50 Chemical Reactions

#35- Diatomic

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 21:09:30 GMT

Title: Convenient Seduction
Pairing: DantexEnvy
Rating: NC-17

(#35 Diatomic)

X posted to: fma_fuh_q, fma_het, 50_reactions

Dante drabbles: Spectator Ion and Dissociation

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 01:25:36 GMT

Title: On The Day He Left
Pairing: DantexEnvy, DantexHohenheim
Rating: R

(#12- Spectator Ion)

Title: Black Widow
Pairing: DantexGreed
Rating: PG-13

(#23- Dissociation)

DantexLust- #43 Malleability

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:31:03 GMT

Title: All She Would Ever Know
Pairing: DantexLust
Rating: NC-17

(Prompt #43: Malleability)

X posted to: fma_fuh_q, fma_yuri, 50_reactions, fullservicefma

The Break Down- DantexSloth- #46 Elementary Particles

Wed, 24 May 2006 01:08:07 GMT

OK, here's my first submission for the challenge! And it's nice and long! ;) I doubt all my stories in the future will be quite so long if I want to ever complete all fifty of them! ;)

Title: The Break Down
Pairing: DantexSloth
Rating: R
Prompt: #46- Elementary Particles (Also used for fullservicefma contest prompt "shadows"

(Theme 46: Elementary Particles)

X posted to: fullservicefma, 50_reactions, fma_yuri

Fic! # 39 Polarity

Wed, 10 May 2006 20:41:17 GMT

Pairing: Roy/Hughes
Rating: PG-13

Been meaning to write this one for a while--had the opening floating around in my head.

# 39 Polarity

"You're gay," Roy Mustang slurred with a sleepy grin at the man he had just woken up beside. The sun was coming in through the shades, but it wasn't warm enough yet to prevent him from wiggling closer to the heat of the other man.

Maes Hughes adjusted accordingly so that the alchemist could settle comfortably against him. "What are you talking about, I could get any woman I wanted." One arm he stuffed under the pillow, the other he wrapped around Roy.

Who snorted into Maes' chest. "I'd like to see you try."

"No you wouldn't. You wouldn't want to see me torn apart by the mob of females brutally fighting to the death for my attention," Maes said with an air of fake longing. He looked over, grinning.

Roy glanced up, meeting the grin with a skeptical smile. "You? Mob of females? Never."

"You're just jealous of my success," he pouted, delivering a kiss to Roy's forehead.

Roy's eyes slipped shut. "Oh, definitely. Absolutely. You know how I can't stand to have anyone more successful than me." His arm he had draped over Maes tightened, pulling him as close as he could get.

"I bet I could get a wife before you." He frowned as Roy started to laugh quietly. "What?" he asked quizzically.

"I'm just tickled by the image of you married. Probably with a pack of kids running around wild, too." Roy cracked his eyes open, humor glinting from the blackness.

"I could do it! Don't doubt me!" He drummed his fingers on Roy's side.

Roy shifted, moving his weight onto his arms as he leaned over Maes. "You're forgetting one thing, though," he said in that low drawl.

Maes looked up at him. "What?" he asked again, this time matching Roy's tone.

Roy shifted again, bringing a hand up to capture the other man's strong chin in his pale fingers. Then he kissed him. "You're gay," he breathed the reminder as he pulled away.

Mae's gold eyes gleamed for a moment before he was pressing the alchemist down against the bed. "I don’t think, then, that you should be complaining."

Update

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:58:52 GMT

Title: Radio
Pairing: RoyxRiza
Rating: G

He twisted the dial of his radio. The office was strangely quiet again: everyone was out except for himself and Riza. ‘If I didn’t know better I’d swear they were plotting something,’ he thought as he passed through more static.

Suddenly he felt her presence behind him. He didn’t bother to turn to her as he asked, “What is it Riza?”

Riza reached over Roy and spun the dial to the very edge of the frequencies. When she stopped a soft melody began to fill the room. She smiled at him and walked back over to her desk, “Better?”

Roy raised an eyebrow then smiled himself, “Yes…yes it is.”

Title: Closet
Pairing: RoyxRiza
Rating: PG-13 (suggestive)

Riza had never been this close to a man before. She couldn’t pull away from his grasp. His muscular arm was wrapped around her waist and Riza was surprised at just how well it fit there, ‘Like it belongs,’ she thought. His other arm was by her head, supporting his body as he pressed into her. His face was so close she could make out the bliss in his eyes at their proximity.

Frankly, Roy couldn’t be happier that Riza was under him; although her ever present frown was still there it was complimented by a deep blush. He adjusted himself; which ended up bringing his face inches from her nose, “Better?”

“Roy Mustang! If you don’t get us out of this closet this instant I will personally see to it that you are demoted to a Private,” Riza protested.

Roy chuckled, “I told you…not until you kiss me.”

Riza avoided his eyes and then sighed in resignation. She leaned forward and…

…using a gun from her belt blasted the door open from behind Roy. Unfortunately Roy had not anticipated this and the sound of the gun going off caused him to stumble backwards in shock. He reached out for Riza as he fell and the two tumbled back together. Riza landed on top of Roy on the hard tiled floor. Her lips were pressed firmly to Roy’s. After a moment that seemed to last for forever and a mere nanosecond all at once, Riza pulled up and Roy couldn’t help but smile.

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 03:49:23 GMT

Title: Slumber
Pairing: RoyxRiza
Rating: G

It was quiet in the office for once. Roy had never realized just how much noise his subordinates caused…until they were gone. Roy sighed as he gazed out of his window, his head resting on his hand. The only one left was…

Riza Hawkeye.

His brown eyes drifted over to the blonde woman sitting by the window. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed what she was doing.

‘That can’t be right. Is Riza…actually sleeping,’ he thought. His gloved hand dropped to the desk in shock. He had worked with Riza for as long as he could remember and he had never seen her fall asleep. Roy couldn’t help but smile as he watched her.

Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun but still a few wisps of hair escaped; caressing her pale features. Even in her sleep she had a slight scowl on her face…as if displeased with something. ‘But it’s softer somehow,’ he thought.

