![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lynx212Title: Cloak and Dagger - Part 3
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
Ed wasn’t faring much better than Havoc, but for entirely different reasons. After meeting Rosco and finding out they were indeed skimming some of the agencies profits out of the deposits, the man had insisted that Ed go for a ride with him around the city. He talked of all the places he’d been and everywhere he planned to go, but made it clear that he didn’t want to travel alone. Ed tried his best to convince him that, with his business savvy and charm, he’d have no problem finding a companion.
The man made it clear that he’d already found one by placing his hand so far up on Ed’s thigh that it was nearly on his crotch and squeezing.
Ed had tried to tell the man that he wasn’t much on traveling, but Rosco insisted that was only because he was used to traveling like a commoner, and that traveling as a man of wealth was an entirely different story. Ed got out of the situation by saying that he would have to think about it, that he had family to consider before picking up and taking off. Thankfully, Rosco seemed to respect that and backed down.
Ed stomped into the apartment at nearly one in the morning and wanted nothing more than to forget his encounter with Rosco. He’d just pulled a beer out of the fridge when a voice said, “Rough night?”
Ed’s head snapped around and he said, “That’s an understatement. I’m not going to be able to hold Rosco off much longer, so the next meeting is going to have to be end-game. I just hope that we have enough information to hang him and whoever is above him.”
Havoc merely nodded and asked Ed what happened. As Ed told him about the night’s events, he was marching around the kitchen, beer in hand, growing more animated with each sentence. Havoc pulled out his pack of cigarettes and flipped one in Ed’s direction. Ed caught it, but looked at Jean in confusion.
“Sounds like you could use one.”
Smirk firmly in place, Ed tucked it behind his ear, grabbed another beer out of the fridge and made his way to the balcony. When Jean lingered inside, Ed stuck his head back in the door and said, “What are you waiting on, the red carpet to roll out?”
Jean just shook his head and followed the other blond outside.
Since they’d never lived this far inside the city, neither man was used to so much hustle and bustle so late. It was a nice distraction from the racing thoughts they had going on in their minds. Ed reached into Jean’s shirt pocket to steal the man’s lighter, and then lit up. One long, slow drag later, Ed had a content smile on his face.
“Looks like you were right. I did need this. It’s been one hell of a night.”
“Same here,” Jean replied before he thought better of it.
“Oh? What happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing happened, just a lot on my mind.”
“Well, sorry if I worried you, but the two men with Rosco were nothing to worry about. Kain could probably take them down if he had to.”
“That’s good to know,” Jean said as he continued staring out into the city skyline.
Ed was looking at the man by his side and he didn’t like the worry etched on his face.
“Is there something else on your mind? I’m not tired, so if you need a listening ear I’ve got two available right now.”
Havoc looked over at Ed then, and something about the smile gracing his lips, the way small sections of his hair floated on the breeze, and how the lights from the city reflected off his face made Jean’s mind drift away. Havoc wasn’t what most would consider a hopeless romantic - actually if anything, he was far from it - but the only word that came to his mind as he stood there watching Ed lazily smoke a cigarette as golden eyes took in the night life going on around them was ‘beautiful’.
Edward Elric was beautiful.
Thinking that he needed to go inside before he did something they’d both probably regret, he dropped his smoke into his nearly empty beer bottle and said, “Well, I need to go to bed so I’m calling it a night.”
Before Ed could reply, Jean was already inside. Not one to ever leave a situation hanging, Ed stuck his head in the doorway and asked what was wrong, only to end up silenced by a set of lips landing upon his.
When Jean pulled back and looked at a stunned Ed he said, “Hopefully that will give you something more pleasant to think about. Sleep well when you go, Ed.”
Ed couldn’t reply. His mouth wouldn’t work and even if it had been functioning, his brain wasn’t, so it didn’t matter. He was left with his head stuck through the patio door watching Jean Havoc stroll off down the hall and out of sight.
When his senses came back on line he stepped back inside, slid the door shut and began his slow walk down the hallway to his room. His brain was still trying to make sense of the events of the last few minutes, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t working at all.
Jean had kissed him out of the blue and he couldn’t make sense of it. He hadn’t seen any build up to the action or anything of the like. This made it a complete and utter shock to his system, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He paused in front of Jean’s door, and everything in him wanted to knock because he knew the man couldn’t be asleep yet; however, as he raised his hand he realized he didn’t have a damn thing thought out to say.
Mumbling a curse under his breath, he moved on to his own room and shut the door.
Jean was lying on his back staring at the ceiling while he tried his level best to figure out what in the bloody hell had possessed him to do what he did. At least he had enjoyed it, and that made the situation a little worse in some way. He would have almost felt better if he hadn’t, but the simple fact that his lips were still tingling from the act made it all worse.
It was just as he feared… he was no better than, Rosco.
When he rolled over on his side, his eyes landed on the door just as a shadow appeared underneath it. Part of him wanted Ed to knock, while the other part was praying that he moved on; when the second half won out, Jean sighed in relief.
Great… on top of everything he was a coward too. That’s wonderful… just fucking peachy.
Ed, on the other hand, was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling with this goofy grin on his face. What else could he really do at that point? He wasn’t upset; quite the opposite actually, so there was no need to waste energy to that end. If anything, he was simply in shock. The only thing he knew for certain at that moment was that Jean Havoc had accomplished his mission.
Ed now had much more pleasant things on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
+++
Morning came and Jean was not inclined in the least to spring out of bed. He’d possibly made a complete fool of himself or crossed a line last night, and he wasn’t excited about facing the music. He knew he couldn’t avoid it, but he didn’t feel any need to rush it either. He’d heard Ed get in and out of the shower, and he knew that he couldn’t stall in his room too much longer if for no other reason than his bladder was telling him it had almost reached its limit.
After he steeled his nerves, he sat up, got out of bed and headed for the door. He managed to cross the hall and get into the bathroom unnoticed, and for that he was thankful. He took his time when he brushed his teeth and washed his face, and then he took a couple of deep breaths before he opened the door.
Imagine his shock when Ed was standing there on the other side.
Before he could say anything, the other blond stood on his toes, hooked his arm around his neck and pulled him into a kiss quite a bit more involved than the one Jean had surprised him with last night.
Stunned speechless when they parted, Ed smirked at him and said, “If you’re going to kiss someone and then walk away, do it with tongue - it makes it more memorable.”
As Ed strode down the hall toward the front door, Jean just stared at his retreating back. “I’m off to pick up muffins from the bakery. I’ll be back in a few minutes; watch the bacon for me.”
Jean nodded as if Ed had eyes in the back of his head and could see him.
Well, that went way different than I expected, Jean mused once his senses came back online. He had expected a lot of reactions out of Ed, but that one wasn’t one of them. Mind you, it was a hell of a lot more pleasant than what he had imagined, but that didn’t make it any less shocking.
His mind was still in a daze as he stood in the kitchen tending to the bacon as Ed had asked him to do. When the pint sized alchemist walked back in with half a dozen blueberry muffins, Jean still didn’t know what to say.
“Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re just going to stand there and say nothing? You started this after all.”
“I realize this.”
“Ok, so now what?”
“To be honest, I don’t know; I kinda surprised myself.”
“Was it a pleasant surprise?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, what’s the problem?” Ed asked as he bit the top off of a muffin.
“I suppose there isn’t one,” Jean mused aloud as he turned the stove off and drained the bacon.
“Then why so glum looking?”
“I guess I just expected this to become more of an issue than it ended up being.”
“If you hang out with me long enough, you will learn that when it comes to certain things I keep them as simple as possible. Eighty percent of my life is complicated as fuck, so when I can make or leave something simple I do,” Ed replied as he walked over to the counter and helped himself to a strip of bacon.
Jean nodded, but Ed could still see the remnants of worry on his face and he wanted to fix that as soon as possible.
