room and chain smoking. He was headed to do just that when he passed by Ed’s room and the glow of the desk lamp renewed his earlier curiosity. He only debated for a moment over whether or not he should look, but he quickly rationalized that just seeing what it was wasn’t an invasion of privacy.
Peeking over and peering at the documents cautiously as if there was someone to catch him, Jean was surprised to find it was two letters. One was to Al, which was no surprise, but the other one was a little shocking… it was to Denny.
As Jean's eyes scanned the desk, they fell on two envelopes from Denny, and his mind spun back to the conversation he and Ed had had about the man which caused his curiosity to increase threefold.
He should turn around and leave the room.
He really should go and find something productive to do.
He was so staying there and being nosy.
As he sat in the seat, he sighed loudly and tried to convince himself that if these were too personal, then Ed would at the very least have them tucked away.
It was a weak effort to rationalize what he was doing, but it was all he had, so he was going with it.
As he opened the first letter, he prayed for his soul.
Ed,
I hope this letter finds you well, wherever you may be. I’ve never known exactly what it is that you do, but considering that you work closely with Hughes and Mustang, I don’t suppose I’ll ever know. I do worry about you when you come back to us a little worse for wear, but I guess that’s just my nature.
It was great running into you at the fair, and the look on that big dude’s face when you out-ate him in two contests back-to-back was priceless. At least he was a good sport about it, and we managed to score some free games and a few beers out of the entire deal. You beating me at pool five games in a row was fun, even though it was a bit humiliating. You’ll have to teach me how to do a bank shot like that some time.
Nothing much going on my way and I guess I’ve prattled on enough.
Denny
Well, not much to report there, everything sounded like your typical pen-pal stuff to Jean. He slid the second letter out of its envelope, expecting much of the same.
Ed,
I didn’t have the nerve to mention this in the last letter simply because I was still wondering if you were going to even respond after that bold move I made right before you left. I don’t know what came over me, but hearing that you would possibly be gone three months, or more if necessary, made something click in my brain. I had been working up the nerve to actually ask you out, but I never seemed to be able to when I saw you, so you were not the only one shocked when I kissed you as you were leaving the office (I love how you pointed that out in your last letter, by the way).
It was nice to know you were not upset, and I’d like to talk to you when you get back in town and your schedule allows for some down time.
Yours truly,
Den
Havoc frowned as he stuck that one back in its envelope. That second letter was a lot more telling than the first. No wonder Ed had him on the brain the other day. Jean supposed that if he had been kissed out of the blue by someone, then he’d have them on his mind, too. Jean surmised this was how Brosh had made it clear without coming out and saying something.
Actions do speak louder than words, after all.
Jean left Ed’s room and headed straight for the balcony. He needed a smoke… several, to be truthful.
Genres: Adventure/Romance/Humor
Rating: R
Pairing: Havoc/Ed
Words: 28,635 (Total)
Warnings: Some language, sexual situations
Spoilers: Possible movie spoilers, Slight AU
Summary: Jean finds himself enjoying his time spent hanging out with an older wiser Ed. However, spending to much time with anyone named Elric is bound to be much more than you bargained for... this is no exception.
Written for:
havemy_heartFriday went by in much the same manner as Thursday, but instead of Rosco lingering in their office it was Amy. Mr. Sleazy was right about her being on the prowl; Jean couldn’t recall being hit on that many times by one person in his life. She was relentless to the point that it wasn’t coming across flattering like she’d hoped; instead, it just felt desperate and annoying.
When their day was done, both men were happy to get home. Jean watched as Ed sat at the table pouring over something in the notebook he’d brought home with them, and curiosity made Jean ask what it was.
“I’m not sure.”
“What?”
“It’s written in some sort of code,” Ed replied as he handed the notebook to Jean.
Jean scanned it, and to him it looked like any other logbook lying around. He gave Ed an arched eyebrow, and then Jean tried to hand the book back to him, but Ed wouldn’t take it.
“No, look again and read past the words this time.”
Jean looked at the page for quite some time but still saw nothing.
“Look at how each entry contains a series of numbers. Who writes about numbers that often in journal?”
Jean hadn’t thought about that, but Ed had a point. As he scanned each entry, they did seem to have an unusual amount of numbers in them, either as numerals or spelled out.
“I’m willing to bet anything it’s some form of idiot code.”
“Idiot code?”
“Yeah, it’s the practice of hiding information in plain sight by having some weird system of writing things that only a few people know how to decipher. It’s like, if I wrote you a note saying I love hamburgers and I would like to have three, anyone seeing that would have no idea it meant anything other than what it said, but only you and I know that the word ‘hamburger’ is the code for Mustang and that any number used is a time of day.”
“So essentially, you just let me know you are meeting The Chief at 3 o’clock.”
“Bingo, but anyone else that read that wouldn’t have any clue what they were looking at, even if it was what they were searching for.”
“So why is it called idiot code? Sounds brilliant to me.”
“It’s named that because even an idiot could use it. Unlike some of the technical stuff Kain messes with or the deep strategy Breda handles, this can be used and understood by anyone… hell, even a kid could use it. That’s how it earned its name.”
“Where did you get this from?”
“Rosco’s office.”
“You stole something from him already?”
“Calm down, and not really. I kept seeing him eyeing it off and on throughout the day, and when he called me in there for the third time I sat my notebooks and files down on top of it and ‘happened’ to pick that one up by mistake.”
“You’re a slick one, Richard; I’ll give you that.”