As if sensing his stares Riza opened her eyes halfway to glare at Roy, “Can I help you sir,” she asked.

Roy chuckled, “No just keep sleeping. It gives me a chance to relax as well,” he said leaning back in his chair.

The woman frowned and sat up, fully awake now. She pushed her chair back and stood up; walking over to the colonel. He smiled at her but she continued to glare at him. The staring contest seemed to last for forever but it was only a few minutes before Riza finally sighed and averted her eyes from Roy’s intense stare, “You’re impossible.”

Roy reached up and caressed Riza’s cheek, brushing her loose blonde hair out of her face, “And you should go back to sleep…you’re cute when you aren’t holding me at gunpoint to do my work.”

“I can’t do that sir.”

Roy raised an eyebrow, “And why is that?”

“Because there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching you work.”

~(*)~

Title: Vanilla
Pairing: RoyxRiza
Rating: G

Riza set the coffee mug in front of the colonel. Like most men he liked his coffee pure, straight black. No sugar, no milk, no NOTHING. Riza couldn’t help but smile to herself as the man brought the coffee mug to his lips. She regretted it however when he actually caught the smile and set the mug down.

“What are you grinning about?”

Luckily she was a master at the poker face, “N-nothing.” Riza blinked and blushed, ‘Did I just stutter…and blush,’ she thought incredulously.

Roy raised an eyebrow, his senses warning him something was not right here, “Riza…what did you do.”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing, sir,” she said as her eyes drifted towards the coffee mug. She mentally cursed herself; she never acted like this!

Roy glanced at his coffee mug and then back at Riza, “Did you do something to my coffee?”

“Why would you think that sir?”

“You just…you just looked at it funny,” he said, realizing how stupid that sounded as he said it.

Riza rolled her eyes, she was getting her thing back, “There is nothing wrong with your coffee, sir. I brewed it myself and I made sure Hughes didn’t touch it.”

The colonel shivered…remembering the last time someone other than Riza had made his coffee, ‘Never again,’ he thought. He sighed and picked up his mug. He sipped it as Riza watched in anticipation. He frowned as he pulled the mug away and looked to Riza, “You put something in my coffee didn’t you?”

“Vanilla, sir.”

Roy blinked and looked back to his mug. ‘I thought it had smelled familiar,’ he thought. He inhaled the scent and cracked a smile, ‘It smells like her.’ He picked the mug up and drank deeply, the trace amounts of vanilla mingling on his taste buds just as the person he associated with them lingered on his mind.

“I thought you took your coffee black, sir,” Riza asked.

He set the mug down and started ruffling through papers, “There’s always room for a little change Riza.”
~(*)~

Ficlets!

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 21:59:20 GMT

Title: Ill
Pairing: Winry/Rose
Rating: PG

“Here,” Rose said. “I’ve brought tea,”

The mug in her hand sloshed with various miniature tides, smoothed into oblivion as it settled on the table: Winry observed these things with a sort of hallucinatory clarity, eyes half-shut, watching by the white china and Rose’s dark hand and trying not to breathe too hard.

“Nnnf,” Winry said, and tried to get up. She was sure that everything used to be lighter: it was an increase in gravity, maybe, a dragging down of hands, limbs, eyes, to the soft grip of the mattress. She wasn’t used at all to being ill. Mostly her body was more trustworthy; it was other people’s limbs which broke and withered, other people’s brows which burnt with fever. Winry was strong. She liked to be capable and run things herself; it was just the same with Pinako, but she was trying not to think about that.

Rose gave her an awkward look, and then moved as if to help her up, but Winry glared and made one monumental effort: parts of her she hadn’t even known she’d had creaked and squelched, and the starched embrace of the cotton pillow came as a great relief.

Her hands slipped across Rose’s and took the mug almost without shaking. Either the borrowed heat of the kettle and the fire beneath it or the life under Rose’s skin, the beat of her heart made her fingers so warm and tangible against her own: she was hardly cold herself, despite her best efforts to kick the bedclothes across the floor. The feel of her was soft and clean; Winry didn’t, perhaps, want to let go.

She took a sip, cradled the tea with the wavering strength of illness. “That’s just what I needed.”

“I’m glad,” Rose said. “My – mother used to make something like that, when I was younger. But I didn’t know if it would be too hot for a flu.”

“It’s just right.”

Winry drank the tea, watched Rose standing by the bed: the tea was, in fact, slightly too hot, but she didn’t mind. Her throat felt cleaner, clearer: she could feel the slight burn as it slipped down, and almost relished it compared to the dull mucus of before. She finished it fast and caught a fragment of Rose’s cautious smile in her own.

“You look a lot better than yesterday,” Rose said.

“I’m feeling better,” Winry said.

Which was true. There was just Granny to worry about, who wasn’t ill by definition but then had looked crumpled, almost dazed when she’d seen her. Like she was old instead of just wrinkled, and Winry was too exhausted all day to even get up let alone see her.

It didn’t seem fair that people could weaken like that. It was the flu, for heaven’s sake. It shouldn’t -

Winry chased the end of that sentence away, because Pinako was sinewy as old boots and would outlast Armageddon; all the things she’d always believed had to be true. She shouldn’t, just now, be swallowing to prepare for such a silly question. Her throat was raw and painful; she could name more reasons for that than just being unwell.

"You're still fine?" she said, mostly for something or anything to say.

"Mmm," Rose said. "As long as we don't have any customers turning up..."

A sudden, vivid image lit Winry's mind: Pinako, dying, while they made small talk for lack of anything else to say, and Rose had been here two months and woke up screaming sometimes and Winry might lose Granny, can't lose Granny. She felt five years old again; or the age she was at when her parents died.

Rose was waiting for some kind of answer: she opened her mouth to speak, and Winry shivered, held the mug closer. She looked a little worried, and there was something so tender about her expression and her barely parted lips that Winry felt almost comforted by that, as if the answer had to be good.

She swallowed and felt the cartilage in her throat squeeze into her. Interrupted. “Is Granny all right?”