“Ok, let me ask you this. Did you like that kiss?”
No hesitation: “Yes.”
“Do you have a problem with liking it?”
A little hesitation, then, “I thought I did, but I suppose I don’t.”
“Would you like to do it again?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any qualms with making out on a balcony?”
“What!?”
“Just seeing if you were really paying attention.”
Jean couldn’t help but laugh. When he turned around, Ed was a lot closer to him than he expected. Golden eyes were slanted at him in a manner that was beyond inviting, and a devilish grin was curling those lips of his in a way that had Jean Havoc not resisting in the least when Ed leaned in to initiate another kiss.
Apparently Ed put the same amount of drive and energy into kissing as he did everything else in his life, because the exchange was, erotically languid and toe-curling at the same time. His decision to end it by nibbling on Jean’s lower lip sent a fair amount of blood south and logic on a holiday.
When Ed stepped back, Jean grabbed him around the waist, pulled him to his chest and shook his head no. Ed chuckled and said, “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.”
Breakfast sat forgotten as the two blonds had another appetites to satisfy first.
An hour later the two of them were sprawled out shirtless on the couch - Jean on his back and Ed lying face down on Havoc’s chest. Jean was twirling a tendril of Ed’s hair around his finger and remembering how he had just spent his morning with fondness. Sure, the kitchen was a wreak and the living room didn’t look much better, but damn if that wasn’t the most intense make-out session he’d ever had in his life. He was tired, he was sweaty, he was almost certain he would have bruises, but he didn’t care. He doubted a hurricane could’ve wiped the smile off his face.
When Ed stirred on his chest, he chuckled and said, “I still can’t believe you did that with the bacon.”
“Humph, you should know better than pose anything to me as a challenge.”
“I merely said that there’s no room for bacon in this exchange.”
“I know,” Ed said as he shifted around so he could look at Jean, “but I proved you wrong, didn’t I?”
Indeed he had, and Jean was convinced the memory of that may well make him blush for the rest of his life.
“So, what do you want to do with the rest of our Saturday? It’s not even eleven yet.”
Ed didn’t want to ruin the mood, but when a person’s spends an hour swapping tongues with a friend of seven years, it wasn’t something you could get away with not talking about so it might as well be now.
“What is this?”
Jean didn’t bother playing dumb; he knew exactly what Ed was referring to. “The fast track to dating out of order?”
Ed looked up at him and dissolved into laughter. “Well if that’s the case, then we’d better get to knocking off the rest of that list, so are we doing a dinner date tonight?”
“Sounds good to me,” Havoc said as he grabbed Ed's left hand in his own and entwined their fingers which caused Ed to look at him curiously.
“I’m sure that holding hands is on that list somewhere too.”
Ed snorted and laid his head back down. “I say we eat muffins, then nap. I’m starving.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Let me up and I’ll turn the oven on.”
“Hmm,” Ed mumbled as he settled down further instead of getting up, “in a minute.”
A minute, indeed - in that length of time, Ed had dozed off and was softly snoring on Havoc’s chest.
Jean decided he could get used to the sound.
+++
By one they were out and about in the city where they looked around for the sake of looking around. The weather had at least temporarily returned to fall temperatures but they bought a new fan for the flat just in case. After purchasing some produce all was well and good until they were in the back of an antiques shop and a familiar voice wafted to Ed’s ear. He peeked around the shelf he was behind; sure enough, none other than Riza Hawkeye and Maria Ross were walking around the store. He cursed under his breath and that got Havoc’s attention.
“What’s the matter, Rich?”
“Don’t look now, but two of our military office-mates just walked into this shop.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding you?”
“We need to get out of here, then.”
“How do you suppose we do that? They are lingering by the door, and as far as I can tell that’s the only public exit.”
“There has to be a back door, Rich.”
“I’m sure there is, but good luck getting granny over there behind the counter to let us use it.”
“You have a point there,” Jean whispered, “so now what?”
“I’m not…” Ed’s face scrunched up for a moment and the gleam in his eyes went devious. Without warning or explanation, he freed his hair from its pony tail, stuffed his hat in his coat pocket, yanked the scarf off of Jean and then shoved it in the top part of his shirt. “Give me that watermelon we bought.”
Jean was confused but he knew better than to ask questions. He handed over the melon and watched as Ed stuffed it up his shirt and struggled to button his coat.
“Ok, now I need you to turn on the charm and go ask granny if your pregnant wife could leave by the back door.”
“Ed, you’ve got to be crazy; there’s no way…” but as Jean looked at the thick glasses the elderly lady had on and then back at Ed, he thought it just may work as long as Ed didn’t talk.
“She’s probably half blind, and as long as you don’t act suspicious we’ll be out of here in no time.”
Havoc shook his head but went with it. They didn’t have much choice, because of all people to run into, they would run into the two that never missed a thing, and to top it off, they were still lingering by the door looking at some age old cuckoo clock.
Jean approached the woman, and as humbly as he could he said, “Ma’am, I hate to disturb you but might I ask you a favor?”
“Of course, young man; what is it?”
“You see my wife over there,” he asked as he pointed at Ed who was doing a damn fine job of looking fragile and faint for someone who didn’t have a thing wrong with them outside of a melon up their shirt. “She’s pretty far along and I think all of the walking around has gotten to her. Is there any way we could leave by your service entrance? She hates to draw attention to herself at times like these.”
“Oh of course, of course; I remember being in her position all too well - it’s not easy those last months, not easy at all, especially with this flip-flop weather, cool one day then hot the next,” the woman added as she shook her head.
“Thank you, ma’am; we really appreciate this.”
“Not a problem at all. Let me go make sure nothing is in the way, and you can help her over here.”
Havoc went over to Ed and did his best to aid him in the way he’d seen men aid their expectant wives before. Ed put on his best waddle, and behind the counter then into the back they went.
“Now the best thing you can do, dear, is go home, put your feet up, and keep a cool rag on your head. Get some rest and you’ll be feeling better in no time.”
“Thank you,” Ed replied in a voice Jean was further impressed by.
“You take that bag from her this instant, young man! She doesn’t need to be carrying a thing!” the woman demanded as she shot Jean a look far more vicious than a woman of her years should be able to give.
He didn’t argue; he merely took the bag from Ed’s hand and kept going. Once they were out of the store, Ed kept up his waddle until they were down the alley and around the corner. After he ducked into a walkway, he yanked Jean in with him and proceeded to laugh his ass off as he undid his disguise.
“Does Maes know half of the things you end up doing while out on these missions?”
“I doubt it, but he knows me so I suppose his imagination has filled in quite a bit,” Ed replied as he tugged the melon out from under his shirt, “but in general, I only bother telling him if it’s interesting. This one I think I’ll keep under my hat.”
“Oh no, there’s no way in the world I’m not sharing this after you got me yelled at by granny back there. She was ready to skin me alive because you had that bag.”
“I know,” Ed replied, devious smirk firmly in place as he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. “Let’s go up this fire escape and across the roof tops for a bit. I don’t want to chance running into Riza and Maria again.”
Once the two made it home from their adventure, they tried to think of a place that they would least likely run into the ladies if they were indeed still in the heart of the city. They doubted it would happen, but better safe than sorry.
They decided to spring for something a bit out their norm; it was kind of a celebration after all, and hopefully far from where they’d run into military coworkers. It was a seafood restaurant because Ed said that Denny had told him that Maria was allergic to most shellfish and tended to stay away from any place that centered on seafood. The mere mention of Denny made Havoc’s brows knit together even though he didn’t say anything.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jean replied.
“Bullshit! Your face is so contorted it looks painful.”
“Sorry,” Jean replied but offered nothing more.
“So what gives? Do you not like seafood?”
“No, no - seafood is fine,” Jean replied as he tried to think of a way to broach the subject bothering him in a way that wouldn’t kill the wonderful day they’d had thus far.