Ed smirked at him, bounced to his feet and said, “Let’s get some grub and then go grocery shopping. Maes will hang us if we blow all of our cens eating out.”
+++
The weekend went by relatively quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to hit the sack and get ready for Monday morning.
Monday morning came and went, and when lunchtime came around, Rosco made good on his offer and took them to a rather nice eatery. As they looked over the menu, Jean noticed how often Rosco’s eyes flickered over to Ed as the short blond tried to decide what he wanted to eat. Ed shut the menu, and just when Jean thought he was about to hear an order large enough to break Sleazy's bank, what came out of Ed’s mouth nearly caused Jean to choke on his drink.
“Why don’t you recommend something? I can’t seem to decide.”
What kind of foolery was this - Ed not knowing what he wanted to eat…willingly letting someone else mandate what he consumed? Two of his known favorites were on the lunch list… it made no sense.
“Let’s see,” Donovan thought as he rubbed his pointy little chin, “You look like a man that would enjoy a fine cut of meat, so I suggest the 6oz sirloin, and they prepare some of the best summer squash in the city.”
The indignant squawk at the meager suggestion Jean expected to hear never came; instead, Ed nodded at Rosco and replied, “Sounds good to me.”
“What’ll you have, Stretch?”
“The grilled chicken and a baked potato special sounds tasty.”
“It is, I’ve had it before; in fact, I think I’ve tried almost everything on their menu.”
Havoc didn’t say it, but he thought, I’m sure you have tried everything on a lot of menus since you don’t have to pay for anything using your own money.
When the food arrived, Ed sat across from Donovan cutting up his entire piece of meat before taking the first bite as he talked about some of the things he hoped to change at the Community Outreach Shelter and Boarding House. He was eating at such a leisurely pace and chewing so quietly it was hard to picture the same man that had deboned two racks of ribs at a previous lunch in one sitting. As lunch moved on, Jean didn’t want to seem like a wallflower so he chimed in when he thought it appropriate, but he left the majority of the conversation to Ed.
As lunch wound to a close, Donovan looked at Ed and said, “I knew you were just what we needed. Amy will be so pleased to have this placed running smoothly again.”
“I hope you’re right, because I plan to make big changes,” Ed said before he stood up, excused himself, and strutted off in the direction of the restrooms.
Donovan was watching Ed, and Jean was watching Donovan.
“How long have the two of you worked together?”
Jean replayed the story he and Ed had cooked up over in his head, taking a sip of his water to cover his hesitation. “Three years.”
“You don’t say? Well then, you must know if he has someone in his life.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is he in a relationship, is what I mean.”
“No, not that I’m aware of.”
“A fine-looking man like that, single? I’m shocked; he must be the picky type. He certainly has the right to be.”
Jean wasn’t sure where this was going, but he already didn’t like it.
“He can be a little hard to please.”
“And just how would you know? Have you tried?”
The look on Jean’s face must have been priceless because Rosco starting laughing. It was a sharp, prickly, obnoxious sound Jean knew he would grow to hate.
“Don’t look so stunned, boy, I find it hard to believe you haven’t considered it. Are you blind?”
Thankfully, Jean didn’t have to answer because Ed walked back up to the table. The trio left the eatery and when they got to the car, Sleazy held open the passenger side door for Ed, and even though he hesitated at first, he smiled at the insufferable man and got in.
Jean was more than ready to leave when the clock struck five and nearly plowed Amy over on his way out. Donovan’s remarks at lunch as well as Ed’s meek behavior were grinding on his nerves. Usually he was one of the people wanting Ed to calm down and not overreact, but today he wanted nothing more than for Ed to put ol’ Sleazy in his place.
As they walked home in silence, Ed kept giving Jean odd looks. Once they reached the flat Ed sighed and said, “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. It’s probably going to get that bad, but it wasn’t that bad today.”
“Whatever,” Jean snorted as he plopped down on the couch.
“Look, this sort of thing happens all the time. It’s not that big a deal.”
“That man is a reprehensible slime ball.”
“I agree; he is stomach turning.”
“Well, if you agree, how can you be so calm about it?”
“Because it’s my job, dear Jerry, and now it’s your job too. We won’t get anywhere by expressing our disgust with the man. We get somewhere by feeding him just enough of what he wants to get the same in return.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“I don’t either, but it is what it is. Now, please give me some food; I’m starving! I’ve had cookies bigger than that tiny so-called steak he ordered me at lunch.”
“Why did you let him order that meager meal, anyway? I thought for sure you would speak up about that.”
“Look, this dude is the type that likes to feel in control - that much about his personality I’ve figured out. I won’t be able to get on his good side if I challenge his authority.”
“It needs to be challenged.”
“I know, but it would be pointless for us to do that considering our mission, so chill out. He’s not the first pervert and slime ball I’ve run into during my years in the service, and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”
That statement sent Jean’s mind on a tailspin. Just how long had Ed been doing this, and what did he mean by during his time in the service? That made it sound like the shady people weren’t just on missions. He wanted to drop the matter because it set uneasy with him, but that last part wouldn’t leave him in peace.
“What do you mean by ‘during your time in the service’? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Nothing Roy and Maes didn’t take care of before it became an issue.”
“Enough with the vagueness and riddles, Richard; I’m not in the mood.”
Jean’s tone shocked Ed a little but he didn’t say anything. He knew everything about this assignment was new to Jean, and the man had already admitted that he was feeling off kilter so it wouldn’t do any good for him to complain about the snippy tone; regardless, he was going to let Jean know his reasons behind being vague.