“Mrs Rockbell?” Rose said, bright-voiced, the honorific she’d never lost sweet and ridiculous to Winry’s ear. “She’s practically out of bed, to be honest – I just don’t want her to overstretch herself or something, or infect people…”

“You’re just imprisoning her, then?”

“Winry! That’s disgraceful!”

The sternness in Rose’s face, the teasing in Winry’s voice were both mostly shammed, because Winry was not-that-conscious and floating on a great bubble of relief, not really thinking, and the expression in Rose’s eyes and body and hands was quite different, was tilted slowly and irrevocably toward the other girl. Neither of them were too steady with reality, for the moment, balancing out on some weird idea of domesticity as if they know each other much better than they do.

Amusement bubbled through Winry’s nose, and then she began to croak out laughter, embarassed, giddy, delighted at the world returning to its appointed place and Granny all right. The tea too hot and the sheets tangled over her and her pulse going faster and faster underneath the slime. The artifice melting from Rose’s face and the crooked, concerned smile she wore, the touch of her hand on Winry’s shoulder.

Yes, it made a difference to her; it was as if Winry herself had been opened wide for all to see, and her chest hurt but she didn’t. It wasn’t so bad – not so bad at all. She could use being looked after.

The complete incomprehension on Rose’s face slowly became a smile, and then a stifled giggle, which faded out when she heard Winry wheezing into the sheets.

“We’re behaving like children…” Rose muttered, blushing, and then smiled.

“Ah, well,” Winry said, trying hard not to cough her whole body out onto the clean new linen, “It...looks nice when you laugh.”

She watched Rose flush and then the lines of her mouth dissolve again into another giggle – maybe she just didn’t know what to say, anyway, and it was awkward. Though what’s a teased remark like that between friends?

Friends already. Just or not quite friends, of course, but – she did look nice. And Winry hadn’t meant anything by saying other than – it wasn’t that kind of joke –

Well, the girl shouldn’t be so pretty if Winry wasn’t going to get confused.

Rose swayed and laughed some more and patted down the sheets in an attempt to restore order; then, quite inevitably, she collapsed across Winry, still laughing, and didn’t bother to get up, happy where she was. So very close, and Granny was fine, and the sprawl of giggling, heavy girl across Winry was awkward, uncomfortable and...nice. In a weird way.

It wasn’t that much new to Winry because she’d spent her whole life crying easily, laughing easily, and getting riled up just as quick, but they felt as if they were closer than really Winry should be comfortable with, and Winry’s own troubles weren’t too often unloaded on other people because she was quite prepared to carry and treasure theirs, whole-heartedly; and that was how it felt. Whole-hearted.

She didn’t spoil the moment by touching Rose or commenting or moving, just leant back and snorted out some more invalid laughter, quite exhausted and with a sore throat to beat the band, happy. Rose lay across her already, warm and wriggly, quite comfortable for now, and Winry’s laughter shook her body and the body against her, resting on her, so that they bounced a little, up-and-down, and anyone who came in would have laughed, hard, or gotten the wrong impression but Winry wasn’t about to go there.

Rose’s legs kicked up and down where they dangled over the edge, and Rose’s head nestled beside Winry’s hip on the pillow, and the hem of her dress tickled the little side part of Winry’s flank exposed to air with the scissor-kicks of her legs. There wasn’t another adult in the world, as far as Winry knew, who she’d be so free and easy with.

They were quiet for a bit, and then very embarassed. Because Winry’s laughter quite plainly showed her fright, and Rose had dropped her barriers for a little while, and they’d understood each other, filled all the loneliness they carried completely for a few moments.

It was too much to really talk about, and they didn’t; Rose got up, avoiding any further contact as carefully as she could, and then said something under her breath about having to get back to the baby and cook nourishing stew for everyone and was Winry sure she hadn’t strained something? Her eyes were bright and awkward; she was halfway out of the room before she spun round and thanked Winry, quickly, for what she couldn’t quite make out.

Winry found she’d knocked over the tea in all the excitement – or it might have been Rose – and then began to smile to herself, all over again, as she mopped it up. That had been so ridiculous; so lovely, so improbable, and both of them just fine with each other.

A long time afterwards, Winry was very grateful for this moment; it had been the one time before Granny had died, four years later, that she’d understood she loved her dearly.

Title: How Many Years?
Pairing: Winry/Rose
Rating: PG-13

It should have been him. That was her first guilty thought, when she awoke, and traced the lines of the body next to her, remembering, sharply, all the sensations she’d forgotten recalled along with their dead originator, the broad back, the sunburnt patch around the collarbone, the caked salt across the spine, honest sweat, a good son, the feel of him breathing, shifting the body, wide shoulders, the knotted muscle across them that she’d rub clean of tension, the strong stomach her hands curled round (punch this, c’mon, it’s rock-solid, I swear) the dark hair slicked to the nape of his neck…

…and now this curve of girlish honeyed flesh, the velvet skin and the red marks where clothing had been. The tough, raw hands marked with work, the hair spread across the pillow, unfastened, the flax darkened to bronze with effort and emotion, the way the neck crooked, here, from all-nighters, the place where the curl of her body let a few vertebrae show beneath her fingers, the sharp warm shoulderblades under the skin, the long legs entangled with hers, feel of the calf-muscle, quite unfamiliar except to the eyes because she’d watched her for hours and, oh, Winry was too beautiful, too strong, too close.

She kissed the back of her neck, let her fingers slide down and across the skin, skimming away the sweat, found ‘dear, dear, dearest’ on her tongue where it hardly belonged and the fear somewhere else now, years stripped away, Cain dead, her faraway girl in her arms and cried for love.

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 19:25:33 GMT

Ficlet dump!

Title: Sublimation (theme #25, 50_reactions)
Pairing: EdxRussell
Rating: PG

The truth about Edward Elric was that he never did anything by half. He didn't believe in playing it safe or in smooth transitions. He did nothing to hide this truth, preferring to unfurl it into the breeze and let it writhe for everyone to see. He did nothing to hide this truth, but Russell still stood in shock as he fought for breath against the hard lips pressed onto his own.