“Whatever it is, just spit it out already; I’m cramping up over here.”
Jean took a deep breath, let it out and said, “I don’t want to get mixed up in the middle of anything. Take it from a guy who’s lost more women to Mustang than you could ever presume, so I guess the fact that Denny lip-locked you before we left on this mission has me feeling a bit… I don’t know how to word it, but there it is.”
“Ah,” Ed said as he sat down on the sofa.
Havoc didn’t know how to feel about the single syllable reply, so he waited. His stomach was in knots, but he waited.
“Well, I will say this: I haven’t done anything more than tell him we’d talk about that once I was done with this mission. That’s far from any sort of commitment if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“While that’s good to know, I suppose what I really want to know is how you feel about that dude. You seemed pretty interested in him a few weeks ago.”
“Ah,” Ed replied again as he stood up and walked over to Havoc. Golden eyes bearing a wicked gleam looked up at Jean. “If you are questioning who I’m interested in after the bacon incident then I must be losing my touch.”
The amount of heat that flooded Jean’s face was unreal.
“Well,” Ed said as he walked towards the door, “now that that’s settled, let’s go eat!”
* * *
As the two sat across from each other and laughed over Jean’s last run-in with little miss ‘I want a husband’ at work, Ed gathered his composure and said, “Ok, I’ve thought on it and thought on it and well, I just gotta know something.”
“Sure, Rich, ask me anything,” Jean said as he raised his wine glass to his lips.
“Do you have a habit of reading other peoples mail, or was reading mine just a fluke?”
Jean nearly choked on the wine in his throat as startled blue eyes looked at Ed while their owner sat there speechless.
“Ya know,” Ed began as he cut another chunk of salmon off the thick glazed fillet on his plate and plopped it into his mouth, “I’ve been running over the past few weeks in my mind, and I know for a fact I didn’t tell you about Denny kissing me.”
“I… uh, well… you see…”
“Oh do go on, you’re so poetic.”
“I’m sorry… I… I had no right to do that and… and… well, I guess I really have no excuse or reason so I’m just sorry.”
“I think I know your reasoning but it’s just a guess,” Ed said as he took a drink of his own wine. “Tell me, you didn’t read Al’s letters, did you?”
“No…”
“That’s what I thought. Also, you’ve detested Rosco, or ‘Sleazy’ as you’ve named him, since day one. Not just the normal level of detesting you’d have for a person like him, but you really can’t stand him.”
“So?”
“So? So you even gave Amy the evil eye for flirting with me, and she flirts with everyone.”
That last line brought Havoc up to speed, and as he thought about it, he made a realization in that moment that he should have made long ago. It would explain so much about his behavior and thought patterns.
Jean Havoc had developed a thing for Edward Elric and he hadn’t pegged it for what it was until it was spelled out for him... bacon and all.
He sat there with his mouth open staring at Ed not knowing how to respond.
“At first I thought it was my age that had you so protective. In general, I know you acknowledge me as an adult but you still have your moments,” Ed continued on as he stuffed his face, “however, that rationale didn’t mesh with all of your behavior, but I think this covers it.”
Havoc still didn’t know what to say.
“Don’t worry about it anymore; considering how we’ve spent the day, I think your issue flows along just fine with our new situation… don’t you?”
Jean was still in shock but nodded all the same.
“Eat up, scallops are yucky cold.”
* * *
Nearly three months into their little sting operation, Roscoe finally came clean with Ed... well, ‘Richie’ as he liked to call him, about how he was not only reworking the numbers and stealing from the deposits, he was also trading or selling anything of value donated to the agency. If it wasn’t given in plain view of others, then it never made it to those in need.
Once Ed got this information, he and Havoc made their way to a phone booth out in the boonies and called Maes. Hughes told them it would all be over in a matter of days once a new face arrived in their office, and that he wasn’t going to tell them anything more so they wouldn’t have to act surprised.
Surprised was an understatement.
Eleven days after the phone call - and only four days after a government auditor who looked suspiciously like a man Ed had seen working with Denny and Maria, arrived in the office - it all came to a head.
Everyone was in the middle of doing their daily thing when tax officials and the police showed up at the office. Amy, Ed, Jean, Rosco, and a few other office staff members were lead out of the building in handcuffs before any of them could wrap their minds around what was unfolding. Jean followed Ed’s cue and put up the kind of fuss a man proclaiming his innocence would be expected to in that situation until he was shoved into the back of a squad car with Ed.
Once they were inside, the man behind the wheel said, “We’re with the King’s Counselor.”
“Great,” Ed said as all vestiges of the voice and demeanor he used as Richard fell away. “That means we don’t have to suffer through this whole ordeal in handcuffs, right?”
“Sorry, gentlemen; we have to lead you into the station just like the others, but I will loosen them up so they don’t chafe,” the large bearded man in the passenger seat replied.
“I’ll take anything,” Jean admitted, since he’d never had a set of them on before. “I never knew these things could make you feel so confined.”
“They do their job, that’s for sure,” the driver added as he joined the caravan of vehicles headed to the police station.
Once inside, their arrival caused quite the stir. Jean watched in awe at how easily Ed went from telling dirty jokes on the ride over to looking like a scared rabbit as they herded those under arrest into the police station. You could hear Rosco shouting about how everyone was going to pay for this violation of his civil rights. Once he spotted Ed, he strained against the men trying to push him toward an interrogation room and shouted, “Don’t you worry about a thing, Richie, and I’ll have us out of here before the sun sets. We’ll be laughing at these imbeciles and on that vacation together in no time!”
Of all things that Jean has seen Ed do and endure, the fact that Rosco proclaimed such a thing in front of God and sundry was the thing to make Ed flush scarlet had Havoc fighting not to laugh.
Twenty minutes later they were being escorted out of the building via the basement.
It was time to return to life proper.
+++
As great as the adventure was on the whole, Jean and Ed were both glad it was over; however, returning to their former daily grind with something more between the two outside of friendship was a bigger challenge than either had expected. It was far too easy to forget oneself and behave in a manner that would call them, and their actions, into question.
They had decided not to mention the shift in their personal dynamics until more time had passed. This way, if for some reason things didn’t work out, they didn’t have to deal with awkward looks or uneasy tension from their friends and coworkers. Ed and Jean loved them all but their friends and coworkers were a gossiping nosey bunch that didn’t have it in them not to get involved.
A month back into their normal lives came a weekend that they had planned to kick off with beer and pool at a local bar, then dinner at wherever their appetites took them; however, fate was not letting things flow so smoothly. Just before the much-watched clock in the office struck five, Breda asked Havoc if he’d like to go out on the town. Feeling put on the spot on top of not wanting to lie to his friend, Jean’s eyes flicked over to Ed for a millisecond before he replied with the best thing he could think of, “I already have plans to be out and about; how about I catch you another night?”
“Sure thing buddy, but answer me this,” Breda said as he leaned down on the other man’s desk, “blonde, redheaded, or a brunette?”
With a smirk, Jean replied, “Blonde.”
Breda broke into laughter, wished Jean luck and moved on. Ed just shook his head and tried his best not to laugh as Jean sat there looking rather smug and satisfied with himself.
Five o’clock came and went, and by the time seven rolled around the two blondes were working their way toward Jean’s favorite eatery. The place was quickly growing on Ed as well because they had a turkey and stuffing dinner with all the trimmings they served year-round. He’d ordered it enough times that the waitress knew to place his order with a request for double-meat and extra cranberry sauce. Dinner was a pleasant affair as per usual, and during the course of conversation Jean found out that Ed had a fear he wouldn’t admit to another living soul.
“Is that why you always give your circus passes to someone when they come into town?” Jean asked. “I would have never guessed.”
“That’s the whole point. I don’t make a big deal out of it, and no one figures out that clowns make my skin crawl.”
