Of Fire and Alchemy

Warnings: Yaoi, Roy/Ed and Havoc/Fury. Um… also Restored!Al/Winry, spoilers for episode 52, I guess. Alternate Universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. I also do the driest disclaimers.

> > > > >

Perhaps, thought Mustang, now was the time to run. Yes, he decided, staring into the flaming mess that once was a farmhouse, running was going to be a very good idea. He tensed and turned, his navy-colored tunic whirling about him. Running before the guards and neighbors came to investigate may be cowardly, but at least he'd live to see another day. And there was nothing here left anyway. What was the point of sticking around?

So Mustang turned and ran away from the fiery mass that was once his home, eradicating any indication that he was ever there in the first place. So by the time the guards came, there was nothing but a smoldering pile of cinders. No bodies, no animals, nothing at all that didn't point to a simple campfire gone wrong. There was absolutely no evidence that anyone had started the fire. It was an accident, a mistake. It was just an old farmhouse, anyhow. Who really cared about it? The land was dry, rocky, and no good at all.

Therefore, Mustang was surprised when, the next day, he was the most notorious person in all of Aerugo.

So he ran again, and didn't stop until he had entered Amestris.

> > > > >

An indignant shriek shattered the somewhat peaceful evening air of the Central City courthouse, bouncing off the corridor walls and echoing in the near-emptiness.

Roy looked up from where he was sitting at the screams coming from just outside his chambers. He groped for a bookmark, actually wondering if it was worth it being the military leader to have to put up with these things all day. What was it this time, he wondered. Perhaps another troublemaking servant or maybe it was a rebel. At the last thought, he snapped his book shut, anticipating the new arrival. Rebels weren't going to get their way this time, Roy had already decided.

Instead, a small cage was pushed through the door, much to Roy's surprise. What surprised him even more were the creatures inside. Well, he thought. This was certainly something new. He had heard the rumors, of course, and talked to the witnesses. But he never expected the culprits to be captured so quickly.

Elves.

A pair of blazing golden eyes glaring at him sent chills up his spine, and the feral snarl almost made him back up. Almost. Instead, he shifted his attention to the other passenger, the much quieter and less scary one. The other watched him carefully with ashen-gray eyes, studying him, analyzing him. Gray-eyes hadn't said a word, but occasionally reached out, trying to calm the other down. Both had the characteristics of elves: pointed ears, golden hair, and a demonic aura about them. Roy came to his conclusion almost immediately. He stood up and faced the person who had brought the elves in, pointing to the cage.

"Tell me, Havoc… are they a mated pair?"

Two things happened at once.

The bars of the titanium cage shuddered where the wilder elf's shoulder slammed into them. At that, the quiet one darted forth and grabbed the other, trying to soothe the agitated nerves. There was growling, fuming, and screaming in a tongue Roy vaguely recognized as Elvish, though he couldn't discern the words. The taller mumbled something in a whisper and the shorter seemed to be on the verge of calming down before launching at the bars again. And High Guard Havoc almost smiled, almost, but shook his head instead.

"No. My assistant, Fury, you know, the young scholar, helped me. And these are brothers, sir. Not mated. Though it sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

The cage shuddered again, followed by an earsplitting howl.

"Can they speak Common?" Roy asked in the same calm tone, ignoring the wild elf's desperate attempts to escape.

Havoc only shrugged.

"I don't know sir. Neither has said a word since their capture. As far as I know, they only know their native tongue."

Roy was quiet for a moment, examining the elves again. He looked like he was going to ask Havoc something else, but decided against it.

"Thank you very much, High Guard. You are dismissed."

Havoc bowed and went to look for Fury.

Roy looked with a sharp eye at the elves. They truly were fascinating creatures; they knew the ancient art of Alchemy. If, he once thought, Elves taught humans how to use alchemy… why, that could change the world! They could create all kinds of contraptions that would help improve life as he knew it. And not only that. Alchemy also included healing sciences, even, Roy had heard, resurrection was possible. So he had immersed himself in the study of the elves, learning their culture, language, though he had only seen one in real life very few times. And now he just had a pair of them delivered to his bedroom in a gift box.

Roy knew that elves hated confinement, so he planned to confine them for as long as possible. If that didn't make them talk to him, he didn't know what would.

Roy squatted so he was eye-level with the quiet one, who was sitting placidly and almost not taking notice of his brother trying to break free.

"Se kahi ano ranai ekoso?"

The gray-eyed one looked at Roy with surprise, and the golden-eyed one stopped what he was doing. They both stared at Roy with wonder, though they remained silent.

"Se kahi ano ranai ekoso?" Roy repeated patiently, watching for another reaction.

"Stop that fake Elvish." Golden-eyes responded. "You're saying it all wrong."

Roy almost smiled to himself. So that got him speaking, eh? "Then tell me your names." He said, a faint glimmer of triumph behind his onyx eyes.