For an instant he let his fingers go slack from their fisted stance, then tightened them up again quickly, believing that this was surely some sort of ambush. But Edward's eyes were rested shut and light eyelashes were splayed against his cheekbone and there was a slight flush to his cheeks - though Russell was fairly certain it wasn't a result of the passion of kiss, but rather from the breathlessness of their fight.

Ah, yes. Their fight. They had been fighting. Edward had somehow managed to back Russell into a corner, ready to strike. Russell's free hand, the one not curled into a fist, was a breath away from an array he had traced in self-defense into the layer of dust on a shelf beside him. Now, in the distraction of lips on lips and a persistent tongue prodding for entrance, Russell couldn't quite remember whether his array had been designed to disintegrate Ed's blade or to use it to cuff his hands behind his back. What he really wanted it to do was get the older boy off of him!

Russell grunted and shoved. Ed stumbled backward, tripping over a stack of terra cotta pots and a bag of topsoil, and falling but not before smirking and taking firm hold of Russell's suspenders. As he tugged him down, the gleam in his eyes making his intention all too clear, the ice broke and the
space between them evaporated.

Title: Collision Theory (theme #44, 50_reactions)
Pairing: RussellxEd
Rating: G

Russell Tringham did not believe in fate. He was a scientist, after all, and silly, unfounded things like serendipity did not interest him in the least. He did, however believe that things happened for a reason and that everything that happened was inevitable. It wasn't destiny, but hard, cold science.

Russell stared with more concentration into his microscope. He watched the cells move with one another, stomata opening and closing, cell division; everything that happened within these cells, within these plants, within this ecosystem, was determined from the beginning of time. Every particle in the universe abided by the dogma of physics and thus every action was predictable, if you tracked it to the molecular level.

So, while it wasn't fate or destiny and there wasn't any crystal ball that could have told him that Edward Elric would have shown up in the basement lab at Mugear's that night, and Russell knew that there was no greater meaning to their cosmic collision, he quietly thanked whatever force was responsible - deity or sheer dumb luck - for charting this particular course for them.

Title: Frequency (theme #8, 50_reactions)
Pairing: EdxRussell
Rating: NC-17

Russell was still occasionally amused by how easily he could make Ed moan. The older boy bit his lip, tipped his head back, and somehow managed to press his bent knees even closer to his chest. Russell steadied himself with his hands wrapped around Ed's ankles and pushed in deeper. As their breaths become more clipped and less rhythmic, Russell knew they were getting close.

These visits had increased in frequency in the past several months. At first, Ed had claimed to return simply to clean up some loose ends, then to peer around in the Tringhams' modest library, then to return an item of clothing that had somehow found its way into the tattered suitcase the Elric brothers dragged along with them. Soon enough, Ed was helping out in the greenhouse and staying up late to pour over complicated texts with Russell after Al and Fletcher had wandered to bed. They'd fallen asleep sitting up on the couch one night and Ed had awakened with his back pressed against a slender chest and long, wiry arms wrapped around his waist.

Normally, Ed would have reacted with rage and elaborate arm-waving...but it was rather early in the morning and it was rather warm there, so he simply pulled an quilt over them and drifted back to sleep. It wasn't long before they were "accidentally" falling asleep together on the couch nightly, and within a month they were "falling asleep" together in bed. Of course, sleep didn't last long then. And the Elrics' absences from Xenotime didn't last long, either.

Russell gasped as he felt Ed release onto their stomachs and pretended to not notice the bus tickets -sticking out of Ed's coat pocket, already purchased and dated for two weeks later.

FIC

Sat, 24 Dec 2005 21:28:48 GMT

Title: Absolute Zero (#7 for 50_reactions)

Pairing: Onesided Hughes/Roy

Rating: PG-13

Just so ya know, this is more or less true.

# 7 Absolute Zero

Maes couldn't take his eyes off the other man, not for all the world. He could get away with it because Roy was occupied at the stove, and there was no one else in the small apartment who could catch him staring. Roy just looked so peaceful and elegant and downright handsome, even if he was only stirring up lunch.

He was like a perfect piece of art, set there from on high for all to admire. The one thing in the room your eyes were drawn to every time you entered. The most expensive item in the collection, with its multitudinous warnings of "look but absolutely do not touch."

Maes wasn't only glad to have Roy as a friend, he was constantly, gleefully ecstatic for it. They were best friends to the end, and he knew he could always count on that, but it hurt him, too, that he could never have more. It hurt that he had to be so deeply in love with Roy. Love was supposed to be a happy thing, but whenever he thought of it, it made his breath sharp and his chest tight.

He wanted more than all the world to reach out past that protective display case and pull the other man close. And he was ashamed for not being content with what he had.

Because when Roy turned his way with a smile, just a glance to see that his guest was still alive, he was looking at a man who was his friend. Maes had to hide his worshipful stare with a goofy grin. He wouldn't let Roy catch him behaving any other way than just as a friend. Because his chance of having anything more was absolute zero.

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:14:27 GMT

Title:Concentration (Theme #30 for 50_reactions)
Pairing: RussellxEd
Rating: PG

Concentration

Theme Number Nine

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 03:38:11 GMT

Title: Inert

Pairing: Roy/Ed

Rating: G

Theme: #9

Edward felt that if he were to suddenly kiss him, he’d finally know what one tasted like.

Cross-posted in: morbid_flower

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 15:16:36 GMT

Title: Can't you feel it?
Theme: #7 "Absolute Zero"
Rating: G
Pairing: CainAl

Title: At Least a Part
Theme: #11 "Half-life"
Rating: G
Pairing: CainAl

Title: Watching Closely
Theme: #12 "Spectator Ion"
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: CainAl

"Frosted Up"

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 20:40:43 GMT

Title: Frosted Up
Theme: #6 "Change of State"
Rating: PG
Pairing: CainAl

"Gentle Touch"

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 18:43:01 GMT

Title: Gentle Touch
Theme: #5 "Opposites Attract"
Rating: PG
Pairing: CainAl. ~~And KittenxPuppy~~

Happy with the puppy and Al's sleepy.

#48 - Balanced Equation

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:30:32 GMT

Title: Balanced Equation

Pairing: RoyxEd

Rating: G

Summary: A rather domestic scene from a few years in the future.