“Look, this is obviously upsetting to you so I didn’t feel the need to add to it, but if you insist I’ll flick off the sugar coating and go for it.”
That brisk response was a wakeup call for Jean. He hadn’t meant to come across as snide to Ed, but apparently he had. He thought about Ed’s words for a few moments and tried to make up his mind if he truly wanted to know what Ed had been alluding to with his comment. More often than not, a person really didn’t want out of their veil of ignorance, especially when it came to either Elric brother. Some things are best left unknown.
When he decided his mind was already scrambled so he may as well go for it, Jean told Ed to continue.
“Archer was always acting strange around me, and he had the misfortune to be caught by Maes making a less-than-appropriate comment. He had said something to the effect of, “He’d like to be the one to take my training wheels off.” Well, I won’t go into the unnecessary details about what transpired after that, but let’s just say that Archer almost ended up skewered and roasted alive long before Hawkeye shot him.”
“Why didn’t you say something if he was acting strange around you?”
“Because I didn’t understand it for the threat it was. Genius aside, Jerry, I was thirteen; that’s not where my mind was.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to sound like I was blaming you.”
“It’s all good; I’ve been down that road too,” Ed said as he grabbed the cards off the counter behind him. “You up for a few hands of gin?”
“Huh?” Jean asked as he nodded yes to the question.
“Since the automail, I’ve struggled with seeing myself as attractive but that’s a big hurdle for any amputee,” Ed said as he shuffled the cards. “With that being said, it seldom crossed my mind that anyone’s looking at me ‘that way’. Some mistook my lack of noticing as arrogance; therefore, I became a target and a challenge, and before the dust settles it’s usually my fault in some manner. Conversing with someone on a regular basis can easily be misconstrued as flirting, so if this happens and they decide to throw themselves at you and you aren’t interested, then you have led them on.”
“Is that bitterness I hear in your tone, Rich?”
“Damn straight it is!” Ed said as he slid the deck in front of Jean and offered up the cut. “This is why I tend to keep to myself and a small circle of trusted individuals. I have no desire to walk around on those kinds of eggshells day in, day out. At least I know Denny’s not going to run off whining to Mustang, Hughes, or Al if things don’t go his way.”
“You really like this dude, huh?”
“Not sure yet. I like him well enough as a person but there’s not really a spark there yet, y’know? I will say that he doesn’t annoy me when he randomly stops me for idle chit-chat, so that alone has to be something.”
“Why so?”
“People annoy me in general, so if he doesn’t under those circumstances, then I’m guessing there has to be something there.”
Now it was Havoc’s turn to give Ed a look. From what Ed was saying, it sounded like The Boss had never been hit with ‘the thunderbolt’ before. If that was the case, then he was in for a real shock/treat when it happened.
“Are you telling me that you’ve never had a crush on anyone, Rich?” Jean asked as he watched Ed deal the cards.
“I suppose I am - never really gave it much thought. I haven’t met anyone I’ve wanted to have around me indefinitely.”
“What about the feisty redhead you were dating a while back? I’ve seen her, and well, I can’t think of much that would cause you to send her packing.”
“Oh, you mean Katara?” Ed asked as he looked at the cards in his hand and decided he didn’t really want any of them. It was a crummy deal; he’d take his chances with the deck. “She was sweet, smart and all of that, but she had this one annoying habit I just couldn’t get past, no matter how hard I tried.”
“You dumped a babe like that over a quirk? Maybe you’re more vain than you previously thought. I mean, if…”
“Do we have any pickles?”
“No I don’t think so. Anyway, if you…”
“Did you like the dinner I made last night?”
“Yeah, it was great; I love pork chops and yours were some of the best I’ve had since leaving home, but if you…”
“Do you think it’ll rain tomorrow? If it does, we should stay in again.”
“No; I don’t think it will, but as I was …”
“Well, if it’s sunny, let’s eat in the park, ok?”
“Fine; whatever, would you let me…?”
“Oh! I have a great idea; let’s do the whole picnic thing if it’s sunny.”
“Would you please let me finish!”
Ed doubled over laughing at that point. He’d been holding it in the entire time he was illustrating his point to his roommate. “Could you live with that - day in, day out, never able to finish one thought in her presence - something only made worse by her high-pitched voice? By the end of the third week, I was ready to choke her.”
“I’m surprised you made it that long.”
“Well, she could put that tongue to other uses, and well… she was a gem among gems as far as that went.”
As time passed, Jean was getting more and more used to this adult Ed, but it still caught him off-guard at times. This was one of those times. Clearing his throat, he asked, “So, you mean to tell me you haven’t ever had that falling feeling?”
“And just what, pray tell, is that?”
“It’s that stomach-flopping, face-flushing feeling you get when in the presence of someone you like, that nervous excited feeling that comes out of nowhere just because they give you a certain look or enter the room.”
“No,” Ed said as he rearranged the cards in his hand, “can’t say I’ve ever gone through all of that - not entirely sure I’d want to.”
“It’s not bad, per se, but it definitely changes things for a person, that’s for sure.”
+++
Days turned into weeks and the two were so settled into their routine it’d be easy for them to forget they had another life to go back to. Maes had checked in on them twice and said that what few financial records Ed had sent his way definitely showed signs of mismanagement, but they still couldn’t trace it back to anyone in particular. If anyone looked guilty right now, it was Amy, and the two blonds didn’t think for a moment she was behind it. If anyone had their hand in the cookie jar it was Rosco; they just had to prove it.