Somewhere along the way the conversation turned to hobbies, and Jean shared that even though he didn’t indulge in it often, he liked to paint every once in a while.
“What medium?” Ed asked around a mouth full of stuffing.
“Oils, for the most part; watercolors aren’t pliable or forgiving enough for me.”
“I’m no artist but I can see that. Al dabbles in things like that from time to time, and I’ve seen him grow frustrated on several occasions when dealing with watercolors.”
After dinner they retired to Jean’s place.
Morning found two content soldiers in no hurry to get out of bed.
+++
Weeks pass in this fashion and without even thinking about it, the two settled into a routine. They spent at least one night during the week - if not more - together, on top of Friday night and most of Saturday. Jean had gotten into a habit of refusing offers to hang out on the weekend and Ed had let his brother assume whatever he wanted to concerning his whereabouts these days, but noted how much happier Al seemed now that Ed had plans even if Ed didn’t talk about them in detail.
Another Friday rolled around and sure enough, Heymans was trying to get Jean out on the town again. Jean refused, saying that he had plans that he didn’t specify, but this time it left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what it was about the usual scenario that had upset him, but it was there nonetheless. Jean being lost in thought made their walk to dinner a silent affair.
The two had just sat down and placed their order when Jean’s brow furrowed in a way Ed couldn’t continue to ignore. After he took a drink of his tea, he asked the man what was wrong.
“Nothing really.”
“Last time I checked, ‘nothing’ doesn’t generally make your face scrunch up like it is now, so out with it.”
“I suppose I’m just tired of the lying by omission.”
“You’re not alone. I actually wanted to talk to you about that; it’s been bugging me too.”
“Well, unless you’ve decided to trade me in on a newer model, I say we tell them.”
Ed snorted, “No need to worry about me trading you in; I’m more than happy with what I have,” Ed stated simply, but the words made Jean flush slightly anyway.
“So, how do you propose we do this?”
“That’s where my train of thought starts to derail because I don’t have a clue,” Ed admitted as he sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “We don’t want to announce it as if it’s a new thing because we’ve been seeing each other for a few months now. On the flipside, it’s not going to be cool to just say, ‘Oh, by the way guys, this has been going on under your nose for X amount of time’. I hadn’t thought about this angle when we decided to keep it under our hat.”
“Don’t feel alone; I hadn’t either.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know; I was really hoping your genius would figure it out.”
“Well, we need to do something soon before yet another month passes. Al is starting to get a little nosy.”
“I think Breda is as well. To be honest, that’s one more reason why I’m looking forward to my upcoming four-day weekend.”
“That’s right; you are off from Thursday to Monday. Are you in the mood for company?”
“Does Riza like guns?”
“I wonder if I could squeeze those same days out of Colonel Bastard? No, I think I’d have better success going through Maes,” Ed mused aloud. “Yeah, I’ll go through Maes.”
With that aired out and decided, the two finished their meal then headed back to Havoc’s place.
+++
The week of Jean’s mini-vacation had him whistling quite the lighthearted tune on Wednesday
afternoon.
“Must be nice to have a four-day weekend coming up,” Kain said with a smile.
“It is, and I’m looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing,” Jean replied.
“Surely you’re not going to stay cooped up in your apartment all four days, are you?” Breda
questioned looking mortified at the prospect of Jean wasting his time in that fashion.
“I think I may do just that,” Jean replied as he pictured the smirking face that held the golden eyes he’d come to adore.
“You really need to get out more,” the redhead stated.
“I’ll take that under consideration,” Jean replied as Breda shook his head.
+++
By the time Jean got off of work and made his way to the apartment, Ed was already there putting away groceries. Jean peered in the bags, and to him it looked like the young alchemist had purchased quite the haul.
“With a stockpile like this, we won’t have to budge unless we feel like it.”
“That was kinda my plan,” Ed admitted as a devilish grin slid across his face.
“Making me a prisoner in my own home this weekend, are we?”
"Indeed I am. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Jean replied, which caused Ed to give him a pointed look.
"What might that be?"
"You forgot the bacon."
+++
It was Friday evening and Jean had just finished washing the visual masterpiece known as Ed’s back in the shower and then stepped out. The two of them had been holed up in his little apartment since Wednesday night, and so far his extended weekend had been excellent. He knew it was going to get even better when Ed shot him that look that meant they wouldn’t be making it any further than the bedroom for yet another night, and that was fine by him.
He dried himself enough not to drip and announced to Ed that he was going to make a couple of sandwiches and then he’d be right back. He had a feeling they were going to work up quite the appetite before they were done, and Ed loved to eat right after as much as he loved to smoke. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d stayed in the shower long after the water had gone cold, but that was yet another thing that was fine by Jean.
As he pulled on his pajama pants and strolled into the kitchen, someone knocked on the door in such a way that said it wasn’t their first attempt. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Roy, Maes, Farman, Fuery and Al standing on his doorstep.
“Evening Havoc, sorry if we interrupted your shower,” Kain said, ever the polite soul.
“Uh… no problem. What’s up, guys; is there something wrong? All of you look serious.”
“No, nothing like that,” Roy said as he strolled on in and the rest followed. “We have just come to pry you out of here for some fun.”
“Huh,” Jean said, still shocked and wondering how he was going to get rid of them all so he could go have more fun than any of them could imagine.
“You,” Maes began, “have been MIA for weeks now. You never come out anymore, so we have come to kidnap you.”
“Thanks guys, but…”
“No buts!” Al said, “You are worse than Brother, even he’s out somewhere tonight.”
Jean tried not to cringe at that. Ed was out somewhere all right, and Havoc knew exactly where that somewhere was.
“Spending so much time alone isn’t healthy,” Fuery added as Farman nodded. “Socialization is important.”
“Yes it is,” Roy agreed, “now go finish getting ready and come out with us. You may even get lucky.”
Jean had to bite his tongue. The only thing keeping him from getting lucky was them tying him up and keeping him out of the bathroom.
“Look guys, I really do appreciate it, but I already have plans.”
“Oh really,” Maes said looking at him suspiciously, “do tell us what they are then. We are all ears.”
Roy was propped up on the hallway wall enjoying Havoc’s obvious stumbling for words when he noticed two things almost in unison. One was an all-too-familiar pair of boots under the window along with a just as familiar jacket flung over the armchair, and the other was the fact that the shower was indeed still running. As it came together in his head, Roy tried to get Maes to let Jean off the hook but he wasn’t having it.
Everyone was silently staring at Havoc and waiting for an answer when it came to them in the form of the bathroom door swinging open.
“Geez Jean,” Ed shouted as he leaned out of the door, “how long does it take to make a couple of fucking sandwi…”
The rest of Ed’s query died in his throat, and he froze as his eyes registered half of his coworkers and his little brother’s presence just a few feet away from where he stood. There was something about realizing you are no longer alone with your lover that makes a person hyper-aware of their state of undress.
+++
Al couldn’t speak.
Al’s mind was still trying to make sense of the situation. All he could see was his brother’s head and torso as his loose blond hair dripped on the hall floor, but he was absolutely sure he was naked. He took in the fact that Havoc was obviously just out of the shower as well and he thought his mind might implode.
Roy was the first one to come to his senses and worked to usher everyone towards the door. It was obvious to him that the shock had everyone frozen in place, and as much as he liked to see Ed squirm, now was not the time or the place to revel in it. Roy had to literally shove Alphonse to get him moving, but once he was out the door he turned to Havoc and Ed and said, “Sorry to have disturbed you, gentlemen. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you both Monday.” With that said, Roy shut the door behind him.
Havoc let out a nervous chuckle and slowly turned to face Ed who still stood unmoving in the bathroom doorway, eyes wide and jaw slack.
“You know how we were trying to figure out how we were going to tell them about us?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Well, we can check that off our to-do list. I think you just took care of that.”
Jean wasn’t surprised in the least when a wet towel hit him in the face.