(Balanced Equation)

A/N: I found this in my files. I had written it before I gave up my RoyxEd for animethief92, so I thought I'd put it up. I hope no one minds! :)

"Morning After", Winry/Rose, PG-13, Theme #1 "Trace Elements"

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 19:10:25 GMT

Theme: Trace Elements
Rating: PG - 13 for implied sex, very mild swearing, and kissing
Pairing: Winry/Rose
Warnings: End-of-series light spoilerness, innuendo, lesbians?

Winry wakes to fading warmth on her pillow and a changed world. She breathes in and out and watches the rise and fall of her chest: feels the cold air with one small, sensitive toe, the tingle of the draught against her calves, sharp and ticklish. She rolls across the mattress, listens to it creak a little under her weight. Light splashes brightly across her eyes and she lifts a hand to shade them and rub away the sleep-dust gunking her eyelashes shut. She’s not in a hurry this morning: life can wait. Perhaps, she thinks, a little ruefully, she’ll need to get up soon and wash the sheets, but it’s not urgent. Pinako wouldn’t invade her privacy; anyway, she’s relaxed. Exhausted, even. The feeling is delightful and sad at the same time. She doesn’t spoil it with particulars.

She lies in bed in for a while, feeling the blanket cool, the winter trickle in through doors and windows. Then she yawns, stretches herself out, suddenly aware of how large she is, how languid, the tips and contours of her body. It’ll take a while to heat the water up for a bath. She tinkers with the boiler to start it up, listens to the bubble of the water inside and the hiss of the gas. It’s an extravagance, because usually they all share the hot water, one after the other, but sometimes on all-nighters she’s been so tired as to roll oil and lubricant into perfectly good sheets. There’s a good excuse.

Her mind’s beginning to work again as she turns the taps, lets the hot water rush through them and down. The sound makes her think of the sea, of the wonderful paddle-steamers and sailing boats she’d read about as a child, and she daydreams a little, distracting herself from the consequences again. There’d be a quay, and gulls, with a jetty out to the water – and here she sees just how to put it together, imagines the compensation needed for the swell of waterlogged wood – and from there the waves lapping against the sides, the sounds already around her, and a fresh breeze. Salty and sharp. There’s the tang of danger in her mouth, on her lips, and she takes a breath, doesn’t think about it yet. She’s almost scalded when she flops into the bath– she likes it hot, usually, but not quite this hot – and she sighs at the clean feeling, washes top to toe, stretches out once more. The lines of her body, blurred under clear and shifting water, are rather nice.

She knows there’s someone who finds them beautiful, now. Because – well, because they, they spent the whole night together, and what a shy and old-fashioned girl Winry Rockbell is at the moment! It was hardly the whole night, anyway, and that’s the stickiness in the situation. Not quite the right word. Oh, damn. Apparently she lives only to have the people she loves run away on her, and she doesn’t appreciate it. It’s not a good idea to be so insecure. She isn’t. There’re all sorts of reasons which don’t involve regret, and, anyway, look at the girl’s upbringing, look at her background. Yes, girl. Damn. Damn.

Her fists smack into the water, one-two, and bring up clouds of bubbles: the steam parts beneath them for a moment, swirls and soaks into her skin. She’s so clean she’s practically pink all over. Why does she want a bath so badly? Is she harbouring regrets? Best not to consider that. It’s just practical, after all. Not like she’d forget easily, is it? Not at all. These things should be easy. She chews her lip for a brief, ridiculous moment, and then straightens up to avoid her tips of her getting soaked, bundling it back up. She’s jittery again, but less so. There’s something calming about the water: another quick scrub and she’s out again, wielding a towel vigorously, determined to put her nerves to good use. At this rate she’ll miss breakfast.

----------------------

“-is it natural?”

Winry starts at her grandmother’s voice, feeling guilty at the sound of it, because, well, she’ll surely know. Everything’s written, hot and unerasable, under her skin, glowing outwards for all to see. Her clothes are a rather inadequate surprise, and oh why oh why is she thinking this?

She walks downstairs, jumps the last step in an attempt to hurry up and just get on with it, opens the kitchen door wide and sees Roze sitting quietly to one side, about as pale as she could get. For a moment, Pinako doesn’t notice, standing over – just over, really – the stove and stirring something delicious round and round with a wooden spoon. The spoon imprints itself clearly on Winry’s mind. She feels the back of her throat go dry.

“That hair of yours. I mean, how?” Granny says, idly. She hears Winry’s muffled cough, turns round. The corncob pipe waggles a little in her mouth with surprise. “Ah, here you are. You’re a bit late, girl!”

“…I…” Winry begins, burning under her overalls, hoping against hope that Roze cried afterwards from sheer emotional overload, that it was enough to hold her, that she didn’t run off because she hated her, hated it, was screwed up completely, and that her cherished granny would understand and just give things a casual shrug again. “T-trust me. It’s entirely natural. I – think it’s beautiful.”

The pipe drops out of Pinako’s mouth.

Roze blinks. She stares at Winry for a long moment and then scrambles out of her chair, leaving Cain with a very confused look in her wake, and runs over to hug her. Her arms are uncomfortably tight around Winry’s waist, but she doesn’t mind at the moment, doesn’t mind at all. They’re cheek to cheek, a little unbalanced, and the two of them fall back on the doorpost for support. Roze begins to laugh, a little hysterically, and squeezes her again, kisses her warmly behind the ear. Winry strokes her hair.

“Ahem,” Granny says, restored to full pipehood. Her expression is wryly amused, and Winry breathes a sigh of awkward relief. “You could have told me earlier, you know…”

“I…didn’t know how,” Winry says, panting. She disentangles herself a little from Roze, who has a shocked and ecstatic expression on her face. In fact, Winry’s not quite sure at this moment whether to be delighted or embarassed to death.

“You could have been subtler,” she whispers to Roze.

Roze giggles again, kisses her again, hard, right in front of Granny. “No one had ever said anything that nice about my hair,” she says.