Life rolled into yet another weekend in the heart of the city, and due to the weather change, they had decided to stay in. Neither had the desire to go traipsing around in the rain so they decided to buy a few beers, cook up a bunch of junk and play cards. Jean was ready to get going but Ed was nowhere to be seen. Jean trekked through the apartment until he found Ed in his room, stretched out on his stomach, staring intently at two sheets of paper in his hand.
Jean leaned in the doorway for a while, and when Ed didn’t acknowledge his presence, he cleared his throat.
“Oh, sorry about that; I guess you’re waiting on me, huh?”
“Well, I hadn’t exactly planned on playing solitaire this evening. Staying in on a Friday night is bad enough without adding that to it.”
Ed chuckled. “Don’t stay in on my account if you’d rather be out on the town. I just don’t do the rain if I can avoid it.”
“I can’t say I blame you on that one. You ready to eat?”
“When aren’t I?” Ed asked as he got off the bed and headed for the door.
Once they got in the kitchen, Ed couldn’t help but notice the melancholy look on Jean’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really, I just don’t want to end up any higher on the pathetic scale than I already am. No offense to present company, but this is yet another Friday night with no plans for me.”
Ed gave him a curious look and shook his head. “You have an odd way of quantifying yourself, Lieutenant. If staying in on a Friday night makes a person pathetic, we all are. Think about it; even Mustang stays in on some Friday nights.”
“But I’m sure he makes it out more Fridays than he stays in.”
Ed snorted and said, “Ok, ponder this. What if I start dating Denny and he works almost every Friday, but is off Tuesday and Wednesdays. Would I still be labeled as pathetic in your book because I stayed in nearly every Friday?”
Havoc thought about it as he pulled a couple of beers out of the fridge and set them on the table.
As per usual, The Boss had a point.
“I had never thought about it like that.”
“I figured as much,” Ed said, smirk plastered across his face, “I’m a nonconformist to the depths of my soul so I have zero interest with keeping up with society and all its rules. Sure, a person that has dates three or four nights a week might seem popular as well as lucky, but what if they are courting a string of losers? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have one date a month that I enjoy than a whole horde of them I’d rather forget.”
Havoc grinned at Ed, “You know, if you don’t want to stick with the military, you should consider becoming a philosopher or life counselor, Rich; you’re good at this sort of thing.”
“Eh, I don’t know about all that, but living the life I’ve lived has made me think long and hard about how I spend my time and what’s really worth losing sleep over. I hate to sound jaded, but society’s standpoint on dating and such isn’t even close to the top of the list. Hell, I’m not sure it’s even on it.”
As Havoc shuffled the cards, his mind spun on Ed’s words. As it did so, it circled back around to the example Ed had given earlier - Denny Brosh. That was an awful specific example in his mind. Not that it was any of Havoc’s business, but just like following Ed under the bridge, Havoc took the bait.
“So, any particular reason why you used Denny as an example earlier?”
That devious smirk that seemed to live on Ed’s face returned with a vengeance. Well defined arms folded across his chest before Ed propped his feet up on the table and looked at Havoc. “Well, well, Jerry - I never figured you for the nosy sort.”
“Generally I’m not, but even you have to admit that was an awful specific example you gave.”
“Touché,” Ed said as he put his feet down and used his automail hand to pop open the two beers. Over the last three weeks, Havoc had come to realize just how handy automail could be. It had more uses than he ever dared to consider.
“I probably gave that example because he’s on my mind.”
“And why would that be?” Havoc asked as he pulled another card from the deck.
“Hold your horses, I’m getting to that. He hasn’t come right out and said it, but he’s made it clear that’s he’s interested in me and I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Ed said as he leaned over the table and drew a card from the discard pile instead of pulling from the deck.
“Yeah, I’d say dating another dude would be awkward.”
Another snort from Ed had Jean looking at the younger man, wondering what was so funny.
“Awkward is suddenly finding yourself about 50lbs heavier because you now have two metal limbs. Dating someone else that happens to also have an outie is different at best.”
Havoc didn’t know how to respond to that. He had no clue where to begin. Once you thought about Ed’s situation like that, many things most would consider highly unusual were not something even worth noting to Ed. For someone who chased down chimeras on a regular basis, had his brother’s soul encased in a suit of armor, and has crossed the gate multiple times, same-sex dating was probably not even a blip on their radar.
Thankfully, Ed just laughed at him and began dumping popcorn in a bowl as Havoc picked up a card from the deck. Finally, the silence got to be too much for Ed and he said, “Look, if that sort of thing bothers you it’s no skin off my hide. To each it’s own, y’know?”
“No, no, it’s not that; at least, I don’t think it is… shit, I really don’t know what to think. You’ve spent the last month doing nothing but causing me to rethink everything I once thought of as a constant or a given in my life, and it’s left me a little off balance, to be honest.”
“Sorry, I tend to get like that. If you ever hear Al say, “Brother, can you try to be a little less… you while so-and-so is here?” that’s what he is referring to. I tend to speak my mind, regardless of what anyone may think of my thought process.”
“That’s not a bad thing, Rich.”
“In a general sense it’s not, but it can be depending on who you’re talking to.”
“I suppose that’s true of a lot of things.”
“It is, and by the way…”
“What?”
“Gin.”
