FMA fic - "Cats and Dogs."
Nov. 10th, 2005 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aquabeanTitle: Cats and Dogs.
Author: Rune
Words: 1,098
Notes: Because it's raining again today, I finally finished it.
Ed had seen wet cats before. Al had brought them home on a regular basis since they were children. The sad little things were always scrawny, their fur plastered in bedraggled mass to skinny bodies, leaving even him hard pressed to turn them away. A dry, smug, self-satisfied cat was an entirely different matter.
…A dry, self-satisfied Colonel was an entirely different matter.
It hadn’t been raining when they’d started out. A little overcast, maybe, but when the car had broken down a little grey sky had been the least of their problems. They’d seen nothing but open fields and wood for miles in any direction, hadn’t passed another person in what seemed like hours, and so going to look for help themselves had been the only reasonable choice. Well, as far as Ed was concerned, that had been the only choice. It wasn’t like walking was hard. The bastard Colonel had gone along with it, Ed figured, because the jerk wouldn’t have anyone to boss around if he stayed at the car on his own.
But now here they were, soaked through, and trying to squeeze into the little cover provided by the last remaining wall of what once must have been a barn. They still hadn’t seen a single other living soul, either. The equally wet barn cat huddled several feet down from the Colonel didn’t count.
“A-a-ngk.”
“Was that supposed to be a sneeze?”
“No.”
“You’d get sick on purpose, wouldn’t you, you shit Colonel.”
“Anything to make this trip more enjoyable for you, Fullmetal.”
And then the bastard “didn’t sneeze” again.
Rolling his eyes, Ed hunched further into his coat. It was easier to just ignore the man sitting next to him, though now, if he looked over he could see the way Mustang shivered almost imperceptibly. His hair was plastered to his forehead, one strand falling just between his eyes and sending a steady dribble of water down the slope of Mustang’s nose.
Really, the man was just pathetic. Shoulders hunched, even the ridiculous black coat he never seemed to be without was soaked through and clung to him like a second skin. Watching as the Colonel finally pushed his hair back off his face, Ed realized he’d never recognized how much of Mustang’s bulk actually came from his uniform.
“…You’re so skinny.”
“I’m what?” Mustang turned, giving Ed a look like he’d just asked if they could warm up by lighting the cat on fire.
“What? You are!” There wasn’t any reason to be defensive, but Ed didn’t like the way Mustang was looking at him, that mix of amusement and consternation that sometimes made him wonder what the bastard’s real motives were.
The Colonel made a derisive sound that might have started as a snort, but ended up as something much more like a sneeze.
“I’m in shape, Edward, not skinny.”
“You are too. You look like a drowned rat.”
Rain was still falling and Mustang pushed his hair out of his eyes again. Beside him the cat sneezed.
“I think you’ve offended our host.” Mustang’s expression was bland, but something in the Colonel’s tone of voice gave Ed the distinct impression he was being laughed at.
Ed huffed his bangs out of his face and snorted. “So you’d rather be a drowned cat?”
“Well, cats are generally acknowledged as being more dignified.”
“Ha! Then you’re definitely a rat.”
“Somehow I think that you and I, Fullmetal, have very different ideas of what constitutes dignified.”
“Heh. Well, whatever it is, it’s not you.” Ed smirked, “You’re too skinny.”
“In shape, not--“
“Skinny.”
Mustang narrowed his eyes. “Slim, perhaps--“
“Skin-ey.” Ed reached out and grabbed the closer of the Colonel’s shoulders. “Look! You’re all bones.”
“I’m perfectly strong,” Mustang began.
“Didn’t say you weren’t strong, just that you look like someone forgot to feed you.”
“No--“
The sudden crack of thunder made him jump, but Ed took comfort in the fact that nature seemed to feel he deserved to win at least one argument.
Settling back against the wall once more, Ed grinned to himself and then jerked, yelping, as something above him tipped, sending a long stream of cold water down onto the top of his head.