"Faith"

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 11:01:42 GMT

Title: Faith
Theme: #4 "Law of Constant Composition"
Rating: PG
Paiing: Cain/Al (Armor!Al)

When something is composing, something has to be decomposing as well.

"Ritual"

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 08:56:02 GMT

Title: Ritual
Theme: #3 "Indivisiblity"
Rating: G
Pairing: Cain/Al (cosplay!Al)

Why is it this theme?

1. We have cosplay!Al, his unbreakable bond with his brother.
2. I think it's cute how Al's coat is carefully on the chair and Fury's is almost tidily folded even though they're taking their clothes off.

What Pulls Us Together

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 16:28:51 GMT

Title: What Pulls Us Together
Theme: #2 "Covalent Bond"
Rating: PG
Pairing: Cain/Al

NOT HAPPY WITH CAIN. Oh well... I like the kitten.

Theme 1: Need to Touch

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 14:33:57 GMT

Title: Need to Touch
Theme: #1 "Trace Elements"
Rating: G
Pairing: Cain/Al (You can't tell, though. n.n;)

I think I'm actually happy with this.

Crush, PG

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 22:27:25 GMT

*mutters* I really am going to hell. Oh well. Maybe we can make the fire and molten lava a real party zone when I get there.

Title: Crush
Rating: PG (I'm just not that daring yet...XD)
Pairing: Edward x Izumi
Spoilers/Warnings: None.
Theme: #1 Trace Elements
Trace Elements

Izumi Curtis felt a twinge of annoyance. She was glaring down at two children, two very persistent children, begging for her instruction. She really was not a teacher. She glared at the smaller boy.

He glared back. Interesting. She liked the fact he wasn't easily intimidated by her. He looked very determined and full of fire. She thought she could teach someone like that. Izumi let out a sigh and relaxed her posture a little. “What about your parents? Did they give you permission to harass ladies such as myself?”

Both boys finally looked away at that, finding the floor particularly interesting in that moment.

“They don't have any parents. I currently care for them.” Pinako Rockbell spoke up from where she was standing, sighing at the two children. “And they can do what they like.”

Izumi caught the smaller, but older boy looking up at her with that determined look again. It was all she could do but sigh and cave in. “Alright. I will test you for one month. At the end of that month, if you don't have it, you're coming back here.”

“Yes!” Both boys cheered.

At the train station, she got the first glimpse of Edward's cocky attitude. “I'll be back in a year!”

It made her smile. Seemed as though she'd picked up a stray firebrand. Things were about to get a whole lot more interesting in Dublith for awhile.

The test was over. She traveled back to the island with Mason and found the two boys were intact and relatively well fed. Secretly she was impressed, Edward and Alphonse had looked very soft when she met them, nothing about them had been hardened by life experiences yet. “Have you come up with the answer?”

“All is the world!”

“One is me!” Edward added, both shouting enthusiastically.

Izumi couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

The boys had been living with her for a month already, since the test. They were persistent. They absorbed every bit of knowledge she fed them and took every beating and fight in stride. They really were becoming strong. Edward was notoriously better and stronger in the alchemy side of things and Alphonse was infinitely better at learning the art of combative defense. Though both boys were close and very similar, she found their differences far more interesting. They often made her smile as she looked over them, watching them like a mother would. She was beginning to feel like she should protect them from the world, which wasn't right in its own way.

The days passed by with sparring and chores and their progress was nothing to be balked at. Both boys were driven and determined to learn everything she had to teach them. It was flattering, that way.

That was why Izumi was confused, one day when she was hanging up the laundry and she found Edward watching her. “Don't you have anything to do?”

“I...yes.” He blushed and left to do his own chores. He knew better then to shirk them.

She sighed and went back to hanging up the laundry. She wasn't fooled in the least when the boy snuck back to watch her again. This time Izumi didn't speak up, letting him just this once get away with avoiding his duties, provided he was quiet enough.

Edward had never been quiet and after awhile he walked right up to her. “Sensei I...have something I want to tell you.”

“Did you break something again?” Izumi said in an exasperated voice as she crouched down to his level with a frown. “You really need to be more-” Her words were suddenly cut off when the little boy pressed his lips to hers. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but he tried his best anyway and then he broke the kiss a moment later.

Izumi was torn between beating the hell out of him for that, or explaining to him what was wrong with kissing her. She settled on a happy medium and swung her fist down on the top of his head. “What was that for?”

Edward crouched, holding his head. “Ow...you...I just...I love you Sensei...”

Izumi sighed. Figured her knucklehead student would get a crush on her. “Edward, you can love me just fine, but I think you're a little confused. You don't love me like that.” She gently ran her fingers through the soft, childish blond hair. “Besides, I'm married, and you don't kiss married women. Understand?”

The little one nodded but didn't meet her eyes. She could tell from the way his shoulders were shaking, he was crying. Izumi sighed and pulled him into her arms, rocking him gently. “It's okay, I'm not mad.”

He nodded and clung to her. That was all he really needed from her and Izumi realized it. She smiled and reached down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Don't cry...alright?”

Edward gave her the widest smile in return.

“Now get back to your chores!”

Izumi smiled, satisfied when he ran off without protest.

Part one of a Fic!

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 06:45:47 GMT

Title: Fission/Fusion (Part One of ???)

Pairing: Hughes/Roy

Rating: This chapter...PG-13

Theme: #34

Warnings: some boy love.

I don't know how to describe it, except that there is a "fission" part and several "fusion" parts. It's Hughes/Roy, but in a different way. All I can say is just read it (^^;;) -- I have up to halfway through part three written, so you probably won't have to wait so long. But we'll see.

EDIT
Oh dear, yes, I totally didn't link it. Since I'm lazy, here is over at my FF.net thing. ^^;;

Here!

Roy/Ed fic; An Unanswerable Theory

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 02:37:55 GMT

Title: An Unanswerable Theory
Author: animethief92
Warnings: Fluff, yaoi
Pairing: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Theme: #5- Attraction of opposites
Word Count: 2,327
Disclaimer: I don’t own FMA

They were totally opposite in just about everything from hobbies, to interests, and just to types of food they preferred. Roy and Edward didn’t seem to match up whatsoever, except for the fact they were both alchemists. Other than that, nobody could’ve ever suspected them to become a couple behind their backs.