+++
It was a Wednesday like any other Wednesday, and hot as the dickens. The office fans were running full-steam, but it was still hot enough to cook muffins in the place. It was early fall but nature had decided to bestow upon them an Indian summer with temperatures in the mid-nineties. Havoc was trying his best not to think about the heat as he sifted through the stacks of mail he had on his desk. He had to hand it to ‘Richard’; for someone who has never actually done this type of work, he was good at it. He had thinned the backlog this place had down to nothing. People came in left and right asking to see him, and more often than not, they were the last two to leave the building.
It was past closing time when Rosco wandered into their office and asked them if they had dinner plans. Ed said that, outside of polishing off yesterday’s leftovers, they had none. He asked them if they’d like to dine with him at a local steakhouse, but Ed declined by telling him his budget was a bit too tight for that kind of splurging.
Rosco frowned at this, but Ed paid him no mind as he continued to organize his desk so he would be ready come morning.
“Hey Stretch, would you mind getting me a glass of ice water from the break room?”
Jean had to bite his tongue to keep from telling the man he wasn’t his butler. It was a struggle, but he managed. With a nod, he disappeared down the hall and made sure to take his time. He knew when he was being dismissed from a private conversation. He was just hoping Sleazy was finally going to give them something to work with so they could wrap up this assignment.
Rosco watched Ed move around his office like a busy little bee, and once Jean’s footsteps faded he put his hand on Ed’s shoulder and said, “Easy there, Richie; at this pace, you’re going to wear your fingerprints away.”
“Just trying to get ready for tomorrow. We have several clients coming in first thing in the morning.”
“Well, a man like you shouldn’t have to work this hard. Why don’t you let me take you out to dinner, my treat?”
“I couldn’t do that; I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“It's no imposition at all; in fact, I insist.”
“Well, only if you’re sure.”
“I am, shall we meet at The Buffalo Grill around eight - or would you like me to pick you up?”
“No; meeting there at eight is fine, it’ll give me time to finish researching a few things before we eat and the library I go to is not far from there.”
“What are you doing research after hours for?”
“Oh, it’s not work related, just something I do for a little extra income on the side. Professors and the like don’t always have the time or want to take the time to gather information for their projects, so I do it for them.”
Jean walked back in and handed Rosco his water just as Ed was spinning this tale and marveled at how fluently the man could lie to a person’s face.
“Well, I’ll see you at eight, Richie.”
“Ok, see you then.”
Havoc bristled at the sight of the grin Ed flashed the man’s way, but he kept his face impassive as Rosco tipped his hat at him and strutted out of the office. With practiced ease, Jean kept his mouth shut for the rest of the day, as well as during the walk home. He was sure it was going to give him blood pressure problems at some point, but he had it down to a science regardless.
When they got back to their flat, Ed tossed his beret on the counter as he kicked off his shoes at the door. He flopped bonelessly down on the couch and asked Jean if he would open the window and let some air in. Jean opened the window and proceeded to the kitchen in search of ice water, not that the ice would last long in this heat, but it at least held the promise of keeping a person’s drink cool long enough to get most of it down.
As he moved through the place, he called out to Ed and started asking what the deal was with going out to dinner with Rosco. Ed said he had a feeling the man was about to spill the beans on something and it was obvious he didn’t want to do it in mixed company. Havoc kept grumbling his displeasure at the situation and after a while, Ed quit replying.
When he made his way into the living room to chastise the younger solider for ignoring him, he saw that Ed had fallen asleep. He supposed all of those late nights spent trying to crack Sleazy's code and the days spent working overtime had caught up with him. He was splayed out on the couch, jacket and shirt discarded in a heap on the floor. His hair was out of its low ponytail and spilling over the arm of the couch.
Nearly an hour later, Ed still looked like he could sleep the rest of the night like that and Havoc almost hated to wake him, but he did because he was certain that, as much as they had sweated today, Ed had planned to take a shower before stepping into any public eatery, especially one as nice as The Buffalo Grill.
Groggy golden eyes looked up at him as he shook Ed’s shoulder. The moment Havoc said it was after six-thirty Ed’s eyes snapped to full attention and he bounced to his feet. He stretched, yawned, and cursed, then dashed off to his room to grab some clothes and a towel.
Jean’s mind went blank the moment Ed stood in front of him because a topless Ed was sight to behold and Jean felt little better than that scum Rosco for ogling him the he was. The man was built like an Adonis and he suddenly had new respect for Denny’s taste in men. Again, Jean’s mind refused to wrap around this and wanted nothing to do with it. He was a skirt-chaser, wasn’t he; therefore, he should not be reacting in any sort of way to what he just saw… right?
Shaking his head, he pulled his trusty pack of smokes out of his pocket and headed for the balcony. Three cigarettes and an Ed-shower later, he was still out there, and this prompted Ed to call his name several times when he didn’t find the man inside anywhere. After he flicked his half-smoked cigarette over the rail, Jean turned around, walked inside and came face-to-face with a sight that made him want to light up again.
There Edward Elric stood with his hands on his hips in nothing but a towel - the tiniest towel Jean had ever seen, to be precise. Blonde hair darkened to the shade of honey sent tendrils of water dripping down his arms and chest. Again, this was not what Jean thought he should be reacting to, but there he was reacting to it anyway.
“Are you coming in or are you going to stand out there all night? I doubt Rosco has any idea we are anyone other than who we say we are, but just in case things go foul we need a plan, so come on in and I’ll run one past you while I get dressed.”
Oh, this was so not gonna go well for Jean but he really didn’t have any way out of it. Well, no way that wouldn’t leave him looking like a freak show and a moron.