Mustang only shook his head and wrapped his arms more tightly around himself.
Minutes passed and Ed lost track of how long he'd been sitting watching the tall grass alongside the road dip and sway as the wind began to pick up. The setting of the sun sent the shadow of the barn wall stretching out before them, until it was lost in the ruts generations of farm carts had left behind.
Movement at the corner of his eye made Ed turn, and he noticed that at last the rain had started to die down. Around the far corner of the barn wall he saw the tail of the cat disappear, the lightened drizzle apparently enough to send him out hunting in the darkening half-light.
"Maybe we should get go…." Ed trailed off as he took a closer look at his commander.
Knees drawn up to his chest, with his head pillowed on his arms, Roy was completely asleep. It looked impossibly uncomfortable, but Mustang was hardly moving, his breath slow and even.
How tired Roy must have been to be able to fall asleep like that, Ed didn't want to know. Did the man ever just rest? Somehow Ed doubted it.
"Shit Colonel." Ed mumbled to himself. It didn't matter that Roy made the same face in his sleep that Al used to, his nose wrinkled as he concentrated on something behind his eyelids, they needed to get going. He was just going to have to wake up and deal with it.
On the far horizon a flash of light appeared, and stayed, slowly growing brighter as it neared. It was coming from the direction of Central. Apparently someone had missed them. Settling back against the wall again, Ed shot one last look at the Colonel, and huffed. Might as well let the bastard sleep until their ride got there, if he woke him up he'd just have to talk to him.
Ed shifted again, bumping Roy, who only sighed, not waking at all. Trying not to jostle Mustang's shoulder too much, he leaned, just a bit, and contemplated what it was he was going to make the Colonel buy him for dinner. Once they were warm and dry.
Head tipped back to look up at slowly the dissipating clouds, Ed missed the moment when Roy's face relaxed and he smiled.
Author: Rune
Words: 1,098
Notes: Because it's raining again today, I finally finished it.
Ed had seen wet cats before. Al had brought them home on a regular basis since they were children. The sad little things were always scrawny, their fur plastered in bedraggled mass to skinny bodies, leaving even him hard pressed to turn them away. A dry, smug, self-satisfied cat was an entirely different matter.
…A dry, self-satisfied Colonel was an entirely different matter.
It hadn’t been raining when they’d started out. A little overcast, maybe, but when the car had broken down a little grey sky had been the least of their problems. They’d seen nothing but open fields and wood for miles in any direction, hadn’t passed another person in what seemed like hours, and so going to look for help themselves had been the only reasonable choice. Well, as far as Ed was concerned, that had been the only choice. It wasn’t like walking was hard. The bastard Colonel had gone along with it, Ed figured, because the jerk wouldn’t have anyone to boss around if he stayed at the car on his own.
But now here they were, soaked through, and trying to squeeze into the little cover provided by the last remaining wall of what once must have been a barn. They still hadn’t seen a single other living soul, either. The equally wet barn cat huddled several feet down from the Colonel didn’t count.
“A-a-ngk.”
“Was that supposed to be a sneeze?”
“No.”
“You’d get sick on purpose, wouldn’t you, you shit Colonel.”
“Anything to make this trip more enjoyable for you, Fullmetal.”
And then the bastard “didn’t sneeze” again.
Rolling his eyes, Ed hunched further into his coat. It was easier to just ignore the man sitting next to him, though now, if he looked over he could see the way Mustang shivered almost imperceptibly. His hair was plastered to his forehead, one strand falling just between his eyes and sending a steady dribble of water down the slope of Mustang’s nose.
Really, the man was just pathetic. Shoulders hunched, even the ridiculous black coat he never seemed to be without was soaked through and clung to him like a second skin. Watching as the Colonel finally pushed his hair back off his face, Ed realized he’d never recognized how much of Mustang’s bulk actually came from his uniform.
“…You’re so skinny.”
