In Time

4)


Edward's world was reduced to the sound of his own halting breaths, too loud in his own ears, with a manic edge to it, pleading with every deity he didn't actually believe in that all would go well with the inspection. Without the other senses to distract him, he found that every creak and groan of the cabin above him could be heard in minute detail, his every movement thundering in the silence, causing him to hold his breath and still every slight twitch of his own muscles when he heard the familiar sound of the front door opening. Usually this sound heralded Mustang's return, and all of the small comforts that came from that. This time, however, it brought only enemies into the now familiar territory of the hut in the snow.


He could hear the hushed conversation from the building above, the scraping of chairs loud on the wood floor above him, and the low throb of Mustang's voice, though the words were muffled and garbled. Edward squeezed his eyes shut, counting backwards from 100 to calm his rising pulse, the m,ild panic setting in.


Edward tensed himself up to wait it out.

X

Mustang met the inspection officials at the door the minute they knocked, offering them a seat at the table, he only had two chairs but there were only two of them. He put the water on for tea, carefully thinking if he had enough cups in the cupboard, if he'd left any downstairs. He was careful not to look at the heavy woven rug that lay over the trapdoor, careful to put on a calm face, an open smile as he asked the inspection officers meaningless questions about themselves, putting them at ease but not remembering any of their answers.


He heard the whistle of the kettle and sprung from his seat, rushing to pour the hot water over the tea bags already nervously arranged in the mismatched stoneware mugs. He allowed himself a single nervous look at his reflection in the glass of the window over the sink before pressing his mask back into place. By the time he turned around he was grinning softly again, the worry smoothed from his face.


"Sorry guys, I'm afraid I don't have any milk for the tea, and very little sugar but you're welcome to it if you'd like. I don't get many visitors all the way up here and I don't use much sugar." Both men smiled cordially up at him, he'd forgotten their names, he honestly didn't care. The faster he got them out of the house and back to whatever stupid task they had come up here for, leaving him and Edward in peace. "Now, I'm sure there was something you gentlemen wanted to ask or see, or else you wouldn't be out here in the middle of nowhere with an old dog like me, hm?" The men across the table smiled, and shook their heads, the taller of the two spoke first, his voice raspy and hollow, like he gargled with gravel.


"No, no. We were just on a tour of the northern border, news of a possible smuggling route through the mountains to the east of here, just thought we'd get the yearly inspection over with while we're up here, kill two birds with one stone you know!" The shorter man nodded enthusiastically beside him, quietly sipping his tea. He cleared his throat when the taller paused to sip his tea, the shorter perked up.


"Yes, well, er, we did want to see the war hero turned enlisted man as well. We're rather curious as to why you'd step down form you're post in Central City in favor of this out of the way post in the mountains." He smiled politely as Mustang sipped his old tea. The former colonel sighed and set his mug on the table, rising from the spot eh was leaning against on the couch.


"Well, Im certainly not as young as I used to be, and some days these bones don't stay as well as they cooperate as well as they should. With my subordinates moving up, I thought I might take things a little easier, you know?" He smiled wearily for the men at the table, who both nodded enthusiastically.


Mustang walked to the cupboard once again, pulling a tin of scones off of the shelf and arranging them on a plate, a goodwill offering to the men behind him. He hoped it would be enough, that they would be on their way soon. He let his eyes slide shut for a second, a small concession to his frazzled nerves. He breathed deeply then, counting backwards from 10. He opened them again, forcing his tired smile back into place before turning, plate in hand, to feed the dogs in his kitchen.

X

Things had been quite quiet for a long while now, and Edward couldn't make up his mind whether to be relieved or frightened by this fact. Part of him assumed if there was n uproar, no poking around, then there was no danger, but part of him wished they would make some more noise so he could keep them under his finger, knowing where they were instead of hoping to god they were still seated quietly at the table.