"It's 'KAH-hee.' Not 'kah-EE.'" He kept going, ignoring Roy's question. "And I don't even know what 'Ekoso' is. It's 'Eikaba.' 'EE-kah-bah.'"

Roy sat down, ready to listen to the shorter ramble. But the analytical elf muttered something too low and fast for Roy to catch, and the loud one immediately shut up. They both glared at him through defiant eyes, making it obvious that they weren't intending on saying anything else. Even though, Roy waited for about a minute. Maybe he had misinterpreted the signals. But when the two refused to speak again, Roy could do nothing else.

So he walked back over to his desk and began reading his book again. He was satisfied to let them keep their peace. They'd crack soon.

He hoped.

> > > > >

Four days later Roy was ready to tear his hair out.

It was on the first day that he learned that these elves were nocturnal. He had also learned that the loud one extremely disliked him and was set on making his life as miserable as possible, starting with keeping him up all night with long and loud recitations of famous poems of the time. This torture then moved to throwing any excess food out of the cage, managing to turn Roy's bedroom into an edible war zone within minutes. The taller elf had muttered things when the shorter had started this obsession, but soon gave up and instead just watched as Roy was tormented, waiting for the older man to snap and kick them out.

But no such luck.

Instead, much to the elves' chagrin, Roy only seemed to grow even more patient, cleaning up any mess that was made, sometimes even finishing the golden-eyed elf's stanzas when he forgot a line or two. Yet neither side was willing to give up, despite the misery and insanity. The quiet elf was almost distressed. Not only was his brother not getting any sleep, neither was he. He was tired, and at the end of 11 days he finally decided to just give up.

"No, Al!" the golden-eyed boy had said when informed of the plan. "I've got him on the breaking point. I know it. That wood-louse is going to snap soon. You don't need to do anything that may give us away."

"Brother, stop it. I know you're tired of this. I'M tired of this. Perhaps we should just tell him what he wants and get out of here."

"No way. You were the one to suggest that we keep our silence first, remember?"

"I had no idea the human was so stubborn. I thought he'd go crazy within the first two days. Brother, if he is so intent on learning about us, we may never get out of here."

"There's no possible way that's going to happen. We'd get out eventually, and I know he's about to snap NOW."

"You are far too stubborn for your own good as well. If we stay here any longer Hughes will worry and who knows what he'll do to get us back."

"It's his fault if he gets into trouble. Not ours."

"Edward!"

Ed winced. It was only on rare and angry occasions that his younger brother used his real name. He must have said something bad again. Al glared at him, and for the first time Ed noticed that Al really was speaking the truth. He looked tired, and Ed was undoubtedly tired as well. So with a sigh of resignation and a dark grumble, Ed slumped against the side of the cage, giving his brother his way.

Roy had looked up from his parchment as soon as the brothers had started arguing. He could only pick up a few things here and there, but he did manage to figure out Ed and Al's names. That was progress. He saw Ed give up and continued watching, obviously expecting something. Al filled his expectations, waving him over. Roy didn't move. Al sighed.

"Excuse me, sir, but… can you please come over here?" Al asked politely, looking Roy straight in the eyes. Satisfied, Roy walked over to the brothers, ready to ask his questions.

"So… I overheard you talking." Roy began. Ed twitched but didn't move otherwise. Al only nodded.

"Yes," He responded. "That was what I meant to do. You know our names now, so there's no point in going through that. I know you've studied Elvish at one point, even if the language is vague… where did you learn it?"

"I believe I was the one who was going to ask the questions."

Al bit down on his tongue and nodded.

"But can you at least tell us whose bedroom we've been living in for the past week and a half?"

"My name is Roy."

Both Al and Ed started at this.

"Roy-"

"He's the-"

"Can it be?"

"Are you really-?"

"Roy MUSTANG?!" The elves chorused, staring at him with panic-ridden eyes. This was certainly an interesting reaction. Curious, Roy tried moving closer to the brothers, but Ed started growling and backed both himself and Al into the farthest corner, as if ready to defend his younger brother at any sudden attack.

Roy could only answer simply:

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

> > > > >

AN: I know I usually work on holiday specials, but I HAD to write something. The computer called to me… (gonk) So this story was created. I know it is short right now, but I'm still sort of sketching out the plot. It'll be interesting, if anything, I can promise that. Maybe I'll post up the first chapter of the Valentine's Day special soon. I don't know. I'm rambling again, aren't I? Well anyhow, there's going to be a side-story about Mustang at the beginning of each chapter and I have no idea why I'm doing it. Oh well. I think I was inspired by this fanart I saw of Takuya and Kouji from Digimon Frontier where Kouji was an elf and Takuya was this pyro-demon. It was weird… Um… equivalent trade? I give story, you give reviews? Please? (puppy dog eyes) (2005 words exactly! Whoot!)