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_heartEd wasn’t faring much better than Havoc, but for entirely different reasons. After meeting Rosco and finding out they were indeed skimming some of the agencies profits out of the deposits, the man had insisted that Ed go for a ride with him around the city. He talked of all the places he’d been and everywhere he planned to go, but made it clear that he didn’t want to travel alone. Ed tried his best to convince him that, with his business savvy and charm, he’d have no problem finding a companion.
The man made it clear that he’d already found one by placing his hand so far up on Ed’s thigh that it was nearly on his crotch and squeezing.
Ed had tried to tell the man that he wasn’t much on traveling, but Rosco insisted that was only because he was used to traveling like a commoner, and that traveling as a man of wealth was an entirely different story. Ed got out of the situation by saying that he would have to think about it, that he had family to consider before picking up and taking off. Thankfully, Rosco seemed to respect that and backed down.
Ed stomped into the apartment at nearly one in the morning and wanted nothing more than to forget his encounter with Rosco. He’d just pulled a beer out of the fridge when a voice said, “Rough night?”
Ed’s head snapped around and he said, “That’s an understatement. I’m not going to be able to hold Rosco off much longer, so the next meeting is going to have to be end-game. I just hope that we have enough information to hang him and whoever is above him.”
Havoc merely nodded and asked Ed what happened. As Ed told him about the night’s events, he was marching around the kitchen, beer in hand, growing more animated with each sentence. Havoc pulled out his pack of cigarettes and flipped one in Ed’s direction. Ed caught it, but looked at Jean in confusion.
“Sounds like you could use one.”
Smirk firmly in place, Ed tucked it behind his ear, grabbed another beer out of the fridge and made his way to the balcony. When Jean lingered inside, Ed stuck his head back in the door and said, “What are you waiting on, the red carpet to roll out?”
Jean just shook his head and followed the other blond outside.
Since they’d never lived this far inside the city, neither man was used to so much hustle and bustle so late. It was a nice distraction from the racing thoughts they had going on in their minds. Ed reached into Jean’s shirt pocket to steal the man’s lighter, and then lit up. One long, slow drag later, Ed had a content smile on his face.
“Looks like you were right. I did need this. It’s been one hell of a night.”
“Same here,” Jean replied before he thought better of it.
“Oh? What happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing happened, just a lot on my mind.”
“Well, sorry if I worried you, but the two men with Rosco were nothing to worry about. Kain could probably take them down if he had to.”
“That’s good to know,” Jean said as he continued staring out into the city skyline.
Ed was looking at the man by his side and he didn’t like the worry etched on his face.
“Is there something else on your mind? I’m not tired, so if you need a listening ear I’ve got two available right now.”
Havoc looked over at Ed then, and something about the smile gracing his lips, the way small sections of his hair floated on the breeze, and how the lights from the city reflected off his face made Jean’s mind drift away. Havoc wasn’t what most would consider a hopeless romantic - actually if anything, he was far from it - but the only word that came to his mind as he stood there watching Ed lazily smoke a cigarette as golden eyes took in the night life going on around them was ‘beautiful’.
Edward Elric was beautiful.
Thinking that he needed to go inside before he did something they’d both probably regret, he dropped his smoke into his nearly empty beer bottle and said, “Well, I need to go to bed so I’m calling it a night.”
Before Ed could reply, Jean was already inside. Not one to ever leave a situation hanging, Ed stuck his head in the doorway and asked what was wrong, only to end up silenced by a set of lips landing upon his.
When Jean pulled back and looked at a stunned Ed he said, “Hopefully that will give you something more pleasant to think about. Sleep well when you go, Ed.”
Ed couldn’t reply. His mouth wouldn’t work and even if it had been functioning, his brain wasn’t, so it didn’t matter. He was left with his head stuck through the patio door watching Jean Havoc stroll off down the hall and out of sight.
When his senses came back on line he stepped back inside, slid the door shut and began his slow walk down the hallway to his room. His brain was still trying to make sense of the events of the last few minutes, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t working at all.
Jean had kissed him out of the blue and he couldn’t make sense of it. He hadn’t seen any build up to the action or anything of the like. This made it a complete and utter shock to his system, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He paused in front of Jean’s door, and everything in him wanted to knock because he knew the man couldn’t be asleep yet; however, as he raised his hand he realized he didn’t have a damn thing thought out to say.
Mumbling a curse under his breath, he moved on to his own room and shut the door.
Jean was lying on his back staring at the ceiling while he tried his level best to figure out what in the bloody hell had possessed him to do what he did. At least he had enjoyed it, and that made the situation a little worse in some way. He would have almost felt better if he hadn’t, but the simple fact that his lips were still tingling from the act made it all worse.
It was just as he feared… he was no better than, Rosco.
When he rolled over on his side, his eyes landed on the door just as a shadow appeared underneath it. Part of him wanted Ed to knock, while the other part was praying that he moved on; when the second half won out, Jean sighed in relief.
Great… on top of everything he was a coward too. That’s wonderful… just fucking peachy.
Ed, on the other hand, was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling with this goofy grin on his face. What else could he really do at that point? He wasn’t upset; quite the opposite actually, so there was no need to waste energy to that end. If anything, he was simply in shock. The only thing he knew for certain at that moment was that Jean Havoc had accomplished his mission.
Ed now had much more pleasant things on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
+++
Morning came and Jean was not inclined in the least to spring out of bed. He’d possibly made a complete fool of himself or crossed a line last night, and he wasn’t excited about facing the music. He knew he couldn’t avoid it, but he didn’t feel any need to rush it either. He’d heard Ed get in and out of the shower, and he knew that he couldn’t stall in his room too much longer if for no other reason than his bladder was telling him it had almost reached its limit.
After he steeled his nerves, he sat up, got out of bed and headed for the door. He managed to cross the hall and get into the bathroom unnoticed, and for that he was thankful. He took his time when he brushed his teeth and washed his face, and then he took a couple of deep breaths before he opened the door.
Imagine his shock when Ed was standing there on the other side.
Before he could say anything, the other blond stood on his toes, hooked his arm around his neck and pulled him into a kiss quite a bit more involved than the one Jean had surprised him with last night.
Stunned speechless when they parted, Ed smirked at him and said, “If you’re going to kiss someone and then walk away, do it with tongue - it makes it more memorable.”
As Ed strode down the hall toward the front door, Jean just stared at his retreating back. “I’m off to pick up muffins from the bakery. I’ll be back in a few minutes; watch the bacon for me.”
Jean nodded as if Ed had eyes in the back of his head and could see him.
Well, that went way different than I expected, Jean mused once his senses came back online. He had expected a lot of reactions out of Ed, but that one wasn’t one of them. Mind you, it was a hell of a lot more pleasant than what he had imagined, but that didn’t make it any less shocking.
His mind was still in a daze as he stood in the kitchen tending to the bacon as Ed had asked him to do. When the pint sized alchemist walked back in with half a dozen blueberry muffins, Jean still didn’t know what to say.
“Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re just going to stand there and say nothing? You started this after all.”
“I realize this.”
“Ok, so now what?”
“To be honest, I don’t know; I kinda surprised myself.”
“Was it a pleasant surprise?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, what’s the problem?” Ed asked as he bit the top off of a muffin.
“I suppose there isn’t one,” Jean mused aloud as he turned the stove off and drained the bacon.
“Then why so glum looking?”
“I guess I just expected this to become more of an issue than it ended up being.”
“If you hang out with me long enough, you will learn that when it comes to certain things I keep them as simple as possible. Eighty percent of my life is complicated as fuck, so when I can make or leave something simple I do,” Ed replied as he walked over to the counter and helped himself to a strip of bacon.
Jean nodded, but Ed could still see the remnants of worry on his face and he wanted to fix that as soon as possible.
“Ok, let me ask you this. Did you like that kiss?”