Ed was telling Havoc what he thought they should do in case their ruse was discovered, but Havoc wasn’t listening. He was trying to, but he couldn’t focus on anything but the nearly naked man prancing around in front of him. He was going on about something Havoc could care less about as he watched the muscles under Ed’s skin ripple and move as he dried his hair with another towel. He tossed that towel aside and flopped on the couch. Automail foot on the floor, flesh foot on the couch it caused his right leg to bend at an angle that left very little covered by that tiny towel, and Jean was having a hard time keeping his eyes away from Ed’s exposed thigh.
“…and that’s what I need you to do if the shit hits the fan, ok?”
“Uh… oh sure, got it,” Havoc lied as he prayed nothing went awry because he had heard nothing of Ed’s plan.
“I’m headed out as soon as I get dressed; you have plans for the night?”
“No,” Havoc replied, but as he watched Ed’s retreating back as he walked down the hall, he lamented the fact that jerking off might be on his to-do list if he didn’t get a hold of himself soon.
Ed left shortly after that, and Jean fixed himself a sandwich before settling on the couch and trying not to recall how Ed had looked in this very same spot less than thirty minutes ago. The back of the couch was still damp where long blond hair had rested there as Ed talked about a plan Havoc hadn’t listened to.
Deciding that a nap would be his best escape from the dangerous territory his mind had decided to linger in, Jean closed his eyes and drifted off.
Jean soon found himself wandering through a park full of statues he’d never seen before. He passed statues depicting nearly every mythological god and goddess there was. The park itself was beautiful - lush green grass, trees in bloom and cherry blossoms floating everywhere - it was like paradise. As he moved along the cobblestone path he was on, he came to a statue that was much shorter than the others. It’s of a young man, and he was chiseled perfection. Havoc stared at the statue for a while before moving on to look at the others. He didn’t get very far before he heard a strange sound behind him. He turned around, but he didn’t see anyone or anything. He was about to continue on when he noticed the statue of the young man was gone.
The pedestal was still there, but the state itself was gone.
Unable to accept that as possibility, Havoc jogged back to the spot and sure enough, it was empty. Confused, he stood there a while trying to figure out how this could be when he heard a chuckle. When he looked behind him, he saw no one, but then he heard the laughter again. When he turned to face the empty pedestal once more, there sat Ed as naked as the statue had been, but then after he thought about what the statue had looked like, it had been Ed.
“Ed?”
“What’s an ‘Ed’?”
Havoc shook his head. “Never mind; who are you?”
“Can’t you read, handsome?” Ed said as he pointed to the plaque on the pedestal. It said, “Adonis,” and Jean had to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing really,” Havoc said, trying to change the subject, “Weren’t you a statue a moment ago?”
“Yup.”
“But you’re moving around talking to me now.”
“Yup.”
“How is that possible?”
The figure sitting on the pedestal leaned down until pale pink lips were a breath away from Jean’s ear and whispered, “Does it matter?”
Heat surged through Jean’s body at those words, and he backed away so he could look at the other man. Ed/Adonis smirked and reached out to him. When Jean touched the other man’s hand, he pulled him up onto the pedestal beside him. The shorter man smoothed his fingers through Jean’s hair and smiled up at him in the most inviting way Jean had ever seen. Standing on his toes, Adonis stretched up and Jean didn’t fight it; no, he leaned in and…
…a door slammed shut.
+++
Ed returned to the apartment just before eleven, and Havoc was still sleep on the couch. The none-too-gentle closing of the door woke him up from a perfectly pleasant dream, and once he gathered his senses, he followed the rustle and clank of dishes into the kitchen. Ed was digging out what was left of last night’s dinner and making a sandwich; if this kept up, Havoc was scared this mission would starve Ed to death - that is, if the late nights didn’t get him first.
Havoc watched from the shadows as Ed dumped his haphazard meal on the table, leftovers still cold and sandwich thrown together. He pulled his ever trusty notebook out and sat down to read it with no more light than what trickled from the oven hood fixture.
Havoc flipped the main light on and Ed nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Damn, Jerry - you need to wear a bell or something. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry, Rich; I didn’t mean to. You want me to heat that up while you work your way through that sandwich?”
“Hey, if you don’t mind, I’m definitely not gonna stop ya.”
Havoc cracked a smile at that and asked, “So, how did things go with Rosco?”
“He’s our man, alright - but we knew that already; he’s just never given us anything this concrete before. He was all concerned about ‘poor delicate little Richard’ working too hard and said that he knew of a way we could both score up on some easy cash if I didn’t mind bending the rules a little. I asked him what exactly he had in mind, and he told me to meet him alone at the address on this napkin at 10:30 Friday night.”
“So this is it, then? We’ll tell Maes and his crew to be there and we can call this done.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“Chances are, he’s testing me to see if I can be trusted, so I won’t get the full skinny at this meeting. It’ll probably take at least three.”
“That sucks.”
“Who are you telling? Take it from the man who had Rosco trying to play footsie with him all evening, the sooner we get out of here, the better.”
“Are you seriously going to go there alone?”
“Yup,” Ed replied as he polished off his sandwich.
“What if he has a bunch of goons or something like that?”
“So what if he does? I won’t be his target, and they won’t care what I do as long as I don’t act like I’m untrustworthy or ask too many of the wrong questions.”
“Well, what if they do get rough with you?”
“I go down just as they expect delicate little, blind-without-his-glasses Richard to do. Suddenly turning into Ed would be devastating right now, and make all of these weeks a sacrifice in vain.”