He didn't remember hearing the men stand and leave, but he was well aware that there were gaps in his memory of the darkness around him. With nothing but the same constant signal for his brain to cling to the moments in between slipped through his fingers as soon as he processed them. It was rather cold in the basement room, being below the ground which was long frozen through, and the white noise of cold shivered in his senses, making him doubt what he could hear from above.


His heart was racing then, he was sure they could hear the rapid and steady thump all the way upstairs, waited for the men to come and find him, arrest Mustang, take him into custody, drag the both of them off to some lab to reaffirm their loyalty to the state through stark necessity. His brain feveredly slipped images past him, of all the things this new government might do to the both of them.


He closed his eyes then, tried to still his breathing, bring his heart rate back down to normal. He needed to not panic, he needed to be realistic. There was no reason for the men upstairs to look any closer, unless they already suspected something and that was immossible. There was no way they could know, they all thought he was dead, which was probably for the best, really.


He shook his head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. He'd be okay, Mustang would take care of him, he'd promised after all.

X

Mustang sighed as he waved good bye to the two men set to treck back down to the town below, telling them they'd better get going well before sunset, they'd be back in town by dark. He finally elt himself smile at their retreating backs, and set about drawing all of the curtains. He was exhausted, and he let himself slump into one of the chairs in the kitchen area. Things would be a whole lot less stressful from here on out, but that much had left him exhausted, more so than anything he had done since he had heard of Fullmetal's supposed death. That was all in the clear now though, things were going perfectly.


He sighed again, hauling himself to his feet once more. He was much too tired to haul the bed back down to its home in the basement room, and he pondered this while he put the water on to boil again. He knew Edward must be cold downstairs, alone in the dark. He felt badly for leaving the boy down there, but it was a necessary evil to keep him safe. He hoped the boy understood that, this was all for him.


Roy smiled as he poured the steaming water over the fresh tea bag in the one clean stoneware mug, He lavished the mug with sugar and a touch of cream before stirring well and making his way to the coffee table. He set the mug down, and went to build the fire back up in the grate, stacking the logs just so, before moving on to the bed, turning down the covers, fluffing up the pillows, making sure everything was set before moving to roll the rug back from the door.

X

There was a creaking of floorboards and the slight ring of light that always proceeded the opening of the trapdoor, but Edward was asleep in a shivering pile in the next of blankets made for him on the cement floor of the basement. It was the louder noise of the door bouncing back on it's hinges that woke him with a start, fear clawing at his heart, eyes wide in a second, stance ready to do what he could to fight anyone off without his alchemy. He saw the outline of a familiar form in the shaft of light cast into the basement, and he was able to breathe again.


He had never been so happy to see the man in front of him before in his whole life, and it was all he could do to collapse into a shivering little heap again in relief. He lay there until the man knelt beside him, gathering the boy into his arms and smiling.


"A-are they gone then?" Edward managed to croak out. Roy just nodded, detaching the chain from the wall with a swiftly drawn array and carrying the boy up the steps into the cabin's main room. The firelight was bright up there compared to what the boy had been accustomed to below, and he pressed his face into the man's chest to block it out, barely registering being set down on the bed. He eased his eyes open in time to see the man attaching the chain to the wall behind the headboard, making it thinner but longer in the process, less noticeable but no less strong.


The boy started a bit as a warm cup of tea was pressed into his flesh hand, and the blankets were tucked around him tenderly before the man slipped into the bed behind him, laying one hand on the boy's stomach, gently. Ed managed a willowy little smile at this, as he leaned closer into the contact.


"Roy? What did they have to say?" His voice was still a little creakier than normal, thick with sleep and cold. Mustang shook his head.


"Nothing important or interesting. Everything is fine, you're safe, like I promised you would be. Now relax Edward, everything is fine. No one will be back here for a very long time."


For once, that news didn't scare the boy, or make his stomach sink. Instead, it could have been the greatest news he'd ever heard. He knew that if he stayed here, for now at least, he'd be fine, he'd be safe, and he couldn't hurt anyone else. He smiled.