No hesitation: “Yes.”
“Do you have a problem with liking it?”
A little hesitation, then, “I thought I did, but I suppose I don’t.”
“Would you like to do it again?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any qualms with making out on a balcony?”
“What!?”
“Just seeing if you were really paying attention.”
Jean couldn’t help but laugh. When he turned around, Ed was a lot closer to him than he expected. Golden eyes were slanted at him in a manner that was beyond inviting, and a devilish grin was curling those lips of his in a way that had Jean Havoc not resisting in the least when Ed leaned in to initiate another kiss.
Apparently Ed put the same amount of drive and energy into kissing as he did everything else in his life, because the exchange was, erotically languid and toe-curling at the same time. His decision to end it by nibbling on Jean’s lower lip sent a fair amount of blood south and logic on a holiday.
When Ed stepped back, Jean grabbed him around the waist, pulled him to his chest and shook his head no. Ed chuckled and said, “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.”
Breakfast sat forgotten as the two blonds had another appetites to satisfy first.
An hour later the two of them were sprawled out shirtless on the couch - Jean on his back and Ed lying face down on Havoc’s chest. Jean was twirling a tendril of Ed’s hair around his finger and remembering how he had just spent his morning with fondness. Sure, the kitchen was a wreak and the living room didn’t look much better, but damn if that wasn’t the most intense make-out session he’d ever had in his life. He was tired, he was sweaty, he was almost certain he would have bruises, but he didn’t care. He doubted a hurricane could’ve wiped the smile off his face.
When Ed stirred on his chest, he chuckled and said, “I still can’t believe you did that with the bacon.”
“Humph, you should know better than pose anything to me as a challenge.”
“I merely said that there’s no room for bacon in this exchange.”
“I know,” Ed said as he shifted around so he could look at Jean, “but I proved you wrong, didn’t I?”
Indeed he had, and Jean was convinced the memory of that may well make him blush for the rest of his life.
“So, what do you want to do with the rest of our Saturday? It’s not even eleven yet.”
Ed didn’t want to ruin the mood, but when a person’s spends an hour swapping tongues with a friend of seven years, it wasn’t something you could get away with not talking about so it might as well be now.
“What is this?”
Jean didn’t bother playing dumb; he knew exactly what Ed was referring to. “The fast track to dating out of order?”
Ed looked up at him and dissolved into laughter. “Well if that’s the case, then we’d better get to knocking off the rest of that list, so are we doing a dinner date tonight?”
“Sounds good to me,” Havoc said as he grabbed Ed's left hand in his own and entwined their fingers which caused Ed to look at him curiously.
“I’m sure that holding hands is on that list somewhere too.”
Ed snorted and laid his head back down. “I say we eat muffins, then nap. I’m starving.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Let me up and I’ll turn the oven on.”
“Hmm,” Ed mumbled as he settled down further instead of getting up, “in a minute.”
A minute, indeed - in that length of time, Ed had dozed off and was softly snoring on Havoc’s chest.
Jean decided he could get used to the sound.
+++
By one they were out and about in the city where they looked around for the sake of looking around. The weather had at least temporarily returned to fall temperatures but they bought a new fan for the flat just in case. After purchasing some produce all was well and good until they were in the back of an antiques shop and a familiar voice wafted to Ed’s ear. He peeked around the shelf he was behind; sure enough, none other than Riza Hawkeye and Maria Ross were walking around the store. He cursed under his breath and that got Havoc’s attention.
“What’s the matter, Rich?”
“Don’t look now, but two of our military office-mates just walked into this shop.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding you?”
“We need to get out of here, then.”
“How do you suppose we do that? They are lingering by the door, and as far as I can tell that’s the only public exit.”
“There has to be a back door, Rich.”
“I’m sure there is, but good luck getting granny over there behind the counter to let us use it.”
“You have a point there,” Jean whispered, “so now what?”
“I’m not…” Ed’s face scrunched up for a moment and the gleam in his eyes went devious. Without warning or explanation, he freed his hair from its pony tail, stuffed his hat in his coat pocket, yanked the scarf off of Jean and then shoved it in the top part of his shirt. “Give me that watermelon we bought.”
Jean was confused but he knew better than to ask questions. He handed over the melon and watched as Ed stuffed it up his shirt and struggled to button his coat.
“Ok, now I need you to turn on the charm and go ask granny if your pregnant wife could leave by the back door.”
“Ed, you’ve got to be crazy; there’s no way…” but as Jean looked at the thick glasses the elderly lady had on and then back at Ed, he thought it just may work as long as Ed didn’t talk.
“She’s probably half blind, and as long as you don’t act suspicious we’ll be out of here in no time.”
Havoc shook his head but went with it. They didn’t have much choice, because of all people to run into, they would run into the two that never missed a thing, and to top it off, they were still lingering by the door looking at some age old cuckoo clock.
Jean approached the woman, and as humbly as he could he said, “Ma’am, I hate to disturb you but might I ask you a favor?”
“Of course, young man; what is it?”
“You see my wife over there,” he asked as he pointed at Ed who was doing a damn fine job of looking fragile and faint for someone who didn’t have a thing wrong with them outside of a melon up their shirt. “She’s pretty far along and I think all of the walking around has gotten to her. Is there any way we could leave by your service entrance? She hates to draw attention to herself at times like these.”
“Oh of course, of course; I remember being in her position all too well - it’s not easy those last months, not easy at all, especially with this flip-flop weather, cool one day then hot the next,” the woman added as she shook her head.
“Thank you, ma’am; we really appreciate this.”
“Not a problem at all. Let me go make sure nothing is in the way, and you can help her over here.”
Havoc went over to Ed and did his best to aid him in the way he’d seen men aid their expectant wives before. Ed put on his best waddle, and behind the counter then into the back they went.
“Now the best thing you can do, dear, is go home, put your feet up, and keep a cool rag on your head. Get some rest and you’ll be feeling better in no time.”
“Thank you,” Ed replied in a voice Jean was further impressed by.
“You take that bag from her this instant, young man! She doesn’t need to be carrying a thing!” the woman demanded as she shot Jean a look far more vicious than a woman of her years should be able to give.
He didn’t argue; he merely took the bag from Ed’s hand and kept going. Once they were out of the store, Ed kept up his waddle until they were down the alley and around the corner. After he ducked into a walkway, he yanked Jean in with him and proceeded to laugh his ass off as he undid his disguise.
“Does Maes know half of the things you end up doing while out on these missions?”
“I doubt it, but he knows me so I suppose his imagination has filled in quite a bit,” Ed replied as he tugged the melon out from under his shirt, “but in general, I only bother telling him if it’s interesting. This one I think I’ll keep under my hat.”
“Oh no, there’s no way in the world I’m not sharing this after you got me yelled at by granny back there. She was ready to skin me alive because you had that bag.”
“I know,” Ed replied, devious smirk firmly in place as he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. “Let’s go up this fire escape and across the roof tops for a bit. I don’t want to chance running into Riza and Maria again.”
Once the two made it home from their adventure, they tried to think of a place that they would least likely run into the ladies if they were indeed still in the heart of the city. They doubted it would happen, but better safe than sorry.
They decided to spring for something a bit out their norm; it was kind of a celebration after all, and hopefully far from where they’d run into military coworkers. It was a seafood restaurant because Ed said that Denny had told him that Maria was allergic to most shellfish and tended to stay away from any place that centered on seafood. The mere mention of Denny made Havoc’s brows knit together even though he didn’t say anything.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jean replied.
“Bullshit! Your face is so contorted it looks painful.”
“Sorry,” Jean replied but offered nothing more.
“So what gives? Do you not like seafood?”
“No, no - seafood is fine,” Jean replied as he tried to think of a way to broach the subject bothering him in a way that wouldn’t kill the wonderful day they’d had thus far.