Jean didn’t like it, but he knew that Ed was right. It would be a horrible setback for the case for them to do anything to blow their cover now, especially after all this time. He let it drop, but that didn’t mean he was any more pleased with the idea of Ed meeting Sleazy and god-only-knows who else by himself. He wasn’t use to this undercover stuff. More often than not, snipers worked in pairs so someone was usually watching your back.
“This man doesn’t have a lot of respect for me. In fact, he doesn’t have much respect for people in general. He sees them as means to an end, and that’s about it. It’s all about what a person can do for him, and even if he wasn’t a nauseating blend of teeth and hair, his attitude alone would make him repulsive.”
“And you wonder why I’m worried?”
“Sorry - didn’t mean to make it worse, but if it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’s very dangerous. If he has henchmen then they might be, but I doubt he’d even know how to get his hands dirty in that manner.”
“That helps a little, but not much.”
Ed shrugged in a noncommittal manner before diving into the reheated dish Havoc had set in front of him a few minutes prior. He now knew why Maes was going gray at the temples.
+++
Friday crept up on the men, and that day started off with a bang. From the time the office doors opened, it was a nonstop flow of discontent people needing help. Everyone in the building was running around like a chicken with their head cut off, which made it surprising that it took Ed until lunchtime to drop an armload of documents and have them scatter like leaves on the wind around his office.
Hot, cranky, and hungry, Ed was grumbling as he bent down to pick up the papers. Havoc got up to lend a hand without prompting, and Ed couldn’t help but think how that was a true failing most people had -they could not simply take it upon themselves to do something because it needed done; therefore, in his opinion Jean Havoc was a step ahead of most in that aspect. Delightful as that thought was, it did nothing to soften his disposition about the situation, and he was in the midst of a nice little tirade about setting the whole stack on fire once he rounded them all up when a voice said, “Come on, Rich; let’s go to lunch - it’s on me today.”
Looking up, Ed’s eyes traveled from the hand extended in front of him up to smiling blue eyes. He froze for a moment as something tingled in the pit of his stomach causing his thoughts to scatter. When he snapped out of whatever it was, he took the offered hand in his and let his officemate pull him to his feet. He could still feel the residual warmth of the other man’s hand in his but paid it no mind.
They made their way out into the heat of the day, and Havoc decided they should eat indoors somewhere nice and air-conditioned. Choosing a diner he knew Ed loved but Rosco never seemed to frequent, he told Ed to grab a seat as he went over to the counter and asked the lady behind the cash register if she could put a rush on a bowl of spicy noodles before they placed their order. The brunette said, “Sure thing,” as she scribbled it down on a piece of paper and disappeared behind a set of double doors.
He then joined Ed in the booth he had chosen near the back of the restaurant, and smiled to himself as he watched golden eyes scan the menu. Despite knowing Ed’s reasons for needing to eat so much, he knew his roommate also enjoyed every minute of it!
When the server appeared at their table, her eyes flicked over Ed several times before she asked if they were ready to order. Ed asked her if they had any specials going on that day, and she said something about a half-priced fish dinner, happy hour, and her being for free. It amused Havoc to no end that Ed didn’t even acknowledge her blatant flirting and ordered the hungry man’s ham platter.
As Jean watched Ed as he continued looking over the menu she'd left behind, he couldn’t help but laugh. Who would have ever thought the two of them would end up undercover? Of all the people in the office, they seemed the least likely to accomplish anything involving this level of stealth and intrigue, yet here they were.
They talked and laughed over lunch, and all too swiftly it was time for them to make their way back to the office. No sooner had Jean sat down behind his desk than Rosco slid in and started talking to Ed.
“I was looking for you around lunch time, Richie. Where’d you disappear to?”
“Jerry and I went to lunch a little earlier than usual.”
“So, does this mean I’m going to have to make my plans with you in advance?”
“Only if you want to,” Ed replied, forcing out a smile.
“Oh I want to,” Rosco answered and his tone of voice made Jean’s stomach turn. “How about every Tuesday and Friday it’s me and you, lunch at noon?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ed replied as he shifted the files from his bottom desk drawer to the storage box behind him. When he moved to pick up the box, Rosco shook his head no.
“Why don’t you get Stretch to do that? We wouldn’t want you throwing your back out over something like this. Besides, that’s the beauty of having an assistant.”
Ed could hear Jean’s teeth grinding, “It’s no problem, Rosco; really, I can handle it.”
“Nonsense; I’m sure Jerry would be glad to help, wouldn’t you, Jerry?”
“Not a problem at all,” Havoc replied, sounding every bit like there was a problem, but Rosco paid him no mind.
“You need to learn to delegate more.”
“I’m not much on giving orders; I’d rather follow them,” Ed said, and Jean nearly choked on the piece of candy he was sucking on. He was sure he heard some part of Ed’s soul die off screaming from actually saying that.
“Well, stick with me, Richie, and I’ll teach you all sorts of things,” Rosco said as his hand settled over top of Ed’s.
Ed didn’t so much as flinch, but Havoc thought he was going to be sick and left the room with the box even though he didn’t have the slightest clue where he was supposed to take it. He decided that the storage room was a safe bet, so he dropped it off there and headed for Amy’s office to kill some time. By the time he shook the woman off him and returned to his office, Ed was thankfully alone.
The day went by a little too fast for Jean’s liking, and before he knew it, they were home. It was his turn to cook, so he washed up and set about pulling out pots and pans as well as things from the ice box. He was so lost in thought that Ed’s voice coming from his right startled him.