“I’m what?” Mustang turned, giving Ed a look like he’d just asked if they could warm up by lighting the cat on fire.
“What? You are!” There wasn’t any reason to be defensive, but Ed didn’t like the way Mustang was looking at him, that mix of amusement and consternation that sometimes made him wonder what the bastard’s real motives were.
The Colonel made a derisive sound that might have started as a snort, but ended up as something much more like a sneeze.
“I’m in shape, Edward, not skinny.”
“You are too. You look like a drowned rat.”
Rain was still falling and Mustang pushed his hair out of his eyes again. Beside him the cat sneezed.
“I think you’ve offended our host.” Mustang’s expression was bland, but something in the Colonel’s tone of voice gave Ed the distinct impression he was being laughed at.
Ed huffed his bangs out of his face and snorted. “So you’d rather be a drowned cat?”
“Well, cats are generally acknowledged as being more dignified.”
“Ha! Then you’re definitely a rat.”
“Somehow I think that you and I, Fullmetal, have very different ideas of what constitutes dignified.”
“Heh. Well, whatever it is, it’s not you.” Ed smirked, “You’re too skinny.”
“In shape, not--“
“Skinny.”
Mustang narrowed his eyes. “Slim, perhaps--“
“Skin-ey.” Ed reached out and grabbed the closer of the Colonel’s shoulders. “Look! You’re all bones.”
“I’m perfectly strong,” Mustang began.
“Didn’t say you weren’t strong, just that you look like someone forgot to feed you.”
“No--“
The sudden crack of thunder made him jump, but Ed took comfort in the fact that nature seemed to feel he deserved to win at least one argument.
Settling back against the wall once more, Ed grinned to himself and then jerked, yelping, as something above him tipped, sending a long stream of cold water down onto the top of his head.
Mustang only shook his head and wrapped his arms more tightly around himself.
Minutes passed and Ed lost track of how long he'd been sitting watching the tall grass alongside the road dip and sway as the wind began to pick up. The setting of the sun sent the shadow of the barn wall stretching out before them, until it was lost in the ruts generations of farm carts had left behind.
Movement at the corner of his eye made Ed turn, and he noticed that at last the rain had started to die down. Around the far corner of the barn wall he saw the tail of the cat disappear, the lightened drizzle apparently enough to send him out hunting in the darkening half-light.
"Maybe we should get go…." Ed trailed off as he took a closer look at his commander.
Knees drawn up to his chest, with his head pillowed on his arms, Roy was completely asleep. It looked impossibly uncomfortable, but Mustang was hardly moving, his breath slow and even.
How tired Roy must have been to be able to fall asleep like that, Ed didn't want to know. Did the man ever just rest? Somehow Ed doubted it.
"Shit Colonel." Ed mumbled to himself. It didn't matter that Roy made the same face in his sleep that Al used to, his nose wrinkled as he concentrated on something behind his eyelids, they needed to get going. He was just going to have to wake up and deal with it.
On the far horizon a flash of light appeared, and stayed, slowly growing brighter as it neared. It was coming from the direction of Central. Apparently someone had missed them. Settling back against the wall again, Ed shot one last look at the Colonel, and huffed. Might as well let the bastard sleep until their ride got there, if he woke him up he'd just have to talk to him.
Ed shifted again, bumping Roy, who only sighed, not waking at all. Trying not to jostle Mustang's shoulder too much, he leaned, just a bit, and contemplated what it was he was going to make the Colonel buy him for dinner. Once they were warm and dry.
Head tipped back to look up at slowly the dissipating clouds, Ed missed the moment when Roy's face relaxed and he smiled.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-12 05:30 pm (UTC)But I'm glad you liked it. *G* Wet!Roy just leaves me both amused and filled with the urge to feed him warm soup. Someone needs to take care of that man.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-13 03:27 am (UTC)Roy-types seem to pretty-much universally inspire that impulse. *sad for Roy*