“Whatever it is, just spit it out already; I’m cramping up over here.”
Jean took a deep breath, let it out and said, “I don’t want to get mixed up in the middle of anything. Take it from a guy who’s lost more women to Mustang than you could ever presume, so I guess the fact that Denny lip-locked you before we left on this mission has me feeling a bit… I don’t know how to word it, but there it is.”
“Ah,” Ed said as he sat down on the sofa.
Havoc didn’t know how to feel about the single syllable reply, so he waited. His stomach was in knots, but he waited.
“Well, I will say this: I haven’t done anything more than tell him we’d talk about that once I was done with this mission. That’s far from any sort of commitment if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“While that’s good to know, I suppose what I really want to know is how you feel about that dude. You seemed pretty interested in him a few weeks ago.”
“Ah,” Ed replied again as he stood up and walked over to Havoc. Golden eyes bearing a wicked gleam looked up at Jean. “If you are questioning who I’m interested in after the bacon incident then I must be losing my touch.”
The amount of heat that flooded Jean’s face was unreal.
“Well,” Ed said as he walked towards the door, “now that that’s settled, let’s go eat!”
* * *
As the two sat across from each other and laughed over Jean’s last run-in with little miss ‘I want a husband’ at work, Ed gathered his composure and said, “Ok, I’ve thought on it and thought on it and well, I just gotta know something.”
“Sure, Rich, ask me anything,” Jean said as he raised his wine glass to his lips.
“Do you have a habit of reading other peoples mail, or was reading mine just a fluke?”
Jean nearly choked on the wine in his throat as startled blue eyes looked at Ed while their owner sat there speechless.
“Ya know,” Ed began as he cut another chunk of salmon off the thick glazed fillet on his plate and plopped it into his mouth, “I’ve been running over the past few weeks in my mind, and I know for a fact I didn’t tell you about Denny kissing me.”
“I… uh, well… you see…”
“Oh do go on, you’re so poetic.”
“I’m sorry… I… I had no right to do that and… and… well, I guess I really have no excuse or reason so I’m just sorry.”
“I think I know your reasoning but it’s just a guess,” Ed said as he took a drink of his own wine. “Tell me, you didn’t read Al’s letters, did you?”
“No…”
“That’s what I thought. Also, you’ve detested Rosco, or ‘Sleazy’ as you’ve named him, since day one. Not just the normal level of detesting you’d have for a person like him, but you really can’t stand him.”
“So?”
“So? So you even gave Amy the evil eye for flirting with me, and she flirts with everyone.”
That last line brought Havoc up to speed, and as he thought about it, he made a realization in that moment that he should have made long ago. It would explain so much about his behavior and thought patterns.
Jean Havoc had developed a thing for Edward Elric and he hadn’t pegged it for what it was until it was spelled out for him... bacon and all.
He sat there with his mouth open staring at Ed not knowing how to respond.
“At first I thought it was my age that had you so protective. In general, I know you acknowledge me as an adult but you still have your moments,” Ed continued on as he stuffed his face, “however, that rationale didn’t mesh with all of your behavior, but I think this covers it.”
Havoc still didn’t know what to say.
“Don’t worry about it anymore; considering how we’ve spent the day, I think your issue flows along just fine with our new situation… don’t you?”
Jean was still in shock but nodded all the same.
“Eat up, scallops are yucky cold.”
* * *
Nearly three months into their little sting operation, Roscoe finally came clean with Ed... well, ‘Richie’ as he liked to call him, about how he was not only reworking the numbers and stealing from the deposits, he was also trading or selling anything of value donated to the agency. If it wasn’t given in plain view of others, then it never made it to those in need.
Once Ed got this information, he and Havoc made their way to a phone booth out in the boonies and called Maes. Hughes told them it would all be over in a matter of days once a new face arrived in their office, and that he wasn’t going to tell them anything more so they wouldn’t have to act surprised.
Surprised was an understatement.
Eleven days after the phone call - and only four days after a government auditor who looked suspiciously like a man Ed had seen working with Denny and Maria, arrived in the office - it all came to a head.
Everyone was in the middle of doing their daily thing when tax officials and the police showed up at the office. Amy, Ed, Jean, Rosco, and a few other office staff members were lead out of the building in handcuffs before any of them could wrap their minds around what was unfolding. Jean followed Ed’s cue and put up the kind of fuss a man proclaiming his innocence would be expected to in that situation until he was shoved into the back of a squad car with Ed.
Once they were inside, the man behind the wheel said, “We’re with the King’s Counselor.”
“Great,” Ed said as all vestiges of the voice and demeanor he used as Richard fell away. “That means we don’t have to suffer through this whole ordeal in handcuffs, right?”
“Sorry, gentlemen; we have to lead you into the station just like the others, but I will loosen them up so they don’t chafe,” the large bearded man in the passenger seat replied.
“I’ll take anything,” Jean admitted, since he’d never had a set of them on before. “I never knew these things could make you feel so confined.”
“They do their job, that’s for sure,” the driver added as he joined the caravan of vehicles headed to the police station.
Once inside, their arrival caused quite the stir. Jean watched in awe at how easily Ed went from telling dirty jokes on the ride over to looking like a scared rabbit as they herded those under arrest into the police station. You could hear Rosco shouting about how everyone was going to pay for this violation of his civil rights. Once he spotted Ed, he strained against the men trying to push him toward an interrogation room and shouted, “Don’t you worry about a thing, Richie, and I’ll have us out of here before the sun sets. We’ll be laughing at these imbeciles and on that vacation together in no time!”
Of all things that Jean has seen Ed do and endure, the fact that Rosco proclaimed such a thing in front of God and sundry was the thing to make Ed flush scarlet had Havoc fighting not to laugh.
Twenty minutes later they were being escorted out of the building via the basement.
It was time to return to life proper.
+++
As great as the adventure was on the whole, Jean and Ed were both glad it was over; however, returning to their former daily grind with something more between the two outside of friendship was a bigger challenge than either had expected. It was far too easy to forget oneself and behave in a manner that would call them, and their actions, into question.
They had decided not to mention the shift in their personal dynamics until more time had passed. This way, if for some reason things didn’t work out, they didn’t have to deal with awkward looks or uneasy tension from their friends and coworkers. Ed and Jean loved them all but their friends and coworkers were a gossiping nosey bunch that didn’t have it in them not to get involved.
A month back into their normal lives came a weekend that they had planned to kick off with beer and pool at a local bar, then dinner at wherever their appetites took them; however, fate was not letting things flow so smoothly. Just before the much-watched clock in the office struck five, Breda asked Havoc if he’d like to go out on the town. Feeling put on the spot on top of not wanting to lie to his friend, Jean’s eyes flicked over to Ed for a millisecond before he replied with the best thing he could think of, “I already have plans to be out and about; how about I catch you another night?”
“Sure thing buddy, but answer me this,” Breda said as he leaned down on the other man’s desk, “blonde, redheaded, or a brunette?”
With a smirk, Jean replied, “Blonde.”
Breda broke into laughter, wished Jean luck and moved on. Ed just shook his head and tried his best not to laugh as Jean sat there looking rather smug and satisfied with himself.
Five o’clock came and went, and by the time seven rolled around the two blondes were working their way toward Jean’s favorite eatery. The place was quickly growing on Ed as well because they had a turkey and stuffing dinner with all the trimmings they served year-round. He’d ordered it enough times that the waitress knew to place his order with a request for double-meat and extra cranberry sauce. Dinner was a pleasant affair as per usual, and during the course of conversation Jean found out that Ed had a fear he wouldn’t admit to another living soul.
“Is that why you always give your circus passes to someone when they come into town?” Jean asked. “I would have never guessed.”
“That’s the whole point. I don’t make a big deal out of it, and no one figures out that clowns make my skin crawl.”