“Would you please get out of this funk? I can’t stand it.”
“What?”
“You’ve been just this side of robotic since we got home, and you have yet to utter one word.”
Havoc hadn’t realized it, but Ed was right. He hadn’t meant to come across that way, but he had done so just the same.
“Why is this bothering you so badly? I’ve placed myself in much more dangerous situations when I was still a snot-nosed brat looking for the stone.”
“I wish I could explain it, Ed, but I can’t. Maybe it’s all hinged around the fact that I detest Rosco.”
“Fair enough,” Ed said as he hopped up on the counter beside where Jean was chopping potatoes.
“Want some help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it. Besides, I know that even though you’re good at it, you really don’t like to cook.”
“Not entirely true. I don’t like to cook by myself; cooking with others is kinda fun in a geeky, domestic sort of way.”
Havoc cocked an eyebrow at Ed, and when the younger man looked at him innocently and batted his eyelashes, he sighed. “Making faces like that is what has Sleazy thinking you need his guidance and that he can control you.”
“Back to this so soon, I see. Don’t worry so much; I can handle ‘Sleazy’, as you call him.”
“Well, if it comes down to it, I hope you’re right.”
Ed sighed and hopped off the counter. “Call me when things are close to being done.”
As he watched his roommate grow smaller as Ed disappeared down the hall, Jean felt like a moron. He hadn’t meant to run the shorter blond off. Even though they weren’t conversing much, once the other man was gone, he missed his presence in the kitchen. As he cooked in silence, he tried to think of ways to ask Ed back into the room that wouldn’t sound as weird as he felt. Fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn’t come up with anything, so Jean gave up and decided he’d just have to wait until it was time to call Ed to come eat.
Once everything was done, Havoc strolled down the hall. Ed had his door open, and he was surprised to see the man sitting at his desk writing away. When Jean spoke up and asked if he was working on cracking the code, Ed’s answer of, “Nah, just taking care of some things back home,” made Jean curious, but he didn’t ask. He simply told Ed that the food was ready when he was.
Ed stood up immediately, and with only one backwards glance at what he was writing, he was moving toward the door.
Havoc managed to keep dinner conversation much lighter, and didn’t so much as bristle once Ed began to get ready to meet Rosco. Once Ed was satisfied that he looked presentable, he asked Jean to wish him luck, and that if he wasn’t back by 2am then he needed to start looking for him. Jean nodded, and with no more than that, Ed walked out the door.
Jean had already made up his mind to kill time by listening to the radio in his room and chain smoking. He was headed to do just that when he passed by Ed’s room and the glow of the desk lamp renewed his earlier curiosity. He only debated for a moment over whether or not he should look, but he quickly rationalized that just seeing what it was wasn’t an invasion of privacy.
Peeking over and peering at the documents cautiously as if there was someone to catch him, Jean was surprised to find it was two letters. One was to Al, which was no surprise, but the other one was a little shocking… it was to Denny.
As Jean's eyes scanned the desk, they fell on two envelopes from Denny, and his mind spun back to the conversation he and Ed had had about the man which caused his curiosity to increase threefold.
He should turn around and leave the room.
He really should go and find something productive to do.
He was so staying there and being nosy.
As he sat in the seat, he sighed loudly and tried to convince himself that if these were too personal, then Ed would at the very least have them tucked away.
It was a weak effort to rationalize what he was doing, but it was all he had, so he was going with it.
As he opened the first letter, he prayed for his soul.
Ed,
I hope this letter finds you well, wherever you may be. I’ve never known exactly what it is that you do, but considering that you work closely with Hughes and Mustang, I don’t suppose I’ll ever know. I do worry about you when you come back to us a little worse for wear, but I guess that’s just my nature.
It was great running into you at the fair, and the look on that big dude’s face when you out-ate him in two contests back-to-back was priceless. At least he was a good sport about it, and we managed to score some free games and a few beers out of the entire deal. You beating me at pool five games in a row was fun, even though it was a bit humiliating. You’ll have to teach me how to do a bank shot like that some time.
Nothing much going on my way and I guess I’ve prattled on enough.
Denny
Well, not much to report there, everything sounded like your typical pen-pal stuff to Jean. He slid the second letter out of its envelope, expecting much of the same.
Ed,
I didn’t have the nerve to mention this in the last letter simply because I was still wondering if you were going to even respond after that bold move I made right before you left. I don’t know what came over me, but hearing that you would possibly be gone three months, or more if necessary, made something click in my brain. I had been working up the nerve to actually ask you out, but I never seemed to be able to when I saw you, so you were not the only one shocked when I kissed you as you were leaving the office (I love how you pointed that out in your last letter, by the way).
It was nice to know you were not upset, and I’d like to talk to you when you get back in town and your schedule allows for some down time.
Yours truly,
Den
Havoc frowned as he stuck that one back in its envelope. That second letter was a lot more telling than the first. No wonder Ed had him on the brain the other day. Jean supposed that if he had been kissed out of the blue by someone, then he’d have them on his mind, too. Jean surmised this was how Brosh had made it clear without coming out and saying something.
Actions do speak louder than words, after all.
Jean left Ed’s room and headed straight for the balcony. He needed a smoke… several, to be truthful.
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(no subject)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-11-11 10:00 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for all of your hard work on this!! *HUGS YOU MORE*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-11-12 06:25 pm (UTC)Havoc is so much fun.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-11-13 02:28 am (UTC)*hugs*