Roy and Edward had been together long before they had announced to everyone and nearly gave them all heart attacks. Especially Hawkeye, who shortly after the announcement left to the ‘ladies room’ and came back twenty minutes later with still red, puffy eyes that had obviously been crying. For a while, the guilt trip that Ed had felt about Hawkeye made him avoid ever going into the Colonel’s office when she was present.

Their closest friends still seemed to puzzle how they could ever have an enjoyable date for both of them. That’s why Hughes, Havoc, Fuery, Breda, Falman, and even Hawkeye, who they forced to join them without explaining what they were planning, were going to spy on what of their dates.

Hughes was lucky and could always get information out of Roy without him being suspicious, but Ed sometimes could see through the bizarre demeanor.

“Are you going on a date with Ed anytime soon?” Hughes slipped the question into one of their casual conversations and caught Roy off guard.

“Tomorrow night actually,” he looked up with narrow eyes and gave his friend a hard stare, “why?”

Hughes shrugged and began to leave the room with a nonchalant air, and with a simple wave answered. “Just curious, I just wanted to know the day I’m not supposed to piss you off.”

Roy didn’t believe that to be entirely truthful, but he didn’t let it bother him any since he had a whole stack of paperwork that needed to be completed before tomorrow or he would miss the date he had promised to stay late at work. For once he was going to do what Hawkeye told him to do everyday.

**

Hughes had made sure to gather their group in the break room during lunch so they could begin scheming. The only person they didn’t invite was Hawkeye, because they knew she would object and probably warn Roy or Ed of what they were planning.

“So the plan is,” Hughes began while acting as if it was a mission, “Havoc will drive Roy home and then drop the car off in a parking lot nearby and wait until Roy leaves his house. From there he will tail him until he meets up with Ed, and from there you’ll have to find the nearest phone and call us at the restaurant down the street from his house.”

All of them nodded in unison, looking completely serious about the whole deal.

“Then we’ll meet where Havoc says they’ve stopped, and by then hopefully you all will have disguises on. And I don’t mean something that will make you stick out like a sore thumb in public, but something casual and you have to act blasé as well. Any questions?”

Nobody raised their hand and then they all scattered as Fuery went to go tell Riza to meet them at the restaurant.

**

The next day, all of them set their plan into motion after Havoc left to drop off Roy at his house.

All of them went home and put on the most casual clothes they could find and then headed straight to the restaurant. Roy didn’t seem to notice Havoc or any of them acting strange, but the whole day most of them tried hard to act normal.

“So Chief, what are you doing tonight?”

“Why does everyone seemed so interested in my personal life suddenly?” Roy raised an eyebrow at Havoc using the mirror.

“Well, it’s Friday night and I was just curious to know what you do when you actually get off early.”

Roy didn’t seem convinced at the answer so only gave a vague answer, “Meeting someone at that new restaurant.”

After Havoc had dropped off Roy and pretended to leave his using his ordinary route, he parked the car in an alley about three blocks away and changed into his clothes. He wondered if the rest of them had brought something warm to wear considering it was so chilly that day.

He put on a hat and pulled the brim down low before heading back towards Roy’s house. Surprisingly, Ed and Roy were already way ahead of Havoc and he had almost jog to make sure they didn’t get out of his sight. Luckily for him though, the two of them passed right by where everyone else was waiting and he ran inside quickly to explain where they were going.

“That restaurant’s going to be booked full! Not to mention that it’s a fancy sort of place, where you would put on something nice to wear not this!” Breda pointed to his outfit which would blend in with any normal person on the street.

“What are you guys planning to do?” Hawkeye asked crossly as she approached who she knew was the mastermind of the whole scheme.

“We’re spying on their date Lieutenant, and I bet you won’t object once we get to finally reveal the secret of what they do on a date! And don’t even try to deny how curious and jealous you’ve been ever since the little Ed stole him from you!”

Hawkeye was at a lost for words, but then gave in and didn’t protest against them anymore. Truth be told, she was jealous and is curious to know what the two do on a date. As they began to exit the building one at a time, she even began to think this might be a good idea in some weird way.

**

Ed suddenly stopped and jerked his hand away from Roy so he could sneeze. Roy put an arm around his shoulder and took off his own glove to feel his lover’s forehead.

“You sure you feel up to this tonight? If you’re sick we can just stay home?” Even though he didn’t feel any trace of a fever, he didn’t want to get Edward sick because he thought he had to come outside with him.

“Roy, you don’t have to act like this all the time… I’m more comfortable when you act like you do when we’re with everyone else.” Edward blushed from the considerate look in Roy’s eyes that was mixed with a little pain from what Ed said. “Wait I didn’t mean it that way…”

Edward knew he didn’t have a right to say that to Roy since he was acting like an idiot himself. Especially since he wasn’t usually the type to get all sentimental and flustered all the time, but when he was around Roy it just felt natural to act that way.

“I understand, but I can’t help how I act.” Roy kissed his lover on the forehead and immediately afterwards demanded that Ed dispose of the nasty gloves, and then gave him an extra pair he had brought.

**

Falman had been the one who was able to follow them the closest so far, but when the couple went into the restaurant he traded off with Havoc and Hawkeye who pretended to be a couple and somehow managed to get a table near Roy and Ed’s.

The one thing that separated them was a wall that separated the smoking and non-smoking sides from each other, but the two tables were practically next to each other. Hawkeye ordered a small salad, but Havoc who really was hungry ordered a large meal.

“I still feel guilty every time I look at her…” The two eavesdroppers could hear Ed say with genuine guilt echoing in his voice.

“You mean Lt. Hawkeye?”

“Her and… Winry… I know she’s liked me for a really long time and for me to suddenly call and say. ‘Hey what’s up? Yeah I’m great! Guess what? You have no chance with me now that I have a boyfriend! And guess who it is! It’s Roy Mustang! Yep, another one of the dogs of the military! Aren’t you so happy?’” Edward imitated a conversation that Roy, Havoc, and Hawkeye all knew he could never say to his childhood friend.