Somewhere along the way the conversation turned to hobbies, and Jean shared that even though he didn’t indulge in it often, he liked to paint every once in a while.
“What medium?” Ed asked around a mouth full of stuffing.
“Oils, for the most part; watercolors aren’t pliable or forgiving enough for me.”
“I’m no artist but I can see that. Al dabbles in things like that from time to time, and I’ve seen him grow frustrated on several occasions when dealing with watercolors.”
After dinner they retired to Jean’s place.
Morning found two content soldiers in no hurry to get out of bed.
+++
Weeks pass in this fashion and without even thinking about it, the two settled into a routine. They spent at least one night during the week - if not more - together, on top of Friday night and most of Saturday. Jean had gotten into a habit of refusing offers to hang out on the weekend and Ed had let his brother assume whatever he wanted to concerning his whereabouts these days, but noted how much happier Al seemed now that Ed had plans even if Ed didn’t talk about them in detail.
Another Friday rolled around and sure enough, Heymans was trying to get Jean out on the town again. Jean refused, saying that he had plans that he didn’t specify, but this time it left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what it was about the usual scenario that had upset him, but it was there nonetheless. Jean being lost in thought made their walk to dinner a silent affair.
The two had just sat down and placed their order when Jean’s brow furrowed in a way Ed couldn’t continue to ignore. After he took a drink of his tea, he asked the man what was wrong.
“Nothing really.”
“Last time I checked, ‘nothing’ doesn’t generally make your face scrunch up like it is now, so out with it.”
“I suppose I’m just tired of the lying by omission.”
“You’re not alone. I actually wanted to talk to you about that; it’s been bugging me too.”
“Well, unless you’ve decided to trade me in on a newer model, I say we tell them.”
Ed snorted, “No need to worry about me trading you in; I’m more than happy with what I have,” Ed stated simply, but the words made Jean flush slightly anyway.
“So, how do you propose we do this?”
“That’s where my train of thought starts to derail because I don’t have a clue,” Ed admitted as he sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “We don’t want to announce it as if it’s a new thing because we’ve been seeing each other for a few months now. On the flipside, it’s not going to be cool to just say, ‘Oh, by the way guys, this has been going on under your nose for X amount of time’. I hadn’t thought about this angle when we decided to keep it under our hat.”
“Don’t feel alone; I hadn’t either.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know; I was really hoping your genius would figure it out.”
“Well, we need to do something soon before yet another month passes. Al is starting to get a little nosy.”
“I think Breda is as well. To be honest, that’s one more reason why I’m looking forward to my upcoming four-day weekend.”
“That’s right; you are off from Thursday to Monday. Are you in the mood for company?”
“Does Riza like guns?”
“I wonder if I could squeeze those same days out of Colonel Bastard? No, I think I’d have better success going through Maes,” Ed mused aloud. “Yeah, I’ll go through Maes.”
With that aired out and decided, the two finished their meal then headed back to Havoc’s place.
+++
The week of Jean’s mini-vacation had him whistling quite the lighthearted tune on Wednesday
afternoon.
“Must be nice to have a four-day weekend coming up,” Kain said with a smile.
“It is, and I’m looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing,” Jean replied.
“Surely you’re not going to stay cooped up in your apartment all four days, are you?” Breda
questioned looking mortified at the prospect of Jean wasting his time in that fashion.
“I think I may do just that,” Jean replied as he pictured the smirking face that held the golden eyes he’d come to adore.
“You really need to get out more,” the redhead stated.
“I’ll take that under consideration,” Jean replied as Breda shook his head.
+++
By the time Jean got off of work and made his way to the apartment, Ed was already there putting away groceries. Jean peered in the bags, and to him it looked like the young alchemist had purchased quite the haul.
“With a stockpile like this, we won’t have to budge unless we feel like it.”
“That was kinda my plan,” Ed admitted as a devilish grin slid across his face.
“Making me a prisoner in my own home this weekend, are we?”
"Indeed I am. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Jean replied, which caused Ed to give him a pointed look.
"What might that be?"
"You forgot the bacon."
+++
It was Friday evening and Jean had just finished washing the visual masterpiece known as Ed’s back in the shower and then stepped out. The two of them had been holed up in his little apartment since Wednesday night, and so far his extended weekend had been excellent. He knew it was going to get even better when Ed shot him that look that meant they wouldn’t be making it any further than the bedroom for yet another night, and that was fine by him.
He dried himself enough not to drip and announced to Ed that he was going to make a couple of sandwiches and then he’d be right back. He had a feeling they were going to work up quite the appetite before they were done, and Ed loved to eat right after as much as he loved to smoke. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d stayed in the shower long after the water had gone cold, but that was yet another thing that was fine by Jean.
As he pulled on his pajama pants and strolled into the kitchen, someone knocked on the door in such a way that said it wasn’t their first attempt. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Roy, Maes, Farman, Fuery and Al standing on his doorstep.
“Evening Havoc, sorry if we interrupted your shower,” Kain said, ever the polite soul.
“Uh… no problem. What’s up, guys; is there something wrong? All of you look serious.”
“No, nothing like that,” Roy said as he strolled on in and the rest followed. “We have just come to pry you out of here for some fun.”
“Huh,” Jean said, still shocked and wondering how he was going to get rid of them all so he could go have more fun than any of them could imagine.
“You,” Maes began, “have been MIA for weeks now. You never come out anymore, so we have come to kidnap you.”
“Thanks guys, but…”
“No buts!” Al said, “You are worse than Brother, even he’s out somewhere tonight.”
Jean tried not to cringe at that. Ed was out somewhere all right, and Havoc knew exactly where that somewhere was.
“Spending so much time alone isn’t healthy,” Fuery added as Farman nodded. “Socialization is important.”
“Yes it is,” Roy agreed, “now go finish getting ready and come out with us. You may even get lucky.”
Jean had to bite his tongue. The only thing keeping him from getting lucky was them tying him up and keeping him out of the bathroom.
“Look guys, I really do appreciate it, but I already have plans.”
“Oh really,” Maes said looking at him suspiciously, “do tell us what they are then. We are all ears.”
Roy was propped up on the hallway wall enjoying Havoc’s obvious stumbling for words when he noticed two things almost in unison. One was an all-too-familiar pair of boots under the window along with a just as familiar jacket flung over the armchair, and the other was the fact that the shower was indeed still running. As it came together in his head, Roy tried to get Maes to let Jean off the hook but he wasn’t having it.
Everyone was silently staring at Havoc and waiting for an answer when it came to them in the form of the bathroom door swinging open.
“Geez Jean,” Ed shouted as he leaned out of the door, “how long does it take to make a couple of fucking sandwi…”
The rest of Ed’s query died in his throat, and he froze as his eyes registered half of his coworkers and his little brother’s presence just a few feet away from where he stood. There was something about realizing you are no longer alone with your lover that makes a person hyper-aware of their state of undress.
+++
Al couldn’t speak.
Al’s mind was still trying to make sense of the situation. All he could see was his brother’s head and torso as his loose blond hair dripped on the hall floor, but he was absolutely sure he was naked. He took in the fact that Havoc was obviously just out of the shower as well and he thought his mind might implode.
Roy was the first one to come to his senses and worked to usher everyone towards the door. It was obvious to him that the shock had everyone frozen in place, and as much as he liked to see Ed squirm, now was not the time or the place to revel in it. Roy had to literally shove Alphonse to get him moving, but once he was out the door he turned to Havoc and Ed and said, “Sorry to have disturbed you, gentlemen. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you both Monday.” With that said, Roy shut the door behind him.
Havoc let out a nervous chuckle and slowly turned to face Ed who still stood unmoving in the bathroom doorway, eyes wide and jaw slack.
“You know how we were trying to figure out how we were going to tell them about us?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Well, we can check that off our to-do list. I think you just took care of that.”
Jean wasn’t surprised in the least when a wet towel hit him in the face.