All the spies could hear was some slight rustling and then Roy was whispering something to Ed. Neither could hear, so Havoc tried to lean closer and see if he could hear. It didn’t do any good when they began ordering food and then sat in silence for a while.

Hawkeye could feel her own pangs of guilt growing stronger as she listened to the rest of the conversation.

“I’ve never felt so selfish before, and now I can’t believe I would do that to Lt. Hawkeye. If I hadn’t butted in, you two probably could’ve gone out and gotten married or something… Had a son to take your place as Fuhrer later on…” Edward’s voice trailed off and then he made a startled noise.

“Ed, will you stop blaming yourself for things like that! I understand you accuse yourself of taking away a chance for Hawkeye and me, but she had so many chances to speak up and so did I. Neither of us took those chances when we had them, and you were the one to say something first… Not to mention, you’re the most selfless person I know.” Hawkeye couldn’t bear to hear anymore, but sat in her place and mechanically ate her salad until Roy and Ed left.

“I have to get home Havoc…” She excused herself and quickly left from the restaurant trying hard not to burst into tears as she made her way home.

**

Havoc explained why Hawkeye left so suddenly, but that didn’t stop the rest of the guys from tailing the two lovers. They followed them until Edward stopped abruptly in front of a body piercing shop.

Their big group split up and some of them hid in the many alleys surrounding them, all the while hoping that the two didn’t see them all together. Neither of them seemed to notice, or else they were hiding it very well as they entered the shop.

**

Ed pulled Roy in the shop by the arm and smirked as an evil idea was hatched. Roy looked around at all the different decorations you could put on your body and stopped when he saw a list of where they pierced your body on this.

“Ears… tongue… eyebrow… belly button… nose…” He stopped to wince at the last one listed and vowed that whatever Ed was planning, he would not pierce that.

The blonde was conversing with the man in charge animatedly and looked as if the two were having a great conversation. Then with a sudden change, Ed looked serious and asked the man something while pointing to his ear. Then Roy figured out what the little alchemist had thought when they were passing the shop.

“I hate it when he does things on impulses like this!” Roy muttered to himself and was about to force Ed out the door, but when he saw the smile on Ed’s face, he couldn’t say anything.

“I’ve got something that can prove that we’re together! Or at least I think it…” Ed lowered his chin and stared at the ground somewhat ashamed, but Roy made him look up.

“What do you want to get pierced exactly?”

“I’ll get my left ear pierced and you get your right. Does that sound good?” Roy smiled and gave him a nod, even though in truth he had always found piercing for women or just plain gross.

Edward began asking about prices and told Roy to go look at what he wanted; while warning him that he would have to keep it in for six weeks. Roy noticed that after Ed had discussed all the prices he had chosen two earrings. One dangled and was a gold cross that he knew Ed would modify slightly, and the other was what the man called a stud and was just plain gold.

Roy decided to choose two as well and hoped that he wasn’t making his lover spend too much on him. His were similar to Ed’s except he would have to ask Ed to modify his slightly as well.

“Ready for this Roy?” Ed looked as if he expected Roy to get upset and tell him how stupid this idea was.

“Yeah, let’s hurry before it gets too dark.” Then both of them disappeared into the back room to get what Edward considered somewhat a connection to one another.

**

Hughes raised an eyebrow when the two disappeared into another room and then emerged with Ed wiping away a tear and Roy smirking at them. The two collected a bag with two bottles in it and then were leaving when Hughes began to walk ahead.

“And you asked if I was ready… When you’re the one who was in pain.” Roy played with the tip of Ed’s braid and kept twirling it around his index finger.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you wipe away a tear or two.” Ed smiled as the two of them turned into the nearby park and all of their eavesdroppers had assembled together to watch them as they strolled down the winding path in the park.

Most of the time they were hidden by trees, until finally the whole group of nosy men almost walked in on them while they were kissing. Until they saw the two locked in a kiss which probably started while watching the romantic sunset, none of them had understood what still brought them together.

Then they realized it there was no explanation to how they could love each other so much. It was an unanswerable theory that was just existing because nature intended it too. Along with making that revelation, Hughes and Havoc had some really good blackmail on Roy.

FIC

Thu, 24 Nov 2005 09:00:51 GMT

Title: Chain Reaction

Pairing: Hughes/Roy

Rating: PG-13

Theme: #26

Warnings: some boy love.

Now, let it be said that I'm not quite a fan of H/Rness during the series, on account of Hughes being married at that time. But, that doesn't leave a lot of time periods in which to throw the boys and have them be gay. SO, while I'm not a fan of Hughes cheating, sometimes you have to explore their relationship as it "was" behind the scenes mid-series. Well, pre-mid-series. You know how it goes.

#26 Chain Reaction

There are two things that are glaringly obvious about Maes Hughes.

Fact One: he is not a man characterized by self-control. Everyone, of course, knows this from the very first time they see him and the hundreds of snapshots shoved in their faces. The only reason he is able to keep his job is because he doesn't find the nation's most highly classified information any fun to share with strangers on the street.

Fact Two: he is above all a family man. Everyone, of course, knows this from the very first time they see him and the hundreds of snapshots shoved in their faces. There's no denying it: there's pictures, there's evidence.

Sometimes, Maes Hughes finds his lack of self-control getting him into illogical situations.

Like now, when it's dark and he knows that he and Roy are the only people left in the office—no, in the building—and he can feel that impulse burning through him. It starts, and he can't stop it, and things just start happening, snowballing out of control. Little things at first, like a bony hand laid amiably on his friend's shoulder. Soon, things like ruffling the dark hair and placing lips on pale skin. Eventually, like dominoes, the little acts speed along and overlap, and Hughes has Roy pinned to the wall, tongue in his mouth and hands sneaking under his blue uniform.

And even though the other man's breath comes as heavily as his, he still has the strength, dignity, and integrity to breathe one word—

"Gracia."

And that's it, the spell is broken. Hughes withdraws his hands, steps back. Both are flushed with lust and guilt. They don't look at each other, and there is nothing more to say. Maes gathers his things and goes home to his family.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!